


The Unabridged Warriors Orochi

by CapsuleCorp



Category: Samurai Warriors, Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors, Warriors Orochi
Genre: Action, Anal Sex, Battle, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Drama, F/M, Fade to Black, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, M/M, Major Character Injury, Romance, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 08:18:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 98
Words: 1,091,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4012447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapsuleCorp/pseuds/CapsuleCorp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A prose retelling of the rise and fall of Orochi, otherwise known as the entirety of the video game Warriors Orochi 1. It fleshes out the complicated and dramatic story of the melding of the Three Kingdoms and Sengoku Era, delves deeper into the effect their situation has on the characters, and throws in a little slash just because (okay, a LOT of slash) . Battles have been mostly compressed in order to focus on the in-between scenes instead, and character relationships are explored. PCs from later franchises have been added.</p><p>NOTE: I discovered after a year that Chapter 29 was missing at least half of its content. A major scene of plot as well as some fluff had been omitted. It is now reposted in complete form.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There is some dialogue lifted directly from the game script (my thanks to Koei Warriors forum and gamefaqs) but mostly only during battle scenes. I make no claim to have created that dialogue, but I did move it around and rephrase awkward translations. Also, I am probably using style names very very wrong, and for that I apologize to anyone who actually speaks Chinese.

The late-day sun gleamed red-gold on the dry fields of Hefei, filtering through choking clouds of dust and smoke to turn the grass red as blood. Then again, much of the grass was soaked in actual blood, as the bodies of valiant Wu foot soldiers lay scattered in contorted heaps everywhere. One was still standing, though even he was starting to think he wouldn’t be for long. The ring of thin, gray-skinned warriors was closing in on him, their spears warily jabbing towards him to force him whichever way they liked. He had beaten down enough of them to make them hesitate, their bodies lay like piles of stone in the grass, but he was injured and reaching the end of his strength – soon enough they would realize it, and would swarm on him and take him down. The nunchuku dangling from his hand swung almost imperceptibly with every twitch of his fatigued muscles. And yet, Ling Tong held his ground, his eyes narrowed and alert, not looking for an escape route but an opening through which to battle back and destroy his foes. It was too late for escape, anyway. Either they all had to die, or he would. 

The chain on Rising Phoenix jingled, acting like a trigger to the waiting creatures. One suddenly leaped from the pack, slashing with its spear, and Ling Tong sprang to evade it. But he was tired, and stumbled, and the rest of his foes rushed in to take advantage of this opening. Before they could lay a finger on him, both they and he could hear the thud of hoofbeats dangerously near – it came out of nowhere and was on them in an instant, accompanied by the shrill ringing of bells. The horse slammed into the middle of the throng, knocking gray bodies everywhere, even as a hand dropped in front of Tong’s face. He didn’t care who it belonged to, he grabbed it and felt himself yanked bodily off the ground as the horse leaped forward, spurred by its rider. He struggled as he was pulled on behind the other rider and finally found his seat even as he recognized the leather bracers and those damnable bells. “Cutting it a little close there, weren’t you?” he panted in the pirate’s ear.

“Shut up and hang on tight!” Gan Ning snarled gruffly at him, clenching both hands on the reins. This was no time for rivalry banter, he was intent on getting them out of there in one piece and there were a lot of gray, reptilian soldiers in the way. And not a few regular humans as well. The horse he had snatched off the battlefield was a tough little thing, it put its head down at his urging and galloped full-tilt through a guard post as fast as if it didn’t have two men on its back. The road ahead of them looked mercifully free of enemies, so as long as they could shake off pursuit, they would make a clean escape. Neither even tried to look back at the comrades and stronghold they were leaving behind. Ling Tong clutched his comrade around the chest, still carrying his nunchuku in one fist, silently grateful for the rescue. Yet the further they ran and the more distant the sounds of battle grew, the faster the adrenaline ebbed from his body. He began to feel the pain he had been ignoring, and his grip grew weaker. They kept to the dusty road for now, even if it meant they could be easily tracked and followed, but speed was more important than stealth in Ning’s estimation. He didn’t slacken pace at all, driving the horse to its limit, but he could feel his passenger’s arms gradually loosen over the course of a couple of miles, and just when Tong slipped he reached around himself and grabbed a hold to keep him from falling off. That was when he finally slowed the horse, since it was difficult to maintain balance and control of their mount at the same time with only one hand. “Hey, don’t do something stupid, here,” he said sharply, turning to the taller man behind him. Only then did he realize how badly Tong was injured. Looking around quickly to verify that they had outpaced any pursuit from the invading army and were, for the moment, in the clear, he slid off the horse’s back and carefully let Tong down onto the ground with him. They had nothing in the way of supplies at all, only their weapons and the clothes on their backs, so all he could do was tear off bits of his comrade’s tattered clothing to use for bandages and wrap him up as best he could. By now Tong was rather hazy, but managed to hang onto consciousness as if it were a tree in a windstorm. He winced as Ning tightened the makeshift bandages around his leg. “Come on, stay with me, here,” the pirate urged, trying to sound casual. “You’re tougher than this, don’t wimp out on me now.”

“Easy for you to say,” Ling Tong groaned. “Are you even scratched?”

Gan Ning’s jaw tightened briefly. He was, actually, rather battered himself, after getting knocked off his feet by a huge warrior he had never seen before, but he took no thought for his own injuries. “Looks like we gotta try a different tactic, here,” he decided, upon assessing their conditions. “You’re gonna ride, I’m gonna walk, and we’re heading off the trail.”

“Where?” Tong breathed. “Where are we going?”

“Hell if I know.” Ning slapped a hand to his knee as he got up and looked around, sharing a brief glance with the horse that just stood there like a good battle mount, waiting to be used again. “At least I’m pretty good with the lands around Hefei. Right now I just want to put some distance between us and that army, and find some water. After that…” He shook his head and then simply moved to help his comrade up. “We’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

He got Tong settled in the saddle once more, and then took the reins and led the horse away, down off the road into the grass at the margin and eventually off into the trees along a game trail. The day was almost done and night would fall on them soon enough, it was urgent to get under cover and make their track disappear. Ning had no idea whether the strange creatures that comprised half of the army that had attacked them could see in the dark or would pursue them after nightfall, so he planned to take every precaution possible. Aside from short breaks to get water from any freshet or rill they came across, he would not stop at all until he had put considerable distance between them and Hefei and could be sure they weren’t being hunted. Tong dozed in the saddle, but managed to keep his seat otherwise and fell silent, wandering in half-delirious thoughts and memories that faded into lucid nightmares and back again. It wasn’t until close to dawn, when the moon had set and the wooded hills had gone quiet in those hours before the morning twilight seeped back into the sky, that Gan Ning realized they couldn’t keep going like this. His companion kept waking out of dreams with a start that almost made him fall off the horse, and the paths through thickets and brambles had become much more faint and hard to navigate quietly. At last, he gave up and found a hillside clear of undergrowth above a stream where they could catch a few hours of real sleep. He tied the horse, made sure Ling Tong had taken a little more water, and then sat with his back against a tree trunk to wait for sunrise, Tong’s head pillowed in his lap. Ning would not sleep. He couldn’t, someone had to keep watch, he told himself. Survival depended on him not falling asleep.

What had happened back there? Sure, the scouts had brought news of an approaching army with little time for them to mount a defense, but they had been completely swept away! It was bad enough trying to adjust to this strange world, where familiar things butted up against unfamiliar places, and the ground itself heaved and cracked from the strain of trying to mesh together all these masses of land, not to mention seeing comrades long dead alive again. It wasn’t bad having the mighty Sun Jian ruling Wu again, a complete Wu that had never had the chance to exist before, but before they could even fully re-establish their traditional strongholds they had been beset and overrun by an army they had never seen before. Gan Ning did not know yet what his companion had witnessed, but he had seen things that kept him awake well enough, kept him fretting and questioning everything he thought he knew. The reptile-like creatures that comprised half of the attacking army were unlike anything he had seen before, though he had heard the stories about some demon lord being responsible for the world being this way. Yet, they weren’t the strangest thing to be seen that day. Wu’s defeat was unfortunate; the loss of their leaders, captured but not killed, was devastating. The huge warrior who laughed as he swung that big pike around had taken both him and Zhang Liao by surprise; it was extremely suspicious in hindsight, Cao Cao being aware enough of goings-on to have ordered his great general to assist Wu like that. Gan Ning had fought Zhang Liao before, and knew he was no pushover. Yet both of them had melted like snow in the sun before the onslaught of that one big warrior on a wild gray horse. It rankled him that he had to flee, and lost track of nearly everyone. Where had their lords been taken? Where were Lu Meng and Lu Xun? And was it true that the mastermind of their defeat had been the guardian of Shu, Zhuge Liang? There was something suspicious going on here, far more frightening than snake-like warriors. Gan Ning sighed to himself and rested his head back against the tree, trying to push these worries out of his head and pass the time listening to Tong’s raspy breathing instead. A bird directly above them let out a short warble, and as if on cue, a moment later the sun came streaming through the trees. Ning blinked at it, and only then realized he was absently combing his fingers through Tong’s long, silky ponytail. He stopped, but left his hand resting on the younger man’s forehead. He felt a little warm compared to the cool chill of morning, something else Ning would have to keep aware of. If only he could sleep! But no, it would have to wait until they were safe, whatever that meant. They had been run out of the Wu stronghold, and if none of their comrades had made it out alive as well, they could very well be alone in this bizarre world.

After a few hours when the sun had reached a certain point in the sky, Gan Ning roused his companion and made to set off again. They drank their fill at the stream, first, and he resolved to follow it for a while to see where it would take them. Fortunately for the both of them, he was experienced in roughing it in the wild, and would consider it no trouble to snare game or find edible roots and berries. There wasn’t time to build fires and cook, though, so they had to content themselves with whatever they could scrounge and eat while traveling, and stick to the stream for lack of any vessel in which to carry water. Throughout the day, Ling Tong said very little, and sat slumped in the saddle as though it was taking all of his strength just to remain upright. He had almost dropped Rising Phoenix at one point, so Gan Ning stuck the weapon in the back of his belt just in case. If they were attacked, he knew it would be wiser to jump on the horse and flee instead of fight. Yet, as the day wore on and there was no sign of anything larger than a fox in these woodlands, he started to become concerned that they were more in danger from their wounds and lack of shelter and food than from enemy soldiers. Still he pressed on, walking with the horse’s head in tow and occasionally glancing back to make sure Ling Tong hadn’t fallen out of the saddle. When night began to come on once more, he stood at the edge of a ridge debating with himself. Should he keep going, travel through another night in the hopes of finding some sign of civilization? Or should he give in to his body’s basic needs, build a fire, snare fowl or rabbits, and then sleep? He looked back once more and realized that Tong might force the decision one way or another; his face was astonishingly pale in the gloom of evening under the trees, and he was sweating despite having only half a shirt on now. Ning stepped back to his side and looked up at him. “You okay?”

Tong turned hazy eyes on him. “I don’t think so. Are we…is there _any_ one around?”

“Beats the hell out of me.” Ning’s brow furrowed. “I should know these lands, and I’m totally out of my element. I don’t know where we are. We should have come across a village by now, but it’s all trees – and I don’t recognize the hills over there, either.” His face twitched as he wrestled with his ideas. “There hasn’t been any sign of the enemy, either, so maybe it’s safe to stop and build a fire. Get you warm and try to clean up those wounds.”

“I’m already plenty warm,” Tong demurred, and then suddenly tipped forwards in a faint. Ning lunged to catch him as he fell, and cursed loudly at their luck. As he had feared, his companion had a fever, and some of his wounds were bleeding through the makeshift bandages. The time to be cautious and keep to the trees was over. Ning struggled to get him back up onto the horse while unconscious, and then climbed up after him, shifting around until he could get a good hold of Ling Tong and the reins both. He gave a shout to urge the horse onward, and swiftly they were trotting out into an open field, making for gaps that could be roads or rivers as fast as he dared to force them to go.

Night clapped over them before they could reach anything resembling a path, and even then it was just a dirt rut alongside a river that was too wide to ford. Gan Ning pushed the horse as much as he could, alternating between a walk and a trot to make up ground but not run the poor beast to its death. There had to be a way to cross the river somewhere, and if it was a bridge, that meant a road. Without warning, a torch flared up ahead of him and he heard the unmistakable whisper of bowstrings being drawn. He stopped before anyone could order him to, dropping the reins so he could grab the hilt of his scimitar instead. At least the voice which broke the night’s peace was human: “Halt, and identify yourself! Friend or foe?”

“Depends on who’s asking,” the pirate growled. “Why don’t you identify _your_ self?”

“This sentry post belongs to the forces of Lord Takeda Shingen,” the voice said, a little snobbishly. “Turn back if you know what’s good for you.”

Ning bristled. “Look, I’ve got a wounded ally here. I don’t know who the hell this Takeda guy is, but if he’s the kind of guy who’d let a wounded man get a little rest and food, then you’d better let me pass before I make you get out of my way.”

The sentry made no reply, but someone came up on their left and peered at them. Ling Tong was slung sideways across Gan Ning’s lap, still unconscious, it was quite clear how badly he was hurt. The man beside them was wearing highly unfamiliar armor and tokens, yet it wasn’t at all similar to what their foes had worn in battle. He looked them over and then nodded. “He’s telling the truth. This man is gravely injured, he needs treatment.”

“Very well,” the sentry relented. “Take them to Lord Takeda’s camp, he’ll know how to deal with them.”

Gan Ning’s hand finally eased off the hilt of his sword. “Now that’s more like it,” he sniffed at the sentry as he walked the horse past their post. It was no road which crossed the river there, but a broader footpath and a bridge that looked like it had been thrown together in recent days. The second sentry gestured for them to follow him as he crossed the river and headed up into the hills. Ning remained riding, keeping a secure hold on his passenger and his hand near enough to his weapon to grab if need be. He didn’t expect it to be a trap, but to let down his guard in this moment would be a betrayal to a lifetime of battle knowledge.

Whoever had ordered the building of this camp was a seasoned veteran of long campaigns. Gan Ning didn’t know it was there until they had actually entered it, climbing past more than one sentry post in succession to a plateau which was easily defensible. There were no fires until the camp proper, which was itself set up behind a hastily-erected stockade. It was a large camp, too, Ning noticed, with the hills at its shoulders through which only the one path led from that direction. It was tough to see much this late at night, but he gathered that no one could approach across the plain from the other direction without being spotted for miles. He was certain that this army was not their foe, but whether they were friends was another matter entirely. As the sentry brought them through a checkpoint into the camp, they were met by a young man in gorgeous red armor toting a rather large cross-bladed spear. “What news?” he asked the sentry.

“I’m sorry to barge in like this, my lord,” the sentry replied, effecting a deep bow, “but these men appeared out of the night. They’re injured, one severely, and request aid from Lord Takeda.”

The man with the spear looked them over as well, his eyes keen. It almost made Gan Ning sit up a little straighter. “Very well. Lead them to the healers. I’ll inform Lord Shingen.” He nodded to Ning and turned and strode off with a proud, purposeful gait. Ning itched to ask who that was, but he had more pressing matters to attend to first. He started the horse forward, but even as he did a number of men came out of the darkness to assist, one to take the horse and see that it was cared for, several to carry the unconscious Tong and more to lead – or perhaps guard – Gan Ning himself. They had no choice but to acquiesce.

It was clear from the setup of the medical tent that this was a military encampment after all. Several experienced healers whisked Ling Tong away to be tended, and three more came to see to Gan Ning. One was a woman, and with gentle hands she washed his wounds in order to re-open them so they could be cleaned and properly bound instead of left to scab and scar over with dirt and dried blood. Only then, as they were finally wrapping him up, did exhaustion sneak up and overtake him. His eyes drooped while he sat there putting up with the healers, and immediately when they finished the kind woman told him he could sleep right there on the cot where he had been taken to sit. He fended off helping hands at that point, told them all not to touch his sword, and promptly passed out.

Another morning had come and gone by the time Gan Ning woke up ravenously hungry. He sat up sharply on the cot and groped for his sword, finding it right where he had put it last night within arm’s reach, along with Ling Tong’s nunchuku. A stab of concern passed through him, so before he could even think to ask anyone about food, he shoved aside a tent flap and accosted the first medic he could find, demanding to see his comrade. The timid youngster hurriedly led him through another partition to a private area where Ling Tong slept, cleaned and bandaged and even dressed in a new tunic of some kind, but clearly still very much asleep. The healer attending him said that he had a fever and was being taken care of, but needed quiet and rest so he could sleep and heal. All Ning wanted was to see him, and to know for himself that he hadn’t made any foolish decisions in not getting help sooner. He touched his comrade’s hand to feel his lifeblood for himself, and then left Rising Phoenix at his side. He could now demand food, and did so none-too-gently, sending the timid medic scurrying out to obey.

Gan Ning was partway finished stuffing his face with the rice and meat buns they had brought him when another person entered the public area of the medical tent to inform him that Lord Takeda Shingen wanted to see him. Ning was somewhat expecting this, given the unusual way they had entered the camp, yet he was a little surprised that the supposed lord in charge of this camp – and by extension, this army – was asking personally, and not just sending some underling to ask all their burning questions. He finished up as quickly as he could and followed the messenger across the camp to the officers’ pavilion. Now that it was daylight he could get a much better look at the size and layout of the camp, and noted that he had been right about most of it. It was a lot bigger than it looked in the dark, there had to have been a ridiculously huge army here – if not more than one. Civilians, too, from the look of some of the smaller tents and huts. They had been here long enough to put up a stockade to protect sensitive areas, and from a whiff of a scent on the wind he could tell there was a sizeable cavalry too. But they weren’t going to the cavalry or the peasants, they were going to see the man in charge. Ning was aware he hadn’t put down his sword, but then, even in a friendly camp he rarely went unarmed. Only when at rest inside the cities of Wu, but those were a long way away, now. He followed the messenger into the grand pavilion where the officers were housed and gathered, and set his face in a stern frown as he was presented to a low table full of people as “the man you wished to see, Lord Takeda.”

The eye went straight to the stout man sitting at the head of the table, for he was wearing vibrant reds and gold and a rather daunting mask with white fur mane that completely obscured his head but for his chin and mouth. It had the effect of making him look like an old lion, which probably suited him, Gan Ning thought, judging by the way he sat attended by his underlings. He held an ornate war fan like a scepter, and lounged against cushions like he owned the place. The table was very low to the ground and all the officers sat directly at it on the floor, on rugs, though their stations were nowhere near as regal as their lord’s. Weapons leaned against the walls behind them, for walls there were – they seemed to be made of paper, though, nailed to frames that had been set up in the pavilion with the wooden-slat fake floor to create a slightly more permanent-appearing structure. Ning was interested to see the huge cross-bladed spear carried by the man who met them the night before, and the man himself sitting at table, clad in his armor. Another young man sat at his left, a silver helm perched on the table in front of him. Two more sat at the lion-man’s other side, one much older, the other young and also resting a helm on the table. Behind him stood a tall lance. Clearly, Ning had been summoned to a meeting of officers, and he was starting to wonder about this camp they had stumbled into.

The officer in red armor gave him that same keen look from the night before. “Welcome,” he offered in his gentle, reedy voice. “Please, sit at table with us. There’s a lot we need to discuss.”

“Yes,” the lion-man said in a warm, booming voice, “not the least of which is the sharing of names. Where are your manners, Yukimura?”

The young officer looked sheepishly at his lord. “Ah, sorry. You’re right.” He turned back to their visitor. “This is Lord Takeda Shingen, head of the Takeda clan and lord of these people,” he explained with a gesture of his hand toward the lion-man, who bobbed his head slightly but said nothing more. “We are his trusted officers. I am Sanada Yukimura, representing the Sanada clan in this place.”

There was a pause, in which the pirate realized they were waiting for him before presenting the other lords. “Sorry to say I’ve never heard of you guys,” he admitted plainly, “but then that probably means you don’t know me, either. The name’s Gan Ning. I’m a general of Wu.”

The mask hid his expression, but something definitely triggered in Takeda’s thoughts, by the way he sat back slightly. “So,” he said in that wise tone. “It is true, then. The ancient kingdoms from the mainland have been mingled with our own. If I’m not mistaken, Wu was one of the kingdoms that arose after the fall of the Han Dynasty, long ago.”

“That’s right,” Ning said warily, his eyes narrowing. “So you’ve heard of that much, huh?”

Takeda gestured with the fan, indicating that their visitor should feel free to sit down. He said nothing more until Ning had done so, folding his legs and plopping himself down at the opposite end of the table from the great lord so gruffly that it made his bells bounce and jingle. “You might say I’m a student of history,” he finally said, tipping his masked head to one side. “There is much to learn about the art of war from the strategists of the Han people, though I daresay not everyone in our land bothers to look into it.”

There was a lot in that statement that made Ning want to ask questions, but for now, he kept it to himself and merely studied the others at the table. “Well, you wanted to see me, uh…Lord Takeda, is it? Oh, thanks for the help, by the way. We really owe you one for just letting us drop in on you like that.”

The older man at Takeda’s right hand huffed a bit and muttered under his breath, “Is this how the men of the Han treat their betters, with such casual speech?”

Takeda ignored him. “You’re very welcome. I’m sorry it isn’t our best hospitality. If only we were in our castle, among our own people, we could show you a much better time. This is only a small military outpost.”

 _Small?_ Again, Ning wondered, but didn’t ask. Yet. Sanada spoke up, then. “You’ve come at an unfortunate time for us. We are still recovering from a massive defeat at Kawanakajima, and only just now have finally pulled together just some of our scattered people and forces.” He nodded to the others at the table as he introduced them, starting with the man on his left. “Naoe Kanetsugu arrived with messages from his lord last week. Lord Hojo Ujimasa caught up with us earlier, but his own people are still lost.” He glanced to the old man at that, and then the final young man across from Naoe. “Lord Azai Nagamasa met us just two days ago, seeking advice.”

While uncertain yet about Takeda and not much impressed with Hojo, Gan Ning was already starting to respect Sanada quite a lot. Though young, he had a strong bearing and spoke confidently, and clearly had a great loyalty to his allies. Takeda interrupted before they could go on with business. “Surely, general, you must be thirsty after your ordeal. Where are my servants?” One melted out of the shadows and came to his elbow instantly. “Ah, there you are. Bring sake for us all. There may be a lot of words today, we’ll need something to wet them down.”

In spite of himself, Gan Ning grinned a little. “Now you’re talkin’. I like the way you think, old man.”

Beneath the mask, Takeda grinned back. “It is the very least I can do, for a real general of Wu of old. I’m afraid it won’t be our best sake, but I do like to keep some around for important occasions.”

They waited until the servant returned with an earthenware jug and several dish-like cups, which didn’t take too long. The strong wine was poured and they all took a sip to sample before Gan Ning raised his cup to silently thank his hosts and drained it in one gulp. Hojo looked affronted and even Azai winced a little, but Takeda chuckled and told the servants to keep pouring and never let a cup go empty. Sanada seemed to be the one in charge of keeping conversation going. “The medics sent word that your companion is going to be all right. I’m glad to hear it,” he said politely. “Is he a general of Wu also, or perhaps one of your own men?”

Ning shook his head slightly. “Nah, he’s a ranking general too. His name’s Ling Tong, he’s been serving the Sun family longer than me. Since he was fifteen, I think.”

Immediately to his right, Naoe frowned deeply. “Clearly, something has happened, for two officers of such rank to be wandering alone in the wilderness, gravely injured from battle.”

Gan Ning’s eyes went warily around the table, but he was expecting this. Sooner or later, someone needed to ask him what happened to them, and he would need to answer. He judged Takeda to be the one actually wanting the information, so he directed his response that way while he sat with one arm on the table, gripping his cup of wine. “Yeah, something happened, all right. They came on us two days ago, they must have known half our top officers were in one place.” His lips twisted into a scowl. “The kingdom of Wu is over before it even got started. Our army was destroyed, our people scattered. And I’m pretty sure they took our lords hostage.”

The men around the table fidgeted uneasily. Only Takeda held his reaction still. “What army was it?” Sanada asked quietly.

“None I’ve ever seen before,” Ning admitted grumpily. “A bunch of them weren’t even human, they were more like…”

“Snakes?” Hojo finished for him, looking genuinely disturbed.

“Yeah…” Gan Ning eyed him. “You’ve seen ‘em before.”

“Orochi,” Takeda said heavily. “So. There is more to his ambition than simply overrunning our own allies.”

“Who’s Orochi?” Ning asked bluntly. “I heard something about some guy, a demon maybe. Is that him?”

The other officers looked to Takeda to explain; the stout man breathed a deep sigh and set his fan flat on the table. “Even if you didn’t see him yourself, surely you’ve noticed that this is not the world we were born in. It’s as though someone tore chunks of your homeland, mine, and many others, and threw them all together for his own amusement. _That_ is Orochi. More than demon, he seems to have bent time and space both in order to create this place – and then snatched kingdoms at his pleasure in order to people these new lands just so he could conquer them himself.”

Though he knew exactly what the old man was describing, Ning couldn’t help but peer at him as though he had gone crazy. “What would be the point of something like that?”

“Nobody knows. That’s the problem,” Sanada put in. “None of it makes any sense, but it’s clearly all supernatural in origin. The snake creatures from a demon realm, the dead made alive again…”

Ning sat up sharply, failing to conceal his reaction to that information. “You too, huh?”

The keen eyes behind Takeda’s mask focused sharply on him. “Who, then, is the ruler of Wu?”

The pirate averted his gaze for a moment. “Well, it _should_ be Sun Quan, seeing as his father and brother were dead, but…they’re not, anymore. Lord Sun Jian was gathering us all together to agree to rule whatever kingdom of Wu he could pull together in this place…”

“As I feared.” 

Azai’s fist thumped down on the table, rattling the sake cups. “Orochi is messing with more than just the world. We are apparently all his playthings, even the dead are not held sacred! What is the meaning of this sacrilege?”

“I don’t know,” Ning murmured ruefully, “but it was really nice having ol’ Ce back again. It was like old times, the whole bunch of us in our prime.” His scowl deepened, and he threw back an entire cup of wine to cover it. “And the assembled might of Wu wasn’t enough. They plowed right over us.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Takeda said gruffly. “The assembled might of my own forces combined with the Uesugi fell like reeds in the wind before his onslaught. Yes,” he added as Ning shot him an alarmed look, “it was Orochi who routed us as well. We had been hearing about his march of terror across this new land, and hastily formed an alliance in order to resist him. Together with my nemesis, Uesugi Kenshin, we rode to where his army was camped at Kawanakajima in the hopes of destroying him while he was unprepared…and it was not enough.”

“What’s more, it seems like he’s gathering some of our own allies to his side,” Sanada fretted. “I faced Maeda Keiji himself, he was all too glad to be in the service of that demon snake.”

“Yeah,” Ning said darkly. “I know _that_ feeling, too. I didn’t see for myself but some of the troops swore they heard it was Zhuge Liang directing the attack on us. He’s supposed to work for Shu, and be all noble and for-the-good-of-the-people and all that, I don’t get it.”

Takeda studied him across the table. “Then, it seems it was to your good fortune that you stumbled on our camp by accident last night. And for more reasons than just seeing to your friend’s injuries.”

“As well as your own,” Naoe said with a nod toward the pirate. “How are you feeling, this day?”

“Eh, I’ve had worse,” Ning replied with a wave of his hand. Half of his tattoos were covered by bandages at the moment, but aside from being a little sore and fatigued, he felt fine. The sake helped. He tipped his cup in thanks again, this time to the servant who was keeping it filled for him. “I appreciate the sharing of information, really, but I don’t wanna get too comfy here. That bastard’s got the whole Sun family, and I’m not about to stop and twiddle my thumbs while they’re in his clutches. I owe them to go after them, one way or another.”

“Orochi is too strong for a whole army, much less one man,” Sanada said worriedly. “Now is not the time to do anything rash. It’s probably what he wants, if he captured your lords rather than execute them.”

“Very astute, Yukimura,” Takeda rumbled. “I have no doubt that is indeed part of the plan. Not that I can give a Wu general any orders,” he noted with a turn of his masked face toward Gan Ning. “You may do as you please. But if you would take an old man’s advice, perhaps you should at least give yourself time to heal first.”

Ning fell quiet and brooded over more sake. He didn’t question his own abilities, bandaged or not, but he wouldn’t leave Ling Tong behind, either. They could very well be the last vestige of the glory of Wu surviving in this strange land. “I wonder,” Azai said, then. “You have scouts exploring the land, Lord Shingen. Perhaps these generals of Wu can help explain some of the reports they bring back.”

Their guest looked up, a bit disgruntled, but Takeda sat inscrutably stroking his chin. “I agree,” Naoe put in. “The locations and peoples our scouts do not recognize may be familiar to these wayward generals.”

“That decision does not have to be made now,” Takeda assured. “We’ll let our guests rest and recuperate. Then, it will be up to them.”

The officers discussed a few more things amongst themselves, mostly about the ordering of the camp and the organization of the scouting parties that had been and would be sent, but Gan Ning sat silent and did not participate in the meeting any more than that. He drank just enough to relax but not enough to enjoy it, since he had a million more thoughts swirling around his head now. At least Takeda’s suggestion made sense; he could linger while Ling Tong recovered, and if he happened to stick around to overhear scouting reports, what could be the harm in that? This army’s scouts could do the work for him, and if he gathered information on his own people as well as the other kingdoms through them, he would be better prepared to act when his comrade was well enough to travel and fight again. Shortly after he was dismissed as the meeting broke up, and found himself walking with Sanada Yukimura across the compound. “I’m sorry to hear about the tragedy of your people,” the young warrior murmured. “Rest assured, we, too, want to repay Orochi for what he’s done. He’s already routed the Hojo and Toyotomi at Odawara Castle, and then our forces, and it’s no stretch to believe he’s going to do the same to others. We’ve already sent messengers to warn the Tokugawa, if we can find their castle.”

Ning glanced at him, at the way he carried himself and that spear. “I’ve never heard of any of these places you keep mentioning,” he said warily. “And I’m pretty sure none of them are two days’ journey in any direction from the Hefei territory. Is this one of those tricks of Orochi?”

“I believe so,” Sanada sighed. “Bits and pieces of our country have been uprooted and thrown here, and the same has happened to yours, I think. That’s why many of our forces are scattered, they don’t know how to get to the places they need to find anymore. What’s more, as you travel from one bit to the next, you could be going from summer to winter to autumn. It’s probably related to Orochi pulling us from different times, such as before certain people died in our memory.” His eyes shifted as if to glance back at the halls of his lord behind him, though he said nothing further on that subject.

“So what’s your country, then?” Ning wondered. He hadn’t overlooked the fact that they could all understand each other somehow, even if the names given suggested a different nation or kingdom.

Sanada turned to him and chanced an uneasy laugh. “Uh, I don’t know what your people would know it by. I’m not as good with history as Lord Shingen, all he’s said is that we were probably just a bunch of peasants back in your time.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.” Gan Ning came around him and stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Back it up a second, there, pretty boy. What do you mean ‘your time?’ Just what do you know about the kingdom of Wu and all that?”

Sanada awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. “It’s just that…well, Lord Shingen claims that your kingdoms were at their height more than a thousand years ago. Maybe more.”

Ning stared him down for a long time. “You serious?”

The other warrior nodded slowly. “He mentioned it when we heard a rumor of a battle taking place at a city called Chengdu. Such a place never existed anywhere in Honshu before, we couldn’t understand it until my lord looked into his histories of war.”

The pirate’s eyes slowly widened. This news was not making him feel any better. “Chengdu? But that’s…that’s the Shu capital in Yi Province.” He forgot about intimidating Sanada and began to pace instead, head down and one hand rubbing his face. “If Shu’s been conquered, and so have we, then maybe Wei’s next. But I don’t know where the hell their territory is anymore.”

“The trouble is, with all our lands uprooted the way they are and thrown together,” Sanada calmly reasoned, “we have no way of knowing what is located where until someone can actually ride the length and breadth and map it. But with Orochi’s army on the move, looking for opponents to squash, that’s not possible at the moment.”

“I guess not.” Ning halted and turned to face the other man. “All right. It’s like this. I’m not some super-smart strategist like Zhou Yu or Lu Meng, but I’m a damn good fighter and I lead my men well. So you get me when I say I have to find out what’s happened to the rest of Wu, right?” Sanada nodded, but let him go on. “Right. But I gotta give Ling Tong time to rest, so in the meantime, I’ll stick around here and give your lord whatever information he needs in exchange for getting to hear all the scouting reports. If any of them have seen my people, I gotta know. That fair?”

“It sounds good to me,” Sanada said with the tiniest smile. “I would be honored to play host to an ancient warrior of a powerful kingdom.”

Ning made a face at him. “Would you stop saying stuff like that? You make me sound old! I’m not old, I’m in my prime, dammit.” He arched an eyebrow and grinned. “Or do I need to show you before you’ll believe it?”

Yukimura’s eye drifted slightly down to the scimitar sheathed at the pirate’s side. “Oh, I think I can believe you,” he said coolly, “but maybe I’d like a chance to see for myself anyway.”

“You’re on, Sanada,” Ning promised. “After I get something to eat. All that meeting business made me hungry.”

“Come.” Yukimura clapped him on the shoulder and led him away. “You can eat with me and my men. I was just heading there myself.”

For the rest of the day, Gan Ning contented himself with exploring the Takeda camp and being a nuisance where he could. Snarking at the sentries and enlisted men was a good way to get out some of the pent-up frustration that had been building over all the unusual and off-putting information he had been given, since he didn’t feel quite up to sparring yet. He had a decent time hanging around Sanada’s pavilion, since the warrior seemed to be one of Takeda’s favorite generals and so was privileged to have better provisions and nicer digs, yet at the same time was honest and down-to-earth, the sort of man Ning could respect. He reminded him of Lu Meng, to an extent, and he couldn’t help wondering what would happen if the two crossed polearms sometime. After he had eaten his fill, Ning wandered back to the infirmary tent to check on Ling Tong, who was still asleep and, the medics said, likely would be for a day or two until his fever broke. He was in good hands, at least, but that wouldn’t stop the pirate from coming to look in on him four or five times a day if he had to. By nightfall he had familiarized himself with the layout of the camp, just in time to be approached by servants who had good news for him: he and Tong were being housed in the officers’ quarters, where Naoe, Azai, and other visiting lords were being put up as well. The healers had cleared Ling Tong to be moved to this private location to recover, since he was more or less out of the woods, but they stationed a nurse to stay with the servants so she would be close enough to call in an emergency. Like the pavilion where the meeting had taken place, this one was looking less temporary with wooden slats laid down over the grass to serve as a floor in some rooms and paper-screen walls separating major areas from one another. Bedrolls on low cots were provided, and when he came in, Gan Ning found his comrade already settled into these new quarters, tucked in warmly and out cold to anything going on around him. The camp was quieting, though, and few muffled sounds could be heard drifting through the thick canvas of the pavilion. Ning sprawled out on his bed after setting aside his blade and his bells, and stared at the tent ceiling for a while until his mind finally stopped flitting from worry to worry and began to shut down for the night. He glanced aside at the other bed, and fell asleep watching Ling Tong sleep comfortably beside him.

  


While his men convalesced in the protection of the Takeda army, Sun Ce was beginning to discover the extent of the conqueror’s plans for him and his family. Defeat and capture were humiliating enough, but watching his father and closest friends be dragged off to serve as hostages was perhaps the worst thing he had ever experienced in his life, a slow and lingering pain that only got worse the further he marched from the patch of Wu land where they had converged. The jibes and taunts from the army of snake-men he had been conscripted into were nothing compared to the cold, unfeeling stare of Zhuge Liang as he blankly laid the orders for Orochi’s conquest of this new, mingled land of various kingdoms and detailed Ce’s part in them. He and his brother Quan, his sister Shangxiang, and his wife Daqiao, were all given orders, but he was to be tested first, alone, to see if he would indeed obey Orochi or risk his father’s execution by rebelling and trying to flee. The pain of it burned in his chest the whole time he rode north with the army, but he was not the Little Conqueror for nothing. He swallowed his pride and his revulsion and gave in to the orders to lead a unit against a castle currently sitting in the midst of a patch of winter-lands, a castle he had never heard of and a warlord whose name he didn’t recognize. Ce let his silence be his protest against the unfairness of it all, but he had only just gotten his father back from the dead – alive, whole, healthy, and pleased to see how his sons had grown even if both of them remembered him dying. He wasn’t about to risk losing him a second time, not now that he knew how that felt. It was an experience he did not want to repeat if he could help it. Plus, there were his men to think about. He didn’t know that some of them had escaped, and were not actually dead on the battlefield of Hefei, but he knew several were imprisoned at Orochi’s word and they, too, could be executed if he didn’t do the snake-demon’s bidding. Ce set his face in a stony glare and rode without hesitating, keeping his worries and thoughts to himself. _If only I could know where they were being held_ , he told himself. _I must play the part for now, and eventually someone will slip up and let that information out. Then I can make my move. Until then…_

He loathed every last gray-skinned member of that army, and did his best not to shudder with disgust in the presence of Orochi himself, who was going along on this excursion to oversee the battle and determine whether the castle lord or any of his men were worth his time. He felt like the only human around for miles, though he came to discover that there was at least one other in this particular unit of the army. For lack of anything better to do and in desperate need of some non-reptilian companionship, Ce spurred his horse forward to catch up with the big man on his gray steed. As he came, he eyed the enormous pike slung across the man’s back, mentally comparing the size and shape of it to a weapon he knew could be its match – Lu Bu’s halberd. The man himself looked like he could be distantly related to Lu Bu as well, judging by his build, strong jaw, and massive eyebrows. Ce was already regretting trying this, but he had come up rather obviously, so he couldn’t back off without being noticed. The man turned and looked his way, and a moment of familiarity dawned on his face. “Oh, so you’re the one they call ‘Little Conqueror,’ eh, little man? Heh! What’s up?”

Ce made a face. He usually liked his nickname, but this guy made it sound like an insult. “Nothing,” he said petulantly. “Just wondering what a guy like you is doing in a place like this. It’s like you and me are the only real men around.”

“Don’t even think of comparing yourself to me,” the other said, though with amusement. “Though, I get ya. All these snakey guys around is a pain in the ass, eh? But the boss-man says we’re meeting up with some regular old forces before we get to Edo, it won’t be long now.”

“Great,” Ce said dryly. “So, just who are you, anyway? What are you doing with Orochi?”

The big warrior grinned lazily in his direction. “The name’s Maeda. Maeda Keiji. Most people would go running at the sound of that, but you’re one of those Han guys who came from the past, right? So you probably don’t know.”

Ce frowned to himself. He had gotten the briefing the day after his indentured service to Orochi began, he knew about the meshing of worlds, kingdoms, and times – as if the strange lights, earthquakes, and other phenomena weren’t obvious enough. “Yeah, I’m one of those guys from the past,” he sighed. “Sun –”

“Yeah, I know who you are,” Keiji said warily. “First son of the ruler of Wu and all. Big deal. Here? You’re just another guy who couldn’t take Orochi.”

Ce’s spirits flagged a little. “So he got you too, then.”

“Don’t get me wrong…” Keiji glanced aside at him again, his big eyebrows arching. “I didn’t need anybody forcing me to do this. I came because I wanted to. Orochi himself knocked me flat on my ass, and I knew that he was the kind of guy I could serve. It’ll be fun – and it’s _been_ fun so far.” He barked a sharp laugh. “Man, you shoulda seen their faces at Kawanakajima. Uesugi and Takeda both were so taken aback that their glory and might was all for nothing in the face of Orochi.”

The worshipful tone with which he spoke about the snake-demon made Sun Ce feel even more sick. He sagged a little in the saddle and pulled his cloak tighter around him – it was getting cold, they were nearing the territory where the castle sat. “So you know some of these places. They’re from your time,” he observed. “You know anything about this Edo Castle?”

“Little bit,” Keiji shrugged. “Tokugawa’s holed up there, it’s his castle. Though, with most of the other feudal lords beaten and running off with their tails between their legs, I’m betting he doesn’t have a lot of allies with him. Two I know for sure, one or two I can guess at.” He gave Ce an eager look as he explained. “Tokugawa’s been known to have a ninja bodyguard. Hattori. And I’m pretty sure the princess is going to be there, she tends to stick with her lord rather than go wandering around the countryside.” He shrugged again, a gesture made all the more huge by his big shoulders and big hair. “Only thing I can’t count on is whether Honda’s with him. We’ve been marching from castle to castle pretty quick since the start, I dunno if they’ve had time to search and find everybody and bring ‘em in or if they’re still wandering around this jigsaw puzzle of a world.”

“Would it make any difference if this Honda is in the castle?” Ce asked, thinking strategically instead of personally.

Keiji looked away ahead of them to where the fields were slowly turning from brown to white the further they traveled toward the snow-frosted land surrounding Edo Castle. When he spoke he had regained some of that wistful tone he had used in speaking of Orochi’s greatness, but to a lesser degree. “Honda Tadakatsu is the most powerful samurai I know of, besides myself. They say he’s never even been scratched in a single battle. I want to take his measure so badly. I hope he’s there, I’d love to face him.” The mood passed and he flashed another wicked grin at Ce, then. “But I’ll be content just so long as I get to smack the smug right off of Tokugawa’s face myself. That two-faced tyrant has it coming to him.”

Ce received this information in silence, mulling it over while they rode. The late afternoon sun was beginning to sink behind a shroud of icy winter cloud, adding to the chill creeping up on them. After a minute, he raised his head and nodded firmly. “Thanks for the information. I’d rather know what we’re going to be up against.”

“Don’t go thinking you can get out of it by getting yourself defeated or killed,” Keiji warned. “Not only is there no honor in that, but Orochi will just go and kill your friends anyway.”

Ce bristled at him. “I’m not going to just roll over and _let_ myself be defeated! When I fight, I give it my all no matter who or what I’m fighting for. Right now all I care about is protecting my people, and that means fighting with everything I have – and fighting to win.”

“That’s the spirit!” Keiji crowed, so loudly that several infantrymen marching near him cringed away in terror. “That’s what I like to hear! There may be use for you yet, Little Conqueror. I wanna see what you got, so don’t get your ass killed before I can watch you fight.”

“Yeah, well,” Ce sighed, “you’ll have to wait till tomorrow. We’re still a long way off from the castle itself, or so Zhuge Liang said.”

Keiji looked keenly at him at the mention of the strategist’s name. “That guy. He’s one of your enemies, isn’t he?”

“That’s a simple way of putting it,” Ce muttered. “He’s the strategist for the kingdom of Shu. Sometimes we fight them, sometimes we ally with them against Wei. We live and let live, mostly. But him being on Orochi’s side means they wiped out Shu.” He left his observation there, though his thoughts ran on in his mind behind closed lips. So Shu had fallen, perhaps Liu Bei had suffered the same fate as his father. What Sun Ce really wondered was where that the kingdom of Wei fit into this patchwork world, and how long would it be before he was sent to assist in conquering it. Zhang Liao reported to them that Cao Cao was currently ruling Wei, and anyone who knew him knew he would not go lightly. Ce could almost hear Zhou Yu’s quiet, musing voice in the back of his mind: _it’s true that Wei has always been a thorn in our side, and the ruling Cao family is ruthless, scheming, and powerful. Anyone who wishes to conquer them needs to build a strong enough army, first, and plan their strategy well_. Perhaps that was why they were heading to one of the other country’s strongholds first, whether it was to recruit more unwilling warriors or simply to showcase the might of Orochi. _It sounds like there’s a lot more ahead of us_ , Ce thought. _Zhou Yu, if only I could have your ear right now. I’d let you talk about strategy all night long just to be able to hear your voice. Stay strong, my friend. I’ll come back for you, I promise._

Battle was not joined until the following day after all, though the army came within sight of the impressive castle late that night. A camp was stealthily set up in the hills surrounding Edo, and when day broke full the charge was ordered. Sun Ce rode as part of a force directed to surround and siege the castle on all sides, and thanks to his might they were able to break through the gates and reach the keep in almost no time. He met up with Keiji on the second floor of the keep itself, and watched him slam a man in a curious helm to the floor, but it wasn’t until later when he heard the grumbling that he found out it wasn’t the fabled Honda Tadakatsu after all, rather Date Masamune, the One-Eyed Dragon. All he knew was that the loud-mouthed yet shrewd man captaining some of Tokugawa’s forces and organizing the strategy was good at what he did – but not good enough. He hadn’t been expected to be allied with the lord of this castle, but he was conquered all the same. For his part, Ce had his own struggles to attend to; this battle was the first time he had ever seen a firearm, much less had to deal with ambush units of riflemen set up at strategic points. Arrows he was more than used to, but the loud reports of bullets being fired and the near-invisible projectiles whizzing around him unnerved him and forced him to his limits. Orders were to capture as many leaders as they could find, so Ce rushed in past Maeda and his captive in order to prevent any of the snake-warriors from killing everyone they could find. He was still face-to-face with a dark-clad fighter with a cloth mask shrouding most of his face when Orochi himself suddenly appeared in the keep, and had to throw himself out of the way as the huge scythe made short work of the remaining resistance. That meant Ce himself stood as witness when the demon lord gave the portly Tokugawa the same choice that had been offered to him: serve Orochi, or watch everyone in his charge die before being executed himself. For a moment the young lord of Wu held his breath, wondering if Tokugawa would bravely choose death above dishonor, and didn’t ignore the fact that at least one of those officers they had captured outside the keep was begging for it, but the great leader bowed his head and sadly agreed to spare his people by siding with Orochi. Ce knew exactly how the man must have felt, but they had no choice, either of them. Orochi sauntered out once the deal was made, leaving his underlings to handle the clean-up. Tokugawa was promised his weapon back once they had cleared the castle and pillaged it of anything useful, at the very latest before they prepared to break camp and march again. For now, it looked like the demon army would make themselves comfortable, even if parts of the magnificent castle were burned and in ruin and would before nightfall be even more spoiled from the defilement of the snake-men. Ce undertook the rounding up of prisoners, not wanting to watch the foot soldiers rooting around like pigs and turning the beautiful castle into a pit. He stood with his arms folded while Tokugawa collected himself and turned to his people. “I will not drag you into my dishonor against your will,” he declared. “You have all served me well, but this is something I will bear alone if I have to. What choices would you make?”

The man in the mask whom Ce had fought hardly twitched a muscle, let alone an eye. “I serve my lord,” he said simply in a quiet tone.

“You honor me, Hanzo,” Tokugawa said ruefully. “Perhaps this path won’t be so dark if I can count on you to walk it with me.” He shifted his glance to the proud woman at his side next. “My lady, you deserve better than this. I would never ask you to continue to follow me in this circumstance.”

The woman looked conflicted. She was young, Ce guessed her to be around the same age as his sister. “What of my father?” she worried.

“We have not located him, yet,” Tokugawa admitted darkly. “If only he were here, we might have been able to hold out.”

She mulled it over, and then lifted stern eyes to him. “Then, until he returns to avenge you, I will stay by your side, my lord.”

“Ina…” Tokugawa genuinely looked pained at this. “Your father would have my head if he knew I let you share in the shame of having to submit to this demon.”

“If he isn’t able to be here to protect you, then I’ll have to stand in for him,” Ina said firmly. “For now.”

The stout general looked uncertain for a moment, but then he nodded and sighed. “Very well, if you wish.” He turned to Sun Ce with a look of loathing. “Take us where you will.”

“Look, I’m not enjoying this any more than you are,” Ce said heavily. “I…” He glanced around; the room had cleared for the most part, there was no one who would go tattling to Orochi within earshot. “He’s got my father,” he said bluntly, facing right up to Tokugawa. Hattori tried to move in between them but Tokugawa held up a hand to stop him. “I know how you feel. You want to protect your men, and even though part of you really wants to get it over with and take death instead, sometimes dying isn’t the best way to save anyone.” His eyes narrowed sternly. “You hate it but you know there’s no other choice right now. You have to stay alive for them. That’s all there is to it.”

Tokugawa stared him down and then relented, bowing his head. “I see. You are a captive as well, then. So be it.” He lifted his chin and tipped back his helm so Ce could see his face clearly. “I am Tokugawa Ieyasu, and I will endure. My bodyguard, Hattori Hanzo, and the princess Ina.”

“I’m Sun Ce, son of Sun Jian, ruler of the kingdom of Wu.” He nodded to the other two. “I’m honored, considering the circumstances.”

Tokugawa’s expression flickered briefly. “No, the honor is mine.”

As ordered, Ce marched them out of the keep and across the snowy fields to Orochi’s main camp, where they could be confined until such a time as their agreement could be trusted and their weapons could be returned to them. Their feet crunched in the light layer of snow coating the grass and dirt, and Ce shivered a little now that the battle was over and his body was cooling down. He guessed that the others with him, particularly the Lady Ina, probably felt the same since they had taken nothing with them out of the keep. He glanced at her, and thought of something. “My sister,” he said, cautiously breaking the silence, “is being forced into Orochi’s service too. I bet she’ll be lonely, with only snakes around.”

Ina’s eyes shifted sideways to regard him. “It sounds to me like you are not capable of looking after your own family.”

“Ouch.” Ce winced visibly. “No, things didn’t go so well for us. I won’t put the blame on anyone but myself. I was late; I had been trying to gather some of our scattered officers together from another stronghold. But I can’t wallow in my regrets, I have to just keep moving forward, and looking for a path to open up for me. Da Ji’s not going to just let slip where they’re keeping my father, I have to be more careful.”

Ina lowered her head a little as they walked. There was a long silence, at the end of which she simply said, “Perhaps your sister could use another woman to keep her company, with nothing but snakes and foolish men around.” Behind them, both heard Tokugawa chuckle.

The conscripted officers were delivered to their temporary quarters and put under guard, for now, and Ce made sure to intimidate the snake-men enough to ensure that they wouldn’t harass these people at all. On his way out to go wash up and find something to eat after a long, hard day of battle, he glanced up to find his neck suddenly couched between the blades of Maeda Keiji’s two-pronged pike. To his credit Ce did not flinch, but he stopped right there to prevent his head from being separated from his shoulders and turned his gaze slowly, sullenly, on the weapon’s wielder. Keiji was grinning again, but it was the very definition of bloodthirsty. “I’ve got my eye on you, tiger cub,” he warned. “You’d better not even think about hatching any plots, or you’ll get to deal with me. And I don’t play soft,” he leered.

Ce glared at him, and then raised a hand to skillfully brush away the blade from his neck. “Don’t get all excited, Maeda. It’s not like that and you know it. If you want a fight, I’ll give you one right here and now.”

Keiji let out one of his raucous laughs. “Man, as much as I’d like to, I’m pretty sure if Orochi caught us trying to kill each other right now, he’d slaughter us both before it got to the good part. I wanna see how far he can go, so I’ll opt to stay alive right now. Just so you know.” He lowered the pike and then shouldered it, still leering. The threat behind that smirk was obvious. “I got no problem killing you if you turn traitor.”

Ce decided the best response to that was to waste no more words. He humphed and turned stubbornly away, striding off in the opposite direction. It carried him close to where Orochi was overseeing some loose ends of his own, in the company of his demonic strategist Da Ji. The snake-demon’s odd, flanged voice caught Ce’s attention and made him slow down to linger and find out what they were up to. “This castle is defensible,” he was saying tonelessly. “I like it. Have it repaired, we will use it to our advantage.”

“I’ll put some of Tokugawa’s men on it right away, my lord,” Da Ji cooed in her lilting voice. “There’s also the matter of that man with the rifles.”

Orochi turned to her imperiously. “Hm? Bring him to me.”

Ce melted back behind a scaffold to observe. Snake guards brought out Date Masamune from where he had been held and hustled him in front of Orochi, where he promptly dropped to one knee and bowed in a proper kowtow. “Lord Orochi,” he breathed reverently. “Please, let me join you! I’ve seen your power and I want nothing more than…”

“Silence,” Orochi said, almost boredly. “You wish to join me?” 

“He could be valuable,” Da Ji slyly suggested.

Without raising his head, Date blathered on importantly. “It’s my ambition to rule the land, but with Lord Orochi around, I have no chance of ever overcoming him myself. I will lower my flag to him.” He looked up, then, his face intense. “Allow me to join you! Show me the power that has won you so many victories!”

Orochi regarded him for a moment, his head tilted very slightly to one side. “Some of these humans revile me as a demon; others worship me as a god. It is curious. Very well. Perhaps there may be some use for you.” There was a moment's pause, but his expression did not change at all. “Fail me, and I will kill you.”

“Yes, my lord,” Date agreed without hesitation, clenching a fist over his heart. “You can count on me, I won’t let you down. I offer myself and my men, and my expertise with firearms, and everything I know about the other feudal lords of this land.”

Orochi’s back was to Ce, so he couldn’t see the raised eyebrow of interest. “I care little for your information, but your weapons…these interest me. Humans devise such intriguing means of killing each other.”

The weapons interested Ce as well, but not enough to hang around and listen to a diatribe on the usefulness of gunpowder and the advantages of riflemen over archers. He slipped away without being noticed and continued on, needing to clean up and eat and find his warm cloak. Night was falling, and the winter lands were cold. He silently wished for one thing that he might have actually gotten, that wherever they were headed next would be in a warmer region, maybe a summer-land. Anything else above and beyond that was too much for him to reach for right now. If only he had realized that the next time the army was mustered and sent to march, it would be toward Wei, and he would see for himself just how far Orochi’s bid for domination could go. Had he known, he might not have made that wish.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to look up for Gan Ning and Ling Tong, while Sun Ce deals with allies and enemies amongst the Orochi army.

Even while the Orochi army was sweeping toward Edo, things around the Takeda camp remained quiet. The day after Gan Ning met their benefactor and agreed to stay there for a while, Ling Tong finally woke up from his long, fevered sleep. The pavilion was cool and dark, but he still noticed the figure of the man sitting beside him, shoulders hunched, smart mouth silent for once. He heard the stirring of his comrade and turned quickly, breaking into a grin when he saw Tong’s eyes focus on him. “Hey, look who it is,” he said as brightly as he could, though his voice was quiet. “You with me, kid?”

“Why are you always so loud?” Tong groaned, wincing a bit. He raised a hand and weakly rapped his knuckles against the pirate’s muscled arm. “What’s the matter, thought I was going to die?”

“Nah,” Ning assured with a genuine smile. “I was just bored and figured you could use the company.”

“Where are we, anyway?” Tong blinked up at the canvas ceiling. “I don’t remember…aside from a couple flashes, of just people around me.”

“You’ve been passed out for almost three days,” Ning informed him. “I lucked into a military camp. Nobody you know,” he answered before his friend could even ask. “Some guy called Takeda. His army got attacked by the same one that came after us. And that’s all I’m gonna say for now, because the rest is too complicated and you need to be more awake to pay attention.”

Ling Tong didn’t care about the camp right now. His hand grasped for Ning’s arm. “The battle. Our men. What happened?”

Gan Ning gazed at him a moment before deciding to answer. They hadn’t talked about the outcome of the battle at all on their journey, Ling Tong had been too ill from his wounds to even pose the questions. “You didn’t get a chance to see anyone else, did you?”

“No…” Tong’s brow knit in worry. “I was stuck on that path the whole time, surrounded by those snake guys. All my men were killed or driven away back toward the fortress. If you hadn’t come by just then…” He closed his eyes. He hated owing Gan Ning his life, this had to be the fourth or fifth time now.

“What kind of idiot do you take me for?” Ning harrumphed, covering himself with his usual bluster. “It wasn’t luck, dumbass, I was looking for you. You hadn’t reported in, and when Lord Sun Ce returned…by then I was gettin’ kinda worried.”

Tong’s featured lightened a little. “Sun Ce came back in time?”

Conversely, Ning’s face fell. “Came back in time to get defeated,” he grumbled. “It was after me and Zhang Liao got driven back out of the center and they destroyed the bridge. Ce rode back in, but before he could even meet up with the rest of us, one of Orochi’s guys got him.”

Tong’s dark eyes shimmered. “Don’t tell me…they can’t all be dead again…”

“No. Worse.” Gan Ning slumped in defeat. “Captured. Almost everybody. The only one I didn’t see was you, so that was when I rode out looking for you.”

“And Wu?” Tong chewed his lip. “It’s over, isn’t it?”

“What’s left of our people are scattered. Who the hell knows.” Ning shifted to face him directly, his bells suddenly loud in the quiet tent. “What’s happening is a hell of a lot bigger than Wu. For now, you need to rest and heal up so we can go back looking for them. This Takeda is a decent guy, he’s happy to put us up for a little while.”

“But…”

“No buts, Gongji. Shut up and lay down and heal.”

In direct defiance, Ling Tong pushed himself up to a sitting position and immediately had to pause to let the momentary bout of dizziness subside. As his comrade reached for him to make him lay back down, he grabbed those muscled arms and held onto him, resting his forehead against the man’s shoulder. The fighting ended with a heavy sigh. “Xingba,” Tong murmured, “what’s going to happen to us?”

They rarely allowed themselves a moment of sincerity like this, most of their dealings with each other were hidden behind sniping, innuendo, and indirect words. Ning rested his hands on his companion’s flanks, sitting still as a rock for him to cling to as needed, and closed his eyes. “We’re not gonna sit here and feel sorry for ourselves, for one,” he said, firmly but gently. “By the time you’re able to ride again, we should have some information to go on. We’ll worry about it then.”

Tong breathed a long sigh and did not lift his head from where it rested. Ning let him stay like that for as long as he wanted, knowing full well that his comrade was secretly rather kind-hearted and needed to mourn the deaths of his men who had fallen in battle with no one left to bury them properly. After a long while, his head turned slightly and the tip of his nose brushed against the pirate’s neck. “Our lords aren’t dead, though,” he finally realized. “That’s something.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Ning nudged him to get him to sit up, just so he could quickly and surreptitiously pass his lips across the younger man’s forehead before pulling them apart. “I mean it, now, you gotta rest and recover. I won’t have you lazing around in bed for weeks, you better be up and around fast. We got work to do.”

“You can’t order me around, we’re the same rank.” There was just enough humor in Tong’s voice to make the pirate grin. He let himself be laid back down and tucked in. “Make yourself useful and get me some food, would you? I’m starving.”

“Heh! That’s a good sign. But I ain’t your servant.” Gan Ning got up and strode out to look for an actual servant, happy to report to someone that his comrade was awake and looking for sustenance.

The days passed more or less the same, as Ling Tong gradually healed and was able to get out of bed and move around, and finally be filled in on the situation. Everyone in the Wu territory, at least all the officers and family, knew that something unnatural had happened. No one could ignore the flash of purple light, the eerie glow in the sky, the earthquakes, the feel of the whole world turning on its head. They had gathered that whole chunks of provinces had been uprooted and plopped down in what seemed to otherwise be empty land, and finding Sun Jian and Sun Ce, among others, alive once more had been proof that something supernatural had occurred. But they didn’t have the full picture, not until comparing notes with Takeda’s men and learning about Orochi. As the days progressed, they found out even more about this place and the people they mingled with. Apparently they were all currently engrossed in a war amongst themselves much the way the three kingdoms descended from the Han also fought one another, trying to dominate each other and each declaring their own reasons for wanting to unite their peoples which happened to include ruling over the others. At least they had that in common, despite more than a thousand years and an ocean separating these warriors from the men of the Han. Since the first meeting, they saw little of Takeda, though he kept his promise to Gan Ning and allowed him to hear all scout reports that came in. In turn the pirate told them what he could of what he heard about Wu, Shu, and Wei, though all his chats were with Sanada, sometimes with Naoe in tow. Once he was on his feet, Tong took a liking to Sanada as well, and that group of officers learned quite a lot from each other. At last Ning also got his chance to spar against the spearman, and a fair number of soldiers turned out to watch them go at it for an hour before Yukimura finally knocked the pirate sprawling and they declared the match satisfied. After all, no one wanted to be re-injured at this point, not when they had to be ready to ride the minute they heard the information they were waiting for. After the match was over, Ling Tong helped his comrade to his feet and clapped him on the back, definitely laughing over getting to watch him get put in his place. “Yeah, yeah, you’ll get him next time,” he teased while Ning brushed himself off. “Good thing you practice with Lu Meng all the time or he really would have handed your ass to you.”

“Shut up,” Ning drawled. “It’s not like you could have done any better.”

Tong stretched an arm, rotating his shoulder. “Hey, I’m feeling almost back to normal.”

“Yeah, _almost_.” Ning slapped him back and then glanced past him to where Yukimura was accepting a cup of water from Naoe. The two of them were chuckling and chatting much the same as he and Tong, though at the opposite end of the practice ground so they couldn’t hear just what they were saying. “Heh. I wondered if Naoe was watching that.”

Tong followed his gaze. “Oh, yeah, he totally was. I saw him.” He paused, and then added more quietly, “what do you think? You think they’re like us?”

“Hey, hey. None of that, now,” Ning warned. “Not in public.”

“Fine,” Tong grumbled. “It’s still a fair question. I mean, look at them, the way they look at one another. Naoe couldn’t keep his eyes off Sanada when you were fighting.”

“Well, the guy does have some pretty impressive moves,” Ning grudgingly admitted. “Half the camp probably couldn’t keep their eyes off him.” He pushed up his headband briefly in order to wipe the sweat from his brow. “You know who he reminds me of?”

“Who?” Tong wondered, thinking of their own comrade even though he was more proficient with a pike than a spear.

“Zhao Yun. You know, the one Tiger General of Shu.” Ning nodded toward Sanada. “I’ve seen him in battle enough, I oughta know. Their style is a lot alike.”

“Huh.” Tong shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I can kind of see the resemblance.” He laughed suddenly and turned his back to the others. “Oh man, look at them. I’m sure of it, look at the way they smile at each other.”

Ning did his best to steal a glance over Tong’s shoulder without looking like he was doing so. “Man, am I glad you’re not that sappy,” he snorted.

“That’s what you’ve got girls for,” Tong shot back.

“I don’t get sappy with girls, either,” the pirate retorted. “You might, but not me. I’m a lone wolf, man, I love 'em and leave 'em.”

“Shut up,” Tong laughed. “You’re full of it, you know that?”

The cries of a messenger interrupted their joshing. Likewise, Naoe and Sanada turned swiftly to see what the message was about. They were all being called to the officers’ pavilion, including the Wu generals, it sounded urgent. Without hesitation they all dashed off across the camp to obey the summons. Takeda was already in his place to hold court once more, though the other places at his table were empty until the four officers showed up. He indicated that Ling Tong and Gan Ning should sit to his right, while Sanada and Naoe took their places on the left. Hojo Ujimasa showed up last, at which Takeda indicated to his attendant that someone should be shown in. It was several someones, in fact, a collection of scouts who had all returned from their forays across the land. They had all been given a few minutes to rest and take water while waiting for the officers to assemble, but they still looked worn and disheartened as they trooped in and knelt in a line at the far end of the long table. The Wu generals sat up sharply when they saw that one was wearing the uniform of one of their own messengers. He looked up and recognized them, but had to bite back a cry of relief for the sake of politeness. As they settled in to wait to be heard, Azai Nagamasa stepped into the pavilion behind them, taking off his helm with a tired sigh. “My apologies for the interruption, Lord Takeda,” he said wearily. “I had not expected to return so soon.”

“It is not necessary,” Takeda assured. “I am pleased to see you well, Lord Nagamasa. Naoe, scoot over there and let the man sit.”

Naoe eagerly made room for him. “What news, then?” he asked as the handsome blond man lowered himself to a seat beside him. “Is your wife well?”

“Yes, she’s fine. I brought her back with me.” Azai glanced around the table to see who was all there, and nodded his hello to the men of Wu. “My report may be more or less important than that of the other scouts, so with your permission, my lord, I will speak last.”

The scouts made their reports first, then, and they all seemed to have news of some importance. One witnessed the movements of the rearguard of Orochi’s army taking captives to a castle, another had news of smaller territories belonging to various lords being overrun and used by the enemy as bases, still another had seen the main force marching toward Edo Castle. Sanada expressed his worry over whether Tokugawa received their warning in time, but there was nothing for it now – that had been several days ago already. The lone soldier of Wu informed them that he had followed the force that had captured his lords in order to learn what became of them, and it was his news that finally filled the two generals with long-overdue hope. “The army split into many units and took some of them…I don’t know where,” the man admitted. “I was torn between following Lord Sun Ce and Lord Sun Jian, they have been sent in separate directions. I saw Zhou Yu with our lord, so I know they are safe. What’s more, my hesitation allowed me to find more of our scattered forces.” He looked directly at Ling Tong as he said this. “Lord Lu Xun is safe, he is gathering our people and searching for one of our fortresses that has not been taken.”

Gan Ning bowed his head for a moment; Tong rubbed his forehead. “I don’t believe it. Thank goodness…”

“Where is he now?” Ning asked urgently. “Did he send any message with you?”

The scout shook his head. “I have no messages, sir. He was drawing off to the east, in the hopes that either Xia Kou or Xin Di are possibly somewhere near their natural locations. Though nothing is as it should be, and there are foreign-looking castles in between each tract of land.”

“We shall need detailed information on the locations of those tracts of land from all of you, later,” Takeda broke in. “If we are unable to map this new land ourselves, we will have to start with that information and add to it as we explore.”

The Wu scout looked to his officers for confirmation, and Ling Tong nodded. “When you’ve rested up, cooperate fully with Lord Takeda’s request. It’s for the good of us all.”

“Now, then.” Takeda’s masked face turned toward the officer at the far end of the table. “Lord Azai, if you’re ready.”

Azai nodded. “I have two valuable pieces of news, though I know one will not be received well. I can confirm the report that Orochi himself went toward Edo Castle – and it has been sacked,” he said gravely. “Lord Tokugawa was seen within the ranks of the army that returned, along with a young lord of Wu wearing tiger skins and our former ally Maeda Keiji. They are not captives…they are vassals, working for the snake-demon.”

Sanada and Naoe wilted, and even Takeda shook his head slowly. The two Wu generals started up in outrage and had to fight back cries of denial. “They must have been forced into enslavement,” Yukimura growled. “There’s no way a man like Tokugawa would willingly join the side of a demon like Orochi, even if he was defeated.”

“Sun Ce would never willingly serve Orochi either!” Gan Ning snarled, shaking off Ling Tong’s restraining hand. “That can’t be right!”

“I have heard it confirmed from more than one,” Azai said with a sad shake of his head. “Your lord was with the army that sacked the castle, he battled with Tokugawa’s forces.”

The pirate swore and sank back down in a huff. “Maybe Sanada’s right,” Tong said defeatedly. “Maybe he’s being forced…since Orochi has his father.”

“That seems most likely,” Yukimura said, though with a gravity that suggested he understood how the two felt. He turned to Azai. “Was there any sign of Honda?”

“None that reached my ears,” Azai said sadly. “It’s possible he was not there, for I can’t imagine Honda Tadakatsu being defeated.”

“Much that could never had been imagined in our worst nightmares has been coming true, these days,” Takeda mused. “Please tell me you have better news than that, my friend.”

“I’m not sure if it’s better or worse,” Azai frowned. “But you know that I have been searching for the Asakura clan to no avail. On this errand, I myself rode far enough to the west that I saw something as yet unknown to any of our forces. The skies there darken and become as red as blood, and there are great fires and pits of lava. It made me wonder if the origin point of this mingled world is in that region. There are almost no civilians in the surrounding lands, they’ve all fled to greener areas, and more than one told me that further to the west is an enormous castle surrounded by cliffs and volcanic vents.” His eyes darkened. “Orochi’s stronghold.”

A moment of stunned silence passed through the officers. “It sounds like something that bears further investigation,” Takeda mused. “Good work, Lord Nagamasa.”

The rest of the meeting was devoted to piecing together this new information with what they already had to form a coherent picture of the state of affairs in this land of Orochi’s, and determining where and to whom scouts and messengers needed to be sent next. Discussion of sending word to Oda Nobunaga, assuming he was present and could be located, petered out without any decision being made, leaving Gan Ning with the impression that they sort of wanted to see whether this Oda fellow could stand up to Orochi at all or if he would be blown away like the rest of them. The named locations of some of the interim battles, places the snake army had either taken or would eventually take, suggested that the kingdom of Wei was going to be in danger soon if it wasn’t already. Much the same as the others, the Wu generals were in no hurry to request aid or information be sent to Cao Cao, assuming he was the one in charge. In the end, Takeda’s primary plan seemed to be mapping out the lands to know whose strongholds lay where, and keeping the lines of communication open with his known allies. Uesugi’s camp was nearby but not too near, so as to prevent the opposing army from simply wiping them both out at once, and the news about their allies gave Ling Tong the courage to suggest that should need arise, Wu would come to the aid of those who had aided their own. “Although, it’s not really so much Wu itself as it is some of us guys who are from there,” he said regretfully.

“Any offer will not be turned down,” Azai said confidently. “With your lords captured, your only choice is to ally yourselves with whoever stands the best chance at mounting a resistance.”

“To that end,” Takeda said ponderously, making all heads turn back toward him, “I believe it is better to spread out than to cluster, in this uncertain time. Orochi has the advantage; not in strength as much as in numbers, and he created this world so he knows its layout. That is not to say that he’s invincible, merely that we need to gain footing before we can strike back.” His masked face regarded the two men of Wu, who sat close enough to see his keen eyes peering from behind it. “Your plans have always been to depart in search of your people when you were ready. I like this idea. You have word of one of your comrades already, the only way to find more is to look.” He then passed that same wise stare around the table. “Uniting many of our forces together so far has only placed more men in line to be cut down at the same time. Instead, we should fan out across the land and offer our aid – such as it is – to anyone we find who is trying to stand their ground and hold out against Orochi’s army. Remnants of the fallen kingdoms may be returning to their strongholds hoping that if anyone is looking for them, they will be found there. I think it would be wisest to encourage them to do so. I would rather give Orochi a thousand tiny pockets of resistance to deal with than one immense force he can wipe out with all his focused strength.”

“And there are villagers, peasants, out there as well,” Naoe said solemnly. “My heart aches to think of how many of them are wandering leaderless, just sitting targets for Orochi’s army to crush at their leisure. They need protection.”

“And we will need them,” Takeda agreed. “Even if this is not our world, none of us will last very long if we don’t have farmers growing wheat and rice. They’re out there, we simply have to find them, tend their wounds, and give them safe land to farm so that they, and we, can eat.”

Azai nodded at Naoe. “The poor civilian folks, they didn’t ask for any of this. Orochi uprooted them along with us, probably for cruel and evil reasons. We can turn it to good.”

It was settled, then. As much as Gan Ning and Ling Tong wanted to grab horses and ride immediately for Hefei or Jiangdong or anywhere that looked remotely Wu-like, they knew their benefactor was right and they needed preparation first. The information coming in was providing nowhere near a complete picture of the mingled lands of the two nations, but it was getting there, and they knew more than they did a week or two ago. Once the meeting was over, the two of them took their long-lost scout aside and made sure he was given enough to eat and any medical treatment necessary, and chatted more personally with him about the fall of Wu and the information he had on Sun Ce and Lu Xun. Meeting up with the officers had clearly been a blessing to the poor scout as well, he was more than relieved to see them again and almost burst into tears at their kindness. Ling Tong promised he wouldn’t have to set out again right away, but could rest and then ride with them to search for Lu Xun. That seemed to be their first goal, anyway. The young strategist would benefit from the knowledge they had gleaned from their time in Takeda’s camp, and in turn would have the ideas they needed in order to reunite their lost kingdom and rescue their stolen lords.

That evening, the two generals were invited to eat with the other officers in private, a chance to share a meal in solidarity before all of them would likely be scattered to the winds. Azai had been gone for a while, so it was good to see him again, particularly since he brought with them his tiny and graceful wife Oichi. The couple agreed to join Sanada, Naoe, and the two men of Wu for this dinner, where there seemed to be no sign of supplies running low at all. The three clan leaders had shed their armor and sat around in subtly ornate tunics and kimono of silk, and Tong had made his pirate companion leave his bells behind with his weapon so as not to annoy their hosts. He couldn’t do anything for Ning’s manners, though, which were an interesting contrast to the excessively noble and polite bearing of the others, particularly Naoe and Azai. At least Gan Ning had spent long enough in the Sun family’s court to have picked up a few social cues, so he didn’t completely embarrass himself. Sanada found him entertaining, at least. Without his armor and gloves, he fit his role as a lord of his own house rather well, a handsome man in a white tunic and cloud-gray silk pants with embroidered patterns in white, yet he was equally comfortable chatting with the pirate as with his noble companions. “I’m tellin’ ya,” Ning was insisting over his latest cup of wine, “there’s a guy from Shu who could be your twin. Swings a spear just the same as you. I was having flashbacks the whole time we were fighting.”

“You’re kidding,” Yukimura laughed. “But I’ll keep an eye out anyway, just in case I run into this twin spearman. What’s his name?”

“Zhao Yun. Remember that, because when you _do_ see it for yourself, you’re gonna come back and say ‘yep, Gan Ning told me so.’ I should make a bet with you over that.”

“No, that’s all right, I’ll take your word for it,” Sanada smiled. “You’re not too bad yourself, Gan Ning. You move like a ninja sometimes.”

“Ninja?” the pirate questioned, with an eyebrow arched in doubt.

“Oh, did you spar? And I missed it,” Azai sighed. “What a shame! I wanted to see how ancient warriors could stand up against our own.”

“For the last time, I’m not ancient,” Ning complained. “I’m not any older than any of you – except Tong, here. And maybe the Lady Oichi,” he added with a grin toward the woman. She smiled demurely back to take it as a compliment.

“You’re old enough,” Tong teased him. “And if you keep drinking like that, you’re going to get a gut like Zhang Fei.” 

“Believe me, Nagamasa, it was an impressive fight,” Naoe assured. “They went back and forth for over an hour with no clear winner.”

“Oh? Now I’m really disappointed I missed it.” Azai beamed toward the pirate. “Perhaps I’ll get to see you on the battlefield instead, where you don’t have to hold back.”

Ning pointed at him with one of the fingers holding his sake cup. “I like the cut of your sail, Azai. Maybe you just might get that chance.”

Tong looked regretfully down at his empty plate; it was a sign that he was still recovering strength that he had eaten everything down to the last grain of rice and wished for more. “Thanks for dinner,” he said sincerely to Sanada. “It sure beat crowding in the mess lines with the enlisted soldiers.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Yukimura said kindly. “It isn’t the kind of feast we would get if we were in our own halls, this is still a military camp with rations. I figured it was the least we could do, since we’ll soon be splitting up on separate missions.” He nodded toward his companions. “Naoe and Azai will have to return to Lord Uesugi and Lord Oda, soon enough, as well.”

“This Oda guy,” Gan Ning chimed in with a nod toward Azai. “What’s he like? You guys talked a long time about him and whether or not he can stand up to Orochi.”

The blond general set down his wine cup and lowered his gaze slightly. “Many call him the ‘Demon King.’ He is powerful enough to have earned such a name, but also shrewd and careful. Yet, he is ruthless in battle.” His eyes shifted sidelong to his wife very briefly. “He is my feudal lord by marriage, but as head of my clan I choose my alliances to others to pursue honor. Much like you said things can sometimes be among your kingdoms, one day I sit at table and drink with these fine men, the next day I may face them on the battlefield as foes.”

“Right now, we are all going to have to ally to fight a common foe in Orochi,” Naoe warned. “Putting differences aside like Lord Shingen and Lord Kenshin will be our only key to victory.”

“If that means putting aside our dislike of Cao Cao and fighting alongside him,” Ning said to Ling Tong, “thanks but no thanks. I’m still suspicious of the reason why he sent Zhang Liao to Wu.”

“Who knows,” Tong said airily. “I like the wait-and-see attitude best. We’re not all dead yet, so there’s still hope that something can be done.”

“I’m sorry you had to get the news about Lord Sun Ce this way,” Nagamasa murmured. “I could hardly believe my own eyes to see Tokugawa and Lady Ina riding with the army. Yet somehow, I’m not entirely surprised by Date.”

“That fool,” Sanada grumbled under his breath. “He’ll come to regret that decision.”

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Tong said. “Why don’t we talk about something other than Orochi for a night? Anybody know any good jokes?”

The others glanced at each other, and smiles slowly began to return to their faces. “You’re right,” Naoe said brightly. “I say we pass this bottle of sake between us and toast each other’s health and good fortune until there’s none left.”

“What, sake or good fortune?” Ning snorted.

  


The second day after their last dinner together, the generals of Wu were given fresh horses from Takeda’s own cavalry and enough supplies to last them until they could reach another stronghold that might have storehouses, and reluctantly bid farewell to the honorable lords who had sheltered them. The messenger would be departing with them on foot, for they decided to trade the little warhorse that had saved them from pursuit at Hefei to Takeda. She would make a good addition to his cavalry, even Naoe (who considered himself a good judge of horses) agreed. As they mounted up, Sanada came to them and held up a small gourd-shaped bottle of sake to Gan Ning. “Try not to use it up before you can find your friends,” he said wryly. “I’m sure they could use it as much as you.”

Ning snatched it up and grinned at Sanada before hooking the bottle to his belt. “Don’t you worry one bit, Sanada, I know just how a thing like this is gonna be best used.”

“Send word if you can, if you learn anything of use,” Naoe implored Ling Tong. “Now that you know the way here, messages can be sent more easily.”

“Right,” Tong nodded. “We’ll do what we can to encourage the resistance. We can’t be the only ones who want to take Orochi down and free our friends. The more, the merrier.”

“Safe travels,” Sanada wished them, bowing in the custom of his people. The two generals nodded their acknowledgment and gave their horses a nudge to start out on what could be a long journey. They had said more formal farewells to Takeda earlier, and everything else had been taken care of. The messenger shouldered his own pack and trotted off after them, keeping pace with only a little effort.

Ling Tong took control of the makeshift map they had been granted upon leaving, with the known territories sketched on it in a general sense of where they lay in relation to one another. It wasn’t that Gan Ning couldn’t read a map, he simply didn’t trust the pirate not to lose it. The one thing the growing resistance currently lacked was an idea of size and distance, so they carefully rationed their strength and their supplies in the chance that these territories were far more vast than expected. Because his clothing had been ripped to shreds by battle and first aid, Tong had been gifted some nice new clothes, silk shirt and pants in a rich green embroidered with red and gold. Ning was content with a fresh horse and a bottle of wine, since he had suffered little other loss in the battle and escape. They rode at a comfortable pace so as not to wear out their mounts or the messenger following them, which stretched out the length of the journey but ensured that they would be ready for anything that might cross their path. For the first two days they saw no sign of war or enemies, which they counted as a good thing, because it meant Orochi’s forces had not yet sniffed out where the Takeda army had made its encampment to recover and gather scattered peasants to them. On the third day they finally started to run into refugees fleeing in all directions, none of them sure where a safe place might exist, and by the end of the day they encountered the first far-flung outriders of the storm that was Orochi’s demon army, a few snake-warriors traveling in small packs as though they had been left behind or sent on small missions. Gan Ning rode all of them down and slew them without hesitation, even after Ling Tong pleaded with him to leave at least one alive so they could interrogate them. Ning’s anger was still hot, though, and the sight of the gray-skinned troops loping across the empty countryside on foot drove him to want to obliterate them from fair-seeming lands. Finally, on the fourth day, as they came out of some unfamiliar hills and sighted a patch of land ahead of them that looked to be draped in the shades of gold and orange of autumn, Tong got the upper hand in the argument and convinced his comrade to capture any Orochi forces they came across in the hopes of questioning them as to the whereabouts of their leaders, their people, or anything else of value. They had tasked their messenger with leading the peasants that were starting to group up around them, because a large group of people on foot not only would slow them but would attract too much attention, and the generals were in a hurry. The slow change of the parcels of land toward something more like home, with fallen leaves tinting the ground brown and red, encouraged them that they might be on the right track, and that only made them want to ride faster. Leaving the peasants under the supervision of their messenger, who knew the way ahead, they spurred their horses and spent the next two days charging across the land.

The rivers which may have been once part of their homelands, or Wei’s, or Shu’s, or from the country of the warriors from the future era, had all been disrupted by the rending and remaking of this new world, so that they all traveled more or less in uncertain, winding channels that fed into each other and may or may not have actually reached the sea anymore. They led somewhere, though, which meant following them was not necessarily a foolish idea. Everywhere there were still signs of the upheaval, cracks in the ground through which slow-smoldering coals still glowed, rifts of lava bubbling just under the surface but no longer flowing, buildings pushed up from their foundations by eruptions or sitting teetering on the edge of cliffs that had been ripped up from somewhere and plopped unceremoniously down in the middle of nowhere. It made even the sketchy map hardly reliable, though Tong took notes on anything of great importance that they found. Whatever this world was, there was still a sun by day and stars by night, and a moon that looked to be going through its phases like normal. That was how they navigated their way toward the last known whereabouts of the territory of Changban, which was supposed to have wide rivers flowing through it and a huge lake wherein boats once ferried the people of Shu to safety. Gan Ning had some vague memory of the pursuit of Liu Bei across these fields, but like many things since the great change in the world, it was difficult to tell what was real and what might have been but a dream. He was just glad to see something recognizable at last, after riding for so many days through lands belonging to some other place. They slowed their horses and approached it cautiously, heading down out of the hills and trees towards the water. Here, like other parts of the countryside, some of the outbuildings had been rendered uninhabitable by the twisting and bucking of the land, and a huge temple that had been uprooted from the gods only know where had been dumped into what used to be an open field, where it sat in a pool of molten earth that looked dangerous to tread on. Even the horses gave it a wide berth. But as they crossed a bridge they finally saw something to raise their hopes beyond measure – there was a small garrison ahead, a mere collection of outbuildings, and there was smoke rising up out of the center. Not the smoke of destruction, no, it was very clearly the light woodsmoke of a cooking fire. Before the two generals could even rush to see who might be there, scouts popped out of the weeds near the path and cried for them to halt with spears pointing. They were Wu soldiers, and as one fell back in surprise when they saw who the intruders were. One instantly cried, “Send word to Lord Lu Xun! It’s Ling Tong and Gan Ning!”

Mere minutes later they were dismounting in the center of a fair-sized camp and turning to meet the lithe young man rushing towards them. Lu Xun cried their names and then screeched to a halt, remembering his manners at the last second and bowing instead, fist clasped before him. “It’s good to see you,” he said with as much restraint as he could. “I never expected…”

Ning strode forward and dispensed with all that decorum, grabbing his shoulders in powerful hands and shaking him a little. “Come on!” he implored. “Is that any way to treat your long-lost pals?”

Tong likewise just raised a hand casually. “Hey. You’re looking pretty alive, Boyan.”

Lu Xun was far more comfortable with the younger lord than the pirate, and turned happily toward him. “And what about you two? I thought…but the reports from the battlefield were vague. I know you were there, but no one knew what happened to you…!”

Tong clasped his hand to reassure him they were alive and well. “Yeah, I know, there’s a lot we have to catch up on. We’ve got a lot of information for you, too. But there’s a little something we have to take care of, first.”

Lu Xun looked from one to the other. “Oh?”

Ning thumbed vaguely over his shoulder. “We’ve been pickin’ up strays all along the way here. They’re probably a day behind us by now, but there’s a messenger leading them here. You got a place to put people up?”

The young strategist looked around uncertainly, sharing glances with some of his men clustering around them. “Not here in the garrisons, that’s for sure. This outpost is defensible but it’s not a good place for civilians. Maybe back up along the paths to the northwest.” He turned and put on his authoritative mantle for a moment. “I need three men. Fresh, rested, and good at scouting. We need to find a location near here to place an encampment of peasants and refugees. Close enough to defend them, but not so close that they get caught up in the battle in case we are attacked here.”

Though some among Wu were not used to Lu Xun being a general of some importance, thanks to intermingling timelines, his handling of the current situation had already endeared him to them enough that five scouts jumped up at once without hesitation. They hemmed and hawed and chose the three fastest among them, who set out instantly to obey. Gan Ning nodded his approval. “Looks like you’ve got things pretty well in hand, here. Not bad.”

“I’ve done the best with what I have,” Xun said modestly. “Come, now, you must have been riding for ages. I don’t have much more than a few straw pallets on the floor inside the garrison, but we have fresh water and food should be ready shortly. Rest, and then we can talk about everything we’ve missed.”

Other soldiers came and took the cavalry horses to see that they were watered and rubbed down after their journey. Ling Tong collected what supplies they had left and sorted their own stuff from the food and water before adding the latter to what the Wu forces had already managed to gather and store inside the garrison. The cries of water birds made Ning look up and squint into the late-day sun. “Looks like I might be able to get some fishing in,” he mused, “after we get settled. Good way to add to our rations.”

Tong clapped him on the shoulder and guided him indoors. “Worry about that later. Come on, I want to take a load off.”

The small collection of ramshackle stucco huts near the water’s edge were serving for an encampment at the moment. There truly wasn’t much to it, but it was better than nothing, and the hastily-built garrison had been there just long enough to get things set up in an approximation of a true military camp. As they sat around and refreshed themselves with plain, cool water, the two newcomers got the quick report from Lu Xun. He had managed to scrape together a couple hundred Wu soldiers, some who had fled or been driven from Hefei, others who had been already roaming lost in the surrounding lands and needed a leader. They all still had their armor and weapons, thankfully, for there was nothing waiting at Changban for them. The small patch of autumn-colored territory had been empty when they came upon it, no forces from any army or kingdom had laid claim to it yet, so Xun decided to set up shop there, temporarily if nothing else. “There was no other choice,” he admitted. “Hefei is swarming with snakes, I haven’t yet found our Wu stronghold at Xin Di castle yet, and many other places are too dangerous or lack supplies. We raided all the buildings and chanced that strange temple up the hill, and brought everything down here to the docks to form a garrison.” He paused, and looked back and forth between the other two with softening eyes, biting his lip. “I thank the gods that a message found its way to you. I didn’t know who was alive or dead, captured or free. I was starting to think I was the only one left.”

Ling Tong lounged on the floor with his long legs stretched out before him; Gan Ning was perched in a rickety chair which he had turned backwards so he could lean on the back. “We don’t know if anyone’s dead,” the former said, shaking his head. “But a few have been captured. Have you heard _any_ thing?”

Lu Xun also shook his head. “Very little. I know that Lord Sun Jian was captured by the snake army, with Lord Zhou Yu. Aside from that, I’m in the dark.”

“Better wait until there’s food,” Ning said darkly. “News like what we’ve got is best shared on a full stomach.”

They didn’t have long to wait. A foot soldier brought them the captains’ share of their rationed dinner, since they were all generals of Wu and were naturally accorded slightly better than the enlisted man’s fare. That didn’t stop Ning from complaining and reiterating that if he had time, he’d get some of the men to fish off the docks so they could add some good, fresh protein to their diet. At last, he brought forth the bottle of sake gifted to him by Sanada Yukimura, and the three split it between them while they shared every last noteworthy detail. Lu Xun was of course stricken to hear that so many of their comrades had been captured, and that Sun Ce had been forced into the Orochi army, but he swallowed his reaction and focused on the crucial information as a strategist should. There was a lot to be learned about the nature of this new world and the identity and goals of their conqueror, much of which he needed to assimilate so he could better array their forces and prepare Changban in case of attack. He was very intrigued by the tales of Takeda and his army, but filed that away for later. Of more interest to him was the confirmation of their theories about this world, the resurrected dead and the nature of their common foe. “Then, if we’re fighting against a demon in the true sense of the word,” he mused, “pure strength won’t be enough. We have to be smart, and think quickly. This Takeda must be a great strategist himself, to already know that we stand a better chance divided among small forces rather than gathered together.”

“He did strike me as a pretty smart guy,” Tong admitted. “So you know, Boyan, with Lord Zhou Yu captured and Lu Meng missing, that means you’re the head strategist of Wu. It’s all on you, man.”

The young, fair-faced Xun clenched his jaw and then nodded bravely. “I will do my best. At least I have you two, now, to stand with me.”

“Damn right,” Ning agreed, leaning over to pour him some more sake.

“We’ll get through this somehow,” Tong said encouragingly. “We just have to take it one day at a time. Big plans, like rescuing Ce and our lords can wait. First thing’s first…”

“…we have to rebuild our forces, strengthen them and protect the peasants,” Xun finished for him. “We will look after ourselves for the time being. We’ll know when the time is right to strike back at Orochi.” He smiled across at the pirate. “And yes, you can do all the fishing you want. I would welcome some fresh roasted fish with my rations.” He took a sip of the wine and mulled something else over for a moment. “If we get the chance, though, I would like to meet these warriors of Wa that you fell in with. They sound interesting.”

“Something tells me before all of this is over, you’re gonna get that chance,” Gan Ning said warily. “There’s a bunch more out there, too, and we know Wei’s forces are off somewhere. This mess is likely to just get messier before anyone can start talking serious about taking Orochi down.”

Lu Xun gazed into the clear sake in his cup, shimmering with the late-day sun. “Well, I for one believe in Lord Sun Ce, and all our lords,” he said seriously. “Even if circumstance is forcing them to fight on the wrong side for now, it won’t be that way forever. We’ll rescue them, even if it means having to kill them to save them.”

“Hey, now,” Tong broke in. “Let’s not get crazy, all right? It shouldn’t come to that.”

“It shouldn’t, but…” Xun turned his gentle eyes on his comrade. “If you were Lord Sun Ce, wouldn’t you beg for someone to release you from that kind of torture? He will give his all, I know it, but he would rather fall at the hand of someone he trusts.”

“Yeah, well if _I’m_ the first one to see him,” Ning grumbled, “I’m gonna whip his hide so hard he won’t be able to sit down for a week. If he’s got the balls to face me on the battlefield, I’ll make him work for the privilege. I ain’t going easy on him for a second.”

“You know he’d want it that way,” Tong sighed. “He’d be disappointed if any of us went easy on him.”

“In the meantime, we have to prepare for anything that may come our way,” Xun reminded them. “Our own lords aren’t the only ones in this army. With Zhuge Liang directing their strategy, it’s going to take everything we’ve got just to stay alive for now. I want to concentrate on that first, and worry about Lord Sun Ce later. He can look after himself for the time being.”

The young strategist did not know how true his words really were, even as he spoke them. The main Orochi army which had sacked Edo returned to one of the encampments in a central region of the patchwork lands. It was no mere outpost, they were enjoying the luxuries of Bai Di Castle now that Orochi had claimed it for his own. It was several days’ march from their last battle, but by the time they reached it, wounds were healed and the newly conscripted men of Mikawa had been given back their weapons and placed under orders. It was with nervous desperation that Sun Ce approached the castle hoping that his captive family might be stationed there, but his hopes were quickly dashed. Only his brother and sister were there, the others had been taken away to be hidden at a different stronghold. He was clearly disappointed, but still glad to see his siblings and accepted Shangxiang’s warm welcome back with a tired smile. She read his expression correctly and shook her head. “No news,” she murmured so unfriendly ears wouldn’t hear.

“It’s all right,” Ce assured. “I have you guys, that’s enough for now. As long as you’re all right.”

“We’re fine,” Quan said gruffly. “Don’t worry about us.”

“You can tell me that all you want, and I’m still going to,” Ce said with a dry laugh. “At least you two weren’t sent out on missions while I was gone. Oh – sister. Here, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

He guided Shangxiang over to where the new recruits were coming up, and introduced her to Lady Ina. The girls nodded politely to one another, and then moved off together to do as women would and get to know each other on their own terms. Tokugawa came up next, and Ce gladly introduced his brother, since it was likely they would all be captaining on battlefields together for a while. Quan had been left with the duty of securing officers’ quarters in the castle, so he knew a good place to set up the respected warlord and departed to show him around. That left Ce alone again, and he just stood and sighed wearily, rubbing the back of his neck. Every moment he wasn’t busy doing something lordly, his thoughts and worries came crowding back into his head, and he was getting tired of it. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything he needed to do, everything he had to watch for, to the point that he almost wished for constant distraction or companionship of any kind just to keep his mind from wandering. As if to answer his inner wishes, Maeda wandered up from where he had taken his horse to be stabled, walking casually with his pike over his shoulders, his arms stretched out along the length of the shaft. His gaze was directed off in a different direction, though, and Ce followed it to see that he was watching where Shangxiang and Ina were chatting in a rather courtly manner. “Hey,” the big warrior said as he approached, “who’s the other girl? I saw you pass the princess off to her. You know her or something?”

Ce glanced at him. As much as he was unsure about Maeda Keiji, he really didn’t mind the distraction right now. “Of course I know her. That’s my younger sister, Shangxiang,” he replied.

“Oh yeah?” Keiji lowered his pike into a relaxed stance and ribbed him with an elbow. “Your sister’s kinda hot.”

The end of one tonfa was under his nose before he could even blink. “My _sister_ is married to Liu Bei, lord of Shu,” Ce seethed through clenched teeth. “And if you don’t take your eyes off of her right now, I don’t care what Orochi does to me, I’ll pound you flat.”

“Whoa, whoa, easy there, tiger cub,” Keiji said lazily, waving a hand. He didn’t move until that tonfa had eased away from his face. “All right, fine, geez. I get it, she’s married, hands off. You don’t have to tell me twice.” He huffed and swept a hand along his wild, shaggy bangs. “Man, this sucks. The only women around here are all taken. _Your_ wife, your retainer’s wife, married sisters…well, there’s Ina, but that’s even more dangerous. If she doesn’t take my balls off for even daring, her father will.”

Ce eyed him with contempt. “We’re in the middle of a war and all you can think about is women?”

“It’s not the only thing,” Keiji insisted. “Not even the first thing. It’s just, you get back to camp here, and a man wouldn’t mind a pretty face to take his mind off things, you know?” He gave a derisive laugh, then. “At least I’m not as bad as _that_ guy.”

Sun Ce almost asked “what guy” when he realized the big warrior was gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder to a commotion making its way up into the castle. He craned his neck to look past Keiji and felt his heart sink into his toes like a stone weight. There was no mistaking that odious form, that disgustingly hairy beard and beady eyes, that raucous laugh. As much as he knew that man should be dead, it didn’t take him by surprise in this world anymore. He folded his arms over his chest and breathed a long, disgusted sigh. “What is _he_ doing here?” he grumbled.

Keiji glanced at him and grinned. “Oh, I see you’re acquainted. Then I don’t need to explain anything, huh?” He snorted a bit himself. “I don’t see how the guy can even lift a sword but he knows how to raise an army. From what I heard, he came straight to Orochi right after this world stopped shaking and pledged himself to his service.”

They remained standing to the side of the avenue while the little procession came on with Dong Zhuo at its head, looking rather proud of himself for some unknown reason. But the instant he could stop being disgusted with the warlord’s presence, Ce’s eye was drawn to the very obvious and very familiar feathered tails standing up a head taller than everyone else around them. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he couldn’t help it as a jolt passed through him. “No,” he breathed. “Not him, too…”

Keiji’s attention had been arrested by that figure as well; he stood rigid, rapt, his eyes keenly trained on the face coming into view. “Who’s he?” he asked with all the awe and interest of someone who had either fallen in love or in deep loathing, maybe both.

“Lu Bu,” Ce replied under his breath. “He was one of the strongest warriors in the land…men would hear rumor of his name on the battlefield and drop their weapons and run, they were that scared of him.”

“Really…” There was no mistaking the bloodthirsty eagerness in Keiji’s tone now. “Sounds like my kinda guy. What happened to him?”

“A couple of years ago as I remember it, he turned on Dong Zhuo and murdered him,” Ce reported, his face hardening. “My father and some of the other lords went with Yuan Shao to put him down before he could raise his own army and conquer the land. Cao Cao eventually got him, and executed him.”

“Oh, I get it,” Keiji mused. “Another one of those guys who’s supposed to be dead but probably got brought here from an earlier time. So that means he’s probably in his prime and everything.” He grinned recklessly. “Excellent.”

“I had no idea he’d be resurrected like this,” Ce breathed, even more quietly as the group drew close. He could now recognize all of Dong Zhuo’s usual retainers and hangers-on, as well as the huge Lu Bu and the diminutive woman close to his side. “Figures that he’d fall in with the old crowd, though. I wonder what Dong Zhuo offered him in order to get him to fight for Orochi?”

“Probably the same thing that drew me,” Keiji said heavily. As he watched, Lu Bu turned his head toward them and seemed to spot them, for his lip curled in a sneer. No one else seemed to notice the look that passed between them, and Ce glared even though he wasn’t positive the mighty warrior had actually recognized him. When the whole throng had passed, Keiji rubbed his knuckles excitedly. “Things are really starting to get interesting around here.”

Ce stood silent to digest this new development. Lu Bu certainly hadn’t been captured, he was entering the camp under his own power and in the wake of one of Orochi’s allies – and his own. That meant he was coming to fight for Orochi willingly. That did not spell good news for the fledgling resistance. But there was little the princeling of Wu could do in his position, besides steer clear of this old foe. Keiji might have been smart enough not to start fights anywhere that Orochi could catch them at it, but there was no guarantee Lu Bu would do the same. After a long, pensive silence, Ce reached out a hand and rapped Keiji across the arm with it. “By the way,” he said with a tiny touch of smugness, “you’d better not lay eyes on _his_ wife, either. Lu Bu’s definitely the jealous type.”

“What, you mean…?” Keiji gestured to the small, willowy dancer walking alongside the big warrior like a jeweled ornament and gaped. “That girl? With _him?_ Damn! See? Like I said, _every_ girl is off-limits around here!” He threw up a hand in disgust and blustered off elsewhere, still cursing under his breath. Ce smirked to himself; at least, there was one small thing he could be amused about.

The humans conscripted into the army kept to themselves and maintained the sort of regal comforts they were used to, seeing as they were being housed in one of their own castles. While it wasn’t really a victory feast, the formal dinner held that evening was courtly enough for anyone’s tastes, and neither Orochi nor Da Ji were anywhere in the vicinity. No one wanted to know whether demons from a mystic realm feasted like normal humans anyway. Yet, the mood was tense, with obvious deflections of sticky topics and a general unwillingness to socialize. The Sun brothers did their best to get to know Tokugawa without bringing up the means behind his being there, and tried studiously hard to ignore the fact that they were sitting at the same feast table as Lu Bu. Had Zhuge Liang been at this fortress also, the commingled animosity between factions would have been nothing short of a powder keg. Fortunately, he seemed to be stationed elsewhere, preparing other branches of the Orochi army for further conquests. When he had had his fill of awkwardness and monitoring Keiji for any signs of trying to hit on his sister, Sun Ce excused himself and sequestered away in his quarters, alone. None of Orochi’s lieutenants would tell him where they had sent his wife, but at least she was part of the fighting forces and not a captive. His heart already misgave him over the captivity of his father and closest comrades, he couldn’t have taken it if they also had Daqiao to use against him. Ce threw himself fully clothed onto his bedroll and lay staring at the ceiling for a long time, trying to clear his head to no avail. He had so many questions with no way of reaching the answers, and no one to help him strategize. Zhou Yu was probably being held far away, and he didn’t know what had become of either Lu Meng or young Lu Xun. Zhuge Liang was, for all intents and purposes, Orochi’s puppet and not to be trusted. He heard Keiji mention another strategist over dinner, someone he knew from his country, but seeing as it was no one he knew, Ce had already forgotten the man’s name. He could only really trust his brother and sister, but getting a few moments alone with either of them to talk seriously was next to impossible. He was stuck, and would be for the foreseeable future.

Frustrated, Ce sat up sharply with a huff and made to get up and pace off some of his excess energy, but before he could even get to his feet, he sensed movement at the window and lunged to grab his tonfa. He came up in a crouch with the pair of weapons crossed before him to block, wary of an assassin’s blow, but there was no one there. The window had been opened, and a light breeze filtered through it, but that was it. A wary frown crossed the young prince’s face. “Who’s there?” he called out. “Show yourself.”

The shadow of night framed in the window’s space resolved itself into a person, as a lithe, dark-clad figure slipped in and alighted almost silently just inside the room. Only the light clink of a chain coiled at his side sounded as proof that it was a real person and not more demonic mysticism. The ninja’s eyes peered keenly from between mask and helm, and his voice came muffled from behind his disguise. “You should not let down your guard, even here,” he intoned.

Ce’s shoulders relaxed only slightly. “Hattori,” he realized. “What are you doing, sneaking into my room like this?”

Hanzo raised both gloved hands in a gesture of parley. “I have been sent by my lord.”

Instantly, Ce lowered his tonfa and rose to his full height. “Tokugawa sent you? What about?”

The ninja raised a finger in warning to hold him off, and quickly stole to the door and any oblique corners of the room to check for surveillance. There wasn’t even a guard in the corridor outside, so once he was satisfied that they wouldn’t be overheard, he returned and strode right up to Sun Ce, almost too close. He spoke in the same low tone that didn’t carry beyond the confidence of his target. “I have information for you.”

Ce stared him down, wrinkling his nose a little at the invasion of his personal space. “What kind of information?”

“Your allies.”

Ce recoiled in surprise. “What? How did you…no, no, I don’t care,” he said quickly. “Just tell me what you know.” As a show of further trust and eagerness, he set the pair of tonfa aside.

Hanzo waited for his attention before continuing. While the others had been enjoying their courtly meal together, he had been scouting around the camp for any and all information that might be pertinent to Tokugawa’s interests, regardless of whatever else he heard in the process. “Two sisters, very much alike, were sent with Zhuge Liang on his mission. Three Wu generals are being held at different locations, none of which I believe are Lord Sun Jian. He is far from here, that much is clear. None of the hostages are in this fortress, and they may be moved if suspicion is raised.”

Breathing a quick sigh of relief, Ce mustered his courage and leaned in close to hear more. “Three generals. Did you get their names or where they are?”

Hanzo shook his head once, curtly. “You will find out when Orochi wants you to know,” he said darkly.

“Yeah, I don’t doubt that one bit,” the Wu prince grumbled. “You said Tokugawa sent you with this. How did you gather all this information? And what does he want from me in turn?”

Hattori blinked and decided to answer the first question first. “I’m a ninja,” he said simply. “This is my job.”

“Hey. It’s not like I know what a ninja is or does,” Ce complained. “I’m not from your time, remember?”

Hanzo’s eyes closed for a moment. “My lord only extends his hand in alliance,” he said to answer the other query. “He has to protect the men of Mikawa the way you protect your family. Neither will remain captive forever.”

For a long moment, Sun Ce gazed at the ninja, thinking. He had been the one to defeat Hanzo in the keep at Edo, and part of the downfall of Tokugawa. For secret messages to be passed so soon after their return was either a miracle or a trap. “So why me?” he wondered sincerely. “Why come to me with this information, and the request, instead of my brother who is much more suited to strategizing than I am? Or why not Maeda, who’s from your world?”

At such close distance, he could clearly see the twist of a frown beneath the ninja’s concealing face mask. “Maeda Keiji is not our ally. As for the rest…” Hanzo’s eyes closed again. “I cannot say. It is my lord’s order and I follow it.”

Ce breathed another long sigh, running his hand through his loose bangs. “Fine. I’m not pushing away this chance, don’t get me wrong. I want to find my father and free my friends. I know Zhou Yu is one of them…and since Zhou Tai is at my brother’s side as usual, I don’t know for sure who the others are. But I’ll protect them too, just the same. You can tell Tokugawa that his offer is accepted,” he said sternly. “And I’m grateful. Just don’t startle me like that or next time I might beat your head in before I realize who it is.”

Hanzo looked at him, eyes narrowed, and then looked sharply away. Ce noticed and remembered something he had heard the ninja murmur on their way back from Edo Castle. “Hey,” he said, more gently, “I was kidding. You’re a tough fighter, you could probably kill me in my sleep before anyone would notice.”

“You showed me my weakness,” Hattori said in turn. “I must be ready, because next time it will be Orochi himself.”

Ce nodded slowly. The fact that none of them had been killed outright was suspicious, but not hopeful. They were all the snake-demon’s playthings, and if they wanted to stay alive, they had to abide by his rules until the game board could be changed. He bowed slightly to Hanzo to show his gratitude. “Whatever I can offer in turn, consider it done.”

Hanzo nodded briskly, and with a quick leap was back on the window sill. Before Ce could even blink he was gone. The young prince clapped his hands to his head and sank back down onto the bedding, this time in pure relief. It wasn’t much information, but it was more than he had before. And now, a burgeoning alliance with Tokugawa. If his ninja bodyguard was such a talented spy, and could dig up things no one else could…it was a tiny ray of hope, no more than the glimmer of a candle in a distant window but it was _something_. He and Quan could have plied their usual routes for months, even years, and not gotten so much as a whisper on the whereabouts of their people. _Only three…that’s better than I expected._ The others might still be out there. Ce flopped back onto his back, heaving a quiet laugh. He preferred to believe that, rather than assume them all dead. Three, he could manage to rescue. Three captives, and his father, and the others would be able to escape with him. That didn’t seem so difficult after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orochi moves against Wei on two fronts, and then Oda Nobunaga.

A handful of horses plodded slowly up the mountainside trail, their hooves clattering on the loose stones of the path. The small cadre of soldiers following in their wake made even less sound as they went, speaking no words at the order of their leader and keeping pace with the mounted captains without so much as a sigh. The darkness enveloping them hid them mostly from prying eyes, but they could not completely stifle the sound of their passage, the rattle of a horseshoe on scree or creak of leather. The scouts ahead and behind were alert for trouble, but they were used to foes who made almost as much noise as they even when lying in ambush. None of them heard the blade until after it had already robbed them of their lives. The infantry escort barely had time to recoil in surprise when the warrior was suddenly among them, appearing like a shadow made whole in front of the white horse riding in lead position. Its rider reined back in time to spare its life, and halted the entire column behind him. He glared and opened his mouth to speak, but then the shadows on either side erupted into life with nothing more than the whisper of soft clothing. They were surrounded in a heartbeat. One of the infantrymen recovered his wits enough to scream and attack the first enemy to appear, throwing himself at the tall figure’s back, but a whirl of blades put a very quick and bloody end to his bravery. The figure turned cold, dark eyes and a slight smirk on his real target, the man on the white horse, as if to silently warn that the same fate awaited him should he make the wrong move.

Brow furrowing in mingled confusion and anger, Cao Pi faced down the warrior who had almost unseated him from his horse without a shred of fear. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” he said in a low tone tinged with sarcasm.

The dark figure continued to smirk grimly. “I bring you a choice,” he replied in a raspy purr. “Surrender to Lord Orochi, or die.”

“Insolent dog,” the woman at Cao Pi’s side sniffed. “How dare you ask my lord to surrender to anyone? Don’t you know who you’re dealing with?” She cast a bored look at her husband. “Do you want the honor, or should I kill him?”

The young lord of Wei held up a hand as if to stay her. “Zhenji, this is not the time.” His eyes were still focused on the lone warrior barring his path, though he was aware of the others, similarly clad, who had his force surrounded. He tipped his head sideways as if listening to a distant sound. “How many do you make out, Gongming?”

Unlike his lord, Xu Huang was looking every which way, his horse fidgeting as if able to feel his own unease through the reins. “More than fifty, my lord,” he said darkly. “Possibly double that. There are some back in the trees, yet.”

“So you aren’t completely surrounded by idiots,” the ambushing warrior noted in that same subtle purr. Zhenji gaped at his audacity. “I haven’t heard your answer, Cao Pi of Wei.”

Pi’s brow furrowed even deeper. “Am I supposed to be impressed that you know my name?” he asked arrogantly. “Who are you to be making such a demand? Can’t your lord be bothered to come in person?”

The warrior chuckled wryly. “If Orochi himself came to meet you on this path, you would not be given the choice to leave alive. But if you want to die so badly, I’d be happy to take care of that for you.”

The ring of metal announced the brandishing of Xu Huang’s mighty Destroyer. “Before you would be so eager to end anyone’s life, you will have to deal with me, demon,” he declared, nudging his horse ahead of the other two.

The warrior laughed again. “Demon? Don’t be ridiculous. I am the wind.”

He leaped, and instantly met a powerful two-handed swing of the great axe. He kicked off the flat of the axe blade while his own weapon snaked past the assault and tore through Xu Huang’s shoulder, knocking him cleanly off his horse into the dirt. Another lightning-quick slash aimed for the young lord, but one half of Pure Havoc came out just as quickly to deflect it, and the recoil showed it for what it was – a clawed gauntlet that could extend off the bearer’s hand on a chain for long-range attacks. Cao Pi showed no sign of distress as he countered the strike, his eyes just as cold as those of his foe. Seeing their lord attacked encouraged some of his men to fight back themselves, but they were immediately cut down by the throng of ninjas closing in around them. “Enough!” Cao Pi shouted over the din, which ceased just as suddenly. He lowered his sword and stared down his adversary, who leered back and flexed the claws of his gauntlet, showing the blood of the warrior who was now on the ground with a foot on his neck. “I have heard rumors of this Orochi,” Cao Pi said, his anger starting to bubble to the surface. “The earthquakes, the strange lights, and then suddenly here we are, traveling through a land no longer our own. Yes, I’ve heard enough about Orochi. What makes him think that I have any interest in surrendering to him?”

Fuuma Kotaro, for that was the ninja captain’s name, pressed a little harder on Xu Huang’s neck until the bigger man spluttered and writhed underneath him. He seemed interested in the fact that witnessing the torture of his bodyguard evoked no emotional response from the prince of Wei. “Simple,” he murmured with a touch of evil glee. “He has already heard of your father, the Hero of Chaos. Even as we speak, Lord Orochi is on his way to deal with him. In fact, he may be cutting him down like a dog on the battlefield right at this very moment.”

For the first time, a flicker of alarm passed through Pi’s icy eyes. The trouble was, he was not entirely sure himself where his father had managed to gather their forces. He knew that Dian Wei, miraculously alive somehow, was with him, and most of their generals had flocked to his side, but Zhang Liao had not reported back after being sent to augment Sun Jian’s forces at Hefei. Cao Pi himself had been sent out on other errands, whether to keep him from being discovered in the same place as his father so both could be cut down, or for Cao Cao’s own unknown (and possibly selfish) reasons. He had lost touch with the main force of the Wei army while pulling together scattered contingents to form a secondary unit, and the uncertain landscape of this new, mingled world had contributed to their getting lost and taking a different path back. They had tentative orders to rendezvous at Yiling, but right now, not even Cao Pi could say he knew for sure exactly where Yiling existed anymore. That in turn filled him with doubt for a moment, before he could reel in his emotions and put his stern mask back on. “Clever,” he remarked, “servant of Orochi. For a minute there I had to wonder whether you were speaking the truth. It will take a lot more than a few empty threats to get me to divulge the location of the Wei army’s stronghold.”

“Don’t, my lord!” Xu Huang snarled from under the ninja’s foot. “Lord Cao Cao would never let some foolish demon get the better of him! Our men will see to it…”

“Silence, Gongming,” Cao Pi said quietly. “There is no need to brag in front of this mere servant.”

Fuuma smirked, completely unruffled by the taunting. “Nor is there a need for you to posture for me, little prince. We already know the number of your forces at Yiling. It’s too late. You are too weak to handle the winds of chaos, so you would be no match for Orochi even if you could get there in time.”

“My lord…” Zhenji worried, her voice betraying her fear.

Cao Pi glared down the ninja captain. “Then why not just kill me here?” he seethed.

“You are useful.” Fuuma lifted his foot to free Xu Huang. “Should the Hero of Chaos prove to be no challenge for Lord Orochi, he will need others. Surrender, and you may find out all you need to know about the fate of your father and your kingdom.”

Pi stared him down for a long time, and then made his choice by sheathing the sword he had drawn. “I do not surrender to servants,” he said boldly. “This is how it will go. You will take a message back to Orochi: Cao Pi has no interest in conquest. I am withdrawing to my own army’s encampment at Jianye Castle to see to the defense of my own. If I hear word that this… _victory_ that you claim is happening is, in fact, the true way of things, well then.” His eyes were still cold, but his lips curved in a smirk. “Then we may be interested in hearing more from Orochi.”

The ninja sniffed arrogantly, unimpressed with the young lord’s smug bearing. He had not been given any orders beyond delivering messages, so this alteration of the plan was well within bounds for him to accept. He raised his hand, and the ninjas holding the infantry at bay backed off. “Lord Orochi isn’t one to make bargains,” he grumbled, “but you’ve bought yourself another day of freedom. Bury your dead and get off this path if you know what’s good for you.”

It took just a glance and a nod for Cao Pi to pass along the directive to his men, and they scrambled to drag their fallen comrades off to the side of the trail and raise what graves they could among the thick fir trees climbing the slopes around them. Zhenji leaped off her horse and helped Xu Huang to his feet, and personally tended to his wound. It was deep, but not serious and no detriment to him being able to wield his axe again in a couple of days. The young lord of Wei sat astride his white horse in the middle of it all, his dark glare permanently affixed on his face and his eyes never straying from the tattooed visage of his foe. “If you are no demon,” he said after a while, “then who or what are you, wind of chaos?”

A smug look passed through the tall warrior’s eyes. “I am Fuuma Kotaro. That is all you need to know.” He turned away, folding his arms over his thick chest. “I will take your message to Lord Orochi. But I will also say this: the next time we meet, I will be allowed to kill you. And I will, gladly.”

“We will see,” Cao Pi sniffed. “Get going, then, Fuuma. I’m not waiting around here for fun.”

The ninja glared and then vanished into the night. With soft whooshes of clothing and wind, the rest of the dark-clad forces disappeared with him, leaving Cao Pi’s vanguard alone once more. Seeing as the preparations were complete, he raised his arm and waved the troop forward, intending to do exactly as he had declared to the interloper. Cao Ren, Pang De, and a number of others were waiting for his orders at Jianye. Going to them himself might have seemed the wrong strategy in light of these new threats, but Cao Pi had no choice. He had to know for sure what was going on, and this was the only way. They continued on as if nothing had changed, passing over the shoulder of the mountain and heading down into the valley where they had intended to camp all along. 

Not everything spoken during the formation of the agreement had been the truth on either side. As of that night on the side of an unnamed mountain, Orochi had not yet actually reached Yiling, and Cao Pi was not actually afraid of his father’s fate. Yet there was a sizeable demon army heading there, following the rumors of the might and cunning of Cao Cao, and the reinforcements Cao Pi had scraped together would probably not make it on time to assist. If his father’s loyal retainers could not protect him, then Wei would be lost and he would have to make some interesting decisions. Orochi himself was at the head of this army, his keen interest in Cao Cao obvious to all around him even if none of them really understood what he was looking for. Sun Quan was chosen to take command of the conscripted forces this time, with assistance from Date and a cannon unit. Quan remained wary the entire journey, having overheard the snake-demon’s displeasure with Zhuge Liang for being slow with information on the lord of Wei and whether he could put up any kind of fight. At least the strategy devised for the battle was sound, and Quan was positive Cao Cao would never see his defeat coming. He worked diligently to prove himself capable as well, not wanting to give their overlord a reason to take out his frustrations on his hostages. His siblings were in the rearguard, and the closest strategist at hand was a young man of Wa by the name of Ishida. Compared to his brother, Quan was cool-headed and careful, and knew to take advantage of his resources. And yet even he could not help but be a little smug when he saw the front lines waver, break, and flee at the first volley of cannon-fire. Watching Wei forces scatter in fear of anything always felt good.

The battle began after nightfall and was over before dawn. Like the other kingdoms before it, Wei had not been able to gather its full strength in one place in time; Quan suspected that they didn’t even have a strategist in their ranks, aside from Cao Cao himself. What had become of Sima Yi, or half of the usual generals he was accustomed to seeing on the field, he couldn’t say. Even those who had tried to mount a defense fled rather than let themselves be killed. Quan had been holding their main camp across the river, so he had to rely on reports from the front to know exactly what had happened, and after Orochi stormed into the camp in nothing short of a snit, he was even more curious how it went and sought out anyone who would tell him. The only captives taken were Cao Zhen and a couple of other lower-ranked retainers, and they weren’t talking, so Quan rode to find someone, anyone – and ran into the pair of Maeda and Date returning in vastly better moods than their leader. “Ah, you wouldn’t get it,” Maeda was saying dismissively.

“Idiot!” Date snapped back. “No man in his right mind would want to ‘get’ an idiot like you.”

“Oh, hey, look.” Maeda had his enormous pike slung over his shoulders, but he could still raise a hand from where it rested over the shaft to wave at the approaching general. “It’s another tiger cub. What’s up, Sun Quan?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Quan said sternly as he reined in beside them. “I get that we won, but Lord Orochi didn’t seem too pleased about it.”

Keiji nudged Date. “Told you.”

“Shut up,” the brash young general shot back before turning to Quan. “Of course we won, it was a total victory. The Wei generals we weren’t able to capture all fled like cowards, and Cao Cao himself is dead.”

Quan sat up sharply in the saddle. “What? _Dead?_ Are you sure?”

“Lord Orochi killed him,” Maeda said matter-of-factly. “Our guys saw his bodyguard carrying his body, he was crying like a baby.”

Sun Quan sat digesting this news for a moment. It was almost too much to believe. After all their wars back home, all that time continually waging battle after pointless battle only to have Cao Cao escape death every time…and now, here, in this strange world, one skirmish with Orochi finally ended him. It couldn’t be possible…and yet, there were witnesses. If Dian Wei had been seen carrying his lord’s body, it had to be true. Quan wanted more direct corroboration, but for now, he had to accept the report. Breathing a dark sigh, he nodded and then turned his horse back toward camp. “All right. That’s what I needed to know. The sun’s coming up, soon, but we won’t break camp for another day at least. Go and get some rest.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Keiji chuckled, resuming his trek back into the camp. Date gave the young Wu lord a look but followed after his comrade.

Despite Date’s bragging, it was obvious that this battle hadn’t been a complete and flawless victory. The mishap with the cannons and the fire which had spread through half of the camp on this side of the river was just another thing for Orochi to be angry about, though he had plenty of demon lieutenants to berate for their cowardice in the middle of the flames before he could even think of raging at Date for letting the gunpowder be compromised. Daylight revealed the extent of the damage to their stores of ammunition and their own garrisons, still smoldering and smoking, but the Wei garrisons across the river fared no better. Their fields were littered with the dead, and there was no one left to bury or mourn them. Wei’s mighty generals had fled, and Cao Cao was gone. It was a heavy thing even for a lord of Wu to witness, it drove home the fact that they were not in their world anymore, that things had changed and the old ways, the old feuds and reasons behind them, were worthless when all lived or died at Orochi’s whim.

One thing Sun Quan had to admit, he didn’t want to know just how much like or unlike humans Orochi could be. He didn’t know if the demon slept, and didn’t want to find out. He had snatched a few hours of sleep himself, but was alert now and in charge of the camp’s routine, up to and including scouts and security, so he could be the first to know when important information was being delivered, in the hopes he might be allowed to hear it first. Thus, he was the one to whom news came first that a messenger had arrived from Tokugawa’s branch of the demon army, meaning he could be the one to make that announcement to their leaders and be present for the message itself. Halfway to the garrison where the demon lord’s tent lay, he got another message that the ninjas had returned. Quan found himself escorting Fuuma straight to Orochi, for his orders came from the top and he would suffer no one lower in rank to do the reporting for him. Still, Sun Quan had considerable authority in the army as well, and made the ninja captain wait outside the tent while he went in to preface the messages. Inside, in the dark and cool, Orochi lounged in a throne-like chair awaiting news or entertainment, still looking rather disgruntled. Given that Da Ji was standing right behind him, he likely had some knowledge of what was about to transpire, but he allowed his underlings to go about the formalities regardless. Quan informed him that Fuuma had returned, first of all, and then added, “…also, a messenger is here from Tokugawa, Lord Orochi.”

“Tokugawa?” Da Ji repeated. “Ah, yes, that’s right. I told him to send word if he got any information on new resistance forces moving around.”

“Then you handle it.” Orochi’s boredom was all too clear. “I will hear Fuuma’s report. That is the only thing of interest to me right now.”

As ordered, the tall ninja captain stepped in and went to one knee before Orochi, the only individual to whom he had shown any respect, that any of the other humans had noticed. “Your message was delivered,” he murmured in his quiet voice.

Orochi’s slitted eyes narrowed. “And? Is there a child of Wei outside waiting as well?”

Fuuma glared at the ground. “He says he is not interested in conquest, and was withdrawing his forces to Jianye Castle.”

“Fool,” Orochi growled. “His kingdom has fallen, his father is dead. If he wants to play games, he can do so with someone else. I am not interested in fools.”

“But, my lord,” Da Ji interjected, hanging over the back of the chair. “He could still be trouble waiting to happen. After all, he doesn’t know what you did to his father here at Yiling. Once that news reaches him, he may try to mount a resistance.”

“Let him,” the demon lord huffed in his distorted tone. “Even if he is his father’s son, he is not strong enough to interest me. I care not what he does.” His eyes shifted slightly to regard the demon strategist at his side. “This does not please me. Take care of the rest, Da Ji. All of you, leave me.”

No one wanted to linger long enough to draw his ire any further, so they all ducked out of the tent in a line, at which point Da Ji demanded to be shown the messenger from Tokugawa, since he was her responsibility now. Sun Quan followed behind her, curious about the scouting report and having no further orders to go here or there, do this or that just now. She sauntered over to where Fuuma had left the scout, the gauzy tails of her outfit swishing behind her. “Well,” she chirped at the lowly scout, “let’s have it, then. What news is there?”

The scout bowed his head nearly to the ground. “Lord Tokugawa has tracked down the current location of the army belonging to Oda Nobunaga. He wishes Lord Orochi to know that this man is mustering a resistance at Mikatagahara, and urges him to march on the army there with all haste.”

“Oda…Nobunaga?” Da Ji queried, not sure that the name meant anything to her. But a few feet away, she noticed Fuuma grin darkly and give a quiet snicker. “What? What’s so funny, ninja-boy?”

“Oda Nobunaga,” Fuuma repeated. “The Demon King. He would definitely make a worthy opponent.”

“The _Demon King_.” Da Ji begin to smirk as well. “My, my. Someone is rather full of himself, isn’t he? Anyone with the audacity to call themselves that surely can’t be allowed to just roam about freely.” She turned back to the scout with a demanding tap of her foot. “All the information on this guy. Now.”

From his belt, the scout retrieved a rolled scroll containing every detail Tokugawa had been able to put down in writing, including directions and maps showing where the territory of Mikatagahara was currently located in the patchwork. Da Ji skimmed it briefly and then turned to the men she knew were hanging around eavesdropping on her. “Looks like we’ll have another battle to get ready for. So soon, it’s so exciting,” she lilted. “Once I deliver this information to Lord Orochi, anyway. Sun Quan, better get the camp ready to strike a lot sooner than expected.”

“Yes, Lady Da Ji,” he said respectfully, lowering his head stiffly. This wasn’t good news as far as he was concerned. “But the army…are you sure it’s such a good idea to send a force that has just done battle straight into a second one?”

“If they were all mere humans, sure,” Da Ji said airily. “ _Our_ forces aren’t so weak. Besides, this guy could be all talk and nobody will even break a sweat, for all we know.” She held up the scroll and waggled it a little as she talked. “According to the information Tokugawa dug up, this Mikatagahara place is closer to us than to him or any of our other units. Lord Orochi is still hungry, he would want to go anyway, but since we’re the closest, so much the better.”

“As you wish.” Quan turned and headed off to make arrangements as necessary. He didn’t argue any further than that, as he didn’t much care about the status of the snake-men in the army or whether they were fresh enough to bring Orochi another victory. As long as he and his men were safe, nothing else mattered.

Da Ji considered going straight back into the tent with her new information, but she realized it wasn’t enough. She needed a second opinion on the viability of Oda as a target, so she flitted off through camp to find someone who might have known him better. Date and Maeda were both asleep, still, but she found someone of that era awake and alert enough to answer her summons. He came swiftly, his youthful face solemn yet handsome. “You called, Lady Da Ji?” he said with an obvious sneer in his tone.

The fox-demon turned to him with an oily smile. “Where are your manners, Mitsunari? Hmph. I’ve just got one question for you: what do you know about Oda Nobunaga?”

Mitsunari could not hide the flicker of surprise and alarm that crossed his face. “Oda? You’ve found him?”

“Apparently so.” Da Ji tapped the end of the scroll idly against her cheek. “What’s he like? Would he be able to give Lord Orochi any kind of challenge?”

The young man’s face darkened. “He calls himself the Demon King, and with good reason. He is ruthless, cunning, and savage. He will stop at nothing to win the field. In our time, he rode roughshod over his foes, soaked battlefields in blood and never showed a sign of regret or hesitation. He’s cold and calculating, and will sacrifice even his own household if it would further his goals.”

“Sounds like just the thing Lord Orochi needs to pick up his spirits after that disappointing Cao Cao,” Da Ji purred. “Excellent. I’ll bring him the news right away. Meanwhile…” She smiled slyly, clearly up to something. “I want you to be ready to ride with me if I ask it. I _may_ have another mission to carry out after we go see to this Oda guy, and you’d be the perfect one to help me. So keep your calendar clear, hmm?” She turned and went back to the main tent to inform her lord of this new development, and use the information gleaned from the others to convince him to ride out to intercept Oda as soon as possible. 

Ishida Mitsunari peered after her, curious about that last warning. _Another mission? Whatever_ , he sighed to himself. _She feels better if she has someone to order around, obviously. We’ll see if things are different after Orochi meets the great Nobunaga_. The idea of such a meeting made him smirk as he turned and headed off to prepare his strategies.

At dawn the army broke ranks as planned and began their march anew, this time heading for Mikatagahara and Oda Nobunaga. Da Ji had been right about one thing, at least – the idea that some human dared to call himself “Demon King” was enough to get Orochi’s attention, above and beyond the news that he was mustering some kind of resistance force at a distant outpost. He wasn’t much cheered by the news, but he certainly had something to aim for, a goal to carry out, and his last hope for a warlord who could put up a good fight. All the others had melted so quickly before him, this was his last chance to see whether humanity was as formidable as he thought or whether his conquest would truly be swift and complete.

It was a setting befitting a battle of darkness against darkness, the snows of a blizzard flying hard and fast in the gloom of night. The trees were already caked in snow, and the tracks of both friend and foe disappeared quickly in the wind and snow. The snake demon captains under Orochi’s command complained nonstop about the harshness, but the humans with them showed themselves more than capable of picking up the slack, fighting despite the chill and the awful conditions. Sun Ce and Maeda Keiji were the point-men, and managed to battle their way through the rugged cliffs to the garrison where one of Oda’s retainers had an ambush force waiting. The battle to take it from them was one of the hardest Ce had yet fought, but in the end they were victorious and, before the astonished faces of the beaten warriors, Da Ji showed the might of her sorcery. Orochi himself teleported straight into the fortress from their previous position, easily eluding attack from Oda’s rearguard at the same time. The men of Wa stared in unabashed fear at the true face of their new, formidable foe, and some of them barely escaped the scene with their lives. It got the demon lord’s hopes up, maybe their commander was no pushover after all. He took the battle to them in the dead of night in a snowstorm, and his retainers knew what they were doing. Even Keiji was exhausted, bathed in sweat despite the cold, and they had not yet pressed to Oda’s position on the hill above. That was the next step, and Orochi himself stepped out from the garrison to personally see this battle through to the end.

Wave after wave of faithful Oda retainers threw themselves at the enemy forces, and each one was beaten down in turn. Many were injured and driven off the battlefield, still others had no choice but to flee when it became clear that the pathways of Mikatagahara were choked with demon soldiers and there was no way to return to Oda’s side after they had pressed too far south or west. The last handful attending their lord moved when he did, and for a moment, the Demon King and the demon lord locked eyes across a snow-clad slope. There was something about this human that Orochi could not resist, and he almost cracked a smirk to himself before leaping forth with his scythe humming with demon energy.

It was not to be. To Orochi’s disappointment, Oda Nobunaga fell like all the rest. Yet, while others in his position had either been captured or conscripted, Oda managed to escape alive and intact. His fledgling resistance was decimated, his wife captured, his retainers scattered, but Oda himself lived to fight another day. How exactly he slipped through Orochi’s clutches, no one but Orochi could say, and the demon shared that with no one. Keiji, Sun Ce, and the ninjas ensured that the rest of the demon army was not defeated in those wretched conditions, seeing as the snake-demons faded faster than expected in the cold. Their target may have escaped, but Orochi had been given the chance to meet the self-named Demon King in battle and test him personally. The resistance had been put down, or so Da Ji happily proclaimed. They withdrew all the way to Bai Di to rest, recover, and survey the conquered lands from a position of ease, many of the rank-and-file generals assuming Orochi had done what he set out to do and they could now just kick back and await tributes and worshippers. Fortunately for them, Orochi was not as deluded. He had not been greatly mollified by finding Oda something of a slight challenge, and knew that him being out there, free to roam, free to scrape up what was left of his army and start over again, meant that the resistance was not finished. Indeed, it had not even started. The warlords who attempted to gather together a defense upon warnings from their vanquished former allies were not the true threat, that threat had barely begun to stir like the coals of a campfire. If those embers were not stamped out, they could flare up and suddenly, a wildfire could engulf and destroy what Orochi had managed to claim so far. He also knew that Takeda and Uesugi were out there, with their unknown allies and forces. Even having two lords as his hostages, and three more compelled to fight for him rather than against him, Orochi knew that enough seeds of resistance had been allowed to fall that the future could be interesting. He did not correct Da Ji and her delight, however. He let her believe they had won, for now. They could regroup their forces and plot, the rest was in humanity’s hands if they could manage it.

Not long after returning from Mikatagahara, Da Ji called in that request laid out to Ishida Mitsunari, taking him with her on a long ride across the landscape. Orochi himself was preparing to remove to his own castle, the sinister Koshi far in the western lands where the skies were red and the ground still bubbled and seethed, while his army was being strategically divided in order to cover all corners of the land under his rule. Mitsunari assumed that Da Ji was taking him to another castle where he was to be set up as general or protectorate or something of that nature, though she gave him no details during the journey at all. She had borrowed Zhou Tai from Sun Quan, as well, he was actually serving as her protector for the ride itself. As they rode up to the gates of the small castle lying out in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, they were challenged by sentries and a strong defense force waiting on the walls. Da Ji patiently raised her hands and asked to meet the castle lord, seeing as they had old, unfinished business between them. Unsure, the sentries awkwardly decided to escort her in, allowing Ishida and Zhou Tai to accompany her, while their vanguard was made to wait outside. No sooner had they been brought into an audience chamber when the castle lord strode in, armed and armored as though in a battle camp instead of a quiet stronghold minding its own business. With him were two formidable warriors similarly armed, the grim faces of Zhang Liao and Xu Huang only serving to support their lord’s authority. Cao Pi’s cold, silver-blue eyes lit on the fox-demon even before he came to a stop before her. “Well, well,” he said silkily, his disdain clear on his face. “You must be another of Orochi’s colorful collective of emissaries.”

“Excuse me,” Da Ji said pertly, “I _happen_ to be his strategist. Don’t start with the insults already, Cao Pi, you were warned that Orochi would want a word with you after things were settled elsewhere. After all…” She smirked broadly. “…those were the conditions of your agreement.”

“I am aware of that,” Cao Pi said coolly, his eyes briefly flicking to regard Ishida before settling on the demon again. “I’m also aware that I said I would only entertain him if the rumors were true and my father was defeated at Yiling.”

Da Ji tapped a painted fingernail against her cheek. “Oh, my,” she lilted, feigning distress, “did no one tell you, at all?”

Pi’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Tell me what?”

“Oh dear. It’s so sad.” Da Ji glanced to her side, where Zhou Tai stood guard. “You were there, weren’t you, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent?”

Zhou Tai’s face twitched at being teased. He lifted his gaze to Cao Pi, facing him stoically. “The Wei army at Yiling was destroyed. Lord Cao Cao, your father, is dead.”

Zhang Liao’s eyes widened. Xu Huang bristled and roared. “What?”

“Is he, now.” Cao Pi stared hard at Zhou Tai, almost boring through him with his eyes. “You have proof?”

“I do not lie,” the stern warrior said flatly.

Ishida spoke up, then. “His bodyguard, a man called Dian Wei, was last seen carrying his body off the battlefield, in mourning. Your own people saw it for themselves and confirmed it.”

The two generals behind him wilted and sighed. Cao Pi merely went cold and blank, all emotion draining from his face. After a long pause, he mustered himself and blinked slowly. “I see,” he murmured. “That changes things. Tell me, were any of his retainers there, and what became of them?”

“Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan were at the front, but they fled after defeat,” Zhou Tai stated. “Some of your relatives were captured, but not many.”

Cao Pi’s eyes closed briefly, as he sighed in clear frustration. Silence filled the whole chamber for a few minutes. At last, he raised his head proudly and stared down his audience. “Let us get this over with, then.”

“Come now,” Da Ji cooed, “it’s not going to be so bad. You don’t even know what I’m here for.”

“The man who brought us the first message spoke of surrender,” Cao Pi said, his frustration starting to show. “If that isn’t what you want, now, then out with it. And hurry up, I have better things to do with my time.”

“Touchy,” the demon sniffed. “You told Lord Orochi that you weren’t interested in conquest. But now that your father is dead, the kingdom of Wei is yours. Am I right?”

Pi kept his chin high in arrogance, showing nothing of the usual grief expected after such news. “I am not the fool that my father was,” he said pompously. “He had designs on conquering this world as if it were our own. But one cannot conquer when one has no country of his own to start with. There is no Wei, here, nor Wu or Shu. What, then, would I want with the scraps of dirt Orochi has brought together?”

Ishida regarded him warily. “Many people are fighting and dying over those scraps of dirt.”

“That is their folly, then, and I’ll leave them to it.” Pi placed a fist over his heart. “Dead men can’t lay claim to a single scrap, let alone a kingdom. If I am lord of anything, it is the people who’ve gathered here looking for shelter. Anything beyond that is not worth grasping for.”

“Good.” Da Ji’s smile was bright but cold. “That’s exactly what Lord Orochi was hoping to hear. You see, your little army here wouldn’t be any match for him, so he’s not interested in challenging you.”

Cao Pi showed no obvious reaction to that. Zhang Liao, just behind him to the right, sighed loudly. “She’s right about that, my lord. I saw him for myself at Hefei. We are smaller, here, than the Wu army was when they were broken like matchsticks before his might.”

“Then what do you _want?_ ” Cao Pi directed his question to Da Ji, growing rather impatient with all the words and toying.

The demon tilted her head coyly. “I’m here to propose an alliance.”

For once, the lord of Wei reacted openly, almost stepping back in his surprise. “An alliance?” he repeated. “Myself and Orochi?”

“Why not?” Da Ji shrugged. “You’re a smart boy. You don’t want to struggle and fight for your land, but I’m willing to bet there’s a fair number of cast-offs and troublemakers that aren’t content with being beaten down by Lord Orochi, and will come after you anyway just for existing. I’ve already seen the animosity between your kingdom and Wu and Shu with my own eyes,” she added with a bright laugh. “All for the sake of their families, they keep fighting even though this isn’t any of their lands! So you see,” she went on, instantly sobering but still speaking with that flirtatious lilt, “it’s in your best interests to form an alliance. All Lord Orochi wants in turn is for you to watch his flank, and take care of any tiny little problems that might pop up when he has his back turned. You know, stuff you’re used to.”

“Don’t do it, my lord,” Xu Huang hissed. “It’s a trick. If Orochi is really that powerful, why would he need an alliance with us? It should be no trouble to crush us if that’s true.”

Cao Pi waited a moment, his eyes on his audience but his mind reaching ahead to other possibilities. “He has a point,” he said at last, gazing coolly down at Da Ji. “As far as I know, you haven’t approached other lords or kingdoms with an offer of alliance. Why seek Wei in this fashion?”

“Don’t be silly.” Da Ji waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “We’ve already conquered Wei. I don’t know what you’ve inherited from your father’s dying in battle, aside from the loyalty of a handful of men who just don’t know when to quit. This is mostly just a formality. I mean, if you _want_ to be attacked and wiped out just like the army at Yiling, fine by me. I’ll just take my bodyguards and be off, then.”

Yet, she didn’t move. Cao Pi did not expect her to. “I said I had no interest in conquest, and I meant it,” he said curtly. “If Orochi is so bothered by having me and my people living freely without allegiance to anyone, I will sign an accord to put his mind at ease.”

“Excellent,” Da Ji crowed, even as the generals in the back row shook their heads ruefully. She turned to Ishida and held a hand out. “It just so happens I drew up a little something to that effect. Mitsunari, those papers I gave you?”

Mitsunari had a small satchel under his robe, where he had been keeping a sealed scroll handed to him before they even embarked on the journey. It bothered him that she didn’t care to tell him what was in it, but then again, he didn’t trust her even if she had been completely transparent with him. He pulled out the scroll and handed it over, but did nothing else to help. Cao Pi called for servants to do their jobs, and several darted out from behind curtains to bring a table, ink and quills, and anything else needed for the signing and sealing of an alliance. The lord of Wei looked it over, first, hiding the unsettled feeling he got over finding exactly what they had just spoken of already laid out in words – she had anticipated everything down to the arguments still waiting on his tongue. Nothing looked particularly onerous for Wei, provided that Orochi’s idea of protecting his flank didn’t involve massive amounts of troops, weapons, and provisions being funneled into suicide missions. And, it looked like the Orochi main army would release the prisoners taken at Yiling to him if he made the alliance. When he could find nothing to object to, he gave in and signed it, and just like that, Cao Pi was made an ally of Orochi. Da Ji clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” she exclaimed. “I think you and I will become _very_ good friends, Cao Pi.”

“Not likely,” he deadpanned, folding his arms.

“Don’t be a spoilsport.” She looked askance at her new ally for a moment before smiling again, rather like a cat who had spied a mouse. “Especially since I already have an order for you.”

Cao Pi glared at her. “The ink is not yet dry on the accord and you want me to do something.”

“It’s nothing big, really!” Da Ji turned and pretended to pace, swishing the tails of her suggestive outfit. “I’m not sending you off to battle just yet, don’t worry your pretty little head. I just want to borrow a couple of your generals.”

The two men behind him bristled visibly. Pi ignored them. “I will need more information before I can decide which ones to send with you.”

“Well, _hopefully_ whoever they are won’t get into a scuffle with my strong and silent bodyguard,” Da Ji teased with a glance at Zhou Tai, “because I promised to give him back to Sun Quan in one piece.”

The lord of Wei closed his eyes smugly. “So, yet another rumor proves true. The men of Wu have allowed themselves to be whipped into serving their conqueror.” If he was expecting a reaction out of Zhou Tai, however, he was mistaken.

“That’s not the important part,” Da Ji went on. “I need a couple of smart guys to take charge of a couple of our conquered castles. We’re keeping some important guests in them, and the security has to be top-notch. So, if any of your muscle-heads actually have a brain and can keep a castle secure and safe without someone holding their hand, I’ll gladly take them off your hands.” She twirled in place and gestured with a hand. “In exchange, I’ll give you Mitsunari for a few days.”

Cao Pi studied the young strategist from Honshu for a moment. He stood looking just as grouchy as everyone else at this meeting, not hiding his own sense of disdain for Da Ji. He carried a folded fan with him, which he tapped against his other hand as if fidgeting, revealing the light clack of metal against metal – it was a war fan, not just a pretty prop. “And what would I want with that?” Pi sniffed. This time, he got a glare in response, and was smugly pleased with himself.

“He can fill you in on everything you need to know about Lord Orochi and his armies,” Da Ji replied simply. “Trust me, there’s a lot, and I simply don’t have the time or attention span to do it myself. Lord Orochi needs me, and I’m leaving as soon as you pick out the men to send with me.”

Pi sighed heavily, closing his eyes, and then turned his head to address one of the waiting servants. “Call Cao Ren and Pang De to me. They should be enough.” He turned the other way, then, enough to speak directly to the two generals attending him. “With you two still here, we are very much secure. I have no doubts.”

“I am here to serve, my lord,” Zhang Liao said solemnly.

For a few tense minutes they waited, not wanting to make anything resembling small talk, but then the two summoned generals appeared. Cao Pi briefed them on the new alliance and their next mission, and despite their surprise, both agreed. They were used to following orders, even the most distasteful ones delivered by Cao Cao in his ruthless gambit to rule all three kingdoms. Taking orders from Orochi would be pretty much status quo for the officers of Wei. They would require less than an hour to collect what they needed and prepare to ride, so until then, Da Ji was allowed to lounge around the audience chamber being a nuisance, under Zhang Liao’s watchful eye. Xu Huang went with the others to assist in their preparations. That left Ishida and Cao Pi staring each other down and sizing each other up, after withdrawing to a private room off to the side of the main chamber. “Wonderful,” the lord of Wei sniffed. “Another strategist with his own little fan.”

Mitsunari made a face at him. “And you must be the spoiled prince I’ve heard so much about from the generals we captured. They were pretty torn up that you weren’t there to save your father.”

“Resorting to personal insults is a sign of weak intelligence,” Cao Pi said slyly. “I’m sure you’re someone of some regard wherever you come from, but you are no match for the great minds of our time. It’s a pity our tactician was not at Yiling or my father might not have succumbed to fate.”

“You mean Sima Yi?” Mitsunari smirked right back at him. “He’s heading up another of Lord Orochi’s contingents further south. I think it was to keep him from butting heads with Zhuge Liang and jeopardizing the strategy.”

For once, Cao Pi was caught completely off-guard. That explained a lot – why he had not been able to locate Sima Yi, why he wasn’t with Cao Cao, why they had fallen. As he recovered his wits, Pi began to scowl. _That self-serving megalomaniac probably didn’t even need to be captured. I can see him agreeing to serve Orochi outright with no question_. “So you’ve met him,” he said aloud, trying to return to his smooth confidence.

“I haven’t spoken with him personally, no,” Ishida replied. “I find Zhuge Liang to be far more interesting. He and I are the lead strategists for Orochi’s advance troops.”

“You must be so proud,” Pi said dryly.

Mitsunari made an unimpressed face and turned away slightly, resting the fan idly against his shoulder. “Resorting to sarcasm is a cover-up for just how little you really know,” he taunted. “Things are nothing like you would expect, having fought all your battles more than a thousand years ago and in the living world. We’re in another place and time entirely, so save your attitude for someone who cares. Right now it’s just going to get you killed by Orochi.”

Cao Pi stood eyeing him, studying him as much by his bearing and manner as by his words. He let a measured pause pass between them and then changed the subject. “And just how did the snake-demon secure your loyalties, Ishida Mitsunari?” he purred dangerously. “Did he beat you like a dog until you learned to slink around at his feet, or did you come willingly to him in search of a share of his glory?”

Ishida whirled abruptly and had the tip of his folded fan beneath Cao Pi’s nose in a heartbeat. He glared down the length of his arm and weapon. “It’s none of your business how I found myself a part of this army,” he warned. “But if you must know, I’m not some thick-headed, muscle-bound idiot who needs to be beaten down before he’ll see the truth right in front of him. I understand the position better than you think.” He lowered the fan and squared his shoulders, looking up at the taller man. “Don’t act like you’re better than me because Orochi came asking you for an alliance. It has nothing to do with fearing you or wanting your help, it has everything to do with keeping you under his thumb.”

“Of course it is,” Cao Pi said airily. “I knew that before I even took out my seal.”

“And you signed it anyway.”

“Like you say,” Pi smirked. “I have my reasons, and they’re none of your business.”

“Whatever.” Mitsunari flicked his weapon open and used it to casually fan himself. “I’m not here to be friends anyway. I’ll fill you in like Da Ji wants, and then I’m needed back at the main army myself.”

“I’ll see to it you’re found quarters for the night,” Cao Pi murmured. “If you’ll excuse me, my men need me more than you do.”

Ishida bit back a retort and turned away, intent on ignoring him right back until someone could come and show him to his lodging for the night. Pi was more interested in making sure Da Ji left without causing further trouble than anything else, but he did as a lord of his stature was expected and saw his loyal men off. He didn’t give them any special orders or anything, he told them simply to do as requested by Orochi’s forces and not to start trouble with anyone from other kingdoms if it turned out they were on the same side. Cao Ren studied him from where he sat astride his horse, his brow furrowing a bit under the lip of his helm. “You’re really going to do this,” he realized. “It’s not a joke after all.”

“What else would you have me to do?” Pi asked sincerely. “I may understand my father’s ambitions but it doesn’t mean I share them entirely. Our people need to be protected. If others fail at that duty, it’s my place to do what they can’t.”

“But, Lord Cao Pi,” Xu Huang interjected, “your father…”

“My father is gone, and that is that,” Pi said a bit more sternly. “We need to stop playing like this is our same old homeland and start seeing it for what it really is. The rules have changed, and we have to change with them.”

Xu’s head drooped, his scarf shadowing his face. “Then Wei is lost.”

“For now,” Cao Pi said slyly. “Who knows? Perhaps one day we will find it again. Until then,” he added, facing the other two directly, “My order is to do what our allies request of you. Guarding castles should be easy for the both of you. I will maintain Jianye as my headquarters until we take another castle that suits me better, in which case, I will send messengers.”

“As you wish, my lord,” Cao Ren said with a heavy sigh. “Xu Huang, I expect you to keep things safe on this front.”

“Of course. Zhang Liao and I will not fail.”

With that, they rode to join Da Ji and Zhou Tai where they waited, and they were off. Ishida Mitsunari remained behind, so he could spend the next week or so inspecting the status of what remained of Wei while imparting as much information as possible about the workings of the Orochi army and the downfall of all the kingdoms from both time periods. For days on end he spent hours sequestered in the war room with the castle lord, an exercise neither of them really enjoyed despite it being completely necessary. That information benefitted Wei, while Mitsunari did his best to observe and try to figure out what kind of man he faced, what kind of ally he would be to the Orochi army. Behind the smug and the comments he could tell Cao Pi was an intelligent man who had already learned at a young age how to properly work with strategists while not trusting them entirely, no doubt due to his experience with Sima Yi. Ishida tried not to take it personally. He watched for any sign that the young Cao was using him in turn, perhaps looking for a way out of the agreement he had just signed, but it really seemed like Cao Pi intended to honor the pact to the last letter. It was impossible for anyone who did not know him well to be able to read him, and guess that the new lord of Wei had his ears open, eager to catch any and all information on both ally and foe. If the rules had changed, that meant he was free to make a few new ones of his own. Yet, of all the people in that castle that day, not even his wife could tell what he was thinking or planning. For all they knew, the remnants of Wei were now staunch allies of Orochi, and their foes had best beware.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The resistance begins with the liberation of Zhao Yun, while Cao Pi proves he really is an ally of Orochi.

Just beyond the borders of Orochi’s self-made realm, others were watching his progress with a wary eye. They weren’t sure what he was up to, why his plan upon being broken free of his prison in the Mystic Realm was to create a world of his own peopled with warriors from certain bloody time periods in human history. As warlords fell one by one, the observers began to realize they could not let this game go on. No more than two weeks after the dust settled and the demon army had established its strongholds all across the conquered patchwork land, a missive was sent to the serpent lord where he sat at his true seat of power in Koshi Castle, far in the west-lands beyond Chengdu and Kyuushuu. They were coming, and there would be no argument. He was to be arrested and brought back to the Mystic Realm with them, where he would resume his eternity of punishment to atone for his crimes against humanity. Orochi was not daunted; annoyed, perhaps, that they were going to barge into his personal playground of an alternate dimension like it was their business, just when he had established himself as its god, but not the least bit afraid of the threat. He merely summoned his new toys, assembled them at the shores of the great black lake that bordered his own lands, and sent them into the fray to show the mystics just what they were up against. Tokugawa, the Sun family, and everyone else both conscripted and willing was there, and despite the darkness and the heat of a river of lava surrounding them, the fear and the great strength of the mystical warriors of heaven facing them, they managed to prevail. In the end, when Orochi stepped over the silver-haired woman, batted aside the man in plate armor, and slammed the willowy young sorcerer into the ground, it was more clear than ever that he would not allow them to interfere in his plans. He was unable to kill them, but just as they began to retreat, Orochi signaled to Da Ji and Zhuge Liang to implement the strategy he had devised upon first hearing of this arrest order. Though unseen to most human eyes, the mystics noticed it immediately and with great alarm. A magic barrier went up around the perimeter of Orochi’s realm, enclosing and encircling it with a portion of his own power, ensuring that no one from the Mystic Realm possessing any similar power would be able to enter from without. It sealed away the mingled land he had created for his own purposes, and ensured that the only ones left to either live with him or vie against him were the humans he had kidnapped to the land. Satisfied, Orochi returned to Koshi and let the world settle once more.

While his attention was diverted by the attempt on his freedom by the mystics, the scattered peoples of the Han and Wa lands began to stir. Nothing kept them down for long, and even after being thoroughly decimated by Orochi’s army, the surviving generals wasted no time in gathering their forces, withdrawing to safe, secure locations, and rebuilding a little at a time. It was not something that could be done overnight or even in the space of days while Orochi’s forces were concentrated elsewhere at the borders. Yet, little by little, the resistance began. Messages whispered on the wind that Oda Nobunaga, alive and well, was taking men under his banner for their safety. Others spoke of pockets gathering in places where peasants needed to be protected, and strategic locations not yet claimed by any army quietly being overtaken by those currently free from affiliation with their home kingdoms. Takeda’s hidden camp in the high vale gradually dwindled in size as he sent his forces where they were most needed, reserving the cavalry for future battles and sending Sanada out instead. The peasants settling in the fields behind Changban had a secure barrier between their crops and any potential fighting, as Lu Xun patiently ordered the garrison up in the transplanted temple on the hill and prepared a secret defense should anyone approach by either land or water. It took many long weeks, but it gave Gan Ning plenty of time for fishing. Meanwhile, a pair of cousins found an old foe and agreed to fall in together to give themselves the best chance at striking back at their common enemy. A young swordsman and his band roamed the land freely, not knowing about the conflicts between kingdoms but happy to destroy any demons they came across. A horseman with a powerful spear rode to the aid of any civilians he could find, shepherding them to safer lands while growing more and more irate at the condition of this world under Orochi’s rule. The barbarians of Nanzhong stubbornly built their defenses in open defiance of the unrest and hung snake skins on their palisades as a warning. A pert and perky ninja rounded up a couple of dear friends and snuck into an unoccupied fortress in Ji to prepare their own form of retaliation. A masked warrior returned to his lord’s castle to find it in ruins, and roared a lament to the sky before picking up his weapon and vowing to protect it until his beloved lord’s return. A tall, suave man with a long rifle wandered from place to place, looking for a purpose. They were out there, and they were preparing to fight in their own ways.

For those under Orochi’s thumb, the first couple of months in their new land were not any easier. If the scattered, defeated warriors doing their best to regroup and resist without their leaders found this new life a burden, it was even more so for the conscripted and the captive. Sun Ce made no pretense of his true feelings on the matter, he stalked everywhere with a dark look on his handsome face and never smiled, except perhaps in those rare moments when his siblings or his wife returned from wherever they had been sent and they could have a little while together. In contrast, Tokugawa endured without complaint, obeying the orders given to him and never questioning Orochi’s demands. Yet, he had secretly ordered Hanzo to investigate when and where he could, hoping that if they could come into possession of the information on the ruler of Wu, he could use it to break Sun Ce free of his burden and escape with him. It was no easy task; Hanzo had to constantly be wary of Fuuma Kotaro, who took his charge as the one to eliminate all those unworthy of facing Orochi very seriously. The two ninjas had never liked each other in the first place, and now they waged a silent battle of investigation, as Fuuma attempted to find out what Hattori was up to while the latter tried to stay a step ahead. Sun Quan had it no easier, but by keeping his feelings to himself, he was more often sent out as the lead general in skirmishes, commanding from the main camp, while his elder brother had to fight on the front lines. He had Zhou Tai at his side to watch his back, but little else, and had to constantly deal diplomatically with former foes like Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. His sister was seldom with her family in those days, always riding far afield as part of the vanguard for other generals. Knowing that her husband, the lord of Shu, had been captured, she put on a brave face and did her part, but she had the friendly comfort of the Princess Ina behind closed doors. The two ladies got along well, and whiled away the dark nights talking of their homelands and brave fathers, while their days were spent fighting alongside one another. For his part, Cao Pi remained calmly in control of his forces, but as time went on, the requests for his military aid from Da Ji began to arrive more frequently, necessitating that send nearly everyone, including Zhenji, on errands without him. The irritation of having to respond to every call was already wearing him thin, but he never turned them down, and behaved as an ally ought to. His generals took it in stride, as they were well used to strange alliances under Cao Cao, but privately all of them wondered what had become of their missing comrades. Da Ji had returned anyone captured at Yiling into Cao Pi's control, but that still left quite a few officers unaccounted for. Where had Dian Wei taken their lord’s body? What had become of the Xiahous, who they thought too proud and courageous to flee a battle? The uncertainty was their burden. Each had something they were searching for, hoping for, and by riding with the Orochi army to quell any rumors of uprisings, they prayed for a chance to find what they were looking for.

While others had to deal with their rough situations, another man spent his days languishing in prison, fighting within himself to maintain hope and not let his captivity break him. It wasn’t terrible, as prisons went – he was locked in a rather decent room beneath a castle he had never seen before, its floors paneled with wood and bamboo mats and walls firmly plastered, with glimpses of opulent décor just outside in the hall. He was trapped behind a portcullis of thick wooden timbers, each one thicker around than a man’s thigh and all jointed to make a lattice through which an arm could barely pass. He could see his guards change shift, and fine silk-painted tapestries on the far wall, and smell warm grass and summer-blooming flowers whenever a door around the corner was opened. Yet, he was alone, and had no idea whether any of his comrades even knew what had befallen him.

Every night, Zhao Yun had the same dream: he was surrounded by gray-skinned figures, they swarmed on him like ants with their thin, spindly arms and shrieking mouths, while he shouted over his shoulder at his lord to run, flee, get out of there while he held back the tide. He could feel the limbs around him snap as he cracked them with his spear, but for each one he struck, twice and thrice as many took its place. He could hear Lord Liu Bei’s protest, hear the fear in his voice, and could only cry out that it was his duty, that if his lord were killed then he would be a failure. He heard the thud of hooves racing away from him, and then the tide of gray snake-soldiers overwhelmed him, pushing him down, sweeping him away. He always woke up in a cold sweat with the sight of Liu Bei being knocked off his horse into a horde of snaky bodies still behind his eyes. That nightmare, more than the heavy wooden portcullis, kept him imprisoned there until he lost track of the days after they turned into weeks. Nothing ever changed, no one came to see him or interrogate him. That is, until one day when he found the bearded, heavyset face of Cao Ren staring at him through the lattice. He was holding the Dragon Spear, almost caressing the ornate shaft as if inspecting the weapon and pronouncing it a fine piece of work. Yet, he said nothing, even as he set it against the wall behind the guard station, clearly in view of the captive but not within his reach. He performed an inspection of the integrity of the prison cell, and then left without a word. From that day, Zhao Yun knew the name of his jailer, and assumed that he had been delivered into the custody of Wei even though he had not changed castles at all. And still the days and weeks passed, and no one came for him, not even to bargain for his head. He had a plain but comfortable pallet to sleep on and was fed regularly, and there was enough room in his cell to pace to keep his body in fighting shape, even though they kept his arms bound behind his back and only freed him to eat and wash. But he had no human interaction at all, for the guards outside his prison were usually the gray snake-men, at least three to five of them at any given time. Their voices were harsh and screechy, and their sparse conversations never included gossip about the current state of affairs in the world or the war or anything a captive might really like to know. As long as they didn’t talk to him, he didn’t engage them either. He preferred to sit quietly and mull over the questions for which he had no answers, about the fate of Shu and his lord, and whether anyone knew that one of the famed Tiger Generals was a captive in this lonely castle. His heart slowly grew cold and dark, and the longer he was left to languish, the more he despaired over the death of Liu Bei that he had failed to prevent. Any light of hope grew more dim by the day.

One warm afternoon, things finally changed. It was one of those summery days when the sun was thick and golden and pushed lances of light through humid air ripe with electricity, where there was ever a threat of a storm that never actually broke. Zhao Yun sat with his legs folded, arms still bound, his head down as he ran over his fate and situation once more in his mind. For some reason, that day he was feeling particularly wretched, lonely and downhearted. _Fear pervades all,_ he thought to himself, _honor knows no place, and my lord Liu Bei is dead._

Somehow, within his mind, he heard someone respond. _Liu Bei lives._

His head came up sharply, hearing sudden and unusual sounds beyond the portcullis, a thud of bodies falling and a startled noise like a cry cut off before it could be made. Yun’s eyes widened as before him, instead of the usual cadre of gray-skinned guards, stood three people. An armored mountain of a man in the middle leaned on a rather large hammer. “You must be him,” he remarked. “I am Shimazu Yoshihiro, and we’ve come on the orders of…” He caught himself awkwardly before finishing that statement and hemmed and hawed before thinking of a different ending. “…of someone who doesn’t wish to be named.”

Yun looked from him to the old man to his right, wondering if he’d seen this figure before. When he spoke, he realized it was the voice he had heard inside his head. “The time has come, young dragon, for you to fly once again for your lord.”

“But…” Yun blinked at them even as a small, dark-haired girl shouldered past them and raced up to the cage, and to his amazement, he recognized her. She was older than he remembered, though. His heart leaped into his throat in unexpected joy. “Xingcai?” he breathed. “Is that really you?”

“Lord Zhao Yun!” the girl exclaimed breathlessly, peering through the lattice. “We found you, at last! Are you all right?”

“Me? What about you? What’s going on?” Yun’s brow knit in worry. “Is it true? Lord Liu Bei is alive?”

“Yes,” the old man said in a knowing tone. “It seems that little piece of news has raised your spirits quite a bit, young one.”

“We don’t know where he is, though,” Shimazu was forced to admit. “But we’ll figure that out later.”

“Yes, we have to get you out of here!” Xingcai said energetically. “Before it’s too late and they realize you’re gone.”

“Yes. Hurry!” Zhao Yun couldn’t stand another second in that wood-paneled prison.

Shimazu set his weapon down and went to the heavy lever that worked the portcullis keeping the room blocked away. One good heave and it went up, finally freeing Zhao Yun from his long captivity and darkness. Xingcai ran to him and, with a well-aimed stab of her forked spear blade, slashed the bonds keeping his arms behind him. He darted out as if afraid that his rescuers would vanish like a mirage and the gate would come back down on him before he could escape, and snatched up his Dragon Spear from where it had lain taunting him for weeks. He turned to the old man, ready to ask about whether he had somehow read his mind from outside, but he was stopped with a raised hand. “This is not the time for questions,” he murmured. “You will find out all you need to know after we have left this place. It is imperative that you escape alive.”

Somewhere a few corridors away, they all clearly heard a shriek from one of the snake guards. “Intruders! Kill the intruders!”

“Looks like we’ll have to bust out of here by force,” Shimazu grumbled.

“And cut off pursuit while we’re at it,” Xingcai worried.

The old man strode through them and led the way around the corner, away from the nearest door and towards a stairwell instead. “It would be best to draw away from the scene of the crime. The main keep is filled with a formidable guard, it would be foolish to attempt to break through it. I suggest you head west instead, the path may be less harrowing.”

Zhao Yun nodded. “You have brought me my hope, so I’ll take your advice to the very end.” He began to jog after the old fellow, adding over his shoulder to Xingcai, “…it seems this man has a lot of mystical energies around him. Could this be the famed Zuo Ci I’ve heard about?”

“I believe so,” she responded just as quietly. “He led us to you, he seemed to know exactly where you were being held.”

“Then let’s follow him.” Not that it was difficult; the old man was fast, but not so much so that a couple of young, fresh fighters couldn’t keep up. They plunged ahead of him, in fact, and cut down any snake demons that tried to get in their way, taking a route up to the main level and then through the back corridors of the castle to a side door. There, Zuo Ci gave them a few more words of encouragement and advice, reiterating that there was a path to the west that would lead them to safety, and then he vanished on the spot. Taking up his spear in both hands, Zhao Yun forged ahead, finding the path as indicated running down through a number of canals. Above them were causeways built so foot and cart traffic could run to and from the castle without worrying about the waters below, which meant that the escapees could slink right underneath the noses of their captors without being seen. They only had to contend with a few infantrymen keeping watch on some of those paths, all but one of them snake demons. It only added to the deep concerns Zhao Yun had over the strangeness of his imprisonment, in a castle unlike any he had seen before in a world full of demons. There wasn’t time to chit-chat, though, they had to run for their lives.

As he charged uphill into a cadre of warriors, Yun singled out their captain and beat him down, holding him at spear-point until all of his unit fled the scene. The captain didn’t seem much afraid of them, just angry that the prisoner had gotten loose. “What, are you planning to escape with that woman?” he accused them.

“Woman?” Yun repeated.

The sound of metal slicing cleanly through flesh announced the death of yet another foot soldier and the appearance of another warrior. Clad all in intricately-laced scale armor, she swung a sword that hummed with energy like lightning. “I am not just a woman,” she declared boldly, “I am a Tachibana!”

For a moment, the two Shu fighters were taken aback. “…what does that even mean?” Xingcai wondered under her breath.

Shimazu, however, was clearly familiar with _that woman_ , as he strode forward. “You never change,” he growled. “Stop playing around and let’s get moving.”

Tachibana regarded him coolly, but with the clear disdain of a lot of history behind her eyes. “I suppose you are one of Orochi’s servants, Shimazu?”

“Orochi?” the big man blustered. “Pah. Nothing but a worthless eel that needs to be boiled in a pot.”

“Is this a chat we can finish later?” Zhao Yun interrupted, cracking his captive across the head with the butt of his spear before moving between the two old foes. “We must hurry!”

“Come on,” Shimazu agreed, tossing a hand up. “I came along on this raid to find you, now let’s beat it. Or you can stay here with the eels, I’m not picky, but if you want out, you’d better follow these kids.”

Tachibana huffed at him and stalked past, but she clearly was more keen on leaving captivity herself and followed the rest of the party. They had to move swiftly in order to overtake guards and cut off any captains who had caught wind of their departure, but as long as they continued to follow the canals, they were more or less safe. Tachibana proved to be as capable a warrior as the others, Zhao Yun was impressed at her cold cunning, speed, and efficient manner of dispatching enemies. She had information on another officer also being held, captured much more recently, so they diverted their path just long enough to locate and free him. Tucked away in a cove at the end of a canal path, they came across a wooden cage holding young Zhang Bao prisoner. He must not have been there long, for the soldiers guarding him still had his weapon. Zhao Yun led the charge and plowed through the guards, while Shimazu followed up right behind him and swung his hammer to smash the top clean off the cage, showering the poor captive with splinters. At least he was free, and after clasping hands happily with Xingcai, he showed his gratitude by offering to draw the pursuit off in a different direction, playing decoy. It was dangerous, as he was likely just to get caught again, but once his weapon had been restored to him, the son of Zhang Fei showed that he had all of his father's courage and daring, undertaking this mission of his own free will. The others regrouped and continued on, following the canals west and then south, circling around the main castle grounds and avoiding the majority of pursuit. The closest they came to being stopped was near the point where the canals ran back up to level ground and the path converged with a road off into the distance. There, they were ambushed by a unit led by Zhang He. A well-timed swing of his giant hammer and Shimazu was able to put that threat out of mind, leaving Zhao Yun snickering as he ran up toward the road and through a gate. A blow like that would set Zhang He’s beauty regimen back by several weeks.

A single peal of thunder rolled ponderously across the landscape as they gained the road and kept running, diverting off into the trees to stay under cover and hide evidence of their passing. They had left the last of their pursuers behind, but they could not stop running until they had put some distance between them and the castle. The day waned and the sun sank into a bank of storm clouds, gilding the land with ominous orange light, before they finally called a halt to rest. Beside a stream that was cold and clear enough to refresh them, Zhao Yun crouched with his spear resting on his knees, head in his hands, silently giving thanks for this sudden change in fortune. His own freedom was second to his lord being alive after all, proof that the nightmare was only a nightmare and not a memory of what really happened. Xingcai stood over him, looking through the trees to the clouds. “At the risk of saying so too soon, it looks like we got away safe,” she said quietly.

“I don’t expect to be safe for long,” Yun murmured, lifting his head. “If we are to find Lord Liu Bei, we will have to plunge back into danger again, no doubt. He may be held in a castle even more fortified than this.”

“But…” The young woman looked sadly down at him, though he had his back to her and didn’t see. “…let yourself rest for one night, Lord Zhao Yun.”

“I can’t rest.” He shook his head and stood up, jabbing the butt of the Dragon Spear into the ground at his feet. “I’ve rested enough in that prison. We cannot stay here anyway, we have to keep moving.” He turned, then, to the strange warriors he had only just met. “I thank you, for the help you gave me today. I don’t know where you came from, but I welcome your aid all the same.”

“Told you. We were sent,” Shimazu said cryptically. “Someone wanted you out of there real bad.” He eyed the short woman beside him. “And _you_ need to be more careful. Going around getting yourself captured like that…”

She put her nose in the air and harrumphed proudly. “I don’t recall needing the Devil Shimazu looking after me as if he were my father,” she complained.

Yun scratched his neck awkwardly. “Um…still. Thank you.”

The woman regarded him regally. “I am Tachibana Ginchiyo, Lord and Lady of the Tachibana. You are a skilled fighter and a man of some honor. I would be glad to fight by your side, for a time.”

He bowed in return. “Zhao Yun, I serve the lord of Shu. I know not what a Tachibana is, but I would be glad to have you as an ally all the same.” He looked around at the other two, still rather curious as to how they met up. “I wish Master Zuo Ci had not left us.”

“He hasn’t. Not entirely.”

The aged figure seemed to shimmer into being out of nowhere, just as he had vanished earlier. With him was Zhang Bao, agape at being teleported but clearly glad to be safe nonetheless. It startled all the others, but they stood down their weapons rather quickly, and Xingcai gathered her elder brother close in relief. “Master,” Yun said eagerly. “Please, anything and everything you know, you must tell me.”

The Taoist arched an eyebrow. “Everything I know would take three lifetimes to even begin to tell you, young dragon,” he said sagely. “But I gather that you mean, everything about Liu Bei’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, Shimazu Yoshihiro is correct – we do not yet know to which castle he has been taken. He is Orochi’s hostage, and a means of keeping the shattered remnants of Shu from rising up against Orochi.”

Yun’s fair face darkened. “Orochi. He is the one who attacked Chengdu, and bested both Zhuge Liang and myself before overtaking our lord.” He banged the spear against the ground in frustration. “If only the other Tiger Generals had been there! But then, perhaps all of us would have been slain, instead of just…” He shook his head. “I don’t even know if any of them are alive.”

“The officers of Shu are scattered, but all of them still live,” Zuo Ci reassured. “It seems that they need you as much as your lord does, Zhao Yun. And there are others.” He gave a nod of his head to indicate the two strangers with them. “The people of Honshu and Kyuushuu are also fighting against Orochi’s rule, and their lords are in the same danger as yours. You will need to band together, or else Orochi will annihilate all.”

Zhao Yun wilted a little, as if his fatigue had finally caught up with him, but he straightened after a moment and gripped his spear more tightly, mustering his resolve. “Then, if no one else is able to unite the lost fighters of these kingdoms, I will. I will make it my goal to find Lord Liu Bei and rescue him, and if it takes bringing together every last surviving fighter in this strange land, then so be it.”

Zuo Ci’s face lightened in humor. “You may not need to go quite to those lengths. There are others, already mounting a resistance. You will find them, and they will find you.”

“And what about you?” Yun asked hopefully. “Will you help us?”

“I will be watching.” Zuo Ci bowed very deeply. “I took the liberty of giving Cao Ren enough trouble to keep him busy most of the night. If you set out with no delay, they will not be able to track you in time to catch you. Seeing as your goal would be hard to reach from inside that prison cell, I suggest you continue your journey. Fear not, Zhao Yun…” He began to step backwards, vanishing gradually into the twilight as he did. “…I will indeed be watching. Farewell.”

There was no way to stop a mystic like Zuo Ci, he came and went at his own whim. Yun stood back to accept this, and then turned to the others. “This is more news than I’ve had since I was captured many weeks ago. It seems we have a long way to go in order to save my lord. You are free to go your own ways as you please, but if you want to go with me, I will be grateful.” Seeing as they were all refreshed enough, he waved a hand to beckon them all to follow him as he set out again. As long as he kept the castle roughly at his back and themselves hidden from prying eyes, he didn’t care which direction they traveled for now. Liu Bei was alive, against all hope, what did it matter whether he was going north or east or south? Repeating it to himself put a spring in his step and kept him alert throughout the night’s journey: _Liu Bei is alive!_

  


Wherever in reality the world of Orochi actually lay, it still abided by the rules of day and night, of sun and moon and stars, seasons and solstices. Each patch of land still obeyed whatever laws of time constrained it, so as weeks turned into months, strongholds where summer had lain moved toward fall, and winter locations thawed toward spring. Where a mountain path may have been impassible before it was now open, and vice versa, and lowlands showed signs of where and when some may flood. Certain strategists measured and marked all this, as the weather and climate and terrain always factored into a successful battle plan. Armies needed the right provisions, and troops could not be swiftly moved to make a difference in a battle if they were held up by sudden snows or high rivers. It was, perhaps, one of few things Orochi had not taken into account when he ripped up castles and tracts of land from their roots and plunked them down in his private realm without concern for juxtaposition, but he relied on the human strategists to anticipate and plan around these things. They had assured him that no more powerful warlords were lurking out there waiting to be challenged, Orochi had seen to them all and no one doubted that he was ultimately their conqueror. Whether he was enjoying his supreme victory or disappointed that the resistance had not been stronger, it was hard to tell, and once he withdrew to Koshi Castle, hardly anyone under his thrall actually saw him for a long time. Orders came through Da Ji, who flitted about from fortress to fortress delivering those orders and marshalling the forces to respond to threats. Rumors were already running far and wide across the land that Oda Nobunaga had risen up from his defeat and now wanted to conquer Orochi’s land for his own, but even he could not be responsible for the sheer number of small pockets of rebellion that were starting to pop up. There were too many for the conscripted forces of Wu and Mikawa to deal with alone, it was becoming more and more necessary to call in other alliances. Even with Sun Quan, Tokugawa, and Dong Zhuo deployed across the landscape, small bands of fighters were striking hard and fast at the flanks and taking back loosely-guarded strongholds. Ninjas of some unknown allegiance harried Orochi’s army whenever it traveled, and bandits lay in wait at strategic points to hit both troop movements and supply chains. Far from the absolute tyrant word made him out to be, Orochi had become yet another warlord attempting to keep hold of his possessions while they trickled gradually through his fingers via tried-and-true guerrilla warfare tactics. The longer he stayed out of sight and relied on Da Ji to run the day-to-day machinations of the army, the bolder those guerrilla forces grew. Out of frustration if nothing else, she began to call in favors from their allies in Wei more and more often, to the point that Cao Pi himself was now riding to the front to deal with her messes. It was not an ideal partnership, but it served to stem the tide of conflict in the short term.

The rivers running through Kuzegawa were high and strong, making it a perfect place from which bandits could launch attacks on the larger Orochi army, which had trouble maneuvering across the marshy eyots and had to take the long way around. The smaller strike force led by Cao Pi did not have the same issues, and when used as part of a clever strategy devised and led by Ishida, victory was almost certain. Their standing order for a sortie in this location was to wipe out these bandits and stop them from harassing Orochi’s interests, a duty the lord of Wei felt beneath his station, particularly when he arrived and discovered that Da Ji herself was overseeing the mission with Ishida at her right hand. What, then, were his forces there to do? It was perplexing and frustrating, but he kept his reaction to himself and led his men into the fray, even as he realized that he was being used as part of the strategist’s plan without being consulted. It was a strange force which met them, not looking at all like bandits but rather clad in bits and pieces of armor supplied by former kingdoms and moving in units much as enlisted soldiers would. Most of them, anyway; one contingent showed all the tokens of being from an even earlier time period and faction, and were defeated just as easily. Cao Pi ordered Xu Huang to capture Zhang Jiao merely to keep him out of the way, he was of no use to Orochi’s army but he was a pain to deal with otherwise. Seeing as he was alone, without his vaunted followers of the Yellow Turban or even a single one of his brothers, it might not have been quite so surprising to find him fallen to the lowly level of a mere bandit. Pi took note of it as he continued on, riding to the rendezvous as ordered and allowing his men to be swept up into Ishida’s ambush plans, seeing as their might was at least being put to good use. His men brought him word that the bandit leaders were apparently commanding from a fortification on the far side of the rivers, so Cao Pi turned that way, intending to get there before the strategist could catch up and claim the glory.

With his two favored generals riding to meet him in a wedge, Cao Pi seemed to already have things well in hand, and wore a bored look like nothing about this battle interested him. Behind such a mask, he had to wonder about the organization of these troops and the way they conducted the battle. An even bigger surprise was waiting to ambush him at the end of the path, though it didn’t seem to hamper the momentum of the battle for the commander to run headlong into such a plot. Not at all, since the officer leading a cadre of archers was entirely familiar to him. Judging by the look on his face, Xiahou Yuan wasn’t expecting to run into Cao Pi, either, but after a moment’s boggled shock, he shook it off and shouted the order for his men to fire. Pi whirled his horse to face them, undaunted, and several cowed before his presence – they were Wei archers, his own men, and panicked and fled rather than fire upon their lord. That left Yuan to take the battle to him alone, something he appeared all too eager to do, so Pi met him with equal resolve. He didn’t pull his strikes at all, he rode to the fight without flinching and, thanks to knowing the bowman’s fighting style so well, cut him down with a minimum of struggle. Yuan cursed him the entire time, moreso when he realized the young lord of Wei was not backing down but willingly attacking a comrade. The fight was over mercifully quickly, but before he could be taken captive, Yuan struggled to rise and fired one more arrow at point-blank range, which ricocheted off Cao Pi’s scale mail like an idle threat. “Your father,” he accused in a roar as he picked himself up off the field, “would never have let Wei fall apart like this if he were alive!”

Cao Pi snorted in response and let him flee in disgrace, not dignifying his anger with any kind of direct response. “I see the men of Wei haven’t lost their fighting spirit,” he remarked to no one in particular. Only Ishida Mitsunari was near enough to have overheard, as he caught up to the front line.

“Lord Cao Pi!” Yue Jin called out. “What do we do with this one?”

Pi turned from where he was about to mount his horse and looked, and was hit by a second shock to see that it was another of his father’s retainers who had fled from Orochi’s might at Yiling. “Why, if it isn’t Xu Zhu,” he murmured. Yue Jin had already defeated him, he sat like a rather large boulder on the side of the path looking dejected. A quick gesture sealed the plump man’s fate. “We don’t need ropes for him, just give him something to eat and he’ll be happy.”

“Oh, so you’re going easy on _that_ one,” Ishida remarked from behind him. “What’s the difference?”

Pi regarded him and smiled coldly. “In terms of loyalty, none. But Xu Zhu has none of the bitterness of my father’s cousins, guile is lost on him. As long as we keep him fed, he will pledge us his service without question. And I admit that he is a powerful fighter. He’ll do well in my army once more.”

“Fine. He’s all yours, then,” Ishida declared before spurring his horse past them to see to the conclusion of the battle. Da Ji was waiting for them at a garrison farther north to hear the results of their bandit-hunting, but for now, what happened on this end of the battlefield remained between the two commanders.

The fortified garrison at the end of the path, back in the trees, was a good choice for bandit leaders. It was strong and well-built with a heavy iron door, and had the vantage point to look down on the rivers of Kuzegawa without being seen in turn. The forest was thick around it, so the only way in was through the stoutly-barricaded door. Yet, now that the field officers had been routed or captured, there wasn’t anyone left to defend it but those inside, while the Orochi forces and their Wei allies were still strong and capable. There was no need for elegant strategy here, only brute force and a battering ram, and in due time the gate was properly bashed in. Only then did the Orochi army realize that the bandits weren’t bandits at all, but generals of former empires flailing about at an attempted resistance movement. Xiahou Yuan was neither the most notable nor the strongest officer in their ranks, and as this notion dawned on them, Xu Huang and Zhang Liao burst into the garrison to handle this last phase of the battle.

As the dust cleared, Cao Pi and Ishida Mitsunari rode in to find Xu Huang had just subdued the so-called bandit leader, who turned out to be Huang Gai of Wu. Cao Pi dismounted and paced in front of him, gave him a couple of choice insults about his age and disappointing performance, and then let him leave freely. He was aware that Mitsunari was watching, and would probably report this to Da Ji, but he had his reasons. Today was actually the first he had crossed paths with the young strategist since his debriefing at Jianye Castle some weeks ago, but time had not made him any more disposed to cooperating with a servant of Da Ji. To prove it, he walked straight up to Mitsunari and faced him boldly. “I’m sure your beloved commander wants to know all about the bloodshed here. What will you tell her?”

Ishida frowned down at him from where he sat astride his horse. “Why, are you afraid I’m going to tattle on you for letting them go?”

“On the contrary.” Pi smirked casually. “Feel free to tell her. Just make sure you get the names right. The leader here was a man named Huang Gai. He is not a bandit, but rather, one of Wu’s trusted generals and a bodyguard of Sun Jian. At least, he _was_.” He flicked his eyes back up toward the strategist. “Our orders here were to eradicate bandits. I did not find bandits; therefore, as I was not under orders to eradicate officers of Wei and Wu, I didn’t. It is as simple as that.”

Mitsunari grumbled under his breath. It was a clever loophole, since it was the bald truth. Cao Pi had followed Da Ji’s orders to the letter and not a hair more. “Then you can bring her the prisoner. Not the fat guy, the other one.”

“Oh, him? You can take credit for him if you like. It doesn’t matter to me.” Cao Pi was certain that Zhang Jiao would be just as much of a headache to the Orochi army as he had been to the Han Dynasty, he was entirely too happy to hand him over as a prisoner and watch from a distance. Pi gave Mitsunari another smug look and went to mount up and ride back to camp, and see to his men. Already, Xu Huang and Xu Zhu were chatting like nothing had changed, like they were back in the ranks of Wei under Cao Cao and everything was fine. An unexpected bonus to completing their mission.

If Da Ji was displeased that the men leading this rebellion had not been killed or captured, she didn’t show it. She accepted Cao Pi’s report and sent him on his way, dismissing him to return to his nearby military camp in case he would be needed further. He had left the comfort of a castle and was living in the field for now, seeing as he was being deployed more often and his army was large enough that they could not be moved quickly from place to place. Along the way he rode with Zhang Liao, who had taken up the duty of guarding him personally along with Xu Huang. “Strange,” the mighty warrior remarked as their horses plodded along the road. “I knew Wu had fallen, but I had no idea how far, for Huang Gai to be posing as a bandit.”

“Waylaying supply wagons is banditry,” Cao Pi noted, “even if the people doing it are generals trying to feed an army. But I would hesitate to call that little skirmish back there anything at all.” He frowned, mostly to himself. “They had no organization to speak of, even their pathetic strategy of a surprise rear attack was foreseen and forestalled. Ishida barely broke a sweat seeing through it.”

“Come now, my lord,” Liao said smartly. “You don’t have to hide things from me. You did not expect to find the generals we did, there.”

“Perhaps not,” Pi admitted, “but I did not let it stop me from completing my task. And look, we have another officer in our ranks to show for it.”

Liao glanced back to where Xu Zhu followed behind. “I heard he fled from Yiling. I regret that I failed to make it there.”

“Don’t. Life is too short for regrets like that.” Cao Pi gave him a rare smile, the barest twitch of his lips in genuine gratitude. “You were taken in by my army instead, and as a result, you’re alive and well and fighting battles again. Would you really have given that up in order to die at my father’s side?”

“Your words are harsh, young master,” Liao sighed. “I wonder sometimes if you haven’t learned _too_ well from your father.”

Pi barked a short laugh. “Not likely.”

Upon returning to their camp, Cao Pi’s first duty was to check in with his scouts and see if there was any news which demanded his attention. Some of it was information deliberately sent by the Orochi army, some of it was gathered independently by his own scouts. After mulling it over, he called Xu Huang in to see him. “My lord?” the brawny warrior wondered as he ducked into the tent. They had only been back a few hours, what could possibly have changed already?

Pi rolled up the papers he was perusing and set them aside. “I may have a task for you. Not immediately, but in the next few days, be prepared to ride again.”

Xu’s eyes went dark with displeasure. “Has Da Ji already sent orders ahead of your arrival?”

“Not quite.” Pi paced around the table and confronted his bodyguard directly. “Some of the reports coming in interest me. I have a strong feeling we may be called out to one of two or three areas of rebellious activity soon. I don’t much like dividing my army, but if I have anticipated Da Ji correctly, I may not need to.” He turned to the table, which was laid out with a makeshift map of the patchwork territory, showing where their holdings lay in conjunction with occupied territories and key cities. “There are signs of something brewing near this mountain. Should the Orochi army need to intervene, I believe the Wu-led forces are closer – the scouts have seen them camped here.” He placed a finger down on the map. “Should this be the case, I want to send you to augment them. Pick two men you like, form a troop, and stand ready.”

Xu Huang peered at him. “But, why? The main army doesn’t need our help, they’ve never requested it.”

Cao Pi retained his cool, calm expression as he turned his eyes on his retainer. “The scouts have also reported that the ones in charge of this contingent are the Sun children. I am curious to know just how those young men are adjusting to life as conscripts to the demon who holds their father.”

By the way he paused and then nodded, Xu Huang got the gist. “I see. If you’re busy elsewhere, you’ll need someone else to make a first-hand report of that.”

“Precisely.” Pi smirked happily. “Pay attention, though, Gongming. I want to know everything you see, down to the smallest twitch of Sun Quan's eyebrow. You never know when such things might be valuable.”

Huang smirked back, though with much more bemusement. “I see that not having a competent strategist around hasn't slowed your wit at all, young master. Very well, if that is your wish, you can count on me. I will take Yue Jin, he is a fine fighter and clear-headed to boot.”

“I am glad to hear it. Though, you remind me, I should call Guo Jia back from Cao Ren, if he can be spared.” Pi lowered his gaze to the map, and the markers indicating the movements of the Wu conscripts. He was certain that they would soon clash with the Resistance, and he wanted to know every last little thing about such a meeting. “It should be interesting. Let’s hope the opportunity arises to make the most of it.”

At that moment Zhang Liao ducked into the tent, checked at the sight of his comrade already there, and offered his lord a quick bow before standing at ease. “Our forces are well in hand, my lord. Everyone is comfortable, wounds have been treated, and the sentries are ordered.”

Pi nodded his acceptance of the report and moved to relax into a chair. Despite being a military camp, he couldn’t resist having a few comforts along befitting his station. He gestured for his two trusted retainers to stand down as well, and sit if they wanted. “What did you think of our day’s exercise, Wenyuan?” he asked, his casual tone belying his keen interest in the answer.

Liao sighed a bit and tipped his hat back as he dropped onto a seat on a supply crate. “I suppose if you want me to be honest, young master, I’m more interested in who we didn’t meet, rather than who we did.”

“Mm, yes,” Huang agreed, “you mean Xiahou Dun. I noticed that was well, I was half expecting to run into him in the fortress after Miaocai set off that ambush.”

One of Cao Pi’s fingers tapped absently against the scales of his armor where the arrow had harmlessly struck. “As was I. I’m rather curious why one was here without the other. They fled together from Yiling according to reports, along with Xu Zhu, whom we also discovered here.”

“It’s a mystery,” Xu Huang sighed, “but may not be a very deep one. Knowing Yuanrang as I do, I expect he is searching for…” He hesitated, glancing Cao Pi’s way, but there was no tactful way to bring it up. “…ah. Your father’s tomb.”

Pi inclined his head to suggest that he wasn’t bothered by the reminder of his father’s death. “That is a likely explanation.”

“Still, his absence here is to be noted,” Zhang Liao said. “I’m more curious about it than I even am about how our two officers came to be in the employ of Huang Gai.”

“Ah, yes, that.” Pi’s gaze drifted back towards Xu Huang, as if to add that question to the list of things to ask the Sun brothers if they got into contact. “It certainly means that not everyone in Wu has been brought under the snake’s heel. Some of them got away – if Huang Gai, then surely more will be out there. Something to keep in mind.”

“Perhaps.” Liao’s expression clouded somewhat. “I am not proud of my defeat at Hefei. I let you and your father down every bit as much as I did Lord Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and even Master Xingba. The two of us should have been enough, and yet…”

“Come now, Wenyuan,” Cao Pi said, kindly but with a hint of scolding. “It’s time you stopped wallowing about Hefei and looked ahead to our future. The future of Wei, as it were. Mourn my father’s loss if you must, even though it’s been weeks. But there is no reason for this lingering sentiment. You’ve been nothing but capable since, and I trust you.”

“Yes, my lord.” Liao lowered his head contritely.

Satisfied, Pi gestured to the map table. “We will rest here for the night, and then decamp and move back toward Jianye. There is ever the possibility that our illustrious leader could send us new orders while en route, but if not, we might actually be able to make it back to the castle in due order. Yes, Gongming,” he added, “you can tell your comrade here about the special orders I gave you. I keep no secrets that cannot be shared by my men.”

Liao raised his eyes curiously to Huang, who smirked a little. “Is there nothing you cannot see, young master?”

At the same time, still at the edge of Kuzegawa, the Orochi forces brought by Da Ji remained camped in a crumbling temple following the battle. Their losses were as insignificant as those in Wei, and they did have a prisoner, but he was rapidly becoming an irritation. Da Ji had gotten nothing out of him via interrogation, and now stalked to find Ishida wherever he was keeping himself. “Who is that guy?” she complained at her sub-strategist. “If he doesn’t shut up about Heaven I’ll show him what Hell looks like instead.”

Mitsunari tried to hold back a smirk. “I may have to do more research, but it’s possible he’s one of the leaders of the rebellion that toppled the Han Dynasty more than a thousand years ago.”

“ _That_ guy? No way.” Da Ji folded her arms over her ample chest and pouted. “Cao Pi must have known, that’s why he let us have him as a prisoner. You know, I’m starting to get a little suspicious of that guy.”

Mitsunari could understand, since he had seen the two conference after the battle and heard Cao Pi deliver his report. There were no lies in it, yet there was an undercurrent of tension between them. He shrugged stiffly. “He’s an ally, not a subordinate. You always have to watch allies for any chance they might turn on you. Subordinates, at least, you can order around with impunity.”

“Hm, yes.” She eyed him, and then turned away to go find somewhere to relax. “I’ve had enough, I’m taking a nap. If the scouts report in, bring them to me.” She added somewhat under her breath, as if not to let him hear, “I want a good reason to go back to the castle and not keep camping out here, ugh.” Mitsunari still heard it.

This had not been his first brush with the growing Resistance, nor technically the first time he and Cao Pi had taken the field at the same time, but the last skirmish at Jing had been different. They had not even seen one another, Ishida had attacked the fortress of Xiang Yang himself and only after Oda’s forces had interfered, preventing him from killing or capturing one of the famed Tiger Generals of Shu, did he find out that the Wei alliance had come to their aid, a bit too late. The brunt of the loss of that fortress had fallen on his shoulders, and as a result, Da Ji was keeping Mitsunari closer to her, deploying him as a direct subordinate of hers. He frowned to himself as he stood watching the camp settle around him; his strategies were sound, as today no doubt proved, but he doubted that she would let him off the hook so easily. After all, this bunch of false bandits were nowhere near the strength of Oda Nobunaga and his closest, most powerful retainers. At least he could take some satisfaction at the thought that Cao Pi had run straight into the warlord and lost the field as well, so they were both in the proverbial doghouse together. Whether this small scuffle at Kuzegawa had restored either or both of them in Da Ji’s good graces, Mitsunari could not tell. Some small part of him also did not care. But when Da Ji was irritated, nobody around her was happy, so he knew it would be in his best interests to continue to cater to her whims. That meant it was up to him to collect the scout reports and keep the camp ready to strike and march back home. Busywork far beneath someone of his station, but it had to be done.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun Ce makes himself an enemy of the Resistance, but gains a friend. Zhao Yun begins recruiting and rescuing.

Atop a fir-clad mountain easing from summer into fall, a makeshift palisade screened the movements of an occupying army slowly building itself up into a force to be reckoned with. They weren’t much now, but they had a definite mission in mind, and claiming these mountains would be a proper start, giving them a secure base from which to strike out at Orochi’s forces. They were mostly men of Shu, who had been far away from Chengdu to assist when the first wave of Orochi’s conquest swept over the land, but had managed to come together through chance meetings in order to organize and openly rebel. Among them, only Wang Ping had been there to witness Orochi's might for himself, and was able to relate to his countrymen what little he knew of the fates of their commanding officers. It was clear that some great tragedy had befallen Shu, so the rest banded together to make the best of what they had. Despite her intelligence and tactical expertise, Yueying chose not to lead; rather, that duty fell to Ma Chao, who was far more charismatic and already well-known as a general. He had stumbled across Jiang Wei in his travels, so the three of them united made a fairly formidable unit. Under the strategies of Zhuge Liang’s wife and protégé they had claimed nearby Mount Tiandang, which now had a large building plopped on top of it that wasn’t there before, and coordinated their forces between the two high peaks in order to survey the land for miles around and prepare a bulwark against attack. They spoke in abstract terms of a time when their efforts would become impossible for the Orochi army to ignore, but all of them were under the impression that it would be some time before such a thing would happen.

The days in that particular territory passed without much fuss, the weather warm and pleasant as befitting the late days of summer or possibly early autumn. There were no civilians encamped with them, working the land, but they did have contact with villages fairly nearby in order to procure supplies. It was also a good way to get information and reconnaissance on the wider world beyond the hills, so that the leaders of this tiny resistance cell would not be completely unaware of their enemy’s movements. While the Wei army was returning to Jianye and Da Ji was getting information on the Resistance in other areas, the Shu generals dug in and kept watch. Unlike some, they had only heard the rumors of who had been conscripted into the Orochi army and who else was working to support rather than undermine the demon, but this far out, they had little way of getting actual facts and coherent details. They were left merely to do their best with what they had. As the head commander it fell to Ma Chao to survey the camp and inspect the troops, which he was doing today with his cousin at his side providing colorful commentary on the weather, the changing leaves, and the need for wine to help celebrate when they were victorious. “Is there even wine to be had in this world?” Chao wondered, raising an eyebrow. “Of all the things to be concerned about, Dai.”

Ma Dai continued undaunted; he was in a good mood today. “There has to be, somewhere! Sure, it may not be exactly as we’re used to, but this land is partly made up of home. And they had wine at home, so why not? Hmm, I wonder if snake demons drink wine…”

“We are not assailing Orochi for the purpose of procuring wine,” Chao snorted.

“Come now, cousin…” Dai ribbed him playfully. “I know things look dark, but you have to have a sense of humor once in a while or else you’re liable to just crumble under the weight of it all. Ah, look, here comes Jiang Wei. At least he still knows how to smile.”

Ma Chao glanced up to find him correct. The younger man was hustling up towards them rather quickly, trident in hand, and he was most definitely not smiling. “My lord,” he called out, “there is an army headed this way!”

“What?” Chao stopped in his tracks, straightening up on alert. Nearby soldiers who heard the cry dropped whatever they were doing and watched and waited to hear more. “Tell me, then.”

Jiang Wei was a little out of breath from running uphill. “Sentries reported seeing an army moving through the valley to the south and west of Tiandang. It’s Orochi, the Orochi army.” He paused to catch his breath, glancing back and forth between Ma Chao’s stern face and Ma Dai’s surprised one. “It was hard to tell from a distance, but I think they’re being led by Sun Quan. I saw the uniforms of Wu soldiers, at least. I’d recognize those anywhere.”

Ma Chao bristled. Dai clapped a hand to his head. “What? So the stories that Wu is fighting for Orochi are true?”

“Have they spotted us?” Chao demanded to know.

“I can’t say,” Wei honestly replied. “But I would advise that we prepare for battle regardless. There is only a slim chance that they will pass by and not see us here, but I would rather be ready than caught off guard.”

“Prepare the army!” Ma Chao raised a hand and waved to beckon his men to get moving. “Rouse the camp! Make ready to fight!” He turned to Jiang Wei. “Now is the time we need your expertise. You and Lady Yueying have been devising strategies for just this occasion, haven’t you?”

Wei nodded briskly. “We have. I’ll meet with her and we’ll have a deployment plan ready for you shortly.”

As he hurried away, a young boy trotted up from the other direction, carrying a sword longer than him across his back. “I heard the call. What is it? Is it Orochi?”

“His army, at least.” Ma Chao took a moment to size up the lad, who he had picked up in his travels near the edge of a winter territory. Alone and injured, the youngster told him a tale of Orochi and his conquering hordes that ended with him being separated from his lord’s army, and not too particular about who might give him aid. Ma Chao had immediately taken him in, and looked after him as he traveled across the land assisting peasants. By now, the boy's injuries had healed, he seemed good as new. “Is it still your intention to fight, Ranmaru?”

Ran nodded once. “I am a warrior, Lord Ma Chao. If I cannot fight, I will die.”

“Now, now. There’s no need to go to those kind of dramatics,” Dai teased. “I watched him spar with some of the men, Mengqi. He’s a terror, to be sure. Wu’s forces will be quite surprised to face him.”

Their leader mulled it over and then sighed. “Very well. I will see you in action for myself, Ranmaru. I’ll make sure Jiang Wei doesn’t forget you when he maps out the troop deployment.”

The boy bowed deeply, and then remembered who he was among and clasped his fist before his heart in a more traditional salute common to his benefactors. “Thank you, Lord Ma Chao. I wish only to fight.”

Ma Chao dismissed him with a nod and then turned to go and get suited up. He needed his helm and his spear, while his attendants saddled his horse and readied for battle. He wanted to see for himself that the once-brave men of Wu were now servants of the snake, so he could pass judgment on them. He had seen the demons all across the land for weeks, defiling once-fertile fields where townsfolk could grow crops, chasing after peasants for the sheer thrill of killing them. Ma Chao had saved as many as he could, and destroyed the snake soldiers wherever he found them. It was already too clear that they weren’t redeemable in any way, the only justice was in destroying them before they could take more innocent lives. And if anyone he might have once respected supported those demon creatures, they deserved the same judgment.

The officers met as soon as all were equipped, to go over the battle plan and finalize their goals, just outside the commander’s tent in the heart of the camp. A small, sketchy map served as their focus point, around which they stood while the strategists pointed out locations and paths. By that time they had received more reports from their own sentries, and could confirm that the Orochi forces were in fact headed right for them, not merely passing by. “We have a small problem,” Yueying noted. “They have considerable numbers, more than I was expecting. We are still somewhat short-handed. I have no doubts that they will attempt to take Mount Tiandang and hold it against us, but therein lies the problem. We need to hold the mountain to prevent them from gaining a foothold, but we lack the manpower to do so. It’s possible we may have to give up that ground in order to preserve ourselves.”

“Is there no other way?” Ma Chao fretted. “No clever tricks that may be employed?”

“Not at this time,” Jiang Wei said sadly. “There are two main routes over which their army could move, one of which is straight up the mountain. If they cut around to this side, here, they could essentially pincer the mountain between two forces. Our only course of action in that case would be to empty this garrison and pour all of our men, down to the last reserves, on them and pincer them in return.”

“I do not recommend this,” Lady Yueying interjected. “It would put us in a position to be wiped out.”

“No doubt exactly what Orochi wants.” Ma Chao looked back and forth between the two wisest members of his rebel force. “Is there nothing we can do except charge to our deaths?”

“There is a small chance,” Yueying offered. “We lay ambushes, here and here. Jiang Wei should lead one, I suggest the one with a clear path to charge up the back side of the mountain, here. If our forces at the top hold out as long as they can and then retreat, drawing the invading army with them, it will leave their flank open to the ambush. The further they press, the more they expose themselves to the second ambush here.” She pointed to the base of Mount Dingjun, dangerously close to their camp.

“It is a good plan,” Jiang Wei added in. “I would be honored to lead the ambush.”

Ma Chao looked between them again, and nodded to accept the plan. “Do not lose your lives for this gamble,” he implored. “This is nothing like the wars back home, protecting our homelands. This mountain can be sacrificed in place of lives. If it looks like the battle is turning against us, do not do anything foolish. Retreat, and we will regroup later. The only way to keep a rebellion alive,” he said gravely, “is for the leaders to not die.”

Everyone around him agreed. Ma Dai was about to open his mouth and make a cheery remark to lift their spirits when a messenger ran up to them, carrying a scroll sealed with a familiar tiger emblem. The enemy commander had sent them a warning. Jiang Wei took it and read it aloud for them. “‘Lord Orochi is made aware of your acts of rebellion. Cease immediately and surrender your faction leaders to the commander at the base of Mount Dingjun, and you will be allowed to disperse alive.’ Signed and sealed by Sun Ce and Sun Quan…”

“So the treason of Wu runs deep,” Ma Chao grunted. “Show them no mercy. If they choose to side with Orochi, they will feel the justice of my spear.”

“So I’m not turning you in,” Ma Dai quipped.

Ma Chao looked at him. “You’d be coming with me, cousin.”

Jiang Wei rolled the scroll up and placed it in the center of their map. “To your positions, then. Lord Ma Chao, hold the camp unless the enemy forces overwhelm the valley below. If they get past us, they’ll be coming for you.”

“I expected as much. Let them come.” Chao gripped his Silver Stallion tightly. “I will make them regret setting a foot in these mountains.”

On the far side of Mount Tiandang, the Sun brothers awaited their chance to start. Both were intent on fighting this time to make quick work of it, but Ce was on foot while his brother rode. Quan moved up beside him cautiously. “Remember, brother. We are bound by our agreement with Orochi – if we defeat the resistance army here, one hostage will be freed.”

“Believe me,” Ce said darkly, “I won’t forget.” He couldn’t; it was the only thing on his mind, and had been since the orders were delivered two days before. All their battles for some time had been against tiny pockets of leaderless soldiers, villagers with the guts to take up their pitchforks and rebel, nothing seriously organized and led by true captains. When information had come down that this particular resistance cell was being led by officers of Shu, notable names no less, Ce had almost said no. The word was on his lips, he was finished doing Orochi’s dirty work, but then came the unexpected deal. Of course, the reverse was also part of the deal: if he were to fail, his father would be executed. Things were heating up, and now the safety of the hostages was being dangled before him to keep him from throwing off his chains and joining the very resistance he was being sent to quell. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Even if he didn’t have a choice in which of his officers was returned to him, Ce intended to sacrifice himself, his life and his reputation, in order to save them. It meant not losing this battle, or any others. Victory was the only way.

He made to step out and lead the charge, but Quan stayed him with one more comment. “You’ve done a commendable job in Father’s absence. I know how hard it’s been for you, but you have kept Wu together…”

Ce raised a tonfa to cut him off, not looking at him. “How about we just get this battle over and done with, hm?” He trudged off, then, not wanting to hear any more. He hadn’t kept Wu together, they had lost so much, how could Quan even say that to him? The only thing to do now was fight, and so he called for his men to follow, breaking into a jog up the side of Tiandang.

Tokugawa Ieyasu rode up alongside Quan. “He is still knotted up, I see.”

“That’s my brother,” Sun Quan sighed. “For better or worse. I don’t consider it a weakness. The future lord of Wu needs to feel compassion for his people and his men.” He shifted a glance toward the warlord. “Do you think Orochi suspected he might have been close to rebelling? Is that why he decided now to start offering the lives of the hostages in trade for victories?”

“It is difficult to say what Orochi is thinking,” Tokugawa said gruffly, gathering the reins into one hand in order to hoist his weapon in the other. “But the battles are going to become more fierce from here on out. With Oda Nobunaga making such a fuss in other parts of the land, we can’t afford to let every last troublemaker run around with impunity. It would be asking for the rebellion to succeed.”

“Hm. Yeah, that would be a real pity,” Sun Quan said sarcastically, likewise drawing his sword. “All right, men, move out! Capture Mount Tiandang first, and then make an advance on the enemy’s camp at Dingjun!”

As expected, the battle was fierce, far more harrowing than either side had experienced for some time. The officers atop Tiandang could barely hold their ground long enough for the ambushes to be sprung, and then gave way and fled as Sun Quan and Tokugawa claimed the high ground and Ce charged right through, plowing aside any captain who dared to get in his way. To put down the resistance, here, he knew the quickest way was to take out its leader, but his heart misgave him. There had to be a way that didn’t involve killing someone who probably felt exactly as he did about Orochi. Crossing paths with Jiang Wei did not help. The young general fought masterfully, and nearly bested him, but Ce refused to be beaten. The fate of his friends hung in the balance. Clashing at stalemate, his crossed tonfa against the strong trident, he found himself facing a moment of battlefield intimacy with Wei. The younger man frowned at him, looking almost pained to see him. It was his first encounter with a legend, and he found the circumstances tragic. “Your strength is wasted on me,” he hissed in the close space between them, where none would overhear in the midst of the din. “It should be directed towards Orochi!”

Sun Ce’s face twisted in a flash of grief and anger. “He has the lives of my father and my friends in his filthy hands!” he hissed back. “If only I knew where they were being held, I wouldn’t have to do this…!”

Jiang Wei flinched in surprise, but recovered himself before he could be knocked backwards. “Then come, Sun Ce,” he admonished, “and show me your best!”

That was all Ce was asking for. He pushed hard, disengaged their weapons, and went on the attack once again. For a moment it seemed like the young Shu general would allow him to pass out of sympathy, but he fought back just as hard and forced Ce to earn his victory. As he lay on the ground, the trident knocked several feet away, he looked up to find his foe simply striding off to the next fight, leaving him be. Jiang Wei took a moment to thank his fate, grabbed his trident, and raced off the battlefield before anyone else could come along and finish what Sun Ce had started. He stumbled into Wang Ping, also retreating, and gestured for him to follow. They had to regroup and circle around, to bolster Yueying on the other side of the mountain if they could.

Though the strategy went well, it could never account for the strength of officers with a singular drive in their heart. That, and the addition of reinforcements that even the invading army had not expected. The ambushes held firm along the paths running down the mountain, sending Sun Ce hunting around the far side for a clearer path in order to get around them. As he came to a stop to get his bearings, three horses charged out of a side path leading a small contingent, and he brought up his tonfa quickly to protect himself from what he assumed was yet another ambush. The oncoming riders likewise challenged him, until the foremost came close enough to recognize him, and lowered his massive axe to signal the others to stand down. “Lord Sun Ce,” Xu Huang greeted him with some good cheer. “Allow us to add our forces to yours.”

Ce lowered his weapons, eyeing them with suspicion. He knew that Cao Pi was ruling Wei and had an alliance with Orochi, but as yet he and the men of Wu had not yet actually joined battle alongside these allies. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I don’t need Wei’s help.”

Xu Huang rested the axe on his shoulder. “We've come to honor our alliance. Nothing more or less. Unless you don't want a few extra hands on the battlefield?”

“It's not that...” Ce shook his head, and then sighed and gestured with a tonfa for them to follow. “Right. We've got our hands full, the Shu forces have ambushed us on two sides. I could actually use an extra hand coming around this side to try to break up their front line.”

“Consider it done. I should like to see your strength on the field with my own eyes, Lord Sun Ce.” The Wei commander waved to send his two compatriots forward, and then followed at a charge. Sun Ce watched them go, and then trotted after them, putting his concerns out of mind in order to focus on the fight at hand. There was no sense in questioning Wei at the moment, it could wait until later.

Things were going well for the officers of Shu until the ambush line was broken from the south, by the Wei reinforcements no less, and Yueying herself was captured by Xu Huang. From there, the path to the second mountain lay open, and the rest of the Orochi army was able to finally break through to join them. This would be the last push, and the toughest part of the battle. The defending garrison emptied even as Sun Ce and his forward officers reached the slopes of Dingjun, and the thunder of hooves announced the charge of the Xiliang cavalry into the fray. Ce still wore his dark scowl as he stormed to meet them, though he let the Ma cousins pass him by – they were terrors on horseback, he couldn't challenge them until he could unseat them. Before he could even plan to do so, a blade whiffed through the air and nearly took his head off, forcing him to duck and roll. He came up quickly to find a rather young boy coming at him with a sword nearly as long as himself, leading even more soldiers. Ce recovered quickly and met him blow for blow, showing no mercy even if he had never seen someone so young serving as a commanding officer before. Anyone who came at him with such deadly intent could not be taken lightly, they deserved an equal response. It was an intense fight, but short, and Ce knocked the boy sprawling with some satisfaction. He took a moment to catch his breath, the expression on his face beginning to ease. He still wore a fierce look, yes, but something had happened while fighting the lad, making it possible for him to turn to face Ma Chao with fresh determination. The great Tiger General was coming straight for him, roaring as he charged. Ce swung a tonfa hard and wide to clout the man off his horse, and then they were fighting on the ground, sparks flying from the head of Silver Stallion as Chao struck fast and smoothly against the two tonfa coming at him one after the other. He still had enough breath to hurl threats loudly at Ce, but the young Wu lord didn’t back down or show remorse. It was an even match up until one lucky move, one left instead of right, and Ce was able to knock the spear out of one hand and strike inside the broken guard. Ma Chao went down heavily, armor clunking as he thudded into the dirt. By his orders, Ce should have followed through and killed him, but he hesitated, and in that moment, a charging horse knocked him aside. He stumbled but kept his feet, looking up sharply to see Ma Dai placing himself between his cousin and his foe, his usually fair and cheerful face grim with a firm look of determination. Ma Chao managed to scramble to his feet with his weapon and vault up behind Dai, and without further word or insult to the enemy commander, they rode off. With their departure, the battle was over. The Orochi army was successful.

Ma Chao’s taunts were still ringing in Ce’s ears as he supervised the roundup of prisoners. _You are naught but a dog, biting and barking at Orochi’s call!_ Though he knew the truth, Ce was still stung by it. _Is that how they see me? Well, so be it. My reputation is worth the lives of my friends_. He didn’t want to be hated, but if it kept his father and his comrades alive even one day longer, he didn’t care. Seeing as Tokugawa had a prisoner under his charge to take to Da Ji as proof of their victory, Ce stood before the willowy young boy he had defeated and thought over his options. In the end he shrugged. “You’re free to go.”

“But…my lord…” Ranmaru shook his head. 

“What? My orders were to put down the resistance, and I did. My job here is complete. That's all.” Sun Ce turned, raising a tonfa in salute. “You know, there hasn't been much to smile about lately, but fighting you? Now that was fun.”

Frustrated, Ranmaru shouted after him before he could leave. “I do not understand you! You are forced to fight for Orochi, and yet you show me mercy by giving me my life. I have nowhere else to go, no one to serve. Let me come with you!”

Ce paused in his tracks, but didn't turn back around to face the boy. He was vaguely amused by the impassioned plea, but he understood the underlying desire not to be alone, and in the end, only shrugged. “Life is short. You do what you feel is right,” he said, leaving the choice up to the boy. He turned to hike back to his army, and was not surprised to hear Ranmaru’s light footsteps following him.

It was not until all their forces had been accounted for and returned to the nearest stronghold, Guandu, along with Yueying as prisoner, before Orochi’s end of the bargain would be fulfilled. Sun Ce fully expected to be strung along a little further, to have the agreement reneged upon because he didn’t capture or kill Ma Chao, but to his relief, he was met at the castle gates by a small knot of snake soldiers escorting Zhou Yu. In front of Ce and Quan, they cut the man’s bonds and handed back his sword, and then left him to rejoin his comrades. Ce almost collapsed on the spot in relieved joy, but he held himself manfully even as Yu stopped before him. “Thank you, my lord,” he said in his gentle voice. “I owe you my freedom.”

“Zhou Yu…” Ce reached out and clasped wrists with him, in the manner of comrades, but held on a little bit longer than usual.

Yu smiled understandingly. “I know you must be torn apart by the situation you find yourself in. But you must walk the path in which you believe. And know that I will be beside you all the way.”

His friend smiled back weakly. “How much do you know?”

“I know enough. I may not have been there to witness every conflict you’ve fought in, but I know what’s going on.”

“Are you well, Zhou Yu?” Quan asked. “Did they mistreat you, at all?”

Yu smirked, but there was a coldness behind it. “Oh, they took very good care of me. Don’t worry about me, Lord Sun Quan. That is past, and I am with you both, now.” He added a nod to Zhou Tai, a nonverbal thank-you for looking after his lord, which was returned in like fashion.

“I’m sorry to have to drag you into this,” Ce said honestly. “It wasn’t my intention to make the rest of you suffer the same burden as me. But I’ll be glad to have you with me, Zhou Yu.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I will gladly walk into hell with you, you don’t even need to ask.”

“Let’s go on in to the fort, then,” Quan implored. “I’m tired of tents that leak in the rain, I’ll be glad for a warm meal and warm bed for once.”

“You said it,” Ce agreed, clapping a hand to Yu’s shoulder as they headed inside. “Don’t let me forget to assign quarters to my new esquire, too.”

“Esquire?” Yu repeated, confused. “That is a new development I had not heard about.”

Ce tossed his head to indicate the boy following several long paces behind, not timid but not approaching the reunion of friends too closely either. “I picked him up after the last battle. He’s not one of ours, and he’s not from Shu, so he must be from that other land. He’s pretty good with that sword. I’d rather have him where I can keep an eye on him, than roaming around alone. Something tells me he does better when he’s got somebody to follow.”

Zhou Yu looked back and pondered for a moment before turning his face forward. “I see. No, you’re probably right. We’ll find quarters for him as well.” He offered a smile for his companions. “Maybe Zhou Tai would like to put him through his paces.”

The brothers laughed, and Zhou Tai merely looked mildly put out for even entertaining the suggestion. Sparring could wait, though, they had their time free for the moment and could spend it catching up and enjoying the temporary comforts of a well-stocked castle.

Late that night, after dark, after the short-lived joy of socializing with comrades faded away and the officers retired to their quarters, Ce snuck out of his, looked both ways for guards, and hastened down the hall to Zhou Yu’s. Were they home in their own land, he wouldn’t have to be so surreptitious about it, but his reason for going was best not revealed to the snake-guards of Orochi. He rapped a familiar tattoo with his knuckles before sliding the door open enough to duck in, trusting the old signal to warn Yu who had come to visit. Sure enough, the graceful strategist was on his feet waiting the minute Ce turned around and grinned. “You have no idea,” he breathed, “how much I’ve missed this.”

“What,” Zhou Yu smirked back, “bothering me when I would rather be reading?”

“Just being able to slip down the hall to see you when I’ve got something on my mind.” He crossed the room and sank down on a corner of Yu’s bed, like he would do anytime he wanted to visit and they ended up talking into the night. Zhou Yu eased into a chair facing him, looking quite relaxed and not at all affected by his long imprisonment. “You really don’t know how important something is until you don’t have it anymore.”

“You have something on your mind, then,” his friend noted. “I am ever a willing ear to listen.”

Ce rubbed the back of his neck. “You just got back, though. I don't want to pile all my troubles on you so soon. Why can't we just chat?”

“Ce...” Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow at him, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk.

“What? Aww...” Sun Ce shrugged helplessly. “You really do know me too well, my friend.”

“Then, you might as well give in and just tell me. Let me be the one to decide whether your troubles are too heavy for me.”

The Wu prince sighed and ruffled his hand through his hair again. He really could never win against his sworn brother's disarming calmness. And, if he had to admit it, it was just what he was craving at the moment. He hadn't intended to just unload on Zhou Yu, but the invitation was open. Taking a deep breath, he thought of a place to begin. “When you said, before, that you know enough…how much do you really know? You can tell me, now, no one else is around to overhear.”

Yu sat still for a moment, not reacting. “These rooms are secure?”

“They’ve stopped posting guards at every corridor. No one’s around.”

Yu closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh. “I know that our beloved wives are not here, and often away, and it could be quite a while before we even see them again. I know your father is being kept under such tight security that no information on his whereabouts is let slip to anyone who might tell you. I know who else has been conscripted to Orochi’s side, and I know that you aren’t taking any pleasure in this.”

Ce closed his eyes and nodded. “That’s a lot. But there’s more. You know Wei is also working for Orochi, right? Well, I had some guests at Dingjun – Cao Pi sent Xu Huang to give us a hand.”

Zhou Yu's expression grew tight, slightly grim. “I’m not surprised.”

“You don’t get it, yet. The Resistance isn’t just…peasants, and bandits and the like. I fought officers of Shu – Ma Chao and a young guy named Jiang Wei. They’re trying to organize in order to fight against Orochi…and they looked at me like I was dirt for being on his side. Like I’m some kind of criminal.” Ce ran a hand through his bangs in frustration.

“It’s only words, Ce,” Yu said gently. “It doesn’t change what’s in your heart.”

“I know. But it still bothers me, because in part they’re totally right. Even if my hands are tied, I’m still helping Orochi by stopping them. I would much rather be on their side, but for the sake of Wu I _can’t_ and I _hate_ it.”

Yu regarded him for a moment, head tilted to one side. “Orochi does not realize the danger he’s put himself in, caging the tiger like this. When you lash out, there will be blood.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You already know the obvious: that if you betray Orochi now, your father and the others will be executed. Yet, I will not tell you to endure the pain and ignore the hatred of our enemies. If it hurts, let it hurt. Do not let yourself become numb to the situation and give in – if you hate the situation we are in so much, find a way out of it.”

Ce sat enduing his words, sagging where he sat but hearing every word of it and agreeing. He would let his anger force him to act rather than sit back and just take it. “To do that, we have to find out where they’re keeping my father.”

“I will do all I can to assist with that,” Yu assured. “Have you any thoughts?”

“Tokugawa, the man you met at dinner. He has a ninja in his service who’s been trying to investigate. They haven’t come up with anything yet, but I trust Hattori, he’s good at what he does.”

Zhou Yu frowned curiously. “…what is a ninja?”

Ce laughed tiredly. “I’ll explain later. It’s all we’ve got right now, though.”

“It means one important thing, though.” Zhou Yu smiled fondly at his best friend. “It means you are not alone, Ce. Even without me, you still had people supporting you.”

The young lord of Wu bowed his head to hide his face. “I…you’re right. I can’t believe I didn’t even see it…”

Yu held out a hand in invitation. “I’m honored that you worried about me that much, though. Come closer, Ce.” His voice softened to a whisper. “I missed you, too.”

Ce pushed himself off the bed and went to his knees in front of the chair, resting his head in Yu’s lap as he had done many times before in their long years together. Instantly, the strategist’s graceful hands were combing through his hair, then loosing his topknot and caressing him until he relaxed. He could have fallen asleep right there, like that, but his knees on the floor protested after a bit. He glanced up to his friend’s face with only a slight shift of his head. “Can I stay here with you tonight?”

Zhou Yu bit back a chuckle. “What are you, twelve?” His caressing fingers traced along his comrade’s goatee. “Or was that something else you had in mind?”

“No, not here. Not now.” Ce’s eyes closed again. “I just wanted the company, that’s all.”

“In that case…” Zhou Yu glanced around the room, gauging things. “Hm. The bed isn’t very large but two could fit if necessary. If that’s what you really want?”

“I think I’d feel a lot better.” Ce lifted his head and straightened up, and reached to set his hand on Yu’s cheek for a moment before pushing himself to his feet. He had already doffed his armor and most extra trappings before sneaking out of his room earlier, but he still shed a couple of layers until he could flop down shirtless on the bed. Yu likewise gracefully disrobed, keeping a light _zhongyi_ tunic wrapped around himself for warmth, and stretched out beside Ce. It had been a while since he’d played security blanket for the young lord, but under the circumstances, he was not surprised at all. In fact, he smiled to himself as Ce curled himself around him and nestled down to sleep against his back. It was simply another reason to be grateful that he was finally free.

  


The bright blue skies and spring-like green seemed a terribly inappropriate backdrop to the battle at hand. It should be dark, Zhao Yun thought, maybe even raining, like the feeling in his heart at that very moment. He stood poised to strike with the Dragon Spear held low, panting, staring in utter disbelief at the cool, calm face regarding him from just more than a spear’s-length away. _This can’t be_ , he said to himself, while just behind him, Yueying cried out, “Why? Why do you fight on the side of evil?”

Zhuge Liang studied them for a moment from behind the feathers of his fan. His expression did not change, it was that inscrutable half-smile so familiar to the young general. “It is not the wisest strategy to reveal one’s motives to the enemy,” he murmured. His emotionless gaze shifted from his wife to the general who had rescued her. “Will you back down, or will you fight me, Zhao Yun?”

Yun scowled in frustration. “I trusted you,” he lamented. “Why do I have to fight you?”

“You never change, do you?” Liang said smoothly. “Noble to a fault.”

“I take after my lord,” Yun said proudly. “But as for you…” He gritted his teeth, and then lunged with the spear, striking to kill. “I will not run from a traitor!”

The strategist evaded the first thrust with a quick side-step, and swatted at Yun’s face with the fan. He ducked it and drove in hard, pushing Zhuge Liang backwards with every swing until he could finally spiral the blade of his spear in a disarming move. There was only the slightest flicker of alarm in Liang’s dark eyes when he realized he was wide open, but instead of a blade in his heart, he got the butt of the spear in the gut, knocking him sprawling. Zhao Yun did not back down, but he did not kill his former comrade. He wanted answers, and aimed to incapacitate, but there was a quick gesture of the older man’s hand and a spell barrier leaped between them, giving the loser enough time to get to his feet and back away. “The moment is not yet at hand,” he said quietly. “I will bide my time.”

“Wait!” Yueying burst from behind Zhao Yun and tried to catch up to him. “Explain yourself!”

Zhuge Liang did not falter, but turned away. “Yueying,” he murmured as he did, “you look well.” A well-timed shot rang out behind them, and the bullet whizzed just past his ear, clipping the edges of the feathers at the tip of the fan. He glanced back briefly and then was gone. Zhao Yun glanced also, finding the tall rifleman who had aided them unexpectedly in this battle standing back, his firearm raised and a look of dissatisfaction on his unshaven face. The noise of battle was still raging behind them, so they shook themselves out of their shock and started out again, dashing for the gate ahead that opened out to a safe path away from Hasedo. Some of their men were holding the rear, allowing them to retreat, but Pang De and the cunning demon strategist were advancing on them quickly, they couldn’t hang around any longer. Yun waved for the others to follow him and plunged on ahead, spear held across his body to protect himself in case any more foes were waiting to ambush them at the gate. Their path was clear, however, and one by one the fighters disappeared into the undergrowth. The handful of soldiers they had managed to collect in their travels scattered to all sides, preparing themselves as the rearguard to block further pursuit while their captains escaped. Yet again they were running from a battlefield, but this was not the time for heroics. They had done as they set out to do that morning, now it was best if they got away clear so they could organize to fight another day.

Zhao Yun and his small band of refugees had been wandering the land in desperate search for any sign of life, of the resistance, of allies or even humans in some places, for a couple of weeks. They had not found much, and spent far too much time making camp in uncomfortable places to keep out of the paths of Orochi’s demon army. Finding out about the prisoner transport had come as a rare stroke of luck, and though they were too late to reach the fortress at Hasedo where she was being held, it turned out to be for the best, as their force was too small to assault the garrison itself. Attacking the transport wagon halfway over the mountain pass was much easier, even though they had to go through a rather large number of foes to do it, including an ambush led by Ishida Mitsunari himself. Yun knew nothing of this man, but Tachibana was rather frustrated to see him working for Orochi, and snapped at him before they were able to drive him off. The enemy kept pushing them, though, and there were just as many humans as snake demons in the army which pursued them down the paths leading away from Hasedo, until Zhao Yun and Yueying ran into Zhuge Liang himself at the very last gate of the pass. Their victory seemed hollow, then, but as long as they all escaped alive, the desperate raid proved worth the anguish. 

The sun was starting to fall to the west when they finally felt it safe to stop and catch their breath. There were still some miles to go before they reached the rendezvous location where the rest of their forces were to meet them, eventually, but they were no longer being hunted and could rest a little while. Yueying stood before the others and bowed her head. “Thank you, for coming to my aid,” she said demurely. “I am ashamed that I put myself in the position of needing to be rescued…and that others had to risk their lives to do it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the rifleman said suavely, slinging his gun over his shoulders and swaggering up behind her. “It’s cool, my lady. We came out alive, didn’t we?”

She flushed a little and refused to look up at him. Zhao Yun gave a little awkward laugh. “My lady, this is Saika Magoichi. We owe him greatly, for he was the one who actually knew which way they had taken you and how to get there.”

Yueying glanced at Magoichi, who beamed proudly. “You are…allies, then?”

“Nope, just met today,” Saika replied. “I was already getting a head start on the rescue myself when all of a sudden these guys come along, out of nowhere. They said they were trying to save you, so I kinda invited myself along.”

“We had only heard that you were being transported along the road through Hasedo,” Yun added. “I was afraid we were too late to catch up. What happened?”

She briefly told him of the battle at Dingjun, in which their blossoming resistance had been wiped out and scattered by Wu officers working for Orochi. “I was taken captive, there, but they did not hold me at their fortress very long. They were taking me somewhere else, perhaps to be held as a hostage like the others. I can only hope Ma Chao and Jiang Wei escaped with their lives.”

“I have not heard anything about either of them,” Zhao Yun admitted, resting his elbows on his knees as he sat with his spear across his lap, “but Lord Ma Chao is not so easily beaten, even by someone like Sun Ce. I am simply glad that we were able to stop them from taking you to Orochi.” His expression darkened. “With Lord Liu Bei already under his control, I don’t think I could stomach seeing anyone else captive to him.”

“Such as my lord husband?” Yueying said softly.

“That man was your husband?” Tachibana broke in from where she stood listening, arms folded over her chestplate. “Why would he attack you, then? That is no way for a man to treat his wife!”

“I do not understand it myself,” Yueying admitted, “but there must be an explanation for it. I will also bide my time, and wait until he can tell me himself. I believe there is more to this than it seems.”

“Lord Zhuge Liang was not acting as a prisoner,” Zhao Yun mused. “He made no excuses for preparing the strategy to defeat us, and then fighting us himself. I don’t understand it either.” His head drooped a little. “He was with me when Lord Liu Bei was captured, he struggled as valiantly as I did trying to get our lord to safety. We both failed. Yet, he is working for Orochi, while I was held prisoner. It makes no sense!”

“Don’t strain yourself,” Saika assured. “If he’s got a reason, it’ll come out sooner or later. There’s more important things to worry about right now, isn’t there?”

“Yes,” Yun sighed. “I must keep working to find my lord, no matter how hard they try to hide him from us.”

“I will join you, Lord Zhao Yun,” Yueying said eagerly. “If we can find our other officers as well, there will be strength in numbers.”

“Good, then let’s be off. There’s no time to waste!”

“Hey, hey, hold on a moment.” Magoichi waved his free hand at them. “Now, I don’t normally get excited about hanging out with other men, but you guys could really use me. And I’m tired of wandering around this land by myself anyway. I’m coming with you, too.”

“You just want to stay close to the women,” Tachibana sniffed.

“We will be glad to have you, then,” Zhao Yun said diplomatically. “Your weapon is unusual, but very useful, Saika.”

The rifleman took it down off his shoulders and rested the butt of the stock against the ground as if to show it off. “Yeah, I guess you Han guys have never seen guns before. Well, all the better to have me along, since you’re probably going to run into a lot more of them. Word around the thickets has it that Date Masamune is on Orochi’s side, and he’s got a pretty big rifle squad himself.”

Yueying temporarily forgot about her worry over the encounter with her husband and turned to Saika, though her eyes were on the rifle entirely. “I am curious to know how it works. What are its mechanics? Am I correct in noticing it uses black powder?”

Magoichi looked positively thrilled to have her attention. “I’d be happy to give you an in-depth explanation on the workings of firearms, later. Maybe over dinner, alone, or something?”

Tachibana fumed at him. “Did you completely miss the part where she’s _married?_ ”

Xingcai wandered up from where she had been consulting with Zhang Bao, seeing to the reconnaissance with the rearguard troops. “All is well. We should be able to make the rendezvous without trouble.” She looked around, and side-eyed Magoichi. “Is everyone coming along, then?”

Saika, in turn, checked her out quite openly. “Man, Zhao Yun, I’m definitely coming with you! Here I thought I’d be throwing in with a bunch of guys, but you’re surrounded by lovely ladies!”

“Y-yes…I suppose I am,” Yun said distractedly. He hadn’t actually noticed. “Well, then, I suppose we should keep moving. We must keep searching for my lord, and that won’t be accomplished sitting here.”

As he pushed himself to his feet, Saika held out a hand to stop him from darting off. “You’re talking about Liu Bei. Would you like to know that I heard a little something?”

Zhao Yun whirled in place in excitement. “Then why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“You didn’t let me get around to it,” Magoichi shrugged. “I was chatting up a girl in a village who said she saw him in a place called Chengdu.”

All of the Shu officers stopped in their tracks and looked at him. “Chengdu is our chief city,” Yueying told him.

“It was destroyed by Orochi when he captured myself and my lord,” Zhao Yun added. “I don’t see how he could be there again without us knowing.”

“It has been some weeks since I last traveled there, but no one had occupied it when I did,” Yueying informed him. “It was empty and bleak. The people are all gone, there was no sign of anyone.”

“Hey, I’m just saying that’s what I heard,” Magoichi said, unruffled. “I’m pretty good at picking up rumors, so I’ll keep sniffing around. But if I were you, I wouldn’t leave any stone unturned.”

“No, you’re right,” Yun admitted as he started off, trusting the others to follow. “I would be remiss to just keep wandering around without returning to Chengdu at all. But you reminded me of something else.” He wagged a finger at Saika as they trudged on through the green forest. “The warriors of Nanzhong came to our aid when Orochi attacked us, that first time. It was to no avail, but they were there. I should like to find out if they heard anything, or perhaps saw where Orochi’s army took their prisoners.”

“That would mean a long trek to the south,” Xingcai noted, “assuming Nanzhong is still south of everywhere, anyway.”

“The Nanman have been our allies for a long time,” Yun mused. “Even if they don’t have direct information, it may be wise to solicit their aid once again. As you say,” he added with a nod to Yueying, “there is strength in numbers.”

“Once we rendezvous with the rest of our forces, we can put together an expedition and plan our movements,” Yueying assured him. “I believe it is a sound plan, though, Lord Zhao Yun. I will be glad to assist.”

“Things are coming together well,” he said with a bit of a smile. “Forward, then!”

To the Shu officers’ good fortune, they were traveling through lands of warmth and plenty, with sunny days and cool nights, game in the forests and forage in the fields. As yet, Zhao Yun had been unable to find a place to call their headquarters, but then, it was only him and a small handful of others for now. They had just picked up more, and if things went well down south, he would need to start thinking about a camp if nothing else. Living on the road like an unaffiliated warrior might have been better when searching for Liu Bei, but at some point it would no longer be viable unless he wanted to split off from his allies and go on alone. At the rendezvous, his dilemma became even more clear, as some of the scattered officers who had fled from Dingjun had managed to find them, and their guerrilla force suddenly became an army. They made camp there, and sat to consult about what they should do next. Yueying was of the opinion that they needed a more secure place than a military camp, a castle or fortress if they could find one unoccupied or lightly-held. Zhao Yun, however, was intent on traveling to Nanzhong, and the sooner the better – the next day, if he could get enough rest. In the end, the others could not dissuade him, and decided that he could manage that trek with a very small force, while the others remained behind to search for a suitable headquarters. With that choice made, Zhao Yun went to have a sit in the cool of the twilight, and think about who he wanted to take with him. It had been a long day, a dark and disheartening day, and he needed a moment to himself without all the hubbub of voices around him. As he curled his legs under him and rested his back against a tree, he heard the scuff of a foot in the dirt and glanced to find someone kicking idly at the roots of the very same tree. The young man glanced at him at the same time, and stammered a quiet apology. “Lord Zhao Yun,” Zhang Bao said softly. “I didn't see you there.”

“I haven't been here long, do not worry,” Yun assured, smiling at him. He was ever amazed at getting to see the youngsters of Shu all grown up, warriors in their own rights. It looked like the future of the kingdom was in very good hands indeed, from what he could tell. “Is there something on your mind?”

“Ah...it's nothing,” Bao said sheepishly. “Don't let me burden you, my lord...”

“It is no burden.” Zhao Yun gestured for him to come closer. “Come, there must be a reason you have such a problem with that tree root.”

Zhang Bao sighed and came to sit beside him, curling into himself. “I understand that you fought against Lord Zhuge Liang, earlier today,” he murmured.

Zhao Yun understood his drooping, for he felt much the same for the same reason. “Yes, I did,” he replied just as softly. “I did not kill him, he escaped me.”

“I see.” Bao closed his eyes tightly. “That's terrible news.”

“Try not to take it to heart,” Yun urged, slipping into a mentorly role, much as he would in these young ones' future. “I cannot say I understand why it is, but we must have faith that there is a reason.”

“Perhaps for Lord Zhuge Liang,” Bao said bitterly, “but what of Guan Suo?”

Zhao Yun sat back, at that. “Guan Suo?”

“He was there, Lord Zhao Yun. He was fighting on Orochi's side.” Bao lifted his head and stared urgently at his elder. “When you took the other path through the trees, and they launched an ambush on us behind you. Guan Suo was a part of that ambush. I fought him myself.”

Yun stared almost as hard as he had when confronting Zhuge Liang himself. It was one thing for their master strategist to dedicate himself to Orochi, but to take the young officers of Shu with him? Like Zhang Bao and himself, Guan Suo had been at the defense of Chengdu. Zilong thought him driven away or possibly captured, but not conscripted! He breathed a hard gasp, and then set his hand on Bao's shoulder. “There must be a reason. There has to be!” he insisted. “Our friends believe in benevolence and peace, they would not be doing this without a serious reason. Did he say anything to you?”

Bao shook his head slowly. “No, but I felt like he was afraid, maybe. He did not seem to be enjoying the fight at all. I managed to drive him back, in order to clear the path, and then when Master Saika joined us, he simply retreated.” He leaned against the supportive hand, as if finally taking comfort in spilling his news to Zhao Yun. “What is worse, it only makes me worry more about Guan Xing. I haven't seen him since our defeat at Chengdu, or heard word at all. To see his brother fighting on Orochi's side, now all I can think about is Anguo also being forced to fight, driven by whatever reason we don't know.”

Yun left his hand where it was. “There is no reason to believe that everyone who was driven away from Chengdu suffered the same fate,” he said wisely. “After all, Wang Ping returned to us safely. Twice, if you consider he found Lady Yueying before the defeat at Dingjun, and then us again today. We must all be strong, Bao, and believe in our friends.” He pulled the younger man closer, to comfort him with a small side-armed hug. “Anguo needs you to believe in him, and look for him. As for Guan Suo...we shall rescue him when we rescue our lord. Do not hold it against him.”

Bao bobbed his head in a pathetic little nod. “I know, Lord Zhao Yun. You're right, but I can't help the fear in my heart.”

“Turn your fear to strength,” Yun murmured. “These are dark times for all of us. No one can be sure who is friend or who is foe anymore. Those of us who are free must hold onto something in our hearts to keep us going – do not despair.” His eyes grew sad, then. “I know what it feels like, to think that there is no hope. You mustn't let it happen to you as well. Be strong, Bao, for yourself, for Guan Xing, for your sister, your father, and for all of Shu.”

The young man held his gaze, and then nodded. He might not have been held prisoner as long as Zhao Yun, but he knew enough, and understood. It was easy to say, but hard to actually do – but if Zhao Yun himself could overcome despair, so could they all. “I will, my lord.”

Zhao Yun let him go, then, and rested his arms on his knees. “Stay here with your sister, then, while I travel to Nanzhong. She could use your strength. And, if any of the Guan children are wandering in this world, looking for allies, you should be here to welcome them.”

Such a sweet thought was nothing more than that – a thought. It was fairly unlikely that Guan Xing, or Suo or Ping or even the God of War himself, would just wander into the camp. But stranger things had happened, so the platitude was worth it. If nothing else, it made Zhang Bao smile just a little.

As planned, Zhao Yun prepared to depart for the southern jungles the next morning, after he had only gotten a little fitful rest between nightmares of their comrades being captured by snake-demons. He let on to no one that he was still dreaming of that, but put on his commander's face and made his arrangements to carry out this mission. Zhao Yun took only Shimazu and Tachibana with him, leaving the bulk of their growing army with the women of Shu to hold ground, look for a fortress to occupy, and investigate current rumors about troop movements, alliances, and possible information on captives. Saika was of better use to them in that regard, so he stayed behind – to his positive glee and Yueying’s exasperation. With a plan to send word to one another if it came to be more than two weeks, they parted ways for now. The travelers rambled through the wild lands, taking care to avoid enemy patrols and keep the numbers of soldiers hidden back behind the vanguard of three officers. It made for a much longer journey, but once they had their sights set on the south, there was nothing else getting in the way of their mission. 

In another entirely different section of the cobbled-together world, snow was falling on the region known as Tianshui, a place that had been ripped up from autumn that was now sinking toward winter in its own sphere of climate. It was one of Orochi’s smaller strongholds, claimed because of an abundance of defensible garrisons despite the unpleasant weather. The strategists of the Han who were familiar with the land were not entirely sure why Oda Nobunaga had chosen to attack it, but they were in a unique position to face up to him _en masse_ and get a good feel of his ambitions. Cao Pi had already brushed elbows with the infamous warlord in a way, though he had not personally glimpsed him in the failed attempt to capture Xiang Yang castle. All he knew of Oda was that he was a ruthless warlord and the most likely to prove to be an actual thorn in Orochi’s side. In the weeks since his last deployment, the lord of Wei had been able to return to his stronghold, but after she finished dealing with the pursuit of the guerrilla force which had liberated her prisoner, Da Ji had to immediately turn her attention to Tianshui, and called for reinforcements from the alliance to deal with the threat. Whether it was because she couldn’t regroup fast enough to be able to handle it alone, or out of some worry about Oda’s strength, she did not let on.

The battle was slow in starting in the cold, a series of small skirmishes meant to keep the invading force from getting a toe-hold in the pathways to the west and east of the main fortress. The Wei army had arrived first, but took assistance from Ishida when he arrived, and then at long last the main defense appeared at the fort, no less than Da Ji herself with Zhuge Liang still at her side. By that time, a number of minor scuffles had taken place, but as yet the full brunt of Oda’s army had yet to hit them. It was coming, though, the wise and the tactical could see it in the ebb and flow of the small cadres of troops flitting this way and that. When it happened, the Orochi army was ready. With the snowflakes drifting down around him, Pi sat astride his horse and watched with keen interest as the enemy forces swept out of the southernmost garrison and streamed towards him. Most were on foot, weapons raised as they charged, but behind them stood another horse, steam rising from its flanks in the cold air and a man in dark armor in the saddle. With Mitsunari once again eyeballing him behind his back and their dear overlord Da Ji watching closely from the commanding fortress, Cao Pi felt he had no choice but to enter the fray himself. He noticed that Oda had taken the son of Guan Yu into his fold after Xiang Yang, but rode right past the young man with the huge blade, past a man in stout armor with at least three weapons on his person, and headed straight for the other horseman. He drew half of Pure Havoc as he came on, and saw the other horse leap into action and the glow of another blade flicker out. They clashed with full momentum and blew past one another, and then turned to charge again. The second clash was a stalemate, their swords crossed and arms straining against each other. Suddenly, Pi felt a foot hook under his leg and he was falling, backwards, and barely had the foresight to roll out of it and come up on his feet. The horse lunged at him, but he hopped back and grabbed the reins to drag the rider out of the saddle. Oda likewise caught himself before he could fall in an ungainly fashion, and the swords crossed once more. The Demon King’s blade shone with a vivid purple light, humming faintly; Pure Havoc threw off sparks where it scraped against this strange sword. They held for a few heartbeats, and then Pi whipped out the other half of his weapon and jammed them together to form the double-ended blade that could easily disengage the other. It threw the two men apart enough for them to stop and look at each other, and for the briefest moment, Cao Pi had to blink in shock. The resemblance was eerie. He stuffed his feelings away quickly and hardened his gaze, but Oda in turn smirked darkly. “I was hoping to see you,” he purred. “I have heard much about the lord of Wei.”

“Are you sure it isn’t my father you’ve heard about?” Pi retorted, twirling Pure Havoc around into a defense position. “After all, so many like to talk about him and his exploits.”

Nobunaga’s lips curled in an even deeper smirk. “No, I’m sure I mean you, Cao Pi of Wei. Come, then. Let’s see what you are made of.”

Cao Pi was not over-fond of fighting like some people he knew, but he was exceptionally good with the sword and quite capable of keeping his head in a fight. Heedless of the battle mounting around them, he faced off against Oda, alternately disjoining the twin blades to use as two separate swords and then connecting them again mid-swing to form one weapon. As long as he kept striking, Oda blocked, but gave very little ground. He brought his free hand up and, to Pi’s surprise, blocked the pair of blades with his open hand – cased in a metal gauntlet, but even so – and then grabbed them to keep him from drawing them back. It left Pi wide open to attack, and the glowing blade sliced at his shoulder like lightning. He pulled back to save himself from losing the arm, but also lost the advantage. Oda hacked at him with short, precise swings, backing his opponent back in the other direction. Cao Pi gritted his teeth and swept in a wide spin, taking himself out of the way and then sweeping his swords toward his foe’s feet. Oda leaped to avoid being cut and then retaliated, and once more they were holding each other off at stalemate. Nobunaga’s face had grown serious, but as he gazed across their crossed swords, his eyes darkened with a wry smile. He chose to disengage, then, and backed up a couple of steps before whistling for his horse. The din of battle became suddenly clear, as if it had been blocked out by their one-on-one fight, and Cao Pi noticed that one of the captains he had overtaken was nearby. Oda turned to him. “Toshiie, sound the retreat.”

Cao Pi harrumphed at him, even as the officer ran calling for retreat. “Giving up that easily?” he said with no small mockery.

Oda’s look in turn was vague. “I have seen the truth about you, Cao Pi. I know who you are.”

“Is that so?” Pi stared hard at him, hiding his reaction behind stony eyes, even as Oda snatched his mount’s reins and leaped into the saddle. Enemy soldiers were streaming past the young lord of Wei, making for the rear of their lines, and even Guan Ping hustled past looking defeated, but Cao Pi remained standing there, the snowflakes starting to fall thickly onto his mantle and hair. Before the battle had even started, he had suspected that there was some ulterior motive behind this quick strike. There was no strategic advantage to taking Tianshui, nor did they have anything the resistance army could want. Cao Pi had played it cool in front of his allies, but even he had been suspicious. Now, he was positively roiling inside with curiosity. Had the entire skirmish been solely for the purpose of allowing Oda Nobunaga to cross swords with him? The self-proclaimed Demon King was certainly an interesting one, even Pi had to admit that to himself regardless of the resemblance of the man to his own father. Risking lives in battle solely to meet an enemy officer was either the height of idiocy or the epitome of audacity. At least it was over quickly, and with little in the way of casualties. Cao Pi shook the snow out of his hair and trudged back to find his horse and ride back to regroup.

The main fortress was warmer, or at least drier, than the outer garrisons. Attendants came to take the young lord’s horse and see to any injuries he might have, but he was more or less unscathed and batted them away so he could go and report to Da Ji. She was, as predicted, still holed up safely inside the strong walls of the fortress, gadding about like it was somehow her doing that Oda had been driven off. As Pi entered the chamber, she was in the middle of haranguing Ishida Mitsunari. “It’s about time you proved your worth,” she was saying, “I was starting to have some serious doubts about you.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Ishida grumbled, tapping his fan against his hand in what Cao Pi recognized as his irritable fidgeting.

“Well, not _only_ did you get your butt kicked in Jing,” the fox-demon taunted him, flitting around him, “but then you went and let our prisoner get away and got beaten _again_ at Hasedo. One more loss and I was going to feed you to the wolves, you know.”

“Hey, that second time was just bad luck,” Mitsunari complained. “We had no idea those guys were going to show up.”

“Am I interrupting something? Oh, wait, it’s just Ishida making excuses again,” Cao Pi interjected as he approached them. “That’s nothing important.”

Ishida looked like he wanted to say something rather rude, but he bit his tongue. Da Ji swished from behind him and met her other favorite ally head-on. “There you are, I was beginning to wonder. Good work, sending Oda Nobunaga crawling away in shame. It would have been even sweeter if you could have killed him, but we can’t have everything we want I guess.”

 _Crawling away_ , Pi thought to himself. _That’s not how it looked to me_. “Either way, the day has been won. Tianshui is safe from invasion once more,” he said stoically. “For all your panic about this ‘Demon King’ being so powerful, it was relatively easy to defeat him. I doubt you needed the extra forces in the end.”

“And how were we supposed to know, until we faced him directly?” Da Ji smirked. “After all, he gave the both of you a run for your money in Jing Province.”

“All the more reason to be wary that it was so easy to get rid of him today,” Mitsunari grumbled under his breath.

“If there is nothing else you require of my services,” Pi said stiffly, “I will take my men and return to our camp. That includes Pang De, if you are finished ordering him around like your own personal lackey.”

“Actually, there is one more thing.” Da Ji circled around him, hands clasped behind her back. “I’m sending Mitsunari to work with you, from now on. Consider him your new shadow.”

Cao Pi raised an eyebrow. “So you wish to keep an eye on me.”

“Not at all!” Da Ji said with a fawning lilt that could not hide the fact that she was lying and everyone in the room knew it. “It’s just, well, you’re both so brilliant, I thought it was a match made in heaven.”

The two men shot each other an icy look from across the room. “But you have made a mistake,” Pi said smoothly. “He’s the one who should be watched.”

“I’d rather be spied on all day than have to spend my time with _you_ ,” Mitsunari huffed, folding his arms and looking away stubbornly.

“See? A match made in heaven,” Da Ji cooed.

“This isn’t a request, is it,” Cao Pi said flatly, not even posing it as a question. “No chance to turn down the offer.”

“Nope. This is an order.” The demon strategist swished around, circling between the both of them and then retreating to a dais on which chairs and a map table stood. “I expect both of you to make the most of it. I mean…” She flipped a hand casually toward the lord of Wei. “…I know you’d be much more _familiar_ with Sima Yi, but he’s doing a good job for me down south right now and I don’t want to pull him away when he’s having so much fun.”

Pi made a face like he had just been handed a very smelly dead fish. “Given the choice between the two, I’m not sure which is worse.”

“I’m standing right here, you know,” Mitsunari complained.

“Actually, now that I mentioned that, I’m reminded of something.” Da Ji bent over the table and studied the map. “He sent me word from a place called Nanzhong, he said there were some Wei officers making life difficult for him, balking at taking orders from him.” She shot Cao Pi a cool smirk. “If he’s as popular as you seem to suggest, I’m wondering if perhaps they’d listen to you rather than to him, if you went down there.”

Pi closed his eyes for a moment. He really didn’t want to ride to that territory, regardless of how near or far south it was in this new world. Yet, he also wasn’t surprised that the strategy at hand was attempting to subjugate the barbarians, foolish as the attempt might be. “If I were to make a journey to Nanzhong, it would solely be to recruit more of my officers back into my forces,” he said firmly. “I would rather have them on our side than the resistance, regardless.”

“There you go! That’s more like it,” Da Ji encouraged. “Plus, it would be a lot warmer there than here.”

Cao Pi turned directly to Ishida. “I must make the rounds of my men to see to their status. If casualties are low, I intend to set out tonight.” He swept fully around, then, and did not wait for the strategist to follow him, but blustered right on out of the audience chamber as abruptly as he had come in.

A few steps down the echoing stone corridor, he felt rather than heard the other man following him. Apparently, he was already obeying Da Ji’s new order. “Setting out for Nanzhong, you mean?” Ishida asked, his voice tight and clipped.

“No. For my camp, and some comfort instead of this blasted snow,” Cao Pi responded just as curtly. “Nanzhong is not my concern. If there are Wei officers there, a simple message should remind them of their loyalty.” He strode on for a few more yards, and then stopped abruptly and spun to face the man coming up behind him. “I am not fooled,” he said, more quietly. “I do not relish being spied upon any more than you do. But I don’t care what you choose to tell Da Ji about me. She will see soon enough that her energies are better directed elsewhere, rather than harassing me.”

“So you wouldn’t care if I told her that you let Huang Gai go – again?” Mitsunari said airily.

“What do you know?” Pi retorted confidently. “You were holding ground in the central fort as I remember. As a matter of fact, Huang Gai did show his face on the eastern path, but my men beat him back. He was only there for foolish vengeance anyway, not a member of the Oda Resistance.”

“Not all of the infantry are mindless servants of Wei who kowtow to you alone and keep your secrets,” Mitsunari sniffed. “Some of them take your alliance with Orochi quite literally, and report to me as easily as they would to you.”

“You think I ordered any of them to keep secrets.” Cao Pi laughed, a humorless bark. “You are as much a fool as the other strategists I know. I do nothing on the battlefield that I don’t want to get back to the commanders in charge. Secrets are impossible. Not only am I aware of that, I count on it.”

Ishida’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Then, what’s your handy explanation this time?”

Cao Pi did not seem impressed by his accusation. “The man was nothing but an interfering interloper. He came to attack me for what happened at Kuzegawa, so I put him in his place. Nothing more and nothing less.” He gave Mitsunari a tight-lipped smirk. “Don’t tell me that the men of Wa are somehow above seeking vengeance at inopportune times.”

“I didn’t say that.” Ishida’s lips twisted in annoyance; not only was the explanation sufficient enough to allay suspicions, he knew all too well of vengeance scenarios. For some reason his mind went to Kato and Fukushima, though he didn’t even know where the two idiots were in this world, after the disaster at Odawara. Returning to the matter at hand, he went on. “So you’ve got an answer for everything. That’s going to make this _partnership_ pretty boring.”

Though his tone was rich with sarcasm, Pi felt the need to make something clear regardless. “This is not a partnership, whatever Da Ji thinks. I am still in control of my army, in spite of what orders come from my ally.”

“And I’m here to make sure the two are not mutually exclusive,” Ishida insisted.

Pi turned once more and continued off on his way. “As long as you’re clear on the fact that you are not wanted. I will allow Da Ji this concession if it will keep her from constantly needling me herself over the small details of my strategies.”

Ishida followed, this time keeping pace a step behind him. “Believe me, I don’t want to be your shadow either. The mere idea of having to brush shoulders with you daily makes me want to punch things. But between your forces and the main camp, I’ll take the soldiers of Wei over those demons, hands down.”

Cao Pi sniffed arrogantly but said nothing more on the subject. He had work to do, as befitting a commander, and Ishida’s comfort was not on the list of things he needed to be concerned about. Whether his new strategist was a loyal dog of Orochi’s or a mere wayward warrior whose loyalty could be bought by the highest bidder, he didn’t care, but he was sure he would find out with the man at his elbow constantly. Either way, it did not much derail his long-term plans. He would simply have to double-check for sly, sneaking ears before saying anything that he actually did not want to get back to Da Ji. It was an exercise in security, and nothing more. If she wanted to micro-manage their alliance, he would make sure she eventually came to rue even having the idea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle of Changban pits friend against friend, where no one really wins.

The woodlands around Changban glowed bronze and gold with the deepening of autumn, set on fire by the late-day sun. The men hustling up from the water’s edge were not fishermen with a fresh catch, however; they were sentries, and they had spotted something. The main garrison had been removed uphill to the displaced temple, as Lu Xun had determined it was the best way to protect the civilians now settling in the fields and forests beyond from attack. Even were the defense itself to crumble, the people would still be safe, so long as he could dispatch a messenger to bring them his plan for hiding and allowing conquerors to pass by. They would have perhaps been safe there forever had the young strategist not been so adamant about actively trying to find out what had been done with Lord Sun Jian. He had scouts to his advantage, and before too long whispers of a resistance outpost being founded at Changban made it to the Orochi army. He knew it was only a matter of time, but that didn’t mean he wanted it to happen. Gan Ning had been the only one, among his forces, who had spoken of hoping for a chance to see for themselves what had become of the rest of Wu via battle. Even so, when the sentries met him standing at the junction of paths near the bridge and hastily informed him of what they had seen, he looked grim rather than excited. He had been out with the scouts to hunt down information on Sun Jian, rather than while away all his days at the camp fishing and being on guard, but he still hadn’t been in a battle of any significance since Hefei. As unwanted as an attack on their garrison was, Gan Ning was ready to fight. He sent the sentries on to make a full report to Lu Xun, and then went to find Ling Tong.

His friend and rival was relaxing on a riverbank awash with the setting sun, almost blending in with the dry grass in his earth-toned outfit of silk. He looked comfortable enough to nap there with his back against a tree and his arms behind his head, but he was definitely wide awake and glanced up when he heard the soft jingle of bells accompanying the light footsteps approaching. “You are so lucky you never have to try to sneak up on people,” he teased the pirate as he came into view. “You’re terrible at it.”

“You know what I say,” Ning grumbled, “if you hear the bells it’s already too late for you.” He plopped down heavily onto the bank next to him and gave him a shove. “It’s time to stop being lazy, Gongji. They’re here.”

“Really?” Tong glanced at him, but didn’t become any less relaxed. “Damn. I was just getting comfortable, too. Guess Lu Xun was right, it was only a matter of time.”

“Would’ve been nice to take the battle to them first, but eh. What’re ya gonna do.” Ning rested his elbows on his knees and gazed into the orange light washing over the both of them, filtering through the dead leaves still clinging to the trees on the other side of the river. “It’s a battle either way. And I’m ready.”

“What’s it look like?” Tong wondered. “How soon?”

“Probably not till tomorrow. I mean, I didn’t get the whole story from the sentries but it sounds like the enemy’s just starting to trickle in across the water, haven’t even set up camp yet. Sure, they might attack in the night, but it’s just as likely it’ll be at dawn.”

“I suppose we’d better go see what Lu Xun is going to do about it.” But Ling Tong only took his arms down and rested his hands in his lap instead. “If you don’t know much, then you probably don’t know who’s leading this army, either.”

“Nope.” Ning ran his fingertips along the edge of one worn leather bracer, his thoughts turning inward. “I know who I want it to be. I’ll give him a beating he won’t forget.”

“Knowing our luck, it’s Cao Pi,” Tong groaned. “Now that we know he’s fighting on Orochi’s side, too.”

“I’ll give him a beating too, it’s all the same to me,” the pirate growled. “He’s just as slimy as the snake. But I really want to sink my teeth into a couple of tiger cubs.”

By now, enough information, both rumor and fact, had been alive in the land for anyone, resistance or not, to pick up. They knew full well about Sun Ce and Sun Quan serving Orochi, and the lengths they had gone to in order to obey orders. They also knew about the resistance steadily growing behind the man they had once heard about in Takeda’s camp. About a week prior, a lone warrior had wandered into their garrison – by chance, it was suggested, but Lu Xun believed he had been sent by someone – and stayed around to assist with their defense plans. Despite the huge sword he carried, he seemed more interested in laying out strategies than swinging the blade, and Lu Xun was eager to listen and learn from him. He had a lot of inside information on Oda Nobunaga, and shared as much as he could so long as the result was the three Wu officers gladly agreeing to consider themselves part of the resistance. His timely arrival was about to be put to the test by the army creeping towards them from across the water.

Ling Tong reached over and rapped his knuckles against Ning’s knee. “Come on. Let’s find out who it is before we go jumping to conclusions and getting all worked up about it.”

“Who’s worked up? I’m not worked up,” Gan Ning insisted brashly. “When I get worked up, you’ll know.”

“Uh huh. C’mon.” Tong pushed himself to his feet and offered a hand to help his friend up after him.

The two officers trudged along a back path into the main camp and checked the temple, and as expected, the strategist and their guest were already inside the meeting room they had been using, head to head in discussion. Lu Xun looked up at the sound of bells. “Ah, good, I was just going to send someone to find you two. It’s time to put our battle plans to the test.”

“Yeah, I already noticed. There’s an army on the way,” Ning said gruffly. “We came looking to see what the deal is.” 

“They aren’t organized enough to attack, yet,” Lu Xun reported. “Sakon wants to send spies to the water’s edge to find out more about their movements.”

Shima Sakon, the brawny fellow who had seemed to come along at the right time, nodded to the two officers. “All the better to know how many of our guys are going to have a sleepless night. Either of you two want in?”

“I’m not sneaky enough, just ask Gongji,” Ning snorted.

“I’ll leave it to the guys whose job it usually is to do the spying,” Tong added.

“Fine. I think I’d rather have the both of you ready to move out in case of attack, anyway.” Sakon moved closer to the table bearing their hastily-inked, crude map of the area so he could point things out. “I’m going to station myself and my engineers over here, by the bridge. There’s more cover, we’ll stand a better chance of getting the plan implemented without being spotted right away.”

“Fortunately, we already know which direction they’ll be coming from, so the element of surprise is taken out,” Lu Xun murmured. “I’ll feel better ordering the rest of the plan once the scouts come back with information on the enemy.”

“So what you’re saying is, don’t get comfy and don’t go nowhere,” Ning smirked.

Xun smiled at him. “Give it a little time, and I’ll know better whether I can let you go take a nap. At least there’ll be food ready shortly.”

The spies were picked out and sent to do their duty, while the rest of the camp did its best to maintain a normal routine, preparing and enjoying the evening meal like nothing was wrong. After all, they didn’t want to give the impression to their enemies, who may have been spying back, that their arrival had put the defenders into a panic. Yet, instead of quietly ordering the night watch and relaxing, the garrison remained on alert and awake, gathering their weapons and checking over every last preparation made against this very day. All the officers sat together at dinner, and though they didn't talk about the coming battle, tension could be seen on every face. Ling Tong sat with his father for a while, as if trying to grab a little more time with him just in case another tragedy befell them tomorrow. It had been a shock, to say the least, to find that like Sun Jian and so many others, Ling Cao was alive and well in this world, to say nothing of the massive awkward for Gan Ning. But, as time went on, everyone became rather used to it, and every officer was important for an outpost like Changban. Now, more than ever, it was important to snatch these moments of normalcy, to sit and talk and eat and act like death wasn't stalking them at every turn. None of them could say whether these reunions would last.

The scouts returned well after dark but before moonrise, and the four leading officers gathered in the torch-lit entrance of the temple to hear the report at the same time. “There’s no mistaking it,” the lead spy said anxiously. “Those are our own men over there, across the water. It looks like Lord Sun Ce and Lord Zhou Yu are leading the charge. They’re preparing to build boats to ferry the army across to the southeast shore.”

Gan Ning’s low growl spoke for all of them. Lu Xun shook his head, determined not to let it get to him. “Very well. Come with me, I want to know the numbers and types of their men, and anything else you observed.”

“If they need boats, they’re not attacking tonight,” Sakon assured. “Have you been on these waters, at all, since coming here?”

“I have,” Ning said. “There’s a strong current. Only a complete idiot would try to put any kind of boat in at night when you can’t see, even with a fair moon.”

“And we know Zhou Yu is not a complete idiot. Far from it,” Xun agreed.

“Fair enough. All the same,” Sakon said wisely, “the watch needs to be doubled overnight. Let’s have the best of your men get a good night’s sleep if they can, we need them fresh for when the battle actually does start.”

“That includes you two,” Xun said with a nod towards Gan Ning and Ling Tong.

“And you, Lu Xun,” Tong said in return. “Don’t stay up all night over-thinking things.”

“Yeah. You’re the commander here,” Ning reminded him, “you’re the one who needs to stay sharp and focused and all that.”

Lu Xun took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Commander, huh? I guess I am. All right, then, so be it. Come, captain, let’s have that report.”

He and Sakon went inside with the spy captain, while the other two set off across the camp to their tent. As lead officers, they had the choice of where to bunk down, but preferred a tent inside the palisade instead of indoors at the temple, partly to be closer to their men and partly because neither of them really liked the unstable look of the temple. The rocks around its feet still glowed and never really cooled, as if the blood of the world that had been created in this dimension were flowing right beneath the surface there. Ling Tong paused to brief their units of soldiers on what was happening, assuring them that they would know when it was time to suit up and get moving, and then ducked into the tent to find Gan Ning already sprawled on his bedroll, still geared up, arms beneath his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Tong sauntered over and stood with his hands on his hips. “All right, I know you want to say it, so say it.”

Ning eyed him. “Say what?”

“‘I told you so.’ Go on.”

“Nah.” Ning shrugged where he lay. “It’s not worth it.”

Heaving a sigh, Tong sank down on the edge of the bedroll, insinuating himself into the pirate’s personal space. “I was really hoping it wasn’t true.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Ning kept his eyes focused on the ceiling of the tent. “One of us has to take him down. I ain’t lettin’ any of the grunts have a shot at him.”

“Just…do me a favor. Keep your head, don’t go off half-cocked when you see him.”

“Oh, I won’t.” For a moment, an almost wicked grin dashed across Ning’s face. He finally shifted his gaze to his comrade. “I wanna be ready for him. If that means biding my time for the right moment to attack, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Tong looked away with another sigh. “Maybe we can kidnap them from the Orochi army. Take them hostage right back, so they’d have an excuse for switching armies. Maybe that’s why they’re here to fight us…so Sun Ce can escape with us.” 

“Don’t get your hopes up, Gongji.” Ning sat up, fixing him with a determined glare. “It’s not like that and you know it. You heard what that Sakon guy said.”

“That they’re holding Lord Sun Jian’s fate over his head and he’ll keep fighting as long as they do. Yeah, I know,” Tong said flatly. “That doesn’t mean I can’t wish for it to be different.”

“Just don’t keep your head in the clouds the whole time, or you’re gonna get hurt.” The pirate left it up to him to decide what he meant by “hurt.” He folded his legs beneath him and took up a thoughtful pose in the middle of the bed. “Dwelling on it’s not gonna get you anywhere. Put it out of your head for the night or you’ll never get any sleep.”

“Easy for you to say.” Tong sat back and stretched, lacing his fingers together at the back of his head beneath his ponytail. “It’s always hard for me to sleep before a battle, even more so now since I’m going up against my own people. I’m all wound up, I’m not tired at all.”

“So take a run around the camp or something,” Ning snorted. 

Tong made as though to get up, but instead of going to his feet, he turned and threw himself against Gan Ning, pushing him down on the bed and climbing on top of him. Even though he had bells pressing against his stomach and a tangle of limbs beneath him, he leaned down until their faces nearly touched. “I can think of a better way to get it out of my system,” he murmured.

“Hey, _hey!_ ” Ning took a moment to extract himself and get his feet and hands placed more comfortably, which meant clutching the taller young man around the waist as he settled onto his back. “Did I say you could? Get off me…”

“I don’t see you kicking me off.” Ling Tong remained in that position, hovering over him with their noses mere millimeters apart. After a growl and a huff Xingba seemed to give in, for he tugged at his comrade’s tunic to pull him closer. Their lips met briefly, almost hesitantly, but it was enough to break the tension, and a moment later they were both diving in for it, kissing one another with wild abandon. The pirate broke it off just long enough to reach between their bodies and un-knot the cord holding his bells to his belt, and then yanked the whole string of them out from between them. Now they could lie together with no obstacles, and minimize the noise as well. Whether or not it was a good idea on the eve of a battle, neither really cared. In truth, Gan Ning had a bit of pent-up energy himself and needed release as well. It had been a while since they had settled their rivalry through this manner, but that only meant they had a lot of lost time to make up for. For at least the next hour, their minds would be far away from the coming battle.

Across the water, things were quite different. The orders Sun Ce received had been to take a force to counter a pocket of resistance at Changban, and to meet Da Ji there for further instruction. He himself hadn’t heard specifically what was going on at this outpost, but he guessed at the very least that he would once again find officers from one of the armies that had been wiped out and scattered, either Shu or one of the Hi-no-Moto warlords who were privately backing Oda in their own way. Ce took it in stride, now that he had Zhou Yu at his side once again, directing his steps and doing much of the concentrated thinking for him. As they moved the army in across from the autumn-clad slopes of Changban, things didn’t look like an encampment preparing for war, but he knew looks could be very deceiving. It would take time to get organized and prepare the boats to ferry their forces to a perfect embarking point, so Ce ordered a camp be set up for the night while they waited for Da Ji to arrive. She appeared at the edge of the sentry lines just after sunset, and happily let herself be escorted like royalty to the commander’s tent. Zhou Yu was currently drawing up a map based on his uncertain recollections of the geography of this area, while Ce stood with his arms folded to await their visitor. “Hard at work already,” she praised them as she noted the scene. “I chose the right man to give to you, didn’t I, Sun Ce? And there’s another in the bargain if you can win this battle.”

Ce perked up instantly. “You’ll free someone else? Who?”

“Ah, ah,” she chirped, wagging a finger. “It’s a surprise. But don’t get too excited, you _know_ I’m not just going to hand you Sun Jian at a time like this.”

“I know,” Ce sighed. “It doesn’t matter. My friends’ lives are important to me, too.”

“Oh, _are_ they, now?” Da Ji’s smirk turned positively cruel. “You know, it’s interesting to hear you say that, considering your former friends are the ones making trouble here at Changban.”

“My friends…?” Sun Ce’s eyes widened. “You mean, the men of Wu? That’s who you’re asking me to fight?”

“That’s right.” The demon laughed. “They’re misbehaving little pests. They need to be exterminated.”

Ce took a step as if to advance on her, his anger welling up fast. “Come on, that’s not fair!”

Zhou Yu moved to intercept him instantly. “Hold on, Ce! We don’t have all the information we need, yet.” He shot Da Ji a wary look over his shoulder, clearly not pleased himself but far more level-headed than his comrade. “Which men of Wu do you mean?”

Da Ji did not seem ruffled by their anger; if anything, she just grew more flippant, pretending to examine her nails. “Reconnaissance says at least three major officers are here, under some young punk named Lu Xun. They’ve seen a man with tattoos all over his body riding with scouts looking for your father.” She stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Ew, tattoos. Isn’t that gross?”

Were Ce in a clear-headed mood he might have pointed out her own body markings to her. “Lu Xun…and Gan Ning!” he realized. “That means the third one is probably Ling Tong, if I know those guys.”

Something lightened deep within Zhou Yu’s eyes, hearing the name of his young protégé. “Then, they’re all alive,” he breathed, letting go of Ce. “Thank goodness.”

Sun Ce turned his back on the demon strategist, giving himself a moment to viscerally feel everything about the situation – relief that his comrades were alive, pain that he would have to fight them, despair that Da Ji was doing this on purpose. He refused to let her see him in his moment of anguish. When he spoke, though, his voice was calm and level. “So those are the enemy commanders. Good to know. I’ll have Zhou Yu draw up a strategy to make the most of the terrain.”

“And we have your word that another of our people will be released to us, when this is over?” Yu asked to confirm.

“Assuming you win, of course,” Da Ji lilted coyly. “Remember, if you fail, or – heaven forbid – run away from this fight, your father will pay the price of your treason.” She laced her fingers together behind her back and waltzed out of the commanders’ tent. “I’ll hang around until you get your act together and get moving, just to make sure. Better find me some appropriate quarters for the night, hmmm?”

Ce waited until she was definitely out of earshot before seething under his breath, “Yeah, I’ll find you something appropriate. Like a hole in the ground!”

“Patience, Ce.” Zhou Yu quieted him with a gentle hand on his arm. “She’s testing you, you realize.”

“I know,” Ce snarled. “I’ll bet she wants me to prove my loyalty to Orochi by destroying my own friends!”

“In doing so, she has delivered victory into our hands.” Yu waited until he had Ce’s full attention, eyes on him, and then smiled slightly. “Think about it. I taught Lu Xun much of what he knows. You’ve fought alongside Gan Ning before. We know these men. We know what tactics they will favor, and their strengths.” He squeezed the muscled arm beneath his hand. “I will devise a strategy to shut them down quickly, before they can commit too many men to the battle. I will counter every one of Lu Xun’s moves that I expect. And I know you will not back down no matter who you’re facing. If you defeat them swiftly, they will not have a chance to fall prey to Da Ji herself and her extermination policy.”

As Ce listened to his level-headed friend, he grew more calm. He still didn’t like the situation, but he could accept it for now. “Defeat them swiftly, huh?” he repeated, attempting to smile back. “Well, I always go all out, so I guess that’s what they get for going up against me.”

“If you trust in me, I will lead you to victory without destroying them,” Yu assured. “Da Ji will have another resistance cell defeated, and we will have the life of one more of our men. If I know Lu Xun, he will also want to save lives. It will not be a senseless waste if we all keep our heads and fight smart.”

“That’s what I’ve got you for, Zhou Yu.” Ce rapped his hand against his best friend’s chest, near his heart. “Thanks. Though, I suppose I’d better go give the troops the low-down. Some of them aren’t going to take it well, either, and I have to make sure Hattori and Ranmaru don’t kill the wrong guys.”

“That’s a good idea. Since we can’t make a night crossing with that swift current, we won’t be fighting until morning anyway. Allow the troops the night to sleep on it and prepare themselves to fight their own comrades.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re right.” Ce put on a brave face and took a deep breath, mustering himself to go and take care of the unpleasant business. “When I get back, I want to see this special strategy of yours for myself before I go to sleep.”

“It will be ready, my lord,” Yu said formally before dismissing him with a slap on the shoulder. Once Ce was gone, he leaned over his map and began to write in haste. _You may be Orochi’s strategist, Da Ji_ , he mused to himself, _but you fail at one essential quality of strategy. You show your hand far too openly_. He smiled coolly. _You are far too easy to read. All the better for me to keep my lord a step ahead of you._

Few on either side of the waterway slept well that night. Dawn found both camps already alert, but preparations still dawdled and it was much closer to noon before the actual attack was launched. The Wu soldiers under Sun Ce’s command were reluctant to push the fight, as he expected, so he put the men of Mikawa in the vanguard under the ninja’s direct control. He and Zhou Yu stood on the deck of their boat with Hattori Hanzo and Mori Ranmaru, all four of them gazing at the riverbank gliding past them as they made for a smaller, secret landing point. The main one seemed damaged, but Zhou Yu did not intend to put in there anyway – their cargo of infantry needed to be unloaded at a smaller beaching point hidden by trees to preserve at least some element of confusion. Cavalry would not make the journey well, so most of their army was on foot, including the officers. “Everybody understands their orders, right?” Ce asked those around him.

“Understood,” Hanzo said simply.

“Yes, but…” Young Ranmaru stood at the Wu prince’s left elbow, much like a retainer. “I can only imagine what pain you must be suffering, my lord. Crossing blades with one’s own people is the most painful thing you may ever have to do.”

While Ce agreed with his statement, he only sighed. “Yeah, well, I’m not really going to think too hard about it,” he said openly. “Plus, at least I can be sure they’ll put up a decent fight.”

The boy gave him a sidelong look. “You really do enjoy fighting that much.”

“Sometimes.” Ce actually smiled at him. “These guys are pretty tough. I won’t be upset if they kick your ass.”

Ran huffed and made a face at him. “I will not back down just because they’re your friends! …my lord,” he added hastily, looking away.

Ce laughed out loud, and Zhou Yu smiled as well. “That’s more like it!” Sun Ce encouraged. “Just remember that we’re doing this for my father’s life. That’s what matters.”

At the top of the shallow slope that ran up from the water’s edge to the wide clearing where the temple had come to rest, the three Wu officers and Shima Sakon stood waiting, able to glimpse at a distance the ships making their way closer. “Well, here we go,” Gan Ning said, drawing his River Master. “You guys are sure this is all gonna work, right?”

“A good strategist never has to ask himself that,” Sakon said wryly.

“That’s why I’m not a strategist.” Ning shifted the broad-bladed sword into his left hand in order to offer the right to Lu Xun. “Don’t get killed. We need you.”

Xun clasped him at the wrist. “Likewise, Gan Ning. The number-one priority is to keep the Orochi army from finding out where the civilians are settled. As long as they’re safe, then the day is won as far as I’m concerned.”

“You kids better fight with everything you’ve got,” Sakon warned. “Just because it’s your lord out there doesn’t mean you should back down.”

“Hah! Not likely,” Ning assured. “If anything, that only makes me want to fight even harder.”

Ling Tong looked from him to Sakon and shrugged. “Pretty much what he said.”

“Good. I look forward to seeing you two in action, then. If you’ll excuse me…” The big man slung his big sword over his shoulder and tramped off across the camp. “…I have a strategic position to get into.”

“So do you two. You’d better get going,” Lu Xun implored. “Fight well and be safe, my friends.”

There were two routes up from the water’s edge to the main camp at Changban, though one was a bit of a bottleneck and advantageous to those on the defenders’ side. Along the other lay two ambush points, staggered just enough to keep the element of surprise. As they had devised the night before, Ling Tong led the forward ambush unit, so he had a ways to jog to get into position. Gan Ning led the secondary unit, which also cut off access to the northward landing in case any of the Orochi army decided to try to put their boats in there to form a pincer move. In the middle of the night, Sakon’s engineers had already done the hard work of making the southern landing inhospitable to anyone trying to come in, while still leaving a slip of access for a skilled sailor like Gan Ning to use if need be. He had no intention of fleeing, but Lu Xun had given him a second plan in case the forward ambush were overwhelmed too quickly. The young commander of their forces waited in the main camp, his messengers and sentries at the ready. They had done all they could to prepare, now it was time to see if it was enough.

As soon as the flat boat ran aground in the dirt at the edge of the bank, Sun Ce leaped off it with tonfa in hand, leading the charge. Zhou Yu hung back, intending to command from the rear. Da Ji had come with them, but remained on the boat while the first wave rolled in and met the first outliers of resistance. It wasn’t until they won ground along the water’s edge and set up a position from which their strategist could govern that she finally decided she had seen enough to prove that they were actually fighting for her. With little in the way of farewell, she vanished in a swirl of mystical energy right from the boat. True to their word, the men under her command just kept going, fighting their way along the spit of land toward the crumbled fortifications lying ahead. _If only I knew where you were keeping my father_ , Ce thought as he barreled along the path toward the first garrison, _I’d crush you_ and _the snake you rode in on._

As Zhou Yu reached his side, they both had a look around. There were ruined buildings near the shore, here, remnants of what was a garrison before the worlds were torn asunder. Lu Xun had pulled the camp back away from it weeks ago, as it was much more difficult to defend. “I see,” Yu noted as he walked among the crumbling walls with his sword held at the ready. “They are drawing us back. Sun Ce.” The young lord looked at him. “I will hold position here. Be ready, I anticipate the first of their surprises any minute now.”

“Gotcha.” Ce saluted him with one tonfa raised and then marched off with Ranmaru in tow.

From his vantage point, Zhou Yu had a clear view of both paths northeast, as well as access to messengers to dispatch to take changes of orders to the front line. Ce was progressing up the way he wanted, the way from which he expected counterattack. The ambush that sprang out of the bushes a few minutes later was no surprise at all. Fortunately, their most powerful fighter was leading the way, and would not go down easily from mere surprise.

Ling Tong slid down the embankment and alit gracefully right in front of the man who should have been his lord, poised and ready with Rising Phoenix tucked neatly under one arm. Ce only startled a little, and then broke out in an unexpected grin. “Thought so,” he said brightly. “Come on, then!”

“All right, you asked for it,” Tong warned before darting in for the first hit. Snaking a nunchuku around the defense of the stout tonfa was easier than with some weapons, but Sun Ce still made it difficult, blocking and striking back fast. Tong ducked and rolled around would-be hits and came back just as quickly, kicking out to sweep the Wu lord’s legs out from underneath him. Ce went down hard, but rolled out of the way of a follow-up heel strike that might have bloodied his nose, and then swung a tonfa into the back of Tong’s knees. It knocked him down, but it was the perfect position for him: he planted a hand and balanced himself to kick back with some of his unique martial arts. They whaled on each other for a few minutes, back and forth, the sharp smacks of the nunchuku smarting just as much as the hard blows from the tonfa. Yet, even as they fought, Ling Tong was aware of more men streaming around them, and the clash of a furious battle. Extra forces, a whole unit at least, had come up right behind Ce – Zhou Yu had anticipated this, and had extra men at the ready to counter. All Tong could do was grit his teeth and keep fighting. Even if all his men went down or were driven back, he would not give up until his former lord made him. “No slowing down for you, huh, Sun Ce?” he teased between panting breaths, taking a jogging step back in order to regroup and counter.

“The same goes for you,” Ce responded, smiling again. He couldn’t remember ever fighting against Ling Tong in earnest, but he was beyond pleased to find the young officer so strong and capable. He lunged and went in hard, beating forward with the short ends of the tonfa in quick succession, one after the other repeatedly. Tong blocked the first few but they kept coming, and it broke his rhythm after a bit. He took the hits to his midsection, staggering back until he tripped over a tussock of dry grass and landed on his seat. The tonfa came for his head, but Rising Phoenix came up, both sticks held together as a shield, and stopped him from being knocked out. He was in the wrong position, though, and didn’t know if he could get out of it in order to counterattack. His foot came up and hooked the inside of Ce’s leg, and then he bashed the other’s shin with his heel. Ce reeled back in pain, astonished and impressed. It gave Tong the opening he needed to pick himself up, though he was moving much more slowly now and gasping for breath after being pummeled in the stomach. He swung and struck in rapid succession, but with a loud crack of wood on wood, the nunchuku was batted aside by the tonfa and Ce punched inward, slamming the end of the other weapon into his opponent’s gut. Tong crumpled in place, his hand falling on the arm that had just dealt him the final blow and clutching at the leather armband around the Wu lord’s biceps. Ce held his position, trying to catch his breath as well. “Not bad,” he said quietly into the private space between them.

Tong winced. “I had to give it a shot…but I knew I couldn’t match you,” he groaned.

“Next time,” Ce promised before letting him slump to the ground. There wasn’t time to look after him or share any further words, the battle was still raging and he and work to do. As long as Ling Tong stayed down, he would be safe from further retaliation.

He turned to find Ranmaru at his elbow once more, watching him intently, but before they could keep going, a messenger reached them from the rearguard. “My lord, there is a fire attack planned!” he reported. “Lord Zhou Yu has diverted the sentries to stop them from reaching the main camp!”

Ranmaru frowned. “The sentries will not be enough to hold them off. I will lend some extra manpower.”

“That way.” Ce pointed with the end of one tonfa to a side path cutting westward. “You’ll come out on their flank, it might give us the advantage.”

“Yes, my lord.” With that, the boy darted off, his long sword held out in front of him like a scythe to cut down anything in his way.

Hanzo glided up alongside their commander. “Let’s keep going,” Ce ordered him. “Zhou Yu’s right, this isn’t the end of it. I bet there’s even more waiting for us up ahead.”

The ninja quirked an eyebrow beneath his helm. “The fire attack…?”

“Ran can handle that,” Sun Ce assured. “And if they get past him, they still have to beat Zhou Yu. Come on.” He broke into a run, even though the path ahead went straight up a hill. “And if I see Zhu Ran, I’m heading right for him. Try to smoke us out, will he?” he said with a dark laugh. “Not so fast, my friend.”

The two of them led the rest of their forces uphill to another cluster of abandoned buildings, while not far away, Mori Ranmaru cut into the units of infantry protecting the engineers who were trying to start a wildfire to hamper any attempt at sending forces up the second trail. The fields were tinder-dry, now that autumn had left them with nothing but dead grass and dead leaves everywhere, the perfect kindling to maximize the effectiveness of such a strategy. Lu Xun wanted the main camp to burn, but he would settle for hamstringing the advance. Zhou Yu waded into the fray from the front, though his eyes were keenly watching the movements of the soldiers, noting where they were coming from and where they were headed. He gave the young boy with the long sword a smile of encouragement as they passed close to one another, but then he noticed something else. He knew that Lu Xun trusted an officer named Zhu Ran to lead his fire attacks, but he hadn’t seen the man at all on the field. The men he kept cutting through were not at all familiar to him, they weren’t even Wu soldiers. It was enough of a curiosity to draw him away from the main camp and up the path for a distance, looking for the source. He took a risk doing so, even though Cheng Pu was down in the camp behind him. At last, as the dry wind blew aside some tree branches, he saw what he was looking for. A broad-shouldered man with a huge sword stood in the middle of the bridge over the stream there, talking intently with his engineers and then giving them the sign to move forward. “So he’s the one pulling the strings,” Zhou Yu mused aloud. “I wonder.” He raised his voice to the infantry surrounding him. “Stop the fire attack! Capture that man at once!”

Ranmaru swerved mid-step to charge off and obey the order. Yu, however, was surrounded by a mingling of Wu soldiers from both sides, and enough of them heard his cry to move to intercept. Finding himself suddenly beset by swords, Yu backed off and stood his ground. “Messengers!” he called out. “Take this information to Sun Ce, now! Warn the main camp! We cannot let this fire attack succeed!”

Men scattered all over the fields. Sun Ce, for his part, had just flushed out a second ambush, and sure enough, there was Zhu Ran as expected. He zeroed in on the officer and barreled uphill towards him, but before he could get too far into the fight, the messengers from Zhou Yu arrived again. “What now?” he complained at them.

“There is a man on the bridge along the back path,” the messenger reported. “Lord Zhou Yu wants him captured immediately, he’s the one directing the fire attack!”

Ce stopped in his tracks, even with Zhu Ran within sight. “Is that so?” he said loudly. “Well, then! Nice try with the decoy, Zhu Ran,” he added, saluting the younger officer, who shrugged helplessly in response. “Hattori, hold the line here, I’ll be right back.”

The ninja glanced his way and nodded, but just then, both heard the clear jangle of bells and a gusty laugh ringing across the battlefield. For a moment, Ce was caught, torn. “Damn, Gan Ning’s here,” he breathed. “Bad timing.”

“I will handle it,” Hanzo murmured, dashing away.

Ce had no choice but to accept it, and turned to head the other direction. There was a broad path along the length of the stream that ran through the middle of Changban, feeding the wide lake below them, and Sun Ce ran like the wind along it, following the water. There was a bridge up there, he vaguely knew of it, and if that’s where the leader of the fire attack was waiting, that was where he needed to be. The wind ruffled his hair, and even he realized from the direction that all it would take was a spark, and the fields below would be aflame in no time, cutting them off from their own main camp. Determined not to let it happen – not to let Zhou Yu down – he tore across the landscape as fast as he could. Doing battle with Ling Tong had already scuffed him up a little, just enough that he wasn’t at his best, but he shrugged off the fatigue and kept going. There, ahead, he saw the bridge, and a stranger that had to be the man Zhou Yu’s orders referred to. From under the shadow of the trees, Shima Sakon spotted him coming and took the sword down off his shoulder, a keen light kindling in his dark eyes. The men around him retreated to a safe distance as he came forward, the big blade held low. Ce halted and went into a defensive stance. “Who are you?” he demanded.

Sakon smiled very slightly, not slacking his advance one bit. “So you’re the Little Conqueror,” he called out as he broke into a lope. “Let’s see if you can live up to your reputation!”

The huge sword came up a lot faster than Ce was expecting, he barely got his tonfa raised to block it in time. “More people who’ve heard of me,” he grumbled. “Great. You want to see what I’ve got?”

Sakon laughed low. “Come on, Tiger Cub, let’s go!”

The blade came at him like a great axe, but Sun Ce fended it off with much wider swings of the tonfa, the clash of their meeting louder than the din of battle. Being as this man was a stranger to him, Ce had no problem throwing everything he had into it, as if it were any number of his true foes in the world. He held off the attack rather capably, but then the sword swung through the air to send a flying slash thundering toward him, scoring a line through the dirt as it flew invisibly at him. It was hard to block a blow made of air, and for a moment Ce was sliding backwards across the hard-packed ground. He caught himself and charged back in, striking with fury to deflect the huge blade enough to give himself an opening for body blows. Sakon was not keen on letting him do so, and read the tactic well before it could be employed. As long as Ce kept him from winding up and letting the blade’s full strength loose, they could hack at each other all afternoon, but as far as the young lord of Wu was concerned, he didn’t have all day. He knew Gan Ning was fighting on the front line, and didn’t want Hattori to have all the fun without him. The longer this took, the more likely the enemy’s strategy would succeed. He had to resort to a powerful attack, head-on, in the hopes of breaking his opponent’s guard. For his part, Sakon was a shrewd man and fairly strong, but no strategy could counter a direct, relentless assault that was all power and no technique. He went sprawling across the ground, his armor preventing him from serious injury but his defense beaten. Such an attack exhausted Sun Ce, so he could only stand there panting while Sakon picked himself up. At that precise moment, a great rushing sound went up and the sky turned orange with flame. Ce looked to see the fire in the trees just around the bend, and his heart sank. “Ooh…now that could be a problem,” he remarked, not even realizing he said it aloud.

Sakon chuckled a little and began to step backwards, his sword dragging along the ground. “I’ll take that as my cue to get the hell out of here. Mission accomplished,” he said smartly with a tip of a finger to his forehead in a salute. “You know, there’s a lot of people I wouldn’t want as my boss, but you…” He left the statement unfinished, a thought dangling in the air, as he retreated.

For a moment Ce wasn’t sure what course of action to take, but since he was closer to the point of attack, he chose to check on Zhou Yu first. Men were scattering in all directions, but mostly away from the wildfire licking up the dead grass and roaring on southward toward the main body of their forces waiting at the water’s edge. The strategist had chosen to retreat north, bringing him straight to his commander in no time at all. “Are you all right? Zhou Yu!” Ce called out to him.

Yu was a little dusty, but seemed otherwise unharmed. “I’m fine,” he assured. “What happened to the man leading the fire attack?”

“I beat him down, but he got away,” Ce admitted. “One of his engineers must have slipped past me while we were fighting. I didn’t even notice…”

“Don’t apologize,” Yu cut him off before he could. “It’s all right. This is no fatal blow to our plan. At least we forced them to trigger it too soon – Cheng Pu and the others should be able to extinguish it before it reaches the water’s edge. We’ll have to continue on by the other path, which I’m sure is what Lu Xun wanted.”

“The kid’s gotten smarter, that’s for sure,” Ce sighed. “All right, I’m going on ahead – Gan Ning was up there, I had to leave him to Hattori.”

“Wait. Gan Ning? Where?” Zhou Yu frowned darkly. “What could he be planning…?”

“Up there, where the old garrison used to be.” Sun Ce pointed back the way he had come.

“Near the northern landing?” As the thought struck Yu, he straightened up in shock. “A sneak attack! He must be stopped, before he can infiltrate the main camp from behind! He’ll wreak havoc back there…”

“I’m on it!” Ce dashed off once more, pushing past his exhaustion to a surge of adrenaline to keep him going. Stopping Gan Ning was now not only a fun idea, it was a strategic priority.

At the junction of paths, battle was already joined. Though he wasn’t able to defeat the pirate, or even make him break a sweat, Hanzo had him stymied for the time being. He didn’t know that he needed to be stopping Gan Ning from getting on a boat hidden down behind the river embankment, but he was doing it anyway. Ning was enraged at this dark shadow getting in his way, this strange warrior who didn’t speak no matter how much he was taunted. It was more frustrating than trying to chat with Zhou Tai. He swung and missed as Hanzo darted backwards, putting enough distance between them to use projectile weapons. Before he could throw, though, he glanced and noticed Sun Ce charging back into the battle at hand, as well as the pall of smoke rising into the air behind him. Gan Ning looked to see what he was seeing, and gave a loud, sharp laugh. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Good work, Lu Xun! All right, you…” He aimed a kick at Hanzo, sending him leaping back again. “Get outta my way! I’ve got bigger fish to fry than you!”

Even as he whirled in place and brought his River Master to bear, Sun Ce raced up to meet him. “Go easy on me at your own peril, Gan Ning!”

“Have you ever known me to go easy in a fight?” Ning retorted brashly before lunging to strike, his bells ringing shrill. The two practically smashed into each other, and held at stalemate for a heartbeat before rebounding and then going in again. Over and over they threw themselves at each other, and neither was going easy at all. Knowing that this was a personal battle, Hattori withdrew a few steps, concentrating for the moment on clearing the area of all infantry and anyone that might interfere. Gan Ning and Sun Ce had fought together many times, and knew each other’s moves all too well, so for a time, neither could gain the upper hand. Ce was winded from his previous fights, as well, but he didn’t let that stop him from throwing his full strength behind his hits. He turned aside River Master again and again, not letting it get so much as a nick on him. Ning zipped around him, not wanting to get bruised by those tonfa in turn. Their arms were aching from the battering received by holding their defenses, each in turn. Perhaps if he hadn’t already been softened up by Ling Tong and Shima Sakon, Ce could have kept this particular fight going forever. He was tired enough to misstep, he chased after the pirate and over-extended his reach, aiming to sweep at his legs and missing. Ning kicked the tonfa down into the ground, and then used it as a launching pad, stepping on it and springing high into the air. The sword slashed down in the blink of an eye, meeting the second tonfa raised to block and powering it back almost into Ce’s own face. The sharp edge was turned aside but the flat of the wide scimitar blade crashed down onto Ce’s head, rattling him. Gan Ning landed full onto his former lord’s chest, kicking him down onto his back and holding him there with one foot on his neck. The tip of the sword whiffed dangerously close to his throat. Sun Ce’s eyes shimmered for a moment, as he felt the tide of victory ebbing away, and the life of another of his generals becoming forfeit. “Is that all you’ve got?” Ning growled, almost in his face. “I thought you were a conqueror, man!”

Ce bit back the rush of emotions, catching his breath. “I miss the days when we fought together,” he breathed. “Those were happier times…”

The flash of sentimentality enraged Gan Ning. He stomped his foot into Ce’s chest and leaned down further. “What’s wrong with you, Sun Ce? I don’t want to hear you cryin’ about having to fight us when you were the one who came at us first! You better come at me full-on or don’t even bother coming at all! If you want me to take your head so you don’t have to go back to that snake, I’ll be happy to do the honors!”

Ce’s face twisted, his anger rushing to the fore. “He’ll kill my father if you do that!” he shot back. “If you knew what was good for Wu, you’d back off right now!”

“If _you_ knew what was good for Wu, you wouldn’t have done this in the first place!”

Though he didn’t need to, Ning pulled his sword back for a bigger, wider strike. It allowed Ce just enough room to bring up one tonfa and clout him in the back of the legs, toppling him from his perch. As the pirate staggered back and went on the defensive, Hanzo started to move forward to take up the fight. His commander sat up enough to hold up a tonfa in his path to stop him. “Wait,” he begged. “This is my fight, let me finish it.”

Without a word, the ninja stepped back again. Ning sneered at him. “Not one for talking much, huh? Don’t get in my way, this has to be settled man to man.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Ce pushed himself up with his tonfa and stumbled into a battle pose, raising his weapons in his fists. He stared down his old comrade, the moment of grief past and his daring half-smile back. They needed no more words to get started, the fight resumed where it had left off. Both ripped into each other with renewed energy, but no hatred. Far from avoiding each other’s hits, they were now taking them, first one then the other, accepting the blows in order to return the favor a moment later. Hit after hit until each one drew blood, then more and more hits, until Ce faltered once again. He went to one knee in fatigue, but this time when he raised an arm over his head to block with one tonfa, the defense held. He was dangerously close to Gan Ning, and inside his guard, so he simply punched upward, hitting him much the same as he had Ling Tong, right in his bare, unprotected stomach. The pirate staggered back a few feet and then collapsed onto his back, coughing in search of the wind that had been knocked out of him. There was a jingle of chains and suddenly the hooked blade of the ninja’s weapon was at his throat, warning him not to get up. Sun Ce stood over him, his back against the darkened disk of the sun glaring through the cloud of smoke from the wildfire. “I can’t let you launch that sneak attack, Xingba. Stay down or I’ll put you down for good.”

“So you knew, huh?” Ning grimaced at the blossoming pain in his stomach. “Damn. Guess today’s not my day.” A quick glance at the field told him that the rest of his men were beaten back as well, so even if he were in the shape to sail and attack once more, it would be of no use. He squinted up at the dark shape of the ninja standing over him. “I got the hint, all right? I’ll scram. But hey…” Hanzo looked down at him, meeting his eye. More quietly, yet still loud enough for his old friend to hear, he said, “You keep an eye on Sun Ce. He’s a bit of a loose cannon, you know.”

Hanzo regarded him for a moment before withdrawing the blade from his throat. “Understood.”

Ce glanced over his shoulder, but hid his reaction to hearing that. He only gave a jerk of one tonfa to instruct the ninja to come along with him. They still had the commander to stop before he could unleash any more surprises.

When Shima Sakon came limping back into the main camp to report on the relative success of the fire attack, Lu Xun took it in stride. Most of his strategies were being countered, he had worried that Zhou Yu might see through them, and his men were falling one by one. He dispatched Sakon to ride with the messenger to warn the civilians to hide themselves, for he could see that the battle was pitched against him and he would soon be facing the commanders himself. Unless Gan Ning could stop Sun Ce, in which case he’d be left facing his mentor, still a daunting prospect. His two short swords were already out, and he clenched his fists on them tighter and tighter with each report brought in from the front. Retreating officers were bad news in and of themselves. Then, from his position at the entrance of the temple, he saw the last wave of defense ripple backwards to receive the onrush of a cluster of men storming across the last bridge. Fortunately, he did have one more trick up his sleeve, one last ambush that they probably didn’t expect. But those officers fell back far too soon, their strength not enough to combat the pair of warriors who had met up on the field to make the final push together. The afternoon sun began to grow dark and orange as it filtered through the thick, black smoke rising from the fields. At least, Lu Xun assured himself, he had chosen wisely based on the direction of the wind, and the fire would eventually burn itself out at the shore rather than turn back and get into the civilian fields over the next mountain. Had they been at risk, he never would have dared it no matter how effective it usually was. With no one else standing to protect him, he strode forward to meet his foes, and put on a grim smile to hide his fading courage when he saw that it was, in fact, both Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. The two slowed as they approached, and though Ce was determined to see this through to the end, he flagged a little, and let his strategist go first. “How did you like my little fire trap?” Lu Xun said to them by way of welcome.

“Very impressive,” Ce replied sincerely. “Just what I would have done.”

“And yet, you don’t look to have been snared in it,” Xun noted.

“On the battlefield, a stroke of luck is the sword that breaks a strategy,” Zhou Yu said sagely. “But tell me, Lu Xun. Did you make your choices based on who you would be facing?”

Xun twirled his swords agilely in both hands. “I made my choices based on what was available to me. I had a feeling I would not entirely fool you, Lord Zhou Yu, but I had to try. I believe there was only one thing I misjudged.”

Yu raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what might that be.”

Xun slid into a fighting stance, swords brought to bear. “Your determination, Lord Sun Ce.”

Ce smiled a little. “It’s not the end yet, my boy. Here we are, and I don’t hear any of us talking about surrender.”

“I cannot. I will not.” Xun held his ground, thinking of the civilians. He had to buy time, and keep the army from progressing any further.

“If you will let me, my lord.” Zhou Yu sprang from his place, eager to test his protégé with the blade rather than the mind. As Ce was exhausted from his other battles, he was fine letting his comrade take the lead.

The fight was much less intense than the bout between the pirate and his lord, but Lu Xun was no less determined to hold his ground. His acrobatic attacks were quick and precise, and he knew well how to dodge. But Yu’s swordplay was equally finessed, so the two had a long stretch of stalemate where their teasing strikes against one another did almost nothing. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Xun went on the offensive, doubling his strength and shortening his reach for more efficient blows. Yu parried as best he could, but he wanted to end this fast, before Da Ji could come sauntering back onto the field to see how they were doing. He knew Ce was in no shape to last another long fight, as well, so if he could finish it, it would mean their victory. Xun made him work for it, at least, until a well-timed parry thrust aside one of his swords and sent it flying from his hand. Before he could bring the other in to prevent a counter, the strike was there and he felt the blade bite in his shoulder. It was a surprisingly shallow cut, but it hurt enough to make him drop the other sword. Zhou Yu whirled around and clouted him with the pommel of the hilt, taking him down with some finality. Lu Xun was not completely incapacitated, but he knelt on the ground before the pair, breathing hard and sweating with the pain and exertion. It took him the space of a few breaths to find his voice again, but he lacked the strength to call out loud. “Retreat…sound the retreat. Somebody!”

Fortunately, one of his messengers was close enough to hear the order, and escaped from the enemy commanders while crying _retreat_ at the top of his lungs. The traffic of battle ceased almost instantly and soldiers melted back, fleeing away from that spot. They didn’t even stop to gather supplies from the main camp, they simply fled back into the trees. To complete the mission, Sun Ce strode forward and placed his tonfa gently but very obviously next to Lu Xun’s ear. “It’s over. This resistance army is defeated. You will not build a force to fight Orochi.”

Xun kept his head down, still trying to breathe. His lord’s choice of words was strange, but he heard the message behind them. Still this was a hard pill to swallow. “Why?” he breathed desperately. “We were only…trying to survive.”

“And so you have,” Sun Ce said with some haste. “If you wish to continue to do so, then retreat. Now.”

Lu Xun bit back a retort, his face contorting in anguish. He could tell what they were trying to do, but facing them like this still hurt. “Please,” he whispered, “if I can’t be allowed to do it, you have to rescue Lord Sun Jian…”

Ce regarded him with a stony expression. “I will,” he vowed. 

Zhou Yu touched his partner on the shoulder. “Our forces are approaching.”

The commander turned to them, noting Ranmaru and Hattori at the foremost, and nodded briskly. “And that’s the last one! It’s been a hell of a time, boys, even if we were on opposite sides. Come on, men, let’s clear the field. Our work here is done.”

One or two of the rank-and-file soldiers might have noticed that they weren’t taking Lu Xun hostage, nor were any of the other beaten Wu officers joining their former lord, but no one said anything. As long as Lu Xun remained down, and his men retreated from their camp, it looked like a sure defeat – and there was no way Hanzo or Ranmaru were going to say otherwise. The latter walked back at Ce’s side, looking around curiously. “I don’t understand. You looked like you were actually having fun…no, not just you, all of the mighty warriors of Wu seemed to be enjoying themselves, even though it should be tearing you apart inside to have to fight one another.”

“That’s just the way we are, lad,” Ce said breezily. Savoring the intensity of his fights was one way to keep from being downhearted at the rest of it. Ling Tong and Gan Ning had pushed him beyond his limits, and he did enjoy that. “Don’t be too concerned about it. We all know each other, we couldn’t go easy on each other. But that’s the fun of it.”

The boy shook his head. “I don’t know if I will ever fully understand.”

Ce chuckled. Behind them, Zhou Yu spoke up. “Out of curiosity. Do either of you know the man who was directing the fire attack? He had a large blade and wore armor similar to Lord Tokugawa’s.”

Ranmaru glanced at him. “Yes, my lord…that was Shima Sakon. I know of him, he is a _ronin_ but has in the past offered his services to my Lord Nobunaga.”

“Ronin?” Yu repeated.

“A masterless samurai. Shima Sakon is a shrewd and intelligent man, but refuses to back any one of the warlords vying for control of the land.”

“Sakon, huh?” Sun Ce mulled over the name for a bit and resolved to remember it. “Thanks, Ranmaru. That’s good to know.” He glanced around as they walked; in order to avoid the areas where the wildfire still raged, they had to walk back along the path where he had fought his friends. Both were gone, presumably escaped. Noting this brought an overwhelming sense of relief to his heart. As much as he enjoyed fighting against them, knowing that they were alive and would fight another day was more important.

Lu Xun remained on the ground until his foes had collected their contingents of troops and left. To anyone else it might have seemed strange that they did not take prisoners or ransack the main camp, but Xun knew that these battles were not like the ones they were all used to. This was to accomplish a task and nothing more. Driving away the bulk of the fighting force and scattering the officers was enough to render this small resistance useless. Yet, they had stopped at defeating him, so the peasants were safe. Gradually, Xun became more aware of the pain in his shoulder, and realized that he was still bleeding. He covered the wound with a hand and slowly got to his feet, looking around for his pair of swords and then stumbling through the remains of the camp to find medical supplies. By then, some of the soldiers had started creeping back out of the trees, and were likewise picking through the camp looking for anything they could salvage. Zhu Ran returned to find Lu Xun sitting on a chunk of crumbled stone masonry and hurried to help him, cleaning and dressing the wound for him. Slowly but surely they trickled in, counting their blessings, but less than half of his forces remained. The rest had probably scattered, most of the extra officers Sakon had brought with him were long gone. To the young commander’s dismay, neither Ling Tong nor Gan Ning reported back in, nor did he hear anything of their fates until the day waned and night was about to close in on them yet again. The air still smelled strongly of wood smoke, and their garrison was in tatters, so Lu Xun instructed his men to gather what they could out of the temple and the main camp and then retreat to the civilian outpost on the other side of the ridge. It was the deep of night before they made it there, and Xun trudged wearily into a well-lit village only to collapse on the edge of it. Brawny arms caught him before he could hit the ground. “Hold on there, kid,” he heard Sakon’s rich, gentle voice say. “It’s all right, you’re safe now.”

“Sakon…” Lu Xun rolled his head up to verify, and saw the whiskery smile above him before he fainted.

“Ah…damn,” Sakon remarked to himself before raising his voice. “Hey, we’ve got a wounded commander over here! Somebody want to get me a place for him to rest, and some water and a healer while we’re at it?”

It wasn’t anything serious, merely fatigue, but the grateful peasants hustled to provide anything and everything the young strategist needed. He woke up after only about fifteen minutes under his swoon, to find his hat off, his collar loosened, and someone re-examining his shoulder. Sakon had been pacing, but heard him stir and came around to check on him. Xun blinked up at the mountain of a man who sank down at his side. “Sakon…? What are you doing here?”

“Did you really think I was going to turn tail and run after delivering your message? That’s not the way I operate,” Sakon smirked. “I hung around here until things settled. It was too late for me to rejoin the battle anyway. Good thing, too, somebody had to be awake and alert to corral all the soldiers running around in a panic before they led the Orochi army here.” He glanced at the field physician finishing up his examination and re-wrapping the injury, and then sobered a bit. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Any defeat you can walk away from…well.”

“Actually…” Lu Xun rested an arm over his forehead, turning his hazel eyes to the roof of the peasant hut. “…I don’t feel so terrible in the end. Just very tired, and a little worried about Gan Ning and Ling Tong. Have they regrouped with us yet?”

Sakon shook his head. “They got separated from us. They know where this village is, right?”

“Mhm. Which means, if they haven’t returned…then they can’t return, for some reason.” He closed his eyes tiredly. “But at least I got to look into my lord’s eyes and know. There is no reason to hate him for what he is forced to do.” His own words reminded him of something, and he shifted his gaze to the bigger man. “When you set out this morning, you said there was something you wanted to see for yourself. Did you manage to find it?”

Sakon’s smile was vague. “I sure did. But before I do anything, I want to touch base with some of my other contacts.” He set a hand on the strategist’s slender arm. “You’re all right, kid. I wouldn’t mind working with you again someday. If you run into a real bind out here…” Again, the smile faded into a serious sort of look. “…follow the rumors to Oda Nobunaga. The resistance he’s forming is real. He’s not the friendliest guy in the world, but he’ll make sure you have plenty to do and stay alive long enough to do it.”

Xun met his gaze. “Is that who sent you?” he breathed quietly.

For a moment Sakon didn’t react; then, his eyes crinkled with the shadow of a smile. “Get some rest. I’ll wait until morning to head out – it’s not safe to ride by night in this region.” He rose to his full height and left the room, allowing Lu Xun to get some genuine rest and healing. Outside, Sakon paused only to look up at the stars and sigh heavily, shaking his head, before trudging off to find lodging for himself.

Far away from them by now, a small boat coasted on the strong current that carried the river past Changban and away into regions unknown. Though it meant they wouldn’t be able to return to Lu Xun’s aid, at the time there were no other choices for the two officers. The boat meant for Gan Ning to use to sneak down the river to the watercourse and spring a surprise attack on their foes’ main camp was still there, waiting, so when Ling Tong limped up to him the two slunk onto the boat and cut it free, and silently drifted downriver, completely unnoticed. If anyone in the southern camp saw it go by, they figured it was loose or abandoned, for there was no sign of anyone aboard – since the pair of officers laid on their backs below the level of sight until they had passed by the headland and drifted away with the current. When the noise of activity had faded away and left only the burble of water under the hull, and even the last wisps of smoke from the wildfire disappeared against the brassy sky, they finally felt it safe to sit up and tend each other’s bruises. Ning was the worse off of the two, but even he found it easy to shrug off the blood and battery. “I gave Sun Ce a few bites he won’t forget,” he bragged as he sat still for Tong. “I gotta say, I haven’t had that much fun in ages. I’d sorta underestimated how hard he hits.”

“He’s no wimp, that’s for sure,” Tong agreed. “Well, these aren’t too bad, I guess. You’re going to have some nasty bruises in the morning, though.”

“He left me all my bones, at least.” Ning tilted his head to stretch his neck, and then heaved a big sigh. “Well, here we are again. No horses this time, but we’ve got a boat.”

“And not much else.” The boat had been meant for use in battle, it had nothing laden on board. “Some provisions would’ve been nice.”

“Hey.” Ning smacked him in the knee with the back of his hand. “You’re on a boat with the most notorious pirate captain of Jiangdong. We’re gonna be _fine_. I’ll catch us enough fish to last us as long as we need.” His grin faded, then, and he sat back heavily on his hands. “Damn. What the hell are we gonna do now?”

Ling Tong looked up at the sky; the afternoon was fast becoming evening, and the sun was already sinking behind the trees. “I sort of remember bits and pieces of the map that Sakon guy brought us. I don’t know exactly where this river is going to take us, but we’re going to run into other territories eventually. And with an actual resistance army out there, somewhere, we’re bound to run into somebody we can fall in with again. I don’t even care who it is, as long as they’re fighting against Orochi.” He kept his head tilted up, but his expression grew tense and his lips pursed in worry. “You think Lu Xun’s going to be all right?” he asked more quietly.

“Sun Ce’s not gonna kill him,” Ning said firmly, “no matter what else he might be doing with that damn snake army. Whether he’ll be captured or not…dunno. I feel bad leaving him like this, but we’ve got no way of backtracking there now.”

“I feel awful.” Tong shut his eyes against the fear. “I hate letting my men down like this. And my father…”

“Yeah, well, you’re no good to ‘em dead, either.” Ning grabbed a handful of his sleeve and tugged to get his attention. “Remember what I said?”

“About not getting hurt?” Tong smiled wanly. “Too late.”

The pirate snorted and shook his head. “Dreamer.”

“Idiot.”

“Hey!”

They scowled at each other, and after a moment broke down into tired chuckles. It passed like a gust of wind and left them sitting there side by side, idly gazing at the sky turning golden with the day’s end. There really was nothing else that could be done, just then. Gan Ning climbed to his feet and went to grab a pole to guide their boat downstream, to keep it off the rocks and oriented correctly while it floated them down into lands unknown. They were retreating from the battlefield more swiftly this way than they ever could on foot, so for now, the pirate kept them on course. They could leave the decision about whether to sail or walk until the morning. Considering Ling Tong looked like he was going to flop down and fall asleep any minute now, Ning figured they had chosen wisely.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun gets some news in Nanzhong; Guan Ping makes a name for himself in Oda's army; Gan Ning and Ling Tong find a new place to protect.

The tropical warmth of the southern lands was all too familiar to the generals of Shu who had fought to subjugate and then ally with the Nanman in times and places past. Zhao Yun was not much surprised that this climate was crawling with snakes, not after the reports they had gotten before parting from the rest of their forces. What he didn’t expect to find was Jiang Wei, who had apparently gotten the same idea as he and gone to request information or aid from the great king Meng Huo. Their timing could have been a little better, as they ran into each other quite literally on the cusp of battle, but after driving away the Orochi-allied officers trying to wrestle the barbarians into submission, they were able to enter the chief village of the Nanman and catch up with one another while they rested. It was a short skirmish, begun just after nightfall, which meant they had plenty of time to sit and talk while the Nanman prepared a victory feast and welcomed in their allies. Meng Huo was full of raucous laughter and patted Zhao Yun on the back so roughly that his teeth rattled, but then left him to his own devices while the king stalked around his village proclaiming that any enemy of “that blasted snake demon” was a friend of his. Yun straightened himself out and ducked away quickly before anyone else could laud or try to party with him. Fortunately, he found Jiang Wei without any more trouble and pulled him aside under a canopy to sit and talk. Villagers mistook them for casual revelers and brought them food and drink, making it an even better night overall. Though he was exhausted, Yun forced himself to resist the sleepiness brought on by too much wine and rich food in order to share as much information as he could with Jiang Wei. The younger man was pleased to hear that Yueying had been rescued, and confirmed everything she had reported about the conflict at Dingjun and the various rumors of which they had all been catching wind. “So then,” Yun mused, “you’re saying I shouldn’t be entirely surprised that one of the officers we fought tonight was Sun Ce’s wife.”

“There is a lot more to that than meets the eye,” Wei said softly, looking down into his cup. “When I confronted Sun Ce myself, he told me directly that Orochi is holding his father hostage, in order to force him to do his bidding.”

“I see. Then that news is true as well.” Zhao Yun reclined back against a barrel and sipped at the strong wine they had been served. For all the hardships of having their lands ripped up by the roots and smashed together, the Nanman seemed to have had the best luck in recovering their provisions and luxuries. “I wish I could say whether the same was true for Lord Zhuge Liang.”

Wei hung his head sadly. “He is impossible to read even for those who believe they know him well. But he also knows our lord’s heart…he wouldn’t let himself be swayed like that.” He downed what was left in his cup and winced at the strength of it burning his throat. “There has been no sign of his brothers, has there?”

“No. I don’t know where they could be.” Yun tipped his head back with a sigh. “It feels like it is only me against the flood. But little by little, I am finding help where I least expect it.”

“Well, you have me as well, now,” Jiang Wei promised. “We men of Shu must stick together, and this time I’m not going to let those snakes drive me away from my countrymen.”

Yun chuckled a little. “You are worried about Ma Chao? Don’t be. He’ll be fine.”

“His cousin is with him, so yes, I suppose he should be.” Wei made a face and set the wine cup aside. “I think that’s enough drinking for tonight. My head is starting to swim.”

“I think even Lord Zhang Fei would find this wine of Nanzhong a little strong,” Zhao Yun giggled before likewise setting his aside. “Just think. If they’re making such a big deal out of sending Zhang He running, what will it be like when we finally defeat Orochi?”

“That party had better last at least three days,” Wei smirked. “Maybe four.” His humor was short-lived, though, as he thought about the daunting task ahead. “Defeating Orochi…do you think anyone really can?”

“I think…” Yun glanced at him with serious eyes. “I haven’t actually thought directly about it, now that you mention it. I only know that my goal is to rescue Lord Liu Bei from the demon’s clutches. If that requires actually putting my spear through Orochi’s heart…then, so be it. I’m not going to look too far ahead.” He shrugged a little. “There have already been too many surprises, to count on anything beyond the next step.”

“That’s very wise,” Wei nodded. “Perhaps you really have picked up a few things from Lord Zhuge Liang.”

“The only thing I feel I’ve really learned from him is how not to style a beard,” Yun murmured. There was a pause, while that sunk in, and then both men laughed under their breath. “I don’t mean his is ugly,” the spearman quickly added, “I just don’t think it would look good on me.”

“Have you ever even tried to grow one?”

“…no, not really.”

“Then how do you know?” Jiang Wei grinned and shook his head. “No, it’s definitely time to stop drinking. Maybe I’ll head to bed.”

“Don’t let Meng Huo hear you say that,” Yun teased. “I won’t stop you. It’s been a long night already and we’ve only just arrived. Sleep well, my friend.”

Smiling, Jiang Wei pushed himself up and wandered off through the village, steady enough on his feet not to be mistaken for drunk. Zhao Yun remained relaxing there for a little bit longer, but the exuberant Nanman drums and the flickering firelight were giving him a headache, so he got up and made to slink away quietly to one of the stilted huts the villagers had set aside for the defenders. Along the way he passed Meng Huo and Shimazu doing their best to drink each other under the table, and was about to thank the fates that they had each other’s attention occupied when the barbarian king managed to glance aside just enough to catch him walking past. “Hey! Tiger General!” he roared happily. “Come join us for a drink! This Wa man you brought me sure knows how to put ‘em away!”

Shimazu’s gaze took a wandering path but eventually made it to see what the huge king was looking at. “Eh? Not giving up on us already, Zhao Yun?”

Yun stopped and waved his hands placatingly. “No, no, I was just…looking for something else to eat, actually. I’m still hungry,” he sheepishly lied. “You two look like you’re enjoying yourselves, I do not want to interrupt.”

“You know, it’s funny you showed up here out of nowhere like that.” Meng Huo pointed at him with a big fat finger. “I was just telling somebody the other day that I heard you were dead.”

Yun stared at him, nonplussed. “I…what?”

“Yeah, yeah… ‘course, you can’t believe everything you hear nowadays,” Meng blustered, giving Shimazu a friendly smack on the arm as if he were in on the joke. “What with the jungles full of snakes and the world going topsy-turvy, and the earthquakes and all that. I don’t know what to think anymore! But I’m glad you’re alive.” His face sagged with sadness. “When I think about how I let you and Liu Bei down, back there, I just don’t know how I can call myself a man anymore.”

Zhao Yun shook his head. “I do not hold a grudge, mighty king. You did your best, as did I. What matters is that we are all alive to fight another day.”

“Damn right!” Meng Huo burst out in another gale of rough laughter. “And that’s something to drink to!”

“Hear, hear!” Shimazu agreed, hoisting up his wine cup.

Yun laughed a little and backed away, letting them get distracted by their game once more. He turned and kept going, but hadn’t gotten more than a few steps when he heard the sultry voice of the barbarian king’s wife drifting from out of the shadows. “You’re too generous to the big lump, Lord Zhao Yun,” Zhurong purred. “He’s a tough guy, he can deal with you not wanting to drink with him.”

Yun came around a wooden lattice to find her lurking in the shadows, arms folded over her half-exposed chest and a sly smirk on her lips. He bowed his head respectfully. “It’s not that, my lady, I simply…wanted to get some sleep.”

“Of course,” she responded, still smiling in that catlike way. “You northern lords aren’t used to staying up all night to celebrate, are you?”

Yun laughed awkwardly and looked away. “Um, well. Actually, now that I have a moment, I’d like to ask for the king’s ear – tomorrow, when things aren’t so celebratory. I have some things to ask him, and you.”

Zhurong inclined her head curiously and then nodded. “You could ask me now, but I get what you mean. You want something official. I’ll make sure he makes time for you. Meantime, get some rest. There’s no guarantee that prissy pretty-boy is done with us after being beaten back this once, he could be back with reinforcements in daylight.”

“That is a concern, yes. Until tomorrow, then, my lady.”

Zhao Yun was asleep almost as soon as his back hit the floor of their temporary quarters. Whether their hosts lived by a different schedule or they simply decided to let the officers sleep, no one came to bother them and he awoke quite naturally at mid-morning, feeling rather refreshed despite all things. Not so much for Shimazu, he was already sitting up in the open doorway of the hut nursing a hangover of epic proportions. Villagers came to see to their needs, bringing them food and bathing water and far too much attention. It wasn’t until after noon that Zilong was able to collect Jiang Wei and Tachibana and make his appointed meeting with Meng Huo, though that was mainly due to the king being indisposed until then. The warriors from the north knelt with their barbarian comrades and discussed in more serious terms the sacking of Chengdu and the current state of the kingdom of Shu and its lord. The Nanman were not entirely ignorant of the goings-on in the new world, but they had been more or less removed from the worst of it until recently, when officers of Wei began to harry them with increased frequency. Zhang He seemed to be one of the main commanders at this end of the land, but Sima Yi had also been seen directing troop movements amid the jungle. Zhao Yun was not pleased to learn of this, and promised the aid of Shu if necessary. Meng Huo waved a meaty hand at him. “They’re nothing but flies biting at the back of an elephant,” he demurred. “If they were really serious, they’d have the rest of their army with them, wouldn’t they? We’ll be fine. Uh, not to say your help last night wasn’t appreciated.”

“I suspect those slimy bastards were trying to spring a sneak attack on our village from behind, where we least expected it,” Zhurong snarled. “They would have struck right at the women and children. You guys came in just in time.”

“And _they_ paid dearly for it,” Meng Huo chuckled.

“All the same…” Yun placed his hands on the floor and bowed in a respectful gesture. “You came to my lord’s aid when he was beset by Orochi. Should another one of those unexpected situations occur, you can count on us to come rushing to your side.”

Meng Huo nodded approvingly. “I like you, Zhao Yun. You’re a lot like Liu Bei, you know? Shame, that.” He lamented much as he had while drunk the night before. “I wish I knew where they took him, I’d give that Orochi such a beating until he let him go!”

Remembering what he had said, Yun sat up and frowned. “What did you mean, that you had heard I was dead?”

“Just like I said,” the king shrugged. “And Liu Bei, too! Everyone thought Orochi had killed the lot of you, which is why I was so upset!”

“We heard rumors that he was spotted in Chengdu once more,” Zhao Yun prodded.

“Ah. Yeah, I heard that too.” Meng Huo’s demeanor darkened. “But it wasn’t him, exactly, it was…” He looked to his wife and made a strange gesture as if to ward off evil omens.

“There’s no denying that Orochi has a lot of sorcery at his hands, the kind we’ve never seen before,” Zhurong explained. “Of course. He’s a demon, after all. Until you came here last night and told us he was alive, we thought…well…” She looked pained to have to say it. “…that Orochi’s sorcery had raised a phantom of Liu Bei from the dead.”

Meng Huo suddenly sat up sharply and smacked his hand on his forehead. It made a noise loud enough to make Jiang Wei wince. “Oh, no! Honey, what have I done? Those other guys!”

“Other guys?” Yun repeated.

Zhurong rounded on her husband. “What? What did you tell them, you big dolt?”

“The phantoms! I told them about the phantoms!” Meng Huo gestured pleadingly at Zhao Yun. “You gotta understand, we thought we were doing the right thing to pay respect to Liu Bei and everything he’s done for us. I couldn’t stand the thought of some dark magic raising phantoms of the dead to haunt their homeland! So I…” He cringed sheepishly. “I asked them to go set things right, and get rid of the phantoms.”

Zhurong sighed in aggravation and rolled her eyes, but didn’t yell at him for that. “See,” she explained, “a little while ago, another noble warrior of your ilk stopped by to lend us a hand. The Wei fighters had destroyed the bridge on the other side of the village and were trying to wipe us out, but he happened to be there and helped drive them back. He didn’t seem to know much about our land, but he’d heard of Shu from somewhere.”

“And that’s when I told him about the phantoms,” Meng Huo said with a sad shake of his head. “He seemed like a real nice guy, and he agreed that no one should disturb the souls of fallen warriors. He went right out to go and take care of it.”

“You idiot,” his wife said in exasperation. “If Liu Bei is alive, then he’s gone to attack the real thing!”

“I know! But I didn’t know he was alive, honest!” the king insisted.

“Who was this warrior?” Jiang Wei asked urgently.

The Nanman leaders looked at one another and then at their audience. “Guy all in weird red armor – kind of like yours,” Meng Huo said with a gesture toward Tachibana. “Name was….Sanada.” He raised his hands as if holding a weapon. “Had a big spear just like yours, Zhao Yun, he was pretty damn good with it. Fought just like you, too.”

Yun frowned pensively, turning this information over in his mind. “I’ve not heard of somebody like that, but…it seems we have little choice. We’ll have to set out for Chengdu immediately, and try to get there ahead of him.”

“And tell Liu Bei I’m sorry. Really, I am!” Meng Huo insisted.

“You were thinking of our lord’s honor,” Jiang Wei reassured. “That’s very kind of you, Lord Meng Huo.”

“Yeah, yeah…that’s all it was, really.”

“Then we cannot linger in this village any longer,” Tachibana broke in. “Time is of the essence.”

“Oh, so you _are_ a girl,” Zhurong remarked with a wicked smirk. “It was hard to tell under all that armor.”

Ginchiyo bristled where she sat. “I beg your pardon!”

The two men of Shu tried to laugh it off. “I regret that we don’t have more time to spend enjoying your hospitality, my friends,” Zhao Yun said to change the subject. “But I must know for sure what has become of my lord. If he is in Chengdu after all, I have to reach him before Sanada tries to destroy him.”

“If we hear anything else, we’ll send word,” Zhurong said. “Whereabouts is your main camp?”

“At the moment, in flux,” Yun said unhappily. “We travel around, so the Orochi army can’t pin us down in any one place. But before I set out on my journey here, there were plans to send Xingcai to occupy a castle. Many strongholds all across this land have been conquered, and are held by the Orochi army, but one or two were simply left vacant. If we can take a fortress or castle without too much trouble, our forces will be setting up camp there.”

“And if all goes well at Chengdu, we will be quartering there as well,” Jiang Wei added.

“Well. We’ll try one, and then the other, I suppose,” the queen said wisely. “For now, we’ll simply be taking care of our own people here. We’re not about to let the Wei forces have our land.”

“That’s right,” Meng Huo growled. “This is our land, even if it is in a whole other world. I don’t know what that Sima Yi wants with it, or us, but he’s not gonna get it as long as I can still draw breath and roar.”

“I have no doubts in your strength, my lord,” Zhao Yun said respectfully. “Your people must be grateful to still have you among them. I must now go and see to my own people.”

Meng Huo could not fault him for that mission. He nodded once, proudly. “The spirits go with you, then.”

The return journey would be no shorter, but the small contingent under Zhao Yun’s command was eager to get going, if for no other reason than many of them really didn’t like the tropical climate. It was jarring, stepping from their own spring and summer lands into Nanzhong, but at least the errand was short this time. Jiang Wei didn’t like the idea of leaving them with Sima Yi and the Wei army still lurking about, but Zhao Yun reassured him that Meng Huo was a proud man, and would never deign to ask for Shu’s help even if they needed it. “All the same,” he murmured as they hiked together at the head of their troop, “we must keep the lines of communication open, just in case. They will not ask us to come, but if we know they’re in trouble, we’ll come all the same.”

“No wonder I always heard that negotiations with the barbarians were difficult,” Wei mused. “I can see why.”

“They seem to be doing a fairly good job of keeping Orochi’s forces at bay down there, all by themselves,” Zhao Yun said confidently. “For now at least. My focus must turn northward. When we get closer, I will send messengers to Yueying to discover the status of the search for a castle, while we turn and head for Chengdu.” Inwardly, he felt the smallest twinge of worry. He had been entirely unsure about the rumors before, but after the news from Meng Huo, he began to believe that Liu Bei might actually be there. They had no idea how many days’ head start this Sanada person had on them, whether he was on foot or horseback, but they had to press on at their best pace to reach the capital in time. It would not do well to show up with an exhausted troop just in time for yet another battle. Mindful of this, Yun ordered the march as a general ought to, wasting no time but not running his men to fatigue either. They crossed into more friendly territory, and had the bounty of the land from which to gain supplies, at least. It could have been a lot worse for them.

Around the same time, in another part of the land, rumors were about to clash. While the heads of multiple armies were busy buzzing about him and his concerted resistance movement, Oda Nobunaga was in search of the truth behind something else entirely. There was much he needed to do in order to keep the momentum going, to give the scattered peoples living under Orochi’s oppression something to actually hope for, but he had his own ambitions as well and eagerly looked for a chance to press those as he saw fit. Confronting Cao Pi had been among those personal errands he wanted to see to himself. Another was ferreting out the truth behind Huang Zhong’s distracted ramblings about Cao Cao not actually being dead. As much as he didn’t need another ruthless warlord horning in on his territory, Oda was curious. Keenly interested, even. Everyone, as far as he had been able to tell, spoke and acted as though Cao Cao were dead. His son had taken up lordship of Wei, and forged an alliance with Orochi. His foes on both sides were breathing a figurative sigh of relief that they didn’t have to deal with the Hero of Chaos. His bodyguard had gone missing. Everything pointed to his demise, including the old bowman’s words themselves. If the famed Cao Cao really were at all like himself, he would not be faking his death in order to live comfortably out of the spotlight. But Nobunaga could not let the possibility go uninvestigated. Once his busy schedule of re-conquering the land conquered by Orochi allowed him a brief respite to look after his own affairs, he sent out spies to follow the thread of potential. It led him to Honnoji.

Guan Ping had pledged himself to follow Oda in gratitude for saving his life at Xiang Yang, even though the warlord didn’t seem to care one way or another about such vows of honor. Seeing as he had no news of his father or brothers, Ping was mainly tagging along to have some guidance and sense of structure, if nothing else. He was learning much of Orochi as well as the greater conflict, and was fascinated by these men from a country across the sea and a thousand years in their future. The cheerful Toyotomi with his ostentatious helm and quick battle movements, the quiet and graceful samurai retainer Akechi Mitsuhide, and the strong, bold Maeda Toshiie made good companions, and taught him even more about warfare than he had already learned at his father’s side. Of them, Ping gravitated most to Toshiie, finding him in personality most like to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, never one to shrink from battle and yet eager to sit and have a drink with his men when it was all over. Perhaps that was why, in the midst of the errand when a cautious investigation of the temple at Honnoji exploded quite literally into a conflagration and chaos, Oda ordered Guan Ping to escort Maeda to extinguish the flames instead of staying by his side. As the illusion melted away and his commander faced a demon woman who laughed at what her ruse had netted, Ping’s instincts were to stay, not knowing how strong this opponent could be. But he was good at following orders, and though he worried, he turned and jogged away after Toshiie. “What is going on, here?” he wondered aloud as the two of them plowed through hordes of snake-skinned warriors. “He walked right into that trap, it’s almost like…like he knew it wasn’t Cao Cao…”

“Heh! Seems like it, doesn’t it?” Toshiie sheathed his serrated sword and pulled the pair of poleaxes off his back instead. “Either way, we’ve got a job to do, now. Stick close by me, I know the way but I need you to clear a path for me. The faster, the better!”

“I’m on it.” Ping charged ahead by a couple of steps, keeping his comrade visible just beside and behind him to the left. As he cleaved a path through foes with huge sweeps of his giant sword, he could see the flash of firelight on the axe-blades out of the corner of his eye marking where Toshiie was cutting down any that got past Guan Ping. They came around a corner to a path the samurai warrior knew well, but the Orochi army had already broken down the bridge there to cut off access. Without a word Toshiie changed direction, never slacking his pace, and Ping shifted easily to keep up with him while slamming his blade into the flesh of any snake-demon that dared to get in their way.

“There!” he heard Toshiie exclaim, and glanced to find him quickly darting around another corner into a garden area formed by tall bamboo fences. “My lord was right, this is where they’d start the fire attack so it would spread. Hurry!” Some of their men had followed, and instantly put up their weapons in order to start hauling water from a nearby well. Toshiie slashed at the cords binding sections of fence together and used the hooks at the back of the axe blades to pull the burning parts down before they could ignite their neighbors. Over his shoulder, he shouted, “Keep ‘em off us while we do this, Guan Ping!”

“Right!” Ping didn’t have to wait long, there were plenty of snakes who had followed them as well as those already in the vicinity starting the fires. He hacked through them and fended them all off, making heaps of bodies at his feet and flinging a few into the burning walls. Behind him, the men commanded by Maeda worked fast to beat out the flames teasing around the edges of the bamboo trees in the garden and trying to spread to the roofs. It took them a while, it felt like forever to Ping, but eventually a cheer went up behind his back and he looked to see that the fire had been completely extinguished. Toshiie’s face was red and sweaty, but he seemed rather pleased with the outcome. “You did it!” Ping cried. “Thank goodness. One less thing for our army to worry about.”

“Yeah, that’s the main reason I had my guys ready for this.” Toshiie stood back for a moment and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Lord Nobunaga had a feeling they’d try something like this.”

“Is he one step ahead of everything?” Ping wondered.

Toshiie laughed. “I never know what the guy’s thinking, but he really does make it look that way, eh?” He shook his head, still smirking but with an undertone of something less cheerful. “It wasn’t just to protect our guys. He needs Honnoji. This place is sort of important to him.”

For the moment the waves of snake soldiers had been wiped out well and good, allowing Guan Ping a moment to stand with him and catch his breath, leaning on his massive sword. “So that’s why you knew exactly where to go, and where a fire could start…”

“Yeah. I’ve been here before. Lord Nobunaga…” His smile faded even more as he looked away to the singed bamboo trees. “…this is where he died, actually.”

“What?” Ping’s head whipped around so fast that it took a few seconds for the tail-ends of his headband to catch up. “You mean…”

“I don’t think he remembers,” Maeda continued, serious but not grim. “I’m pretty sure he came here from a time before that. But I remember Honnoji in flames, it was a pretty bad situation.” He turned back to Ping, drew a deep breath, and resumed smiling. “Make sure you don’t say anything about it in front of him, all right? I don’t think it’s fair to tell people we’re fighting alongside that they died back in the past and shouldn’t be here.”

“No, no. Of course I won’t. I mean…” Ping was not sure what had become of his father in this world, but he knew his fate back home. It was safer to assume that everyone they knew was alive again unless reported killed by Orochi. That apparently went for Cao Cao as well. He shook it off and shouldered his Young Dragon once more. “Come, the battle isn’t over yet. We’ve handled one obstacle, but there’s still enemy forces overrunning the temple.”

“Yep. And that means we’d better clear ‘em out so Lord Nobunaga can have his favorite vacation-spot back.” Toshiie spun the axes in each hand and brandished them, pushing past his own fatigue. “Time to do some pest extermination!”

Side by side, the two of them plunged back into the fray, startling a cadre of archers who didn’t know they were back behind the bamboo walls and plowing through them, snapping their small bows and spattering blood across the dusty ground. Strings of lanterns on poles ran along all the major streets to illuminate the temple and palace grounds, but half of them were now torn down and the ones that hadn’t blown out scattered candle-light in eerie patterns along the hard-packed dirt. As they cleared their way up to an intersection, sending any snake-demons lucky enough to keep their lives fleeing in a panic, the two warriors became aware of an altogether different noise of battle up the left-hand street. Guan Ping turned his head to try and glimpse the nature of the fight and started in surprise as a familiar-enough man rode out of the darkness and reined in before he could trample the two of them. He scowled down at them and grumbled, “Step aside, or you’ll be cut down the same as the snakes.”

Toshiie almost lit into him, not knowing him or why he was there, but Ping threw an arm out to stay him. “Wait! That man…he knows my father. Xiahou Dun!” he called out to the intruder. “What are you doing here? Has the rumor of Cao Cao’s appearance gotten to you, too?”

No one would have expected Xiahou Dun to simply appear in the middle of this battle, but given the bait laid, his presence made sense to anyone who knew him by reputation. He sat astride his horse with his sword bared, ready to cut down anything that got in his way, foe or not. Looking down at who might have jumped in front of his horse and addressed him so disrespectfully, his scowl turned ugly for a moment. “What business of yours is it? Ah…you. The son of Guan Yu, isn’t it?” He sniffed arrogantly, not at all impressed to recognize Ping. “I come here in search of my lord, and this is what I find.”

Ping frowned a bit, though the confirmation put him at ease. “You’re too late. We’ve already flushed out the enemy commander, and we’re taking this compound.”

“That is of no concern to me.” Dun looked past them, not seeming to care about anything that wasn’t Cao Cao. Not far away, just this side of a bridge, a cadre of soldiers was coming up the street from the south, driving the fleeing members of Orochi’s army ahead of them. Something about them made Dun bristle and snarl under his breath. “That is the banner of that pretender, Nobunaga!” 

Toshiie followed his gaze and let out a brief laugh of triumph. “Looks like they’ve got that part of the compound in hand. Good.”

“You’re right, we’re fighting alongside Oda Nobunaga right now,” Guan Ping said to Dun. “But Lord Cao Cao isn’t here – it was a trap. Orochi’s strategist used the rumor to lure us in.”

“Is that so?” Dun’s stare hardened as he turned it back on them. “Just what I would expect from a pack of snakes. I’ll make them pay for using my lord’s name that way.” He drew his scimitar and brandished it. “Stay out of my way, I will brush the enemy aside!”

Ping and Toshiie hopped back as he clapped his heels to his horse’s flanks and charged off into the chaos. The latter looked at his comrade. “What do you think, can we trust him?”

“He is pretty devoted to Cao Cao. I think he’s sincere,” Ping assured. “I’m not sure what’ll happen when he catches up to Lord Nobunaga, though.”

“Then let’s get moving. If I know him, he’ll draw back to the north where we came in once he’s gotten rid of that demon-woman.”

Once again Toshiie led the way, through back-alleys and side-streets in a shorter, more direct route to return to the gate where they had entered the compound of Honnoji. As they went they were aware of Xiahou Dun and the men under his command roughly following them, though the famed general was intent on cutting down every last snake-demon he rode across along the way. They had almost reached the rendezvous point when a fresh wave of soldiers not their own came plunging out of one of the buildings, led by a petite woman carrying a pair of chakrams. Ping didn’t even have time to startle before she was on them, ordering the men with her, “You know what we’re here for! We have to obey Da Ji’s orders!”

“What? But that’s the princess of Wu,” Guan Ping realized.

“Who cares who she is? She’s after our heads, that means she’s with the enemy!” Toshiie warned before leaping into action.

Shaking off his surprise, Ping put his head down, his shoulder forward, and went in himself. Sun Shangxiang was leading a large contingent of Wu soldiers trying to cut off the retreat, placing themselves between the temple and the main gate where Oda’s forces had come in. They would have to go through her regardless, and so they did. At least the fight was brief, Ping thought as he knocked her flat and watched one of the chakram blades embed itself in a retaining wall. He knew she would make a valuable prisoner, and so had her tied and brought along as they continued on to meet up with their lord, assuming he had made it out of the temple just fine.

Not far from where they engaged the reinforcements, Nobunaga himself sat astride his horse, hardly a feather on his cloak out of place even after fighting Da Ji personally. She had managed to slip out of his grasp, however, deciding to teleport herself away just when the battle was growing fierce. Though displeased, the warlord was at least content that he had solved the mystery of the rumor of Cao Cao – and, judging by the quiet darkness smothering the streets where there had previously been the glow of flames, had successfully prevented Honnoji from burning to the ground. All that was left was to mop up resistance and reconnoiter with his officers. A fresh burst of noise told him that another skirmish had started nearby, so he rode to find out what it was. As he did, a certain other horseman rode out from an alley, assisting his own forces in slaughtering more snake-demons. “Hmm,” Oda mused. “I see a new warrior on the battlefield.”

Walking beside him, Huang Zhong raised an arm to tip up his helm so he could see better in the darkness. “Ahh. It looks like…Xiahou Dun. He was Cao Cao’s right hand man.”

“Hah…” Nobunaga grinned slyly. “It begins to build.”

“Uh…excuse me, my lord?” the elderly archer wondered. But Nobunaga only gathered the reins and spurred his horse forward, back to battle.

The din of fighting was even more intense beyond their position, clearly someone or something had arrived to block their egress from Honnoji. As Oda cut his way lazily through enemy forces, heading more or less in that direction, he caught sight of Guan Ping standing back with what seemed like a prisoner while Maeda still fought vigorously against another officer. He caught Toshiie’s eye from across the pavilion where the last dregs of the Orochi army were still battling, and raised an eyebrow when his loyal retainer turned and gestured to someone down the next side-street. To his utter surprise, a mounted vanguard rode out from behind there to join them as well, led by the singular presence of Takeda Shingen. Curious, Nobunaga held his position. One of Cao Cao’s men following the same rumor was one thing; Takeda not just sending an envoy but appearing himself, that was quite another. Even more interesting was the fact that Takeda’s war fan was spattered with blood: he was fighting alongside his men. Together, the collection of seasoned officers was able to corner and obliterate any remaining snake-soldiers there in the square, and the three horses rode to meet each other under the shadow of the eaves of one of the stilted buildings. “So,” Oda purred as Xiahou Dun came to a stop before him, “the name of Cao Cao has drawn you out as well. Xiahou Dun, if I am not mistaken.”

“And you are Oda Nobunaga,” Dun said curtly. “I have heard the name.”

“Have you.” The warlord sniffed wryly at the third contingent leader approaching them. “And you. Have you come to take my head?”

Any trace of the long-standing and intense rivalry between their factions was hidden skillfully behind Takeda’s mask. “Not yours,” Shingen said just as dryly. “I have another head in my sights.”

Oda’s eyebrow quirked up again. “One that even the Tiger of Kai cannot easily take, I see.”

Takeda sighed. “Alone, I fear this tiger would be swallowed whole.”

Nobunaga chuckled darkly. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, Lord Shingen. I, personally, have no intention of letting anything swallow me.”

“Of course,” Takeda nodded. “But you know what they say about best intentions.” He shifted to glance to his left at the man with the eyepatch intruding on their conference. “Picking up strays, I see?”

“I am no stray,” Xiahou Dun bristled, “and he hasn’t ‘picked me up.’ I merely came to search for my lord. Seeing as he’s not here, then my business here is finished.”

Oda rested the reins and laced his fingers together on the pommel of his saddle instead. “I find it very interesting that the ghost of a dead man should be such lucrative bait.”

Dun glared at him. “It seemed to have snared you as much as anyone else.”

“Honnoji is a familiar place to me,” Oda said with a cool smile. “I wanted to see who actually did care to lay claim to it, before I went and took it back.” He glanced away, over the trees and into the darkness beyond. “It will need a few repairs, now, but it is a small price to pay for all the interesting things I have learned.”

“Ah. I should have known your intention was to lay claim to this area. Well.” Takeda tapped his fan on his knee. “I have no interest in challenging that claim. You’re welcome to it. As for me, it’s late. Time to have a lie-down, I think. We will be busy again soon enough.” He turned to Xiahou Dun once more. “What are you planning, my one-eyed friend?”

Dun fixed him with a hard stare. “Search for my lord. That is all there is.”

“You believe he’s alive?”

“It doesn’t matter. Even ghosts have some interest to me.” He gathered the reins and turned his horse away. “Nobunaga…there is something familiar about you. And yet, you are not fit to take the place of my Lord Cao Cao. Don’t even try.” With that, he left them, and the handful of men who had come with him moved off in his wake.

Nobunaga smirked to himself. “We shall all meet again,” he murmured. “I have no doubt of that.”

“Stubborn one, isn’t he?” Takeda mused.

“Did you think that I would owe you a favor if you came to my aid, Lord Shingen?” Oda turned his horse as well. “Your assistance wasn’t necessary. As you can see, Orochi’s trap didn’t work. His so-called strategist is fleeing for her life. If you like, you can track her that way…” He smiled sinisterly over his shoulder. “Oh, right, you were going to go take a nap. By all means.”

Takeda just gave a short gust of a laugh and eased away, prepared to take his men as well and depart from Honnoji. As he did, his gaze lingered on Guan Ping, but the mask hid any reaction he might have made to seeing more men of the Han among his rival’s army.

As soon as the interlopers had gone, Guan Ping rushed forward. “My lord! I’ve brought a treacherous officer of the enemy forces before you!”

Leaving his horse in the care of a servant, Oda dismounted and turned to see what his new retainer was so proud of. “So you managed to capture someone. Good work, Guan Ping,” he said with no inflection or reaction. “She doesn’t look like a snake.”

“No, my lord. She is the princess of Wu, Sun Shangxiang, wife of my lord Liu Bei.” Guan Ping’s introduction had the girl squirming under the heavy-lidded gaze of Nobunaga. Behind her, the men she had led to the fight, and sub-commander Ding Feng as well, had the decency to look ashamed of their collective failure. “It’s clear Wu has turned their backs on their people and are serving Orochi instead.”

For once, Nobunaga showed some sign of emotion. His face darkened, and some of the lazy tone left his voice. “So,” he said to her, “does the kingdom of Wu have any fight left in it at all? Or will you all just descend meekly into hell?”

Shangxiang met his dark frown with one of her own. “What do you know of the kingdom of Wu?”

“More than you would ever realize.” Oda stepped right up to her, staring her down with his dark eyes. “Wei has its alliance to protect itself from within; Shu bravely resists the serpent with all it can manage. For a kingdom legendary for its might, yours seems to have no idea which side it should be on.”

In spite of the intimidation, she stared at him, at the cold bluntness of his words. “What…what are you saying?”

“Take a long look at yourself, and you’ll see what I mean.” The warlord turned away, tossing up a hand in an idle gesture. “Release the prisoners.”

“But…” Ping looked back and forth, from the warlord’s retreating back to his captive, now being cut free and given her weapons by one of the soldiers. She hustled away in shame, waving for her men to join her in fleeing Honnoji. “Without any prisoners, or new allies, what was this battle for? Did we fight in vain?”

Oda paused in mid-step and slowly turned his head to regard Ping from over his shoulder. “We will see.”

Ping stood there gaping while the warlord vanished to take care of other matters. Toshiie patted his young friend on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Lord Nobunaga knows what he’s doing.”

“I hope so,” Ping breathed. “He’s not like…” He bit his lip and rephrased what he was thinking. “…I just don’t know what to make of him.”

“A lot of people don’t.” Maeda set his hands on his hips, giving a tired sigh. “The only thing anyone can say for sure is that when Oda Nobunaga sets his mind to something, it will be done. And heaven help anyone standing in his way.” For a moment, his gaze strayed to Akechi Mitsuhide, their lord’s retainer, who was some paces away directing troops to begin certain phases of cleanup and fortification despite the late hour of the night. But he said nothing more about it, and merely encouraged Guan Ping to get a good night’s rest.

Because the compound and temple had been overrun with Da Ji’s army until just now, many of the buildings were not yet ready for human habitation. Most of the troops withdrew just beyond the gates and made camp, several of the officers with them. Guan Ping and Huang Zhong were still sharing quarters for the most part, due to their affiliation, so Ping waited until they were sequestered away from prying ears before muttering over the strange battle. The older man let him ramble and then chuckled quietly. “As you get older, you’ll realize that not every battle has a purpose,” he said sagely. “Some of ‘em, you won’t realize until years later when the war’s over. Others, well, there’s just no purpose at all. But if you ask me…” He kicked off his boots and wriggled his gnarled old toes. “…rousting out that fox from her nice little nest was a good enough reason.”

“I suppose…” Ping went about unbuckling and stripping off his armor for the night. “I don’t get why she’d pretend to be Cao Cao, though. He’s supposed to be dead.”

“That’s exactly it,” Zhong said with a wag of his finger. “He’s not around to say otherwise. And judging by the fact that Xiahou Dun showed up at the same time, well…I’d say there’s probably something else to it as well. Don’t ask me what, though.”

“He’s obviously not allied with Wei,” Ping noted. “Not when we met Cao Pi on the field at Tianshui.”

“Yeah, ol’ Dun’s up to something as well. But in his case, he probably just wants to verify with his own eye that his lord is dead.” Zhong shook his head tiredly. “The man is like a dog with a bone. I’ve seen loyalty, I’ve known loyalty, but that man redefines it at the core.”

Ping closed his eyes and clapped a hand to his forehead. “I should have asked him if he’s seen or heard anything about my father!”

“Eh, it’s all right. I’m sure there’ll be other chances,” Zhong assured, “and from less grouchy people. Xiahou Dun would just as soon kill your father as look at him, if he knew where he was.”

“Maybe.” Guan Ping wasn’t entirely sure. But then, no matter how deep his love and loyalty for his father, he wasn’t out there searching endlessly, roaming alone across the wilderness following any half-true tale like Xiahou Dun searching for his lord. Then again, as long as a warrior of that caliber was not allied with anyone supporting Orochi, it was up to him to spend his time however he best saw fit. Ping resolved to listen a little more carefully from now on, and see if any scraps of wisdom could fall from Nobunaga’s table instead.

  


Though he was perfectly comfortable navigating on the water, Gan Ning eventually gave up his boat and agreed to return to land in order to continue their journey in a more practical fashion. He and Ling Tong had drifted along the river for some miles until the terrain changed to something wholly unrecognizable but much more comfortable, a rolling green landscape hovering somewhere between spring and mild summer. Ning was of the opinion that it would be easier to hunt and forage in this type of land, so they finally landed the small boat after two full days and slept in a grassy thicket until each was completely rested. The next morning they set out on a new course, to provide for themselves while searching for a sign that might jog Tong’s memory of the map Shima Sakon had displayed of the region’s new meshed territory. That sign came another day later in the form of a castle set high atop one of the hills where it could overlook miles of grassy plains and the roads leading in toward it. Once they spotted the castle, it was no trouble at all to find one of those roads and make their way close enough to spy it out and verify whether it was occupied by men or snakes.

They deemed it safe to enter the village at the foot of the castle and start asking around, but doing so got them confronted by armed soldiers and hauled up to the castle gate to be seen by its lord. Both generals felt a little sheepish getting themselves apprehended like that, but it evaporated when they were brought before the slender woman bearing shield and spear, clad in the greens associated with Shu. As far as they knew, any officer of Shu was likely to be independent and therefore a potential ally. Conversely, Xingcai scowled sternly at them, believing two stray Wu generals to be part of the same army as their lord. “My men tell me you strolled casually into the village like you were meant to be there,” she said curtly. “What is the meaning of this?”

“C’mon, we were just looking around for a restaurant,” Gan Ning teased brashly. “We’ve been in the bush a few days, we couldn’t pass up the chance to let someone else cook for us.”

Ling Tong closed his eyes in a wince. “Don’t open your big mouth, idiot, I told you to let me do the talking.” He shook his head and then focused on the lady of the castle. “You’re Lady Xingcai, aren’t you? What are you doing here, of all places?”

“I’ll be asking the questions,” she replied briskly. “Yes, I am Xingcai. And if your intention is to gather information to report back to Orochi, then I’m afraid you’ll be going nowhere. Be straight with me or I will have you imprisoned as traitors.”

“Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute!” Tong implored, waving his hands. “What do you mean?”

“Traitors!” Gan Ning raged, pulling his sword. “Why I oughta…”

Tong lunged to hold him back. “Knock it off, Xingba!”

Though she had never really shared the field with either of these men, they were well-known enough by reputation. “Gan Ning,” she realized, “and Ling Tong. I hadn’t heard whether the two of you were working with your lord Sun Ce…”

“Working with him! Are you nuts?” Ning blazed, cutting her off. “Some of us know better than to side with that snake Orochi!”

Tong shoved him back with a jingle of his bells. “Would you cut it out? Geez, lighten up for two seconds. No,” he added, turning to Xingcai, “we’re not in Sun Ce’s army. In fact, we just faced them a few days ago at Changban. They routed us, and now we’re here.” He tossed his head to indicate the room in which they all stood. “What castle is this? It doesn’t look like one of Shu’s.”

Though still wary, Xingcai took note of Gan Ning’s irritation and response to her accusation. “This is Odani Castle, according to some of our allies. The resistance coalition being established by Lord Zhao Yun has taken it over, for now, to use as a base of operations.”

Tong brightened up. “Zhao Yun, really? So the guy’s okay. Man, we’ve heard so many rumors you wouldn’t even believe it.”

“He’s fine,” Xingcai said cautiously. “What side do you fight for, then?”

“Well…not Orochi, that’s for sure,” Tong insisted. “I didn’t know there were sides, we’ve been building a garrison at Changban for a couple of months, not that it helped in the end.”

“Then Changban is…fallen?”

“Don’t know,” Gan Ning grunted. “We were driven off the battlefield. We don’t know what happened to Lu Xun.”

“Ah…” Now that she had a better picture, Xingcai stood down, setting her shield at her feet. “If you are truly not part of the Orochi army under Sun Ce, then you would be welcome to join our forces. Perhaps when Lord Zhao Yun returns from Nanzhong, he will have more news of interest to you, but for now, reinforcements would not be turned down.”

The two Wu generals looked at each other. “Kind of a swanky castle,” Ning admitted. “Shu’s all right, aren’t they?”

“Better than some people,” Tong shrugged. “And really, they look like they could use the help.”

“Yeah, those poor slobs who brought us in…” Ning turned an almost feral grin on the slender girl. “Lucky for them we weren’t in the mood to fight, or we’d have slaughtered half your men before sorting it out.”

For a moment, a flush of anger crept into Xingcai’s face. She had said nothing but any capable officer of regard could tell just by observation that the forces occupying the castle were thin on the ground and not manned by many strong officers, as the pirate had just revealed. “Maybe I don’t want your aid after all,” she pouted.

“It’s a deal, then. We’ll stay on for a bit,” Gan Ning grinned. “I wouldn’t mind resting my head in a posh castle like this for a little while. Just don’t let the place go to the dogs too soon, woman.”

“Woman!” She bristled. “I am _Xingcai_ , daughter of Zhang Fei and champion of my lord Liu Shan! If you will not show me the respect a commanding officer deserves, you can go right back out into the bush.”

“Easy, easy,” Ning sighed, gesturing in what he thought was a calming manner. “Keep your skirt on. I never said I wouldn’t take orders, all right? Now, let’s see what you’ve got around here…”

He hooked his thumbs in the belt-cord holding his bells and strolled on out, intending to search the castle for any trace of wine. Ling Tong gave their benefactor a little shrug and turned to follow. At the side of his commander, Wang Ping leaned over to her and murmured, “This is a stroke of luck, my lady. Those two are extremely powerful officers of Wu. With them in our army, we’ll be able to hold this castle against any siege.”

“I just hope it’s worth the headache,” she sighed. “That pirate…I’ve heard he’s far too much like Father for my tastes.” Xingcai glanced up at the burly officer towering over her. “See to their comfort, at least. Maybe if we look after them right away, there won’t be a need for them to attempt to do so on their own.”

“Right, my lady. As you say.” Wang Ping headed off to corral the two newcomers and find them quarters, so that they wouldn’t start trouble by taking matters in their own hands. Xingcai retired to the inner ward of the castle to restructure the garrison requirements to account for new officers, and then dash off a letter to Yueying to inform her that they had some reinforcements but could use more in the case of attack. If the report about Changban was true, then it was possible the branch of the Orochi army led by Sun Ce could still be in the region, and that meant Odani was vulnerable already. _So soon_ , she fretted. _My lord had better not tarry in Nanzhong. He is needed to the north!_

The officers had their quarters in an upper floor of the castle's main keep, which was not very tall compared to some but still afforded a good view over the walls of the inner ward to the castle defenses below. Wang Ping led the two Wu generals to a room just beyond his own where both could stay together, and encouraged them to make themselves at home for now. They could join the others in guard duty and patrol tomorrow. Ning went and threw himself into a seat on a rather nice, low couch while Tong meandered about, investigating their surroundings. “It really is a nice castle,” he noted, in essence agreeing with his comrade. “Must be one of the ones from Wa, I don't recognize the style of decorations or anything.”

“Who cares? It's a solid roof over our heads,” Ning said brashly, lacing his fingers behind his head and propping his feet up on a table. “No more cold, rainy nights, no having to hunt and fish for our dinner, just all the comforts of a real fortress. Man, I hope they've got some drink here, too – that'd make it downright perfect!”

“Is that all you ever think about?” Tong wandered to the window and had a look out, admiring the view. “I guess you’re right, though. Looks like we got lucky this time.”

“Real lucky.” Gan Ning’s gaze drifted to follow his companion, his expression sobering somewhat. “So this must be what Sakon was goin’ on about all the time, about a resistance. Not just this Oda guy he knows, but Shu also. Their people are even taking castles, that’s not bad.”

“And yet you still couldn’t resist giving Lady Xingcai crap about their forces.” Tong glanced over his shoulder and gave him a sly little smirk. “I saw it too, though. They really do need the help. So maybe you can keep the attitude under control for a little while?”

Gan Ning’s grin returned in force. “Make me.”

Ling Tong tossed a hand over his shoulder to dismiss the posturing, though after another moment’s introspection at the window he turned and meandered over to the couch currently full of pirate. He kicked at Ning’s feet to get him to budge over just a little and then flopped down next to him, stretching out his long legs and insinuating himself into Ning’s space. Gan Ning let him, though he only budged a tiny bit, forcing his comrade to lay more or less half on top of him if he wanted any of the couch. That seemed just fine with both men. There was a little shoving and playful elbowing before they finally got situated the way they liked, Tong draped over Ning’s hip and side and the pirate’s arm over his shoulder. As they relaxed, their exhaustion seemed to catch up to them, quieting both completely and sending them into a comfortable lull. The castle was so sparsely occupied that it was dead silent around them, magnifying the sleepy feeling. After a bit, Ling Tong couldn’t resist picking up a hand and poking Ning in the leg. “I think this is the longest I’ve heard you go without running your mouth. It’s a miracle.”

“Shut up,” Ning said lazily. “M’tired. We’ve been hiking for days, what do you expect?”

“Aw, and now it’s over.” Tong squirmed against him to get more comfortable and found himself with his cheek on the pirate’s tattooed chest. “Wonder what there is to do around here besides stand guard.”

“Don’t suppose they’d have a Go board or something.” When not drinking or fighting, Go was their fallback pastime. Ning found himself suddenly craving the chance to just sit across the board from his comrade and play like there was no war raging around them, no demons to fear nor enslaved countrymen to worry about. He craned his neck to look around the room, but there wasn’t anything immediately visible from where he sat. He didn’t even know if the Wa lords who built this castle played Go. “Oh well,” he sighed. “I don’t feel much like exploring right now. Maybe later.”

“Mm. Yeah, later.” Tong was rather content with this position, and gave in, sprawling completely over Gan Ning with an arm flung over his stomach, nestling between him and the back of the couch. Ning accommodated him by moving his leg to fit between Tong’s, and even pulled his bells to the side so they wouldn’t be in the way. The furniture was oriented so that anyone who stepped in the door wouldn’t see them like that, all the more incentive for Tong to lift his head and press a few slow, lazy kisses to the dragon tattoo covering that side of the pirate’s chest. Ning moved his hand up from the young man’s back to his hair and idly threaded fingers through his ponytail until he made a muffled noise against Ning’s skin, almost but not quite a moan. “Keep that up and I’m gonna fall asleep on you,” he murmured.

“Good, then maybe you’ll stop wiggling around.” Ning really didn’t mind it, but some of those kisses were so light that they tickled. He couldn’t resist teasing his comrade, anyway.

The challenge had been made. Tong deliberately showed him just how much he could wriggle, ending up climbing a little higher on his body until he could pin him down and lean in close, threatening to kiss him more fully. This time, Ning denied him what he wanted, tipping his head back against the curve of the couch. “C’mon…” Tong complained.

Xingba held up one finger in warning, and sure enough, a moment later there was a footstep near the door. “Masters Ling Tong and Gan Ning?” an attendant wondered. “Lady Xingcai bade me to see if there was anything you needed…”

The man hesitated, because the room looked empty from where he stood. Ling Tong popped up over the back of the couch after a moment, smoothing back his hair. “Sorry, I was taking a nap,” he said innocently. “What now? Oh, no, we’re fine. It’s not time for dinner yet, is it?”

“No, sir, not yet,” the attendant demurred. “Shall I call you then?”

“Yeah, that’ll be fine. Thanks.” Tong remained there, hanging over the back of the couch, until the attendant bowed and left. At that precise moment, Ning surged up from where he had been laying unseen and tackled his comrade, yanking him back down on top of him and burying a snicker against his neck. Gongji tried not to yelp as he found himself being drawn back in. “How did you know?”

“Pirates got good hearing,” Ning claimed, grinning and then biting him just under the jawline.

“You do not, shut up.” For half a second Ling Tong considered rolling off him and denying him the fun in retaliation, but it really was too good to resist. He nestled back down and grazed a lazy, open-mouthed kiss along Gan Ning’s jaw, and was met with a sudden turn of his head and a hard kiss in return. Now that they were well and truly alone, they could make out for as long as they cared. They could have found plenty of other ways to kill the time until the castle was summoned to the evening meal, but really, this seemed as good an idea as any. It also had the added bonus, Tong thought, of keeping the pirate’s mouth occupied for a while. It was likely he’d just go shooting it off again next time they were around Xingcai, so he would enjoy the lack of yammering while it lasted.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun meets Sanada Yukimura at the defense of Chengdu; plus, a little slash interlude with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.

Upon returning from the south, Zhao Yun was met by messengers from several different directions at their old rendezvous point. Yueying was holding ground at the makeshift camp they had made after escaping Hasedo, keeping a low profile so as not to make herself an Orochi prisoner yet again, but in the meantime, the Shu forces had successfully taken Odani, and without a fight since it had been occupied by none other than the Shimazu clan. Yoshihiro was pleased to hear that his kinsmen were alive and well and holed up in a decent castle, and approved of it being used for the fledgling Shu resistance. As they debriefed Yueying on what the Nanman had to say, they shuffled forces around yet again in order to make the most of their growing army. Shimazu went to Odani to see to his clan and assist in protecting the castle, while Tachibana decided to remain at the secret camp. No news had come out of Chengdu at all, but Yueying agreed with Zhao Yun that they needed to go there immediately, and gave him the freedom to choose the men to go with him to investigate the rumors and, if they proved true, to rescue Liu Bei from any accidental attacks on his very real and very alive person. Zilong chose Saika, for his shrewd investigative prowess, and Jiang Wei, and scooped up Zhang Bao to bring along so he would have something to do besides stalk around the camp fretting about his long-lost friends.

The first thing they learned about Chengdu, as they scouted the region for reconnaissance, was that it had in fact been reoccupied – by the people of Shu, no less. It was no longer empty and quiet, there was a very small garrison holding the fortress that protected the town behind it. The other thing they learned was that they were almost too late. Saika crept through the underbrush to where the others crouched, keeping himself low and behind tree branches but still hustling. “The castle’s under heavy guard,” he reported in a hush as he met up with Zhao Yun, “and the sentries are seriously on edge. They may as well have a sign out front letting us know who’s holed up in there.”

“Good work,” Yun breathed in return, “and thank you for volunteering to get close and check it out. Is it Orochi’s army?”

“No, it doesn’t look like those snake guys. It could be Sanada, if he brought friends.” Magoichi was all business, on account of not having any of the women of their meager resistance army to preen around this time. “So what’s the plan?” 

“We must advance on Chengdu, and rescue my lord,” Zhao Yun said briskly. “But a large force could be mistaken for an invading army. I would not want our own people to turn and attack us before they realize we are here to help.”

“We’re still gonna need more than just a couple of officers to break a siege like that.” Magoichi gestured to himself, Yun, and Jiang Wei as they all knelt in the undergrowth of the bamboo forest that bordered the Shu capitol on the north and east. “We oughta use the cover of this forest to come in the back way that Jiang Wei was talking about. Each of us lead a troop, just in case we hit any snags along the way.”

“Yes, that’s probably for the best,” Wei agreed with an eager nod. “I will have Zhang Bao remain as the rearguard with the rest of our troops, he can advance based on what we find when we reach the castle.”

“That sounds good to me.” Yun propped his spear up and used it to push himself to his feet. “Come, there’s little time to waste!”

Dividing up their men among the officers, they moved as quickly and quietly through the trees as they could, pouring through a gap in the fence where the stiles had been broken down long ago and filtering out onto the paths. The shortcut Saika referred to was the same back route upon which Liu Bei had been captured in the first place, Zhao Yun knew it well and could lead them all there as easily as anyone from Shu. Sneaking that way unnoticed was not going to be easy, however, they realized even as a sentry spotted them and called out. “Look!” he cried loud enough to be heard halfway to the castle. “Phantoms! Phantoms everywhere!”

“Phantoms…?” Yun looked at Saika. “Who are they talking about? They can’t mean us…”

Magoichi raised his arms in a wide shrug. “I don’t know how anybody could mistake _me_ for a phantom.” He whipped around quickly and aimed his rifle, pegging the sentry from that distance without any trouble. “Kind of strange that they’d be patrolling out here just in time for us to walk right into them. It’s almost a little fishy if you ask me.”

“We don’t have time to contemplate it,” Zhao Yun fretted, but before he could lead his unit away, another sentry popped out from behind the fence and went running towards the fortress, crying about ghosts just the same. Yun gritted his teeth and gave chase, swiping the man’s legs out from under him and pinning him down in one swift move. Another spotted the scuffle, but Jiang Wei was on him quickly and dragged him back spluttering. The two spearmen backed their prisoners against each other and inspected them, but they didn’t even need to ask questions. It was very clear that under the sloppy armor and patched uniforms were no men of Shu, but rather ruffians who looked to not even be from the Han peoples at all. They were quickly dispatched. “If there are any more of them, we have to stop them before they report seeing us to the attacking army,” Yun remarked to his compatriot.

“I agree…but I wonder what they’re on about.” Wei took a moment to scratch the back of his neck. “Didn’t Meng Huo say the so-called phantoms were _inside_ Luo Castle?”

A shot rang out nearby, making them both jump. Saika had picked off another messenger. “Either they’re really stupid,” he drawled, “or this is all part of the plan.”

“These messengers may be working for Orochi,” Jiang Wei fretted. “And I don’t mean actually using dark magic to raise the dead.”

“Oh, I get it,” Magoichi said. “Instead of telling the army at the gates that they’ve seen intruders, or an invading army, if they mention ‘phantoms’ again…”

“…the attackers may believe they really _are_ fighting evil spirits of the dead warriors of Shu,” Zhao Yun finished for him. “In which case, all the more reason not to let them make their reports.” He turned to the troops massing around them. “Spread out through the forest and find the messengers! Cut them down before they can reach the siege army ahead!”

The soldiers of Shu scattered to obey, as many of them knew these lands well enough and could follow the paths to cut off any messengers before they got too far. Jiang Wei hung back to observe their progress and be sure that the wooded area was completely clear of enemy messengers, while the other two officers forged ahead along the shortcut to the rear gate of the fortress. He caught up with them a short time later as they blazed a trail up the back way and found their progress suddenly clear of foes. “One thing bothers me,” he murmured to Zhao Yun as they ran together, spears held before them. “I remember the guard posts being manned regularly even in peacetime, but to have that many sentries scattered throughout the trees? It almost seems like they were expecting us.”

“I thought the same thing,” Yun said darkly. “But there is no time for it now. We will ponder it later when we’ve reached Lord Liu Bei and all this is over.”

They did not have far to go, now, and Yun’s heart was racing in his chest. It took all his resolve to squash down expectant thoughts of reaching their lord and finally reuniting in safety, and focus on the battle instead. Once out of the forest, there was a broad road ahead, at the end of which the side gate of Luo Castle was being held – barely – by a lone officer. The three men ran up behind the attackers and knocked them aside before they could even realize someone was coming, which unfortunately lent to the rumor of ghosts as they fled back toward their own front lines. As the reinforcements neared the walls they could hear the din of battle-clash, and realized that the entire defense force had been drawn away to the main gate to repel the real invaders. Yun charged ahead, leaving the other two behind. _I’m coming, my lord!_ he vowed. _Hold out just a little bit longer!_

The handful of haphazardly armed and armored men standing their ground at the main gate startled in surprise as one of their own Tiger Generals raced up out of seemingly nowhere. Some fell back, and one cried out, “…there really _are_ phantoms in the castle!”

“Use your eyes, man!” Zhao Yun barked at him. “We are not phantoms!” As if to prove it, he lunged past the defenders and skewered one of their foes with a very real spear.

Another soldier fell tiredly to his knees. “It’s Lord Zhao Yun! Lord Zhao Yun is really here!”

Despite the men of the garrison seeing the truth for themselves, the cry of “phantoms” raced much more quickly and easily from the gate to the front lines. The press of enemy officers grew that much more intense in reaction. Lio Hua, one of the officers struggling to maintain his defense line at the gate, looked over his shoulder at the unexpected help from unknown reinforcements. “They’ve broken through the gate!” he cried out desperately. “We can’t keep them out any longer!”

“Hold fast! Fight back with all your strength!” Zhao Yun encouraged as he shouldered through the press and joined his comrades at the gate. In no time at all he had cleared a gap, at least, but it only gave him a better view of what was coming. No less than five officers were leading their own contingents toward him, all of them looking not the least bit daunted to think they could be fighting spirits instead of men. At the fore charged a singular man, and for a moment, Zilong was entranced. The crimson armor, the long spear with a pronged head…this had to be the one he had heard about. With a quick gesture to implore the exhausted defenders to stay back, Zhao Yun plunged through the open gate and ran to meet the other spearman, Dragon Spear held low and ready. His opponent came at him with a yell, and the rest of the battlefield seemed to hesitate for a breath’s pause while the two spears clashed with a deafening ring. The impact alone jarred Yun’s arms, making him catch his breath in a mix of determination and excitement. They backed off a step or two, regarding one another, each holding his spear with the head down toward the ground poised to either strike or defend as needed. Zhao Yun tensed and then swung, even as the other spear came at him in almost a mirrored motion. They hit twice, thrice, and then spiraled around each other before the two men followed the momentum like a weapons dance, circling each other in turn. Twisting out of it with his spear securely in defense, Zilong regarded his opponent with a wary interest. “I had heard you might be my match,” he said quietly, seriously.

In contrast, Sanada Yukimura’s face tightened in anger. “Using the dead as your sick puppets,” he spat. “That’s unforgivable, Orochi! My spear will put an end to your perverted games!”

“You have it all wrong!” Yun tried to counter, but there was no more room for words as Sanada struck again. 

They danced back and forth across the dusty ground, giving way a few steps and then taking them back, one after the other. Each spear whirled this way and that, both tip and butt being used to block and strike, each man pivoting his weapon expertly from a two-hand grip to one as need demanded. Sanada braced his arms and held the shaft across his body to block a series of blows from Zhao Yun, and then broke his concentration with a counter-swing that had him on the defensive in an instant. He stabbed forward in a series of short, fast strikes, but when he went to follow it with a wide swing to cut his opponent’s legs out from under him, Yun slashed and then spun his body to bring the Dragon Spear up to block in perfect timing. The head of his spear tangled with the pronged blade of Sanada’s, and for a moment they stared at each other underneath the bridge formed by their weapons. Yukimura leaped back to disengage, his furious glare melting away by the second. “Such skill,” he breathed from a safe point just beyond the reach of both weapons. “I cannot believe a mindless ghost would be able to match me with the spear…”

“Then trust what your spear is telling you!” Zhao Yun implored. “I am no phantom! Do not make me take your life to prove it!”

“You will have to prove to me that you’re even able to do so,” Sanada challenged before lunging to strike once again. They met and spun out of their weapons’ momentum again, reversing direction until they were fighting with shoulders parallel to the walls of Chengdu. Everyone could see them, and more than one soldier faltered to watch, for this one-on-one fight could determine the direction of the entire battle. Zilong pushed forward, step by step, the Dragon Spear’s head darting like a striking snake seeking multiple weak points. Yukimura held him off but gave ground, and in the end his guard was broken and his opponent’s spear cut up under the shaft of his own. Sparks flew as the spear-head scraped the shaft and then slammed into his chestplate, knocking him sprawling. His back hit the dirt, his armor clattering, and his Crimson Fang was knocked from his hand. Before he could even blink the Dragon Spear thudded into the ground next to his ear, and Zhao Yun’s knee came down on his battered but intact chestplate. Sanada was caught, defeated, and the victor crouched over the top of him, leaning on the shaft of his spear while he breathed heavily. Yukimura’s eyes slid to the side to regard the glittering spear-blade next to his cheek, and then lifted up to his opponent’s face. “I yield,” he breathed. “No phantom could ever best me. Not like that.”

“Finally convinced, are you?” Zhao Yun sat back a little, but didn’t let him up yet. “And none too soon. You have attacked innocent men. Orochi is to blame, yes, but not in the way you think.”

Sanada’s fair face changed to a worried frown. “What do you mean?”

“His forces have spread the rumors that there are phantoms here,” Zhao Yun said urgently. “For what reason I do not know, but they want you to believe that we are not real men!”

“I…this was all a trick?” Yukimura looked horrified as the realization dawned on him. “They wanted us to attack you!” His head fell back onto the ground with a thump, his eyes squeezing shut. “I’ve been such a fool! Can you ever forgive me?”

Zhao Yun’s lips curved ever-so-slightly into a smile. “Perhaps if you call off your men and draw back the siege. We can work this out without our spears, now.”

Yukimura’s eyes widened in alarm. “The siege? But…no! The only men under my command are those with myself and my brother. The others…”

Zhao Yun shared his alarm, and swiftly stood aside to let him up. Once Sanada had picked himself and his spear up, Yun yanked the Dragon Spear free from the ground and looked around. “The besieging army isn’t yours, then.”

“No. I came to aid them on the request of a barbarian man called Meng Huo. He first told me about the phantoms, he said the lords of Shu were dead and some evil sorcery of Orochi’s was afoot.”

“Then, we were all tricked, in that regard,” Zhao Yun said darkly. “Aid given in good faith is not to be thrown away, even if it looks like the rumors were planted by Orochi’s minions in the first place.”

“That snake!” Sanada’s fist tightened on his spear. “He will pay for his duplicity! I will fight with you, Lord Zhao Yun.” 

Yun blinked, startled. “You…know my name?”

“I was told of a great general of Shu who could be my equal with a spear.” Yukimura turned to him, despite the battle raging around them, and smiled. “You match that description fairly well.”

Zhao Yun smiled back, trying not to blush. “Well, then. Do we at least have you on our side?”

“You do. I swear it.” He clasped a fist to his chest. “I am Sanada Yukimura. My brother Nobuyuki and I will fight with you.”

“Good! Once more into the fray, then – I don’t think this other army will give up so easily, whoever they are.”

The state of the battling armies was only one of Zhao Yun’s concerns; he still wanted to enter the castle himself, and verify his lord’s safety with his own eyes. But first they had to beat the siege back from their door and regroup. Sanada Nobuyuki had actually been captured already, by Jiang Wei, but once everything was explained he was turned loose and allowed to rally his men. The Sanada forces were acting independently from anyone else in the resistance, at the moment, and as such, had no actual information on the lordship or allegiance of the army that had come to Chengdu to “drive away phantoms of the dead.” The majority of the officers seemed to be from Wa, though Yukimura did not recognize them. Once their forces had been sent into retreat, they pulled back to the outlying fortress to the southeast. Setting a watch briefly, Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei returned to the main castle to find out what was really going on. They met Magoichi in the courtyard, looking annoyed at something. He saw them coming and thumbed over his shoulder toward the inner gate. “Better go have a look for yourself.”

They gave him an uncertain look, but then followed his advice. Sanada was coming up behind them, but paused to do a double-take. “Is that…Saika Magoichi, of the Saika Renegades?”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” Magoichi glanced and then smirked. “Oh, it’s you. Fancy running into you here, Yukimura.”

“I might say the same.” Sanada looked past him to the inner gate. “What are you doing with the men of Shu?”

“Oh, a little of this, little of that.” Saika thumbed over his shoulder again. “Those guys are searching for their lord, I figured I’d give ‘em a little hand.”

Almost on cue, Yun and Wei returned, their faces nigh unreadable. With them stalked a strange man, clad half in skins and half in armor, wearing a mask. He hobbled along in a hunched manner, but the way he carried his double-ended pike indicated that he was no slouch with it. Zhao Yun lifted his gaze to Saika first. “I’m sorry. It seems our search continues.”

The man beside him spoke – sort of. “Liu Bei. No. Here,” he growled gutturally, as if each word was a strain to think up and speak aloud. “I…fight…”

“The so-called phantoms of Shu were Wei Yan and his allies,” Jiang Wei explained for the rest of them. “They returned here in search of Lord Liu Bei and occupied the castle so none of Orochi’s forces could take it.”

Yun sighed openly, closing his eyes. “How is this possible? I will not give up, I _know_ he’s alive, but this setback…”

“It can’t be all bad,” Magoichi shrugged. “This is your capital, right? And these are your guys?” He looked at Wei Yan and then recoiled a bit, scrunching up his nose.

“It’s not over yet,” Jiang Wei said determinedly. “More of the enemy’s forces are at the southern gate, still trying to force their way inside. They haven’t heard reports from the front, yet. We must hold them off, but also re-form an assault force to go into the fortress and find their commander.” He looked to Sanada. “You don’t know who it is?”

“No. I was not acting on orders, until just before I charged the main gate,” Yukimura stated. “Coming here and feeling out the defenses, was my own doing. Then someone came down with word that the commanding officer had a report that more phantoms had entered the castle from the north, and we needed to press the attack.”

“Very well, then.” Zhao Yun took up his spear once more. “Sanada Yukimura, will you come with me to root out this commander?” Sanada nodded briskly. “Magoichi, you too. Jiang Wei, order the defenses of the castle and assist Wei Yan in repelling the forces at the south gate.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yun turned to Wei Yan and placed a fist over his heart. “You have done well, my friend. You have protected Lord Liu Bei’s home and castle. When he returns, he will find it in order thanks to you.”

The strange man’s lips twisted below his mask. “I…help?”

“You have. Be strong, one more push should do it and then we’ll be free of these uninvited guests!”

It was to the garrison’s advantage that the siege force was rather small, compared to that which might have been sent against other, more heavily-guarded and influential castles. The reinforcements brought by Zhao Yun, added to the defection of the Sanada brothers and their contingent, gave them more than enough manpower to push back the assault at the south gate and charge into the southern fortress from both of its doors. Zhao Yun and Sanada Yukimura led the main force together, running at the head of the pack with their spears held ready. They knocked aside the defense soldiers holding the doors for their commander and burst into the small fortress. Many of the soldiers inside were so startled they gave up their weapons without question, but a cluster of higher-ranked men put up a stubborn defense to prevent their foes from reaching the one in charge. As he battled them back and knocked more than one down with skillful sweeps of his spear, Zhao Yun thought he recognized them. But no, it couldn't be! If these were indeed the collected sons of the Yuan family, then he could probably guess the identity of the one who had sent them. In no time flat the defenders of Shu had pressed all the way to the farthest wall and discovered the identity of the besieging general for themselves. A man of Zhao Yun’s rank had never met the likes of him in person, but he knew more than enough about Lord Yuan Shao to make him roll his eyes when his spear came into contact with the nobleman’s sword. All it took was one pompous outburst and everyone else knew enough, as well. To his credit, Yuan Shao stood his ground, weapon brandished in the faces of the officers clustered around him. “I am a true noble!” he declared. “Do you really think that a few ghosts will frighten me? I will show you the courage of the Yuan family, and send your spirits to the underworld where they belong!”

Saika heaved an aggravated sigh and lowered his rifle. “You gotta be kidding me.”

Yun raised the tip of his spear threateningly. “Are you still holding to that same belief? We are not spirits, or phantoms or ghosts or whatever you want to call it. We are the men of Shu, and you have laid siege to our homeland!”

“I can attest, they are not phantoms, my lord,” Sanada insisted. “I advise you to stand down and withdraw your men!”

“You cannot defeat me!” Yuan Shao swiped his sword through the air, but Yun deflected it. The defiance seemed to startle the nobleman, but he decided to fight back instead of yield. Zhao Yun held an arm out to caution the others to let him handle this, as he didn't feel it fair to pile onto a man of such stature. One-on-one was more honorable, and even as tired as he was, he did not doubt his strength. They fought intensely, but Yuan Shao had nothing on the famed spearman of Shu and fell back in due order. He stumbled and then caught himself as his sons returned to his side to protect him. Eyeing Zhao Yun, he growled, “How can I be expected to win against an army of ghosts? Even the noblest man has his limits! This just isn’t _fair!_ ” He waved curtly, and the two sons who managed to reach him drew back with him. There was a rear gate to the castle that led to a nearby river, and the defeated commander decided to run for it instead of waiting to be cut down.

Yun took a step to follow, but Magoichi grabbed his arm. “Leave him be. It’s time we sniffed out the real ring-master of this little circus.”

“Lord Yuan Shao was probably just as deceived as you were,” Jiang Wei sighed to Sanada.

“Then we’re looking for the one who fed him the same information we all came by,” Yukimura realized. “Could they be here?”

Just then, sentries at the gate who had been watching Yuan Shao retreat cried out. “My lords! Another army approaches! They…”

His yell was cut short by a black-feathered arrow from beyond the gate. The officers ran to investigate, and peeped out to see an altogether different cadre of soldiers beginning to form out beyond the southernmost gate of Chengdu. There were clearly snake-men in this army, and most of them were gathered around the curvaceous figure of Da Ji. Magoichi whistled low. “Thought so.”

“That is the demon woman who pursued us at Hasedo,” Yun said angrily. “Orochi’s right hand!”

“Their army is still disembarking from boats on the river!” Sanada observed. “Rush them before they can get a foothold and we may overcome them!”

As one, they and their men moved off, intent on doing exactly as Sanada ordered. It wasn’t a massive army anyway, mainly a vanguard protecting the demon strategist, but she did not seem to be retreating herself despite the odds against her. This was the first time many of them had encountered her directly, and were not prepared for her to be not only capable of fighting back, but fairly good at it. The orbs floating around her could change direction with the speed of thought, providing both defense and offense. But they had caught her off-guard, she hadn’t expected the Sanada clan to have been clued in and turned to ally with the men of Shu – nor had she realized that the mystery reinforcements came from Zhao Yun. He and Sanada led the attack, and their tag-team of masterful spear-work pushed through the front line, neither of them flinching as they met a line of riflemen and bullets pinged off their armor. The shots made Magoichi come to an abrupt halt in the middle of the path, and then dart off to one side, though the others weren't sure why he did so. They merely forged their way forward, cutting down the rifle line while the men hastily attempted to reload and then charging straight at the vanguard blocking them from reaching Da Ji. The two spears moved in tandem, sweeping and darting and whirling, and none could hold their ground against them. As they worked, Yukimura noticed Magoichi return to them, bursting from the underbrush along the bank and coming up behind the line, heading straight at Da Ji herself. Her focus was on the spearmen, her expression irate as she realized her plans had been turned on their heads, but Saika's ambush had her scrambling out of the way a moment later. Saika shot a quick look to the officer Zhao Yun had just knocked down, and he seemed somewhat relieved for the briefest second before turning his attention fully on the demon strategist. They were all zeroing in on her, now, and she knew she had no choice. With a last side-eye at Magoichi, she bounded back out of range and gave them a wave. “Sorry, I don’t have time to play with you anymore,” she lilted, and then vanished, leaving her vanguard to be slaughtered or captured.

Zhao Yun pulled up short, and then gave the order to return to the castle. There was no sense in pursuing her any further that day, not when she could disappear at will. All enemy forces had withdrawn, leaving Chengdu more or less unscathed and the small defending force exhausted but victorious. There was no way to know whether another army might attempt the same assault in due order, and there was much work to be done to secure the castle and the city’s defense, so no matter how tired they were, the gathered officers of the resistance turned to do just that before they could even think of resting. As they trudged back up the hill toward the side gate, Yukimura ran to catch up. “Wait, Lord Zhao Yun!” he exclaimed. “You must allow me to apologize for my foolishness!”

Yun stopped on the path and turned to him, finding a smile coming easily to his lips. “No apology is necessary. I would have done the same had I been in your position, and come upon a fortress said to be filled with the spirits of dead warriors doing Orochi’s work. You didn’t know the truth, I cannot fault you for that.”

“You are too kind, and honorable.” Yukimura bowed in gratitude. “It was a pleasure to fight beside you.”

“Will you and your men be leaving, then?” Zhao Yun tilted his head. “You are welcome to take refuge here for the night, if you didn’t want to set out right away.”

“I would like that.” Yukimura nodded to indicate his brother as Nobuyuki came alongside him. “As the heads of the Sanada clan, we have been traveling far and wide looking for opportunities to raise resistance against Orochi. It has been some time since we were able to sleep with a solid roof over our heads.”

“Then come, and welcome to Chengdu, principle city of the kingdom of Shu,” Zhao Yun offered. “I’m afraid our hospitality may be a bit lacking, but my men and I only just arrived here today as well. I haven’t yet taken stock of what’s left in Luo Castle.”

“We will lend whatever provisions and aid we may have among our troops,” Sanada assured. “It is the least I can do after that fiasco.”

While Luo Castle had been raided and stripped of many luxuries, it still had enough basic provisions to more than house and feed the armies gathered there. A large number of peasants were already living back in their homeland and growing crops to feed their protectors, and there was game enough in the woodland hills, so there was rice, wheat, and fowl to go around. The Sanada clan bivouacked in the courtyard to provide a security barrier between the battered gates and the inner ward of Luo Castle where the officers and the very brave and very tired warriors of Shu took their rest. Over dinner – to which Saika was fashionably late – the mingled officers traded what news they had from their respective forefronts, compared thoughts on the Nanman, and did their best not to look too far forward. Though Zhao Yun was crushed that Liu Bei was not at all at Chengdu and hadn’t been this entire time, he still firmly believed in Zuo Ci’s words and knew he was alive somewhere yet to be discovered. He put his worries about his lord aside in order to listen to Sanada, who was full of information about the current state of the resistance. He wanted to explain about the differing factions from his time period, about Oda and Takeda and Uesugi and the individuals already supporting them, and the possibilities for unity. He couldn’t speak to Oda, for the man was ever bent on conquest on his own, but against all odds his own lord Takeda Shingen was already taking steps to form an alliance with his rival Uesugi Kenshin. Yukimura was roaming far afield from his lord, though, and hadn’t been back to check in for some time. Yun leaned toward him in interest. “When we crossed spears, you mentioned that you had heard of me,” he noted.

“Yes…” Yukimura set down his cup and smiled. “A while back, Lord Shingen allowed a couple of men to take refuge in our camp while they healed from the attack on their kingdom of Wu. A pirate, Gan Ning, told me about you.”

“Gan Ning, really?” Yun was very clearly surprised. “I thought most of the men of Wu had been conscripted into serving Orochi, though.”

“Not all of them,” Yukimura reported. “Gan Ning and his comrade Ling Tong escaped, and the last I saw of them they were headed to join another of their compatriots at a place called Changban. But…” Sanada’s face fell even as Zhao Yun started a second time, hearing that infamous name. “…on my way back from Nanzhong in the south, I heard that that place had been raided by the Orochi army. I don’t know what has become of those brave warriors.”

“If they have not been killed, then perhaps it would be wise to keep an ear out for them,” Jiang Wei murmured. “If Lord Sanada’s master can reconcile with his mortal rival to band together against Orochi, we should be willing to do the same with our own rivals. I would take an officer of Wu on our side any day, if it meant one less in Orochi’s grasp.”

“Well said, my friend,” Yun nodded. “We are all in this together. I will keep that in mind, while I continue to search for my lord.”

“We should probably send word to the fine Lady Yueying, before she gets worried about me. I mean you,” Magoichi smirked across the table. “They’ll want to know what we found here, besides _not_ Liu Bei.”

At the end of the table, Wei Yan sagged where he sat. “Liu Bei. No. Here. Trick…”

“We were all tricked,” Jiang Wei lamented. “I’m sure that’s just what Da Ji wanted.”

“She was certainly quick to appear when her plans were thwarted,” Yun noticed. “Magoichi, what did she say to you? I saw her stop and stare at you.”

“Eh, she was just trying to bruise my ego,” Saika scoffed with a wave of his hand. “For a second I thought she had recognized me from when I was skulking around behind enemy lines picking up information, but in the end, I think I got away clear. Oh, that reminds me,” he added. “I heard a little something while I was out that you might want to know. Apparently, some of Da Ji’s forces were hidden in your army, Yukimura, _and_ in ours. They were probably trying to create dissension in the ranks.”

Jiang Wei frowned darkly. “So that’s how they did it.”

“What, like undercover agents?” Yun queried.

“Something like that,” Magoichi replied. “It sure explains how they knew we were coming, even though we kept their sentries from spreading any more tall tales about phantoms.”

“Da Ji must have wanted to get rid of both us badly,” Sanada realized, glancing to the man at his left. “Luring us here like that…”

Magoichi aimed his finger across the table at him and mimed pulling a trigger. “Now you’ve got it. You two are resistance leaders, you know. Talk about having a big target painted on your backs. Easiest way to get rid of you is to get you to kill each other – and I think that's what she's trying to do, get the Resistance leaders to fight each other instead of unite.”

“Of course...” Jiang Wei breathed, sitting up. “They orchestrated the whole thing! Neither Sanada nor Yuan Shao attacked out of malice, they believed what they were being told by their agents.”

Zhao Yun scowled darkly. “There is no end to Orochi's cruelty. Using our own honorable intentions against us, pitting friend against friend...”

“You'd better look sharp,” Magoichi said seriously. “She's bound to try that strategy again. If you keep picking people up, make sure you know you can trust them, first.”

Yukimura looked down at the table for a moment, and then turned swiftly to the man beside him. “My lord, allow me to join with your army! My spear is at your service if you will accept it.”

Zilong looked at him, noting his choice of words. This was no usual alliance between kingdoms or clans he was offering, it was a personal request, and coming on the heels of Saika's suggestion like that... “I would be a fool to turn down an offer from one so talented,” he murmured. “Is this really what you wish, Lord Sanada?”

“It would be an honor.”

“Then, I accept.” Yun smiled again. “With you at my side, I will be afraid of no one.”

Yukimura lowered his gaze humbly, and perhaps this time he did blush, himself. “Yeah, I hate to break up this touching scene,” Saika snorted, “but is there some kind of plan for what to do next? We did sort of let Da Ji get away.”

“I was actually hoping you might help me with that,” Jiang Wei said brightly. “You have such a mastery of reconnaissance and undercover tactics, I figured you could help dig up information on her next moves so we can give chase.”

Magoichi rolled his eyes magnificently. “Oh, is that all? I suppose, but it’s gonna cost you. I can’t stand being away from the ladies for so long, and only hanging around with you guys.”

“Yes, well,” Zhao Yun said, clearing his throat, “it’s not something that needs to be arranged immediately. I agree, though, we should send word to the main camp and Odani Castle, to touch base with the others. They should like to know that master Wei Yan is safe and sound and the search continues.”

Even without any wine to share, the dinner lasted well into the night until everyone had their fill and gradually trickled away to their quarters, comfortable and content after a long, hard day. Zhao Yun and Yukimura were among the last to leave, as they spent much of the night head-to-head in conversation befitting generals of their own armies. Sanada was lodging in the castle with the rest of the officers, so Zhao Yun offered to show him to the room that had been made up for him. Servants had already gone ahead to stash his weapon and armor, so he could move about comfortably, but he hadn’t been to the room himself yet. Absent of the chaos of battle, Chengdu had returned to the peaceful sanctuary that the people of Shu considered it most days, and there were even crickets chirping in the shrubs outside the windows. The two men walked along an upper corridor at a casual pace, still chatting. “No, I insist,” Yun was saying. “I serve Lord Liu Bei, and you serve Lord Takeda. Not to mention, I couldn’t possibly consider a man with your skill as anything but my equal.”

“Very well, then,” Yukimura chuckled, “I won’t call you my lord. How about, ‘my friend?’”

“I would like that very much,” Yun said demurely. He walked with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes straying to the path his feet were taking along the neatly-joined flagstone. “I admit, I didn’t expect this day to end like this, but I’m glad. I have learned much and gained a powerful ally. It seems my single-minded mission occasionally blinds me to what is going on all across this land, so thank you – for opening my eyes.”

“Yet your mission is an important one,” Sanada reassured. “My lord has told me some about your kingdoms, what he knows from his history. Lord Liu Bei sounds like the sort of man we need right now, a leader we can rally behind who isn’t interested in simply deposing Orochi and setting himself up in his place.” He set a hand on Yun’s shoulder as they walked. “I would be glad to join you in this mission. And if my place by your side is to remind you once in a while that others are also fighting Orochi along with you, then so be it.”

“You are a singular person, Sanada Yukimura,” Yun complimented.

“Please,” the young samurai chuckled, “for you, Yukimura will do.”

“But we’ve only just met,” Yun insisted. “How about Lord Yukimura?”

“Oh, fine, then. Lord Zhao Yun.”

The other laughed. “Deal.”

They reached the door to the officers’ guest quarters, and there bade each other goodnight. Zhao Yun strolled back to his own quarters with a little spring in his step. He didn’t know it, but his other comrades were remarking behind his back that this was the first time since being freed from Ueda’s prison that the young Tiger General had smiled so much in one day.

Though the city and its protective fortress were in relatively good shape, some rebuilding needed to be done before it could be considered fully sound and defensible against much larger armies than the one who had been driven off yesterday. Zhao Yun spent the morning making the rounds of the entire compound and taking reports from sentries who had been sent into the bamboo forest to the north and along the river to the south to make sure all enemy soldiers had been cleared from the region. He found things generally in good repair, and the people not as afraid as they had been that day Orochi’s army streamed through the trees and overran their fair city with a flood of darkness. Having his own quarters back felt good, too, though he knew he couldn’t stay there for long. A few days were all he would need to set things in order, and then his search had to continue. Messengers had been sent out in the very early hours with reports for Yueying and Xingcai, and Sanada also sent some to search out Takeda Shingen wherever he might be secretly camped now, to apprise him that his favorite retainer had joined up with the straggling Shu forces to help them shore up defenses and search for Liu Bei. Even though they had no direct plans to meet up with any of the other resistance leaders and their forces to join large-scale battles on deadly fields, they needed information and reconnaissance, which came as much from messages as from their own scouts’ eyes and ears. Saika Magoichi was busy with the latter, since the consensus at dinner had been that Da Ji might know something about Liu Bei’s current location, given that she was so eager to use his name to bait his men to come looking. They had to reconnoiter to find out which direction her branch of the Orochi army was headed next, in the hopes they could intercept or at least give chase. Saika himself was extremely interested in the fact that she had brought a Date rifle squad with her, under the command of the retainer Shigezane instead of his lord Masamune, but what that meant only he knew, and he would look for clues that related to it on his own. It was much to do and much to think about, making Zhao Yun feel like a general again instead of just a lost servant praying for a sign. He completed his rounds and made his way through the courtyard only to find Yukimura sitting on a crate against a wall, diligently studying a piece of his armor and rapping on it with his knuckles. Curious, Yun changed directions and went to join him. “Is something wrong?” he wondered, noting the look of intense concentration on the young samurai’s face.

Yukimura glanced up, and the frown instantly broke. “Oh, it’s nothing, I’m sure,” he demurred, sitting back. Yun could see he was holding the upper portion of his chestplate, and was himself clad only in his kimono and trousers with greaves and bracers, nothing more. “I was just checking over to see whether I’ll have to have this repaired.”

“Oh dear. Is it cracked?” Zhao Yun lowered himself to a seat on the next crate over.

“A little. But it’s seen a lot of battle. Honestly, it was due.”

“I’m sorry,” Yun said contritely, seeing as he was the one who cracked it. “Good thing I pulled my hit at the last moment.”

“…you pulled it?” Sanada looked at him, and then gave a self-deprecating little chuckle. “If that was a soft hit, I would hate to be on the receiving end of your lethal force.”

“Well, I wasn’t actually intent on killing you,” Yun admitted. “It seemed a shame to destroy such a talented warrior as yourself. Particularly since I knew you had come at Meng Huo’s request.”

Yukimura nodded; they had discussed that the night before, along with all the other threads of acquaintance tying their forces together. “I do not blame you, Lord Zhao Yun. Battle is battle, and damaged armor is a consequence of even picking up my spear in the first place.”

Yun leaned over to take a closer look. “It isn’t metal, is it?”

“No, lacquered leather. Very strong, but comfortable. The inlays are brass, though.” He turned the plate over so Yun could see the center, just below where his heart would be, and the fine crack running at about the spot where his opponent had struck him the day before. The lacquered leather, as hard as metal, had absorbed the strike until it gave, and he didn’t mention the bruise on his sternum. “When I sent messengers to Lord Shingen this morning, I included a note to his armor-maker, to see if it would be possible to have this repaired or replaced in due order.”

Zhao Yun ran his fingers along the cracked ridge. “What if he can’t?”

“It’s still useable. I will simply have to make a point of not taking a hit in that spot a second time.” Yukimura lifted his head and smiled wryly at his companion. “As long as I don’t challenge a spearman who can best me, again.”

“No sparring with me, then,” Yun said, amused.

Sanada breathed a soft laugh and sat back against the wall behind him, setting the chestplate on the ground next to him. “All the same,” he murmured as he sobered, “I am glad to find that it wasn’t your phantom that I had to fight. To think that you could be dead…that would only make Orochi’s desecration that much worse.”

Zilong looked away, out across the sun-drenched courtyard where soldiers and peasants alike were going about their business as if they hadn’t just been through a battle. “You speak highly of me, Lord Yukimura. I’m afraid I may not be able to live up to your expectations after all this.”

“I have no doubts.” Yukimura folded his hands in his lap. “As I said, Lord Shingen is a student of history. I may not know even a third of what he does, about tactics and great kingdoms and notable names of the past, but from the moment he heard a whisper of the name of this very place where we’re sitting right now, he dove into his books and told me as much as he could about your kingdoms. Your name has already passed into history, as a loyal general and an honorable man.”

“I don’t think I want to know any more than that,” Yun said, a little worried. If history was that concise, it might even know when and how he would die, and that was not a lucky thing to be speaking about. He waved a hand to beg that they change the subject. “I appreciate the flattery, but right now I’m just trying to do my best for my lord. His people need him, and I feel like I cannot rest until I’ve set that right.”

“Ah, sorry,” Yukimura said awkwardly. “I didn’t mean to say so much. But I’m not here because you’re a name from a history book, Lord Zhao Yun. My promise to you last night stands. I want to fight beside you because I’ve seen for myself that it would be worth it.”

“And I am honored to have you beside me, make no mistake,” Yun said gently. “Maybe someday the history books will speak of the great Sanada Yukimura in the same way.”

“Maybe.” Yukimura’s slight smile returned. They shared a glance and then both looked away, across the courtyard again. “How did your walk turn out?”

“Oh, it was very informative,” Yun admitted. “The people of Shu are far more resilient than I give them credit for, sometimes. They have endured well, and even though they’re as worried about our lord as I am, they bear it well.” He nodded once. “I, too, sent messages this morning, to Lady Yueying at our main camp. I told her it was safe to remove the camp here, and take control of our own capital for the safety of the people.” He breathed a sigh, looking up at the sun. “It would be good, I think, for the army as well. So many of them have been roaming this land looking for nothing more than a place to lay their heads, let alone leadership and battle plans.”

“An established base behind a defensible wall is always preferable,” Yukimura agreed.

“And this time, we will not be caught unawares by Orochi’s army,” Yun added darkly.

“Do you intend to remain here, then?”

“No,” Zhao Yun answered immediately, and then felt the need to explain further. “My intention is to continue searching for my lord – actively, not from behind a wall. And, the resistance army deserves a general whose attention is entirely on building a coalition among allies and working to take down Orochi, not one who divides his time with another mission.” He glanced aside at his comrade. “If you wish to help me as you say, it will mean more slogging around in the field and sleeping in places other than castles. I must keep moving, it chafes me to even wait a few days for Lady Yueying to arrive.”

“I gave you my pledge and I will honor it, I don’t care where I sleep,” Yukimura said seriously. “When you’re ready to leave Chengdu, I will go with you. My brother can choose on his own whether he and his troops will bolster the defense here or return to Lord Takeda’s side.”

Yun smiled absently. “I cannot believe that I have been worthy to earn such loyalty so quickly. My luck truly has changed, for a comrade so helpful to just fall into my path like this. Still.” He tipped his head back, resting it against the wall behind him. “As much as I want to keep going, it will be a few days, yet. Saika is supposed to be sending out scouts to track Da Ji, which means he should be staying here for a time. Either I leave Jiang Wei in charge to wait for the others, and set out short-handed, or we give them time to join us.”

Yukimura looked at him, directly, and studied him for so long that Yun almost asked if there was a problem. “Lord Zhao Yun,” he said with that same quiet seriousness, “when was the last time you rested?”

Yun blinked at him. “Well…I’m resting right now, aren’t I?”

“That’s not what I mean.” The young samurai shook his head slowly. “One thing I have learned at Lord Shingen’s side, is that a man cannot push himself beyond his limits and still succeed. I understand your urgency, but if you keep pressing on without taking a moment to breathe, you may stumble. And in this world of Orochi’s making, a misstep could be fatal.”

Yun frowned hard at the ground at his feet. “I wouldn’t feel right taking any time for myself, just now. Besides, I sat idle long enough in that prison to make up for it. I’ll be fine.”

Yukimura sat for a moment recalling the brief story from the night before, of how the Tiger General had been prevented from acting on behalf of his people for so long. “At the very least, wait until Lady Yueying responds, or sends someone. You also have that masked fellow.”

“Wei Yan…of course…” Zhao Yun clapped a hand to his forehead. “I had almost forgotten. He isn’t exactly a leader but he is a powerful warrior. If I leave Jiang Wei in charge here, it would free Wei Yan to come with us when we set out.”

“That’s a start,” Sanada encouraged. “I mean it, though. Allow yourself a few days. Your lord won’t hold it against you, if he’s as great as you say.”

“Oh, very well,” Yun relented with a huge, put-upon sigh. “I will wait to see what messages return from the main camp before I decide further.” Some part of him was quietly relieved at that idea, for he was getting a little weary of simply wandering the land aimlessly with no clues about which direction to head, or which castle might yield promise. Waiting for information might be difficult when he was antsy, but it was better than not knowing a thing.

“Good,” Yukimura smiled. “Perhaps while you wait we can talk about something besides war and strategy.”

“Like what? Food? Art? The weather?”

“Tell me about Chengdu,” Yukimura implored. “What it’s like during peacetime.”

“Hmm…” Yun made a show of pondering it, and then smiled. “As long as you tell me about your land in return.”

“Well…” Yukimura’s expression turned awkward. “…uh. You’ve already seen Ueda Castle, so…”

Yun sat up sharply. “Ueda is _your_ castle?”

“Not mine precisely, but it does sit in my family’s ancestral lands. I guess that makes it my father’s castle.” Sanada tried to laugh it off. “How about I tell you about Osaka, instead?”

Yun sat back, stunned but amused. “Goodness, it seems like the two of us were destined to meet one way or another. All right, tell me about Osaka.”

Across the courtyard, Jiang Wei and Magoichi were taking a break from consultations and strategies, and stood at the rail of an upper parapet observing the state of affairs below. Saika heaved a big, comical sigh. “Not a single gorgeous lady in sight. Man, being stuck at Chengdu is going to be so boring with nothing but men here.” He pouted, resting his chin on his hand, and scanned the courtyard one more time. “Hold on, what do we have here…? Heh. Looks like Zhao Yun and Yukimura have really hit it off.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Wei was already quite tired of Saika’s rambling about women, so he was mostly ignoring him, but that got his attention. He followed the rifleman’s gaze to where the two warriors sat in the warm sun, side by side on crates stacked against the far walls. “Ah, I see. They talked long into the night, I heard.”

“And now they’re chatting again. Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you.” Magoichi smirked coolly. “Honestly, the first time I laid my eyes on Zhao Yun, I thought he and Sanada could be twins. Okay, so they don’t look alike, but you get my drift.”

“Sort of.” Jiang Wei had gotten to see Sanada fight his comrade, so he knew the power and technique behind that unique cross-bladed spear. “Perhaps it’s no surprise that they’ve become friends.”

“It’ll be good for the both of them, I think.” Without any women around to hit on, Magoichi turned gossip. “Zhao Yun really was getting in a rut, and Yukimura…well…”

Jiang Wei looked at him. “Do you know him well, then?”

“Not really. We’ve crossed paths a few times, but I haven’t really worked with him long enough to say I know him. But I know his type.” Saika grinned slyly. “He’s a samurai to the core, that one. Honor in spades, it’s more important to him than breathing. And loyalty. When the man gives his loyalty to someone, there’s not a thing in this world or the next that can shake it.”

Jiang Wei knew basically what a samurai was, from long discussions with Tachibana while hiking to and from Nanzhong. Yet, there was something about Saika’s tone that suggested he knew more than he was letting on. “So what you’re saying is, he may be an asset for more than just his spear.”

“Just don’t let him plan your defense.” Saika smirked to imply that that was a joke and straightened up to his full height, towering over Jiang Wei. “Nah, it’s cool. Yukimura’s a good man. Probably the best you could ever hope to find. Maybe he can help give Zhao Yun a little more perspective.” He turned and suddenly sobered, frowning at the strategist while he leaned on the railing. “I get that finding Liu Bei is important, but he’s gotta look at the big picture. Your lord is being held by Orochi, and he’s not just going to hand him over even if you do find out where he’s being kept. Zhao had better think about this army that’s starting to spring up around him. He can’t keep dragging all of us around in his searches.”

Jiang Wei’s face drew tight and serious. “I’m sure he’s well aware of it. I know he intends to wait until your scouts have some information on Da Ji before making his next move.”

“That’s a start,” Magoichi acknowledged. “Well, I guess we’ll just wait and see, then. Maybe Yukimura can distract him for a few days so I can get some work done.” He made a face, and then declared, “I’m hungry. I’m gonna go hunt something down. I’ll meet back up with you later then, hm?”

“Of course.” Jiang Wei raised a hand in a wave as the tall rifleman turned and sauntered off with his hands in his pockets, and then returned to watching the two spearmen chat on the other end of the courtyard. He was in complete agreement with Zhao Yun on the importance of rescuing Lord Liu Bei, but he was also a pupil of Zhuge Liang. He knew how crucial it was to look after the needs of their growing army, and rebuild their chief city as a stronghold and refuge, as well as consider the overall strategy that could require alliances and much larger, sweeping battles in unfamiliar places. With soldiers of Wei and Wu conscripted into fighting Orochi’s battles for him, the forces of Shu had nowhere else to turn but the men of Hi-no-Moto, with what seemed to sound like anywhere from three to six or seven different warlords and heads of clans boasting small armies of their own. At least, Jiang Wei considered as he idly watched the two men chat and tension ease away from their faces, these strangers from another land were proving to be worthy allies. He wondered what those two were talking about, since both were now smiling and joking with one another. He envied them for the briefest moment before deciding that he, too, would be better off with a snack if he could find one. He moved away from the parapet and wandered off to impose upon the humble people of Chengdu one more time.

  


Chances for the Sun siblings to get together and take ease from one another’s company were getting few and far between, the more the resistance grew and the more Orochi – or Da Ji, really – sent them out on separate errands to lead armies and assaults all across the landscape. Yet, shortly after returning from Changban, Sun Ce found that, by some unplanned coincidence, Quan was already at Bai Di and there was word that the small unit headed by Shangxiang was on its way there to be re-absorbed into another branch of the army. Even better news? Da Ji was nowhere in the vicinity. She was said to be messing around somewhere westward, leaving the Sun children to rejoin one another at Bai Di and happily abuse their overlord’s lackey behind her back. It was a welcome meeting, now that Ce’s actions at Changban had led to the freedom of Taishi Ci; that meant a full six of the top Wu officers were present at the castle, glad to see one another and eager to sit around together at table with a cask of wine and drink until Zhou Tai got fed up with them. That usually didn’t take long. Shangxiang was still fretting over her embarrassing loss at Honnoji, even though some time had passed and she had taken small victories since then. Though she didn’t drink as heavily as her brothers, she still sat with them because it was much better than going to bed alone – and at the moment the Lady Ina was away with her lord Tokugawa. “I just don’t get what he _meant!_ ” she insisted to Ce and Quan. “I don’t even know who he is, or what makes him think he knows so much about the kingdom of Wu. Stupid Cao Cao lookalike,” she huffed.

Ce gestured over the rim of his cup with a finger. “Lord Ieyasu told me a little about him. He’s a pretty big deal back in Wa – or was, I guess. They figured he’d rule the whole country someday.”

“Sure sounds like Cao Cao,” Quan snorted.

“Relax, sis,” Ce implored. “Just be glad he decided to let you go. Seeing as Da Ji got her butt kicked by the guy, she couldn’t take it out on you.”

“I’m sure Oda has far-reaching plans of his own,” Zhou Yu mused over his wine. “He might have been trying to send us a message.”

“I thought we were having a party,” Taishi Ci complained. “You guys are still talking about strategy things when we’re supposed to be drinking.”

“I _am_ drinking!” Ce retorted in his direction. “Who says I can’t think and drink at the same time?”

Zhou Yu raised his hand. After a moment, so did Quan. Ce spluttered at them. “Shut up! You guys…” Taishi roared with laughter, and even Shangxiang tittered a bit.

The cask went around again to refill cups. Quan sat back, his face rather flushed. “So. Our glorious leader got her butt kicked, you say,” he encouraged his siblings.

“That whole plan was stupid, I don’t know what she was on about,” Shangxiang complained. “If you had been there, Zhou Yu, I bet it wouldn’t have come out like that.”

“I don’t know,” Yu said modestly. “You say Oda saw through her plans? That doesn’t bode well for any strategist.”

“What’s her deal, anyway?” Taishi wondered. “She’s some kind of demon, too, right?”

“She puts me in mind of a fox spirit. Always interested in causing trouble and playing tricks,” Yu murmured. “But far more malevolent than usual.”

“Ugh. We tigers ought to be clawing up all these snakes and foxes, not taking their orders,” Ce grumbled.

“Uh oh. Brother, you’ve had enough to drink,” Quan sighed. “You’ve gone over from happy to grumpy, that means you’re done.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Ce said, peering at him, but then he looked down at his cup and shrugged. His brother had a point. “Maybe we should break it up, or Shangxiang won’t go to bed and get the sleep she needs.”

“Who’s not the boss of who, now?” his sister challenged. “I’m fine, Ce.”

“You just got in today after a long ride. You should sleep,” he insisted in a rather doting manner. “I’ll be good and do the same.”

“Aw. It was a good party while it lasted,” Taishi Ci pouted.

They wisely broke it up and went their separate ways, eager to enjoy the comforts of a well-stocked castle while they still had it. As long as no orders were sent to any one of them, they were free to stay there and wait for word from the front. Sun Ce closed himself away and stripped off his tunic and trappings before flopping onto his bed and just lying there, letting his head swim for a bit. Then, there came the soft warning rap on his door that he recognized as belonging to Zhou Yu. He didn’t move from his position, and did his best to bite back a wolfish grin – after all, he didn’t know what his friend was actually there for. As usual, Yu slipped through the door and closed it securely behind him, but it was clear something was wrong by the downcast look in his eyes. Ce noticed through his drunken haze and sat up. “What’s the matter?”

“I just received word…” He shook his head quickly, because Ce had anticipated and groaned. “No, it isn’t from Da Ji. It’s a missive from Cheng Pu.”

“Oh?” All Ce could remember was that their subordinate had split off from them after Changban, and been taken by Da Ji to bolster some forces somewhere else. “What’s he say?”

Yu sighed and closed his eyes. “My wife is missing.”

Ce sprang out of bed and crossed to him instantly. “What? I mean…how? What could have happened?”

“I don’t know.” Yu held up the letter from Cheng Pu in his slender fingers. “He said they were traveling all together on their way to Guandu, and crossed through an unfamiliar territory when they were ambushed by…” He glanced at the letter. “…hm. By the way he describes them, it sounds like ninjas, like Hattori. Their forces were scattered, and when they regrouped, Xiaoqiao was not among them. They searched the mountains for the rest of the day, but could not find her and were forced by the Orochi soldiers to continue on.”

“Gongjin…I’m sorry…” Ce wrapped a hand around the one clutching the letter. “I’m sure she’s all right. If she just got separated from Cheng Pu…there might be someone behind the ambush who took her in.”

“Yes. I’m sure she’s all right,” Yu said softly. “But not knowing where she could be is almost worse than knowing she is under Orochi’s thumb with the rest of us.” Ce pulled him closer, then, and he did not resist as he was drawn into a comforting embrace. He leaned against the powerful chest of his sworn brother and closed his eyes. “Have you heard from Daqiao, lately?”

“Yeah. That letter that was waiting here for me, that was from her.” Ce chuckled a little in spite of the situation. “She’s spending a lot of time with Cao Pi’s forces, I guess, down south. There was something in there about getting to braid Zhang He’s hair and talk about ornaments.”

Yu sniffed a quiet laugh against Ce’s shoulder. “She’s quite lucky. It could be far worse.”

“Yeah, I know. She could be anywhere within five miles of Dong Zhuo.”

“Fortunately, it sounds like he is busy elsewhere.” As a strategist at heart, Zhou Yu couldn’t be certain whether it was good or bad that the odious bane of their existence was one of Da Ji’s favorites to lead armies. It meant they didn’t have to cross paths, but there was no telling what kind of trouble Dong Zhuo was making for the innocent civilians and other allies outside of the battlefield. It also meant they had not rubbed elbows with Lu Bu in a very long time. He and Maeda Keiji were very clearly the most powerful warriors within the ranks of the Orochi army, meaning they were being used often and to the best effect, as befitting human weapons like them. Thinking about such things was not much of a distraction, Yu’s mind kept returning to fret about his wife out there alone in the wilderness somewhere, abandoned by Orochi’s men. There was nothing he could do about it, he was at Da Ji’s beckoned call along with his lord and lacked the freedom to get up and go take care of matters himself. He made no further comment for a while, using Ce as a wall against which he could safely lean while he tried to forget about as much of his worries as possible. It helped that the Wu prince was warm, solid, and smelled like home, like sun and sweat and wine. And, he was rubbing his best friend’s back gently in encouragement. After a while, Yu focused more on the hand on his back and the bare shoulder beneath his chin, and less on the unsettling news from the front, until he simply had to pick up his head and whisper against Ce’s ear: “Distract me. Please.”

“Hmm?” Ce pried them apart just enough to look into Yu’s face to be certain. They tended to save these indulgences for times when their wives were not so present in thought. “Are you sure?”

“Quite sure.”

There was no argument from Sun Ce. He ran the backs of his fingers along Yu's cheek, admiring him for a moment before leaning in and claiming his lips. The two knew each other’s bodies so well, by now, that he knew exactly what would comfort Yu and take his mind off other matters. His fingers were immediately fumbling down the front of the layers of tunics his comrade still wore, all while they kissed with growing fervor, and his hands then worked into the folds of silk and linen to find bare skin and caress eagerly. Ce was sobering up quickly, but that didn't dampen his enthusiasm at all; he chuckled against his comrade's lips, stroking his fingers along his abs beneath his tunics. Yu pushed against him, then, backing him toward the bed, and dropped his clothing down off his shoulders along the way even as Ce grabbed his sash and pulled it loose so that everything flopped into a soft pile on the floor behind them. Ce sank onto the bed and dragged his comrade to him with fingers hooked in the waist of his pants, and then worked those down as well to be able to worship his smooth skin with both lips and hands, though it wasn’t long before Yu pressed against him and tipped him over onto his back in order to climb on top of him. Ce’s soft silk trousers didn’t last much longer after that, but once free, he took control again, rolling them both over and situating himself on top. For a moment he paused just to look down and revel in the smooth, sinewy lines of his sworn brother’s body, and the sight of his long hair fanned out over the blankets, and was rather pleased to get a shy smile out of him. It looked like the distraction was working. Grinning back, Sun Ce fell down over him and caught him up in his powerful arms, intending to draw this out as long as possible. The longer they laid there wrapped in each other, working each other up to readiness with just the friction of their bodies against one another, the less there would be room to think about worrisome subjects, or Orochi, or anything else besides the melding of flesh and the deepening of their bond.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epic meeting of forces at Kawanakajima, and the testing of loyalties for Sima Zhao and Ma Chao.

A brassy sun beat down on the dry fields of a small slice of Hi-no-Moto, a crossroads territory of sorts that had already seen much battle since being torn up and plunked down in Orochi's world. Months before, an alliance of brave leaders was brought to nothing before the demon lord's overwhelming might, here. There were garrisons in which any army could make a comfortable enough encampment, and hidden further back in the tangle of trees, a temple. Even before they were attacked there by Takeda and Uesugi, the Orochi army had been using Kawanakajima as an outpost, and they still held it securely, though most days the sentries rarely roamed beyond the river in the valley below the garrisons. They held the bridges, essentially daring anyone not from their army to cross, so patrolling further seemed unnecessary. At least, that was Sima Zhao's take on the situation. He had been left in command of this outpost by his father, who had been ordered south to lead the repeated attempts at conquering the Nanman, and after being stuck there for weeks – which became months – his already miniscule interest in obeying orders waned to almost nothing. Unlike his arrogant, ambitious father, Zhao was easygoing and generally disinterested in kowtowing to their overlord. By all rights, his elder brother, Sima Shi, should have been in command, but he was often with their father, seeing to far more important tasks than just watching over Kawanakajima so that Orochi wouldn't get angry if it fell to Resistance control. Fortunately, in his absence his younger brother had yet to do anything to risk their hold on that particular outpost. It was an easy enough task, made easier by a lack of any credible threat.

Zhao sat in an upper window of the small fortress, which looked out past the retaining wall to the river below and the forests in the hills on the other side of the water, gazing absently at the view and wondering how far he could actually see in the summery haze. He was only able to wear a faint smile because his daydreams in no way resembled the reality of this place, and a hot day like today was prime for daydreaming. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of places to hide where the officers under his command couldn't find him sooner or later. He half expected his wife's scolding, but this time, it was actually coughing that interrupted his innermost thoughts. Picking up his head from where it rested against his fist, Sima Zhao glanced back and murmured, “Poor Guo Huai, not even summer weather agrees with you.”

The tall, rail-thin man brushed himself down as he entered the room, making himself presentable for his commander. “It's so awful, Master Sima Zhao,” he complained sadly. “In the winter it's the cold, in the spring it's the flowers, and in the summer it's the dust. I simply cannot win.”

Zhao shook his head, still smiling faintly. “Then we'll have to wait until autumn, huh? Anyway. What's up, am I being called to some war meeting or something?” He winced a bit. “Zhong Hui isn't trying to instill more order around here again, is he?”

“No, no,” Guo Huai chuckled. “Fortunately not, my lord. Actually, a messenger has arrived, and has quite a bit of information for you. I'm sure it's from your father.”

“Oh, wonderful,” Zhao sighed. He tossed up a hand in surrender and crossed the room to clap his retainer on the shoulder – gently, so as not to upset his delicate constitution. “All right, let's go and see what it's about.”

He led the way down the stairs to the main hall, walled off from other parts of the fortress by screens and papered slats. This foreign land and its unusual buildings were interesting, Zhao had actually enjoyed exploring the temple of Zenkouji in the forest. But he was the kind of man who thought of temples as places not to be defiled, even if the temple wasn't to any of their own gods, so it was his decision to use the garrisons instead and leave Zenkouji alone. He came around a corner and stepped into the walled-off room they were using as an audience chamber, finding the others there ahead of him, waiting with the messenger. Zhong Hui looked irritable as usual, fidgeting with tendrils of his hair, while Wang Yuanji stood quietly with her hands clasped behind her back, only raising an eyebrow at how quickly and easily Zhao responded to the summons. It proved to be worth it, for escorting the messenger was Deng Ai, who they hadn't seen in a while. Sima Zhao broke into a genuine smile to see him. “Well, well! You should have told me we had a special delivery, Master Guo Huai. I almost didn't come down.”

Deng Ai clasped his meaty fists before his brawny chest and bowed graciously. “My apologies, my lord, for not sending word ahead. I didn't know I was to be heading out this way until it was too late to write a letter.”

“It's fine!” Zhao came to him and extended a hand for his bodyguard to clasp. “It's good to see you. Where've you been all this time?”

The brawny warrior sighed a little. “Your father sent me off to provide backup to Cao Ren, for a time. But things are shifting, now, and the forces are being rearranged, so I have been sent here instead. As I'm sure you'll find out from the message that came with me.”

The messenger held out a sealed scroll on cue, which Zhao took and unrolled, pacing lazily for a few steps while he read it. “Aw, great,” he groused, “Father's on his way back. I guess things aren't going so well down south.”

“Lord Sima Yi would not actually say something like that,” Zhong Hui sniffed. “How do you know he hasn't simply put down the Nanman rebellion much faster than Zhuge Liang ever could, and now he's done with that task?”

“It doesn't say anything so proud and victorious,” Sima Zhao reported, casting a bored look at the young man as he paced past. “You know my father would brag about such a conquest. Nope, all it says is they're changing tactics for a time, and as a result, he'll be coming back here to Kawanakajima for a while.”

“I suppose that means we had better ready for his return,” Yuanji said pleasantly.

“Yeah, we'll have to spruce up his quarters and get some ready for Shi,” Zhao said absently, still skimming the lengthy missive. “There's a lot of news in here about the general doings of the Orochi army...” He shrugged and rolled the message up on the spot, handing it to Deng Ai. “Eh, I'll read the rest later. I don't really care what Orochi's doing.”

“It would do well to at least be abreast of the state of his forces,” Guo Huai suggested diplomatically. “The better to guess at how long we may be stuck stationed here at this...uninteresting little scrap of land.”

All of them, even Zhong Hui, sagged and sighed. None of the Sima family or their retainers were enjoying the duty of standing guard over Kawanakajima. They had not been a part of the army yet when it fought against the Takeda-Uesugi alliance, so they really could not understand the strategic importance of this place, nothing more than a temple, a river, and a lot of open land. There was no town, and supplies had to come either from the main army or by bullying any peasants who might be in the vicinity. Sima Zhao was not ruthless enough to take out his frustrations on peasants, but if the main army was slow to bring supplies, they would have to ration their stores. “I know, I know,” Zhao said tiredly. “I promise I'll read it later. Let's focus on getting quarters prepared for Father and Brother, first.”

The garrison had a few days in which to spruce things up for their true commander, who had been away for so long that some were starting to wonder if the Orochi army had forgotten about them. For once, sentries were ordered out past the river and even into the maze-like garden behind the temple, in order to ensure that Kawanakajima really was safe from the Resistance and also to try to spot the vanguard coming before it was too late to make a good impression. It was yet another hot, summer-like day when the sentries got their chance to do their jobs, and crow the news of their visitors finally arriving. The self-important strategist Sima Yi rode at the head of a column of additional troops and supply wagons, with his eldest son Sima Shi at his side, both of them looking none the worse for wear after their long campaign in the south. The garrison gates were thrown open, and the small group of officers who had held Kawanakajima all this time stood waiting to receive their distinguished commanders. Zhao was doing his best not to fidget, but he had his wife at his side to elbow him if he even so much as looked away at the slightest distraction. As the horses came abreast of him, he clasped his fist before his heart and bowed respectfully. “Welcome back, Father. Brother.”

“Zhao,” Sima Yi said imperiously, inspecting him and then the courtyard of the garrison with a sweep of his gaze. “I trust the garrison is still in order, despite your slacking.”

Zhao made a face. His brother dismounted, then, and handed the reins of his horse to a waiting groom. “At the very least, it hasn't fallen to Resistance control,” Shi sniffed, smiling coolly.

“Nice to see you, too, Ziyuan,” Zhao sighed at his brother.

Sima Yi gracefully swung out of the saddle and paced along the line of officers, ending at his son's position. “I will make a proper inspection after we have been refreshed. At least, it's clear my message reached here in time.”

Wang Yuanji stepped forward to prevent her husband from doing any more sighing. “Everything has been prepared for your arrival, my lord,” she said smoothly. “Please, follow me. I will make sure you have everything you need.”

As they moved off, Zhong Hui and Guo Huai moved in behind them, following to see if they could be of any use. That left Zhao standing with Deng Ai in the dusty courtyard, gazing at the collection of soldiers that had been marched up from Nanzhong with their commanders. “I don't know why I expected anything different,” Zhao said with a shake of his head. “At least now I'm off the hook.”

“Do not let you father's mood get to you, young master,” the grizzled warrior assured. “You have done a fine job holding this outpost all this time. He will see it, as soon as he has rested and his opinion isn't tainted by exhaustion.” He turned to glance over his shoulder at the platoons waiting for orders. “If you would like, I will take charge of the rank and file. Get them settled into the garrison.”

“Would you? That would be great, Deng Ai. Thanks.” Zhao clapped him on the shoulder and then moved on to trail after the rest of his family and compatriots, taking his time so as not to be available for their abuse any more than necessary. At least Guo Huai could fill them in on the state of affairs at Kawanakajima, for now, and serve as go-between. In truth, Sima Zhao really had not done a terrible job of maintaining the front line here for Orochi, but then, he hadn't had much of a challenge to it. Once Sima Yi could see that for himself, Zhao could look forward to being relieved of most duties and allowed to while away his afternoons any way he pleased. Or, so he hoped.

At that same time, not far away, the Oda army was quietly making its way across the landscape, mapping the territories as they went. Unlike some of the other resistance cells, Oda was not content staying within a single fortress, even after taking Honnoji and restoring it for his use when he wanted it. There was little chance of the Orochi army taking back such a location, but Oda was rather partial to its comforts, he stayed there every time he passed through Kyoto and it would be the same in this world. So, for the time being, he left Maeda Toshiie in charge of it while he roamed abroad, gathering information and allies himself rather than leaving it to his retainers. Toyotomi and Akechi were ever with him, but so was Guan Ping, as he had taken a liking to the young man's dedication and loyalty. That day, as Sima Yi returned to Kawanakajima, the Oda Resistance was camped a few miles away in a secluded fir wood, situated at the junction of territories upslope from a patchwork of farm fields that had been recently torn up by the passage of war. As he walked along the perimeter laid out by their scouts, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took a moment to run his fingers through the dry soil, and sighed sadly. “Those poor people,” he mused aloud, to Guan Ping behind him. “They’re not gonna get much out of this ground, not anymore. It’s too dry, it’s like this place hasn’t had any rain since the big cataclysm.”

Ping leaned on his great sword, looking out beyond their camp to the thick forests and the glint of a river far below them. “Why didn’t Lord Nobunaga stop to do anything to help them?”

Hideyoshi stood up and brushed his hands off. “Would it have made any difference if he did?” he asked, somewhat rhetorically. “If it were a case of driving off some enemy so they could live in peace, that’s one thing, but what they really need is something not even the great Oda Nobunaga can provide. They need rain, and good soil. He’s pretty great, but he’s not _that_ great.”

Ping grumbled to himself, unable to argue with that logic. They were talking about a small collection of farmers they had passed earlier in the day, who had decided that this land, seemingly free of conflict, would be theirs to maintain, but the dry summer that clung to this chunk of landscape was not being very kind to them. Nobunaga had listened to their complaints and then rode on, though unbeknownst to many among his army, he allowed Toyotomi to give them a few sacks of grain from their own supply train to tide them over. They were not his people, he owed them nothing, but Toyotomi was correct – drought could not be fought the same as snake-demons with swords and spears. Yet, Ping was a student of the benevolent teachings of Liu Bei, and wished there were more he could do. He picked up his sword and slung it over his shoulder. “I suppose we should get back to camp before we’re late for dinner.”

“Darn right!” Hideyoshi grinned. He gestured for Ping to follow him and traipsed back through the scrub brush to the camp proper. The soldiers and low-ranking officers were all busy about their usual duties, but Oda seemed to be sequestered away in private, taking care of warlord business, for the other officers who would usually be at his side were all hanging around in the garrison, trying not to look idle. Niwa Nagahide pretended to inspect his weapon for damage while he lurked around eavesdropping on Mitsuhide and their present strategist, Kuroda Kanbei. Tall and sallow, Kuroda was quiet and calm, a powerful presence among them. Toyotomi blustered right up to them, not even bothering to hide his need to gossip. “Well, well! And here I thought you would have been in there with him, Kanbei, thick as thieves after those messages came in.”

Kanbei turned heavy, dark eyes on the enthusiastic man. There was no condescension in his eerie gaze, but he did not look impressed. “Lord Oda and I have had our discussion,” he reported, “and now it is over, as I was just telling Lord Mitsuhide.”

“There isn’t much in the way of news, actually,” Mitsuhide said to back him up. “Still no word on the whereabouts of Takenaka Hanbei or Shibata, unfortunately.”

“What about my father, or any of the people of Shu?” Guan Ping asked. “I was hoping that as we traveled, we might hear something, but…”

Mitsuhide shook his head solemnly. “We have gathered as much information as we can, on the troop movements of those conscripted into Orochi’s service as well as their captives. Most of what we are hearing has to do with the people of the Wu kingdom.”

“To say nothing of that young fox Cao Pi, who we keep running into,” Hideyoshi said smartly. “It’s a shame about Mitsunari, but I have to admit, I was just glad to hear that he was alive.”

Ping glanced at him. “Who do you mean?”

Hideyoshi pushed his helm back a little and rubbed at his forehead. “Ishida Mitsunari is a young man I know pretty well. He’s smart, he knows his strategy. But he and a few others hadn’t met up with us at Odawara yet when Orochi came down on us like a thunderstorm, so for a while I was afraid they’d all been killed. But he’s alive, sure enough – and working for Orochi now, I caught sight of him when we were at Tianshui. As for the others, I still dunno how they’re doing…”

Kanbei glanced at him, and for a moment his cold face seemed to soften. “Your wife is beyond resourceful. I’m certain she and the others are fine.”

Ping’s eyes widened. “Your wife is missing?”

Toyotomi met his gaze, and to his surprise, smiled brightly. “Nene’s really tough, I’m not worried about her. We got separated after Odawara fell, but I promised her I wouldn’t die on her. She went one way and I went the other, and I was the one who stumbled on Lord Nobunaga first.” He shook his head a little. “It’s not Nene I fret about, it’s the boys. Some of ‘em are just as hot-headed as Mitsunari, they need someone to look after them.”

“Oh. I see.” Ping lowered his eyes, his face saddening a little. It was hard not knowing where his father could be, but like Hideyoshi with his wife, he knew Guan Yu would be fine. Surely, wherever he was, he was alive and well. But there were others Ping found coming to his mind just then. “My brothers are lost, too, I don’t know what became of them after Chengdu fell. Or if my youngest sister made it to this world with them or not.”

“We are searching for information on anyone from Shu,” Mitsuhide reassured him, “so do not fear. We may not have that information at the moment, but that isn’t to say it isn’t out there to be discovered.”

“I know. And I thank you, Lord Mitsuhide,” Guan Ping said respectfully. “You have all been very generous, taking me in and giving me a place among this army. I owe you all my life.”

“Nah, don’t mention it,” Hideyoshi said cheerily, slapping him on the shoulder and then wincing at how hard that shoulder was. “Just take Lord Nobunaga’s advice: live. That’s all he wants of you.”

The smiles of these officers – except Kanbei, though his face lightened a little – made Ping blush a little and lower his gaze. “Then, I suppose I will have to do just that. Though, it won't be hard if we're not likely to see battle anytime soon.”

The others looked among each other. “Well, I can't say that we won't,” Mitsuhide admitted, his gaze wandering to Kanbei. “Though yes, this camp is intended to serve as a place for us to rest for a while, and allow messages and information to reach us. We are not far from at least two or three places where battles have taken place in the recent past, it would not be a mistake to think that another might happen in the same place.”

Kanbei understood that look well, and closed his eyes with a sigh. “Lord Nobunaga is not planning to assault any of Orochi's strongholds nearby. Not unless we receive information in the coming days that would change his mind.”

“Ohhh, I see,” Hideyoshi said knowingly, rubbing at his little beard. “He's waiting for a certain someone to get in touch, I guess.”

“Really? Who?” Ping wondered.

“Nobody you'd know,” Hideyoshi grinned. “Come on, Guan Ping, let's see if they've got dinner ready yet.”

Ping knew when it was time to let the strategists talk amongst themselves, so he agreed with a shrug and followed Toyotomi across the camp. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something brewing, but it usually was his place to simply wait and take up arms when called for. Around Oda, he felt even more like he shouldn't try to do the same amount of thinking as the tacticians, and for now, such a plan was not leading him astray. As cold, calm, and deliberate as Oda was, he also had not done anything to shake Ping's trust in him. At least he had Toyotomi to be friendly and personable enough for everyone, he more than made up for the inscrutability of Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, and Kanbei combined. Not to mention, the man had impeccable timing when it came to sniffing out a meal.

Much further away from the encampments at or near Kawanakajima, the Wei army finally had some time to rest and regroup. After Tianshui, there had been no new orders for Cao Pi to attend to, and so he finally pulled all the way back to Jianye Castle and reveled in the ability to send out some of his generals to attend to smaller conflicts without him. Considering the new alliance Da Ji had saddled him with, he was rather glad for the time to get used to having an unpleasant shadow. At the moment, that red-headed shadow lurked just over his shoulder as Cao Pi sat perusing recent missives and spy intelligence, not interfering but not helping much either. Over the past few weeks, Cao Pi had continued to snipe at Mitsunari at every available opportunity, but he had not denied the strategist anything he needed, personally or professionally. He had his own quarters in the castle, on par with the generals of Wei, and shared in every scout report, briefing, and strategy session. That is, aside from a couple of personal letters that Cao Pi swore were personal. As with the alliance itself, it seemed that the young lord of Wei was taking his partnership with Ishida seriously, even if he showed what he really thought of it on occasion with just the right look or snippy comment. At least Mitsunari gave as good as he got, and it wasn't long before castle servants and foot soldiers were gossiping amongst themselves about how soon the two might come to blows. Today, at least, he was quiet, and bided his time until he was needed, and this time patience paid off. Cao Pi handed him the message he had been studying without a word and moved on to the next. They probably would have worked through the entire backlog of sentry missives had a servant not entered and dropped to his knee in reverence. Cao Pi glanced up at the intrusion. “What is it?”

“My lord...Master Zhang He has returned,” the servant reported.

“Zhang He?” Cao Pi sat up in interest. “Send him in as soon as he's ready.”

The servant ducked and bowed his way out. Mitsunari lowered the scroll he had been reading. “I take it you weren't expecting this.”

“Thank you for stating the obvious.” Pi got up from behind his desk and brushed himself down before moving around to collect the scouting reports and make some sense of them. “If you're finished with that, I have more important things to concern myself with at the moment.”

Frowning, Mitsunari rolled up the scroll and handed it back. “He's the one who was down south in Nanzhong, wasn't he? The one who Da Ji wanted you to go and read the riot act to for deciding he just didn't want to fight?”

“Oh, so you do remember.” Cao Pi arranged the scrolls as he desired on the corner of the desk, for easy reference later. “Then you'll also remember that, as I suspected, a letter from my hand was enough to quiet his protests. Nothing has been said about Nanzhong since then, unless you found something in those reports that I missed.”

“No, nothing. As you well know.” Ishida came around the corner of the desk as well, placing himself near but not too near the lord of Wei. “Which means I'm not leaving this room until we hear his report.”

Cao Pi made a face, but did not protest. “Just keep your mouth shut. This is likely to be a Wei matter, and nothing Orochi will care to hear about, but if you feel that you need to hear it anyway, by all means. I wouldn't want you feeling left out.”

Mitsunari rolled his eyes at the sarcasm, but there was no time for another comeback, as the graceful general sashayed through the door, his eyes lighting up at what he found in the chamber. “Ah! How long has it been, my lord?” he greeted Cao Pi, giving him a quick bow with fist over heart. “Far too long!”

“Zhang He,” Pi said in return with only the slightest, cool smile. “I see that the campaigns to the south haven't dampened your mood at all.”

“Ugh, it was dreadful. Dreadful!” He complained. “All that humidity was absolutely awful for my beautiful hair. And in the end we accomplished nothing, so what was I even there for, I ask you? That fool Sima Yi had no idea what he was doing.”

Cao Pi's smile became nearly cutting. He gestured to one of the ornate chairs opposite the desk. “Come, sit. You must tell me all about it. Ishida,” he added to the man behind him, “have the servants bring refreshment for us all.”

Mitsunari was not about to snipe back in front of a subordinate, but gave Cao Pi a displeased look before going to do as ordered. Zhang He took the offered chair, sitting primly before his lord. “Where did you pick up that adorable lap dog?” he wondered with a cool smile of his own.

“Unfortunately, he comes as baggage along with the orders from Orochi's strategist,” Pi sighed, going back around the desk to his seat. “If I don't wish to have a horde of snakes breathing down my neck, I have to put up with Ishida doing so instead.”

“He's very pretty,” He smirked.

“If you like that sort of thing.” Cao Pi closed his mouth just in time, as Mitsunari glided back in and took up his proper position. “Now, tell me, Zhang He. You received my letter?”

He sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. “Yes, yes, of course I did, and as you can see, I listened to your advice, Lord Zihuan. I kept my complaints to myself, and did what Sima Yi asked, even if it was completely ill-advised and came to nothing.”

“Strange, that a strategist of his caliber could make so many mistakes,” Ishida remarked, not bothering to veil his sarcasm. “Da Ji was always saying he was doing well down south.”

Zhang He lifted his eyes to regard the Wa strategist, a little smirk of his own on his lips. “I'm sure she would say so, if he was doing exactly what she ordered him to do. The Nanman are not to be underestimated, but so far, that's exactly what Orochi has done.” He grew slightly serious, then, turning his attention fully on Cao Pi. “You know my feelings on serving that snake, so I won't fill your ears with more of it. As for Sima Yi, I suppose I can't really fault him for merely trying to make the best of what he was given. Until you sent your kinsman with the letter for me, he had only myself and Xu Shu to really carry out his orders. Oh, and the lady Daqiao,” he added with a cute smile. “Though she was sent to us by the main army. Not to dismiss my efforts, I did everything in my power, but we were extremely short-handed. I expect any commander would have had trouble subjugating the barbarians with so few competent generals and a handful of incompetent ones.”

Cao Pi's eyebrows twitched at the mention of the lady of Wu. “I see. Then, does that mean the campaign against the Nanman is over?”

“I believe the report called it 'suspended,'” He said smartly. “I won't be surprised to see it taken up again, but I'm sure it will be too late, then.”

“What do you mean?” Ishida broke in.

He cast him an idle look. “Anyone from our time could tell you that Zhuge Liang of Shu was the one who masterminded an alliance with the Nanman. So, it really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone – including Sima Yi – that men of Shu came to visit not too long ago. I expect that the next time anyone launches an attack on the barbarians, they'll find all the missing generals of Shu hiding out in the jungle waiting for them.”

Cao Pi laced his fingers together and leaned eagerly on his desk. “Men of Shu? Who?”

Zhang He twirled a lock of his luxurious hair around a finger. “Jiang Wei and Zhao Yun.”

The lord of Wei let out a low, quiet sound of frustration, a growl stifled behind his teeth. “I knew we had not heard the last of him,” he breathed. “Cao Ren's mistake is going to cost us.”

Zhang He smiled again. “Thank you for not mentioning my own, my lord.”

“You were not the one in charge of security at that castle,” Pi reminded him. “True, you did fail to stop the escape, but had Cao Ren done his duty properly, there wouldn't have been an escape to stop.”

He's mouth twitched as if to take back that smile. “Yes. Well. Be that as it may, I think it only logical that the Nanman still have their alliance with Shu, so we should proceed from here expecting it.”

“The Nanman aren't a priority,” Ishida reported. “That's why the mission was suspended. It's pointless to waste time and resources when they aren't actually forming a resistance down there. Expect Da Ji to turn her attention there after the Oda Resistance nearer to home has been dealt with.”

“What is it with her, anyway?” Zhang He wondered. “Granted, I never met her, she only ever sent Sima Yi messages to do this or that. But I got the feeling he didn't really want to go against her orders for any reason, even when he could see that it wasn't working.”

“Pray you don't have to meet her,” Cao Pi said irritably. “She is a demon, a fox, who likes to toy with things when Orochi lets her. And lately, he has been letting her get away with a lot.”

“He probably doesn't even know about the Nanman,” Mitsunari put in. “Or if he does, he likely thought they weren't worth his time.”

Pi glanced back at him. “Just how much do you know about the goings-on between our overlord and his strategist, Ishida?”

Mitsunari held his gaze for a moment before sighing. “Not much, since she sent me along with you. I honestly don't know what he's doing at Koshi Castle, or why we haven't seen him. But as yet, our forces have taken or held nearly every fortress, the only one we've lost was Honnoji. The Resistance has been put down and scattered in every battle so far. It isn't as though Orochi's army is losing ground or failing to suppress the rebellion.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Pi sniffed before turning back to Zhang He. “Then, what of Sima Yi himself? He didn't come with you, did he?”

“No, no,” He assured. “He said he was going to meet up with his son at some fortress they've been holding somewhere else. I only brought the lovely Lady Daqiao back with me – I hope you don't mind putting her up for a few days, until she can be escorted properly back to wherever the Wu army is keeping themselves.”

Cao Pi shook his head briefly. “We will be honored to have two beautiful flowers grace our presence. And I'm sure Sun Ce will be rather grateful that we looked after his wife for him, since he seems unable to do so.”

Zhang He beamed. “Oh, you do flatter me so, my lord! I thank you. Daqiao and I have gotten to be rather close as of late, whiling away the long and boring hours in that dreadful swamp together. She knows her way around hair ornaments and taking care of one's skin.”

His lord gave him a droll look. “Why am I not surprised? Very well, I will see to it that she is given quarters near yours until we can send word to the Wu army.”

The castle servants shuffled quietly in at that point, bringing with them wine and refreshments as requested. When all of them had been served, Zhang He raised his cup to his lord before draining it. “Oh, how I've missed the luxuries of a proper castle. This is quite a nice one, good choice in occupying it. You won't send me out to the jungles again, will you, Lord Zihuan? I would much rather ride alongside yourself and the Lady Zhenji. She appreciates my dancing more than anyone else.”

Pi smiled over the rim of his cup at the way He addressed him, respectfully using his style name. “I feel as though you are an asset my army can no longer do without, Lord Zhang He,” he teased back. “If I send you off with my lady wife, I'm sure both of you will be very happy. At least, we haven't had reason to march out for a while, so make the most of your respite. I'm sure the fighting will resume anew the next time Oda makes a move.”

Mitsunari turned away from them, gazing out the window without taking a sip of his drink. Zhang He sat back and waved a hand idly in the air. “So this Oda fellow is the one actually gathering a resistance army? What is he like, have you seen him on the field?”

Cao Pi's face went stony for a moment. “Yes,” he replied, his voice practiced and even. “I have clashed with him before. He could be interesting. Then again, he could just as well be all show. I haven't heard that he's actually managed to gather much in the way of an army, just a couple of stray dogs from Shu and that's about it.”

“Shu seems to have borne the brunt of Orochi's wrath,” He mused over another cup of wine. “They're scattered all over the place, not worth much of anything.”

“Your sympathy is misplaced,” Pi sniffed. “The ones you should feel pity for are Wu. They have neither their freedom nor their dignity. The men of Shu may be little more than strays, wandering leaderless, but they are free to be thorns in our sides.”

Mitsunari turned around and placed his untouched cup on the tray on the desk, and then continued on out of the room. “If you don’t need me, I have some things that need to be taken care of elsewhere.”

Cao Pi said nothing. Zhang He watched the strategist go, perhaps appreciating the sight a bit too much. “I wonder what got into him, all of a sudden?”

“I don't really care.” Pi nodded toward his general. “You, at least, understand what must not be said in front of him.”

“I had a feeling,” He smirked. “Unfortunately, I don't have much else to report for your ears only, my lord. Except that, despite his failure to conquer the Nanman, Sima Yi is still a favorite of Da Ji. Why, I couldn't say. But he was the one who proposed dropping the southern campaign for now, and she listened.”

“Interesting.” Pi set down his cup and sat back in his chair, turning his gaze toward the ceiling as he mulled things over. “I believe we are in a good position to simply bide our time. The first rumblings of the Resistance have died down, given their lack of success, but I doubt we've seen their true strength yet. It will rise up again, so sit tight and relax for now. You may not get many chances like this in the future.”

“So noted.” Zhang He also set his cup down, dropping the businesslike air and turning unusually solemn. “I haven't yet expressed my condolences, for your father. When Cao Ren told me, I was shocked. None of us ever thought the Hero of Chaos could be so vulnerable.”

Pi's gaze remained focused on the ceiling. “Appreciated, but I have no need for such things, Junyi,” he said flatly.

“So cold,” He said gently. “I hesitate to ask, but...has there been word at all of my dear friend Xiahou Yuan?”

Cao Pi finally looked his way. “I fought him, in a small skirmish a while ago. He had taken up with some ragtag fellows who were bothering the Orochi army, trying to waylay supply trains like bandits. He fled the field, and I have heard nothing since.” He paused, and then thought to add, “No reports have come to my eyes or ears of Xiahou Dun, either.”

Zhang He sagged in his chair. “I see. Thank you for telling me so honestly. It is a shame, that our lord's cousins are not here with us in our time of need, but I suppose if they witnessed Orochi's destruction for themselves, they can't be faulted for not wanting to take up arms on his side. I also wish I didn't have to ally myself with that foul snake.”

Pi harrumphed a little. “I sincerely hope you don't believe that I am cheerfully enjoying it myself.”

“Truly? It is nearly impossible to tell what you're thinking, Zihuan,” He chided him. “None of us have ever been able to read you.”

“Good.” Cao Pi pushed himself to his feet. “Even if we are a castle at rest, and the army has stood down, in this world we are never truly able to let down our guard. We must remain cautious, no matter what – or who we might be around.” He gestured, then, curling his hand gently. “Come, let us find you suitable quarters. I will have a feast set up for tonight, so we can all have the tiniest moment to relax together.”

“Is your lady wife here, too?”

“And she has her flute.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Zhang He shot to his feet, regaining his poise and grace. “Being here among old friends and in your service again is something worth dancing about. I will ask Lady Zhenji to play for me, tonight.”

Cao Pi allowed himself a moment of genuine joy, smiling at his comrade's enthusiasm. His strategic mind was pleased to acquire another general, one loyal and exceptionally intelligent, but his heart was simply glad to have the overzealous He around again to lighten the mood a little. Sima Yi's failure was good for something, at least.

  


Within the week, the tenuous peace in the river valley of Kawanakajima finally ended, though not through any effort on Oda Nobunaga’s part. A day came when his retainers thought he was going to order them to prepare to break camp and move on, but instead, he had them send scouts out through the hills searching for unusual troop movements. As if on cue, several came back reporting that branches of the Orochi army were on the move, passing through the area and seemingly due to stop over at the garrison at Kawanakajima. From then on, the officers were told to stand ready, and more than once Guan Ping himself stood on sentry duty, watching through the gaps in the trees for these armies to pass and meet. For those defending the garrison, the same news didn’t make anyone very happy. Supplies were tight enough as it was, but to be asked to house and entertain not one but two favored warlords of Orochi’s army was almost too much. Sima Yi abruptly changed the policy his son had been maintaining, and ordered his men to raid the farms and holdings of any peasants in the area to secure the necessary supplies. Sima Zhao refused to participate, and slipped away from his bodyguards when it was his turn to ride out and oversee the shakedown, leaving it all in his brother’s hands. He didn’t care that Dong Zhuo would likely raise a massive fuss if he couldn’t be given a proper feast, and probably bring his complaints to Da Ji who would in turn make life difficult for the Sima family and their retainers. Zhao had only ever heard rumors of the odious tyrant who had been killed by Lu Bu before he was even born, and so found himself siding with the peasants on this one. But there was little he could do, himself, besides go off riding on his own, releasing his frustrations with a long, rambling ride through the forest. It brought him to Zenkouji once more, so he decided to hide out for the rest of the afternoon in the temple, finding it cool and shaded and quiet, the perfect seclusion for a nap.

Tales of the Wei army oppressing peasants and stealing their meager food supplies did not fall on deaf ears. A pair of horsemen rode through later that day, and would not accept so much as a cup of their precious water once they heard what had happened. Traveling alone without any soldiers to call their own, Ma Chao and Ma Dai had been hoping to find information or at least a moment's rest, here, but as they dismounted and listened to the villagers' complaints, they knew they would get neither. Ma Dai was gentle and patient and reassured the people that everything would be fine, but his cousin grew more and more irate the more he heard, his eyes shadowed beneath his helm glittering with fury. He kept it contained, though, until the two of them could withdraw a bit and consult between themselves without eavesdroppers. Beyond the ramshackle huts, Ma Chao banged the end of his spear into the ground hard enough to drive the pommel into the soft, dry dirt. “Accursed snakes!” he seethed. “Can they not leave well enough alone, they have to take food from the mouths of the innocent, too?”

“Easy, young master,” Ma Dai encouraged, gesturing with his hands for him to calm down, and keep it down as well. They didn't want the peasants overhearing them if they argued. “I know how you feel, but we can't go off powered by anger alone. We have to be smart about this.”

Taking a deep breath, Chao calmed himself just enough to be able to discuss the matter. “What, then, do you propose?”

“Well, obviously we have to do _some_ thing,” Dai reasoned. “Without intervention, these people are going to starve – if they aren't killed by the fighting, first. If there is a troop from the Orochi army holed up nearby, it won't be long before battle sweeps right through here.”

“I would ride right in and slay every last one of them myself,” Ma Chao grumbled, “but the two of us alone against an army is not the wisest plan, I know.”

“Perhaps not, but open battle isn't always the only way,” Dai said smartly. He took a step closer to his cousin to lower his voice even more. “From the descriptions of the soldiers we were given, I think I know exactly who we would be up against.”

Ma Chao raised an eyebrow at his closeness, and the slight smirk starting to grow on his kinsman's face. “Oh?”

“The man with the lance, I'm sure is Deng Ai. Carrying a sort of cannon? Likely Guo Huai. If that's true, that makes the pompous one with armor Zhong Hui. They are all cohorts of the Sima clan,” Dai explained, having fought all of them endlessly in his time. “And you know what that means, I'm sure.”

“Sima Yi,” Chao growled. “He _is_ the sort that would take from peasants and not care whether they are left starving.”

“That one old man said they were told that the supplies were needed to feed advancing troops,” Dai went on. “Reinforcements must be on their way. If we want to act, we should do it quickly, before those reinforcements show up and make things even more difficult for us. We are brave and valiant,” he added with a sad sort of smile, “but two of us against the bulk of the Orochi army is sure to be a disaster.”

Chao nodded. “If we are to fight, we must do it against fewer officers, before they are prepared.”

“Or, we could forego fighting at all.” Ma Dai swept a hand to indicate the drought-stricken ground on which they stood. “Face it, cousin, this little tract of land is no good for farming. You and I know that, even these people know it but they refuse to move because they have nowhere to go. Between the danger and the poor soil, they are doomed if they stay.”

“They should evacuate,” Chao said, to summarize and agree with the assessment. “You are suggesting we lead them away from here?”

“If not us, then who?” Dai shrugged. “We may not have anything to share with them, but we have our strength, and that may be just enough. If they have an armed escort, they may be more inclined to set out.”

Ma Chao didn't need long to mull it over, and then he nodded firmly. “Let's do it. The sooner, the better. Today, yet, if we can.”

“Are you absolutely sure, Mengqi?” Dai asked. “We have no idea where a better, safer land may be or how long it will take to escort a bunch of villagers on foot to it. We could be saddled with their protection for some time.”

“It is worth it, to protect them from the greedy fingers of the Orochi army,” Ma Chao said firmly, gripping his spear tightly. “Be it the Sima clan, or the traitors of Wu, or anyone else fighting for that demon. These peasants have done nothing to earn this kind of punishment, they were not meant to suffer for our battles.”

“As long as you're sure.” Ma Dai smiled warmly. He knew his kinsman's heart, far too well, and knew that sometimes his heart's need overwhelmed his good sense. It was his job to be Ma Chao's sensible guide. He was sure, though, that Ma Chao understood the situation fully, in which case, he was entirely on board. He rapped his knuckles against his cousin's armored chest. “I have no doubt that the mighty Tiger General here will give his all to protect these poor folks. I'm glad to be riding with him.”

Chao gave him a look as if to question all that flattery, but it melted into a smile in return. “You have been at my side all this time, and never complained about the hardship. I haven't thanked you enough, yet.”

“Say nothing of it,” Dai said cheerfully. “What are cousins for? Besides, someone has to keep you from grumbling all the time. Come, now, let's go back and try to talk these people into making a run for it.”

Not surprisingly, it was a hard sell, but Ma Dai was even more charismatic than his cousin, and in the end managed to convince the peasants that staying here in this dry, dusty land would do them no good, particularly if no one else happened along to give them any aid. With the Orochi army nearby and reinforcements on the way, the only relief awaiting them was death. Time was of the essence, so Ma Chao urged them to collect what few possessions they had and prepare to move out. The hilly land sloped down from there, indicating a river nearby, so they made the plan to head down and strike the river, and then follow it through the lowlands where it would be easier for people on foot to travel. Little did they know that this path would lead them straight into the arms of the battle they were trying to avoid.

The movement of people and horses through the trees did not go unnoticed, especially when they found open ground and the dust began to rise from their passage. The sentries from the Wei army were roaming further afield again, under orders to watch for the coming reinforcements, but they spotted the peasants first. Sima Zhao rode into the garrison just as the messages were coming in, and intercepted them before they could get to his father. “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he said to the lead scout who insisted that the commander know, “but they're just peasants. What harm can they do? They're not actually carrying weapons, are they? Let them pass.”

“But, sir...”

“My lord!” Yet another sentry raced in, and screeched to a stop in order to kneel before Zhao since he happened to be right there. “Further news of the force passing through the forest...”

“What force?” Zhao retorted with a magnificent roll of his eyes that involved his whole head. “They're peasants, not an army!”

“My lord, they are being led by officers of Shu!” the newest sentry yelped. “The Tiger General Ma Chao is at their head!”

That was much different news, and changed things dramatically. Zhao stood blinking for a moment, and then immediately turned back to his horse and mounted up. “Bring me to a spot where I can have a look for myself.”

The sentry was out of breath, so the lead scout took over this order, trotting out of the garrison and down the hill to guide Sima Zhao to where they were generally staking their outposts in order to spy on all the trails through the woodlands around Kawanakajima. There were quite a few, and some of them still bore the marks of rampaging armies from months ago. On a hillside some distance from the main garrison, there was a concealed thicket where the scouts usually sat to watch the river, and here Zhao dismounted, creeping up through the dry grass to have a look for himself and verify the reports. It didn't take long, for Ma Chao himself sat astride his own horse right at the river's edge, watching over the groups of peasants as they came down to fill flasks and skins with water from the river. He looked around, but did not seem to have spotted the spies watching him in turn. Zhao let out a soft, worried sigh and then inched back to his horse. Unfortunately, that kind of information had to be relayed to his father, after all. Yet, as he tucked a foot into a stirrup, he glanced over his shoulder at the scout. “Run back to the garrison and give all your reports to Lord Sima Yi. Hurry. I'll be along in a moment, I want to see something for myself.” 

“Yes, my lord.” The scout nodded and bowed before taking off back across the landscape. Zhao swung into the saddle and watched him go, and then guided his horse gently to pick its way through the underbrush downhill to the river. He was taking a risk, he knew, but his heart led him in a way he couldn't ignore. If he were found out, later, he would get the worst lecture from his father, if not outright punishment. But he was sure of this, and hoped that his family would understand. Or, at least, that they wouldn't find out.

Ma Chao was on the alert, doubly so while their collection of peasants paused to get all the water they might need for a long journey. He heard the rustle of something large moving through the trees and whipped the Silver Stallion around into an attack position. His hand tensed on the reins, making his horse perk up and toss its head anxiously. The people nearest him shrank back, alarmed, while he placed himself as a shield between them and whatever was coming for them. A tree branch swayed, and then another rider came slowly out toward them, the horse plodding slowly. Ma Chao very nearly charged, but then the other rider raised his hands, showing that he was not armed nor challenging. It didn't make the Shu general lower his spear, however. “Halt where you are and identify yourself,” he said in a low and gruff tone.

The horse came to a stop, though its rider didn't lower his hands. “I mean no harm,” he said in the same quiet tone. “My name is Sima Zhao, I am...”

“I know who you are,” Ma Chao bristled. “At the very least, who your father is.”

“Well, that saves me some trouble.” Zhao wiggled his fingers as extra proof that he hadn't drawn his sword. “Honest, I'm not here for a fight. I want to talk. May I?”

There was a long pause while the general thought it over, and then he huffed a little snort and let the tip of the spear lower to the ground. “Make it quick, or I will not hesitate to teach you a lesson.”

“Fair enough.” Zhao rested his hands on the pommel of his saddle, still within view. “I came to warn you that our sentries have spotted you, and they've already gone to report to my father. It won't be long before he sends out troops to stop you.”

Chao's eyes narrowed. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I don't believe the scouts, I don't think you're an army.” Zhao looked past him toward the people hiding in the bushes. “It's those peasants that were trying to keep their village alive, right?”

“Peasants you robbed of their supplies to feed your army!” Chao snarled at him.

“I had nothing to do with that!” Zhao shot back. “I was in command of this outpost for weeks before my father came back, I left the peasants alone and let them do as they pleased. It's my father who ordered them to turn over their food stores to the Orochi army. He wouldn't listen to a word I said, so I refused to take part in the raid.”

“Is that supposed to excuse this barbarian behavior?” Ma Chao accused. “Some small comfort for yourself that at least you didn't participate.”

“I'm not making excuses for myself,” Zhao said with a shake of his head. “There isn't time to argue about this, you have to get these people out of here.”

“That was what I was trying to do until you arrived.”

“No, listen.” Zhao pointed through the trees to the east, along the river's course. “You're not going to be able to slip through any longer, our forces will be on you too quickly and we have reinforcements arriving soon. Your only hope is to get these people to a secure location where they can be hidden until the pressure is off, where you can defend them if necessary.”

Ma Dai moved his horse up along the line to listen to this conversation, or back his cousin up if needed, his weapon slung over a shoulder. “Is there such a location, then?”

Sima Zhao nodded. “It means you'll have to cross the river into the area called Kawanakajima, but there is a temple on the far side of the forest. I've been there, it's actually a pretty decent place to hole up. Some of my men know about it, but we have no troops stationed there. If you hurry, you can get there and barricade yourselves in, and escape later when things have quieted down.”

“And why should we trust you?” Ma Chao said sternly. “How do we know this isn't a ploy to get us into an easier position from which to wipe us out?”

“You probably don't have much reason,” Zhao murmured. “But if nothing else, trust me because I am not my father.” His warm brown eyes hardened. “I don't like being part of the Orochi army, but I have no choice. I'm stuck following orders. The least I can do to prevent this from getting any worse is warn you. Dong Zhuo is coming, and he is supposed to be far worse than my father in terms of showing mercy.”

Chao's eyes widened. He knew too well what that meant for them. “Dai, get the people on their feet and moving,” he ordered over his shoulder. “Quickly, but quietly.” He turned back to Zhao, studying him for the briefest moment. “You cannot come with us to show us the way?”

“No. I can't, I'm not strong enough to break away right now,” Zhao said sadly, closing his eyes. “I didn't even really think this through, I came to you because I felt like I had to. If I disappear now, it could put my wife and others in jeopardy.” He lifted his head, though he did his best not to meet the eyes of any of the peasants shuffling past. “I can tell you this much. You'll come out of the trees onto open ground, that's most likely where you'll meet resistance. You won't have any cover, but it'll be easier to fight off an attack there. Cross the last bridge and head straight to the palisade with the broken gate, the trail to the temple of Zenkouji starts right through there. It's a bit of a maze, but once you're into the trees you should be all right.”

“Very well.” Ma Chao changed his grip on his spear, swinging into position to fight while mounted. “I am placing my trust in you, Sima Zhao. If I find it broken, I will find you on the field and repay you for every drop of innocent blood spilled.”

“That's fair.” Zhao gathered up the reins and made to go. “It's an honor to meet you, Lord Ma Chao. I've heard great things about the Tiger Generals of Shu.” He tapped his fingers to his forehead in a salute and turned his horse, heading back the way he had come without further word, his back to his would-be foe in a show of equal trust. Ma Chao let him go, and then brought up the rear of the exodus, protecting the peasants as they fled. If they were to be attacked, he would not let anyone catch them from behind and pick them off – he would personally see to it that every last civilian retreated safely.

Sima Zhao rode back across the shoulders of the hills to the main garrison, arriving to find the place full of action as soldiers raced to arm themselves and form up to await orders. As he dismounted, his brother stalked up to him, his coat fluttering behind him in his wake. “There you are! Where have you been, Zhao? A peasant army is approaching from the west, we have orders.”

“An army, really?” Zhao said, feigning shock and amazement. “Oh my, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I was taking a ride to clear my head. Is it a large army?”

“That is unclear as of yet, but we have word that officers of Shu may be leading them,” Sima Shi said curtly. “The ones who had tried to form a resistance cell a while back. If they're up to their old tricks, then it's up to us to stop them.”

“Got it. What's the plan?”

Shi looked around the compound at the mayhem of soldiers. “Father received word that both Dong Zhuo's troop and the one led by Tokugawa are approaching, they are within messenger distance and can close to pincer the army before it gets too far along. If their intent is to attack us here at Kawanakajima, they will have our reinforcements at their rear in no time.”

Zhao's shock became genuine, hearing that. _Oh no, those people...they'll never make it._ He skillfully hid it, though, and chose to trust in Ma Chao being every bit as legendary as he was made out to be. “I see. What about us, what are our orders?”

Shi didn't seem to notice his flustering. “We are to wait, it may not even be necessary for us to take the field. The first wave will be marching out as soon as the army makes an attempt to cross the river.”

“What a pain,” Zhao sighed. “Gearing up just to sit here and wait to see whether or not we'll even be needed. Fine, fine,” he added quickly before his brother could scold him for complaining, “I'll get ready. You never can be too careful, right?”

Shi's lips twisted, but he bit back any retorts for his brother. “Yes, do keep that in mind, Zishang,” he murmured. “Father will be watching us both to see how we perform in this skirmish.”

“Wonderful.” His sarcasm was back in force. Zhao clapped his brother on the shoulder as he moved past him, going to clean up after his dusty ride and ensure that he had his sword ready. He didn't want to fight those poor people, but even worse, he didn't want them to be slaughtered by other forces before he even had a chance to step out onto the battlefield. Everything was up to chance, now, and the strength of Ma Chao.

With Ma Dai leading, the peasants timidly stepped out from the safety of the trees and started across the open ground, making their way as quickly as they knew how. There were far too many elderly and infirm among them, though, so “quickly” was still very slow. Ma Dai watched them with a worried look on his face, unable to hurry them along even though he knew they were exposed to attack. His cousin rode out at the tail end of the line of peasants, guarding the rear, just as the foremost reached the bridge, and a shout went up from across the river. The signal had been given, and the first group of lower-ranked officers charged out to launch an attack on the innocent people. “Now!” Ma Dai called to them. “Close up, stay together! Ma Chao and I will handle this, stay in a tight group and don't stray!”

The two cavalrymen of Xiliang spurred forward, placing themselves between the peasants and the attack. The first line of Wei soldiers went down, toppled by the swings of two deadly polearms. Ma Dai's long brush did as much damage as the Silver Stallion, and for a time the pair successfully kept the attackers at bay, but there were more of them coming, and the sight of it had frozen the peasants where they stood, cowering together with the children and the weak to the center of their cluster. A few of the able-bodied men toward the outside carried rakes and scythes and other farm implements, but they had no training and could hardly protect themselves, let alone their families. The Ma cousins rode back and forth, charging every time a cluster of soldiers broke free and came closer, but very soon they would be overwhelmed. Yet, they didn't stop, even if it meant wearing themselves to the point of fatigue. Exhaustion opened them up to making mistakes, which in turn meant death for the innocents behind them.

Another horse charged up from behind, Ma Chao saw it coming at the last second out of the corner of his eye and whirled to meet the attacker, spear held high and a war cry on his lips. Just before weapons connected, he heard a familiar voice. “Lord Ma Chao! No, wait, it's me!”

The spear swung wide, missing its mark, as Mengqi realized before it was too late that an ally had materialized out of nowhere. “Guan Ping?” he breathed in shock.

The young warrior lowered his massive blade as well, grinning widely. “I was right, it was you protecting the villagers! Don't worry, we're here to help.”

“We...?” Ma Chao glanced aside as several more warriors barreled past him and lit straight into the attacking Wei soldiers, driving them away from the cluster of peasants trapped in their fear in the middle of the open field. In no time, they had made a perimeter around the villagers, fending off any ill-thought designs at trying to get past them or prolong the fight. Last of all, the commander of this new contingent rode up alongside Guan Ping, his icy expression easing slightly as he found that they had all joined up successfully. Ma Chao couldn't help but stare, though he realized very quickly that this was not his most hated enemy after all, he only looked like him. “Then, you are allies,” he realized.

“And you are the famed general Ma Chao,” Oda said smoothly. “I am Oda Nobunaga, and I offer you my hand.”

Chao held his gaze for a long moment. “But, I am not sure whether I would be wise to take it,” he said in return. “Though you have one of my compatriot's sons in your ranks, that bodes well.”

“I'm so glad you're safe, Lord Ma Chao,” Ping said brightly.

“Yes, and I'm glad to see you, too!” he responded. “But greetings can wait. These people are in danger, we must fight our way to freedom.”

“I presume you have a plan, and are not simply marching these folks across a battlefield for fun,” Oda purred.

Ma Chao gestured with a curt nod of his head. “We are trying to evacuate the villagers to the temple beyond the trees. Please, lend me your aid, if you will.”

“That shouldn't be hard,” Ping said.

“Except that they are afraid to move, and what's worse, we have heard that Orochi reinforcements are on the way,” Chao said urgently.

“Indeed, they are,” Oda murmured. He whistled, then, and from among the encircling perimeter, two more officers rode back toward him. “Mitsuhide. Take your men and ride to that rendezvous point we agreed on to forestall the eastward army. Hideyoshi, gather yours and backtrack to where we came in to head off Tokugawa.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Right you are, my lord!”

The majority of the Wei soldiers had been driven back across the river, so it was relatively easy for the assigned men to split off with their commanders and head off in opposite directions, clearly having had some warning in advance of this development and knowing where to go. The quiet that immediately fell around them had the intended effect on the peasants, allowing them to rouse themselves and begin to feel like they might be safe for the moment. The Ma cousins faced up to their rescuers while Kuroda Kanbei marched past them and stood on lookout for the next wave. “You know how to reach Zenkouji, then, do you?” Oda wondered of the cousins.

“Yes, we received information that it would be a safe place for these people until battle is over,” Ma Chao replied. “Was that information in error?”

“Not at all. Given the situation, that is rather clever,” the warlord said with some interest. “I will assist you, then. We will escort these people to the temple and set a protection over them, before I come back and destroy whoever has taken control of Kawanakajima.”

“That would be Sima Yi, strategist to the lords of Wei,” Ma Dai told him.

Oda's lip curled in a small sneer. “Is that so? We will deal with that matter shortly, then.” He paused as the ring of weapons-clash reached them from the hillsides to both sides, and the civilians looked fearfully away at the places where it seemed battle had been rejoined. “Ah, right on schedule. Tokugawa and Dong Zhuo have arrived. Kanbei, are things in hand, here?”

The shadowy strategist glanced back at him. “It would not do to tarry, my lord. But I doubt these people will move again until the outside threats have been dealt with.”

“So be it, then. Ma Chao, will you ride with me?”

Chao straightened up in the saddle, brandishing his spear. “Of course. There is no justice in this battle, the enemy must be driven off.”

“Come, then. Guan Ping, protect the villagers.” And with that, Nobunaga wheeled his horse and raced back up into the hills, making for the larger force that Dong Zhuo had brought from the east. Ma Chao nodded at Ma Dai to allow him to remain there with their saviors and spurred his horse to follow.

Guan Ping came alongside Ma Dai, beaming happily at him in spite of the battle going on around them. Dai laughed with just as much pleasure. “Fancy running into you here, Guan Ping! I was starting to think we had gotten ourselves in over our heads for once.”

“I'm glad we made it in time,” Ping enthused. “We didn't know you and Ma Chao were here, at all, but now that we've found you, I'm not surprised to see you taking care of civilians.”

“Yeah, we just sort of fell into it earlier today,” Dai shrugged. “ But you know my young master, he can't pass up the chance to do right by the people. Who is this Oda fellow, is he the great resistance leader we've been hearing rumors about?”

“He is...an interesting man,” Ping replied, glancing across the grassy hillsides to where the warriors had ridden off. “He saved my life, and rescued myself and Huang Zhong from where we had been chased by Orochi's men. I have been with him ever since.”

“Oh! So the old man is safe, too. Wonderful!” Dai used the end of his gold-shafted brush to tip his hat back a little. “Well, then. I'd say that whatever fate or luck or really good timing brought us together today has something in mind. Stay alert, though, I don't think we've seen even a portion of the strength Sima Yi has holed up in the southern garrison yet.”

“Right.” Guan Ping maneuvered himself into position near Kanbei, swinging his massive sword down off his shoulder and keeping it poised to meet any attack that may come from the Wei forces still in hiding. Ma Dai rode up alongside him, and together the three of them waited for the rest of the resistance army to return.

The officers serving as retainers and vanguard to Dong Zhuo clearly had not expected reinforcements of the caliber that met them, even if Sima Yi had managed to dispatch a message to alert them to the peasant army's presence. As much as Ma Chao wanted to personally drive his spear through the bulk of the rotund tyrant, Zhuo drew back as soon as he saw the ferocity of the onslaught, and in due order the combined might of the three officers and their troops forced Dong Zhuo's people into retreat. Leaving Mitsuhide there to serve as a wall to blockade their foes from returning, Oda turned and rode to see the outcome of the other half of his army, not waiting for Ma Chao to follow but not surprised at all that he did. Hideyoshi fought with great gusto against Tokugawa, but being as the warlord had none of his retainers along, he too withdrew rather than throw himself into a one-on-one fight with either Toyotomi or Oda himself. It was a better outcome than they could have hoped for, likely due to the surprise factor, but now was not the time to let down their guard. Ordering Toyotomi to guard their backs much as Akechi was elsewhere, the other two rode back to where the peasants waited. Oda cut an imposing figure with his feathered cape and his glowing sword as he loomed over them, an impression that was not at all helped by the dark look on his face. “If you wish to live to see brighter days,” he declared to them, “put your trust in me.”

Several of the peasants looked from him to Ma Chao, who rode up alongside him, and received a nod of approval. They trusted Ma Chao, so if he indicated it was all right, then they would listen. “What, then, is your intention, Lord Oda?” he asked in front of them, so they could hear for themselves. “I intend to get these people to safety, no matter the cost.”

“And so we will,” Oda nodded. “But that will not be the end of it. If any of us wish for peace to come to this world, Orochi’s forces must be driven out of their secure strongholds. I grow weary of watching them enjoy comfort while the people struggle – I think it’s time for control of Kawanakajima to be given to someone else.”

“That means fighting Sima Yi himself, and taking the garrison,” Guan Ping noted.

Ma Chao drew himself up proudly in the saddle. “A task like that is not impossible, not with you here. But it will have to wait until our other task is completed first. We must get moving,” the Shu general added, “before the next batch of assailants can be thrown at us. Come!”

The officers spread out along the line of peasants, doing their best not to overrun them but hastening their retreat at the same time. Oda's forces seemed to know the area much better than the men of Shu, so they led the way, crossing the bridge and cutting up through a palisade that had been battered down in a prior battle and not yet repaired. There, they shuffled order, so Kanbei could lead on foot and the others on horseback could guard their retreat. Yet, before starting down the path, Kanbei asked for two horsemen to join him. “I do not trust these woods,” he intoned. “A man such as Sima Yi would not leave them unguarded, so close to his base.”

“Very well. Guan Ping, and you.” Oda gestured to Ma Dai. “I will join the rearguard with Ma Chao.”

“The name is Ma Dai,” the young man introduced himself, tipping his hat as he rode past the generals. “Nice to meet you.”

Ma Chao had to bite back a smile at his cousin's antics. There was no time for it now. Moments later Kanbei's warning proved pertinent, as soldiers burst out of the underbrush and pounced on the open flank of the line of straggling peasants. They weren't fast enough, as Ma Dai rode them down and smacked them around, but they at least terrified the villagers into picking up the pace. At last, one of them spotted the roof of the temple through the trees and cried out, encouraging the lot of them to break into as much of a run as they could manage. Cursing the poorly-executed ambush, Oda rode to clean up any trace of pursuit first, and then caught up with the peasants as the last few trickled through a broken retaining wall and stumbled their way to the silent, secure temple of Zenkouji. Once they all regrouped again in the courtyard, Ma Chao allowed himself a moment to wilt in the saddle. “At last, the villagers are safe.”

“Indeed,” Oda agreed. “All that is left is to bury their tormentors.”

“And so we shall, now that we are no longer hamstrung.” Chao straightened back up, finding his energy all over again. “Now is the time for Sima Yi and his cohorts to feel the sting of justice!”

“Right, right,” Ma Dai said, breaking in before his cousin could go on a justice tirade, “but someone has to stay here to protect the people we just saved.”

“I will,” Kanbei muttered. “My strategies are no longer needed.”

“I guess I can, too, even though I really want to get out there and fight,” Guan Ping sighed.

“Go ahead, Ping, I can stay back and stand guard,” Ma Dai offered. “I'm sure we all want to fight, but this duty is just as important.”

“Then it's settled. Come, let us put an end to the tyranny of Sima Yi!” Ma Chao hoisted his spear and was off before anyone could agree to join him. Oda had to spur his horse to a gallop to catch up and lead the way back to the river by a much quicker route, before the hot-headed general could get himself lost in the woods.

Even as the escort met back up with the rearguard of Toyotomi and Akechi, the massive gate of the one large garrison that had been stoutly closed the entire battle finally swung open, and a rather large contingent of the Orochi forces poured out. News had reached them too late of the routing of their reinforcements, and the defeated ambush team had only just reported back of their failure to stop a single peasant from escaping. Enraged, Sima Yi dispensed with strategy and simply unleashed the force that had been held back until now. His sons led the charge, with every officer remaining in the garrison leading troops of his own. Oda's own forces clattered across the bridges and met them head-on, and a true battle for control began. They were not merely content with getting the peasants to a safe distance, they were determined to wrest control of Kawanakajima from the Orochi army. The thunder of their clash could be heard as far away as the temple. Ma Chao leaped from his horse right into the thick of it and swung his spear this way and that, clouting Sima Shi out of the saddle and then ferociously battling both Sima sons at the same time. He could tell Zhao was not deliberately going easy on him, so he returned the favor, giving the younger brother quite a beating before delivering the same to his elder brother. Together, the Oda Resistance plowed over every one of the officers and sent the troops scattering, clearing a path for Nobunaga himself to charge right into the garrison, now that it lay open and sparsely-guarded. The only foe remaining was Sima Yi himself, being attended by Wang Yuanji while everyone else rode to the front. She was no match for any of the officers, though Nobunaga was intent on facing Sima Yi personally and ran roughshod over anyone in his way in order to get to his target. He took unusual pleasure in defeating and disarming the noted strategist, who had spent all of his troop strength and had no one left to back him up. When the dust finally cleared at the waning of the day, the Resistance had the victory and a new camp to claim for their own. Several of the Sima clan officers scattered, but Zhao had been captured, and with him now stood his wife and father, the latter of whom could not hide his pure anger and outrage at being treated thus by a rebellion force. He seethed at his captors, turning his ire mainly on their commander. “I swear you will rue this day for all of your pathetic existence!” he snarled.

“Rue the day?” Nobunaga lazily repeated. “I doubt that.”

“You are nothing but a common criminal who steals from peasants,” Mitsuhide put in, pacing past the line of captives to stare at them with some displeasure of his own. “I had hoped to meet a great strategist of the Han, but this is what I find instead? Disappointing.”

Yi glowered at him behind his back, but the two beside him only looked down at the ground. “What will you do with us, then?” Zhao asked quietly.

Mitsuhide turned to look at his commander, to indicate that he had final say in their fates. Oda still sat astride his horse, lording his superiority over his fallen foes through his height advantage. “If you think me to be the kind of man who simply executes his enemies,” he said in his low, dangerous drawl, “then you have much to learn. Still, having to look after prisoners is rather inconvenient, particularly with your allies lurking not far away.” He dismounted, at last, and stalked along the line of prisoners exactly as his retainer had done. “I'm sure your men have fled in search of them already. I think...” He stopped in front of Sima Yi, enjoying the look of dread loathing he was getting. “...you may make a good bargaining chip to keep Orochi off my back for the time being.”

Whether or not he knew Sima Yi wouldn't sass back because he couldn't be sure of his own value to the Orochi army, Nobunaga was pleased to have silenced the strategist with that mere suggestion. He went to Zhao, then, and studied him for a moment. “You seem like a level-headed fellow,” he mused. “Perhaps I can use you.”

Zhao lifted his head proudly and met that gaze, penetrating though it was. “I won't betray my family,” he said with some determination, enough to make Yuanji beside him blink suddenly.

“I wouldn't ask you to.” A sly smile curled Nobunaga's lips. “You will take a message for me, to Tokugawa Ieyasu. He can't have gone far after we whipped him and sent him slinking away. After that, you may return or you may go, I care not.”

Beyond where they stood, Guan Ping gave a small grunt of protest that hardly anyone heard, though beside him, Ma Chao breathed a clear sigh of relief. Neither shared their thoughts. Backed into the corner as he was, Sima Zhao agreed to the terms, and would ride to find Tokugawa as soon as the message could be prepared for him. Sima Yi had no choice, he would be dangled like bait to keep the Orochi army from turning and attacking Kawanakajima again, allowing the peasants they had just rescued the time to make a comfortable and safe exodus to greener pastures. It was all in Oda’s control, and only now did some in his army realize that it had been all along. With that business taken care of, Nobunaga came over to the new generals they had encountered that day, looking quite pleased with himself. “And what of you, my friends? Your work here is complete. Will you continue on to look for more peasants to save?”

“There is no need,” Ma Chao replied. “My heart is moved by the way you reacted to our plight. I see now that one man, or two, can do little against the armies Orochi has at his disposal. If it is no trouble, I should like to pledge my spear to your cause, Lord Oda Nobunaga.”

Oda eyed him for a moment, as if finding it hard to believe that such great, swelling words were sincere. “You may find that I am not as benevolent as you seem to believe,” he warned.

“Nevertheless, you have done what I would do. Whether in the name of justice or something else, I cannot say, but it matters not.” Chao laid a fist over his heart in pledge. “For now, my kinsman and I will ride with you, and pursue an end to Orochi’s reign.”

“That will do.” Oda’s dark eyes shifted to the other men of Shu on either side of him. “Guan Ping, it seems I have collected more of your companions after all. Ma Dai, welcome to my army.”

Dai perked up with a grin. “Oh, so you remember!”

“Dai,” Ma Chao hissed, scolding him for his flippancy.

Night fell rapidly as the resistance army made camp in the vanquished garrison and divided up the captured supplies, so that a proper share could be sent to the peasants hiding in Zenkouji. Some of it was theirs to start, and the rest would be restitution payment that they could take with them when they set out again for a more secure place to live. It was quite dark and late as well when a lone rider was sent out from the garrison to deliver the message as promised, unarmed and forced to find his way with only the light of a sliver of moon to see by. Sima Zhao was thankful, though, that he had escaped with his life, and saved the lives of both his own family as well as the innocent peasants. He followed the suggested path as well as he could, but to his luck the sentries of the Tokugawa troop found him first and escorted him in to their leader. They had retreated some miles from Kawanakajima, resolving to take the situation cautiously, not having much information to go on. A couple of the officers who had been driven out and scattered to the winds had found them already, but Zhao came to them like a miracle, bearing all the information Tokugawa could possibly want or need in order to make wise decisions about his next move. No matter how late the hour, the warlord had this unexpected visitor shown in to his tent and allowed him to sit and rest while he read the missive from Oda. Even without his armor and helm, Tokugawa sat like a mountain, strong and silent, while across the tent Zhao slumped with his head in his hands, unable to keep distressing thoughts from running through his head. Just before he left the compound, Ma Chao had taken the bridle of his horse in hand and escorted the prisoner to the gate, presumably so he could mutter a few words in private, and those words wouldn't leave him alone now. _If you are not your father, then I hope to see it for myself someday. Take care to choose your alliances well, Sima Zhao_. It wasn't as though Zhao had much choice, as long as his family was alive and his father chose, for whatever reason, to serve Orochi, but the great Shu general's words filled him with an unsettled mix of emotions. Certainly, if he had the strength to cut ties with his father and brother and choose his own alliances, he would find welcome in the resistance army, after this. Ma Chao would likely vouch for him. But now was not the time. The Resistance was still new and fresh, and Zhao had seen for himself the size and might of Orochi's army. Neither seemed a safe bet, anymore.

Tokugawa cleared his throat, a noise that snapped Zhao out of his wandering thoughts. “I see,” he concluded at the end of whatever Oda had chosen to write to him. “Well, I know Da Ji would be rather put out if I allowed the Resistance to keep custody of one of her favorite officers. Perhaps it would be wise if the news of his capture did not reach her.” He rolled the letter up and tucked it inside his kimono. “And, seeing as I can no longer carry out my orders since Kawanakajima is no longer under Orochi's control, I suppose I have no choice but to return to the main army. After I secure Sima Yi and his officers, of course.” He set his hands on his knees and studied his visitor for a moment. “You are his second son, then? You may be pleased to know that two of your retainers are recuperating here with me.”

Sima Zhao perked up a little. “Really? You found them...”

“Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, yes. They are safe.”

Zhao's relief was short-lived, at that. “But my brother, and Guo Huai...”

“No doubt they are nearby as well. I will send messengers to Dong Zhuo's army in the morning, to explain to him that we both need to fall back to a different position to regroup. If he finds the missing officers before we do, I'm sure he would be happy to send them to meet you here.”

“...and my father?”

Tokugawa smiled kindly. “Leave that to me. At least, his safety is assured. I cannot vouch for what Da Ji might say to him when she finds out that he managed to lose control of the territory you had done so well to keep secure for so long.”

Zhao wilted again. For all the compliments flying around about his competence, he didn't believe any of them. He only kept Kawanakajima for so long because no one wanted it until today, until they had the bad luck to piss off the commander of the resistance army himself. “Thank you,” he managed to murmur with his head down. “If you'll excuse me, then, my lord...it's late, I don't want to keep you up any longer.”

“Say no more. I will have my men show you to where your countrymen are, and you can get some sleep. I'm sure you need it after a day like today.” Tokugawa rose and stepped over, placing a hand on Zhao's shoulder as he passed to go to the door of the tent and give his men the orders. Closing his eyes, Sima Zhao could only thank whatever fates tied the warlords on both sides together that he had been sent to this man instead of Dong Zhuo. It could have been a far worse day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse of life among the Orochi army, the Shu Resistance, and a little visit with Oda Nobunaga and his growing army.

The ring of swords clashing filled the air around the training grounds, catching the attention of any of the rank-and-file who happened to be around, for the sparring session going on at the moment was worth stopping to watch. It was hard to tell who was putting who through their paces, for the swords were flying so fast that it took a well-trained eye to follow. Zhou Tai held his ground against the determined swings of the much longer sword belonging to Mori Ranmaru, but Ran was doing rather well to keep pace with the older man. The nearby retaining wall was starting to get crowded with an audience, though the best seats in the house were on the stairs overlooking the training grounds, according to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. They sat in the sunshine, enjoying the spectacle while they chatted privately about many things. The young Wu lord had received word earlier in the day that his wife was being cared for among the Wei army, so he was in better spirits than he had been as of late. With various officers and branches of the army being sent this way and that, Da Ji's orders consistently breaking up friendships and keeping families apart, a little bit of good news went a long way. There wouldn't be time for him to go and bring Daqiao back to their camp, as Ce himself had orders to march within the next couple of days, but he had no reason to worry for her safety under Cao Pi's watchful eye. “Honestly, that's probably the better place for her,” Ce murmured to Zhou Yu while they sat and watched Ranmaru do his best to try to break Zhou Tai's guard. “Cao Pi may be Orochi's ally, but he's still lord of his own people. He isn't forced to do things like we are.”

Zhou Yu's hand slid onto his comrade's shoulder, rubbing it gently. “It has not been so bad, as of late. She hasn't tested us again.”

“Yeah, it's only a matter of time, though,” Ce sighed. “They're still holding one of our officers, and of course my father. I still can't do anything except take orders and do what she wants.”

"Careful, Ce...” Yu leaned against him in order to lower his voice. “It isn't private enough, out here, to speak of such things.”

“Later, then.” Sun Ce rapped his knuckles against Yu's leg. “Trust me, just because it's been quiet doesn't mean I've stopped thinking about it.”

“I'm not at all surprised.” Zhou Yu relaxed back, turning his gaze idly to the swordsmen clashing on the training field. “You are right, though. It's only a matter of time before we are back in the thick of it. And sooner rather than later, I expect.” He dropped his volume again. “Hattori brought me some interesting information last night.”

Ce started, sitting up straight. “Well, come on, Gongjin,” he burst out, “you can't say something like that and then tell me 'not here' again.”

“I suppose I can tell you, it's not as though the rest of our forces won't find out soon enough.” It wasn't for everyone to know that the ninja was in the habit of passing information to them, but if it regarded the Orochi army in general, rumors tended to get around one way or another. “The resistance army led by that man, Oda Nobunaga, has taken another territory back from Orochi's forces. Apparently, right under Tokugawa's nose.”

“Is that so?” Ce grinned to himself. “What a shame. Who failed this time?”

“Sima Yi.”

Sun Ce barked a loud laugh at that, one that made some of the soldiers below them watching the sparring match turn to look and wonder what their lord found so funny. “Now that's almost as satisfying as hearing that our _dear_ leader herself got her ass kicked!”

“This Oda is definitely going to be someone to watch,” Zhou Yu smirked. “You went with Orochi to battle him, once, didn't you?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah...that was a while ago.” Ce had to think a moment, to remember the snow on the ground at Mikatagahara. “I didn't actually run into the commander, though. I knocked heads with one of his retainers, but that was all. I only know that Orochi came back saying that Oda had escaped him somehow. It wasn't long after that that he took off for Koshi Castle.”

“And we haven't seen him since.” Yu gave him an appraising look, as he made the connections. “Curious. I wouldn't have thought a powerful demon should be so upset over being unable to capture a human.”

“Oh, you think he's upset?”

The lilting voice came out of nowhere. Both men jumped, and Ce nearly fell down the stairs, as they whirled to find Da Ji behind them. She hadn't even been at the castle, yet she had just teleported from somewhere to appear right behind them. Fortunately, it looked like she had only caught Zhou Yu's last comment. “What the...? Don't do that!” Ce yelped.

“Lady Da Ji,” Zhou Yu greeted her, doing much better than his lord at containing his reaction, though his eyes were cold. “To what do we owe this unexpected visit?”

“Business as usual,” the demon strategist purred, giving them both a cutting smirk. “Though, it seems like I need to pay closer attention to the two of you, if you're going around gossiping about Lord Orochi behind his back. Saying such mean things about him! Naughty, naughty.”

“It's not like that,” Ce tried to assure, picking himself up and brushing himself off. “We were just wondering why we hadn't seen the big guy in a while, you know? I mean, it's not like he's weak or anything.”

Da Ji eyed him, still smirking. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Sun Ce. But just in case you were having any doubts, I can assure you that Lord Orochi is doing quite well. He simply feels that all of you are too weak to bother with personally. Make no mistake, if he feels that things are getting out of hand, he _will_ come to visit again, and if you remember what he did to all of you the first time, believe me, it will be ten times worse the second.”

Despite her coy smile and overly-cheery demeanor, the two warriors had no doubt that she spoke the truth. No one wanted Orochi to personally take the field again, not even his conscripts and allies. “So noted,” Ce said flatly. “You won't get any trouble from me, you know that.”

“Is there some business in particular you've come to attend to?” Zhou Yu wondered, trying to steer things away from what he and Ce had been talking about. “We received the missive with the orders to move out.”

“Ah, yes, that.” Da Ji started down the stairs, pushing her way between the two men and then continuing on, expecting them to keep up with her. “You are still heading out, yes, but I have a little addendum to the previous orders. You can still head for the base at Changshan, to pick up supplies, but you won't be hanging out there too long. It seems that while we've been concentrating on the Oda Resistance, another cell has reared its head behind our backs and taken up residence in a larger castle compound. They're certainly up to something, and I need you to roust them out and put an end to it.”

“Anyone in particular?” Yu prodded.

“Ugh, yes, more of those Shu fellows,” Da Ji said with disgust. “They don't seem to know when they're beaten. We're holding their lord and yet they still keep popping up like weeds, sticking their noses in where they're not wanted.” She sashayed from the stairs across to the fence at the edge of the training yard, sending soldiers slinking away in discomfort – none of them wanted to incur her wrath just by existing nearby. “You know, I'm having particular trouble with one guy, I wonder if you know him,” she added, tilting her head and resting a fist against her chin. “Zhao Yun?”

Sun Ce's eyebrows twitched obviously, hearing the name. “Yeah, he's a pretty well-known general of Shu. We haven't seen him, though, he hasn't been a part of any of the battles you sent us to.”

“Mhm, that's because he's been getting underfoot in other ways,” Dai Ji said with clear irritation, “sneaking around like a weasel, taking all my good prisoners and interrupting my fun. He may be at the castle I want you to take, but I can't be completely sure of that.”

“What, you think we know the guy?” Ce sniffed. “I've fought beside him, back when he served Gongsun Zan, but it's not like I know every last little thing about the way he thinks or fights.”

“Why don't you ask someone who ought to know him better? Say, Zhuge Liang?” Zhou Yu said smoothly.

Da Ji glared at him, clearly not appreciating his subtle jab at her. “It is Zhuge Liang's assertion,” she said, deliberately restraining her words, “that the loss of his lord and the knowledge that his countrymen are working for me have demoralized him enough that he won't be a problem. I'm not entirely convinced, myself.”

“There is some truth to what he says,” Yu suggested. “In fact, I would be inclined to believe it to a point. The same can be said of Xiahou Dun of Wei. He is one of Wei's most formidable fighters, but the death of his lord has sent him into hiding.” He had never told her, however, that Sun Shangxiang had glimpsed him at Honnoji, and still did not tell her now. “You should be glad that he hasn't joined the resistance – for unlike many in Wei, he would not honor the alliance you formed with Cao Pi.”

“No, not in the slightest,” Sun Ce agreed. “If he's so devastated by the loss of Cao Cao, there's no way he'd kowtow to the one who killed him. In that sense, I think Zhou Yu is right, and it's entirely possible that Zhao Yun feels the same about Liu Bei.”

“Except that Liu Bei isn't dead,” Da Ji reminded them with a sardonic look in their direction. “While I enjoy dangling that juicy bait in front of him, he can't be allowed to even have the slightest desire to take up arms and try to _rescue_ him or anything. So if you see him, cut him down.” Her voice took on a sharper edge, the flirty lilt evaporating completely. “I want him dead.”

The two men of Wu shared a look. “Gotcha,” Sun Ce said, though he would decide for himself whether that constituted an order or simply an idle wish.

“Once you get you men together, I'll brief you on the complete plan,” the strategist continued, pushing away from the fence and wandering off, hands clasped behind her back. “Don't keep me waiting. I'm not here for a party, after all.”

They let her go without following, and then turned to lean on the fence, only half-watching Ranmaru charge at Zhou Tai one more time. “That was unsettling,” Ce grumbled under his breath.

“I don't think she overheard most of our conversation,” Zhou Yu murmured. “All the same, we must be more careful about what we say.”

“I guess so.” He gave his companion the slightest of sidelong looks. “Did you hear that about Liu Bei?”

“Of course. We should tell your sister.” Yu edged even closer to keep their talk as confidential as possible. “The lady doesn't seem to think that such information should be secret from us. I wonder why that is.”

“Well, it's not like he's our lord...even if he is Shangxiang's husband.” That development had been told to him long ago, still in Hefei, and he had come to accept it by now. She could do worse.

“Then, allow me to be the keeper of that knowledge,” the strategist said slyly. “It may not seem like much now, but it could come in handy later. At least we know, now, for certain. Around here, known facts are as valuable as gold.”

“If you say so. I'll trust you on that.” Ce raised his voice, then, to call out to the fighters in the ring. “Good move, Ranmaru! You've got him now! Oh...no, maybe he doesn't. Whoops.”

Zhou Yu chuckled a bit, as Ranmaru went tumbling away through the dirt thanks to a powerful swing from Zhou Tai. “He really is a good fighter. I daresay we should take him with us when we move out.”

“Yeah, we should. Him and Hattori, I want them both. Too bad Zhou Tai is my brother's bodyguard, he looks like he could use a little time away from the castle.”

“Very well, then.” Yu raised his voice to the fighters as well. “If you two have had your fill of beating each other around the practice ring, we could use your attention.”

Both swordsmen were panting and Ran was rather dusty, but they finally lowered their swords at the call and put an end to their long day of practice. The young boy trotted over, beaming a bit. “You were watching, Lord Sun Ce?”

“I sure was. You're amazing, Ran,” the lord of Wu enthused. “Keep it up like that and you'll be a top-notch samurai in no time.”

“When you've cooled down,” Yu added, “meet with us in the war room. We have some plans to go over. You will be riding out with us when we depart, I expect in the next day or two depending on Da Ji's new information.”

“Da Ji is here?” Zhou Tai came up behind Ranmaru, and they could tell even with his usual grouchy countenance that he was not pleased to hear that news.

“Yeah, she decided to blink in right in the middle of a private chat we were having,” Ce huffed. “No matter. We already knew our time here was short and we'd be heading out on another mission soon. It might just be sooner than expected.” He stepped back from the fence and raised a hand. “We'll see you when you guys are cleaned up, okay?”

Both swordsmen bowed in their own fashion to bid him farewell, as he and Zhou Yu left them behind to go into the castle and prepare for this debriefing. Partway along a corridor, the strategist suddenly pushed against Ce, pushing him into an alcove and coming close enough to kiss him. For a moment Ce didn't know how to react, because his beloved comrade never acted like this outside of their private rooms, but then he heard words whispered to him with lips against his cheek. “We must talk, but with Da Ji here, it will be nearly impossible,” Yu breathed in lieu of kissing him. “Can it wait until after we set out?”

Sun Ce understood, then, that Yu was sneaking him a secret message under the pretense of being affectionate, in case the fox demon was lurking somewhere nearby. “It'll have to,” he whispered back, “because talking to me this way is going to cause other problems.”

Yu chuckled a little, and dragged his lips away slowly, so as to reward his eager young lord with a hint of real affection. “I see. It can wait, then.”

Ce let out a groan as they parted. “Don't surprise me like that, you got my hopes up.”

“I'm sorry. I will make it up to you later.” Zhou Yu gave him a sultry smile as he backed away, and allowed them both to resume their long walk to the war room. He could have sworn, as they walked, that he heard the soft swish of Da Ji's gauzy tails around another corner. She _was_ stalking them. They had already aroused suspicions. Anything else would surely have to wait until after they left Bai Di, they could trust no one and nothing until then.

It was curious that Da Ji had it out for Zhao Yun, because his only face-to-face encounter with the demon strategist had been his tag-team fight with Sanada to drive her away from Chengdu. He knew she had pursued their force as they fled from Hasedo, but aside from that, had extremely limited knowledge of her outside of whatever Magoichi could share. As far as he was concerned, she was merely an enemy like all the rest, one he hoped not to have to face more than necessary. His true goal meant he needed to rely on stealth and smaller armies – no, not armies. A mere handful of men, perhaps never the same lineup twice just to cut down on potential losses and keep the Orochi army guessing just who was working with him. He had already chosen this path himself, and would not deviate from it until he had found Lord Liu Bei and set him free. He couldn't ask others to walk it with him, he could only accept their help in small doses. That is, save for one. Sanada Yukimura had become his friend almost instantly, and after releasing his brother Nobuyuki to return to Takeda's side with a wealth of information gathered by the Shu-based resistance, he was free to ride alongside Zhao Yun wherever he went. Saika's information had come to a number of dead ends, the last anyone could report of Da Ji was that she headed south. But whether that meant she was going all the way to Nanzhong, or simply finding a different bend of the river from which to circle around and return to one of her army's castles, none could say. That meant that Zhao Yun and Yukimura had to return to the old plan of simply roaming across the land with ears open for news. Now and again someone else came with them – Zhang Bao, often, as he likewise searched for the Guan brothers, but sometimes Wei Yan, Jiang Wei, or even Tachibana – but in between the two spearmen rode alone, just the pair of them against the wide world Orochi created. Through their wandering they grew to be fast friends, discovering how much they had in common and whiling away the long rides discussing their views on justice and benevolence. From summer lands to wintery mountains, they hunted for pockets of civilization where someone might have heard something, anything, about the missing warriors of Shu, but came up empty. Their journeys always started from Chengdu, and they checked in every now and then to see if anything new had come to the ears of Yueying while they were away, and in turn they handed over anything they had uncovered, from rumors to maps of territories that had not yet been sufficiently charted. It was good for them to stay abreast of developments elsewhere, because the shifting claims on castles or the movements of armies could drastically alter their plans or lead to an unexpected tidbit of information at any moment, and the longer they spent crossing uninhabited patches of the world, the more they needed to consciously check in at one of their bases. The Takeda and Uesugi camps were always moving, never where they could be easily found by the Orochi army, but the two fortresses being occupied by the warriors of Shu afforded them a safe place to rest and catch up on news. Far afield from the capital, it eventually became time for them to stop in at Odani Castle and see how Xingcai was managing.

It was good to see the town below the castle full of people, though many of them appeared to be able-bodied men of military age, likely soldiers either undercover or living as townsfolk instead of guarding the castle. Enough recognized the visiting warriors that no one needed to raise an alarm, though someone did run ahead and alert the guards at the outer ward so that when the two riders approached the gates, they were already thrown wide in welcome and a young man stood leaning on the doorpost, arms folded and a set of nunchuku tucked beneath one arm. “Now this is a nice surprise,” he greeted them as they rode up.

Though his encounters with this particular officer of Wu were few and far between, Zhao Yun knew him by reputation alone, particularly after discussing his fate obliquely a few weeks ago. “Is that...? You must be Ling Tong,” he said as he dismounted and allowed someone to take his horse. “I believe the surprise is mine.”

“What, the lady of the castle didn't send word that we'd joined her? I'm hurt,” Tong said teasingly. “It's all right, you're welcome to come on in. Someone's already gone ahead to tell Xingcai that you're here.”

“Thank you.” As his companion also swung down out of the saddle, Zhao Yun turned to introductions. “Yukimura, this is...”

“Ling Tong, yes, I know him well.” Yukimura bowed and then stepped forward to clasp the other man's hand warmly. Tong graciously accepted, grinning widely. “I told you, he and Gan Ning were guests of Lord Takeda for a while. Though, that was some time ago. You look well.”

Zhao Yun blinked and then scratched his neck sheepishly. “Ah, sorry! I had forgotten that. Then we are both here to meet old friends, I suppose.”

“Come on, I'll walk with you up to the castle. Xingba is around here somewhere, probably getting into trouble as usual.” Ling Tong started through the gate, waving for them to follow. There were several wards protecting the keep, and a large gate in each wall, so they had a while to walk and talk.

“I hope the two of you are not giving Lady Xingcai a hard time,” Zilong said, amused.

Tong grinned at him. “I'm behaving myself, but I can't really speak for Gan Ning.”

“What, then, of your compatriots? We had heard rumors, but nothing certain,” Yukimura asked. 

Tong sighed quietly. “Yeah, I'm sure you probably heard that we had a hard time at Changban. I don't know what became of Lu Xun or Zhu Ran, or Shima Sakon for that matter.”

“Sakon?” Yukimura repeated, intrigued.

“Yeah, he came by to help us out. Why, do you know him?”

“I know _of_ him. I was not aware he was in this land, traveling or even offering his aid.”

“Well, now you know.” Ling Tong gave them both a shy smile as he led the way up the hill to the inner ward and the castle keep. “I'm glad to see both of you are alive and well – even you, Zhao Yun.”

“Even me? Come now,” Yun laughed, “the last I remember the situation between Shu and Wu was not so bad.”

“Yeah, you're right, but around here you never can tell. When you might be fighting your best friend tomorrow...” Tong shrugged and left the rest unsaid. “I don't know whose castle this is, but it's pretty nice. We've been taking good care of it, and it's got a really strong defense.”

“Actually, in my time it was the ancestral home of the Azai clan,” Yukimura said brightly. “So, by rights it belongs to Azai Nagamasa, if you remember him.”

“Of course. How's he doing? And Lady Oichi?”

“I have not heard from him in a while.” Sanada nodded to the man striding beside him, equal to him in height and build. “I have chosen to fight alongside Zhao Yun for the duration of this war, unless something serious calls me back to Lord Takeda.”

“Oh, really? Well, I guess that's not a bad idea.” Tong glanced between them and smiled again. “You guys have the same fighting style, I bet together you can clear any battlefield.”

They had reached the last gate to the inner ward, which swung open to admit them. A beautiful courtyard lay just inside, with fountains and pools of koi exalting the bounty of a warm, rich spring in this particular territory – there was no drought here, to be sure. The jingle of bells warned them who was approaching, and all three turned to find Wang Ping also walking with the pirate. “Lord Zhao Yun!” he called out to them, raising a hand in a wave.

“Ah! It's good to see you!”

As countrymen met and greeted one another happily, Gan Ning strode up to Yukimura. “So! Looks like you finally took my advice, huh?”

“Advice...? Oh!” Sanada remembered their chat, and the warning that he would someday get an “I told you so” out of Xingba. “I will admit, you were right. Zhao Yun and I are much alike after all, and not just because we both prefer the spear.”

“Heh! I knew it. Good to see you again, Sanada, and none the worse for wear.”

“Master Gan Ning.” Zhao Yun moved over to greet him as well, bowing properly. “It has been a while.”

“Yeah, you could say that.” The pirate tipped his head in a casual yet respectful nod. “Keeping yourself all right?”

“As much as I can.”

Xingcai joined them, then, and after a round of greetings and introductions, for Sanada's sake, they made their way into the main keep of the castle and finally had the chance to rest and relax. Attendants were available to take the visitors' arms and armor, and once they had refreshed themselves, they were ushered down to sit and enjoy a drink with the other officers. Any excuse to party was fine by Gan Ning. A cask of sake was brought up from a storage cellar, perhaps placed there in times past by Nagamasa himself, and toasts to the safety and valiance of their armies were made. Food soon followed, and it became rather easy for everyone to share what information they had in such a casual manner, rather than through an official audience. Xingcai and most of the others deferred to Zhao Yun as the de facto leader of the resistance, or at least their part of it, so if he didn't mind debriefing them over dinner instead of in the great hall or war room, no one was going to insist otherwise. There wasn't too much in the way of news to impart, mostly who was coming and going where, and what little they had picked up by way of rumors in their travels. Zhao Yun and Yukimura were out of the loop on quite a few things, such as the state of the other resistance leaders across the land and which territories had fallen or been reclaimed. In turn, what they were able to report was that Zhang Bao would apparently be bringing fresh reinforcements soon, while they in turn were on their way to meet up with Magoichi to see if he had anything new on Da Ji. Keeping track of everything was almost too much for one man to handle, so after a while, talk turned less to matters of war and resistance and more to the insignificant matters, the doings of peasants and the changing of seasons, a debate on who made the strongest wine, and a few rounds of healthy abuse against Orochi. After that, with the day growing long and a fine evening overspreading the castle grounds, the visitors allowed themselves to be guided on a quick tour of the various wards and the village below the castle. It was nice to see that people felt safe enough with Xingcai and other Shu and Wu generals in charge that they could settle down in the little town, it reminded Zhao Yun of the way Chengdu was coming back to life. They returned to the inner ward to walk among the ponds until the sun set, at which point they wandered back inside to find Gan Ning doing his best to make a larger dent in that wine cask. He was feeling friendly enough to invite the gentle warriors to join him, because everyone else around Odani except Ling Tong was boring and went to bed too early. The pair looked at one another, shrugged, and decided why not. And that was how, about two hours later, the castle guard changing shifts came upon four of their finest officers sitting around a half-empty cask of wine, three of whom were talking loudly while the fourth lay passed out with his head pillowed on Gan Ning's knee. Ling Tong had joined them at some point, but with his low tolerance, he didn't last long. Zhao Yun was a bit giggly, and Yukimura couldn't help but talk animatedly, but Xingba had them all beat for sheer volume. “…so he says, ‘Who do you think you are, you punk? What do you know about boats?’ and then jumps right out onto the skiff without even checking to see if it’s tied. I just dropped the rope right there and gave it a kick, and the next thing he knows, he’s floating out in the middle of the river, no oars and no poles! And I just waved and said, ‘If you’re such an expert, show me how to get back!’ He screamed at me until he was all purple in the face, but it sure didn’t get him back on land any faster!”

The other two laughed brightly, until Zhao Yun clapped a hand to his head. “Oh, you're dangerous, Gan Ning. I don't know what's worse, your stories or how much you got me to drink.”

“Oh dear. Is the room spinning?” Yukimura teased him.

“Just a little. Perhaps it's a good time to call it a night.”

“Aww, already?” Ning waved a hand at them. “Weak.”

“Actually,” Yukimura said with a nod, “I think Ling Tong is the weak one.”

Ning glanced down at his comrade, who hadn't even been jostled from his sleep by all the laughing and rolling around. “All right, you got me there. You can't blame us, though. This is probably the most fun I've had since we dropped in here. You guys are all right.”

“Better days are ahead, I'm sure,” Zhao Yun smiled. “Though, if you aren't getting your fill here, you should visit the Nanman. Their wine puts anything in our kingdoms or Yukimura's to shame.”

“Is that so? Yeah, but the tradeoff is being around the Nanman,” Gan Ning said dismissively. “Good drink always tastes better with good company.”

“I will remember you said that,” Yun smirked, “next time Wu and Shu are facing each other across a battlefield.”

“You'll never get me to admit to it.” Ning sat back on his hands, his gaze much hazier than the other two's. “Anyway. I guess maybe I ought to haul this lightweight on up to bed, too. See you guys around, eh?”

He assured them he could carry Tong by himself, hoisted over his shoulder like a sack of rice, so Yukimura and Zhao Yun focused on each making sure the other could get up the stairs to their sleeping quarters without stumbling. The long walk and the fresh air coming into the keep through many open windows sobered them up just enough that when they let themselves into their quarters, the room was no longer spinning for either of them. While Sanada busied himself disrobing and reverently setting aside his headband, Zhao Yun leaned on the windowsill and gazed at the moon standing high over the peaked roofs of the castle. “Is it not strange?” he mused, resting his chin on his hand. “Even in this strange world, the moon still moves through her dance, waxing and waning with no heed to the trials of humanity beneath her. At any moment we can be thrown into a battle, and teeter on the blade's edge of death, but still the moon will rise and give us her soothing light.”

Yukimura chuckled softly. “Do you always become poetic when you've had too much to drink, Zilong?”

They had already given up using honorable titles with one another, after riding together and placing their lives in each other's hands for the last few intense weeks. Yun turned away from the window and smiled sheepishly. “On the contrary, I feel much more clear-headed. But, perhaps it isn't such a wonder after all. Merely something I found interesting.”

Yukimura finished folding his headband with the Sanada crest showing and set it at his bedside, where it needed to lay in honor even closer to hand than his weapon, and then got up and crossed to see what was so beautiful about the night to have captured his comrade's attention. “We have a legend, among my people,” he said thoughtfully as he leaned on the same windowsill and peeked at the sky, “about the white rabbit who lives on the moon.”

“Oh...so do we,” Yun realized, glancing at him. He stood very close, and for a moment Yun felt a flush of warmth down his neck and back that he would almost have believed was a feeling he should not have been having. “The Jade Rabbit is very popular in poetry. He is the companion of the goddess Chang'e, you can see him there with his pestle...”

He gestured to the waxing moon, which was showing the side with the rabbit very clearly. Yukimura smiled to see it. “Yes, I see him. Does he pound rice cakes for you?”

“No, the elixir of life, actually. For the goddess, you see.”

“I do. That sounds much more useful than rice cakes.”

“I don't know, rice cakes sound delicious.”

They looked at each other and grinned at the way they sounded, talking about moon poetry and rice cakes. “It is also said,” Yukimura offered, “that the rabbit is a friend of the Princess Kaguya, who was wooed by the Emperor himself hundreds of years ago.”

“Kaguya? Is she a goddess, as well?”

“She must be,” Yukimura said wistfully, “for she lives on the moon with her people. But she has been to the earth below and understands the plight of its people.”

Zhao Yun sighed softly, turning his eyes back to the moonlight. “Would that she could descend to visit us here, for we could use her help in our plight.”

Yukimura bowed his head. “Perhaps she can hear us, but can't reach us. After all, the legends of our times are already walking among us. Orochi himself is a demon from the mystic realm. Who is to say Princess Kaguya isn't looking for a way to come to us?”

“That is true...” Zhao Yun placed a hand on his comrade's shoulder. “It is so easy to forget, during the darkest times. We have seen a living legend with our own eyes, and I have felt the bite of his blade myself. But if the most evil of gods and spirits exist among us, then why can't the good ones, too?”

“If they're out there,” Yukimura said tiredly, “they sure are taking their time coming to our aid.”

Yun nodded, and only then realized he was touching his companion's bare shoulder. He pulled his hand away quickly and turned to face the room instead of the night sky. “In the meantime, we will simply have to come to our own aid,” he said as encouragingly as he could. “We may not be gods, but we do pretty well for humans.”

Sanada chuckled. “That we do.” He watched, then, as Zhao Yun left his side and crossed the room to begin his own bedtime preparations. While it was nice being able to rest their heads in a proper castle with real rooms, real beds, and real blankets, it seemed there was an extra layer of propriety to handle there, one that didn’t seem so important when they were sleeping out under the stars, alone or with such a small contingent of troops that they didn’t even bother putting up tents. “Do you have everything you need?” Yukimura asked to be sure.

“I believe so. I cannot imagine what else could be necessary.” Yun looked around, and was content to find their spears resting side by side against the wall nearest the door. Should an alarm be raised in the middle of the night, they could find their weapons more quickly and easily than a lamp or their clothing. “It was kind of them to give us a room together, so we do not keep anyone else awake with our tendency to talk.”

“Kind? Zilong, you are their leader. Of course they would give you anything you asked for, and more,” Yukimura said with some amusement. He left the window and crossed to sit on his bed, which had been placed rather near Zhao Yun’s, as would be done for any lord and his retainer. “I can certainly see, now, how much they love and respect you. Even your former enemies from the kingdom of Wu can say nothing bad about you.”

Yun shook his head slowly. “I am not used to such treatment,” he admitted. “Lord Liu Bei always treats me well, I never lack for anything, but I walk in his shadow, and I am happy with my place. I am only his humble servant, the jade rabbit who takes care of simple matters for him. I have only ever been an officer, not the leader to whom everyone looks for guidance. This is all so new to me.”

“Yet, you manage as though it were natural to you,” his comrade observed. “I find myself thinking, sometimes, ‘if he is so great and yet only one of his lord’s generals, how much greater is Lord Liu Bei, really?’ Part of me is accompanying you just to find out.”

“And the other part?”

“Feels a strong bond with you, that I cannot ignore.” Yukimura smiled shyly. “If you were to order me to stay behind at one of these fortresses, I don’t know if my heart could take it. I only want to ride at your side, and battle for our freedom together.”

Zhao Yun pressed a hand to the center of his chest, where he could feel his heart doing something strange. It was like pain, only not. “I have never had a sworn brother, like my lord,” he said carefully, “but I imagine this is what it must feel like. I am very fond of you, too, Yukimura.” He breathed a soft laugh. “And I promise I will not order you to stay behind. I can’t foresee what our travels might bring us, or what battles are to come, but I would never set aside your strength and courage. I would be a fool.”

“That’s good to hear. That is one less thing I need to worry about.” Yukimura shifted to turn back the blankets and lie down. “Not that there are many worries here at Odani. It’s nice to have actual quiet for a change, and not have to think about setting a watch or keeping a weapon close at hand.”

“I cherish these moments, for I know how few and far between they can be.” Yun pulled out the tie holding his hair back and let it fall loose over his shoulders, another thing he could rarely do when bedding in the field. “All the same, we should probably go to sleep, or it’ll be yet another night of talking until nearly dawn.”

“I know, I know,” Yukimura laughed as he stretched out. “We simply have so much to talk about. I’ll be good and be quiet so you can sleep, Jade Rabbit.”

“If I am the Jade Rabbit, does that make you the princess?”

“Oh, come now, I didn’t say that!”

They both dissolved into laughter at that. It really was impossible for the two of them to stop talking long enough to fall asleep, worse here in the peace and comfort of a castle than lying in a thicket somewhere in the wilderness. Yet, they both knew they needed to, because they would not be able to enjoy these comforts for long. Time pressed, as always, they wouldn’t be able to stay more than a day or two at Odani. They would enjoy it while it lasted, at least. As he nestled into the blankets, Zhao Yun watched Yukimura stretch to douse the last lamp in the room. The pang that raced through his body at the sight of lean, hard muscles moving under unblemished skin was altogether different than the one that had clenched his heart. And yet, not at all unwelcome. But for now, he kept it to himself. After a long silence, he suddenly declared, “Oh, no, Yukimura. Now I want rice cakes!”

Yukimura’s happy laugh was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep.

  


The threads tying together the various armies, resistance and Orochi alike, were becoming thicker, stronger, with each passing day. With two victories to claim, neither of which could be called insignificant, Oda Nobunaga had enough reputation and rumor to use to his benefit, and he was rather pleased to hear that the Orochi army was starting to refer to him as leader of the entire resistance coalition. Personally, he knew that he couldn't yet claim such a title when so many other fighters, officers and peons alike, were still out there waging their own battles without even knowing he existed, but he allowed his foes to label him however they liked. If they overinflated his military strength and position, so be it, he would use it for his own gains. Holding Kawanakajima would be the most difficult of his army's tasks, as it lay in strategic position and it sounded like Da Ji was extremely displeased to have lost it, though once he had traded Sima Yi to Tokugawa in exchange for the Orochi army's retreat, he received little but rumor about the outcome. There were other matters to attend to, however, and it didn't take long for even the newest recruits to his side to realize that the warlord had his fingers entwined around a great many strings, and was tugging gently at each one in turn, looking to see which ones responded to him first. A trip far west to Kyuushuu yielded a considerable bounty, not the least of which came in the form of information. Allies, too, but Nobunaga found more value in what they had to say than what they could offer his army. Ma Chao and Huang Zhong didn't believe that the officers captured in the battle could be of much worth, as both of them peered suspiciously at the prophet of the Yellow Turbans and his brothers being released. When given the choice to either stay and join the resistance properly or continue to wander the land, all of them opted for the first choice. It looked like Toyotomi knew one of the young ladies taken in, at least tangentially, for he spent a lot of time laughing awkwardly and blushing around her. The other, the men of Shu knew to be the wife of a Wu general, very far from home and everything she knew. Whether or not she was capable of fighting in a war like this, she clearly needed looking after, so she was allowed to stay. But they were not, by far, the most interesting thing picked up that day.

The interior of Oda's command tent was cool and quiet, lit by lanterns that imparted a pleasant glow to the otherwise spartan living space. The warlord's one indulgence was a fine chair, in which he could take his repose while going over reports or listening to messengers. He lounged, now, in his chair with one leg crossed over the other, resting his cheek on one fist while he gazed at the man standing before him. Far from bored or angry, he looked amused. “Sit, Sakon,” he implored. “You know how I feel about having you standing over me.”

The tall and brawny Shima Sakon breathed a tiny chuckle and sheepishly eased himself into another chair, a simple camp stool not anywhere near as opulent as Oda's. “Sorry about that. Should I just get down on my knees right now, and beg your forgiveness while I'm at it?”

“Forgiveness?” Oda repeated, arching an eyebrow.

“For letting them carry out the attack on your army. Honest, Lord Nobunaga, if I had known it was you, I wouldn't have let them so much as raise a club against your people.”

“I gathered as much, which is why I don't fault you for seeing the battle through to its end, Sakon.” Oda straightened up, only to lace his gauntleted fingers together in his lap. “In fact, I'm glad you did. I learned much, seeing the way these people behaved. Our casualties were light, there is essentially no harm done.”

Sakon heaved a massive sigh and dropped his head into his hands. “Useless to a man. I had a feeling it would be so, but I agreed to build a strategy for these people anyway. Without me, they probably would have all gotten themselves killed.”

“How, then, did you come to be strategist for such an... _interesting_ group?” The way he said the word, it certainly sounded like an insult.

Sitting up, Sakon ordered the tale in his mind before answering. “I stumbled into this territory in my travels, and the girl with the fan tried to ambush me. It was rather sad, I get the feeling she picked up on the idea of ambushes from somebody she knows without really understanding the nuances of it. I made her bring me to her commander, and found out that the ancient windbag was the one who gathered them together. They'd all been captured at some point and got loose, and were all on their own otherwise. They banded together for protection, so...well, you know me and my soft heart.”

Oda's dark eyes twinkled with amusement. Sakon's plight, begged to serve as strategist for a collection of weak and pathetic fighters, might have been serious at some point but now it was just silly. “Did they take any of your advice, at all?”

“They did what I ordered to a point, it was all set up according to plan. They just didn't bother to listen during the battle itself.” He glowered a bit at the way the warlord was trying to stifle laughter. “If you want 'em, you can have 'em. I have no claim on them and after today, I don't want any of them anywhere near me.”

“And what of you?” Nobunaga's taunting cooled into a sly, hungry smile, and he stretched out one of his gloved hands. “Come to me, Sakon...”

The strategist eyed that hand warily. “I'm not for sale, Demon King,” he warned, his eyes flicking up to Oda's face.

“Of course not.” The hand withdrew back into Oda's lap, and he sat up even straighter. “I saw the tracework of your strategy beneath their failure. Your plans are always intelligent and capable. Do you think I do not need you?”

“It isn't what you need, but what you will do with it once you have it,” Sakon responded. “There are many who could make better use of my strategies. You already have Kuroda Kanbei at your side, so I know that 'need' is a relative term for you.”

“Tell me plainly, then, what you fear.” Oda's eyes narrowed with a keen, cutting smile. “Or do you actually prefer Orochi as master of this realm?”

A long, tense silence preceded Sakon's real answer. When he spoke, his gruff voice was deep and quiet with solemnity. “Orochi needs to be taken out,” he admitted, “but I will not have a hand in setting up another in his place. Under your hand, I could certainly manage the first task, but I might find that in doing so, I've inadvertently laid the groundwork for the latter.” He set both hands on his knees, as if facing Oda in challenge. “You are not the only Resistance leader in this land, you know.”

“So I've heard. Yet, that news has not yet reached Orochi, from what I gather.” Nobunaga inclined his head toward some vague point outside the tent. “You noticed Naoe, I'm sure.”

“Yeah, and I'm a little surprised. Is he working for you, now?”

“No. It seems the Dragon of Eichigo is making a ploy of his own, and sent him to aid us.” The cutting smile was back. “Not that we needed it.”

“You're just going to keep twisting the knife, aren't you?”

Oda heaved a short, dry laugh. “As I said, I place no fault on you, Sakon. Your plans were valid. Under the right officers, they could have very well led to our defeat. I will take those three and their followers, if for no reason other than my original purpose for coming this far west.” He waved a hand idly in the air. “Orochi is taking the Resistance more seriously, and stepping up the effort to quell it. No one can afford to remain independent any longer. Anyone who is not being forced to fight for the serpent must join the resistance, in some form or another.”

“You need every last man,” Sakon realized.

“I am not as deluded as some.” Nobunaga rested his cheek on his fist again. “Orochi is not the type of thing that can be defeated by conventional tactics. Nor will one man alone destroy him. We must all band together, or surely we will all die one by one, as Orochi intended.”

“And when it comes down to it, who is going to yield to whom?” Sakon challenged. “Naoe being here means Uesugi had the same idea you do. No matter who collects the wandering officers, at some point one of you is going to have to bend the others to your will.”

Oda merely smiled at that, an icy, eager smile that sent a chill up the strategist's back. He didn't need to answer, that look was enough. Whether he would have to beat Takeda and Uesugi into submission or they could work out an amicable alliance, only the future would tell. For now, he knew what needed to be done. “If you will not join me,” he said at last, “would you at least listen to a proposal?”

Sakon's lips twisted in a frown. “I suppose I can give you that much, in exchange for not killing me where I stood on the field today.”

“There is something I wish to bring to fruition, that will do more damage to the Orochi army than a thousand battles could. There are two currently under Orochi's thumb who need to be pried away from him, though each is wearing shackles of an entirely different nature. I already know exactly what each one needs to unlock those shackles, but I do not yet possess the key.”

Sakon's expression changed subtly, beginning to take on a shade of Nobunaga's own smile. “If I don't yet have something that dangerous in my possession, I may know where to dig it up.”

“Excellent. Then, should you hold such a key, I would like to put you on the path to deliver it safely.” Oda leaned forward in his chair, setting both feet firmly on the ground. “What do you say, Sakon? Is that an acceptable compromise?”

Rubbing at his chin, the bigger man chuckled. “Why, now I've seen everything. Oda Nobunaga has learned the word 'compromise.' This is a banner day, indeed.”

Few people could get away with teasing this particular warlord. Fortunately, Shima Sakon was one of them. Nobunaga smiled coolly. “I will take that as a yes.”

“Yeah, sure. That's an agreement I can live with.” Sakon slapped a hand to his own knee. “And it improves my prospects at getting a good meal and some sake, for the time being.”

“I believe I may be able to accommodate your needs.” He pushed himself up from his fancy chair and stepped over to where he kept his own private stores. Even when his troops were marching on rationed supplies, Oda knew the value of keeping at least one bottle or jar of alcohol close at hand, for alliances were often made or broken over such hospitality. He poured it himself, and offered one of the shallow cups to Sakon to seal their deal.

The rest of the encampment was quieting down, as the sun had already set and the soldiers were all huddled around fires waiting for dinner to be served. While the new recruits were sitting with the peasants and acolytes who had faithfully followed them through this disaster of a battle, the other officers gathered together in a single tent, doing their best not to gossip about whatever Oda and Shima might be discussing for so long. Naoe Kanetsugu sat with them, and seemed more intrigued with the Shu generals now counted among Oda's coalition than with his own countrymen, plying them with questions and comparing experiences with the Wu generals he had met. Unlike many of the various resistance cells, Naoe had yet to see much in the way of battle, as he was sticking very close to his lord Uesugi Kenshin, who was busy gathering his own army and building strength to be able to successfully fight Orochi. Like Takeda Shingen, Uesugi was curious to see just how far Oda had come, but instead of dropping by himself, he had sent Naoe to scope things out for him. And, perhaps, to snipe those independent officers for himself, but Kanetsugu did not seem terribly upset that they had been absorbed into the Oda army instead. Fortunately for everyone's sanity, Zhang Jiao was out seeing to the comfort of his brothers and their acolytes instead of taking a meal with the higher-ranked officers. “It is difficult not knowing,” Naoe was saying, as the topic turned to all the people each person was searching for, hoping to find. “Though, I think I would be more upset to know for sure that a friend was on Orochi's side.”

“I would not consider the men of Wu to be friends, but yes,” Ma Chao agreed, “it is painful watching them side with a demon who wants nothing but the destruction of the innocent. But, so long as there is no news of my lord Liu Bei, we of Shu are not much better off.”

“You are free, at least, and capable of following your hearts.” Kanetsugu nodded once to the famed general facing him. “It has allowed us to meet, Lord Ma Chao, and I am grateful to whatever fate wove this web that brought us together. Your honor is evident, I can see it in your very bearing.”

“Likewise,” Chao smiled. “I can tell you are also a man of honor, Lord Naoe.”

“Uh oh, they've already gotten going,” Toyotomi interrupted, making everyone else around them chuckle. “I shoulda known better than to let these two rub elbows. It's gonna be all honor, all night long, now.”

“Come now, Lord Hideyoshi,” Naoe retorted, “you would deny me the chance to meet a general as great as Ma Chao, one of the Five Tiger Generals?”

“Just keep the honor and justice chatter to a minimum,” Hideyoshi smirked. “Save it for later.”

“You flatter me, Lord Naoe, but there is no need.” Ma Chao was in a placid mood for once, helped along by the comforts afforded to officers in a well-stocked army. “For now, I am the same as anyone at this table, one man among many. We may have our own reasons for joining the resistance, but as long as we work together, we may finally turn the tide against Orochi.”

“There is still a long way to go,” Kanetsugu said with a shake of his head. “I believe you are right, Lord Ma Chao, but the obstacles before us are still great. There is rumor that Orochi has at his command some of the most formidable warriors of both our times. At least, I know for a fact he has Maeda Keiji working for him.”

Chao frowned a bit. “And given that Dong Zhuo is clearly on his side as well, it would be no stretch to assume that means Lu Bu himself cannot be far behind.”

“Keiji...is he by chance related to Maeda Toshiie?” Huang Zhong broke in.

“Yes...Toshiie is his uncle,” Kanetsugu replied.

“I know. Toshiie already knows about Keiji,” Toyotomi said. “He's not too broken up about it, since he knows how headstrong the man is, but all the same, it's not usually a topic for friendly conversation.”

“He and Date both,” Naoe sighed. “I cannot believe that men I trusted would agree to side with Orochi. At least, the rest of my dearest friends are safe with the Resistance.”

“Really? Even Magoichi?” Hideyoshi pressed.

Kanetsugu nodded briskly. “I have had word from him, actually. He has taken up with another great general of Shu.”

Ma Chao and Huang Zhong were leaning across the table instantly, as if begging for him to elaborate. “Who is it?” the latter asked urgently.

“Zhao Yun.”

Ma Chao let out a loud gasp of relief. “Then my friend Lord Zilong is safe!” he exclaimed. “I had feared he was killed at Chengdu in the initial conquest!”

Kanetsugu smiled at his outburst of emotion, even as Chao covered his face with his hands as if it would take back his spontaneous reaction. “As I understand it, he is more than safe. He is considered one of the other leaders of the Resistance, by some, and I believe others are flocking to his side. The head of the Saika Renegades is a shrewd man and chose his words well, in case the letter to me fell into the wrong hands, so I have no other names to share. Yet, I believe his report.”

“The Saika Renegades, you say.” Oda Nobunaga's smooth, silky voice interrupted their conversation, as he and Sakon finally joined the officers at table. “It seems you have more to tell me than just why the Dragon of Eichigo saw fit to send me help I didn't ask for.”

“My lord!” Naoe startled, and several of them made to stand up to greet the warlord, but Oda waved them all down. “Ah...yes, if you require my service, I would be glad to...”

“Not tonight. I am finished hearing reports for one night.” Oda allowed the attendants in charge of dinner to hurry over with a worthy chair for him before taking his place among the officers. “This garrison is comfortable enough to house us for a day or two while I make my decisions about our next move. Suffice it to say, though, that more than one of you should be prepared to separate and ride rather soon.”

Naoe glanced up at the brawny man settling into the open seat beside him. “Shima Sakon.”

“Naoe Kanetsugu. How's your lord?”

“Quite well, thank you.” He paused a moment, and then decided to ask the burning question they all had, whether it was polite to spring it on him or not. “Have you decided, then, to put yourself in the Demon King's service?”

“Nope.” Sakon had no qualms about answering, picking up the cup the attendants had just placed in front of him. “Not that it's any of your business, but I figured I'd nip that little rumor in the bud right away. You can tell Kenshin he doesn't have to worry.”

“I doubt he would worry,” Naoe said with a small smile, though the news put his own mind at ease. “You are a valuable asset to any army, Sakon, we all know as much. I only fear that there is no leader at hand who can use your talents for good.”

“Oh, I don't know about that,” Sakon said with an evasive smile over the rim of his cup. “I don't think you've met every leader in this land yet. Nor have I for that matter.”

“Hey, now, the boss is here, so maybe it's time to chat about fun instead of business,” Hideyoshi put in, cleverly heading off any serious questions. “Where's Okuni? I'd love to see her dance for us.”

A peon was dispatched to go and see if Okuni could be coaxed to come in and dance for the officers, while the others refilled their cups and changed the subject, allowing their dinner to turn to relaxation. Oda presided over them in near-silence, observing and listening with that inscrutable half-smile on his lips the entire time. He had already set his plans in motion, he and Sakon had been talking for a long time while the sun set and a calm night drew on. Whatever Naoe had to say on Uesugi's behalf would not likely change those plans, but he was still going to listen, because he needed to be in control of every morsel of information floating about the landscape. For now, he let his officers enjoy a little victory party, for soon enough they would be splitting into multiple forces and spreading out across the land to attend to different missions. He needed to send reinforcements to assist Mitsuhide with one thing, while he himself drew back to another location, and still more had to relieve those left guarding Kawanakajima. Truly, every last officer, every tiny platoon of troops, was going to be needed, even the ones that seemed the least useful. A warlord's work was never done.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get rough at Changshan; also, Cao Pi demonstrates the true loyalty of his army.

“I hate snow.”

Zhou Yu chuckled as he came up behind Sun Ce, who was standing at a window of the fortress of Changshan breathing into his cupped hands to keep them warm. “What's the matter? This isn't better than baking under the hot sun? Or should we perhaps have put in to be sent to Nanzhong instead?”

“Don't even joke about that.” Ce turned to him, giving him a bemused sort of half-smile. “I know, it could be worse, but it's just so cold. And so _strange_ , even after all this time, crossing a river or through a mountain pass and suddenly it's snowing on the other side.”

“We are only here to resupply,” Yu reminded him, “and then we will be on our way to a much warmer territory to carry out our orders. It may be cold and snowy, but this fortress is extremely well-stocked and our troops need some time to prepare before going into battle again.” He glanced out the window at the white slopes leading down to Jia Bridge and smiled to himself. “To be honest, having to train up and prepare in a place like this will toughen them up. They could use the experience.”

“I feel like I should know this place,” Ce mused, stepping away from the drafty windows and moving closer to the warming fire contained in a large brazier in the middle of the room. “Somebody certainly built up those storehouses with all those supplies, it sure wasn't Orochi's snakes. Who did it belong to, before the Orochi army took control?”

“I believe it was Gongsun Zan, many years ago,” Yu replied as he followed his lord. “I wonder if he and his forces, like Dong Zhuo, ended up in this world?”

“Who knows. We keep stumbling on new people all the time, anything's possible.” Even with a cloak around his shoulders, Ce was cold, and huddled close to his companion for extra warmth. “Brr! At least Da Ji isn't likely to just up and magically port herself to a place like this. It's cold, it's dark, it's dank, it's dirty...”

Zhou Yu refrained from reminding him that the demon strategist had been to all the other winter-clad territories around Orochi's realm, for he understood Ce's logic. She did have her taste for creature comforts, and while she would visit anywhere that she needed to go, dirt or no dirt, she didn't seem to enjoy dropping in on dusty encampments full of smelly men. She had been very clear about their orders before sending them out, though, so there really was no reason for her to come and check up on them while they were doing something so mundane as resupplying their troops. That meant they no longer needed to look over their shoulders before bending their heads together and talking insubordination. They had chatted some while riding, but they usually had retainers around them and didn't want to get anyone else involved in their plans prematurely. At long last, standing shoulder-to-shoulder beside the fire, Yu murmured the dangerous words Ce had longed to hear. “If we are to rebel against our taskmaster, it must be swift and complete. Which is why I don't think it can be accomplished yet.”

“Of course not,” Sun Ce muttered back, “we still haven't discovered where they're holding my father. But Da Ji has played her last trump card, when she told us that if we take this castle, she'll release another one of our officers.” He turned his head so that what he said fell straight into Zhou Yu's ear. “Back before all this started, Hattori came up with one important bit of info. He said Orochi only had three of our officers captive, in addition to my father.”

“Then, as long as we take this castle successfully, the last of them will be safe,” Yu breathed in relief. “The only thing left will be to search for Lord Sun Jian.”

“Right.” Ce turned his head back and stared into the flames. “We don't know whether that last piece of the puzzle will be found tomorrow, next month, or next year at this rate, so once the next battle is over, we have to get everyone ready to defect at any time.”

“Careful,” Yu warned. “You must balance preparation against fear. If we get ourselves ready to break away too soon, and that information is delayed in coming, some of our officers could get nervous or impatient. It increases the risk that someone may accidentally let slip the plan.”

“Hmm. Yeah, I see your point.” The young lord's brow furrowed, his eyes going unfocused as he let the flames fill his vision. “But it can't be just us, anymore. There are too many people caught up in it, and we have so many officers under our command now. I can't leave any of them under Orochi's thumb while we flit off into the night.”

“We may have to.” Yu reached over and set his hand on Ce's arm, squeezing it firmly. “Forgive me for what I'm about to say, but...Ce, I don't think we should tell your brother.”

“What?” Sun Ce recoiled from him, staring at him in shock. “You're telling me to leave my family behind?”

“Hear me out, please!” Zhou Yu wrapped his arms around himself, hiding them beneath his warm cloak. “You haven't even had the chance to see your brother, lately, because Da Ji has split you up – Lady Shangxiang, as well. She knows that when the three of you are together, you are dangerous, and split you up to minimize the chances of rebelling. Which, of course, only ensures that you will. If we do not move at the right time, all will be lost – she will not only kill your father, but your brother and sister as well.”

“So you're telling me to just leave Quan and Shangxiang in the dark? And abandon them if it comes to it?”

“As long as you do not tell them,” Yu insisted, growing almost as fierce as his comrade, “they cannot be held responsible for what you do! If we make any mistakes, it will be on our heads alone, and they'll be safe.”

Ce gritted his teeth, but the intense look from his sworn brother got through to him at last. “They'll still be in danger,” he tried to protest.

“Far less danger than you yourself.” Yu closed the distance between them and grabbed a hold of Ce's cloak at his chest, tugging him closer so as to make his argument right in his face. “Understand what this means, Ce! If you defect, alone, you will become Orochi's enemy. He will pursue you with the same force with which he has been routing all the other resistance armies – likely Da Ji herself will come after you, perhaps order everyone from Dong Zhuo to Cao Pi to kill you. While a part of this army, we have the benefit of supplies, secure fortresses, and extra troops at the ready. Once we depart, we will have nothing. No allies, nowhere to run to, no one to succor us. We will have to rely on our own strength.” He breathed a quiet sigh. “I know that if you were to tell this to Quan, he would say he could handle it. But we both know that he and Shangxiang are safer where they are. At least, for now – until we know the truth. If your father is being held in a well-guarded fortress, we may need them then. I am not asking you to abandon them, I'm only saying to _wait_.”

Ce gradually grew quieter, his anger ebbing. At last, he wilted against Yu, resting their foreheads together. “I hate it when you're right,” he muttered between them. “And here I thought that once we found out where my father is, everything would be turned around.”

“I wish it were so, for your sake,” Yu said gently. “But the process of regaining our freedom, and all of Wu, is going to be a slower process. We haven't even learned where your father is. Let us take it one step at a time – first, we conquer this castle Da Ji wants so badly. One more officer will be returned to us then, and we will know that she has nothing more to use against you except your father. Then, we will turn all our attention to seeking him, with no further distractions.”

“And if we can't do it alone, we'll drag Quan and Shangxiang into it.”

“I promise.” Zhou Yu set a hand on his cheek. “I will be your guide every step of the way, Ce, you know that. I also think you can trust Hanzo, since he has been indispensable to us so far. We will need his help to get that final crucial piece of information.”

“Okay. I trust you, Gongjin. You've never led me astray.” Ce curled an arm around him, hugging him briefly before drawing away from him. “I must protect all of them, and if the only way to do that is to appear to betray them...then I suppose I must.”

“I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that.” Zhou Yu turned back to the fire, sneaking his hands from under his cloak to warm them. “There is still much we do not know about this land, and who controls what. I think, we may need to capture someone from the Resistance in order to learn more, and gain potential allies on the outside.” His expression darkened again. “That is our real handicap. We are insulated within the Orochi army, no doubt as Da Ji wants. None of her loyal officers will let slip the information we need, so we might have to reach out and use one of our enemies.”

Sun Ce repositioned alongside him, his gaze wandering back into the flames. “What about Cao Pi? He did send Xu Huang to us that one time. Maybe he's got something we don't. It wouldn't look too strange for one part of the Orochi army to contact another, would it?”

“...you know, that might just be a good place to start.” Yu turned a smile on his companion. “Very clever, Ce. Who do we have that we can send, who can be spared from the main force?”

“At the moment, I don't think we can afford to go without anyone. Maybe after we take the castle, there'll be a chance. Lu Su is pretty good at being diplomatic, isn't he?”

“Yes, I think so. I will keep this plan close to my heart, and take care of everything.”

“Thanks.” Ce nudged against him, and for a while they simply stood leaning on one another, letting the small fire warm them.

They expected their quiet moment to be interrupted sooner or later, but not how or why. A sentry suddenly burst through the door in alarm, and scrambled to drop to his knee once he successfully found his commanders. “My lord! There's trouble!”

The noise startled them more than anything, but Sun Ce had the presence of mind to hold himself back from leaping to grab his tonfa. “Trouble? What do you mean?”

“The storehouses! They've been...”

Hattori Hanzo was unexpectedly among them, silent as a shadow until he shouldered past the flailing sentry. “Careless,” he said darkly. “The Oda army is upon us.”

“What?!” both Ce and Yu exclaimed.

“They came up through the trees,” the sentry reported, now that he had caught his breath, “and ambushed the supply captains. Before they could even raise an alarm, the storehouses were captured. All three of them!”

Hanzo nodded to confirm the story. Ce bristled angrily. “Damn! How did we let our guard down like that?”

“We need those storehouses,” Zhou Yu said urgently. “We hadn't emptied them yet, all the supplies are still in them. If we don't take them back, the invading army will raid them instead and we'll have an even bigger problem.”

“Let's go,” Ce huffed. “You, have our horses saddled immediately. Hanzo, you're with me. Where's Ran?”

“In the courtyard,” Hattori replied.

“Good, let's pick him up along the way.”

“I need to see the state of the ambush before I determine who should move where,” Zhou Yu added as he grabbed his sword.

Together they stormed down through the fortress and out to the snow-covered yard, where Ranmaru was already waiting beside their horses. A number of soldiers had already gathered, ready for orders, but some were huddled in cloaks and blankets and looking miserable. Zhou Yu asked them all to wait until he had looked over the situation for himself, for a battle to retake the storehouses would be manned and directed far differently from defending the entire fortress from an attack, and as yet, they didn't know if the raiders were intent on wiping them out. He and Hanzo rode out to the main gate, where they slowed and went on the alert. There was no one on the path between the earthworks defending Changshan, but that didn't mean the invaders weren't right around the corner. “You said it was the Oda army,” Yu murmured to the ninja. “How did you know?”

“I saw their commander,” Hanzo replied in his soft rasp. “Akechi Mitsuhide. Oda's right hand.”

Zhou Yu drew his horse to a stop. “The storehouses are our lifeline,” he stated, “but there is something I feel might be more important than food. We may not have another chance at this.”

The ninja's masked face turned toward him, and he didn't need to ask the question.

Yu gazed out through the gently-falling snow and made up his mind. He spoke his orders softly. “Sneak behind enemy lines and ask for an audience with this Oda retainer. I want to know only one thing: whether he has any information on where the Orochi army is holding Sun Jian. If he doesn't, so be it. But we must ask.”

“Understood.” Hanzo slipped his feet from the stirrups, climbed into the saddle, and launched himself with one mighty leap up over the wooden palisade that fenced the path. He perched on the top for a moment and then slipped over the other side when the coast was clear.

It didn't take long for Zhou Yu to collect the information he needed, even without a ninja's help, and then he turned back, heading through the castle gates while they were still well-guarded and ordering them closed behind him. He gathered Sun Ce and the other officers to him and told them what they needed to do, to split up and retake the storehouses. He noticed, then, what Ce himself had already gathered – that the cold and snow had sapped what little energy the marching army had left, and many of them were too hungry to really want to fight. They had just barely gotten to the fortress a few hours ago, and hadn't yet had time to rest. Unfortunately, such a luxury was not to be afforded them if they wanted to come out of this alive. “All right,” Ce decided, “whoever's ready to go. One group goes with Ranmaru, out the east gate and down the back path to the storehouse. The other comes with me, to the west. Zhou Yu is in command in the center, and if any of you want to live to see the sunshine and green grass again, you'll push past your hunger and back him up.” He wasn't familiar with some of these officers, they were men of Mikawa under Tokugawa's command, but he had Cheng Pu and a handful of other stout Wu captains ready to move out. They split themselves up and hurried to get out there before the invading army could strip the storehouses of all that precious food.

Hattori wasted no time carrying out his mission, slipping through the snow-clad fir trees like a whisper and alighting behind the final stockade separating Changshan from the open country beyond. The Resistance army had already thrown tents up, here, meaning they had been moving in under cover of the weather all along, and Sun Ce's forces had failed to notice. It would not bode well for anyone if this mistake lead to their elimination. Yet, ever the faithful ninja, he would carry out orders first, and worry about repelling this army second. Peering through a gap in the fence, he spotted Akechi Mitsuhide alone near the command tent, tying back his sleeves to allow himself access to his sword in close combat. He didn't hear the ninja coming, but turned suddenly with his katana drawn just as Hanzo appeared beside him, the blade stopping no more than an inch from the armored crest on Hanzo's helm. “Hattori,” he realized, and his eyes narrowed. “Have you come to assassinate me, then?”

Hanzo raised both hands, showing that he had not drawn a weapon. The heavy sickle blade was still strapped to his back. “My lord has a query. After it is answered, we may return to fight and kill one another.”

“Is that so?” Yet, Mitsuhide did not lower his blade. “Speak quickly, then, if you can.”

Before he could, a number of small dagger-like projectiles flew between them, clanging off the sword and both their armor. They dived apart, even as a rather large figure slammed into the dirt between them. Mitsuhide slid to a graceful stop with his katana poised in defense, while Hanzo crouched a few feet away, one arm behind his back grasping the handle of the sickle-blade and rattling its chain. Both looked up to see that the interference came from the least likely of sources. Towering over them, Fuuma Kotaro stood ready to obliterate anything and everything in his path, his breath forming icy clouds above his head in the cold. His gaze turned immediately to the other ninja, and a bloodthirsty grin split his lips. “Haven't I told you, Hanzo?” he purred darkly. “You would slip up sooner or later, and I would be there to catch you.”

Hattori's eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Fuuma,” Mitsuhide breathed. “Has Orochi sent you as well, then?”

Kotaro allowed himself a moment of distraction, casting an unimpressed look at the samurai. “My orders from Orochi are not for you to know. But I am not here to bother with either of these pathetic armies.” His dark gaze returned to Hanzo. “I have other prey.”

Hattori didn't waste any more time, and vanished into the trees in a blink. Fuuma leaped to follow, leaving Mitsuhide alone and safe. He brandished his sword for a moment longer, but realized that the ninjas had abandoned him and straightened up, sliding the blade back into its saya. They had left him to continue his assault against the fortress of Changshan, and so he would, without further delay.

The two combatants darted through the trees, one on the heels of the other, practically flying in their haste. Hanzo wasn't sure whether Fuuma had actually heard his words to the enemy commander, but his actions were incriminating enough. He had managed to stay one step ahead of Fuuma in all of his investigations so far, but never in his wildest nightmares had he expected the opposing shinobi captain to just appear on this battlefield. Fuuma had no one to answer to but Orochi himself, and if he wanted to cause chaos somewhere or pursue his own interests, he could, even if it meant interfering with the Orochi army itself. Fuuma would not care if his actions meant Sun Ce's army might be defeated, all he wanted was Hanzo's head. Hattori would not let him have it. He led his pursuer away from the fortress so he wouldn't get in the way of the battle, pausing only once to let out a shrill whistle as he passed near one of the main paths. As their flight continued, there were suddenly more ninjas whispering through the trees, all clad in blue like their commander. He came to a clearing that he judged to be sufficiently far away from Sun Ce and finally halted, his subordinates alighting in a ring around him. His Iga clan-mates were a precious resource, not to be wasted, but right now they would do him more good than the rest of the army. Fuuma breezed to a stop facing them, and snorted at the reinforcements. “Two can play this game, Hanzo,” he taunted, and likewise used a whistled command to bring Fuuma ninjas to his side. They collectively stood like statues for a moment, sizing each other up, and then the clearing burst into a flurry of ninja action.

The Iga and Fuuma clans were well-matched, leaving their commanders to face one another directly. Hanzo braced himself as Kotaro charged him, using his sickle as a shield to repel a hail of claw-strikes and then swinging the weighted end of the chain around to try to trip up his foe. Kotaro evaded it easily with a quick leap and then resumed battering at Hanzo, his clawed fists moving faster than the eye could follow. They circled around the clearing, weaving in and out of the minor battles between their troops, until the sickle moved a hair too high to properly block and Kotaro got a swing in underneath it. His gauntlet slammed into Hanzo's chestplate, sending him flying backwards into a tree trunk. He hit hard, flat against his back, but recovered quickly, dropping to a crouch and launching himself beneath the bigger ninja's long reach to counter. Kotaro planted a hand on his foe's head to stop him in his tracks, but doing so opened himself wide to the sickle-blade flying at him from his left at the end of its chain. He had to disengage and dodge to avoid losing his arm, though the blade clanged off his gauntlet. He whirled and swung his other fist at it, punching it out of the air to stop its momentum, and then pounced on Hanzo again, taking him down with a flying kick and then stomping on the chain of his weapon to keep it from coming back into play. Hanzo rolled over, feeling the chain come taut as the weight pinned it down, and looked up to find Fuuma descending upon him like a boulder, nothing but a huge, dark shape against the gray sky. Hattori let go of the chain in order to roll out of the way, but his enemy still dealt him a glancing blow, missing the chance to land on him but swiping at him with the clawed gauntlet before he could dodge and rending through his trousers. Hanzo deftly swept out of the way and got to his feet, using the advantage of distance to throw a couple of projectiles and then an explosive charge, fooling Fuuma with the first so that he would attempt to deflect and get hit instead. He heard his foe growl angrily as the thrown charge blew up in his face, but it didn't slow him down long enough – he swiped both hands through the cloud of smoke as if to tear it out of the way and burst through it, eyes watering from the distraction. Hanzo used his chance to swoop down and retrieve his weapon, so that even as Kotaro came at him he was already swinging it, finally able to go on the offensive. They clashed for what seemed like ages, as Kotaro furiously swiped at him with both hands and tried to fend off return slashes of the sickle. The taller shinobi's sheer force drove Hanzo back step by step, but this time he rolled sideways and let Kotaro's claws thunk into the bark of a tree, and then hacked at him from the side. Fuuma avoided it with a graceful arch of his back and neck, and then pulled one hand free of the tree trunk and jabbed it sideways, straight into Hattori's gut. The chain mail he wore to protect himself from arrows and swords gave way, letting the claws penetrate through to his flesh. As he began to sink to his knees, Kotaro followed through with the momentum, jabbing harder, pushing him down to the ground with the daggers in his gut. Fuuma grinned darkly at his success, watching the blood seep through the mail rings and soak the shirt underneath, but then there was a chain looped around his throat, which abruptly tightened before he could even react. Hanzo did not even look up as he swung the sickle hard at close range, burying the blade in Kotaro's shoulder.

The bigger ninja captain let out a roar of pain and fury and drew back his other hand to slice across his foe's throat, but never got the chance to connect. Hattori lunged upward and butted his head straight into Fuuma's chest, right at the point of his diaphragm. Kotaro fell backward onto the ground, writhing, as the wind had been stolen from him and he couldn't breathe. Hanzo struggled to pick himself up, loosening the coiled chain in order to put his weight against the sickle, dragging it across Fuuma's torso as he pulled it free and left him to bleed. Likewise, he lost his opportunity for a finishing blow, as the surviving Fuuma ninjas suddenly materialized around their captain and shielded him, so one could drag him to safety. At the same time two Iga shinobi alit beside their own captain, ready to defend him. It looked to be a stalemate, a completed battle, as Kotaro was no longer in any shape to continue. Without a word, the two clans drew their respective captains away from the scene, leaving nothing but scuffled foot tracks and blood in the snow.

Retaking the storehouses was an easy enough task for the handful of officers, as the Resistance troops had not gotten enough of a defense set up either in the short time since they had taken over the buildings. They had barely gotten their own officers in place to begin ordering the removal of supplies when Sun Ce and his cohorts rode over them, and this time, they had a plan. While Ce, Ranmaru, and the others held off attack, their subordinates hurried to empty the storehouses, carrying as much as they could up to the main fortress. The buildings themselves were of no consequence if the disputed supplies could be secured, according to Zhou Yu, and so they aimed to control their assets before the invading army could raid them. The third storehouse was already half-emptied by the time Ranmaru reached it, under the watchful guidance of Huang Zhong, who seemed to be one step ahead of Zhou Yu in that regard. The old general and the young boy faced off against one another, and in the end, the Orochi army reclaimed all of their supplies, and the invaders were forced to fall back. It took time to completely empty the storage, though, and by the end, Sun Ce was worried. Hanzo hadn't reported back, and the snow was starting to fall more thickly as the day waned. He sat in the saddle long after the others had all returned to the fortress, scanning the paths slowly disappearing under a thick blanket of snow. Zhou Yu came up beside him after a bit. “We've been able to give everyone something to eat,” he reported. “Our troops are refreshed and ready to launch a counter-attack, on your command.”

Ce kept his eyes on the deepening gloom. “What news of our friendly neighborhood bandits?”

“They have not retreated. The sentries on the walls have spotted fires around their camp. They are digging in.” Yu likewise gazed out through the lone open gate to the landscape around them, though much of their view was blocked by palisades and earthworks. “We will have to take the fight to them, to get them off our backs. Else, they may siege us here, and while we have the supplies now, we also have an appointment to keep.”

The unnamed Wu officer being held against them could not afford the waiting. Ce knew they had to push back, in order for his people to survive – _all_ of his people. He gathered the reins, making to take command and signal for the counter-attack, when at last he spotted what he had been waiting for. Three figures clad in dark blue were limping their way, two supporting the third between them. Not knowing whether or not they were being pursued, Ce spurred his horse and rode to meet them, eyes widening at the sight of his faithful retainer. Hanzo was a wreck, his scarf retied around his waist to stem the flow of blood, one leg of his trousers hanging in ribbons. And yet, his mask and helm were still in place, hiding his identity. The other two ninjas hurried to help their captain up onto the horse behind Ce, so he could be brought back into the fortress much more quickly. Zhou Yu raced to help as soon as they crossed the threshold, seeing how badly their officer was injured. “What happened?” he demanded. Everyone else had returned more or less unscathed, this amount of damage was frightening.

Hanzo allowed them to haul him off the horse and finally collapsed into Zhou Yu's arms, turning his head so that his masked lips rested close to the strategist's ear. “Your message...was not delivered,” he said, and that was it.

Zhou Yu caught his breath, and then signaled for others to help him. “Let's get him inside, and get those wounds wrapped up. It looks to have gone through his armor, the chain may be broken. Hurry!” Once others had carried Hattori away, he straightened up, giving Ce a dark look. He had no way of knowing whether it was the enemy commander who had caused those injuries, or someone else. “I will see to his treatment. Get out there and drive the Resistance away from our door.”

“Right.” Sun Ce strode back to his horse, calling for Ranmaru to accompany him. All the soldiers had to respond to his orders this time, as they had been fed and given warm clothes and had no more excuses not to fight. They had wasted enough time, they couldn't let Akechi's forces get comfortable and settle in for a long siege. Entrusting the bulk of the lowly soldiers to Cheng Pu, Ce pulled Ranmaru behind him on his horse and galloped off into the snow to take the fight straight to their enemy.

The last gate of the stockade had been barricaded after the first wave, to allow Ce's men to empty the storehouses without being interrupted, but now the charging commander threw it open, both he and his passenger slipping from the horse's back as they came through, hitting the ground running. The resistance army had been clustered behind the gate, trying to force it open, and scattered now at the onrush coming right back at them. Sun Ce had minimal orders, easy to obey: drive the army away. He held the gate for a bit to give the rest of their army time to catch up, clearing wide swaths with his tonfa, but he really wanted to push his way to the commanding officer, to see the head of the Oda Resistance for himself. Without having to say a word he knew Ranmaru was keeping pace with him, protecting his back even when he began to overreach and push too far into the enemy camp. A sudden gust of wind knocked them both back and sent snow spiraling in eddies around them, and Ce looked up to realize he knew the weapon that made it. His heart soared for a moment, but then his hopes were dashed in the next instant. Still, it was someone he was glad to see, all things considered. The young girl behind the immense war fan came running at him and then stopped short, self-consciously hugging her weapon to herself. “Oh! Lord Sun Ce!” she realized a moment too late. “I...I really didn't want to see you, here...”

Ce backed off, putting himself into a defensive stance. “Nor I you,” he admitted. “But we can't help it, can we?”

Xiaoqiao began to back away from him, looking this way and that to make sure no one would attack her from behind. “Is he here?”

“Yeah. Do you have a message for him?” Ce looked over his shoulder, but no, Zhou Yu hadn't caught up to them yet. He held one tonfa up to keep Ranmaru from rushing past him and eliminating this particular enemy officer.

“Tell him...tell him I miss him, but I'm staying strong!” his sister-in-law chirped, retreating in earnest now. “I can't stay here, if he's here, I don't want to see him like this!”

“Stay safe, Xiaoqiao!” Ce called after her, letting her go. He glanced at Ran, who just gazed back at him, not knowing what to say. “I'll explain later,” the Wu prince muttered. “Come on, they're fading back. We can get to their commander easily, now!”

He knocked aside a few defenders and raced right in, making for a mounted officer he could see through the flying snow. At the last moment, though, Ranmaru edged past him and ran ahead, his long sword held poised. The rider came for them, his own sword meeting and glancing off Ran's as he passed. He wheeled and returned even as Ranmaru put himself deliberately in front of Sun Ce, though it was difficult to say who he was protecting from whom. “Lord Mitsuhide!” the young boy cried out. “Please, you must withdraw!”

Akechi pulled up short, finally recognizing the blade that had turned his aside. “Ranmaru!” he exclaimed. “We've been searching everywhere for you! You are with _this_ man, now?”

“'This man,' huh?” Ce snorted.

“Sun Ce is a good man,” Ranmaru said determinedly, sliding into a tense stance from which he could either attack or defend as needed. “I have faith in him.”

“Even if it means you side with Orochi, against your lord?”

“I do not serve Orochi, I serve Sun Ce!”

“Whoa, easy there!” Ce tried to break in between them. “I'm not here to look for accolades, I just have a job to do. Let's not get crazy, here!”

“You trust him the same as you do Lord Nobunaga?” Mitsuhide challenged, dropping out of the saddle and taking up a ready stance of his own behind his katana. “How can I know that you are not being deceived, Ranmaru?”

The boy faced him down, his expression blank. “You will have to judge for yourself which of us is right, Lord Mitsuhide.”

Akechi shifted his gaze from Ran to Ce. “I trust no man until I have tested him against my blade.”

“You want a fight? I'll be happy to give you one.” Sun Ce set a hand on Ranmaru's shoulder. “Thanks, but I can handle this myself.”

“And if you die? I know Lord Mitsuhide's abilities, we are both retainers to Lord Oda Nobunaga.”

“You really think I'm gonna die that easily?” Ce used that had to gently but firmly push the boy aside. “He wants to test me, I'm fine with that. Let's go.”

Ranmaru had no choice but to let him, backing off and setting himself to keep anyone else from interfering. Sun Ce rushed in hard and fast, guessing that this fellow fought much the same as Zhou Tai with a similar sword. He swung his tonfa quick one after the other, but Mitsuhide evaded them both and struck back, darting in much more quickly than he had ever seen Zhou Tai move. Ce blocked skillfully, though, and the two circled around each other, taking testing swings before committing to another charge. Again and again they hit each other, cutting around one another and changing position, the snow flying from their heels. Every time the blade flashed and he could feel it singing toward him, Sun Ce dodged or blocked and countered with a pound of a tonfa, which rarely found a true mark. He knew he couldn’t waste time, but this was the enemy commander, and he knew his way around a sword – rarely had Ce met someone with this skill. He dropped low and attempted to sweep Mitsuhide’s feet out from under him, but it was evaded and then the sword was flying at his neck, forcing him to roll to the side and swing a tonfa up to bat it away. He regained his feet and came back around again, throwing all of his strength into one massive, two-fisted blow. This time they ended up stalemated, the katana pressing against the crossed tonfa, the two warriors staring each other in the face across their weapons. Mitsuhide disengaged suddenly, stepping back. “I see. Your heart is pure,” he murmured thoughtfully.

“That's it?” Ce looked genuinely disappointed that the fight hadn't gone on longer, though he didn't lower his guard yet. “Come on! Are you afraid to really get into it?”

“There is no need. I have seen enough. Please, keep Ranmaru safe. Lord Nobunaga will want him back someday.” He slid his katana into its saya and turned to locate the boy in question, his hakama making sweeping trails in the mounting snow. “Our lord will be glad to hear that you are alive. But you have chosen your own path, so you must live with the consequences it brings, both good and bad. I will agree to withdraw, there is no point in piling further casualties on top of our failure to raid your supplies.”

“I ought to make you pay me back for the one casualty we do have,” Ce said with a frown as he straightened up. “What did you do to him?”

“Do? To whom?” Mitsuhide wondered.

“Hattori Hanzo. He's been injured, pretty seriously.”

The samurai's eyes widened for a moment. “Will he be all right?”

“...you care?”

“I did not fight him. He came to me with a message, presumably from you, Lord Sun Ce.”

Ce didn't remember sending any messages, but it occurred to him that Zhou Yu might have done so in his name, so he didn't protest. “Then what happened?”

“We were interrupted. Fuuma Kotaro was here.” Mitsuhide's frown matched Ce's. “I was under the impression he was Orochi's minion, yet he attacks his own?”

Sun Ce received that news with narrowed eyes. That didn't sound right at all, but he couldn't argue. If Ranmaru trusted this man, he saw no reason not to. “I'll look into it. Ran, c'mon – let's man the gate until our uninvited guests beat their retreat.”

Akechi Mitsuhide bowed low to them. “Shame, those supplies would do well to feed Lord Nobunaga's growing army. But I suppose I cannot begrudge them in the hands of someone who was even more determined than my own men to keep them.” He raised his voice above the din of battle, then. “All forces! Strike camp and retreat! We have failed to capture the food supplies, we should not linger!” He gave Ce one more nod, and Ranmaru one more smile, and got back on his horse to guide the retreat.

By the time they got back into the fortress where it was warm and dry, Ce had gotten the full explanation behind how Ran knew the enemy commander, and what tied them together. He was relieved that he didn't need to come down harder on the would-be thieves, then, but even so, this skirmish had the potential of putting them behind schedule. And now, one of their best men was down. He didn't bother going to get something to eat, he first needed to see Hanzo. The ninja was awake, at least, and resting comfortably, though the healers had had to work hard to pull the damaged chain links from his pierced flesh and close the wound. He would recover, but not too quickly. As he approached the pallet, Sun Ce smirked very slightly – he could finally see the ninja's full face, for the first time. He had a faint scar over one eye, the opposite as Zhou Tai, and a stern face that perfectly matched his taciturn nature. Ce sat beside him, clasping his hands in his lap. “How're you doing?”

“I will live,” Hanzo replied softly, his voice no less muted for not being hidden behind a cloth mask.

“Good. I'd hate to lose you, especially at a time like this. Lord Ieyasu isn't gonna be happy with me for getting you banged up.”

The ninja regarded him for a moment and then closed his eyes. “He will understand.”

“You'd know better than me.” Ce stared down at his folded hands, so he wouldn't have to ask the next question too directly. “Any idea why Fuuma would attack you when we're supposed to be on the same side?”

Hanzo stared at him in alarm. “How...?”

“The enemy commander told me.”

Heaving a growling sort of sigh, Hattori looked toward the wall instead. After a long silence, he finally answered. “I don't know.”

“Can you at least guess? Come on, Hattori, you're under my command,” Ce reasoned, looking toward him. “I gotta know if this kind of thing is something I have to be worried about.”

Closing his eyes again, Hanzo composed perhaps the longest string of words Sun Ce had ever heard him utter. “He is looking for signs of treason among Orochi's officers. He is also my eternal enemy. I expect he attacked for both of those reasons.”

Coming so close on the heels of his chat with Zhou Yu earlier, this was crushing news. Ce worried that their private talk had been overheard after all, if Orochi's favorite force of chaos could be on the scene so quickly to retaliate against Hanzo. Then again, if they were sworn enemies to start with, there could be something else involved. But Ce could only think about how much danger he was in. In this light, Zhou Yu's warning about not bringing his brother and sister into the plot sounded much more reasonable. “All right. I see. Rest up, then. I'm not going to have anyone escort you back to Bai Di or anything, you're coming along with us to this Odani Castle, but I hope you'll understand if you get stuck guarding the main camp in this condition.”

Hanzo bowed his head. “Understood.”

Ce's hand came down on the ninja's knee. “I hope he looks as bad as you do right now.”

The tiniest smirk tugged at the corner of Hanzo's lips. “Worse.”

“Good. Good work, out there.” The young lord pushed himself to his feet and wandered out, leaving the ninja to recuperate in the peace and quiet. At long last, he started to realize he was hungry, and now that the supplies had been brought in, he could do something about it. There was a lot to think about, but thinking was hungry work, it could wait.

  


The spectacle in the courtyard of Jianye castle was unlike any seen there before or since. The day before, a rather large contingent of the Orochi army, manned primarily by snake soldiers, had arrived under the command of Date Masamune and his rifle squad to use Cao Pi's main headquarters as a stopover. Though clearly irritated at this overuse of his good will from the alliance, the lord of Wei allowed it, under the assumption that they would be moving on to greener pastures quickly. In the meantime, one of his generals wasted no time in making very good use of the visiting troops; at the moment, Zhang He had them assembled in the courtyard and was attempting to teach them to dance. Needless to say, it wasn't going very well, but it certainly was beyond entertaining to watch for certain other people. Date thought it ridiculous, but Cao Pi privately found it hilarious, and didn't mind taking a break from official matters to stand at a balcony and watch to see if his favored general had made any progress since the morning. He was currently leading his own troops in what appeared to be a choreographed flag dance, the sort of celebration they might perform at a holiday festival or a grand occasion. The snake-demons that made up Orochi's main army clustered around the edges of the yard, watching dubiously. Cao Pi found himself feeling rather proud of his own people, that they still had their humanity and could out-weird the weird snakes, though it was all due to Zhang He being at his side again. His usual retainers were all straight-laced and dour, and focused more on honor and strength than enjoying life the way Junyi did. Yet, he managed to wipe the smirk off his face and replace it with his usual cool calm by the time Date and Ishida joined him at the parapet. “What an imbecile,” Date complained as he beheld the shenanigans below. “Is he seriously making his troops _dance?_ ”

“I'll thank you not to underestimate one of my most talented generals,” Cao Pi said arrogantly, turning an imperious look on his guest. “Lord Zhang He utilizes that natural grace and agility in his fighting style, it makes him one of the most formidable fighters I have.”

“If that's formidable, then you must have some pathetic fighters under your command,” Date shot back, giving him an equally unimpressed look.

Cao Pi harrumphed under his breath. “If you think so, then you are welcome to challenge him to fight and see for yourself. I am not responsible for your health or your limbs if you do so.”

Masamune shot him a sidelong look out of the corner of his good eye. The Wei lord's confidence was far different from mere bragging, so all he could do was sniff his disbelief in response. “As long as your people can still win the battles they're put to, then I don't really care. Victory is the only thing that matters.”

Pi considered that argument won in his favor. “The success of my army is my own business, regardless of what effect it might have on Orochi's plans. See to your own men, Date.” He nodded to indicate the mass of snakes in the yard below them.

“Hah. If your idiot general wants to play with them, I don't care. I have no love for those foolish creatures, I only follow Lord Orochi's demands.” He turned and glared at Cao Pi directly. “You would do well to remember who you serve.”

“Me?” Pi turned to face him, his icy smirk coming back. “Why, no one. I am lord of Wei. I have an alliance with Orochi, and believe me, I accord him all the respect he deserves for that agreement.”

“Mark me, Cao Pi,” Date snapped, “one day you, too, will bow to him. He's letting you have your freedom for now, but once the Resistance is completely suppressed, he will move to bring everyone under his control – especially the likes of you.”

“Is that so?” Cao Pi couldn't help but be amused all over again at this young general's bluster. So much hot air for so little purpose. “I suppose we shall have to see. But while you are a guest of my generosity, you will refer to me with the proper respect.”

Masamune grumbled and looked away, preferring silence to actually saying something respectful. He was only there to impose upon this ally of Orochi's, not form strong bonds for the battlefield. Cao Pi turned to go back inside, then, not even caring whether the other two followed. Ishida had been quiet, mostly listening to what Date had to report from the main army, but as they returned to the audience chamber, he finally spoke up. “Should we check in on this special guest we've been brought?”

“Hmm...” Pi glanced at him. “After what my wife said to me last night, I'm just curious enough. Let's go.”

Jianye Castle didn't have much in the way of a prison or dungeon, but there were places where captives could be securely held if necessary. As yet they hadn't been needed, but the day prior when Date's forces rode in it was revealed that they were bringing one of Orochi's more important prisoners to be housed there, potentially long-term. Da Ji apparently was undergoing a major overhaul of the army in general, shuffling who was teamed up with whom, where the prisoners were being held, and which targets were to become top priority. It was why Date was taking a large contingent across the land to other castles, too. Until now, most of the strongholds being occupied by the Orochi army and its allies were manned by humans, but suddenly now it seemed imperative that those forces be bolstered by the same snakes who had been part of the initial wave of conquest. Orochi himself was still primarily behind the scenes, but his demon forces were now to be working alongside the humans. Clearly, something was up, but Cao Pi was careful not to say as much. He didn't want demons quartering at Jianye, but he had a couple of ideas up his sleeve in order to prevent himself from having to deal with it. He also noticed, from the way Date spoke, that at least he had actually been in their demon overlord's presence recently. _More power to him_ , he thought, as he descended to the windowless chambers with locked doors where their other guest was being held. Guards stood thick along the wall on either side of the iron door, all of whom straightened at attention when their lord came among them. He rapped lightly on the door to warn that someone was coming in, and then allowed the main guard to unlock it and show him in.

The chamber had likely been a storeroom in times past, but it had been cleared out to bring in a cot and a few other amenities. It was no dungeon, by far, someone had taken the time to decorate, but then, given the nature of the prisoner, it was almost no surprise. Seated gracefully on the edge of the cot was a singular lady, her hair finely upswept and pinned with sticks and clips, her hands clasped demurely in her lap, and a predatory smile on her painted lips. Her eyes lifted to Cao Pi as he entered, and she practically let out a purr. “Oh, my. The lord of Wei himself has come to pay homage. If I had known you were coming, I would have put on something more appropriate.”

Cao Pi regarded her with his head held high. She had all of the beauty and aesthetic taste of his own wife, and a fair measure of her icy wit as well. “Forgive me for not welcoming you in person last night,” he murmured in return. “A leader's work is never done.”

“Better late than never,” she said with a deadly smile.

“Lord Cao Pi,” Ishida said with a quick cough, “meet Lady No, wife of Oda Nobunaga.”

“Charmed,” Pi sniffed.

“Likewise,” Lady No smirked. “I do trust you will entertain me better than those reptiles at the main camp. They had no sense of humor, or idea of how to deal with humans for that matter.”

“Yes, I'm sure that's why they decided to send you into someone else's custody,” Mitsunari snorted. 

No gave him a cool smile. “So this is where you've ended up, Mitsunari. I'm sure my lord will be happy to repay you for looking after me, once we're finally reunited.”

Ishida made a disgruntled face. “Dream on.”

“Mitsunari, where are your manners?” Cao Pi chided him with a similar smirk to the one their captive wore. “Behave yourself, or I'll put you personally in charge of looking after the lady's needs.”

“He's very pretty,” No mused, “but I find myself rather intrigued with you yourself, young lord. I wouldn't mind taking my punishment at your hand.”

Pi turned his head slowly to regard her as if he wasn't entirely sure he just heard that. Mitsunari started to laugh and then covered it with a cough. “...ah. Hm, maybe I'm coming down with something. I should step out.”

Pi gave his retreating back a glare and then got himself under control, turning a haughty look on his prisoner. “It seems the Orochi army has seen fit to ask the lord of this castle to undertake the important task of holding you in custody. So be it. I merely wanted to take a moment to welcome you to Jianye. I believe I can find someone capable of looking after you.” He bowed very slightly and then slipped out of the room, ordering the guards to lock up behind him. Ishida and Date were standing waiting for him, and both looked rather pleased with themselves for being able to witness his first real meeting with the infamous Lady No. He eyed them both. “Something tells me I shouldn't have been surprised that the wife of a man who calls himself 'Demon King' is so interesting.”

“She does enjoy her punishment a little too much,” Date snickered. “Are you sure you can keep up with such a demanding prisoner, Lord Cao Pi?”

“I would like to,” Pi said suavely, “but my wife might have something to say about it. She doesn't really like to share.” He turned and stalked away from them, rather proud of his comeback as it successfully shut them both up. Ishida was the first to hurry to follow, and eventually Date caught up with them. “That actually gives me an idea,” the young lord said over his shoulder. “If my lady Zhenji consents to it, I would put care of this prisoner in her hands. She may be able to understand this woman's needs better than I. At least, for now.”

“For now?” Mitsunari repeated.

Some steps up the corridor they reached an intersection of halls, at which point Cao Pi turned abruptly, letting his cloak swish regally about him. “How would you like to become lord of your very own castle, Date Masamune?”

The One-Eyed Dragon narrowed his one eye suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”

“I find I grow tired of Jianye. I took it initially because it was abandoned, but now that the Orochi army has overrun this entire land and taken quite a number of much nicer castles, I feel it may be time for me to choose one more suitable to my army's needs.” He smirked unashamedly at Date. “After all, I keep gathering more officers, there are simply too many to house in a fortress like this.”

Masamune lowered his head to glare from under the shadows of his helmet. “Lady Da Ji just gave you new orders. Are you abandoning them already? Are you planning to turn on her, Cao Pi? If you dare, you will answer to me!”

“The order is for Jianye castle to play host to this prisoner.” Pi had read the missive very carefully before even thinking of this option. “It doesn't say who should be in control of Jianye. I think you would make a fine lord. Do you doubt yourself?”

“Do not mock me, Cao Pi,” Masamune seethed. “I have my own orders as well, I have no time to take up residence in a cushy palace like you do.”

“And what does a lapdog of Orochi do, anyway?” Pi continued to needle him. “While the rest of us are out here fighting the battles he is too bored to bother with?”

Both of them moved too fast for anyone to stop them, and in the next instant there was a pistol aimed at Cao Pi's forehead, the click of the safety cocking loud in the otherwise empty corridor. At the same time, the point of a blade rested just beneath Masamune’s chin, poised at his throat to pierce. Off to the side, Mitsunari did not move a single hair, though his eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. Date's lips curled in a feral snarl, and his chin jerked up slightly to keep the blade of Pure Havoc from stabbing through his throat. “You dare to mock Lord Orochi in front of me?”

“Are you really so offended on his behalf?” Pi's icy blue eyes did not bother noticing the gun to his head, boring into Masamune's face instead. “Orochi can look after himself and his own reputation. You would do well to have some pride in yourself, Date.”

At his shoulder, Mitsunari snorted even more magnificently than before. “Date Masamune and pride are not strangers.”

“Shut up, Ishida. Stay out of this,” Date snapped.

“No, I think you both should shut up and put your weapons away,” Mitsunari said harshly, stepping between them with his arms folded. “Unless you want insubordination to run rampant through both your armies. Put your egos away for a minute, would you?”

“Funny thing for you to say.” Cao Pi relented, though, drawing back his blade. His eyes remained locked on the other general's face, even after Masamune likewise lowered the pistol and nudged the safety back into place.

“Yeah, yeah, snipe at me later,” Ishida sighed. “This is the long and the short of it. The Wei army _has_ outgrown Jianye. But we don't have the authority to let Date take charge of it. In between those two options is the solution. If you don't want to think of it now, fine, but we'll get it figured out before our two armies have to go their separate ways. Deal?”

Cao Pi breathed a heavy sigh before answering. “Fine.”

“Don't lecture me, I'm not the one who started it.” Date holstered his pistol and brushed himself down, as if pretending nothing happened. “Whatever. I delivered the orders and the prisoner, my work here is done. We still need a couple of days to resupply and prepare.”

“Naturally. You'll have it. Now, if you'll excuse us, _Lord_ Cao Pi and I have other business to attend to. Oh, and Date...”

Masamune looked his way and then hissed as the tip of a bladed war fan whiffed into a threatening position beneath his nose. Mitsunari's look at the other end was dark and cold. “...if you ever draw your guns on my lord again, I'll clip your wings and then slit your throat. Got it?”

Cao Pi's eyebrows arched in incredulity. Date pushed the folded fan out of his way with the back of his bracer. “Whatever,” he said again. “I don't have time for the likes of you.” He swept around and stalked away down the corridor, headed off to whatever command-work he might be able to invent for himself.

Tucking his fan away, Mitsunari glanced at Cao Pi and then turned completely away from him. “Don't look at me like that.”

For once, Pi was not hiding his reaction behind his icy facade, he looked both intrigued and unsettled. “Was that supposed to impress me?”

“It wasn't for you,” Ishida muttered under his breath as he started away, down the opposite corridor from Masamune.

Pi trailed along behind him, though he knew they were heading up to his rooms to sit and look over all the new information brought in by the Orochi army. After a long silence, he asked, “How well do you know Date Masamune, then?”

For an equally long period of time, Mitsunari didn't answer. They got to the office and he placed a hand on the door, and then finally said, “It's complicated.”

It wasn't enough of an answer, but Cao Pi let it be. It wasn't often others could surprise him, and he still couldn't know for sure how Mitsunari meant his remark. Technically, he wasn't the strategist's lord, he only had the man on loan from his ally Orochi. He decided to ruminate on it later, for they did have work to do and it would be more difficult if he spent the whole time wondering what was going on in Mitsunari's mind.

Masamune kept a low profile around the castle the rest of the day, limiting his interaction with most of the Wei officers floating around the castle and saying nothing more about Zhang He's flamboyant attempts at teaching the snake soldiers his favorite victory dance. No one else seemed to have heard about his confrontation with their lord, not even Guo Jia, the secondary strategist around the ranks who was actually allowed into briefings and tactics meetings with Ishida. It wasn't brought up later when Cao Pi called all of his officers together to let them know where some of them would be headed, and permitted Date to witness since he had been the one to deliver the orders that gave rise to these new commissions. He watched keenly as the famed officers of Wei gathered and diligently took their assignments without complaining – not even Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, who were requested to join up with Sima Yi for his return to Nanzhong. They had the most right of anyone in that room to be less than thrilled about their orders, but they barely twitched a lip in a pout, let alone said anything. At least Wei was getting Zhong Hui as a trade-off, for taking some high-ranking generals away so far south. Yue Jin was being sent to rejoin Cao Ren where he was, a mission he accepted with a silent nod. There was talk of Guo Jia going back to Pang De’s aid, but for now he decided he would prefer to remain with the lord of Wei, in the event that another strategist such as Xu Shu could not take his place. He fit in well with Ishida, handsome and glib and hiding so much behind his smirk, but his explanation was serious and genuine. “Despite proverbs about eggs and baskets,” he reasoned from where he sat on a windowsill, ankles crossed, propping himself up on the great staff he fought with, “it is generally a better idea to have more than one strategist on hand, my lord. I may not measure up to Lord Ishida, but I would be pleased to continue to serve as his assistant.”

He didn’t speak sarcastically, but more than one present knew that he was just as capable a strategist as their Orochi-ordered tactician, if not moreso. But Guo Jia didn’t seem to mind his position. “If you insist,” Cao Pi relented. “Yet, now and then I feel like you could be doing Pang De more good, but as you say – we can wait to see whether we can secure more of our wandering forces. Who knows?” His own sarcasm grew suddenly thick. “Perhaps if he gets beaten down one more time, Sima Yi will realize his proper place and come slinking back to me.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Mitsunari said with a cold laugh. “He’s gotten so full of himself that he probably won’t fit through the door.”

“Small loss,” Cao Pi snorted, making several of the officers chuckle. “Then, that is the state of our troop movements. We may be going in all directions at once for a time, but that is the only way to maximize our troop strength and coordinate the supply chain. I trust that none of you need me to hold your hands, so make the most of whatever you find out there.”

“What about you?” Zhang He wondered. “Where are you off to, this time?”

“Surprisingly, the main army does not seem to need my personal attention in any of their affairs,” Cao Pi replied with a cool smile. “With these updated maps, however, it may be possible for me to travel to oversee some other strongholds, perhaps see if Luoyang itself is unoccupied and free for the taking.”

“The capital!” Xu Huang sighed. “Don’t tell me that there’s a possibility the Emperor himself is also trapped in this land?”

“Doubtful. We would have heard by now if he was,” Guo Jia answered. “Though there is some merit to laying claim to Luoyang before any other factions have the chance.”

“And if it’s occupied, what then?” Yue Jin wondered. “With most of us scattered across the landscape…”

“I will still have Zhang He and Xu Zhu, among others,” Cao Pi replied airily. “Some of my lesser relations, though I may send them off with some of you.”

“As I am no fan of grubbing around in dingy castles,” He sighed dramatically, “I fully support taking control of somewhere beautiful like Luoyang. It suits me so much better.”

“I don’t know, you looked like you were having a good time out there with the snakes today,” Yue Jin teased him.

“Ugh,” Zhang He retorted, “they have absolutely no sense of rhythm. It’s pathetic. No, they’re too ugly for me, I much prefer retiring to a place where we have nothing around us but the beauty of one another.” He cast an admiring smile that seemed to catch Guo Jia and Zhenji, as well as their lord.

“Well, then. You have your orders. Dismissed, until dinner.” Cao Pi sent them off with a wave of his hand, all except for his wife, who stayed close to his side now that the business part of the day was over. Pi had a rare and sincere smile for her, gathering her to his side. “My darling, may I speak with you in private?”

“Of course.” Zhenji looked pleased to have his attention for more than five minutes, and gave Mitsunari a gloating look as they swept past him and went to be in actual privacy. She was getting so little of her husband’s time lately, often not until after dark when everyone retired to their own quarters. That was usually the best time to have him all to herself, but she craved the days when he could be distracted at any time of the day no matter what. If anything, Orochi deserved her wrath for being more important. Once the door closed, she draped herself against him. “What is it? Are you holding some kind of great big secret to yourself?”

“Not quite,” Pi had to admit, hooking his arms around her to trap her against his side. “I am wondering if the benefit of a day’s time has changed your opinion of our prisoner at all.”

Zhenji gave him a look of true, catty distaste. “That old hag needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. I don’t know how long she’s been Orochi’s prisoner, but it hasn’t seemed to have broken her yet.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Cao Pi tempered his words with a little affection, gazing into her eyes and running a fingertip along her cheek. “I had hoped that perhaps you would be the best choice to teach her a lesson or two.”

His wife frowned, seeing right through his cajoling. “If it’s because we’re both women, I think Zhang He would be a better choice.”

“Actually, it was because she sounded like she shared interests with you. But, if you’re not willing, I can hardly make you.” Pi gracefully changed subjects, then. “What are your thoughts on Jianye? Do you like it here?”

“I neither like it nor dislike it.” Zhenji eyed him, knowing he was up to something. “It has gotten better with the extra company around. And now that you’ve finally sent that Wu girl back to the main army, it’s even brighter around here.” She closed her eyes and wilted against him, plying her charms right back at him the same as he was trying to do with her. “The only thing I don’t like is being ordered off on separate errands and not getting to see you for weeks at a time.”

“I know. But the situation being what it is, I may need to do it one more time.” Cao Pi rested his cheek against the top of her head. “I was serious about searching for Luoyang, or another of our familiar home fortresses. If I am to be free to do so, someone needs to stay in charge here – and that means being in charge of the prisoner as well.”

“You will have to try much harder to find a reason for me to agree to this, you know.” Zhenji sighed against his chest. “Why can you not leave Zhang He in charge so I can go with you?”

“Because the last time I left him to his own devices, he decided he hated Orochi more than he feared me, and I almost had to go all the way to Nanzhong and fetch him back myself.” Pi pulled out all the stops, rubbing her back and holding her close. “I trust you, my darling. Sometimes I feel as though you are the only one I can.”

“Liar,” she purred. “You have no issues with Zhang Liao and trust.”

“That’s not what I mean. Wenyuan and Gongming I trust because they only know one thing – war, and how to wage it. I don’t tell them all the intricacies, I don’t share my concerns and fears with them the way I do with you.”

“It’s not working, you know.”

“What if I bring you back something beautiful and inlaid with gold?”

“It had better be the Empress Dowager’s entire wardrobe.”

Cao Pi grinned down at her. “You do not come cheap.”

“I never have.” Zhenji smirked right back. “You will also owe me a certain portion of your time, for me to do with you as I please.”

“Consider it done.” Pi kissed her swiftly. “You will have all the gifts I can get the army to carry on their backs. And my permission to torment the prisoner as you please.”

“Very well. But if the payment isn’t sufficient, I reserve the right to revoke any and all future jaunts across whatever kingdom we’re ruling.” Zhenji pressed against her husband, tipping her face up to give him her most sultry look. “I do enjoy watching you throw your weight around.”

“I’m sorry you missed the chance to watch me browbeat Date earlier today.”

“Oh? So am I, then.” She shook her head and pushed apart from him, so they could continue on to dinner with the other officers. “I don’t like him. He is far too adoring of Orochi for anyone’s tastes.”

“Don’t worry. He’ll be on his way in a day or two, and we’ll be quit of him.” At least, that was Cao Pi’s hope. Da Ji had been known to show up unannounced and pull the rug out from under his expectations before, he was cautious about making certain declarations like that too often. Keeping one arm possessively around his shapely wife, he escorted her out so they could rejoin the others in the great hall for dinner. A grand one had been planned, to show his visitors just how great his power was, and how much they possessed as a kingdom. He was a master of intimidation, and knew how to play all the courtly games. A lovely feast now might pave the way to more advantages and power over Orochi’s minions someday. At the very least, it would be a good way to send his officers out in style. They would certainly thank him for it later.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guan Ping is tested at the Battle of Tong Gate, and Oda sets things in motion.

High in the strongly-guarded passes of the mountains which lay scattered haphazardly across the northern areas of Orochi’s realm, snow might fall on any day of the year no matter what season it was. A few flakes were drifting out of a leaden sky at Tong Gate, which might have been a last snow of the springtime or a first snow of the autumn, it was hard to tell at that altitude. It wasn’t enough to hamper troop movements, however, merely a nuisance to some and a sight worthy of poetry for others. As he traveled between his holdings, Oda Nobunaga found himself crossing the mountains at this particular pass and decided to pause at the fortress behind Tong Gate to allow his troops to rest. He also needed to reconnoiter with certain scouts and spies, so that when they came down from the pass he could continue on with a deliberate plan instead of casual wandering. There were rumblings afoot, and he had sent almost all of his officers on different errands, meaning he couldn’t be hasty about his next move until he had heard back from them. He still had Toyotomi attending him, and Guan Ping, with a scant handful of lesser officers to do the menial work of preparing sentry posts for the fortress and meting out rations for everyone’s comfort. There was a chill in the air, but behind the gatepost they had plenty of large campfires built to warm the soldiers. The important thing was to keep watch from the walls, for their commander was expecting any number of messages to be delivered, and would not allow any of them to be lost to either the weather or enemy interference.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was in charge of the camp while Oda sequestered himself as he tended to do, and walked the sentry lines with his nephew Hidetsugu to double- and triple-check that things were as their lord demanded out of this wartime layover. “I don't know this place at all,” he was explaining to his kinsman, “but I'm guessing it's important or famous or something. They don't build stone walls in every mountain pass, you know. It's probably from the Han, they like these big gates and such. Hey, I know! Let's ask Guan Ping, he should know.”

Ping happened to be standing just ahead, near one of the ladders for the sentries to climb up on the high walls. The Toyotomis posed their query to him: what was this place, and why would anyone build a lonely outpost at it? Ping shook his head. “Don't ask me. You would have been better off asking Lord Ma Chao, he's fought battles at Tong Gate before I believe.”

“Fighting someplace doesn't mean you know its whole history, though I get what you mean,” Hideyoshi said with a shrug. “It's not like some famous battle took place in history here, that I oughta know about.”

“I can't say, I don't know what your history books say about us,” Ping smiled.

“Oh well! I guess I'll just have to save my curiosity for when we meet back up with Ma Chao and the others. Shouldn't be too long, though I know Lord Nobunaga is waiting here for something in particular.”

It was Ping's turn to gossip, leaning in closer to them. “Do you know who it is?”

“How do you know it's a person? It might just be a very important fan letter!”

The sentry above them chose that exact moment to let out a warning cry. “Horseman approaching!”

The officers dropped their gossiping instantly and looked up to the men on the walls. Despite their expectations, there was always the possibility it could be an enemy. “Who is it? Friend or foe?” Toyotomi called back.

“Not sure yet. One man alone, riding openly up the path. Coming to us from the east.”

The officers shared a look. “From in front of us, not up the same path we took to get here,” Guan Ping realized.

“Probably one of the messengers Lord Nobunaga is waiting for.” Toyotomi tipped back his helm as he raised his head to call out an order. “Make ready to open the gate! But not until the sentries confirm it's one of ours!”

Soldiers scrambled to the gate to begin unbarring it, as another sentry from further down called out his own report. “Sir! It's Shima Sakon!”

“What? Sakon! All right, open the gates right now!” Hideyoshi yelped.

The big brown cavalry horse bearing an equally big rider thundered across the river that marked the pass itself and up the hill towards the fortress, very clearly heading directly to them. The massive doors swung open to permit him as he came, and then closed again behind him as he drew the horse to a stop at the edge of the camp proper. The Toyotomis and Guan Ping hustled down from the wall to meet him. “Sakon!” Hideyoshi greeted him. “Fancy meeting you here!”

Sakon dropped out of the saddle with a big sigh. “You're not going to be so happy to see me when you hear what I brought.”

“Uh oh. Bad news?”

“No, not that.” Sakon handed the reins of his horse to an eager soldier and pulled his giant sword down off the saddle. “Let's just say, despite my best attempts at coming all the way out here alone, it wasn't meant to be. Some uninvited guests picked up on my trail, sorry.”

“Oh, boy.” Hideyoshi looked to Guan Ping. “And they're gonna find out soon enough that somebody's camped out at the gate, so. Looks like I'd better alert the boss.”

“That's all right, I'll do it.” Sakon shouldered his heavy blade and turned to look around. “Just point me to his tent. I've got other things to tell him anyway.”

“Right this way.”

Guan Ping watched them go with keen interest. He hadn't seen Sakon in action at the battle in Kyuushuu, but these men of Wa who all knew each other seemed to understand what was going on. After a moment he decided to follow along, in case the warning about uninvited guests meant he, too, would be going into battle soon. Better to be standing by ready to go, right? He took up position just outside Oda's command tent, though he couldn't hear what was going on inside it. Toyotomi came out after presenting their visitor and grinned to see that the young man had the same idea as he did. “Don't worry, we'll find out pretty quick,” he assured.

“I...wasn't worried,” Guan Ping said sheepishly. “I just want to be ready in case we get called to action.”

“Uh huh, yeah. Me too. Can't you see?” Hideyoshi winked at him.

Inside the command tent, Oda and Shima stood face to face, eye to eye. “I don't need to know the nature of the information,” Nobunaga said coolly. “As long as you have it, and it is veracious.”

“Completely.”

“You could have simply sent a missive saying so.”

“No, no I couldn't.” Sakon heaved another sigh, much like earlier, and leaned on his blade. “By the time I got wind of your location, you had already moved on. Which is nobody's fault, I know, but it meant I had to backtrack and in the process, ran smack into a pack of snakes.”

Oda eyed him disdainfully. “You didn't.”

“Sorry. Real sorry. But, what's life without a little excitement?”

The eyeing continued. “How many, and how far behind you?”

Sakon repressed a smirk. It was a serious situation, really, but at the same time it was so absurd. “I did my best to shake 'em, but a few scouts tailed me up the mountain. I don't exactly know who's riding with the army they belonged to, but if I were you, I wouldn't get too comfortable.”

“Very well.” Nobunaga brushed past him and went straight to the tent flap and out into the chill, not surprised to find his retainers waiting on him. “Hideyoshi. Double the sentries and have them watch for Orochi army forces. Send scouts through the river passage as well. Guan Ping, I want you to see to it that Sakon is given food and water, and a place to rest.”

“Yes, my lord.” Ping clasped his hand before his heart and bowed as Sakon came out to join them. The strategist gave him a strange smile, but said nothing to Oda's orders.

“We are due for visitors. The timing is unfortunate,” Oda said sternly. “But before we lose our heads and start running out with weapons raised, we must know who and what we're facing. The sooner, the better.”

“On it, my lord,” Hideyoshi said brightly, turning and trotting off through the camp. 

It was left to Guan Ping, then, to lead Sakon across the collection of tents to where the officers were being housed, which wasn't far. Like the commander's tent, it was out of the wind and better stocked than those of the rank-and-file soldiers. Both were carrying swords of a similar size, though Ping's was slung across his lower back at the moment. As they walked, Sakon looked down at him, clearly studying him. “So you're Guan Ping. Son of the God of War, if I'm not mistaken,” he remarked.

“That's right.” Ping cocked an eye his way. “You've heard of my father?”

“Who hasn't? In general, I mean.” Sakon pursed his lips briefly. “Around here, well...that would be one of the things I'd really like to know and haven't found out yet.”

“What, where my father is? I'd like to know that myself,” Ping said sullenly as he pushed aside a tent flap and led Sakon in to where he and the Toyotomis were quartered. “So far, nothing at all. It was only through Naoe Kanetsugu that I was even able to learn that Lord Zhao Yun is alive.”

Placing his sword just to the inside of the tent entrance, the burly ronin moved to flop into a chair that looked like it would hold him. “You and me both, kid. But maybe you'd like to know what I _have_ found? I'll trade you news of Shu for a good stiff drink.”

“I'm afraid we don't really have any...”

“Trust me. Toyotomi has a flask squirreled away somewhere in this tent.” Sakon gestured to a place that might hold such a treasure, which fortunately was merely a bin for the charcoal that kept their lamps and torches burning, and not any of the general's personal items. Sure enough, a small jar of strong wine was hidden inside. Guan Ping looked sheepish as he found it and handed it over, but Sakon put him at ease with a broad smile. “Don't worry, I'll only have a little. Wouldn't want him suspecting anyone of drinking his precious brew.” He sipped a bit, while Ping moved to scrounge up refreshments from what they had left over from that morning. “Now, as for my end of the bargain. Your lord, Liu Bei, is alive.”

Ping nearly dropped the plate he was holding. “Lord Liu Bei...?”

“Where he's being held is one of Orochi's most tightly-guarded secrets,” Sakon continued, taking another sip of wine. “But he's alive, and being kept safe enough. As for the rest of your countrymen, they're mostly scattered, but a fair number are with your friend Zhao Yun. Another group is occupying Odani Castle. Really, it's only the famed brothers of Liu Bei who are unaccounted for. Even Zhuge Liang, well...” His gaze drifted to the side, as he hated to be the bearer of bad news. “It's no secret to anyone who's fought the Orochi army that he's one of them.”

Guan Ping paused where he was, closing his eyes in pain. “It was said he was at Tianshui, working for the enemy. I didn't want to believe it, but I know it's true.” He finished putting together a quick repast of their extra rations and handed it to Sakon. “I don't understand it, but I don't even know who I would ask to find my answers.”

“Some things aren't for us to know. Others aren't for us to know yet.” Sakon tipped the flask of wine to thank the young warrior for his hospitality and set to eating. “You're in a good place though, kid. Lord Nobunaga will get you where you need to go.”

Ping wasn't entirely sure what he meant, but at the same time, Sakon's gruff humor and whiskery face put him at ease. He felt like this man was trustworthy, and if he was so important to Lord Oda, then he would give him the respect and aid he warranted.

By the time the sun went down behind the nearest peak, the first outliers of an approaching force were picked up by the scouts. A cluster of buildings on the other side of the river, old and run-down from battles past, looked to have been combined with the mountain pass in the cataclysm that created this world, for the ground there glowed red day and night from the magma just under the surface. Scouts found enemy spies there and slew several, but it was a mere stopgap against the tide to come. Sakon's flight to catch up to Oda's army before it was too late had not been in vain, he had the benefit of half a day's lead on his pursuers. By dawn, though, it became clear to anyone with lengthy military experience that what was coming up the road toward them was nothing short of a full army. The time it took to move that many troops up the mountain was proof enough of how serious this threat was. At least it gave the resistance army time to prepare for battle as well. At long last, Oda Nobunaga himself went out to see what they would be facing, with Sakon at his side. They hadn't been expecting a battle of this size, so aside from their guest, they had no strategist in their ranks. The last scouts retreating from the onrush brought with them the news that Dong Zhuo, one of Orochi's top commanders and most reliable generals, was leading this army. He probably had some impressive fighters among his ranks, possibly Lu Bu himself. Such news did not shake Oda's confidence, as he stood at the parapet gazing at the clusters of soldiers, human and snake alike, forming into ranks on both hillsides that led to fords in the river from which Tong Gate could be assaulted. “This could be a problem,” Sakon murmured.

“Only if you look at it as other men might,” Nobunaga purred, actually smirking. “I have only one goal – and it relates to the orders I gave you yesterday.”

The strategist turned his head slowly to regard the warlord beside him. “I believe I know what you're thinking,” he said smartly, as the realization dawned on him. It took so few words for them to communicate their ideas.

“Excellent.” Oda turned swiftly away from the view and headed to the end of the wall where he could easily descend to the ground.

“And it'll give me a chance to show off a little of my strategy, as it were,” Sakon continued. “Assuming you want one.”

“I wouldn't mind your advice before you go.”

Guan Ping raced up to meet them as they strode across the compound. “My lord, the enemy approaches! The army is vast, and our scouts were unable to get a complete read on their commanders aside from Dong Zhuo and his retainers.”

“That is of no matter to me,” Oda responded curtly, gesturing for Ping to come closer to receive orders. “Nothing must stand in Sakon's way. Nothing.”

“His way?”

“I've got a little errand to run,” Sakon explained. “I'm not sticking around, not even to see the end of this battle if we all play our cards right.”

“Guan Ping,” Oda added, “I am placing you personally in charge of seeing to it that Sakon is escorted safely to the far end of the pass. Pave his way with snakeskin if you must.”

Ping's eyes widened briefly, and then hardened with determination. “Yes, my lord!” he agreed with a sharp nod.

Calling Toyotomi and the other officers to him, Nobunaga allowed Sakon to lay out a quick plan, most of which he would not be around to carry out. It involved drawing Dong Zhuo's officers toward the main fortress, splitting them up and keeping them busy while Sakon slipped past and circled around to where he could strike the pass and descend the mountain while battle raged behind him. The resistance army was to feign like they wanted to keep hold of the fortress until after the ronin was away, and then burst out with full strength to either overwhelm Dong Zhuo or push him aside so they, too, could escape to the foothills below. That much depended on how much strength actually existed in Oda's tiny band, without being able to expect reinforcements. With that, everyone was dismissed to their posts, and horses were brought for Guan Ping and Shima Sakon. Sakon wanted the sturdy horse he came with, it came to him from Takeda's cavalry originally. As he prepared to mount up, Nobunaga came up to him one last time. “Do not disappoint me, Sakon.”

“Not planning on it, my lord.” The strategist gave him a wry smirk and then swung into the saddle. “Now, let's see if the son is just as much a god of war as his father.”

Oda just gave a short, dry laugh and turned to mount his own horse. He would command from deep within the camp until the right moment when strategy came into play. The first order of business was to clear a path for Sakon, through the east gate and along a rear path that was likely not to be quite as heavily guarded as the enemy's main garrison to the north. As soon as the sentries on the walls called out reports that enemy forces were approaching Tong Gate from both sides, the signal was given for Guan Ping to set out. It was time.

With Young Dragon held low, Guan Ping charged as soon as the doors allowed, and found their enemies already almost at the gate. Taking a firm grip on the massive sword, he swung it off the side of his horse, plowing through soldiers and knocking them every which way. His onrush paved the way for the officers on foot to flood out behind him, some of them holding ground at the gate, others streaming for the river to sneak through the tunnel carved in the rock and come out behind enemy lines. Ideally, Ping thought, that would be the way to escort Shima Sakon, but it seemed like Dong Zhuo's people had the same idea. Fighting ankle- and knee-deep in ice-cold water was not an advantage for anyone, and soon the secret tunnel was choked with conflict. Even more soldiers were streaming up the footpath, so Ping turned his attention to them instead. He rode down an unfamiliar officer and then turned to the swarms of infantry, but suddenly pulled up short, his blade sweeping back into defense. At the same time, the cluster of soldiers who had just come over the rise slowed and hesitated themselves. They wore green tunics, and bore all the marks of men of Shu. “Master Guan Ping?” one called out in alarm.

“What is this?” Ping breathed, tugging back on the reins to step even further back from them. “This can't be!”

“We didn't expect to find you here,” one of the infantrymen stammered, going to a knee. “This isn't fair...”

Guan Ping dropped from the saddle and went to them, keeping his sword low but still ready to challenge if need be. “You are from Shu! I remember you, you're all in my father's army...”

He should have realized it right there, but didn't. The shrill neigh of a horse caught his attention, and something about it made him think of home, but it wasn't until he saw the mighty animal thundering from around a crumbled stone wall that it dawned on him. He barely roused himself in time to bring his huge blade up to protect himself from the heavy swing of the polearm that came at him with all the speed and power of Red Hare behind it. He spun quickly to put Young Dragon between him and his attacker, even as his mind fought to reconcile the situation. _It can't be. It can't!_ “Father!” he cried out as the big roan stallion galloped full-tilt at him a second time.

Guan Yu pulled up short, his glowering, bristling countenance even more fearsome for his surprise at running smack into his own son. “What? So! You are safe. And taking up with this warlord?”

Ping glared from over the edge of his blade. “And what of you? Are you seriously fighting for Orochi?”

“That is of no consequence to you.”

“You're wrong!” Ping squared himself and brought the Young Dragon to bear in an attack stance, his eyes bravely fixed on his father's. “I can't believe you've fallen so far. I have looked up to you my entire life, and now...now you shame us all with your betrayal!”

Guan Yu stared him down impassively, but for a twitch of his lip. “I thought I taught you better than to insult your opponent with meaningless drivel.”

Opponent? His father meant to fight him. Guan Ping lowered his head, though his gaze remained focused and darkened with dread. So be it. “Then I will have to show you how I have surpassed you. In honor as well as strength,” he dared.

The soldiers around them scattered in fear. Guan Yu regarded him for the briefest moment before stepping down out of the saddle, sending Red Hare off with a slap to the rump. “Come, then. Let me see.”

Guan Ping shifted immediately to defend, raising his blade to counter whatever came his way. The great Blue Dragon hung in the air facing him for a moment, and then it came rushing at him, demanding that he fight. As huge and unwieldy as his Young Dragon seemed, Ping could swing it with amazing speed, and the clash of their meeting screamed across the battlefield. Guan Yu showed nothing on his face, nothing but the glitter of anger in his dark eyes that could have meant anything, as he came in hard and fast, but Ping refused to be cowed by his own father. He had trained his whole life for a moment like this, even though he never expected his beloved father to be the one to stand as his greatest foe. He didn't stay on the defensive for long, circling around and flying at his immense opponent with all his strength.

From a short distance away, two horsemen watched from the shadows of the fortress gate. It was quite a spectacle, seeing the two men going at each other with so much energy, and even well-trained warriors could not say which of the two might gain the upper hand. The longer the battle went on, the more fidgety one became, until he picked up the reins as if to spur his horse into the fray. The other reached out to stay him, waving a hand. “Wait. Hideyoshi, don't.”

Toyotomi obeyed, though he let out a little grumble. “I don't know how much longer I can watch this, Sakon. It's heartbreaking!”

“It's not your place to interfere in a duel between father and son,” Sakon reminded him, though he, too, chafed inwardly at having to watch the two sincerely fight. “Especially those two. You know who that is, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, God of War and all that,” Hideyoshi remarked. “That's half of why I want to go out there. I wouldn't mind the chance to say I butted heads with such a famous figure.”

“I'm sure you'll get another chance. In fact...” Sakon looked over his shoulder, across the courtyard to the other gate of the fortress and the cluster of their forces blocking the way. “...could've sworn I heard something about who might be trying to get in the back way.”

Hideyoshi followed his gaze even as an infantryman cried out in panic. “It's Zhang Fei! The Shu general! Don't let him through! We must protect Lord Oda at all costs!”

“See? There you go. Go butt heads with the other brother.”

“Now that's more like it.” Hideyoshi gave him a smart nod before turning his horse and racing away across the compound.

Sakon returned to watching the duel on the field, more interested in its outcome than in clearing the way so he might escape safely. He kept to the shadows of the gate so as not to be spotted, but it looked like most of the slope had been cleared of enemies, as the men of Shu following their great general had fled or backed off, but the two Guans were still going at it. Their weapons traced shining arcs in the air, as Blue Dragon whirled and darted while Young Dragon slashed and swung. It didn't seem as though either was winning, but then Ping got in a good strike, breaking his father's block and then whipping the thick, heavy pommel of the sword up too fast to stop. Guan Yu staggered backwards, though his armor absorbed most of the blow, and at that moment the soldiers around them rushed in, putting themselves between the two. “Enough, my lord!” one yelped. “The Oda army is too great, we must retreat!”

Guan Yu glared daggers at all of them for interfering, but then looked across to Guan Ping, who stood poised to follow his first hit with something far more deadly. He wasn't backing down either, though some of the soldiers were daring to face him. “What of our allies?” he growled at his men.

“The advance has been stopped at the river,” one reported. “The resistance troops were waiting for us there.”

For a moment longer, Guan Yu stared down his son, but then made a hard gesture with his polearm. “Come. Our allies need us elsewhere. This is not finished, my son!” he called out as his soldiers hustled him away. 

“Come back!” Ping demanded, advancing on them until two soldiers raised their swords to block his. “Why are you fleeing to Orochi's side, father?! Let me save you!”

Guan Yu gave him one last look, shaking his head once in warning, and then hustled to the slope that ran down to the river. There were more forces in battle down there, in the tunnel, it seemed only natural to join them.

Ping nearly gave chase, but then a horse rode up on his flank and came to a stop blocking him. He looked up to find Sakon sternly gazing down at him, his own massive sword resting on his shoulder. “Good work, clearing out the path,” he said as casually as he could. “Lord Nobunaga has given the order. I'm on my way, and I'm counting on you to get me there.”

Bristling a little, Guan Ping lowered his blade and sighed before putting his fingers to his lips and whistling for his horse. For a moment he hoped Red Hare might recognize the call, but no, it was just his little workhorse who galloped up. Swinging into the saddle, he led the way through the gap in the wall where his father had come from and continued up the shoulder of the mountain to the back path they had all been speaking of. He couldn't be sure there weren't more of Orochi's forces this way, but if he had managed to hold his own against his legendary father, anyone else would be a piece of cake.

Back at the fortress, Hideyoshi slid out of the saddle at the gate and ran to meet the mighty challenger ahead, eager for the chance to fight one of the three famous brothers. It wasn't hard to pick the man out, as he swung his double-ended halberd back and forth, scattering Oda's men. As they fell back, reinforcements swept in to replace them, led by Toyotomi and his smart grin. “Oh, look what we have here!” he called out as he came, detaching his staff into the three chained pieces. “If it isn't the great Zhang Fei of Shu! The once great warrior, now aging less than gracefully – or so I hear.”

Zhang Fei rounded on him with a snarl, forgetting all about the other minor officers trying to hold him back from breaking the perimeter held at the gate. “Shut that impudent mouth unless you want my spear down your throat!” he roared back. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

“Nobody you need to know,” Hideyoshi smirked, deftly leaping out of the way of the halberd. “At least, not yet. You'll know soon enough!”

“Stop your yammering and let's fight!” Fei demanded.

He came in hard, but Toyotomi was far more quick and agile, and knew quite well how to strike back against a slower, heavier opponent. Their fight lasted almost as long as the one between father and son, which was exactly as Oda wanted. The longer it took Zhang Fei to struggle against the defense at the gate, the longer the commander behind him would keep his eye focused that way and not on a rearward path.

Guan Ping rode hard, though his sword dangled off his horse’s flank and was ready to slice at any enemies that might dart out from the fir woods along the path. Sakon kept up with him, his own Wrecking Blade poised low to the other side. They thundered together down to another shallow ford of the river where it bent around Tong Gate, and here found the outliers of the rest of the Orochi army that had come to back up Guan Yu. It looked to be several of Dong Zhuo’s retainers, who fell back one by one as the two men rode them down and put their troops to rout. Their unceremonious retreat had the added bonus of spreading rumors like wildfire, demoralizing the soldiers as they realized their glorious leaders had been defeated – and the culprits vanished into the mountains like ghosts. The two horsemen barely stopped to fight, they plunged on through the ranks of Han soldiers and left barely enough of them in any shape to flee. The ground sloped steeply up from the river ford, there, but Ping was sure he remembered this part of the path. At the top of the hill the trail split off, and a single horseman such as Sakon could pass behind enemy lines once they were in the clear. But it seemed one person, at least, among Dong Zhuo’s people had brains enough to anticipate this strategy, for the crumbling garrison at the top of the hill was hiding one more officer, and something more.

Guan Ping’s horse shied in terror as someone or something ambushed him from the trees encircling the fortification. He brought his blade up in time to block an attack, but it wasn’t until he lowered it that he could see them moving like shadows to intercept him. Some were what Ping knew to be called ninjas, according to Hideyoshi, but there were snake soldiers intermingled with them. At the crest of the hill stood a singular figure, tall and dark, painted like a demon, arms wrapped tightly around himself. Sakon drew up alongside the young man, hissing angrily under his breath. “Oh, no,” he groaned. “This is not the obstacle I was expecting at all…”

“What is it?” Ping wondered, not at all sure what to make of the large ninja captain.

Sakon lost a good portion of his dry humor as he answered, his face growing tight. “Fuuma. I knew he was in Orochi’s service but I had no idea we’d be entertaining him as a guest way out here.”

Fuuma Kotaro did not move from his position, though he smirked as he realized he had been recognized. Beneath the chainmail netting he wore like a shirt, he was still heavily bandaged from his fight with Hattori not two weeks before, but he was armed and armored and looked as eager as ever to join the battle and slay as many of Oda’s forces as he could. Hua Xiong moved first, though, galloping down to meet the foes sneaking up the back path with all the pride of someone who thought his ambush had been supremely clever and undetected. Guan Ping charged to meet him and whacked him clear off his horse with one swing, and paused to definitively rout him before turning his attention to Fuuma, who waited where he was, still looking smug. “So you are an agent of Orochi?” Ping said to him as he wheeled his horse around and prepared to meet the challenge.

The shinobi still did not twitch a muscle. “Come, and I will show you the meaning of chaos,” he purred.

“Careful, kid,” Sakon started to warn, but it was too late. Guan Ping threw himself headlong into another fight, not even caring who or what this foe might be. He had fought Guan Yu to a stalemate, no one else compared to him. Fortunately, his injuries slowed Fuuma down enough that beating him back was no trouble at all. Shima Sakon circled around them, picking off the other ninjas before they could interfere, leaving it to Ping to finish off Fuuma himself and send him leaping backward in retreat. He melted into the trees before Ping could actually defeat him, and when his subordinates also fled, it was clear they had no intention of circling around and attacking them again. From there, it was relatively simple to clear out any lingering interlopers, until not a single man or snake was left to witness the rest of this particular strategy. Once they were absolutely sure no one remained, Sakon turned his horse. “I'll be fine from here,” he assured his bodyguard. “Thanks for the help, such as it was.”

“Are you sure you don't need anyone to come with you?” Guan Ping wondered.

“Pretty sure.” Sakon gave him a manly nod. “Go on, Lord Nobunaga's waiting. He'll want to know that his orders are being followed to the letter.” Without further hesitation, he spurred his horse and disappeared into the trees. Ping had no choice but to accept it and ride back, this time taking a shortcut along the river to see whether his father was still fighting his own allies. By now, though, the battle had cleared and moved elsewhere, so he returned to the fortress and rode right through the gate, now being securely guarded by Oda's men.

The warlord still sat astride his horse in the middle of camp, waiting for reports, when Guan Ping met him and relayed Sakon's message. “Excellent,” Nobunaga smirked. “Now. It is time for us to escape from this valley of death.”

He signaled to the troops around him, and in an instant they had what was left of the camp struck and packed. Ping had been away on his own little mission so long he hadn't realized that they were breaking camp and leaving Tong Gate through force. They marched to the north-facing gate where Toyotomi waited, rather proud of himself for driving away Zhang Fei, and continued en masse to the river and beyond, where the Orochi army's main commanders were coming to meet them. Dong Zhuo's impatience had led to Sakon's opportunity, and now Oda was going to ride roughshod over what was left. With the two brothers driven back, and Fuuma no longer around, there wasn't much of a challenge left, but they still needed to get themselves and their troops safely out of the mountain pass. They grouped into a strong wedge formation and plowed like a spearhead straight into the face of their foe, and as they came, Nobunaga rode through the ranks of his men so that he led at the fore just as Dong Zhuo showed his face. This was now the second time in recent days that the two commanders clashed directly, though last time, the fat tyrant simply turned and backed out of the battle, unprepared. This time, he was already raging about having to do the dirty work himself, and he lit straight for Oda upon seeing his glowing sword at the head of the army. “I'll show you what happens to those who dare to cross me!” he bellowed as he came.

Oda's lips curled in his usual sneer. “By all means, go ahead,” he taunted, unafraid. He cared nothing for this relic of ancient days, famous in books of war for being assassinated and not much else. This battle went much like the last, to no surprise, and once again, Dong Zhuo raged apoplectically at his opponent before demanding that his retainers protect his retreat. As much as Oda wanted to put an end to him, once and for all, Zhuo's sense of self-preservation and cowardice saved him by a hair yet again. The objective was to punch their way down the mountain, though, so Oda barely spared a second thought for him and pushed his army to continue, to not stop until they were on the plains below and had a clear path before and behind them. He encouraged them harshly, for Mitsuhide was waiting, and they had to continue to draw attention away from Sakon's retreat down the other side of Tong Gate. There was more at stake than the safety of this handful of troops, but they followed him devotedly, and in the end escaped just as safely as the strategist who had gone on before them. The sun had already gone down when Oda finally looked back over his shoulder. “Go, Sakon,” he murmured to himself. “Tell me whether the Little Conqueror is up to the task.”

The deep dark of a cloudy, moonless night hid their camp well, and most of the soldiers were so exhausted from the forced march that many simply rolled into their blankets and fell asleep immediately, so it was difficult to find a few alert enough to stand watch. One of the latter turned out to be Guan Ping, even though he had fought harder than most that day and ridden further. He swore he wouldn't be able to sleep but gave no reason and diligently set out to take his position with the night watch. Hideyoshi watched him go, and then turned to their commander. “Poor kid. Sitting up all night isn't going to help.”

Oda raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

“Didn't you know?” It hadn't occurred to Hideyoshi that the other person who had witnessed Ping's big battle was not among them, and so the warlord might not have heard. He lowered his voice to a secretive hush. “Guan Yu was the one blocking the way for Sakon to leave. He fought his own father in the middle of all this.”

The eyebrow remained lifted. “...so?”

“Sheesh! Cold as ever, my lord. What _is_ Toshiie going to say when I tell him how mean you are?” Toyotomi shook his head and left Oda's side. “I'm gonna go see if the kid needs a pat on the shoulder before I hit my bedroll. Sleep well, Demon King.”

He wandered off through the camp, pretty sure he knew which section of the perimeter Guan Ping chose. The kid would want to be of use, he would stand guard over a segment that looked directly upon their trail in case of pursuit from the mountain. Sure enough, he found Ping exactly where he expected, his back to the wan fires of the camp and his eyes focused outward into the darkness, sitting on a stump with his sword jabbed into the dirt between his feet so he could lean on it. His entire posture was tense, something Hideyoshi noted before approaching, making enough noise so that Ping would hear him coming and not mistake him for a foe sneaking up from behind. “If I didn't know any better,” he said by way of announcing himself, “I'd think the clouds themselves had done you wrong, the way you're staring at them.”

Guan Ping flinched only a little at the voice, but didn't change his stance or look back at all. “I'm not staring at the clouds,” he protested, “I'm standing watch like I said I would.”

“Well, then. Report?”

The younger man sighed a little. “Nothing to report, sir.”

“All right, now that we got that out of the way...” Hideyoshi came over and flopped down next to him, crossing his legs comfortably. “You wanna talk about it?”

“About what?”

“Your father.” Hideyoshi held up a hand cautiously. “I know, I know, it's probably none of my business. But I watched some of your fight. That was pretty amazing.”

“What's so amazing about having to fight the most important person in my life?” Ping grumbled, finally lowering his eyes from their keen survey of the night-shrouded landscape. “And not for practice, but in earnest, because he’s on the enemy’s side.”

“Would it make you feel any better to know that I had to fight the other brother?” Toyotomi offered. Ping stared at him. “Yep, I had a good, refreshing tussle with Zhang Fei myself. Looks like Dong Zhuo ordered them to pincer the gate, and you had the luck to run into the one you did.”

That news only made Guan Ping lean even more heavily on his blade, his face darkening with a scowl. “Is there no hope for Shu, then?” he hissed bitterly. “Lord Nobunaga has taken in some of us, but when my lord's own brothers – my father – fight for Orochi, what could possibly be left for the rest of us?”

Hideyoshi sat back, letting his helm slip back on his head so he could get a better look up at the thick clouds laying low on the shoulders of the mountains. “There's supposed to be five Tiger Generals, right? Five great men who history tells us were the heart and soul of the kingdom of Shu, who served Lord Liu Bei with their lives to great acclaim.”

“That's what I keep hearing,” Ping muttered. All of this talk from the men of Hi-no-Moto about history and famous names was starting to grate on him.

“Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, and Ma Chao,” Hideyoshi recited. “Today we learned that two of them are, unfortunately, being pushed around by the Orochi army. But two of them are in Lord Nobunaga's service, and the last one we know is working on the resistance somewhere else. I'd say three out of five isn't too bad.” He met the perplexed look from Ping with a grin of his own. “You asked what could possibly be left. I was just trying to show that you're actually doing pretty well, all things considered.”

Ping lowered his head again, and rested his forehead against the wide hilt of his Young Dragon. “If you say so.”

“Sorry. I'm not really helping, am I?” Hideyoshi scratched under the edge of his helm awkwardly. “I only wanted to try. I've got a son of my own, Hideyori...we haven't found him in this world, yet, I can only really hope he's with Nene. I guess I can't stop myself being a bit of a dad even when he's not around.”

Though he didn't move, Ping's shoulders seemed to relax a little. “You've got a son, too?”

“He's a little younger than you,” Toyotomi chuckled. “I hope he grows up to be just as formidable, at least.”

“I don't feel formidable.” Closing his eyes, Guan Ping finally let go of what he had been silently stewing over ever since leaving Sakon's side earlier in the day. “The battle wasn't finished. It proved nothing. And my father is serving the snake that destroyed our country and captured our people.”

Hideyoshi slumped and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I don't even know how that must feel,” he said sympathetically. “I can't even imagine what it would be like, if I discovered that my wife or my young son were fighting for Orochi. But...even if I can't understand, that doesn't mean I can't be supportive.” He turned his head to be able to look up and catch Ping's eye. “I'm sure it's just awful. So if there's anything I can do to make it a little less awful, even if it's just giving you some missions to keep your mind off it, you can count on me.” His ever-present grin returned, then. “And Toshiie, too, I'll bet. When we catch up with the others, I think he'd be all ears for you.”

Ping held his gaze for a bit, finally able to see that his comrades really did care, and then offered Toyotomi the weakest of smiles back. “Maybe I will talk to Lord Toshiie when we get back. He...he has a family member serving Orochi, too.”

“That's right,” Hideyoshi noted. “But if you ask me, there's one little difference between Keiji and your father, that makes a world of difference.” He held up a finger as if lecturing on strategy or weapons-care. “Keiji was with me defending Odawara Castle when this all started, you know. He fought Orochi himself, and was defeated. I didn't find out until much later that he chose of his own will to turn and serve Orochi after that. While it's unfortunate, it's also not a real big surprise. Keiji’s like that, always looking for the strongest one out there, good or bad. Your father, on the other hand, is a man of honor. I don't think that whatever he's doing on Orochi's side is out of choice.”

Ping blinked a little, remembering something he heard yesterday. “Sakon told me that...our lord, Liu Bei, is alive, but Orochi is holding him captive.”

“Did he, now? My, that's _very_ important information,” Hideyoshi said smartly. “I happen to know that all those fellows from Wu are being forced to fight for Orochi because he's holding their lord, too, and threatening to kill him if they don't obey.”

It hadn't even occurred to Guan Ping, even after facing Sun Shangxiang himself, once. He sat up sharply. “Orochi is threatening to kill Lord Liu Bei if my father doesn't do his bidding!”

“Now you're on the right track.” Toyotomi nodded sagely. “I'd say it's more than just likely to be the case. I'm not saying not to feel bad about the whole thing, but it might help to know that there's probably a bigger reason behind everything than it seemed right in that moment when you two swung your first blows at each other.”

Ping dropped his gaze again, mainly just to process this, because after a moment his smile became more clear. “Thanks, Lord Hideyoshi.”

“Anytime, Guan Ping.” He slapped a hand on his leg before pushing himself to his feet. “For what it's worth, I don't think you would have lost that fight if you'd kept going. But at the same time, I'm glad it stopped where it did. I don't want our people to have to deal with more grief than they already do.”

He laid a hand heavily on Ping's shoulder as he turned to go back to the camp. Ping glanced back at him, and then rearranged himself to carry out his watch. He still had much to think about, but now, he had a new perspective to consider. _Is that true, father? Are you doing it to protect your brother? Please, keep yourselves safe – all three of you. I will save you when I can._


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun Ce marches on Odani Castle, and finally receives the news he's been searching for.

The day before the Orochi army under Sun Ce's command finally marched out from Changshan, he received a letter he was not expecting from a messenger he did not recognize. It was neither an Orochi underling nor a man clearly of Wu, or even Wei for that matter. Upon reading it, he gathered Zhou Yu and Mori Ranmaru to him to ask their opinion, and in the end, decided to act upon the glimmer of hope contained in the letter. It seemed beyond mere coincidence that someone should write him and mention the one thing he desired most, so soon after his brush with the fear that his private thoughts of rebellion had been discovered by the snooping of Fuuma Kotaro. Yet, he couldn't ignore it as a hoax. He remembered facing the big man with the big sword at Changban, and his gut instinct was to trust him. Even as he led the army out of the fortress, Ce watched as one of his own messengers cut from the pack and galloped on ahead, going to deliver a return letter to accept the terms proposed by someone who should have been considered an enemy. The message was encoded in a manner suggested by Hattori, so that should the messenger be intercepted, neither the Resistance nor Orochi would know to whom it belonged. At least, if his own allies came across it, Ce wasn't worried. Most of the commanders knew he was headed to Odani Castle, so a message indicating cooperating with allies there would only be natural.

The journey took long, considering the distance, and the soldiers were rather grateful to pass from winter to spring as they came down from Changshan and headed into new territories. Well-stocked after their layover, they were ready for battle, and along the way they met additional reinforcements from the main army led by Taishi Ci. Even as Oda Nobunaga was leading his troops down from Tong Gate, the Wu-heavy segment of Orochi's army drew near enough to Odani to see it, high on its hill, but not close enough for any spies or sentries to see them coming. They camped there, presumably to wait for more information or the right opportunity to assault the castle, and Zhou Yu sent out their own spies to go have a look at how heavily-guarded the castle might be. He came into the command tent to find Sun Ce sitting with his feet up on a table, reading the letter for the hundredth time. “I don't think it's going to say anything new that it didn't say this morning, or last night, or three days ago,” Yu said with some amusement.

“I can't help it.” Ce looked up, and then around, as if to check for eavesdroppers. Zhou Yu shook his head to indicate that it was safe to talk, so his comrade continued. “This is one chance in a million, you know. This is the first time anyone's said those words to me. Even if it is a trick, I still need to hear them.”

“You are an excellent judge of character,” Yu said gently, “so if your heart tells you to trust it, I don't think it can be a trick.”

“I just wish Ranmaru had been a little more encouraging.” Ran and Hattori knew enough of Shima Sakon to call him shrewd and powerful, but neither could say for sure whether the letter could be a hoax, or if Sakon would lie about such an important topic. Ranmaru still pledged to support his new lord no matter what, but it wasn't enough. Ce wished he could know for sure if it was true, and someone did have news of his father, but the hope of it sustained him for now. “Oh well. All we can do now is wait and see if he makes the rendezvous.”

“It is a shame he couldn't give us a time,” Zhou Yu mused as he came over and sat near to his lord, “but I expect such a thing is difficult with the land being as it is. I can buy us a day or two by needing to scout out the castle and its fortifications, but sooner or later we will have to carry out the attack with or without him. Da Ji will not tolerate delay.”

“I know. Same goes for whoever she's got captive and is dangling like bait in front of us. We can't delay or she'll kill him.” Ce rolled up the letter and tucked it inside his tunic, close to his heart. “If he's late, we'll just have to go and take the castle and then hang around to see if he shows.”

Zhou Yu sat back, closing his eyes. “We know we will meet generals of Shu, here. They have been known to be occupying this castle for some time.”

“Maybe Ma Chao's up there waiting to pay me back for what happened at Dingjun,” Ce sighed. “Unfortunately, just like last time, I have to win this battle. I have to take their castle and send them packing. It's even more important – I'm going to save not just another officer's life, but my father's as well.”

“What did I tell you about accepting your lot in this situation?” Yu glanced his way, smiling slyly. “You don't have to psych yourself up for it. It will not be a pleasant victory no matter who we save. Fight with all your heart, Ce, for a different reason.”

The young lord looked back at him. “Different? What do you mean?”

“If Shima Sakon's information is valid...” Yu lowered his voice to a secretive whisper. “The battle to take Odani may be your last battle fought under Orochi's yoke.”

Ce's eyes lit up brightly at that. “Hey...yeah! You're right! I didn't think of it that way.”

“One more, that's all you need. One more, and we will be right there alongside the Resistance. Or, well, I suppose we could also simply end up as outcasts, untrusted by both armies. But then, if Shima Sakon is so eager to speak with you about your father, we might at least have his help.”

“I don't care. One more battle and then I'm done.” Sun Ce lowered his head, and stared as his hands as he clasped them in his lap. “Making any kind of move to search for my father is an act of treason against Orochi. Once we have that information, there's no turning back.”

Zhou Yu studied him for a moment. “We may not even have time to return to Bai Di, or any other stronghold. There may be no opportunity to tell your brother and sister what we have learned.”

Ce breathed a long, heavy sigh. “I can't put this burden on them. After what happened at Changshan...you were right. They're not going to be safe. If Orochi already suspects me, and Fuuma came to attack us because of it, then it's better that they don't know. They can plead ignorance, and they'll be safe.”

“I'm sorry, Ce,” Yu said softly, the pain evident in his tone.

“No. It's all right.” Ce lifted his head and favored him with a gentle, resigned smile. “I'm the eldest son. It has to be on my shoulders, both the good and the bad. I accept that. Once my father is safe, we'll go back to get them.”

“You have a plan already.” Zhou Yu began to smile as well. “I am rather impressed.”

“I do think sometimes.” Ce slapped his own knees as he got up. “But thinking's not going to get me anywhere tonight. Guess I'll go try and get some sleep while we wait for your scouts.”

“Sleep well, Ce,” Yu said softly. He would be up far later, working on their strategy and hoping that the scouts returned before daybreak. It would be better to launch their attack with some information, rather than going in blind simply because the clock was ticking. Yet, he knew how important this rendezvous was. All that talk of sending Lu Su to try to cajole information out of Cao Pi, and before they could even do so, this information falls in their laps? It did seem suspicious to him, at first, but when he read the letter himself and heard Ce speak of his battle against this Sakon fellow, he knew better than to gainsay his lord. They really did need information, and while the coincidence and timing seemed strange, Zhou Yu believed that if Da Ji wanted to bait them into turning traitor with false information, there were better ways of doing it. To that end, he thought, perhaps it would be better to prove their loyalty by taking Odani castle properly. She was getting sloppy, and letting slip things she probably shouldn’t, so Yu considered that if she was behind this letter from Shima Sakon, he could force her to reveal it through the outcome of this battle. He took a pen and ink to him and began jotting down notes on the terrain and weather, in preparation for the right strategy to bring everything to light.

The scouts were very late in returning, even Zhou Yu had gone to bed by then and only Taishi Ci, standing guard, received them. He had them catch a bit of sleep themselves so they could report fresh when their commanders were awake to hear it. It seemed there was a town below the castle on the hill, exactly as the letter from Sakon had suggested, as well as several outlying fortifications where reinforcements could hole up and prepare. Having those at their flanks was of some concern, but Zhou Yu knew where they had to begin. He was still working on his plans when a messenger arrived and held out a letter for him – him, and not Sun Ce. Curious, he took it and skimmed it, his face darkening as he realized who it came from. Ce entered the command tent just then, having seen the messenger arrive and clearly hoping for certain good news. “Uh oh,” he remarked at the way his strategist glanced at him. “That’s not what I think it is, is it?”

“It is a missive from Da Ji,” Zhou Yu reported sternly. “She seems to have felt the need to remind us that our officer’s life is on the line if we don’t hurry up and take the castle.”

“Geez. Impatient, much?” Ce snorted. “We just got here yesterday.”

“I don’t think we can wait any longer, Ce,” Yu murmured unhappily. “We will have to move with or without our guest.”

“Fine. What’s the plan?”

“I believe it in our best interests to clear any soldiers out of the town below the castle, first,” Yu replied, tossing aside Da Ji’s missive and moving to the map instead. “We need a foothold before we can strike at the castle itself, it is heavily fortified and likely well-defended. The town is better than the garrison over here.”

“All right. Let’s go put down an insurrection, I guess.”

He made to move off and call his officers to him, but Zhou Yu moved swiftly to catch him, grabbing hold of his belt and pressing himself against Ce from behind to deliver a message. “For Da Ji to send that letter, she must be nearby. We cannot let her discover Shima Sakon, if he happens to arrive during our campaign.”

Ce glanced over his shoulder at his companion. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it covered.”

“Be careful, Ce. I mean it.”

He let go, then, allowing Sun Ce to head out of the tent and complete his preparations for battle. As planned, Hattori Hanzo would protect their camp, as he was still recovering, while the other officers were to follow along behind their commander. The first order of business was to clear out the town and send any enemy officers there into retreat. Zhou Yu wanted to watch them and see by which routes they would return to the castle, to know better the layout of the fortification. He was there in the thick of it with the others, with Cheng Pu and Taishi Ci and Ranmaru, but only observing for now, laying out each step of the strategy in its own time. The people residing in town had apparently had very limited warning of the army’s arrival, for the civilians had already evacuated and a small force held it against invasion, but they were not prepared for the sudden onrush of the determined Wu forces. Sun Ce himself led the charge, and almost kept going, chasing the officers right on up to the castle gates, but Zhou Yu held him back with a shout. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he warned as Ce trotted back to him. “I saw which way they went. It will be a hard fight to get in through there.”

“Aw come on, it’s not that bad,” Ce assured. “Though I guess I know better than to disobey one of your plans, Gongjin.”

“That’s right.” Zhou Yu looked at him and sighed, though with amusement. “You know, most people would find it difficult to be having as much fun as you seem to be.”

“Can’t help it.” Sun Ce was actually bouncing in place with energy. “Hurry up, I’m not going to be able to hold back for too long.”

“Patience, my lord,” Yu smirked. He had some coordinating to do, now that they had their foothold. Then, the temporary calm in the town shattered abruptly with a flurry of activity and shouts, as the Wu soldiers turned and ran to intercept someone who had come up behind them. The commanders turned to see, and then Zhou Yu sprang to stop his men from attacking the intruder. “Wait! Stand down, that is one of our allies!”

The soldiers looked at him, confused, but the big man on the sturdy cavalry horse grinned at the orders. “Is that so?” he said dryly.

Yu came to his side and looked up at him. “Shima Sakon, I presume?”

“And you must be the very famous Zhou Yu. Sorry I’m late.” Sakon looked past him to where Ce stood, and then around at the empty town slowly beginning to fill with Wu soldiers. “Oh, I see I missed out on a little fun already.”

“Not much, we still haven’t taken the castle.” Sun Ce strode up to him, tonfa still held in each fist. “Nothing like showing up in the middle of a battle, huh?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had to take the long way around to avoid a rather large fox den.” Sakon’s cool smile was all they needed to understand his message. “I’m here now, though. Is that going to be a problem?”

“That depends,” Zhou Yu said smoothly. “We have a rather urgent need to take the castle up there, and we will not suffer anyone getting in our way.”

“My father’s life is at stake,” Sun Ce added gravely.

Sakon nodded slowly. “So you’re still going to wipe out a little tiny resistance cell that hasn’t done you any harm?” he prodded.

“Look,” Ce retorted, raising a tonfa to gesture with, “I have no issues with the Resistance. It’s just that shooing them out of this castle will save the lives of my friends and my father. It’s not like I want to turn it into a bloodbath or anything.”

That seemed to please the ronin, for he smiled again. “You want to keep casualties to a minimum? I think I know just the way to accomplish that. If you’ll indulge me in a little plan I have in my back pocket, that is.”

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu looked at each other. “I take it you know this area better than we might,” the strategist noted.

“Maybe a little. It’s up to you if you want me lending a hand.”

“Why not?” Ce gestured with his tonfa again, sweeping it wide. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“All right, then.” Sakon turned to make a gesture of his own, a curt wave which beckoned a handful of soldiers out from behind a building. Ce recognized their clothing, it was the same as the messenger who had first delivered him Sakon’s letter. “First, I want to get these guys up to the garrison at Mount Yamada,” he said. “That’s the one to the west.”

Ce shrugged and directed Cheng Pu to go with them, to escort them if the path happened to be blocked by defenders. Zhou Yu watched from behind him as the group headed out toward Yamada, opposite of the paved roads up to the castle gates. “That Sakon,” he mused, “what is he thinking?”

“Why, wasn’t that the way you wanted me to go?” Ce teased him.

“Not quite. I had considered that garrison, but I could not see a way to get through it and come out safely behind the castle.” Yu nodded to his commander. “We should go along, though. I agree with him that there must be another route, besides going straight into the castle’s main gates.”

They took off jogging on foot to catch up, which wasn’t difficult. Ranmaru held ground at the rear, to keep any defenders from working their way back through the town to the Wu main camp. The path which snaked through the thickets toward Yamada was indeed guarded, but sparsely, and before long they had cut their way up to the very gate of the garrison. “There’s probably a small force holed up inside,” Sakon noted as they regrouped. “I don’t suppose I can ask you guys to clear it out for my men?”

At that moment, a sentry of their own ran up from the rear to overtake them. “My lord! There is a report of reinforcements, approaching from the north!”

Zhou Yu huffed a quick sigh. “I had expected as much. They’re withdrawing to wait for reinforcements. Of course.”

“Cheng Pu,” Ce ordered, “go take that fort we saw on the map. Maybe that’ll buy us some time.”

“At the very least it will block troops from intercepting us while Sakon implements his plan.” Yu nodded. “Do it.”

The officer took some troops and went to obey his orders, leaving the commanders to actually do the dirty work of fighting their way into the mountainside garrison. The soldiers with them heaved the gates open, and sure enough, a small contingent waited inside with a young man commanding them. Crouching in a ready stance, Zhang Bao did not flinch at the onrush, his weapon held before him to intercept anything that came his way. “I will not let you have this ground!” he challenged. “I am Zhang Bao, son of Zhang Fei, and I fear no tiger of Wu!”

Sun Ce pushed past his comrades and bore down on him. “Well! I didn’t know I was going to get to fight such distinguished officers today! So, son of Zhang Fei, is it? Come on, let’s see what you’ve got!”

Zhang Bao flinched briefly as he realized who he was facing. “I have heard your legends, Lord Sun Ce,” he breathed, beginning to grin. “It will be my honor.”

The thunder of their clash was no less than if it had been their famed fathers meeting on the battlefield. Bao might not have had the experience of his father, but he had all the determination, and was driven by a deep concern. He could not let these officers break through to meet the men on the inside of the castle defense. He would not be the one to allow friends to fight friends. He fought with a singular blade on his arm, as agile and quick as Sun Ce but perhaps a bit less powerful. Ce clearly enjoyed fighting him, the breathless grin never left his face as they danced around each other, slashing and smashing. Zhou Yu took care of the rest of the lowly Shu soldiers in the way, allowing his lord to have his fun fighting a duel against the leading officer. In the end, though, Bao could not hold his ground and took a tonfa hard in the jaw, sending him reeling. He rolled over a few times and then lay still, unconscious. Yu checked him for life, and then allowed the scattered men of Shu to drag him to safety. After all, he was mindful of his lord’s directive to minimize casualties. The youngster could be allowed to live, since he clearly wasn’t going to be returning to the fray.

As the dust settled, the Wu officers looked around to find that during the chaos, Sakon’s men had slipped past them and were working hard on something near the far wall of the garrison. They all had a moment’s respite, so leaving soldiers to watch for enemies approaching at the gates, Ce and Yu went to see what their guest was up to. The men in his employ were setting small barrels against the wall, small enough to carry in their packs but still clearly more than simple water or food supplies. Some were just the right size to wedge between the logs that comprised the stout palisade. Sakon glanced at the two as they joined him and stepped to meet them, keeping them at a distance from the wall. “Good work. Sorry this is taking so long, but it's delicate work.”

“What exactly are you doing?” Zhou Yu wondered.

Sakon smiled secretively. “Now, now. I'm not going to ruin the surprise before it's ready.” Coincidentally, just then one of his men came over and saluted, making him grin even more. “Ah, now, see? I think you're really going to like what you're about to see.” He swept a hand to indicate that they should back away with him, putting some distance between them and the wall. His soldiers were likewise backing off, stringing something along as they did. “Let's duck back over here where it's safe.”

Yu watched them carefully even as he obeyed the directive. “Is that...a cannon fuse?”

“Just watch.”

The men called out for everyone to draw away from the wall, and then one lit the cannon fuse before hustling away himself. Everyone huddled together staring at the wall, and then _boom_. The natural chaos of the battlefield was rocked by an explosion, and bits of logs and masonry flew everywhere. Most of the Wu soldiers were completely unprepared for it, several yelped and some flung themselves on the ground, covering their heads as chips of wood and fluttering ashes rained down on them. Sakon let out a gusty laugh and clapped one of his men on the shoulder to congratulate him on a job well done. Sun Ce shook his head, his ears ringing a bit, and then looked to see what happened in the spot of the explosion. Where before there was a solid palisade, now there stood an enormous gap, and several of the logs had completely fallen. “Whoa! Look at that! He's knocked the whole wall down!”

“What'd I tell you?”

“Where does that lead?” Zhou Yu asked urgently.

“Should take you straight up the hill to the main ward.” Sakon stood back admiring the handiwork of his engineers, who were currently swarming on the ruins of the wall to pull down the broken pieces of logs and widen the gap so people could safely pass through it. “It's a lot faster than trying to punch through either of the gates. There's not likely to be much of anyone defending the doors up at the top of that hill, they would have expected you to assail the gates instead so most of their people are probably clustered there.”

“That's amazing!” Ce couldn't stop gushing, now that he had time to process the explosion. “Where did you learn how to smash down castle walls?”

The big man rubbed the back of his neck modestly. “When you get around as much as I do, you pick up a thing or two. _You_ know.” He winked, then, implying he had more things he had picked up that he could share. “Well, don't stand around here too long, you'll let the defenders inside the castle reposition their troops.”

“Right.” Ce grabbed Taishi Ci, who was likewise just standing there gaping in awe at the blasted wall, and shoved him to go ahead. “In you go, boys, let's seize the main ward and knock on the doors!”

As they charged ahead, Zhou Yu paused to regard Sakon. “Black powder, was it? It seems I have a few tricks to learn in this world.”

“Any good strategist knows he still has a lot to learn, no matter how old he gets. Though, I think I might still be older than you.”

Yu met his smirk with one of his own. “It is hard to tell, in this place. You at least seem to be enjoying yourself almost as much as Lord Sun Ce.”

“Eh, I just like to show off once in a while.” Sakon nodded respectfully to him. “Go ahead, I'll hold the fort here, so to speak. If those reinforcements get past your man, they're going to be drawn to the explosion here.”

“Cheng Pu is stout, but all the same, I would agree with you.” Nodding back, Zhou Yu trotted off to catch up with Ce and the others before they could have too much fun.

The defense of Odani Castle was going along well enough until an explosion rocked the very ground they stood on, drawing the attention of every last soldier toward the plume of smoke rising against the blue sky. Xingcai ran to a window and craned her neck to try to see where that had come from. The two top officers attending her followed, equally disturbed by the strange turn of events. “What was that?” the young woman fretted. “It seemed to have been...oh no.” She pointed to where the last wisps of smoke faded into the air. “There, in the direction of the garrison at the bottom of the hill. My brother was supposed to be guarding it.”

“Zhang Bao's pretty strong,” Ling Tong assured. “I’m sure he’s all right. But then, we don't know who we're facing out there. The scouts haven't been back yet.”

“This is what you pulled me back for?” Gan Ning groused, folding his arms over his chest. “They're breaking in, we gotta go stop 'em!”

“You need to listen to my orders,” Xingcai said sharply, rounding on him. “Don't go running off like a hot-head, Gan Ning! Ling Tong...” She took a deep breath and straightened up, trying to pull herself back into a calm, authoritative mode. “Go to the gates of the main ward and see what that fire was all about, if it's going to threaten the castle.”

“All right.” Tong gave Ning a punch to the shoulder as he passed, both a warning to listen to their commanding officer and a wordless wish for good luck, and jogged out of the keep. There were several gates still protecting the command center of the castle from any invasion, but as he pushed through the door separating the inner courtyard from the main ward, he was startled to find a contingent of attacking soldiers racing up the hill to where he stood. At the head of the pack, obvious as ever in his armor and tiger skins, Ling Tong was nonplussed to recognize Sun Ce. There was no time to be surprised, though, or dispatch messages back to the keep for that matter. He whipped out Rising Phoenix and placed himself as the last obstacle blocking the way into the castle, braced in a defensive stance.

Ce spotted him even as he settled into position, and muttered over his shoulder to Taishi Ci. “Looks like some of our boys are back for more.”

“Huh? Wait! It's Ling Tong!” Ci realized. “What is he doing here?”

“Fighting for Shu, apparently.” Ce took a deep breath but didn't falter in his charge one step. “Guess I'll give him a chance for revenge if he wants it.”

He crested the hill as Tong backed against the closed gate. “So it's you guys again,” he called out. “I can't let you through!”

“Yeah, well I'm still gonna try!” Ce called out to him. “Bring it on, Ling Tong!”

“But my lord, wait!” Taishi Ci tried to break in, slowing to a stop. He hadn't yet faced one of his own officers, especially someone innocent and loyal like Gongji.

“It's just you and me, Sun Ce!” Tong shouted a second before they clashed. Unlike Ci, they both knew what they had to do, and neither hesitated.

Sun Ce threw everything he had at his countryman, but Ling Tong refused to be drawn away from the door. He planted himself there and swung the nunchuku to deflect all of Ce's strikes, forcing the tonfa to one side or the other so he could kick out in retaliation. Any attempt to circle around him was stymied, and he even got a good leg sweep in, knocking his opponent over. Had the rest of their forces been allowed to swarm on him he wouldn't have managed so well, but Ce was determined to see this through as a one-on-one fight, everyone else remained behind Taishi Ci waiting for it to end. Tong hit fast with the nunchuku, bruising his foe considerably before a counter-strike broke his rhythm and sent him flying back until his back hit the door with a thud. Ce rushed him and pinned him there with one tonfa held across his throat, but Ling Tong hooked a foot around his leg and kicked him in the back of the knee, dropping him in his place. He leaped to reciprocate the move, his knee on Ce's chest, but then he looked up to find both Taishi Ci and Zhou Yu rushing at him, weapons swinging. He threw himself backwards to avoid being either sliced or pounded, and rolled away across the flagstones until he could gain his feet. “No, he's mine!” Ce shouted at them, picking himself up and pushing past Zhou Yu to continue. But even as he did, Tong unexpectedly dropped to one knee, panting. It seemed the hit against the door had done more damage to him than he thought. Sun Ce tucked one tonfa under his arm and reached to grab a fistful of the young warrior's tunic, and there was no counter this time. He stared, uncertain. He knew Ling Tong had more fight in him than that, but... “Why do you not keep going?” he demanded.

Tong lifted his gaze to Ce's face, his eyes darkening. “I've had enough of fighting my friends,” he whispered, biting back his anger. “Kill me. Or capture me, I don't care.”

“Come on, Gongji,” Ce said with a hint of sadness, easing his grip. “I know it's a hard life, but...”

“I don't care anymore.” Tong batted his hand away, and glanced past him to Zhou Yu. “Pretty sure I'm gonna get one hell of a lecture for giving up, but what's the point?”

Ce started to protest, ready to give him that lecture, but Yu stepped in, grabbing his arm. “Ce, we don't have time,” he said urgently. “Da Ji could be here at any minute.”

“Damn.” Sun Ce gave his former subordinate a pitying look, and then gestured curtly to his men. “Come on, through the main ward! This is our chance!”

The struggle at the gate was not visible from where the last remaining officers waited, either in the keep or at the other doors. Wang Ping was leading one group defending the main gate from Ranmaru's determined assault, but they likely wouldn't be able to hold it for long. When sentries reported Orochi forces inside the castle, breaching the inner ward, Gan Ning knew that his comrade had failed. He was supposed to be guarding Xingcai, but knowing that Ling Tong was out there somewhere, possibly hurt, possibly dead, he gave up pacing and drew his scimitar. “I'm not just gonna stand here sucking my thumb!” he declared. “It’s time I did _some_ thing around here! How d'you think they'd like it if I went out and took _their_ main camp?”

“What?” Xingcai whirled to find him storming toward the door. “Wait! Gan Ning, don't! You'll only get yourself killed!”

“I'm not listening to any woman!” Ning shot back. “I'll do this my own way! You have _no_ idea how to defend a castle!”

“And you're just...get back here!” Xingcai chased after him, brandishing her shield. “I will not have any officers going off doing whatever they want! We must group together and form a united...”

“Woman, if you don't shut your mouth right now...!” Gan Ning spun in place and intercepted her rant with a deadly glower, teeth bared. “Back off! I'm doing this whether you like it or not!”

He was off before she could collect herself and shout back at him, and then it was too late. Gan Ning was determined to break through the assault at the main gate in order to get around behind the Orochi forces, destroy their main camp, slay any officers holding it, and steal their supplies while he was at it. At the very least, he planned to make them pay for whatever they did in order to get past Ling Tong. He came thundering down the stairs and plowed headlong through the courtyard, and was already through several doors on his way to the main gate when he heard the assault coming up behind him. The Orochi army had breached all the defenses and were on their way to take out the commander, who he was supposed to be protecting in Wang Ping's absence. Gritting his teeth, the pirate turned and ran back at them, and had the unfortunate luck to come around a corner right into the arms of Sun Ce himself.

The Shu forces defending the castle had not had time to gather the information to tell them that they were facing Wu-led Orochi soldiers, let alone these particular officers, so a little surprise was only natural. At the same time, Ce hadn't heard the bells until they were on top of him, so both of them recoiled from one another out of instinct before launching themselves at each other. “Just what I was looking for!” Gan Ning snarled as he slashed, “a big punching bag in a tiger pelt!”

Ce blocked him with both tonfa and then swung one to retaliate. “Still haven't had enough, have you, Gan Ning?”

“What, you thought I'd run home crying to mommy?” the pirate retorted, though with less of his usual humor. “Not a chance!”

“Leave them,” Zhou Yu ordered to Taishi Ci. “Continue into the castle, we must push their officers out before Da Ji catches up with us.”

There was considerable anger sparking between the two Wu officers this time, it was best if no one interfered. The ring of the River Master striking against the Conqueror could be heard throughout the wards as the other officers ducked into the castle, intent on finding who was in charge and rousting them out of this comfortable fortress. At the same time, below the hill, Cheng Pu had melted back to report to his superiors that he had managed to finally drive off a determined host of large and powerful men of Wa, nothing less than Shimazu and his kinsmen. He found only Shima Sakon standing guard at the gap in the wall, leaning on his big sword, and agreed to take up that post so Sakon could relay the message to Sun Ce and catch up with him. Sakon climbed back onto his horse and rode uphill, only to slide back out of the saddle when he found someone sitting up against the open door, head in his arms, possibly injured. His heavy footfalls across the flagstone made Ling Tong look up, and then stare in surprise yet again. “What...you? What are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Sakon came over and crouched before him. “Are you hurt?”

“I...no. No, not really.” Tong was bruised, certainly, and his throat hurt where it had been pressed, but he had caught his breath and suffered little else in injury. “How did you get here? Wait – tell me! Lu Xun, is he all right?”

“You're asking that now?” Sakon whiffed a bit of a relieved laugh. “Yeah, last time I saw him. He got a little scrape in that battle but he was alive and well when I left him. That was a while ago, though. Same with you guys – we missed you, after that was over.”

“Sorry.” Tong drooped even further. “I'm sorry. I can't do anything right, it seems.”

Sakon looked around, but there were no other soldiers nearby from either army. “Gan Ning with you?”

“In the castle.” Ling Tong reached up, then, and grabbed Sakon by the sleeve. “Answer me, Shima. Please. What is going _on_ here?”

“I've got a pretty big mission to carry out. Sorry I can't linger and help you out, though.” He leaned in close and added, “I'm here to save your young lord from himself.”

Tong caught his breath, and then sat back against the door again. His gentle heart was already breaking from having to fight his own friends, repeatedly, and this news just added to the pile of conflicting emotions inside. He nodded eagerly. “Just go, then. I'll be all right.”

Sakon patted him on the shoulder and then stood up, towering over him. “Did I ever tell you about Oda Nobunaga?” he said idly, looking off through the gates. That was all he said, though, and did not bother answering his own rhetorical question before hauling himself back into the saddle and riding into the inner ward. Ling Tong remained where he was, staring off into the blue sky, wondering what in the hell that meant.

By the time Sakon made his way to the innermost courtyard, the battle was more or less over. The aftermath at least bore out his strategy – casualties were almost nonexistent, and the Shu officers had been captured with only a couple of injuries. Zhang Bao was awake, but looking unsteady, and Gan Ning was in pretty bad shape, but then, Sun Ce himself sported a number of cuts to show that the pirate gave as good as he got. The other officers had been bound and left kneeling in the grass of the quiet courtyard, while Xingcai stood before them with her hands behind her back, her weapons taken away. Ce was still breathing hard from his fight, blood running down his muscled arms, so Zhou Yu was handling the interrogations at breakneck speed. “Then, your lord Zhao Yun is not here, at all,” he confirmed.

“I will not give you the whereabouts of Lord Zhao Yun,” Xingcai said stubbornly, lifting her chin. 

“It is of no concern to me where he actually is,” Yu said coolly, “so long as he is not _here_.”

The way he phrased it made her look at him again, and she finally relented. “No, he isn't.”

“That is all I need to know.” Zhou Yu turned to Sun Ce. “Your orders, my lord.”

Ce nodded once. “Turn 'em loose. Quickly. They need to be gone before Da Ji shows up.”

Gan Ning snarled wordlessly at him, glaring up despite blood dripping into his eye from a cut to his scalp that had bled through his headband. The Shu officers simply stared in amazement, though Wang Ping remembered this same thing being done for them at Dingjun – all but one officer had been permitted to flee. “Who are you taking captive, this time?” he challenged.

“No one,” Ce replied. “We don't need captives. But heed my warning – Orochi's strategist Da Ji is coming to check up on us, she ordered us to take this castle. So if you'd rather stay alive to fight another day, I'd get the hell out of here while you still have legs.”

As proof of his decision, Xingcai's bonds were cut and her spear and shield returned to her. She blinked in astonishment, and then immediately turned to cut the ropes binding Zhang Bao and Gan Ning, and from there the others followed. The pirate, however, refused to move with the others as they began to hustle toward the gates. “Gan Ning, come on!” Xingcai demanded.

“No. I ain’t taking orders from you anymore.” Ning glared up at Ce a bit longer, and then murmured heavily, “It just ain't the same without the old crew...”

“There's no time for sweet talk, Xingba,” Ce said desperately. “Get going! I don't want to see you across my battlefield again!”

Breathing a harsh sigh, Gan Ning staggered to his feet, but refused to go along with the Shu contingent. Instead, he pushed past Sun Ce, jostling his cut arm, and snatched his sword from Taishi Ci before blundering through the opposite gate. He needed to go find Ling Tong, the Shu kids could look after themselves as far as he was concerned.

Ce's own emotions were rattled, after fighting against his comrades again and having to send them into flight yet again. Being injured didn't help. He needed a moment to take a deep breath, and then turned away, stumbling against Zhou Yu. “That's that, then,” he said resignedly. “Odani Castle has been taken. The Resistance is flushed out.”

He leaned against his comrade, who in turn looked around their gathered officers. “Ranmaru. I need you to return to the main camp to bring news to Hattori. They can strike and remove to the outer ward of the castle, for now. We may be able to camp here for a few nights until everything is settled and our next move is determined.”

“Yes, my lord...”

“And if there is any further word from Da Ji, regarding when she plans to meet with us, send word immediately.”

Ranmaru nodded and darted off. Sakon lowered his sword off his shoulder and leaned on it. “Da Ji's actually coming, huh? I didn't know about that part. I think, it might be best if I found somewhere to duck and hide until she's gone.”

“Indeed. But don't go too far. You made my lord a promise and I will hold you to it,” Yu murmured.

Ce lifted his tired head, then, and nodded his agreement with his comrade's statement. Sakon saluted them both and heaved his sword up to his shoulder again. “Right. I'm not going anywhere, just going to have a look at one of the storage cellars in this nice castle. Been a long time since I've seen the Azai stronghold, after all.”

He knew how to make himself scarce, and disappeared quickly, even as Ce turned to the other officers. “When Da Ji gets here, no one says a word about him. Understood?”

Everyone down to the lowliest foot soldier nodded. They were loyal and true, they would never betray their lord's secrets no matter what, even if none of them knew who Sakon was or why he was among them. With that taken care of, Zhou Yu escorted his sworn brother into the castle to find a place for him to sit down and have his injuries tended to. Whether it was merely exhaustion or augmented by the roiling emotions he must be feeling, he was concerned about Ce's state of mind, particularly with their big secret at stake. Getting him settled and tended needed to happen before the demon strategist showed her swishy tails anywhere near Odani.

While the sun sank lower and lower in the west, a lone warrior climbed up and down the hills surrounding the castle, dragging a sword in the dirt behind him. Gan Ning's own exhaustion and injuries were catching up to him, slowing him down, but he was determined to locate his comrade before leaving the area, even at risk of being attacked again by the Orochi army. Ling Tong was not at the gate he had been ordered to defend when the pirate reached it, so he continued on, through the Yamada garrison, out to the farther fortress where Shimazu was supposed to rendezvous with them earlier and never did, and found no trace of him anywhere. Where could he have gone? There wasn't any blood to indicate that he had been badly hurt or killed, but for Tong to flee and not wait for anyone...not wait for him...

Gan Ning's anger throbbed like the sea, coming and going in waves, alternating with fear on Ling Tong's behalf. Where did that idiot go? Why wouldn't he wait? Surely he had to have known that Xingba wouldn't let himself be killed either, so why...why? At long last, he stumbled into someone else he recognized, as the Shimazu reinforcements caught up with him along a deserted path far below the castle. Yoshihiro hadn't been around them long enough to really get to know either of the Wu officers, but he knew enough to know he liked Gan Ning generally, and knew how to handle him, so when the pirate raged at them for being late and now getting in his way, he knew best how to intercept him and get his attention. He stepped out of the saddle and met Ning's attempt at punching him with a big, meaty hand stuck out to block him. Ning ran into it like a wall and stumbled back onto the ground. “Now, if you're done, I just want to know for sure that the castle's been taken,” he said gruffly. “And whether or not I'm going to have to bring bad news to Lady Yueying.”

Gan Ning flopped onto his back, finally submitting to letting one of Shimazu's boys clean up his wounds. “It's down. Nobody's dead. The Orochi army let everybody go.”

Yoshihiro grunted in interest. “So! We might be able to catch up to them, then. Good. Join us, pirate, we'll make sure you get some food and get caught up with everyone.”

“Piss off, old man,” Gan Ning growled at him. “I've got more important things to do than play nice with Shu. Tell Zhao Yun we're sorry, but we've got our own people to look after.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I gotta find Ling Tong.”

“We haven't seen him,” Shimazu Toyohisa said as he worked to hastily wrap the pirate's wounds. “Was he not with you at the rout of the castle?”

“What do you think?” Ning snapped at him.

Toyohisa shrank a little in the face of his anger and silently finished up. Yoshihiro sighed and shook his head. “Kids. _Honestly_. Fine, if that's what you want, be my guest. We've got to round up the others and get them safely back to Chengdu. If you're not interested in coming with us, then we'll wish you good luck and good riddance here.”

“No skin off my back.” Gan Ning permitted Toyohisa to do his work and then sat up sharply, brushing him aside. “Go on back to the resistance, I've got to get going. They said one of Orochi's bigwigs was coming, she might even already be in the castle.”

“Then that's not the way we ought to be heading.” Shimazu gestured for his nephew to get back on his horse and rejoin them. “We'll pass the message along. Good luck, if you think you'll need it.”

Ning remained sitting there until after they rode away. He really had no idea what to do from here, but there didn't seem much use in staying so close to Shu when they could be so easily routed. At least Lu Xun put up a fight. As the sun sank behind the hills, he finally felt rested enough to get up and press on, trying to guess which direction Ling Tong might have taken if he, too, fled the castle in order to find safety in the chaos. It didn't matter to him that he was the kind of headstrong pirate who had spent many years on his own before falling in with any armies, let alone becoming such an integral part of Wu, he really only desired one thing. Ling Tong was his closest comrade, they had fought at each other's sides for too long, rescued one another from too many battlefields to lose track of each other now. But for all his hunting, it seemed like the young officer had completely disappeared. Twilight had already darkened to full night when he finally gave up and trudged down a game trail to find a river he could follow away from Odani. He needed a thicket in which to hole up and sleep, and perhaps the morning would bring him new leads. No matter what else was going on around him, with either army, he had one goal now, and wouldn't stop until it was fulfilled.

The main camp had no news of Da Ji, as yet, when they removed to the outer ward of the castle and bivouacked to wait, but it wasn't long before she caught up with Sun Ce's army after all. Riding with an entourage instead of teleporting this time, she came to the main gate of Odani Castle and expected to be ushered in with all the pomp and ceremony due someone of her status. She nodded approvingly at the state of affairs, and by the time she reached the main keep where the officers awaited her, she had no need of a full report. “I see you've done it yet again,” she chirped as she dismounted. “The Resistance just can't stand up to you, can they? Oh, how nice, I really like this castle.”

The day was waning fast and the sun nearing the rim of the hills beyond, but everyone was still alert enough to scramble to obey whatever order she gave, soldiers coming to take the horses and set up a feast of welcome. Sun Ce limped out from behind the other officers, his arms and chest now bandaged to hide the wounds suffered at the hand of Gan Ning. He didn't look even the slightest bit happy to see her. “Just as you ordered,” he said crisply, removing all emotion both positive and negative from his voice. “We drove the Resistance out, they won't be bothering you again.”

“How nice.” Da Ji sashayed up to him, and then circled around him as if inspecting him. “Looks like this one was a little tougher than usual, hmm, Sun Ce? Poor baby, it looks like you got all cut up.”

Ce bit back a retort and refused to meet her eyes. “I'm fine.”

“We received your missives,” Zhou Yu interrupted, stepping to try to pry her off of flirting with his lord. “Was there a reason you decided to meet us here so soon after the battle, rather than wait for us to return to Bai Di?”

“Actually, yes. There is, of course, the small matter of your reward.” Da Ji swished back to where the rest of her vanguard waited, gesturing for an officer to get down off his horse. As had been done twice before, she cut the bonds at his wrists and allowed one of her underlings to hand over the man's long pike, officially turning him loose from prisoner to Sun Ce's charge. Even as he stepped forward from between the horses, head bowed, she added, “But that isn't all. I have other business with you.”

After all that had happened that day, Ce found himself perking up just enough as Lu Meng crossed the space between them, and then paused before him, clasping his fist before his heart and bowing contritely. “Please, forgive me, Lord Sun Ce,” he murmured. “I have shamed my family and you by being captured.”

“There's nothing to forgive,” Ce said warmly, striding forward to clap a hand to his shoulder. “I'm glad you're all right, Lu Meng.”

“We have missed your presence among us dearly,” Zhou Yu added with a similar smile.

“Nevertheless, I feel terrible for not being able to fulfill my duty to your father and yourselves,” Meng said seriously. “If you'll have me, I'll make up for lost time, I promise.”

“Of course we'll have you. What do you take me for?” Ce laughed.

“Such a touching scene,” Da Ji snorted. “Save it for later, would you? I said I had other business, and I'd rather get to it right away. None of this playing around and making nice, hmm?”

Ce began to glare again at the rude interruption, but Zhou Yu diplomatically stepped in between them. “By all means, Lady Da Ji. Our attendants have already set up refreshments for everyone, if you would join us at table. We can discuss this business over food and drink.”

“Very well, if you insist,” she lilted, wasting no time pushing past them to head into the castle. At the door, she turned to leave orders with the snake soldiers who had come with her. “The lot of you, wait here. There's no need to get settled in.”

The Wu officers shared a curious look with one another, but said nothing as they followed her into the keep. The feast waited for them in the main hall, and even Da Ji had a drink of wine as everyone got seated and clustered around to talk. She claimed the chair at the head of the table meant for Sun Ce, and propped her clawed feet up on the table as she drank and watched them all. The others ignored her slight and took their places, and Zhou Yu took it on himself to lead the discourse. “Now, then. What is this business you speak of, my lady?”

Da Ji rested her chin on her hand and smirked his way. “Impatient, are we? Very well, I suppose I should just come out with it, since I'm not planning to hang around long myself. You did quite well taking this castle, it helps Orochi greatly. Take a couple of days to secure it and set up an occupation, at least until I can send Tokugawa to take control of it. I need you to keep moving, there is one more fortress out there that needs to be taken, sooner rather than later.”

“Which one this time?” Ce grumbled.

“First, let me ask you a question.” Da Ji gave him a provocative smirk, her demon eyes narrowed. “Did you manage to learn anything about Zhao Yun, here? I notice you didn't present me with any prisoners.”

“He wasn't here,” Zhou Yu answered, his tone quite placid and controlled. “The handful of forces they left standing guard over Odani gave way before us and fled, but from what I could see, it was only underlings. Young things, mere children to some. If Lord Zhao Yun had been here, he would have confronted us no doubt, but there was no sign he had even been here at all recently.”

Da Ji screwed up her lips in a disappointed frown. “Well that's no fun. Then, I really have no choice but to go ahead with my plan.” She drained her cup and set it firmly on the table, sitting up to do so. “He must be there, then. Chengdu. The Shu capitol. I want you to go there and raze it to the ground, and capture everyone who might be hiding out there. I _know_ they have it in their control, but we can't allow that to stand.”

The officers looked among each other. “Chengdu is a major city, no matter how many people are defending it,” Sun Ce noted. “We're going to need to call in more of our troops in order to successfully take it.”

“Fine, be my guest. I don't want you to dawdle, though. We've already got those fools from Shu on the run, it would be best to hit them while they're still trying to regroup.” Da Ji rose from the chair and swept a superior look around the table. “You have only as many days as it takes for a messenger to run from here to the main army to summon your reinforcements, and then I want to see you heading for Chengdu. In the meantime, I'm leaving Yellowbelly here, with a platoon of Orochi's soldiers, and I'll be popping back to order Tokugawa to come and handle the occupation. Is that clear?”

“Perfectly clear,” Ce growled under his breath.

“It shall be as you say,” Zhou Yu nodded.

“Cheer up, Sun Ce...” The strategist prowled over to him and leaned on the back of his chair. “Everything's going so well! You've carried out my orders like a champ, you've got another pal back with you, and I even heard that your precious wife made it safely to Bai Di while you've been out. Isn't that wonderful?” She trailed a painted fingernail down his bandaged arm. “It's a shame I have to send you out damaged, but you're one of my best men. I know you'll do just fine.”

Ce couldn't hide the disgusted shiver that rippled up his back when she touched him. “Is that _all?_ ”

“That's all. If you'll excuse me, I really have no interest in partying with you bunch of drunks.” Da Ji backed up a couple of steps, and with a shimmer of mystical light, vanished on the spot.

In the heavy silence that followed her teleportation, Taishi Ci shrugged. “She's got us on that one.”

“Indeed. Send the wine cask around!” Zhou Yu ordered. “This is intended to be a celebration, after all, for our comrades who have been returned to us.”

It was no small relief to the commanders that Da Ji wasn't actually going to stay in the castle with them. Her instant departure had been the best news of the day, all things considered. Sun Ce didn't have much of an appetite after her visit, though, so he ate enough to keep his sworn brother from lecturing him later and then withdrew, finding the rooms where officers had been recently quartered and guessing from the empty cups left on a Go board that Gan Ning and Ling Tong had been living in this room. He sat down on a bench beneath the window and dropped his head into his hands, letting his thoughts race while the silence clapped down around him like a heavy cloak. He hated having to see the hurt of betrayal in the eyes of those two men a second time, and he felt like he deserved every cut Gan Ning gave him, even if every drop of blood was small payment to give in turn for what he did to them. At least he left them alive, and next time, he wouldn't have to knock them down. Next time, he could welcome them in. He swore it to himself. He didn't want to think about being sent directly to Chengdu for the next mission, and this time without any promise of his father's freedom, but maybe Zhou Yu was right. This might have been their final battle. Was it time? He needed to speak to Sakon, to know for sure.

Not long after his thoughts turned to the strategist hiding somewhere in the castle, the man himself materialized, stepping into the doorway to rouse Sun Ce out of his dark musings. “Knock, knock,” he said aloud, even though his hands were free. “Mind if I come in?”

Ce looked up and breathed a long sigh. “Sakon. Yeah, I was just thinking I wanted to talk to you. Good timing.”

“That seems to be the order of the day.” Sakon strode into the room and came over to where the young lord of Wu sat at the window, pulling over a stool for himself to flop down on. “Boy, the castle cellars are interesting. I know the Azai kept a good store of wine here in times past, the previous occupants must have gone through a lot of it.”

“Gan Ning was here,” Ce said ruefully, “I wouldn't be surprised at all.”

“So I heard.” Sakon set his hands on his knees as he sat facing Ce. “They're good kids, you know? The pirate and Ling Tong. They fought real hard at Changban, I was glad to see they survived.”

“I hope they don't hold it against me,” Ce murmured. “I had to beat them both down a second time, but I let them go.”

“Is that how you got so torn up?” Sakon might have meant his injuries, but the phrase could be taken to mean his emotional state as well. “That's war, though, shame though it is. Now. Let's get down to business. I expect you want to hear about your father?”

Ce sat up sharply. “Of course I do! Your letter said you had information for me. Do you know...?”

“Where he is? Yes. I do.” Sakon grew serious, all his mid-battle flippancy completely gone. “Your father is being held prisoner in Osaka Castle. It's extremely well-guarded, and if I were in someone's employ as a strategist, my advice to my commander would be to _not_ launch an all-out assault to try to take the castle. But, rescuing someone held inside, well, that’s a different and much more possible matter.”

“Osaka...” Ce rubbed at his goatee. He had heard of many of the castles Orochi had either conquered himself or sent his army to sweep through and occupy, and was sure he had heard mention of that one as well. “So it isn't someplace we can't reach, like Orochi's own castle at Koshi.”

“Fortunately, no.” Sakon leaned in a little. “Rather recently, I got wind that Da Ji was shuffling her forces around, pulling some from one place and sending them to another, pairing off different allies with one another, that sort of thing. I wouldn't be at all surprised if your father had been held elsewhere and was only recently re-settled at Osaka. But her panic about trying to keep the Resistance guessing has led to your benefit.”

“How did you come by all this information?”

“Told you – when you've been around as much as I have, you pick things up here and there.” The big ronin shook his head slowly. “I was only meant to bring you this information. What you do with it is up to you.”

“Meant to, huh?” Sun Ce leaned forward as well, resting an elbow on one knee. “And just who _do_ you serve, Sakon?”

“Nobody, actually.” Sakon's eyes narrowed with a twinkle of a smirk. “I'm what you might call a free agent.”

Ce studied him for a moment, believing him completely. Something in his heart had been telling him all along that this man was to be trusted, and it didn't change now. “How'd you like a job, then? I could use a guy like you. You know, the kind of guy who knows how to blow up castle walls.”

“Oh, could you? I don't know,” Sakon chuckled, “you've already got a bunch of famous strategists gathered around you. Zhou Yu and Lu Meng, those are pretty notable names.”

“You never can have too many strategists. But hey, if you just want an opportunity to swing that big sword around...”

Sakon waved him down with one hand. “All right, all right, I get the point. I suppose, at the very least, I could show you the way to Osaka Castle if you'd like. But, you probably don't need me...”

“Are you kidding? Please! I need to get there, as fast as possible, but you've seen this land. Everything is so jumbled up, I wouldn't know an Osaka from a hole in the ground,” Ce said urgently.

“Well...” Sakon gave him an impressed look. “A little honesty, that's very refreshing in a warlord. All right, you're on. I'll come along and lead you there.”

“Don't call me a warlord.” Ce's face darkened again, and he shook his head slowly. “I'm not even close. I'm just a guy who wants to save his father. If I take your advice, and your lead, and set out to do this, there's no way for me to come back. As soon as she hears what I've done, Da Ji will have me branded a traitor.”

“So you've already thought this through,” Sakon noted. “Good, that saves me having to do a lot of hand-holding and advice-giving.”

“I'm prepared. Zhou Yu and I have already made our decision. And you've just brought me the one last thing I needed in order to actually carry it through.” Ce paused, and then it all came rushing in at once, making him lose his composure and drop his head into his hands. This really was it! After all the talking in hypotheticals, and the long nights lying awake wondering, the constant search for information and the roadblocks in their way, it was finally sitting right in front of him. He had the location of his father's prison and a guide to take him there, someone who knew the place and might even have a strategy already. How could he suddenly be so lucky? He sat for a long while clawing his hands through his hair, struggling to rein himself in, and to his credit, Sakon allowed him without remark.

The soft step of a leather shoe on the smooth wood floor reached them both, announcing the intrusion of another. It was only Zhou Yu, and he looked concerned to find these two talking and Ce sitting so. “Is everything all right?” he wondered.

Ce lifted his head sharply. “Gongjin, we can do it! He knows! He knows and he can take us there!”

“What, really?” Zhou Yu hustled over and stood beside Ce's shoulder, all the better to look at Sakon and confirm for himself. “How is it you have this information?”

“Don't worry about that,” Sakon replied. “What matters is, I can give you my solemn word that it's the truth. It's not just a probability or a hope, I know for a fact that Sun Jian is currently being held prisoner at Osaka Castle. So long as Da Ji doesn't panic and shuffle her people around again anytime soon, that's not likely to change.” He looked back and forth between the two of them. “You've got time, but not much.”

Yu squeezed Ce's shoulder hard as he stood there, partly to reassure him and partly to ground himself before the euphoria overtook him. Ce's hand came to rest on top of his to say that he understood fully. “I trust you, Sakon,” the young lord of Wu stated flatly, fixing him with a determined stare. “I hardly know you, but my gut has been telling me from the start that you're the kind of man I can trust. So, we'll do it. This is the right time to break away, Da Ji's new orders for us are to march straight from here to Chengdu to wipe out the rest of the Shu resistance.”

“Ooh, yeah, probably better to not follow that order.” Sakon pushed himself to his feet, then. “I'll let you two discuss it among yourselves for a minute. I need to see to my men, they've been waiting for their chance to sneak back in. Da Ji's good and gone?”

“Yes, she disappeared and hasn't returned,” Zhou Yu replied with a nod. “It should be safe to bring your men into the castle now.”

“Thanks.” With a nod of his own, Sakon left the room for a bit, allowing the two commanders to complete their discussion.

Ce looked to Yu immediately. “Is there any reason I shouldn't go ahead and do this?”

“None that I can think of.” Yu's face was hard with gravity. “Our plan hasn't changed, the timing of it has simply moved up from 'within days or weeks' to 'right now.' That means we have no choice in the matter – we can only take who we have with us, we can't wait to send messages or explain the situation to anyone else.”

Sun Ce got up to pace, folding his arms tightly over his chest. “That means we can't bring Quan and Shangxiang into it. I really wanted them at my side, I wanted all of us to rescue my father together. But I don't think I can have it both ways. We have to rescue my father before Da Ji realizes that we're not going to Chengdu – the minute she figures out that I'm not following orders, she'll kill him.”

“I'm sure they will forgive you for not including them after they see what you've done,” Yu said kindly. He had no doubt that Sun Ce could accomplish this feat – after all, he had been successful at every turn, no matter what he put his mind to he came out victorious every time. With a guide, and their men backing them up, they could surely break a man out of prison, even a very well-guarded one. “I have no reason to hold you back, Ce. When Sakon gets back, we should immediately begin discussing when and how.”

“No...there's one thing I need to do before he gets back. Come on.”

He turned in mid-pace and strode to the door, forcing Zhou Yu to scramble to follow. As expected, all the rest of the officers were still down in the main hall, finishing drinks and talking quietly of their situation and the curious man who brought the kind of weapons that could break through walls. When Ce burst into the room, they all looked his way. “Da Ji hasn't been back, has she?” he asked to be sure.

“No, my lord,” Lu Meng replied. “Wherever she magicked herself off to, it isn't here.”

“Good. Because she can't hear a word of what I'm about to say.” Sun Ce gestured for all of them to come closer to where he stood, so they left their chairs and clustered around him, all friends as much as subordinates. Ranmaru and Hanzo stood with them, welcome as anyone else. Ce noted each of them in turn – Taishi Ci, Lu Meng, and Zhou Yu, the three his efforts had freed, as well as Lu Su, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang. A few of Tokugawa's officers were with them, but they hung back a little, not sure what was going on. As much as he wanted to grin and cheer, Ce knew that this news, while good, was also very dangerous for them all. “Shima Sakon has brought us the information we've been waiting for. I now know where Da Ji has been hiding my father. I've made up my mind to go after him and rescue him. This means I’m turning my back on Orochi, right here and now.

“As for the rest of you,” he went on, not waiting for their excited reactions, “I'm not going to order you to come with me, or force you to defect alongside me. I actually don't have any right to order the men of Mikawa anyway.” He glanced to the two or three at the edge of the circle and nodded. “But men of Wu, I leave the choice in your hands. I'll welcome anyone who wants to come along, but you have to know what you're getting into, first. We are, effective immediately, defecting from the Orochi army. We are _not_ marching to Chengdu, we're leaving the Shu Resistance alone. We're going to follow Sakon to this castle where my father is being held, and once he's free, we're going to retreat to a safe location to hide and regroup. A number of our men aren't going to be able to join us, we can't wait for them. We can't send word to my brother to gain his assistance, and he has several of our men with him as well.” Ce paused, breathing a deep sigh. “Whether we succeed or fail, either way, our service to Orochi and Da Ji ends now. If the worst happens and we can't save my father, there'll be no way for us to rejoin Orochi even if we wanted to. We'll have a price on our heads. So. Knowing this, knowing full well that I'm about to make things worse for myself and everyone else, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted no part of it. Here's your chance to make your choice.”

There was only a moment of silence where the Wu officers glanced at each other. “Sun Ce,” Lu Meng said with a spark of humor in his tone, “do you honestly expect any of us to abandon you?”

“Completely impossible, young master,” Taishi Ci agreed.

“I will go as well,” Ranmaru said bravely. “I have no wish to follow anyone but you, Lord Sun Ce.”

“You all feel the same?” They nodded, bringing a smile to Ce's face. “You guys...”

“It will not be easy,” Zhou Yu added. “We will not have nice, warm castles to sleep in from now on. We may be forced into lean times, with few allies to turn to and a hard road to walk.”

“That makes no difference,” Han Dang assured. “If it is for Lord Sun Jian, and Lord Sun Ce, I believe all of us would walk into hell with you.”

Ce shook his head. “I don’t deserve you all. Thank you.”

“The men of Mikawa will have to remain here to wait for Lord Tokugawa,” Zhou Yu noted. “We cannot take them with us.”

Hanzo finally spoke up, then. “I will see to them. And to my lord.”

Ce turned to him, all sober again. “What will Tokugawa do, do you think? He's been supportive of both me and my brother all this time.”

The ninja's eyes closed for a moment. “I cannot say. I will deliver the message, and we shall see.”

“Is there any chance he will inform Da Ji, and ruin our plans?” Lu Meng wondered, having never met the warlord they spoke of.

Hanzo shook his head with certainty. “He will say nothing. Whether he will follow you into defection...that, I cannot predict.”

“If he doesn't, it would be great if he could protect my brother and sister while I'm gone,” Ce suggested. “Someone needs to look out for them, so Da Ji doesn't take out her aggressions on them without me around. Until we can rescue them, that is.”

“My lord will hear everything you wish to tell him,” Hanzo assured quietly.

“Then, it is settled,” Zhou Yu said firmly. “We are a small force, but together, we can accomplish much. And we will have Sakon, so there is that.”

On cue, the burly ronin wandered back in from his errand, and there was one more man following behind him. “Oh, looks like the party's moved down here,” he said smartly as they moved into the light. “Good, good. By the way, I brought you a little present. Lu Xun gave him to me a while back, he's been looking after my engineers while I've been out and about.”

From behind his bulk, the young man moved out and waved to his countrymen. It was none other than Zhu Ran, the officer and engineer who was close friends to most of the strategists of Wu. Zhou Yu and Lu Meng both brightened up to see him. “Zhu Ran!” Ce greeted him. “What are you doing with this troublemaker?”

“It's like he said, Lord Sun Ce,” Zhu Ran shrugged. “Lu Xun ordered me to accompany him for a time. I've been getting a lot of command experience, at least.”

“More like babysitting experience, I'm sure.” Sakon set his hands on his hips. “Somebody had to keep an eye on my guys so I could do the dangerous work. But he's one of yours, so I may as well turn him back over to you.”

The Wu officers gathered their man in, slapping him on the back and letting him take his place with them. “Well, Sakon,” Sun Ce said, “it looks like everyone here is ready to go. We're all in, so whatever strategy you've got in mind to get the job done, this is what you've got to work with.”

“Lucky me,” Sakon teased. “But strategy can wait until morning. I think, in light of everything, we all deserve a good night's rest. One night isn't going to change how quickly we can get from here to Osaka.”

Despite the sudden onset of good news, everyone could generally agree with that assessment. Quarters were found for all the officers, and in almost no time at all everyone had been shooed away to get some sleep. Even if they had rights to the rooms where the castle's master would reside, Sun Ce opted against it, choosing instead the room he had marked as belonging to his countrymen prior to the battle. There was room enough for two in there, so while he cast off his armor and half his clothes and tumbled onto a bed, Zhou Yu sat down at a writing desk to compose letters while the thoughts were still fresh in his mind. There was much to tell Tokugawa, which fortunately could be entrusted to Hanzo so that he could safely be told everything. However, Zhou Yu also wanted to prepare missives for several other people, in case they could be sent after the fact. They were leaving so many behind, and he couldn't be sure they would all understand Ce's reasons for going off and doing this himself instead of bringing them all into the plan. Time wasn't their only constraint. Rather than try to send a letter to Sun Quan, though, the strategist wisely figured it would be better to contact someone in a much less important position. Ding Feng was still with them, and he was far more level-headed than any of the Sun children. He also jotted something quick down to Daqiao, who hadn't even gotten to see her husband since returning from her adventures alongside the warriors of Wei. Ce was his sworn brother, his brother-in-law, and his best friend, so Yu exhausted everything he had, mentally and physically, in order to serve at his side and prepare everything he could possibly need. He could hear the man already snoring on the other side of the room, and smiled to himself as he inked his pen and continued writing. This was the right path, he knew. It would be difficult and dangerous, and there was no guarantee that they would completely succeed. Yet, to sit back and do nothing, and continue to allow Da Ji to blackmail them into doing her dirty work was not the way to save or protect anyone. Things were getting too complicated, and Sun Ce was a difficult man for anyone to control in the first place. He had reached his limit, Yu knew, and this information from Sakon came along at just the right moment. It was clear to him that the Resistance, whether led by Zhao Yun of Shu or by the mysterious Oda Nobunaga, was strengthened by the blending of warriors from all kingdoms and time periods, like the smelting of an alloy to create a stronger metal for weapons. He resolved to keep a closer eye on it, and to be the first to encourage his young lord to recruit more like Ranmaru and Sakon. Anyone, not just men of Wu, could be their salvation. Later, though. Right now, the rescue of Sun Jian looked to be a Wu matter after all.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun's army returns to Nanzhong, and after battling Sima Yi, a new path opens up for him.

The heated jungles of Nanzhong were not top of the list for places Zhao Yun wanted to find himself again, but he would never ignore the cry of an ally. At first, he and Yukimura decided to strike south from Odani for other reasons, not the least of which included information from Saika that at some point Da Ji had been heading there. They came around to meet him and Jiang Wei in a completely isolated location, far from any strongholds or castles, and there learned that things had been changing drastically among the Orochi army behind them. While Da Ji herself was no longer anywhere near the southern jungles, she had been employing Orochi's snake demons across the entire land, sending them to bolster the fortresses they held and pairing them up with the human forces already working for their demon overlord. Crucially for them, there was a very fresh report that Sima Yi had been ordered to return to Nanzhong and finish what he started, now that he had been given free rein to choose his own forces and strategies to do so instead of relying on Da Ji's orders. Saika even knew about the movements of Cao Pi's forces, and could tell them that Sima Yi was taking a couple of pretty big deals with him. Though the Nanman hadn't exactly sent out a call for help – yet – it would not do to come upon them too late. Waiting for Meng Huo to admit that he needed assistance would mean they would arrive after battle had started and likely would only be there to witness the defeat and destruction of their native allies. Thus, despite Zhao Yun's desire to be searching the broad land for actual information on Liu Bei, he had no choice but to turn south again himself, and bolster the Nanman forces so that they would still be around to help later when he might need them.

“Man, why am I always riding with you guys?” Magoichi complained as they rode, Zhao Yun and Yukimura in front and himself and Jiang Wei just behind. “How come the ladies don't want to run these errands?”

“I would not have dared pull Lady Xingcai away from her command,” Zhao Yun reasoned. “She is doing rather well at Odani.”

“And Lady Yueying has things well in control in Chengdu,” Jiang Wei added. “It isn't wise to move forces around without good reason.”

“I know, I know.” Magoichi heaved an over-dramatic sigh and wilted in the saddle. “It's just sad that the ladies are amazing commanders who won't leave their posts.”

“Easy, Saika,” Yukimura laughed, glancing over his shoulder at the rifleman. “There are worse things in the world. Believe me, when we reach Nanzhong, you may see why you should not wish this trip on anyone else, least of all Lady Yueying.”

Jiang Wei laughed. “I don't think the jungle is why Lady Tachibana refused to come along this time.”

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in,” Saika snorted. “Seriously, any of you guys got younger sisters or something? Except you, Yukimura, you don't count. I know your family.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Yukimura glanced back again, still laughing in good humor.

“I had a brother.” Zhao Yun gazed at the sloping plains before them as he rode and spoke. “He was killed while I still served Lord Gongsun Zan, very young.”

Conversation ground to a halt between the four riders for a moment. Then, Magoichi cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um. Sorry.”

Jiang Wei leaned toward him for a whispered scolding. “Look what you did, Saika!”

“No, it's all right.” Zhao Yun looked back at them, his gentle eyes making it clear that he wasn't upset. “Remembering is all we can do, in this world. If our families and ancestral lands haven't followed us here, then we must do our best to remember whenever we can.”

“You are such a kind-hearted man, Lord Zhao Yun,” Yukimura said admiringly.

“No wonder he's surrounded by ladies,” Magoichi said, hoping to bring the mood back up.

“What, me? No, not hardly,” Yun said, blushing a bit. “I am not even married!”

“No? Oho!” Saika urged his horse forward a little, interested in this gossip and wanting to talk to Zhao Yun directly. “Got your eye on anybody in particular?”

“Well...no,” Zhao Yun stammered.

“Come oooon...” Magoichi practically dangled off the side of his horse in order to needle their commander. “What about Lady Xingcai? She's cute.”

“Lady Xingcai...?” Yun shook his head and clapped a hand to his face in embarrassment. “No, see. You know how many of us have come from different points in our lives, different times? I remember Xingcai as a young girl, perhaps no more than nine or ten. She clearly comes from my future, where she knows me as an elder general and a mentor.”

Magoichi gaped a bit. “Ooh, yeah, that could get awkward.”

“You're not elder. Just old enough,” Jiang Wei put in to reassure him.

“Well, as long as we're here in a place where we can meet people from all across time,” Saika persisted, “why not?”

Zhao Yun turned to give him a worried look. “Because she is Lord Zhang Fei's daughter, if nothing else! Honestly, Magoichi, I really am not looking around for a wife or anything. _You_ are welcome to court any maidens you meet, I have more important things to do with my time.”

Magoichi righted himself in the saddle and snorted. “You samurai types are all the same.”

Yun blinked at him, and then turned to Yukimura. “So I am a samurai, now?”

“I would consider that a compliment if I were you,” Sanada grinned.

“Lord Zhao Yun,” Jiang Wei interjected, “would it be wise to warn Master Saika of the Nanman queen, so he doesn't get himself killed?”

Magoichi's attention span began and ended at “queen,” but both Zhao Yun and Yukimura burst out laughing. As much as Magoichi would deserve the pounding he would get from Meng Huo, they decided it would indeed be in their overall best interests to explain the fiery Zhurong and warn their eager comrade away from her. It was clear he was going to enjoy the hospitality of the villagers once they got there, but they could ignore his flailing so long as he didn't get himself squashed flat at the hands of the mighty Meng Huo.

They made their way southward at a brisk pace, not racing but not dawdling either, camping in the open and taking a more or less direct path no matter what terrain stood in their way. The troops they brought along, collected under Jiang Wei's command from able men at Chengdu, kept up with them rather well and were fresh and ready for battle by the time they reached the jungles. They still had a distance to go to reach the main village at Nanzhong, though war found them first before they could even press so far. Coming through the trees into a clearing, Magoichi whistled to get them to pull up short, and then spurred ahead to chase something he had spotted. It turned out to be men in the uniforms of Wei, being led by a snaky demon captain, all pursuing prey of their own. The three spearmen did not hesitate, but raced to join their comrade, shouting for their men to spread out and take down these soldiers. The trees ahead were thick and whipped at their faces as they rode, but the underbrush hampered the progress of their foes as well, and eventually the lot of them spilled out into another clearing where full battle had been joined. This was a strange area, where crumbling walls and ruins were being swallowed up by jungle plants, clearly belonging to the Nanman as there were scores of their own forces all across the landscape. Whatever formation they had to start had already broken down, and it was every man for himself – or herself, since smack in the middle of a ring of very protective archers stood Zhurong, calling out orders in her strident voice and whipping her boomerang over the heads of her allies to strike her foes. It was a good thing Jiang Wei had considered a warning, because Magoichi almost took off to the rescue without thinking. Fortunately, Yukimura grabbed the bridle of his horse in time. The rifleman slid out of the saddle and beckoned his squad forward to get into position, even as the others rode down the combination of Wei infantry and snake soldiers and destroyed fully half of them. The rifle squad picked off the last stragglers throwing themselves at the slender archers who lacked any kind of protective armor, clearing the way for the Shu forces to take control of the area. Seeing them, Zhurong barked a command for her men to stand down and then pushed through them, confronting their unexpected visitors. “You saved me!” she exclaimed in disbelief. “The gods must have sent you, Lord Zhao Yun!”

Zhao Yun reined in and dismounted, cradling his heavy spear in the crook of his arm so he could properly salute and bow to her. “I am pleased to find you safe, my lady. We have come to help.”

“I am _so_ happy to be able to come to your rescue...my _lady_ ,” Magoichi said suavely, coming up and slinging his rifle over his shoulder. His eyes were clearly captivated by her curvaceous, tanned body clad in little besides beads and animal skins, and did not seem deterred by the collective eye-roll of both his companions and Zhurong.

The queen of the Nanman beckoned for them to come with her, striding swiftly to the huts standing just behind a half-wall of moss-covered stone. There, she agreed to a hasty conference with the officers, while the Shu troops assisted the Nanman survivors with their injuries and prepared a perimeter in case there were reinforcements nearby. “You boys are lucky,” she said sternly as she settled down cross-legged with them in one of the huts. “We’ve taken to shooting first and asking questions later. If I hadn’t recognized Zhao Yun, you might be nothing more than arrow-filled pincushions right now.”

“We do appreciate your moment of restraint,” Zhao Yun said humbly, kneeling and setting his hands on his knees. “It sounds like yet again, we have dropped by at just the right time.”

“Maybe so.” Zhurong’s gaze shifted to Yukimura, kneeling like a mirror image of his comrade in red instead of green. “So, you two managed to hook up. Interesting.”

Yukimura bowed graciously to her. “I thank you and your husband for the information you gave me, my lady. It allowed me to be able to join with Lord Zhao Yun and aid their resistance.”

“And how’s Lord Liu Bei? You didn’t accidentally kill him or anything?”

Sanada flushed almost as red as his armor. “N-no, my lady. Unfortunately, the rumors were false in more than one way. Not only were the men there not phantoms, Lord Liu Bei was not among them.”

“Our search continues,” Zhao Yun added. “But we are taking time away from it to come to see you because we had information that the Wei army was sending troops here again.”

“Oh, they certainly have,” Zhurong said wryly, “as you could see. And as much as my oaf of a husband is going to hate admitting it, we do need your help. They came prepared this time, with bridges to cross the swamps and a much bigger force made up of both men and demons. They’re already at the edge of Nanzhong and our forces are scattered – they caught up to me before I could get to any of the others. I fear they're all in danger.”

Zhao Yun gazed at her with hard determination. “We will do everything we can to assist you, my lady. We have brought some troops, and Saika Magoichi has a small group of riflemen with him.”

“Oh?” Zhurong smiled up at Magoichi rather like a panther, making him sweat just a bit. “As long as he can fight and doesn’t get in my way. We don’t have time to waste. I can’t even really stop to offer you more than water for your horses, we have to move if we want to catch up before something tragic happens.”

“So be it. We are ready.”

The Nanman queen unfolded her graceful legs and was up and out in an instant, forcing the rest to hurry to keep up with her. As promised, the warriors were already in the process of caring for the horses, so that as soon as the order was given to move out, everyone was ready. Zhurong continued to talk battlefield tactics with them as they went, as swift and tireless on foot as the horses. “I can’t be everywhere at once,” she explained. “But a number of our chieftains are being targeted, and prevented from coming to the aid of the main village. It's a classic divide-and-conquer strategy, but just knowing that isn't enough to stop it if we don't have enough people to counter it.”

“Then, you may rely on us,” Yukimura said boldly. “Send us where we are needed most.”

“Do whatever you can. Save my people!” Zhurong demanded of them, with a touch of desperation to her voice.

They passed more of the crumbling stone walls, and Zhurong explained to them that this area, while not their main village, was an important place to the Nanman, ancient and useful with paths that connected all their outlying villages to one another. She showed them the hidden pathways, some sunken underground and others masked by the thick jungle undergrowth, and gave them official permission to use these shortcuts if it helped reach her scattered officers faster. She had just finished giving them the complete picture when her men called out enthusiastically. Someone had just come up from one of the secret pathways, and it happened to be the king of the Nanman himself. Meng Huo's massive shape lumbered up into the light, and he threw his arms wide to see his wife standing there unhurt. “Darling! The messengers said you were in trouble, I came as fast as I could!”

Zhurong stood aside, folding her arms over her chest and smirking at him. “It wasn't fast enough, my dear king. Lucky for you, these men of Shu arrived just in time and routed the attackers.”

“What?” Meng Huo looked up at the mounted men, and blinked in interest to recognize their saviors. “Well! Fancy running into you here – again. I must thank you for saving my beloved.” He beat one fist against his chest. “And now, get out! This is _my_ land!”

Zhao Yun and Yukimura both stared at him. This was a far cry from his last meeting with them, but then, it was very much Meng Huo's usual attitude toward outsiders. “But, my lord...” the former protested.

Zhurong rounded on her husband in fiery fury. “What are you saying?! We owe these people our lives!”

“But dear...” Meng Huo joined her, trying to escort her away with a sweep of his arm. “This is our land! It's up to us to keep it safe!”

“At the rate you're moving, we're not going to keep anyone safe!” she shot back at him. “What are you doing all the way out here, anyway? Who’s guarding the village? You idiot!”

“But!” Huo continued to protest. “I got word you were in trouble, I came to rescue you!”

“And a fat lot of good you did,” Zhurong snarled. “You were too late _and_ our village is completely unprotected, now! You see what I mean? The men of Shu are here just in the nick of time. Let them help! The Wei forces have situated themselves between us and our men, we'll never be able to save all of them just by ourselves.”

Meng Huo growled savagely and turned away, and then shot Zhao Yun a dubious look before lumbering back toward the path he had come from. “I don't need their help! This is just another ploy by that rat Sima Yi, he'll fail like he failed last time, and the time before that!”

His wife sighed and waved a hand in a dismissive gesture at his retreating back. “Don't listen to him,” she implored the waiting warriors. “Just get out there like we planned. My men's lives are more important than his ego.”

“Right.” Zhao Yun hoisted his spear and sent his men in multiple directions with a few quick gestures. “Come, Saika, we have work to do.”

Magoichi turned his horse to go along – he wasn't being allowed to accompany Zhurong, that duty fell to the trustworthy Sanada. “That big oaf should learn some manners,” he grumbled. “I'd stay and teach him a lesson, but...well, you know how it is.”

“Put it behind you for now, we have no time,” Yun said urgently. “I cannot turn my back on innocents in need. We must find the chieftain Jinhuan Sanjie and escort him safely through enemy lines.”

“Yeah, yeah.” They started off swiftly, ducking through low-hanging vines and plunging into an underground channel lined with stone carvings and pillars. “Why do you even care, though? If this guy doesn't want your help...”

“Meng Huo is a proud man, moreso than anyone else I have met,” Zhao Yun explained as they rode, the echoes of their passage ringing off the ancient stones. “He can be convinced to see reason later. Right now, all I can think about is the innocent villagers, trapped by snake demons with so few soldiers to defend them. Once we see to them, the rest will fall into place.”

“You really are way too selfless, you know that?” Magoichi said, rather seriously.

“I know no other way,” Yun murmured back. “These are the teachings of Shu...the teachings of my lord. I could not forgive myself if I did not help.”

Saika did not argue any further, but mulled it over in silence. They needed concentration to navigate the narrow stone corridors safely, it was dark and damp and too easy for a horse's hoof to slip on the aged stones. There were no torches to light the way and few gaps in the ruins through which sunlight could penetrate, but the troops jogging behind them had a couple of torches to help. At last, they crossed a final threshold and emerged blinking into the bright sun and green trees, and rode hard up a hill to come out at the fringe of a village. Pausing there to let the infantry catch up, the two officers turned their heads to look and listen. The ring of metal on metal reached them from very nearby. Magoichi slid out of the saddle immediately. “They're already fighting. I'm on it, bring the men up behind.”

“Right.” Zhao Yun waited just long enough, and then wordlessly pointed with his spear to direct his men around the edges of the village into position. He rode in last, just in time to hear the rifle shots cracking across the glen. Coming around a corner, he found one broad-shouldered Nanman chieftain standing like a wall before the largest hut in the village, a cluster of snake-demons surrounding him. Several were already down, and even as Zhao Yun led the charge, three more fell from three more gunshots. The masked demon leading the attack turned, startled, looking for the source of the shots, only to see a mounted warrior bearing down on him. The spear made short work of him, and the Shu fighters swarmed in to take out the rest. In almost no time at all the dust cleared, and Jinhuan Sanjie gaped at the rescuers. Yun dropped out of the saddle, a bit out of breath from all the excitement. “Forgive us our intrusion...”

“Lords of the North! You have saved my people!” the chieftain exclaimed.

“See? Now here's a guy who knows gratitude,” Magoichi quipped as he strode into view.

Zhao Yun stood back as timid villagers, women and children and elders along with archers and a handful of spearmen, peeked out from behind their protector. “Is everyone safe?”

“We are now, thanks to you,” Sanjie nodded. “I won't forget what you did for us, here.”

“Your great king is in need of your help, as well,” Yun warned. “The largest part of the invading army is heading for the main village in Nanzhong, and he may be short on defenders to handle it.”

“As I feared. I was arming my men to join him when we were beset.” Sanjie stepped down from his defensive spot to allow the other warriors to spill out from where they had been protecting the civilians. “If it is possible, my lords, can you see these people to the queen's position? I will take our troops to strengthen our king.”

Saika sighed, but Zhao Yun nodded briskly. “We will. The Lady Zhurong has asked us to do as much. Be careful.”

Escorting civilians clearly wasn't Magoichi's favorite thing in the world, but he kept quiet and let Zhao Yun lead the way. They had the safety of the underground passage to make it easier, at least, and though it took far longer, they came through just fine and emerged into the welcoming presence of Zhurong. Not too long after they regrouped, Yukimura rode from another path leading lost civilians of his own, and then Jiang Wei came third with a contingent of Nanman troops, all able-bodied and ready to go. Each had a similar tale to tell of rescues and grateful chieftains who were able to gather enough men to go to Meng Huo's side – the ones Jiang Wei collected were extra, and available to bolster the Shu forces so that they could catch up and come in behind the Orochi army with an even larger force. It had taken much of the afternoon, but it was well worth the time spent. Zhurong was more than pleased to see it, as she had no intention of sitting out the battle to come. “If Dongtuna and Ahui Nan are on their way, then we are in even better shape,” she said proudly. “Good work, my friends.”

“I sent the scouts ahead, we should have a complete picture of the size and movement of the army ahead of us shortly,” Jiang Wei reported.

“Sounds like my cue.” Magoichi offered Zhurong a wink, which she ignored, and then led his rifle squad away. “Catch up with you guys on the field! Don't be late or you'll miss out on all the fun!”

Once he was gone, Zhurong stepped up between Zhao Yun and Yukimura. “Just what do you see in a guy like that, anyway?”

“Saika is a masterful marksman, and very good at scouting,” Yukimura explained. “We owe much of what information we have to him. Worry not, he will come through for us all.”

The queen looked from him to Zhao Yun, who nodded. “All right, if you say so. Come. We have a long hike ahead of us as well.”

Some miles away in the heart of Nanzhong, the collected might of the Orochi army was arrayed in battle formation, awaiting reports from their rear forces about the status of their missions to divide and conquer. Sima Yi was in full command this time, with neither of his sons along and a couple of powerful officers on loan from Cao Pi. These days he was as loathe to take aid from his former lord's son as he was from Zhuge Liang, but at least he had a long history with the lords of Wei and knew they would work with him no matter what the orders. If he was displeased or concerned about the large contingent of snake demons that had been sent along with him, he said and revealed nothing of it. On either side of him, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang sat astride their own horses at the head of their own ranks of Wei soldiers. Some of the rank-and-file were quietly complaining about the heat and the insects biting their necks, but their commanders sat stoic, saying little as they waited for orders themselves. No amount of baiting from Sima Yi could get them to say anything of Cao Pi's plans or his thoughts on having to split up his own officers and send some of them to attend to Orochi's commanders instead of him. At the moment, he was beginning to show his irritation with waiting, as the reports from the rear were long overdue. He didn't want to sound the charge until he knew for sure that he wasn't going to be outflanked, but the day was growing long and the soldiers around him were fidgeting. At long last, he looked over his shoulder, scanning the trees as if they were messengers. “Where are those damnable snakes? They couldn't have been defeated by a bunch of barbarians, they're immune to the poison in the swamps.”

Zhang Liao glanced at him, his expression blank. “They are beyond late. I fear the worst, Lord Sima Yi.”

“Perhaps they've gotten lost in the jungle,” Xu Huang suggested.

“I wouldn't be surprised.” Yi scowled at the village ahead, the huts and palisades rising from the trees, a mix of ancient stone rubble and freshly-cut wood. “It will not change the goal, but it would force me to alter strategy, if even one of them could not bolster our forces. We must still put an end to these pathetic barbarians. They cannot be allowed to just live as they please in Orochi's world. All will bow to him, without exception.”

The two Wei officers gave each other a look, eyebrows raised. “Shall we move out, then?” Zhang Liao asked.

“Hold, yet. Our scouts from the front must return.” Sima Yi cast a cool smirk on the great warrior. “What's the matter, Zhang Liao? Are you displeased with this mission? Do you perhaps wish your lord had sent someone else, so you could go to a different territory?”

Liao gave him a droll look right back. “Have I said anything to give you that impression, my lord?”

“I hate the way you say that.” Yi's eyes narrowed. “Do you think I don't know that Lord Cao Pi despises me? All because I chose to ally myself with the only lord who has the power to conquer us all. I didn't need to be crushed by the weight of his power, I saw it for myself and knew it to be right.”

“You see what you wish to see. But I have heard no ill will from the young master,” Liao said patiently. “He, too, chose to agree to the alliance.”

“After his father met his end at Orochi's hand.” Sima Yi was bitter, and it showed. “I suppose I should give you some credit, that the men of Wei didn't have to be cowed like Wu and Shu. I should expect nothing less from such noble, proud warriors.”

“Is it better, then, to have your lord dead, rather than alive and held captive to blackmail his followers?” Xu Huang interjected. “I wonder.”

At that, a call came up from the ranks behind them, that their own soldiers were returning. The officers turned their horses, expecting to receive a scout or even one of the demon commanders, but instead, they were presented with a small group of injured Wei soldiers, limping determinedly toward their lords. Their report had Sima Yi scowling darkly. “What do you mean, _none_ of them were successful?”

“Orochi's officers abandoned us,” one complained. “They fled rather than be killed at the hands of the Nanman reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements?” Xu Huang looked sharply at his comrades. “There were not supposed to be reinforcements. Who do you mean?”

“Men of Shu!” another cried out. “It was the Tiger General, Zhao Yun! I saw him with my own eyes!”

Sima Yi growled and hissed under his breath. “Argh! Another petty nuisance to add to my irritation. There is no time to waste, now.” He raised his voice to the whole army. “If they want to interfere in this battle, then let them all die together. First wave, advance!”

The soldiers straightened up and marched out immediately at the command, swallowing their apprehensions and moving out as ordered. The main village of the Nanman people lay ahead of them, and if they hurried to move in immediately, they could accomplish their task before these rumored reinforcements showed up. Xu Huang and Zhang Liao moved back into position, readying themselves for their own orders to come. The latter couldn't resist making a jab under his breath. “How interesting. Lord Zhang He's prediction came true.”

“What was that?” Sima Yi rounded on him. “I will not have you muttering behind my back, Zhang Liao.”

“Oh, nothing,” the warrior said airily. “Merely that, Zhang He warned Lord Cao Pi that the men of Shu might be hiding out in these jungles waiting for their chance to strike.”

“Men of Shu,” Yi scoffed angrily. “One puny general is not 'men of Shu!' He is nothing but a thorn in my side, one which will be plucked out and crushed here, today. Da Ji has particular interest in seeing him dead, so make it so.” He glared at the man to his left. “If you see Zhao Yun on the battlefield, he is to be killed, not captured, and not allowed to flee. Understood?”

Liao met his gaze coldly. “Quite well.”

The men of Shu in question were currently sneaking their way through the hidden paths in the jungle, taking shortcuts through the ruins in order to avoid being seen by the outliers of the Orochi army. Their own scouts caught up with them along the way, relaying to them the arrangement of their foes so they could better position their own forces. Zhurong led them, running ahead with the boomerang slung over her back, every bit the fierce barbarian queen as she directed her forces this way and that. The stone tunnels and corridors branched here and there, allowing her to send men to ambush the flank of the Wei soldiers and meet up with the rest of their own people, while she led the resistance officers to the exit of the path. It came out still some distance from the village, and as they emerged from the stifling darkness into the light, they could hear the din of battle. The first wave of the Orochi onslaught had already begun. Yet, right at that moment, there was a great, gusty cheer from the Nanman, one of their unmistakable battle cries. Beneath it, they could hear Dongtuna bellow, “It's time for us to repay our debts! Forward!”

Zhurong looked back at the mounted officers and grinned. “Looks like we owe you even more than we bargained for.”

“No need to speak of debts until this is through,” Sanada assured her. “What are your orders, my lady?”

“We need to push through to meet up with my husband, at the main village. I don't care how you get there, just get there.”

Before they could move out, the thunder of hooves made them all turn their heads. The second wave had been ordered in to intercept the Nanman reinforcements, and this time, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang rode at the fore. Seeing their charge, Zhao Yun picked up his spear. “The main army! They're already moving in!”

“Then we shall not let them succeed!” Likewise, Yukimura brandished his own spear. “We didn't save these men to let them die again. Fight with me, Lord Zilong!”

Zhao Yun gave a brisk nod, and together the two of them charged out. That left Jiang Wei to handle their soldiers, not a difficult task. Zhurong paused to watch the pair of equally-matched spearmen drive straight for the Wei officers, smirking a bit to herself before she, too, pulled out her weapon and entered the fray.

Zhang Liao was focused on driving back the Nanman reinforcements and didn't hear the charge until they were nearly upon him. He heard Xu Huang give a warning cry, and turned his head to find the two horses bearing down on him, two men carrying spears off their sides aimed directly at him. He yanked the reins to whirl his horse to meet them, but didn't get well-seated in time and found himself being knocked right out of the saddle by the first onrush. He rolled and came up with his pike ready, and his comrade stepped in close with his battle axe raised high. “It is Zhao Yun,” he breathed. “And another, who is he?”

“Do not underestimate him,” Liao warned. “I do not recognize him, but anyone who can keep up with Zhao Yun is no pushover.”

Zilong and Yukimura leaped from their saddles and ran to meet the two of them, ready to make this a duel. They moved in almost flawless tandem, one spear to the left and one to the right, and as they engaged their foes, they moved and circled so that they had their backs to one another. Without needing to even see one another, they swung and struck in almost the same patterns, their spears whirling over each other's heads and around each other without once accidentally hitting the wrong man. Zhang Liao found himself fighting Zhao Yun, and Xu Huang engaged Yukimura, and both found these agile spearmen almost too much to handle. Liao grunted with the exertion of trying to stay matched with Zhao Yun, the Tiger General was much faster than him even if he might have been stronger. He could see the flash of both spear-blades in the sunlight, and some part of his tactical mind could tell that the two warriors were fighting so well together that they could have spun and switched opponents without missing a beat. At last he had to disengage and take a few steps back, lest he find himself overwhelmed. Zhao Yun eyed him, not about to let him escape but not leaving Yukimura's back unguarded either. “I did not think we would be fighting such stout warriors today,” he said, low and serious. “I know you to be a man of honor, Zhang Liao.”

“That has not changed, Zhao Yun,” Liao said in the same solemn tone, drawing his pike back into a defensive posture. “But war is war, you of all people should know.”

“Then you have nothing to say of sending snakes to kill women and children?”

The Wei officer looked genuinely disturbed to hear that. “I know not what Orochi's demons do. I am only here at the order of my lord, Cao Pi.”

“Is he here, then? I should like to take his measure once I am finished with you.”

“And I as well,” Yukimura breathed without turning his head, his eyes focused on his own battle with Xu Huang.

Zhang Liao shook his head once. “The commanding officer is Sima Yi. If you should like to take up issue with him, you will have to get through me, first.”

“And me!” Xu Huang said stridently.

“Then we shall do so!” Yukimura crowed back. “My spear burns with a need for justice!”

“Come, then!” Liao shook off his exhaustion and pressed back in. For a long time the four fought, the spearmen back to back and dancing around each other, the two of Wei pursuing them step for step. The cross-bladed spear masterfully held off the Destroyer, and the Dragon Spear fended off the Blue Wyvern without fail. At last, with all four of them panting and grunting, Yukimura and Zhao Yun whirled around each other and switched opponents, and then back again, widening their circle and keeping the two men of Wei from assisting one another. Xu Huang fell first, the Crimson Fang catching the axe-blade just right and forcing an opening through which Yukimura could deal him a blow. Zhang Liao continued to fight, not faltering a step even as his comrade collapsed, but Zhao Yun wore him down and the Dragon Spear slipped under his guard to slice into his shoulder. The pair of spearmen towered over their opponents, holding their weapons in threat, until both officers yielded. There was no time to pause, a battle still raged around them, so Zhao Yun called over one of the Nanman officers to hold guard over these two while they pressed on.

Zhurong had pressed through the melee to the stone walls protecting the village on this side, and waved for the men of Shu to come with her. The passage seemed easy, but once they burst through and gathered at the edge of the village, they found that the final wave of soldiers had gotten there ahead of them by another route. Meng Huo stood facing Sima Yi across an expanse of open ground, as the latter sat astride his horse with row upon row of stout Wei archers behind him. He heard the commotion approaching and glanced over, his smug look becoming an ugly scowl as he saw that all of his men had been defeated, and the Nanman forces were intact as feared after all. “You are too late!” he dared them. “I read your every move and got here ahead of you, and now the whole Nanman army will perish under a rain of arrows!”

“My king!” Jinhuan Sanjie called out.

“Husband!” Zhurong fretted.

“I will not let you!” Zhao Yun declared. There were warriors behind Meng Huo, surely, but the village had not been evacuated. There were civilians in range of that arrow-rain.

Before they could move, even as Sima Yi raised an arm to give the order, gunshots cracked and the first row of archers collapsed in place. Yi's horse, unused to the sound, shied and reared, unseating him. The rest of the archers looked around wildly, though none could pinpoint the exact source of the sound, nor the voice which now called out an order. “Reload! Take aim! Fire at the first one to touch a bowstring!”

Yukimura breathed a short laugh. “Magoichi!”

“So that's where he's been,” Jiang Wei realized.

Sima Yi picked himself up without fail and brandished his war fan, undaunted. “Fools! It's useless to resist. Give in now and your casualties will be greatly reduced!”

Meng Huo threw back his head and beat his chest. “We will never give in! We are the Nanman and we bow to no one!”

“Allow me!” Yukimura had had enough, and raced forward with his spear couched in the crook of his arm, heading straight for the enemy commander. An archer saw him coming and drew bead on him, but Magoichi’s order had not been for nothing – the instant the bow bent, another shot rang out and the archer screamed as it tore through his arm. The rest of the archery unit faded back in panic, but there were other soldiers with them, and they in turn rushed to protect their commanding officer. Yukimura pressed forward, swinging his spear and whirling around the onrush of soldiers, dodging and weaving and knocking a few out of the way in order to get to Sima Yi first. His only mistake was in thinking that a feathered fan was no weapon, and its wielder weak against heavier weaponry. Yi whipped the fan fast and sharp, and the neatly-trimmed edges of the feathers cut like a blade, drawing a red line across Yukimura’s cheek. In his surprise he failed to connect with the first hit, but he came around and tried again, challenging as he did, “This spear will never bow before any snake!”

“Brave words from an imbecile!” Sima Yi snapped back, dodging the spear and whirling his fan to create gusts of wind that seemed to block any attempt at cutting in close.

Seeing battle joined yet again, officers on all sides charged. Meng Huo barreled into the thick of it, picking up men and throwing them bodily in all directions. Zhao Yun raced to join his comrade, while Magoichi burst from the trees ahead of his rifle squad. For a few minutes the entire field was nothing but chaos, even men of the same faction could hardly tell who was hitting who, and then a shrill whistle sent a horse flailing through the midst of it. Sima Yi caught the saddle as it raced by and hauled himself up, able to be seen head and shoulders above everyone else. His robe was torn and his hat askew, more than a few feathers of his fan were bent, and he hunched over in the saddle as if guarding an injury, but he had enough breath to call for a retreat before jabbing his heels into the horse’s flanks and bowling over several of his own men as he fled.

Zhao Yun shoved his way through the mess with his spear held across his body, trying to stop him, but Yi managed to give him the slip, brushing right past him. Yun turned to see the outcome of the battle, and saw Yukimura through the crowd, down on one knee and leaning on his spear. Yun pushed people out of his way to reach his friend, coming close enough to see that his gorgeous red chestplate was in three pieces on the ground, and Yukimura had a hand pressed to his chest to protect it instead. He gasped for breath, but seemed otherwise unharmed save for the cut on his cheek. “Yukimura!” Zhao Yun cried as he finally reached him. “Are you all right?”

“I think so.” Panting, Yukimura looked up, and then withdrew his hand to check. He was unhurt, though now the layers of kimono and his scarf were exposed. At least, given how quickly the throng around them melted away, the battle was over and he need not fear. All the same, Yun moved in to assist him so that his own armor would shield him from errant arrows, and Magoichi suddenly stepped up like a towering tree to guard his other side. “Thank you, my friends,” Sanada murmured, “but I am fine.”

“What happened? How did he crack your armor?” Zhao Yun fretted.

“I’m not sure. I think…” Yukimura looked up at him, disturbed. “…I think he can do sorcery. I felt a jolt like lightning, and then my armor shattered, right where you hit it.”

Zilong felt his heart grow cold, thinking of the sorcery Zhuge Liang used, and then shook it off. He moved to help Yukimura to his feet. “Come, let us see to the end of this. I believe this means we’ve won.”

The remnants of the Orochi army, human and snake alike, melted away from the battlefield with all due haste. The men of Zhao Yun’s resistance met the leaders of the Nanman, and their king and queen, in the middle of the village where their people gathered to laud them for saving the day. “My friends!” Meng Huo greeted them, all smiles now. “It’s good to see you made it through in one piece. Ah, I know, we all said things we didn’t mean earlier today, but let’s forget that, all right? Let’s just be happy we’re all together again.”

Jiang Wei and Zhao Yun shared a wry smirk. Yes, this was the way of Meng Huo, all right. “Thanks to you, our lands are safe,” Zhurong said with genuine admiration.

“Yeah, I guess you helped out...” Meng Huo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Of course, we could have won anyway. But it’s always nice to have somebody at your back.”

His wife elbowed him hard in his massive gut, making him grunt painfully. Yukimura laughed a little. “It was our honor, great king. I’m glad your people are safe.”

“Thanks in no small part to you, samurai,” Zhurong purred at him. “I was watching you fight out there, it was incredible. I really love a man with such burning passion as yours.”

Yukimura blinked at her. “Uh. Thank you…?”

“What about me? I did a lot out there, too,” Magoichi butted in. “I went behind enemy lines to do some scouting and everything.”

“Oh, you’re the guy who made the big noise, eh?” Meng Huo realized, blustering up to him. “That just about startled me out of my skin! But it did take down Sima Yi’s archers, so whatever you did, good job!”

Magoichi’s shoulders wilted at getting the praise from the wrong person. “Yeah, anytime.”

As expected, the Nanman immediately began preparations for a victory feast, though Meng Huo did take the time to send out scouts to track the retreat of the Orochi army, lest they regroup and return later. Zhang Liao and Xu Huang had managed to free themselves, but did no more damage as they rounded up their men and pulled back. What would become of them, no one could say, but Saika already planned to send out spies to find out once they had all rested. It was equally important to the Nanman to show their allies proper hospitality, and the officers were given a hut in which to relax and look after their small injuries before joining the feast. Yukimura insisted he was fine, but there was no way to repair or reattach the chestplate of his armor. He resolved not to worry about it just now, but perhaps ask their hosts for a temporary replacement until he could do better. As long as the village was secure, they could all go around without armor for a while, and did so. The food and wine did much to bolster their spirits, and as night fell and the happy villagers danced around the bonfires, tongues became looser and so did inhibitions. Having learned his lesson from last time, Zhao Yun made sure not to drink too much, but others were not so wise. Magoichi, especially, was having the time of his life, though the scores of exotic women dancing before him couldn’t distract him from gazing unabashedly at Zhurong all night. At one point, he even leaned over to try to have a suave little chat with her. “Y'know, you should leave that big ox behind and hook up with me. I'd show you a real good time...”

Zhurong smirked widely at him. “Thanks for the offer, but I like men who are less talk and more action.”

“Ooh, ouch. Come on, I saw a lot of action today, that doesn’t count?”

“But you haven’t fought me. And right now, I don’t think you could.” She leaned in close to him, deliberately getting his hopes up, and then thumbed over her shoulder at where Meng Huo was enthusiastically chatting with his brother. “If you think _he_ hits hard, I’m ten times worse.”

“You can hit me anytime,” Saika said suggestively. So, she did. Without warning, the queen gave him an elbow jab to the ribs and followed it with a punch in the face that knocked him sprawling. Everyone around him laughed, while Magoichi laid there trying to decide if that was the best or worst thing to happen to him all day.

The long day of exertion caught up to Zhao Yun rather quickly, sending him slinking away to rest as soon as no one was looking for him. He had made it back to the hut and stretched out on his pallet when another of his comrades darkened the doorway, moving a bit slowly and leaning on the wall to get inside without tripping. Yun rolled over when he realized it was Yukimura, and in turn, his friend laughed awkwardly when he noticed whose rest he had disturbed. “You warned me,” he noted as he inched into the hut and flopped down to take off his boots. “When you were telling Gan Ning about the wine of Nanzhong. You were completely right...”

Zhao Yun chuckled softly under his breath. “At least you still have the presence of mind to come to bed at a good time.”

“Forgive me for waking you up.”

“I hadn't fallen asleep yet.” Yun rolled onto his back and tucked an arm beneath his head. “Will you be all right?”

“I think so. I simply need to sleep it off.” Yukimura finally wrestled his gear off and crawled onto his bedroll, stretching out beside Zhao Yun. “I am so tired. But it was an honor to fight beside you today.”

“We do make a good team,” Yun murmured, closing his eyes. “I knew that I would never have anything to fear with you beside me.”

He could sense Yukimura's presence close beside him, much as he had when they were fighting back to back without looking at one another, and it seemed right. Yet, he wasn't prepared for the feeling of fingertips running down his arm, and opened his eyes to look at his comrade. Yukimura looked every bit as exhausted and drunk as he claimed, his eyes half-closed as he absently stroked at Zhao Yun's sleeve, almost like he didn't realize he was doing it. “I will not leave your side, no matter what,” he breathed softly. “We are meant to be together, I'm sure of it...”

“Go to sleep, Yukimura,” Zhao Yun said with gentle humor. “You've had too much to drink.”

It seemed like he was going to obey, but then Yukimura cuddled closer, curling himself against Zhao Yun's side. Yun sighed and decided to allow it, knowing that his friend was not exactly coherent and probably not listening. He didn't need the added warmth, for it was a warm night in the jungle already, but the clinging was not uncomfortable. If any of the others caught them, he would easily explain in the morning that wine was involved. Indeed, Sanada had already passed out, head pillowed against Yun's shoulder. He was trapped, and just smiled to himself as he settled down to sleep as well.

However late the celebration raged, the next morning found all the resistance officers sleeping well in their hut and the Nanman village alive with the sounds of rebuilding and reorganizing. There was much to be done, not the least of which was preparing their forces for a staunch defense against any further incursions from the Orochi army. They could not be sure that Sima Yi was beaten for good, or that Orochi would decide to leave them alone after this, but a few things had become clear during the course of the battle. The Nanman could no longer pretend that they were aloof and unconnected to the greater war outside their territory, or hide behind their palisades claiming to be independent. When at long last Meng Huo called his allies in to meet with him, he was all serious for once. “Even a king needs help once in a while,” he said gruffly, lowering his gaze away from meeting the eyes of the Shu officers. “I've heard the whole story, now, and you guys really did go and save every one of my men. I shouldn't be surprised at all, considering it's you.”

“We owe you our lives,” Zhurong added. “Now, we will have a chance to repay that debt.” She smirked at her husband. “Won't we, dear?”

“Right as ever, my darling,” Meng Huo said fondly in her direction. “I don't know what it is we can do, but if you're planning to fight Orochi, you can count on the Nanman to help!”

Zhao Yun bowed his head to them in turn. “I thank you, for your offer and your hospitality here. But as of right now, we still have one mission to achieve: we must find Lord Liu Bei. Going up against Orochi will not happen anytime soon.”

“Though, that may turn out to be our only choice in the end,” Jiang Wei put forth. “Right now we can't be sure, but we will gladly take any help you will give us, great king.”

“Well, as long as you're in our lands, we'll give you all the hospitality we can manage,” Meng Huo promised. “Unlike those bastards from Wei, the men of Shu are welcome to visit. And, uh, whatever country you call yours,” he added with a nod to Yukimura.

“Right now, I have placed my allegiance and trust with Lord Zhao Yun,” Yukimura explained. “But my lord is Takeda Shingen, and he is somewhere building an army to resist Orochi as well. There are many factions who are no friend of Orochi, so we are all in good company.”

“I would not ask you to uproot your entire army or your people and leave this territory,” Zhao Yun said solemnly, “so all we will ask is that should we have need of your strength...”

“Call and we'll come running,” Meng Huo said proudly. “Just like when Lord Liu Bei needed us, even though we let him down. We'll make up for it, and pay our debts to you, by fighting with you when you need us.”

Yun smiled and bowed his head down again. “That will be more than enough. We will need such formidable allies at our side.”

“At least the scouts that came in this morning had good news,” Saika interjected. The combination of his own and Nanman spies had reported to them that the Wei army had already decamped and were retreating from Nanzhong. It didn't stop the Nanman from preparing their forces to resist further incursion, but at least now they knew not to treat this world like the old one, and blithely try to live in their scattered villages alone and unguarded. “That wasn't all I heard, though.”

Heads collectively turned in his direction. “What do you mean?” Jiang Wei prodded.

Now that he was sober and partied-out, Magoichi was definitely in the mood for business. “Well, you know, yesterday I was pretty busy snooping on the enemy commanders for a bit. I wanted to find out what they were planning for their final move so I could get my guys into position. In the process, I heard Sima Yi talking to some of his underlings about other people's missions. And then he said, and I quote, 'somebody big is being held in Wu.'”

Zhao Yun couldn't help the way his heart soared at that news, his hopes rising yet again. “Somebody big?”

“You're sure he said 'in Wu' and not 'by Wu?'” Jiang Wei asked. “As in the territory?”

“Completely sure.”

“Do you think it could be Lord Liu Bei?” Meng Huo openly wondered for them all.

“Can't say for sure. But important prisoners tend to be important people.” Magoichi shifted his gaze to Zhao Yun. “You wanna do something about it?”

“The Wu territory is a considerable distance from here,” Yun mused. “And I am not entirely certain who holds it, if it is Orochi himself or the Wu commanders being forced to fight for him.”

“We can send scouts ahead, and by the time we reach it, we may know enough,” Jiang Wei suggested. “But we should also call in extra hands from Chengdu, if we can.”

“It is even further from Chengdu, but yes. I agree.” Zhao Yun breathed a sigh. “I cannot let any rumor go ignored. We have had so little to go on for so long, I must follow this one to its end. The men of Wu would not hold their own lord hostage, so it must...!” He caught himself from declaring that it must be Liu Bei, but his heart already had seized on the possibility.

“Either way...” Yukimura set a hand on his shoulder, as they knelt side-by-side. “Someone innocent is being held by Orochi's forces. If I know your heart, Lord Zilong, it cannot leave that person there.”

“You gotta go see,” Meng Huo pressed. “Just in case it is. If there's anything I can give you to help you out – supplies, weapons, a few of my men – just say the word.”

“Actually...” Yukimura gestured to the gap in his armor exposing his cloud-gray kimono to the world. “If you have an armorer who can make a piece to cover this spot, even temporarily, I would be eternally grateful. It would not do to ride to another battle with my heart exposed.”

“Hmm. I'll see what my men can do.” Meng Huo leaned in to peer at him and then sat back. “It might not be hard like the rest, but it'll do in a pinch.”

“As long as it protects my vitals.” Sanada bowed his head respectfully. “I thank you.”

“Don't worry, we've got you well in hand,” Zhurong assured with a warm smirk. “We'll make sure you're all equipped and resupplied before you go.”

The meeting broke up soon after, sending the officers to their own devices and allowing Zhao Yun a moment to pull Magoichi aside. “Are you completely positive you heard that there was an important prisoner in Wu?” he asked, a bit worried. “Is there any reason to think it may not be my lord?”

“Hey, easy there, Zhao Yun.” Magoichi set a hand on his shoulder to calm him. “I told you exactly what I heard. I can't make any promises, but I'm with you. It's the best lead we've had in ages, plus Wu wouldn't hold their own guy. Who else do we know that Orochi is keeping prisoner?”

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Yun let it out in a sigh. “You are right. I believe in you, my friend, you have never led us astray.”

Magoichi grinned easily, looking even more rogueish than usual with the bruise on the bridge of his nose from where Zhurong popped him. “That's my job. Just like you can't turn it down when it comes to saving innocent people, I can't turn off my need to get information and get my master there.”

Yun looked away modestly. “I am not your lord, though, you are only helping...”

“Out of the goodness of my heart? Yeah, pretty much. That doesn't mean you're not a guy worth helping.” Saika rapped his knuckles on Yun's chestplate and turned to wander off. “It's gonna take a couple of days to get Yukimura a new chestplate, so I guess I'll sit back and enjoy it. Man, it's hot!” He rubbed at his neck as he meandered off. “I don't know how I'm ever gonna get one of the native ladies to even look at me if I'm drenched in sweat...”

Zhao Yun watched him go with a small smile. Though their interests were quite different, he found himself extremely fond of the rifleman. He may have been single-mindedly focused on finding Liu Bei, but in the meantime, he was beginning to discover a secondary goal: not letting any of these people down. They were following him for their own reasons, he owed it to them to take care of them in turn. For now, he could spend the next few days in triumph, before he would find out about the fall of Odani Castle. Until then, he had the generosity of the Nanman to look forward to.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Pi finds something unexpected when he goes looking for a new castle; Nene and her troops fall victim to a powerful enemy.

The Orochi army withdrew beyond the border of Nanzhong, not wishing to make any further encampments in the jungles for the most basic of reasons, but it meant pushing the injured and exhausted soldiers beyond their limits as they did not stop until they left the hot, muggy jungle and stumbled into the open plains beyond. It was the middle of the night, but they still had to set up some semblance of camp and sentries, lest they find themselves harried by guerrilla fighters from the Nanman who might have dogged their trail in order to retaliate for the invasion. The demon officers sent by Da Ji had all managed to survive by fleeing when beaten, and now they gathered around Sima Yi grousing about the outcome of the battle. He responded by knocking them all over with his fan and ordering them to get out of his sight before he killed them himself. In the light of day, after most had gotten a modicum of rest, Yi stepped out of his tent to find Zhang Liao and Xu Huang striding up to him. He already didn't like the looks on their faces. “What is it you want?” he asked confrontationally before they could even come to a stop.

Both men at least had the honor to pause and bow properly before responding to his demand. “What are your plans, Master Sima Yi?” Liao queried as placidly as he could. “Now that your invasion has been thwarted. Is it your intention to continue this campaign, or will you be withdrawing?”

Yi regarded them both suspiciously. “I believe I said I would call you in when I had the information necessary to make such a decision,” he sniffed. “For now, we are holding position until I hear certain things, to allow the army time to rest and recover.”

“I see.” Liao glanced at his comrade, and they shared a nod. “In that case, we have orders from Lord Cao Pi. When our men are refreshed, we will be returning to Jianye.”

“What?” Sima Yi's entire posture radiated rage at them, his eyes blazing. “You cannot simply leave me because Cao Pi wants you to! You are under orders from the Orochi army right now, and I will not suffer deserters!”

“Lord Cao Pi may take his orders from Orochi now and again,” Xu Huang said sternly, “but we take our orders from Lord Cao Pi. His directive was to accompany you to the invasion of Nanzhong, and when it was over, to return. From where we stand, the invasion is no more.”

“That decision has not been made yet!” Yi snarled at them. “If I am to continue pressing the Nanman until they finally surrender, you will need to stay right where you are.”

“Let us speak frankly with one another, Master Sima Yi,” Zhang Liao said with considerable restraint. “It clearly does not matter how many officers you bring with you, the Nanman have everything they need to stop you. As suspected, the survivors of Shu are clearly upholding their alliance with the barbarians. It will take more than we have to completely wipe out these people in a single campaign. So unless Orochi plans to divert the entire main army to this province to take care of it, I would expect that only a fool would continue the campaign.”

Sima Yi flushed red with fury. Much of his reputation was riding on the success of this venture, he didn't want to have to go slinking back to Da Ji and endure being mocked yet again. “I will not take advice from idiotic sycophants who know nothing other than kowtowing to their lord! Particularly two who couldn't even manage to kill Zhao Yun and had to run away from the battlefield! Now get out of my sight, and sit and wait for me to call you and _tell_ you what your orders are!”

The two officers looked at one another again. “No, I don't think we will,” Xu Huang said smartly. “If Orochi has a problem with us not taking orders from you, he can indicate so himself. We belong to Wei, and we would rather follow Lord Cao Pi's orders.”

“Wei is dead!” Sima Yi blazed at them. “And Cao Pi is nothing without Orochi! The sooner you all realize that, the better!”

There was nothing more for Wenyuan and Gongming to say. They turned on the spot and marched back to their section of the camp, where their troops were in considerable disarray. Many of the Wei soldiers were injured, some gravely, and most would not be moving out soon regardless. “At least we informed him,” Xu Huang shrugged. “He can't blame us when we follow through with it.”

“It may be a while,” Zhang Liao sighed, glancing at their men as they passed. “Who knew the barbarians were so deadly? And that young man fighting alongside Lord Zhao Yun...”

Huang let out a matching sigh. “Never have I been bested so boldly. They had us before we even took the first swing, Wenyuan. Say what you will about the kingdom of Shu, but they do turn out some fine spearmen.”

“I am not ashamed to have been defeated by their like,” Liao admitted, reaching to rub at his injured shoulder, bandaged beneath his armor. “The loss of their lord has not dampened their fighting spirit at all. Nor their honor.” He paused at the door to their tent, glancing over his shoulder away to the far side of the camp where Orochi's minions resided. “If it is true that the demons were attacking the villagers and not just the warriors...”

“Do you expect demons to have honor?” Huang snorted. “I would be more concerned that Sima Yi will not give them orders to the contrary. His strategies are ruthless, as much as Jia Xu's.”

“Either way, we will not have to put up with it for long,” Zhang Liao said with a slow shake of his head. “We will give the men time to recover, and then return to Jianye as ordered.”

One of the soldiers called out to them, then, having spotted a horseman outside the camp heading in their direction. As their side of the encampment faced civilized lands, the Wei officers strode to meet the alarm first, curious whether it was a messenger or scout or what. In due time, the rider came close enough to be recognized, and in turn noticed the flags on the tents and swerved to head right for the Wei contingent. The fine white horse came to a neat stop before the officers, and Guo Jia hopped right off, his capelet fluttering behind him. “My lords, I'm glad to see you,” he said brightly. “I was concerned I would have to ride all the way into Nanzhong to find you.”

“Master Guo Jia,” Liao greeted him. “We were not expecting you. Is this an official visit?”

“Consider me our lord's willing messenger.” Jia took a quick look around the camp, gathering the information he needed with just a sweep of his eyes. “My, something tells me the battle didn't go so well.”

Xu Huang shook his head. “We were routed, plain and simple. Best not to bring it up with Master Sima Yi.”

“I'm afraid I'm going to have to, but fortunately, my message for the two of you bears no relation to him and his leadership issues.” Guo Jia beamed happily. “Lord Cao Pi has sent me to fetch you, and escort you back to greener pastures. It seems Lord Cao Ren is a bit short-handed, for he doesn't trust the snake demons who have been sent to augment his forces.”

“So, we were not the only ones, then. It is as he said, back at Jianye,” Liao realized. “Da Ji has stuck her fingers into everyone's business, and placed the snakes at every stronghold and with every commander.”

“Fortunately, Lord Cao Pi himself has escaped this burden, perhaps on account of Ishida Mitsunari,” Jia said airily, “but I am rather in agreement with both of them. Cao Ren could use extra forces, he has been charged with an extremely important mission and it would look bad for all of us if he failed – even if the failure can be traced to a lack of proper soldiers on hand.”

“I do hope this mission is not too urgent,” Liao said worriedly. “Our men have been through an ordeal, and many are in no shape to fight at all. We cannot leave here until they've recovered some.”

“Understood.” Jia was nothing if not patient. “I believe we can spare the time to allow the men to recuperate. In the meantime, I will have some lovely chats with Master Sima Yi.”

“Better you than us,” Huang smirked.

“Come now, Gongming, isn't he the most charming?” Guo Jia laughed. “Ah, it's a pity I didn't make it here before the battle, it sounds like you could have used my help. And I was so looking forward to catching a glimpse of the Nanman queen. Rumor has it she is so beautiful she could turn men to stone just by looking at them.”

“I think you have your legends mixed up,” Liao grunted. “All the same, she is quite a sight.”

“Ah, you're not dead yet after all, Wenyuan.” Guo Jia clapped a hand to each man's shoulder and then pushed past them to go and pay his respects to the other commander. “Rest, my friends, and let me handle things from here. You have only to concern yourselves with preparing the troops to move out when they're ready, I will take care of Sima Yi for you.”

The two warriors watched him go, not envying him one bit. “He is rather flippant, isn't he?” Huang noted. “And awfully familiar.”

“I still prefer him to Sima Yi,” Zhang Liao grumbled.

Clear across the world, Cao Pi interrupted a rather pleasant and uneventful ride with a sneeze so undignified that it made the strategist riding beside him laugh. Collecting himself, the lord of Wei harrumphed at his companion. “What's so funny?”

“I was beginning to wonder if you were human, you're always so tightly-wound and composed,” Mitsunari smirked. “Apparently not, you can be just as disgusting as the rest of us.”

A comment like that made Pi tug his cowl up to make sure his face was clean. “Keep such foolishness to yourself, Ishida.”

Mitsunari enjoyed teasing him far too much, judging by the smirk that remained on his lips as he turned his attention forward. “Tradition says that means someone is talking about you behind your back.”

“I'm pretty sure someone is always talking about me behind my back,” Pi snorted, “that is no sign of anything.” He reined in abruptly, reaching out a hand to indicate that Ishida should stop as well. “There. The reports were correct, it is here.”

He gestured to a gap in the trees ahead of them, where the tiered pagoda roofs of a grand building could be glimpsed. As yet they had not run into any sentries or guardposts, though, leaving them wondering if the castle they had just discovered was occupied. Mitsunari stood in the stirrups to try to see better, and then settled back down. “Is this Luoyang, then?”

“No,” Cao Pi replied with the slightest disappointment. “I recognize the lands. This is Xuchang, which fortunately is still a stronghold to which I can rightfully lay claim.”

“Assuming no one else already has,” Mitsunari sniffed. “I suppose there's only one way to find out.”

Pi nodded, gathering in the reins to continue the last leg of their journey. First, though, he glanced behind him and gestured for someone to come forward. “Xu Zhu, will you lead us, in case there is a hostile force ahead?”

“Of course, my lord!” the big man said happily, trudging up the road and passing between the two horses, taking point with a handful of soldiers around him. Mitsunari still wasn't convinced that this slow-witted fellow was some kind of master of the battlefield, but for Cao Pi to trust him as his sole bodyguard on this trip, there must have been something to it. If the castle ahead was actually occupied by enemies, they would likely get to see him in action.

It was strange for Cao Pi to see such an enormous city with its grand palace so quiet. No one met them coming in, there weren't even civilians around. Xuchang appeared to be deserted, after all. It didn't surprise him, considering how far they had ridden just to find it in a sort of no-man's land on the map, a great blank area where no one had yet explored. Still, there was something just a little disturbing about it. He had only ever seen the city full of life, whether the hustle and bustle of people going about their daily lives or the frantic chaos of soldiers moving to repel an invading force. The main gate stood wide open, and not forced. Xu Zhu hiked like a wall in front of them, prepared to protect them, but it didn't seem necessary. The clatter of their horses' hooves on the cobblestone echoed in empty streets and followed them up the broad steps to the palace, at which point Pi considered it safe to dismount. He kept his swords with him, though, and knew Mitsunari had his fan tucked somewhere in his rose-tinted robe. “This is very unusual,” he murmured as the strategist stepped down beside him. “But it does appear we are the first to set foot here in a very long time.”

Ishida looked around from the top of the stairs, investigating the state of the palace compound inside the walls. It was rather impressive with its pagoda-roofed outbuildings and pillared arcades, untouched by any of the large fissures of lava which disrupted much of the courtyard outside the encircling wall. “When Lord Orochi bent himself to conquest, he only focused on places where powerful warlords could be found,” he said sagely. “It doesn't matter how grand the palace if it's empty, or how rugged the wilderness if your enemy is camped there.”

“In other words, we can look forward to the palace being unspoiled by demons, and possibly still intact.” Cao Pi gave orders for his men to stand guard there, at the door, and watch the horses while their bodyguard accompanied them, pushing open the high, massive doors of the palace for them and taking the lead as a bodyguard should. Pi enjoyed the irony of being escorted into an empty realm like a conqueror even though he had done nothing to actually take Xuchang for himself, he held his head high and strode in like he owned the place regardless. Too bad no one was there to witness it, but Xu Zhu and Ishida.

Compared to fortresses like Jianye and even the much larger, more opulent Bai Di, Xuchang was elegance subdued, a symbol of wealth and power that might still be dwarfed beside Luoyang or Chang'an. The richly-paneled walls of mahogany and cedar were draped with tapestries and lined with gold and jade ornaments, the floors of polished marble and onyx gleamed, and even the velvet-trimmed rugs showed no signs of the palace's general state of emptiness. If it had been abandoned for so long, it didn't look so, aside from a little dust on some of the statues. Cao Pi directed them to the throne room, pausing to swipe a finger through the dust on a vase near the door. If he decided to take up residence here, he was certainly bringing all of his attendants and then some. “Looks like nobody looted it, at least,” Mitsunari remarked. “There might even be supplies stored up. The courtyard's in bad shape, but there's not much you can do about that.”

“It seems as though the cataclysm that created this world might have driven off the residents,” Pi noted. “Still, we mustn't leave a single corner of the city unexplored, before I make my decision. It would not do to be ambushed when we least expect it.”

At that very moment, the doors to the throne room opened from the inside. The three men recoiled from it, pulling weapons instantly and taking up a defensive stance. As one of the doors swung wide enough to permit entrance, two figures moved in to bar their way, also poised with weapons in defense. The foremost of them crouched with a pair of wing-like blades, one in each hand, and a dark glare on his face. “Who goes there?” he demanded.

A young woman just behind him stood with a weighted pole over her shoulders. “Whoever it is is dumb enough to stand right outside our door talking instead of keeping quiet and sneaking up.”

The two were young enough that Mitsunari did not feel threatened, and he lowered his fan slightly. “Sneaking up is for people actually attempting an ambush,” he complained. “We didn't know anyone was in here.”

The young man shifted his gaze to the tallest of the three and then glared. “Cao Pi!”

Pi blinked at him. “...should I know you?”

“Who is it, Guan Xing?” A gentle voice drifted from behind the two youngsters, and a moment later, the speaker moved into view. He was not that much older than they, richly dressed in formal attire with a gilded collar and fur-trimmed coat. The traditional beaded coronet of the emperors sat atop his neatly-combed hair. That sight was enough to make Cao Pi stand down and hurriedly sheath his weapons, though he did not recognize this emperor at all. They, in turn, seemed to know him, and the emperor bowed his head respectfully. “I see. Lord Cao Pi, it is an honor to meet you in person.”

Even Xu Zhu knew to show his respect to an emperor, dropping his head far below his level. Pi tilted his head slightly, but didn't know yet what to think. “I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage,” he said warily.

Seeing as they had stood down weapons, the young man in the coronet set a hand on Guan Xing's shoulder to get him to relax as well. “It's quite all right, I'm not surprised. My name is Liu Shan, I am the Emperor of Shu. At least, I was, or will be.”

Pi's suspicions grew as he regarded the trio. “I was under the impression that a title like that belonged to Liu Bei, if he ever dared to claim it,” he said. “I see...then this Guan Xing must be another son of Guan Yu.”

“I am,” Xing said proudly. “And if you have come to capture or harm my lord, then I will have to ask you to battle me for the right to do so.”

“We didn't know your lord was here,” Mitsunari insisted. “We only discovered Xuchang when we rode up, we thought it was deserted.”

Cao Pi eyed Liu Shan for a bit longer. True, were he a faithful ally of Orochi, he would note that this willowy youth was at least as valuable an asset as Liu Bei himself, the kind of target Da Ji would order him to capture if she knew he existed. And, he had Ishida standing at his left hand, surely he also knew these things and would likely have something to say about it if Cao Pi didn't move to capture Liu Bei's son. Yet, there was nothing he saw standing before him that looked remotely like a threat to Orochi’s stability and power. At last, he inclined his head in respect. “I see that there is more to this situation than I first expected. We are not here to do battle, so if the young Guan would put his blades away, perhaps we could sit down and discuss the matter. Emperor to emperor,” he added slyly, even though he had come from a time in which he had not claimed so lofty a title for himself. Yet.

Liu Shan gave him the same smooth nod of respect in return. “By all means. We may not have much in terms of hospitality, but we offer what we can. Xing, Yinping, please, allow the Lord of Wei to enter. I would like to speak to him.”

The two Guan siblings finally backed off, and pulled the doors fully open to permit their guests. The throne room looked more well-kept than the rest of the palace, it seemed that these three youngsters had been residing here for some time. Xu Zhu remained obediently at the door, ready to jump in if necessary, while Mitsunari accompanied Cao Pi to the dais on which sat a few chairs and a table. The actual throne, it seemed, was being given the respect due it, no one had been using it. Instead, they had set up a little receiving area and sitting space just below it. For now, Pi eased into one of the chairs, though he had his eye on that throne, less elegant than the one at Luoyang but no less important. Liu Shan sat opposite him as was his place, lacing his fingers together in his lap. “So,” Pi addressed him silkily, “you are the son of Liu Bei and heir to his authority, such as it is.”

“And you are the lord of Wei whom I never had the chance to meet, in our previous lifetimes.” Liu Shan seemed to be enjoying the chance to entertain a fellow lord. While Guan Xing stood at his right hand, mirroring Mitsunari at Pi’s side, Yinping moved between them to pour cups of wine to refresh the travelers. “I must admit, I had been holding out hope that when someone finally did travel this way, it would be someone interesting. While I may not know whether you are friend or foe, yet, I think you do fit the description of ‘interesting’ very well.”

“How long have you been sheltering here in Xuchang?”

“I can’t really say. I’ve lost track of the months. It has been quite some time.”

“Shortly after the fall of Chengdu,” Xing interjected, “I was lost between the lands, and came upon him by accident on the roadside. My lord was wandering, by himself, and had only a couple of attendants to see to him.”

“You mean, in the initial wave of conquest by Orochi? That was quite a while ago, indeed.” Cao Pi took up his cup and raised it in thanks before drinking. “Things have changed much in the wider world. Have you had no contact with anyone, at all?”

“None,” Liu Shan admitted with a shake of his head that set the beads on his coronet swaying. “We wandered far before finally stumbling on this fortress, and since no one was here, we decided to stay behind its walls. Guan Xing was injured, and needed time to recover. Lady Yinping has taken on much of the duties of an entire castle staff. We have no more than perhaps twenty men among us, most of them are out hunting for food or somewhere in the palace.”

“Then, you don’t know much, if anything, about Orochi’s control of this land and the armies,” Mitsunari realized.

Xing’s expression darkened. “That demon has overrun everything, hasn’t he? Is there any hope for anyone, in these days?”

Cao Pi lifted his icy gaze to the young man. Clearly, Guan Yu’s sons were lucky and inherited their mother’s looks. “Were you at Chengdu, then?”

“Yes.” Xing closed his eyes, his face turning grave. “I was injured in the battle, and unable to protect my lord Liu Bei. In his honor, I serve his son, now the Lord of Shu.”

Ishida looked from him to the other two, noting their solemn faces. They really believed they were all that was left of Shu. “You _do_ know that Liu Bei isn’t dead, right?” he said bluntly.

The three startled reactions made Cao Pi smirk to himself. “That’s not possible!” Xing protested. “I saw Orochi attack him myself! I thought for sure he and the others were dead…”

“No, he is alive,” Pi confirmed. “As is Zhao Yun, I’ll thank you to know.”

Liu Shan’s eyes lightened considerably. “Even Lord Zilong is well? Ah…how wonderful!”

“Of course, it’s not all good news,” Mitsunari went on. “Liu Bei may not be dead, but he is being held by Orochi.”

The joy in the young emperor’s face became mingled with fear. “Oh, I see. You are very knowledgeable, you must be someone of high regard to Lord Cao Pi.”

Mitsunari made a face at that. “I am Ishida Mitsunari…and I am a strategist being retained by the Orochi army.”

Guan Xing leaped and had a blade in hand in an instant. “Then, you are an enemy! You tricked us! We would never have let you in if we had known you were in league with Orochi!”

Mitsunari had his fan out and flicked open just as quickly, though he didn’t move in to attack or block yet. Liu Shan turned his gaze on Cao Pi, who merely watched this exchange with interest. “Is it true, then? Are you part of the Orochi army?”

Pi met his gaze with an inscrutable look of his own. “I am the rightful Lord of Wei, following the death of my father,” he said rather straightforwardly. “I have signed a pact of alliance with Orochi, but I lead my own kingdom as I see fit.”

“I see.” Liu Shan’s eyes lowered very slightly. “Then, I suppose that does make you our enemy. What a shame. I was hoping to be able to sit and talk for a while.”

“There is nothing preventing us from doing so, except for the way your retainer is holding his weapon,” Pi said wisely. “If I had wanted to attack you, I would have done so at the door when I still had my swords in hand. You seem like a rational young man, Lord Liu Shan. If you would have your bodyguard stand down, we can continue this discussion like civilized men.”

For a moment, they simply gazed at each other in silence. Then, Liu Shan raised a hand to beckon Guan Xing to relax. “He is right, you know. If they were here to attack us, we would already be in the middle of a battle. Please. I would like to hear him out.”

Though he still seethed with outrage, Xing obeyed, setting his blade aside for the moment. Mitsunari folded his fan in turn, but tucked it in his belt where it could be seen easily. Cao Pi settled into the chair and tapped the tips of his fingers together. “There is one thing you should know, before we get too cozy,” he said. “I came here with the intention of seizing control of an unoccupied castle, in order to move my growing army to a more suitable location. Coming here and finding that it was not actually unoccupied does not change my goal. Xuchang is a part of my kingdom, even if it is located far from anything else related to it. I am not heartless, though.” His smile was cold and humorless. “I will give you two choices. And, you may have until this time tomorrow to decide.”

“Oh,” Liu Shan said softly, shrinking down a little in his chair. “I suppose that is fair…”

Without bothering to consult the strategist beside him, Cao Pi laid it out for them. “You may either join me, becoming vassals of the kingdom of Wei for the time being, or you may collect such soldiers and supplies as you might need and leave here to seek your fortune elsewhere.” He could sense Mitsunari stiffen in surprise and alarm, but ignored him still. “I can always use more capable officers. But I would understand if you decided you would rather not, and think you could find better allies out there somewhere. There are a few scattered men of Shu from what I’ve heard, and the Nanman are known to be working with them. The jungles of the south are a fair ride from here, though.”

The choice between a cushy palace at Xuchang and the insect-infested jungles of Nanzhong seemed to vex Liu Shan. He frowned, looked back and forth between the two, and then closed his eyes with a sigh. “You say I have until this time tomorrow? Very well. Make a note of it, Guan Xing. I will deliver Lord Cao Pi his answer then.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Xing grumbled. “We were here first, what right does he have to just walk in and say it’s his?”

“If you want to fight over it, so be it,” Pi sniffed. “But we have three times the men you do, we left them out in the courtyard for the time being. You are welcome to judge the size and strength of my army before you add ‘fight them’ to your list of options.”

“Xing, don’t,” Yinping implored. “Not right now. This isn’t the time for it.”

Her brother turned away with a seething growl, not wanting to listen to any more of it. Liu Shan breathed another sigh. “Very well, then. We will see to finding you and your men quarters for the night, and preparing our hospitality for you. Please make yourselves at home.” His tone was restrained, though, and as he got up to do as he said he would, his eyes were solemn. The Guan siblings retreated with him, leaving the other two to finish their drinks and do as they pleased. Once he was certain they were gone, Mitsunari suddenly whirled to place himself directly in front of Cao Pi's chair. “Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?” he demanded.

Pi didn't even bother rising to the bait, focusing on sipping at his wine. “I may do some redecorating when we settle in here. It's a bit dim, it could use some brightening up.”

“Don't ignore me.” Mitsunari's hand came to rest on the fan in his belt.

“Oh, don't even bother.” Pi set his cup aside and rose from his chair so as not to allow Ishida to have the height advantage. “We both know that if it came to blows, I would destroy you without breaking a sweat.”

“Care to test that?” Mitsunari stared hard at him, his posture rigid. “I want to know why you're letting this pint-sized emperor go. He's Liu Bei's son, that means he will be of extreme interest to Da Ji.”

“I'm sorry, but it sounds to me like you're under the mistaken impression that I serve Da Ji the same way you do.” Cao Pi bent his head deliberately to emphasize the height difference between them. “I am Orochi's ally, not his servant. What I choose to do and what you are ordered to do by your master are two very different things.”

Mitsunari showed no sign of being cowed by the intimidation. Rather, he met the Wei lord's gaze and held firm. “You know full well that you should be capturing this kid. Don't even try to pretend, it won't work with me.”

“Why should I? He is no threat to me.” Pi tipped his head to indicate where the three had disappeared through a door. “Look at them, Ishida. They're just kids. I doubt Liu Shan has ever ordered a man into battle before, and the other two are the least of Guan Yu's offspring. They are weak – they are nothing. All I would have to do is order Xu Zhu to take them in, one swing of his club and Guan Xing would be on the floor. What kind of battle is that?”

“What's the matter? Are you actually squeamish about fighting three weak children?”

Cao Pi's icy eyes hardened with cold anger. “There is nothing beneficial, honorable, or pleasant about beating down these would-be foes. If you think me every bit as cruel and bloodthirsty as Orochi himself, then you clearly have not been paying attention to me at all since coming into my service. A true lord knows when to wield an open hand instead of a sword, and still retains all of his authority and strength by doing so.”

Mitsunari's brow flickered slightly. Such a philosophy was familiar to him, and welcome, but he didn't want to let Cao Pi see it in him. “Yet, they're not going to join you, you know that. They'll opt to flee, and we'll be letting them slip through our grasp. Much like you seemed to let other famed officers slip through your hand rather than capture or kill them, before.”

“Are you still sore about that? That was ages ago,” Pi reminded, “and I believe Da Ji accepted my explanations why it turned out that way.”

“And I suppose that means you have a handy excuse this time, too.” Ishida peered at him. “So let me hear it. I'll judge for myself.”

Cao Pi sighed harshly. “If you must know, I do have my reasons. Foremost among them, this errand was mine alone. I am not here at Xuchang at Da Ji's order, or anyone else's, I chose to come here of my own purpose. Therefore, I have no orders from anyone, least of all Orochi's pet fox, to do anything here, up to and including fighting battles and capturing individuals who happen to be related to some famous people. What I do with myself while here is up to me alone.”

Mitsunari glowered at him, unable to find fault with his logic. He was right. “So you would rather cower under the umbrella of this lack of orders, when you could be proactive and bring Da Ji something she didn't expect.”

“Do you honestly think I have any interest in being _proactive_ in this alliance?” Pi snapped. “I do what the alliance asks me to do, nothing more and nothing less. I have no reason to stick my neck out, go above and beyond the call of duty, or pander to Da Ji simply because she is the one who delivers orders to me.”

“What about me?” A shade of cunning came into Mitsunari's dark eyes. “You seem to conveniently forget that I _do_ have obligations to Da Ji, and that she will hear about this. Even if you don't want to act without orders, I _will_ have to tell her who we've found and that you didn't bother capturing them. If you really were smart, you would have anticipated that, and done something about it so as to head off the nagging and the orders you know she'll issue later.”

“Oh, I know perfectly well that you have to report to Da Ji. I simply don't care.”

Cao Pi had phrased it just right to get an even uglier look out of Mitsunari. “You would risk your own freedom simply because you don't want to give me the satisfaction?”

“I have yet to see any kind of threat from Da Ji, regarding anything I've done. I have been an exemplary ally, responding every single time she calls and committing every single one of my men – and even my own wife – to the cause, when asked. She has never had enough reason to doubt me to cause her to utter anything remotely resembling an ultimatum. Would she do anything to me, if I don't bring her Liu Shan? I doubt it. At worst, I'll get a wagging finger and the suggestion that next time I should do better. Perhaps, next time, I will.”

Mitsunari fixed him with a look of pure disgust. “You aren't even ashamed of yourself, are you?”

“Of course not.” Cao Pi smiled cuttingly at him. “Quite honestly, I haven't had a need to go out of my way to stay in Da Ji's good graces. I've never had to butter her up or kowtow, and I don't plan to start now.”

“That attitude is going to bite you in the ass someday, you know.” Mitsunari folded his arms over his chest. “She may not have issued any orders, but I am. Bring Liu Shan in. Leave the other two, I don't care, but he's too valuable. The scattering of Shu resistance will fold completely when they find out we have both their lord and his son.”

“No.” Cao Pi didn't even need to think about it before declaring his response. “You are my subordinate in this mission, Ishida. Do not seek to climb higher than your station.” He leaned in extremely close, his lip curling in a spiteful sneer. “I will gladly put you in your place, which is beneath me. There will be no capturing of anyone.”

He caught the twitch of movement out of the corner of his eye, as Mitsunari began to unfold his arms to grab for his fan. Pi moved faster than him and grabbed his wrist, stopping him before he could even touch the weapon. “Let go of me,” Mitsunari snarled, attempting to wrench his arm free.

“Touch that fan and you'll have my sword between your ribs,” Pi threatened under his breath. “This is not a game, Ishida. You are not in control of anything on this errand. What I find here is up to me to deal with. I choose not to bother with these children. Got it? And now I will order _you_ to stand down – if you attempt to go behind my back and apprehend Liu Shan anyway, you will not be returning alive to Bai Di.”

He let go of Mitsunari's wrist, letting him jerk his hand back. The strategist glared daggers at him, not backing down at all. “You know what's going to happen when I report this to her.”

“I don't care. Right here, and now, my orders supersede all. You will obey me, or you will ride back from here with your hands lashed to your saddle. Am I making myself clear?”

“Crystal.” Mitsunari edged back a step to give himself room to breathe. “Why are you protecting that brat? You have no ties to Shu even if you weren't in the Orochi army.”

“I have my reasons.” Cao Pi was not about to explain them, though, at least not the real reasons. “I maintain that it is not worth the effort. Da Ji didn't even know Liu Bei had a son his age, she is likely to fail to use him to his potential anyway. If he chooses not to surrender to my authority, he will do no one good roaming around lost – he is weak and his retainers are good only for keeping him alive. If I were Da Ji, I would be more concerned about Zhao Yun wandering loose out there, he actually has a legitimate chance at successfully raising a resistance army.”

“You underestimate the value of a Shu emperor,” Mitsunari said darkly. “We've already bent half the Shu army to our service just having one in custody. Two could break the rest.”

Cao Pi peered at him. He had made plenty of guesses about certain officers, and knew of Zhuge Liang, but as yet he hadn't actually heard reports of who had been witnessed on the battlefield where. “I'm sure Lord Zhuge Liang is behaving so well because of his lord's life, but that is hardly half the army.”

“So are Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.” Mitsunari appeared to enjoy having that information, from his affiliation with the main army. “The brothers are all together in their misery, that way.”

“You lie!” Unexpectedly, Guan Xing burst from behind a screen, where he had just come in to catch the tail end of their discussion. “My father would never serve Orochi, no matter what!”

He launched himself at Ishida even without his weapons, and was deflected with a sudden sweep of the fan. “Control yourself,” Cao Pi demanded, stepping in between them before Xing could try again. “I do not doubt Ishida's facts. Zhuge Liang has been willingly assisting Orochi since the fall of Chengdu, I know and have seen it for myself. It isn't a stretch to expect that Liu Bei's brothers are doing the same.”

“No!” Xing recoiled from them, clenching his fists. “It can't be! My father is a man of great honor, he couldn't...!”

“I hate to break it to you, kid, but it's not like you're the only one,” Mitsunari sniffed. “The Sun children are fighting for Orochi, too, because he has their father. Nobody is really free.”

“You can have one small grain of hope,” Pi offered flatly. “I did see your eldest brother beside a warlord called Oda Nobunaga, some time ago. Whether it's doing him any good or not, I couldn't say, as I haven't fought Oda since, but he was alive at the time.”

Xing flushed in embarrassment at showing his emotions so vividly in front of these high-ranked strangers, and looked away. “Ping,” he murmured worriedly.

Cao Pi strode over to him, his eyes still icy from his dispute with Mitsunari. “The time for sitting quietly in this stronghold is over. There is a war going on out beyond these walls, and whether you want to be a part of it or not, you are. I don't care whether you side with the Resistance, or would join your father to serve Orochi. But no one can remain neutral any longer. Be thankful that you were discovered by myself, while on a personal errand, and not by a larger contingent of the Orochi army, or by the demon himself.”

Guan Xing looked up at him, but didn't seem to see him, as his eyes went unfocused. He could remember the darkened skies and the screams of demons as Orochi bore down on Chengdu, remembered the ache in his arms as he tried slaughtering as many as he could and yet they still kept coming, remembered wishing his father were there as the snakes pulled Lord Zhao Yun off his horse and buried him under their might. He shook it off with a vigorous shake of his head and stared hard at Cao Pi. “If what you say is true, then I must protect my lord Liu Shan with everything I have,” he said softly. “But I will not be a servant of Orochi.”

“If that is what you want.” Cao Pi turned away, gesturing for Mitsunari to stay. “I will see our men brought into the palace. Ishida, I'm sure this young man has come to show us our quarters. Find out for me, would you?”

Mitsunari scowled at being demoted to servant duties again, but wasn't surprised. He had challenged Cao Pi and lost. “Show me,” he demanded of Xing.

The night and next morning passed uneventfully after that. They were treated to as good a dinner as the handful of attendant soldiers could manage for their lord, and allowed to roam the palace as the conquerors they seemed to be. If the three youngsters of Shu needed to discuss their options, they did so privately, and Cao Pi heard nothing of it until Liu Shan presented himself the next day with his answer as promised. He stood below the throne on the dais with his hands clasped before him, and bowed low enough to the lord of Wei that they could see the top of the coronet. “My lord is generous to offer us a choice in our fate,” he said calmly, while the two Guan children fidgeted behind him. “After some thought, I have decided to explore this world, and seek my fortune elsewhere. I have been protected by the walls of Xuchang long enough. You have my thanks for opening my eyes to the truth of what is happening to my people and the rest of the world.”

Pi bowed in return to accept. “As I promised, you may supply yourselves as you need from the storehouses here. I will deny you nothing. However, I suggest you do not tarry. I will have to send messages to my men in the next few days, so they know where our headquarters will be, and some of them may be inclined to report to Da Ji.” His eyes shifted ever-so-slightly to Mitsunari beside him, but the strategist was stone-faced and silent, his eyes on the Shu emperor. 

“Your concern is noted, Lord Cao Pi. I assure you, we have little we wish to take with us. We will be out of your hair by sunset today.” Liu Shan's smile was as secretive and false as any worn by political leaders all across the Han Dynasty, but his politeness was true. “May you find Xuchang the welcome refuge that I did for so long.”

Pi nodded once, and remained standing there while the threesome walked past him, heads high, and continued walking right out of the throne room. A tip of his head sent Xu Zhu to follow them to assist them however they needed, including carrying supplies and saddling horses. Once they were gone, the lord of Wei strode to the throne and eased himself into it. He glanced to Mitsunari after a moment. “I believe I have some work to do, now. What about you?”

Ishida lowered his eyes very slightly. He refused to let Pi know what he was thinking of the whole situation, lest he feel like he had taken some kind of victory. “Does it matter? You've had your say.” He turned on the spot and stalked out, keeping to himself the fact that he was not going to send his report to Da Ji yet. Not today. Maybe tomorrow. But as long as he didn't say a word, he didn't have to deal with Cao Pi gloating over him. He strode past Xu Zhu cheerfully carrying a sack of rice for the fleeing refugees and sighed to himself. His orders from the top had gotten less and less specific over time, Da Ji had not demanded anything directly from him in weeks – months, even. He was stuck shadowing the young lord of Wei without much to show for it, as Pi rarely did anything he needed to tattle about. If she had set him this duty to keep Cao Pi in line, it had backfired horribly, for he never did put a toe out of line in the first place. His attitude toward the alliance was a convenient means of getting around onerous orders, but at the same time, it was clever and well-played, and led to the comfort and stability of Wei while the other kingdoms and warlords struggled for everything and risked far more for far less reward. It was genius, Mitsunari had to admit. He found himself begrudgingly admiring Pi for what he had built. And now, they had a nice large castle in which to spread out, once the messages had been sent to draw the Wei army to settle here. Mitsunari would send his report eventually, but if Da Ji yet again did nothing on his recommendation, he might start adopting Cao Pi's attitude toward the alliance.

  


Some far-flung corners of the world Orochi created were much further removed from the constant warfare than others, making them the perfect places for resistance forces to hole up and build their strength, or otherwise remain safe from attack and conquering. It meant they had far less contact with the coalitions building their armies and knew little of the territories in dispute, but they also contained larger numbers of safe, protected civilians, raising their villages and tending their crops, filling storehouses with supplies and preparing for the reality of changing seasons instead of the possibility of attack. Yet, as Orochi's armies spread everywhere, sooner or later even the most outlying provinces, villages, and territories would be overrun, requiring that weapons and warriors prepare for that eventuality. The resistance had deep roots in these places, but lacked the organization and pure prowess of the armies being built around Oda Nobunaga and Zhao Yun. Their vulnerabilities would not be tested until officers of Orochi's armies turned their attention that way.

The fortress dominating the hills deep in Ji Province had not yet seen any sign of battle whatsoever, which was just fine with the warriors who had retreated that far to recover and collect themselves. While she held the post of commander in name only, Nene was nevertheless the most senior officer among the ones she had managed to gather together. Upon fleeing from Odawara Castle months ago, she built a small army out of ninjas in Toyotomi's service, and then began to roam just far enough away from her private stronghold to attack and harass any of Orochi's supply lines that blundered across her path – and rescue officers, if she found any. Her efforts were extremely successful, as over the weeks and then months, she amassed a large store of supplies and quite a number of troops. Her greatest achievement, though, lay in the particular officers she had gathered under her. If only she had a way to send word to her husband, far away in the Oda army, to let him know that he didn't need to fret about his son. Young Hideyori had been safe with one of his other uncles, and both now resided quite comfortably in Ji, patrolling the outlying fortresses once used long, long ago in their reckoning to house the Yellow Turbans. With them were two of the Toyotomis' strongest retainers, who were far less content being cooped up so far away from the action. Gazing out from a high parapet of the hilltop fortress, Kato Kiyomasa leaned on the shaft of his great scythe-like blade, frowning at the glare of the sun on the arid fields stretching out below them. Beside him, Fukushima Masanori was draped over the parapet, clearly bored beyond description. “This is pointless,” he complained to Kato. “Lady Nene got back safely days ago, I don't know what we're supposed to be watching for.”

“Obviously she saw something in her travels to make her nervous,” Kiyomasa snorted. “I don't doubt her. But at the same time, she has enough traps set in the other temples and the village, I doubt anyone could even think of sneaking up on us.”

Masanori pouted magnificently at him. “You just won't say a bad word against Lady Nene no matter what happens.”

“Because I trust her!” Kiyomasa protested, though the blush on his cheeks said otherwise. “Shut up, idiot. You just don't want to do your duty because you're a lazy oaf.”

“Who're you callin' lazy?” Masanori rounded on him swiftly, but Kiyomasa just shoved him back. “You take that back!”

“No.”

“Take it back!”

“Calm down, Masanori.”

The two of them were still arguing – or rather, Fukushima was still trying to get in Kato's face as much as he could – when the young Toyotomi came to fetch them. “Uh...if you two are quite finished,” he said after clearing his throat, “my mother would like to see you.”

He caught them with their hands on each other's faces, trying to push each other away, but both froze immediately at the intrusion of another voice. “Uh. Yeah, all right,” Masanori responded. “Be right there.”

Hideyori failed to repress a smirk at their behavior. “Are you two still at it?”

Kiyomasa shoved his comrade off him and picked up his halberd. “It's fine, we're fine. Really. What does the lady need?”

“She just said for me to fetch you. I'm not sure what it's about.”

The two burly warriors followed him down the steps to the courtyard, finding their commander already there, hanging about the great dais that used to be the scene long ago of pompous speeches and acts of sorcery. As they mounted the steps to meet her, they found that she was not alone. A girl even shorter than she was prowling around the dais looking at everything in keen interest, though she broke off and jogged over when the other officers joined them. “Lady Nene?” Kiyomasa wondered as they came. “Is something the matter?”

“There you boys are,” Nene said brightly, setting her hands on her hips. She never went around unarmed or without her shinobi armor, even now, deep in the heart of very secure fortress. “Tell me the truth, Hideyori, were they making trouble again?”

“Ah...” The young man brushed a hand over his hat, looking away. “...they were having a lively discussion, I don't know if I would call it trouble.”

“No trouble! Nuh-uh!” Masanori burst out. “We were keeping watch on the castle wall just like you ordered, Lady Nene!”

Nene quirked an eyebrow at them. “Oh, really? Then how come Kunoichi was able to penetrate our defenses without you noticing?”

The two men shot the same dumbfounded look at the other girl, who grinned at them and saluted with a tip of her hat. “Gotta be on your toes, boys, especially with ninjas around!”

Hideyori clapped a hand to his face in exasperation. Kiyomasa blinked a few times, and then Masanori stepped in to save their honor. “But...but...she's a ninja, of course she would have slipped past us! That's what ninjas do!”

Kunoichi cocked her head. “...you know, he's got a point.”

Nene feigned irritation for a moment, but couldn't keep it up long, and laughed at her men. “All right, all right. I really just wanted you to come down to say hello to Kunoichi, but I couldn't resist. You really do need to be quicker on the uptake, though – there are ninjas in Orochi's army, too, and if one of them got past our defenses to get at me, I wouldn't be quite so forgiving.”

Kiyomasa regarded the young girl, far shorter than he. “Aren't you Sanada's bodyguard? What are you doing all the way out here?”

Kunoichi's expression faded a bit. “I, uh...haven't been able to rendezvous with anyone from the Sanada clan, at all. But that's all right, we all just have to do our part wherever we are, right?”

“Right,” Nene assured. “I think you'll do great with us. We've been safe here, and we've really put it hard to Orochi's snakey little underlings every time they pass by. We've got enough supplies stored up to last us a score of winters already. All we've got to do is keep it up, it hamstrings the army every time we hit them.”

“Happy to be a part of the plan,” the younger ninja chirped.

Nene looked at her men, clearly judging between them trying to decide who would be most useful to her. Neither seemed the best choice, but... “Kiyomasa, can you show her around and find some quarters for her? Don't take too long, though, we've had reports of another Orochi raid in the area.”

“Yes, my lady.” Kiyomasa shouldered his weapon and waved for Kunoichi to follow him, not surprised when she eagerly skipped along after him. There were plenty of rooms in the fortress for officers, though he wisely chose one near to Nene for her, as there were really no other women in their small army. He showed her the other important parts of the fortress on their way back out, finding it hard to make any kind of small talk. “Ah. So, you haven't seen Sanada, then?”

“No.” Kunoichi remained generally upbeat, but any reminder of her lord seemed to bother her. “I've been hearing rumors all over the place, but I've never been able to catch up to him. It sounds like he's all right, but...”

“Rumors.” Kiyomasa glanced at her, already thinking of the possibilities. “How far have you traveled, then? Have you heard any rumors about anything else?”

“Sure, I've heard lots of things,” the ninja shrugged. “I'm sure some of 'em are even important to some people.”

“You should tell us all about them. We haven't had outside news for months – none of the Orochi soldiers we've captured know anything.”

“Wow, you guys really are nothing but a bunch of backwater....ahaha I mean...” Kunoichi gave him a chipper smile to cover her near-insult. “You've been out of the loop! Of course! I'll tell Nene everything I know, even if it doesn't seem important. She's like a mentor to me, I owe her everything.”

Kiyomasa eyed her, but didn't rise to the bait. He didn't know her at all, so it wouldn't have been wise to get into the same kind of shouting match he would with Masanori or Mitsunari. “Well...good. Thanks.”

“No problem, big guy.”

“Big...” His head turned toward her again, as he reconsidered that argument.

The heads of the army gathered in a main hall used for audiences, so that Kunoichi could tell them everything she knew of the wider world, from movements of the Orochi army and its allies to which castles belonged to who now, though some of her information was out of date and the rest mere rumors based on observation. They were generally correct, but still only uncorroborated rumors. Kato and Fukushima looked rather disturbed to have it confirmed that their comrade Mitsunari was working for the Orochi army, but there was nothing they could do about it from this distance. It took considerable time to cover everything, and the day waned before they finished, so the briefing broke up to allow the officers to go to their watch duties and handle their other tasks around the fortress. The ninjas retired to Nene's room to talk about more personal things, like long-lost comrades and worries about their loved ones. When Kiyomasa came in after his long patrol of the outer fortresses and temples, well after midnight, there were still lights burning in the lady's quarters.

The reports Nene mentioned turned out to be more true than anticipated, as the very next day, the outermost scouts dispatched urgent messages that the Orochi army was coming nearer than ever before. There were causeways and paths that ran through portions of Ji Province that sometimes had been used for their foes to transport supplies, but the more ninja raids they suffered, the more they looked for different routes. None of those routes came this close to the great fortress. Nene put all of her troops on high alert and called for certain traps to be set and activated, and then sent out scouts to determine exactly what was happening. This time, it wasn't merely a supply troop passing by, it was an actual army headed right for them, and her spy captains returned with the unpleasant news that it was being led by an enormous man known well to be one of Orochi's favored commanders. Everyone in and around the fortress at Ji hailed from Hi-no-Moto, and didn't know a thing about the reputation of Dong Zhuo, but they were absolutely certain that he wasn't there for a parley. He had all of his retainers around him and the strategies of Chen Gong at his right hand, but not Lu Bu. All he knew was that he had been ordered to locate the band of ninjas that were giving the Orochi main army headaches in this area, and wipe them out. It looked like he had found his target, and in no time at all his army took the central temple and set up camp there to determine how best to draw out the ninjas and counteract any of the tricks and ninjutsu they might employ. Nene ordered her husband's relatives and retainers to draw back out of the center in order to lure the army in, and then surround the fortress to prepare for a counter-attack. Even as they moved into position at the fortress gates to protect their lady, Kiyomasa and Masanori couldn't help but be apprehensive. There was much more than just their freedom at stake, here, they had long ago dedicated themselves to protecting Nene and Hideyoshi's son so as to be able to face him proudly when the war was over and he could see his family was safe. Each took his weapon to hand and stood sternly at a gate, hoping that they wouldn't need to do more than guard it while the ninja force drove their enemies away. _I will not allow anyone to lay a finger on my Lady Nene_ , Kato thought to himself. _I would rather die!_

Dong Zhuo had no idea who the officers were who beset his army in the central temple, but his forces were not daunted. Toyotomi meant nothing to them, so these warriors were nothing but a nuisance to be swatted away. His army had the superior forces, even without any snake demons to bolster their numbers, and Chen Gong wasted no time seeing through the traps and tricks laid for them. Rocks being rolled down narrow paths could be avoided, and the rest was mere trickery instead of real sorcery. In rather short order they were knocking on the doors of the fortress, and even a last-ditch ninja ambush led by Kunoichi could not stave them off. Seeing the lithe young girl leading all those shinobi fired a completely different interest in Dong Zhuo, and drove him to bring down this fortress and the army inside with double the energy and effort. When she came right for him, he practically plucked her out of the air and threw her to the ground, and she was in chains before she could even struggle. With that accomplished, he turned to the fortress with renewed thirst.

Kato Kiyomasa stood his ground even as the gate before him shuddered with the repeated thuds of a battering ram, resolved not to flinch in the face of invasion. The instant a crack of daylight showed between the panels of the iron doors, he charged, plowing into the foremost soldiers with his scythe-halberd swinging. He was a force to be reckoned with, tiger-fierce and dreadfully powerful. The first wave of soldiers fell in heaps at his feet, but there were so many more behind them. He swung and kicked and sliced and punched until his muscles ached, and still he refused to bend, whacking the back side of the scythe into bodies before whirling it around to slice and rend them. There were simply too many, eventually they got through the gap in the doors and around behind him, and he went down under a pile of soldiers all beating and kicking him. One got a grip on the shaft of his halberd from behind and trapped him with it, pulling it against his throat. He strained to resist, but three, four, five more soldiers joined the first, and their combined strength was finally enough to subdue him and twist him down to his knees. An officer stepped in, and with a swing of the butt of his spear, cracked him in the jaw. Kiyomasa finally went down, dazed, and then felt the blade of the spear against his throat. Closing his eyes, he released his grip on his halberd to surrender. His honor demanded that he keep fighting until they killed him, but he knew that Nene wouldn't want to bear witness to that. He could see her face behind his eyes, and silently gave in. Dong Zhuo's army wasn't finished with him, though, and smacked him around before roughly binding his arms behind his back and hauling him along as a prisoner.

At the opposite gate, Masanori fared no better. He made similar heaps of bodies at the spot where the doors had been forced open, but suffered the same fate as his comrade, and came out in almost worse shape when Dong Zhuo himself burst through with his heavy sword and personally beat him down. Stepping over his injured frame, the rotund warlord strode into the courtyard itself and called out. “Come on, whoever you are! I'm not here to play around. Let's finish this!”

Nene's voice seemed to echo from the stones themselves. “Naughty children need to be _punished!_ ”

She appeared out of nowhere right in front of Dong Zhuo, and looked up at him with a noise of disgust before whipping her paired blades directly at his fat gut. His sword came in to block, and the battle that ensued was difficult for nearly everyone to watch. Nene was not an awful fighter, at all, she was fast and talented and acrobatic, and leaped, spun, and flew all around Dong Zhuo. But he was big and heavy and hit hard with far fewer swings, and at one point swung a fist right where he expected the ninja to be and landed it right in her stomach, sending her crashing across the stone courtyard. Both Kiyomasa and Masanori cried out “Lady Nene!” at the same time from where they were being held down, straining against their captors in panic. She got up, though, and kept going, until Dong Zhuo beat her back enough to wear her down. One big swing of his sword batted away her wing-blades, giving him an opening to reach out and simply grab her, his meaty hand closing around her throat. Nene could not last against his pure weight, her vision was already swimming and she felt like she couldn't lift her arms to swing her blades anymore. They fell from her hands, making Dong Zhuo laugh loudly in celebration of his victory.

While their foes stormed the fortress, Hideyori and his uncle regrouped and did their best to catch up. As they climbed the steps that led to the guardpost just below the fortress, exhausted and desperate, they found a ninja alighting in front of them to stop them. Not a foe, however, it was Kunoichi. She had used her skills to shed her bonds when her captors weren't looking and escaped them, and fled instead of trying to force her way in to counter Dong Zhuo. She met the Toyotomi relatives with a grave look. “No, it's too late,” she murmured to them. “We have to get out of here.”

“But...Lady Nene!” Hidenaga fretted on his nephew's behalf.

“None of us are strong enough to help her now,” Kunoichi insisted. “They took down those other two idiots, what makes you think you're going to be able to do any better? They'll just capture you, or maybe even kill you! Come on, I'll come with you – let's fall back to somewhere safe.”

Hideyori stared past her at the fortress, and could hear Dong Zhuo's raucous laugh above the din as the battle ended. His eyes shone with fear, but in the end, he nodded briskly. “Yes, you're right. We must live to fight again. We must find my father.”

“I've heard he's with Lord Oda,” Kunoichi reminded, the same as she had told them all last night. “They can't be too hard to find. Come on, I'll be your bodyguard now.”

“You have a stout heart, thank you,” Hidenaga said as he turned away from the fortress.

The young ninja touched Toyotomi on the arm, rousing him out of his thoughts so he could follow. The three of them disappeared as easily as shinobi into the wilderness of Ji Province.

When the last of the defenders were finally stripped of their weapons and grouped in the courtyard, Dong Zhuo paced triumphantly before them, enjoying his prizes. He wasn't very pleased to hear that one of his officers let Kunoichi escape, but he was still pleased to have been able to capture one of the women. His leering gaze remained on Nene almost the whole time while he gloated and occasionally struck either Kato or Fukushima for speaking out, every time they roared in outrage at the way he treated their lady. “Shut up!” he demanded of them, kicking Masanori in the gut. “I'm the victor here, I get to decide what to do with the prisoners! Be grateful that Orochi wants captives, the more the better, or else I'd execute both of you on this spot.”

His blade hovered over their necks, silencing both of them. Nene said nothing the entire time, not wanting him to have the satisfaction. Chen Gong sidled up to his lord, then. “We have searched the castle. There is nothing of interest – no information, strategies, or anything. Except for a very full storehouse.”

“Supplies, huh? No treasure, no gold, nothing else? Not even maidens to attend this one? Bah!” Dong Zhuo waved a hand dismissively, and then leaned down into Nene's face again. “At least I have this little treasure right here. What a beauty! I think I'll take her back with me personally, as a reward for destroying these damn ninjas.”

“Lord Orochi says otherwise.”

The purring voice startled most of the officers, who whirled around to find Fuuma Kotaro standing just inside the battered-down gate, arms folded and eyes gleaming with wicked glee as usual. Dong Zhuo rounded on him with an oath. “Not you! What are you doing here? I thought I said I had this under control!”

“So you did. And surely, Lord Orochi will reward you for your work.” Fuuma strode forward out of the shadows and stopped between Zhuo and his captives. “But this one is not yours. She is Orochi's prisoner, and I am here to make sure she is delivered.” He looked down to find her glaring up at him with pure loathing, and smirked widely.

“Back off, foul creature!” Dong Zhuo snarled at him. “I took this stronghold, I am the one who defeated her. She's mine! And if you dare take her from me, I'll report it to Orochi myself!”

“You'll do no such thing.” Zhuo swung at him, but Fuuma was ready and blocked it with his gauntlet. “I care not if you decide to attack one of your own allies, but Orochi might. It is my place to determine who is worthy of him, and at my word, he will destroy you.”

Dissension among the ranks served Fuuma's own purposes, but he did belong to the Orochi army for a reason. He would have gladly slaughtered Dong Zhuo's entire army right there, but he had orders to carry out. The Han tyrant gibbered at him and then threw up his hands. “Fine! Then take all of the prisoners, I will not be burdened with their care!”

Kotaro glanced down at Kiyomasa and Masanori, who just stared back. “Very well. Lord Orochi will be pleased with this offering.” He whistled a command, and the Fuuma ninja clan dropped into the fortress from all sides to sweep in and gather the three captives into their keeping. Without further word, Fuuma stalked out, and his forces followed, leaving Dong Zhuo to rant and rave up one side of the courtyard and down the other at the theft of his precious reward.

Some distance away from the fortress, the ninjas stopped carrying their charges and forced them to walk under their own power, regardless of whether they were any condition to do so. They no longer had need of stealth and could travel openly, until they could reach a place where the conquering army had left their horses and take a few to make the trip easier. Kiyomasa was limping, blood trickling from his split lips, and Masanori was bleeding from a wicked cut across his forehead and along both arms. Fuuma cared nothing for their injuries, and gloated in his own way all the way down the broad paths that took them further away from Ji. “And what of the other ninja?” he needled Nene as he guarded her himself. “I know she was here.”

“If you didn't find her, then I have nothing to say,” Nene said sharply.

“Ran away from you, did she? I'm not surprised.” Kotaro chuckled under his breath. “I have always told you which one of us is superior.”

“It must be Lady Nene,” Kiyomasa spat, “because you had to wait until someone else defeated her before you could step in!”

Kotaro paused in mid-step and whirled around, plunging his clawed gauntlet into Kato's stomach. He doubled over, spitting up blood, and dropped to his knees on the ground. Ignoring the cries and protests from his other two captives, the shinobi captain grabbed Kato by the hair and pulled his head up. “You would do well to keep your mouth shut. Lord Orochi wants his captives alive, but he never said how _much_ life they should have left in them when delivered.”

“Kiyomasa, stop!” Nene pleaded. “Leave it alone, it's just words.”

For a moment, Kiyomasa's eyes swam with anger, but her cry got through to him and he closed his mouth. Hauling him back to his feet, Fuuma gestured to his men. “Get him cleaned up enough that he won't slow us down. Once we have the horses, tie them all to a saddle and let them deal with it themselves. Lord Orochi will not wait.” He gave Nene one more gloating look and strode off in the lead, dragging her with him. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to follow. At least, she thought to herself, there had been no sign that the others had been captured. She had to believe that they survived the battle in order to flee, because the alternative was only despair. And if Fuuma didn't know where Kunoichi could be, then there was hope indeed. Perhaps not for them, being dragged to one of Orochi's strongholds, but for the rest of the resistance. Lifting a silent prayer for her husband's safety, she straightened up and refused to give Fuuma the satisfaction of seeing her weak. She would walk boldly with her head high, and fear no reprisal. Hideyoshi would want her to be strong. She had to be strong for the two young men behind her, who took to her like family. For her boys, she would endure.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun Ce's daring attempt to raid Osaka Castle, and the results of the mission.

Some days before, the Wu army which departed from Odani Castle never looked back, leaving the fortress under the charge of a snake-demon captain who fully believed that they were off to do Da Ji's bidding, heading for Chengdu like they said. All their strategy sessions had been about assaulting Chengdu, and Yellowbelly was completely under their spell, having no reason to suspect otherwise. He would only be in charge for a day or two, anyway, until Tokugawa caught up and took control. Hattori Hanzo stood on the roof of one of the outer gates watching them go, holding so many secrets behind his lips as well as in the letters concealed within his armor. It would be up to him to fully fill his lord in on this new twist, and perhaps then, he would be free to rejoin Sun Ce later after they had pulled off their successful rescue. For several days the army rode as promised, and then at Sakon's direction, turned aside to take a less-beaten path through the back country to get to Osaka. It was a hard road, and slowed their march considerably, but it was worth it to completely disappear so that no one from the Orochi army could find them before they could accomplish their goal. At long last, after what seemed like forever, Sun Ce looked out from a gap in the trees to an amazing castle complex sprawling across the plain, surmounted by a tall tower with sloped roofs that looked out over the courtyards and outbuildings. It was breathtaking, even compared to Edo Castle, which he had seen long ago. They had arrived in the late afternoon on a springlike day, and within the walls they could see plum and cherry trees in full blossom. Sakon stood at his shoulder, double-checking certain details for himself while they both indulged in the view. “Still feeling confident, Little Conqueror?” he murmured to the young lord beside him.

Ce breathed deeply and then nodded. “We can do this. I'm not backing down now.”

“Good. C'mon.” He led the way back to where the rest of their men waited in the trees, clustered in small groups. They made hardly a sound, lit no fires and kept their weapons and armor covered for stealth. Sakon gathered the officers in close to him. “We wait until after nightfall. Once the majority of the castle is asleep, we'll have a much better chance of getting in without raising an alarm. Until then, keep everybody quiet – nobody moves, we leave the horses behind, no fires, nothing.”

“A cold dinner and some silent contemplation will do us all good, if it means rescuing Lord Sun Jian,” Taishi Ci muttered.

“That's the spirit.” Sakon gestured vaguely to the castle behind them. “Sun Jian is going to be held on the top floor of the keep. We'll enter the castle grounds through an eastern passage, so we can avoid blundering straight into the sentries and most of the army at the main gate. There should be fewer guards that way, and as long as we take them down before they can sound an alarm, we'll be in before you know it.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Ce nodded. “At least for getting in. I'm gonna guess that getting out won't be so smooth.”

“That depends on you.” Sakon poked him in the chest. “We should limit the number of officers we take in with us. Too many will be too much of a ruckus. I'd say pick three of your best men, then you, and me.”

“All right.” Ce knew that all of them wanted to go along, but he understood the need for a limit. He looked around them, and to their credit, his officers did not plead with their eyes to be chosen. They gazed back solemnly, letting him make the choice. “Zhou Yu,” he said to start, as that was obvious. “Taishi Ci. And Ran. I want you three to come with me. Lu Meng, you're in charge of our guys back here.”

“Understood, my lord,” Lu Meng said with a nod and a smile.

“Let's break it up, then, so we can keep the talk to a minimum,” Zhou Yu suggested. “Rest up, everyone, including those remaining here. You will need to stay awake and alert with the horses prepared for our retreat. We will need to escape as quickly as we invade.”

The officer's meeting broke up, all of them drifting off in pairs or alone to see to their own needs. Some went to find food that didn't need to be cooked, since fires were prohibited, others went to have a nap, and still more saw to their gear. Sun Ce had obsessively taken care of most of his own preparations every day they rode, so he was more or less ready, and simply found a spot under the trees to sit. There was no way he would be able to sleep even if he wanted to. Sakon strolled around giving advice to more than one of the officers, conferred head-to-head with Zhou Yu for a bit, and at last came to join Ce for a few moments of relaxation himself. He kept his voice low while they talked, but there was no whispering involved. “You look revitalized,” he said warmly as he settled next to the Wu prince. “I guess it's due to being free of the snake, huh?”

“Absolutely,” Ce breathed, tipping his head back so it rested against a tree trunk. “As dangerous and serious as it is, right now, I can't stop feeling light, like a weight has been lifted off my chest. From now on, I'm running my own life, and it starts with this.”

“Does that mean mean you’re healed up, too?”

“Pretty much.” Ce poked himself in a couple of places as if to prove it. His injuries sustained at Gan Ning’s hands had healed enough for him to take on a new battle, though one or two were still wrapped beneath his tunic and armor. “It wasn’t bad, so I’m ready to go.”

“I've heard it said that before Orochi attacked, clans like yours were working out who should actually be in charge of who.” Sakon glanced curiously at him. “What happens when Sun Jian is free? Think he'll want to rule his people?”

Ce lifted his eyes to the sky peeping between the branches and spring leaves, turning gold with the coming sunset. “My father is rightfully the Lord of Wu, even if our kingdom was still in dispute when he died, originally. I won't have any problem stepping aside and letting him have that distinction. This world is completely on its head, already, there's no room for arguing over who rules what when we don't even have our own lands under our control.”

Sakon hummed thoughtfully under his breath. “Yeah, something tells me that down the road, we're gonna need to worry about that. As long as Orochi is still around, no one is going to be able to claim a thing. You may not be kowtowing to the snake anymore, but he's still in charge, make no mistake.”

Ce mulled that over for a bit before glancing his way. “I hadn't thought that far ahead. Saving my father has been my main priority for so long...”

“Don't worry about it. Thinking about the future is for us strategists to do. You just focus on the task at hand, tiger cub.”

For some reason, that epithet made Ce blush a little. “I must seem like a fool, worrying so much about my father at my age.”

“Hm? No, I wouldn't say that.” Sakon met his gaze with a smile that made his eyes twinkle. “The rules here are different. We don't know how Orochi made this world, or if he can even unmake it. We might have been given second chances, but there won't be third or fourth ones. We have to stick together and conserve as much of our strength and manpower as we can, and not waste lives the way we often do fighting each other in the real world. And, if you'll indulge me in a little foolish talk of my own that has nothing to do with strategy...” He took a deep breath and looked away, his gaze unfocused. “There's no shame in taking comfort in being able to see certain people again. It's a strange twist of fate, one we shouldn't take for granted.”

“Is there someone you're happy to see again, then?”

“I don't know about happy...” Sakon's expression betrayed nothing, even as he ran through his memories and compared them to people he had brushed up against in this world. “Maybe in some cases. Others...let's call it keen interest.”

“You're definitely a strategist, Sakon,” Ce snorted. “You talk in riddles like one.”

“Come on, I'm not that bad...”

Zhou Yu joined them, then, carrying with him wrapped rice balls made at their last camp, when they had time to preserve the extra rice. “The order to eat something includes both of you, you know.”

The other two reached to gladly take their share, and all three sat together to have their meager dinner. “Thanks,” Ce murmured. “I wasn't even thinking about it.”

“As I figured. When you have something on your mind, you forget everything else.” Yu peeled back the bamboo leaves they had used to hastily wrap up their snacks. “Everything is prepared, all we have to do now is wait.”

“Have you thought about where you want to pull back to, after we get him out of there?” Sakon wondered.

Zhou Yu nibbled at his rice ball thoughtfully before answering. “We don't have many options. The Orochi army holds most of the best castles and forts – Guandu, Bai Di, Edo, and even our own fortress of Xin Di in our home territory. We cannot be sure about Hefei, but it is so far away from here, so much uncertain land lies between us and it.”

“And the Resistance holds a lot of other places,” Sakon noted. “While I'm sure they'd eventually be glad to know you're not serving Orochi anymore, they might not give you the chance to explain it if you show up on their doorstep unannounced.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Yu murmured. “Changban may be deserted, since our battle there, but if we intend to travel that far we may as well keep going to Hefei.”

“Your boys aren't there anymore,” Sakon confirmed. “What few escaped left there with Lu Xun around the same time I did.”

“What if we just keep moving?” Ce offered. “Maybe aim for Hefei or Changban, but for now just concentrate on not staying in one camp too long. It'll keep Orochi from zeroing in on us, won't it?”

The two strategists looked at him, then each other, and nodded. “Sounds about right,” Sakon remarked.

“It is as good a plan as any I could come up with,” Yu agreed. “Will you be joining us, Sakon?”

“You know, I just might.” The big ronin sat back on one hand and smiled at them both. “You've got plenty of good strategists, but you could probably use an extra sword. Of all the resistance cells out there, I feel like I'd be better off under you.”

“High praise indeed,” Zhou Yu smiled.

“You're more than welcome to join us, Sakon.” Sun Ce gave him a light, playful punch in the arm. “You've done so much for us already, I kind of don't want to see you go.”

“Well, all right, then, I won't.”

The sun set not long after they finally stopped talking and settled in to wait, and the night slowly grew deep and dark around them. It was hard not fidgeting or talking much, but all they had to do was remember that an errant noise or sway of a moving branch could have sentries on their position in seconds, in the off chance the castle guard included ranging scouts. Sakon had picked a rendezvous location far enough from the castle that it shouldn't have been an issue, but they were better safe than sorry. The intelligence he had gathered to bring them here and scout out the defenses also told him that Cao Ren was in charge of this stronghold, so the ronin guessed that he might not know all the secrets of the castle the way someone from its own time period might. Waiting until closer to midnight was torturous for Sun Ce, as each minute stretched like an hour while he sat there thinking about seeing his father again. He was so close, and yet so far away. The tension of waiting was so thick that he almost leaped out of his skin when Sakon touched him on the shoulder to signal that it was finally time. With weapons sheathed or slung over their backs, the raiding party crept through the trees to a rutted road that led up to one of the back gates of the castle, pausing to be sure that the coast was clear before stealing their way along the edges of the walls and slipping through a gap into an alley. They had to go on foot the whole way, but it was better than losing horses they would have to abandon inside the castle anyway. Sakon led them, a great, dark shadow who could move much stealthier than anyone expected. Lithe and little, Ranmaru guarded the rear. They made it as far as the eastern gate of the inner ward before seeing a single guard, and paused at the corner while Zhou Yu glided in and made short work of the sentries with his blade. He tested the gate and found it unlatched, and pushed it open even as he waved to the others to join him. Sakon reached his side first and leaned against the gate to be able to peer through it without being seen, and then nodded to the others. “All right, time to go,” he whispered.

“So the main keep is just ahead?” Sun Ce breathed.

“Yeah. Take out any guards you see before they see you, and follow me to the keep.”

Zhou Yu beckoned Ranmaru to come with him, and the two raced ahead, keeping to the shadows beneath the wall so they could get the drop on the guards as they went. The other three were not as quiet, but kept up well, and made it through the final gate just after Ran sliced through the guards. There was one more set at the doors of the keep itself, across the final courtyard, but they hesitated, eyeing the gap in the gate as it opened enough to permit each man to slip through individually but unsure whether it was their own men. Their hesitation was a much-needed stroke of luck, allowing the two swordsmen to dash across the open yard and hack into them before they could call out. Ce strode powerfully up the steps to the door of the keep, hardly believing that this was finally it, and so far nothing had arisen to stop them. Could their luck hold? He pulled the tonfa from where they had been lashed to his belt, and used one to cautiously push at the door. It resisted. Sakon came to his side, leaned against the door to listen for a moment, and then swung his huge blade off his back. The doors were mere wood, and one good slash had them open instantly. Ce looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and earned a shrug in response. “Picking the lock takes too long,” Sakon murmured.

Zhou Yu rushed past him. “Was that wise?”

“I wouldn't have done it if I heard anything on the other side.” The inside corridor was deserted, and a pause to reconnoiter at the end of the hall revealed no noise indicating that anyone had heard the doors crash. Since he knew the layout of the keep well enough, Sakon took the lead again, silently gesturing to make sure the men behind him checked down halls and through doors as they went. The last thing they needed was some servant or attendant idly looking through a doorway at the wrong moment and seeing them pass. The castle was mostly quiet and dark, though, asleep as it should be. They couldn't stifle the sound of their feet pounding up flights of stairs, particularly the heavy tread of Sakon, Ce, and Taishi Ci, and each time they reached a landing their hearts tightened anxiously, fearing that they had just called the wrath of the castle to their position. But they made it all the way up to the top floor of the keep without meeting any resistance, not even guards at the prisoners' cell. That seemed strange, but then, the top floor of the keep was supposed to be the castle lord's residence and private rooms, not a jail. Where most of the rooms were separated by sliding screens, a heavy wooden door blocked the rearmost room from the corridor, and Ce barely paused to make sure there were no guards before running to it and throwing his shoulder against it. Taishi and Sakon joined him, and together the might of the three of them splintered the lock and broke the door down. There was a moment's pause as all three of them caught their breath, and Ce's eyes snapped to the cluster of people inside. It was a little surprising that there were so many prisoners being held, but there was only one among them he cared about.

The captive men had been lying down, possibly sleeping, but they all jumped up at the commotion of thundering feet and three burly men throwing the door wide open to slam against the wall. From among them, Sun Jian pushed his way to the fore, looking a bit more scruffy than usual but still as regal and powerful as ever. “Is it...?”

“Father!” Ce cried, rushing at him. “I've finally found you!”

Jian barely had time to brace himself before he had a tiger cub in his arms, clinging to him. “My son...” he breathed, stunned. “What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you, what does it look like?” Ce pulled back and held him at arm's length to look at him and make sure he was all right. “Come on! We don't have time to waste, any second and they might hear the noise and come investigate.”

The rest of the soldiers hurried to pull themselves together, while Jian looked around at his saviors. “It really is you. Taishi Ci! It's so good to see you alive!”

The broad-shouldered warrior was practically in tears himself. “My lord!”

“Thank you, all of you...” Jian moved among them, clapping them all on the shoulder one by one. “Zhou Yu. Of course you would be with my son...”

“I am just sorry we took so long to rescue you, my lord,” Yu said softly.

“I'm sorry to cause all of you such trouble.” Sun Jian nodded at the other two with them, not recognizing them, and then curled an arm around Ce's shoulders to reassure him. “Lead the way. You don't mind if we bring these other fellows along as well? We've only been held together for a short time but I would never leave anyone behind.”

Ranmaru craned his neck to see past the Wu men to the other officers Jian indicated. “You...I have seen you in Lord Nobunaga's service.”

One of the men bowed deeply. “Young master. Forgive my failure as a retainer.”

“Not at all. Come.” The boy turned to Ce. “That is Saizo Kani, he serves my lord Oda Nobunaga as well.”

“The more the merrier, I guess. Come on!” Ce waved for them all to follow, leading the way back down the stairs. Sakon found where the captives' weapons had been held and handed them over, so that everyone leaving the keep would be armed and ready for retaliation.

It was too much to hope that they could have managed this mission completely unscathed. Some soldier somewhere along their path must have seen them, or the slain guards, or the damaged doors of the keep, and relayed word to the castle commander that the eastward road had been breached. Defensive maneuvers went into action immediately – the gate was barred, the broken door barricaded, and guards moved into position. As the raiders came down the last set of steps and shoved open a screen wall, they found themselves confronted with a whole troop of soldiers under the command of a Wei officer. Surely, he was a stout fighter, but he suddenly had four Wu officers, two Oda retainers, and Sakon right in his face. He didn't stand a chance. It took a few minutes to clear a path, but Sakon brought the others up short behind him. “Hold it! The way we came in's been blocked,” he warned. “Damn! That means our only option is to go through the front gate.”

“And fight our way through the entire army?” Ranmaru exclaimed.

“Got any better ideas?”

“Come on!” Sun Ce was not at all deterred by the prospect of a fight. He brandished his tonfa and raced back through the keep, to the door the troops had been blocking a moment before. It opened at his touch to a courtyard surrounding the keep, the pools and fountains still in the night air and no one in sight. He jogged down the steps, and then everything changed. A service door in the side wall of the courtyard burst open, and one of the many Cao relatives charged out ahead of his own troops. Ce screeched to a halt in the soft gravel of the path, and held ground until the others caught up with him so they could all drive off the assault in one sweep. As long as the castle guard kept attacking one at a time like this, it wouldn't be hard to make their way step by step through their foes. Sun Jian himself took down Cao Zhang, opening the way for them all to pass through another gate to another wide, deserted courtyard. This time, Ce tread a bit more carefully rather than blunder into another ambush, looking around before dashing to the opposite gate and pushing at the door. It was barred tightly. “It's no good, it won't open!” he reported.

“We'll have to head west, then,” Sakon decided on the spot. “It's the only path left to us.”

“West? Good!” Jian agreed. “One of my officers was taken that way earlier today. If we can rescue him as well, we must.”

“All right, to the west gate, then,” Sakon ordered. “Watch our backs, though, we don't want any of Cao Ren's guys coming up behind us.”

He gestured with his huge blade to the stairs leading up to another ward of the castle, and the others hustled that way, only to find the expected ambush finally sprung on them. Over the very wall ahead and down those stairs came a contingent of demon soldiers, led by one of the snake-like captains, while through the doors behind them came more Wei troops. At the head of the pack ran Yue Jin, brandishing his hooked blades as he came, his stance low and eager. Sun Ce stopped where he was and braced for impact, determined to protect his companions' backs as requested. “You guys keep going, I've got this!”

“Don't do anything crazy, Ce,” Zhou Yu called over his shoulder before backing against Sun Jian to protect him from the snake demon.

“Stop them!” Yue Jin ordered his men. “They've taken the prisoners!”

Ce went straight for him, leaping into position on a bridge over a small pond and striking forward with his fist and tonfa. Jin slammed one hook-blade into the dirt and used it to drag himself to a stop so that he slid right under the punch and was able to kick Ce's feet out from under him. Fortunately, the Wu lord didn't fall off the bridge, he managed to roll out of it and come up in defense again, tonfa crossed in front of him. Jin hacked at him with both blades, finding each swing blocked over and over again, as the two fought with their respective paired weapons in each hand. Blade met tonfa repeatedly, and then Ce countered, doubling up on a block so he could hit back with the other fist instead. It was Yue Jin's turn to go rolling, and only the catch of his hooked blade kept him from falling in the pond. He gained his feet in time to cross the blades to block Ce's powerful strike, and then pushed forward, trying again. They pounded on each other for a while, until Yue Jin got the upper hand and swung around, putting himself between Ce and his father. He was fast, and really good with those blades, Sun Ce noted. Over his opponent's shoulder he could see the others, fighting and winning and finally mounting the stairs to press on, so he knew he had to end it. Fortunately, it looked like he would have help. He thrust a tonfa up to block Jin's slashes, and then laughed. “Sorry, I'm going to have to cut this short.”

Jin's eyes narrowed. “You think you're winning?”

“He's about to.” From behind, Zhou Yu dove into the fray, his Ancients Sword gleaming in the moonlight as he slashed toward Yue Jin's back. The Wei officer disengaged and spun to block it, but two against one was more than he could handle. Ce hauled back and clouted him hard in the side with a tonfa, knocking him clear off the bridge into the pond. The Wu officers wasted no time in beating a retreat, while Yue Jin sat up with a groan, a water lily stuck to his head.

“Now is not the time to have fun, Ce,” Zhou Yu scolded as they chased after the others. “They're not going to let us just get away.”

“I know, I know. I couldn't help it. I promise, I'll run right through anybody else ahead of us.”

Jian stood at the corner waiting for them, smirking a bit, since he knew exactly what was taking his son so long. “Let's go, you two. We're not even remotely out of the woods yet.”

“Yes, father...” Ce fell in beside him, with Zhou Yu just behind. “You certainly haven't gotten soft after all this time.”

“It surprises me as much as you,” Jian admitted. “I have been idle for far too long. Captivity does not agree with me at all.”

“Did they harm you, my lord?” Yu asked.

“Not exactly.”

Before he could explain, however, someone ahead called out a warning. More officers were swarming on their position, trying to get ahead of them now that they were being clearly driven toward the western gate. “This isn't good,” Ce murmured as they came to a collective stop atop a wall, and gazed down at a courtyard full of snakes and Wei soldiers.

“There's no way out except forward,” Sakon said heavily. “Put your backs into it, boys! We've gotten this far, there's no turning back now!”

Foregoing the stairs and simply leaping down into the yard, the officers spread out in a wave, plowing into the flank of the ambush force with all their might. The repeated attacks were starting to wear them down, but they kept fighting, knocking down soldiers and knocking out their commanders in order to move more swiftly. Each attack served to slow them down that much, giving Cao Ren time to get into position and move his men to cut off retreat. Ce refused to worry, though. He had his father at his side, and together they cut through the ranks of their enemies as though nothing had ever kept them apart. They didn't pause even to catch their breath, but continued pressing on, following Sakon into one of the moats at the edge of the castle without hesitation. Somehow, it was a shortcut, and thankfully it was short-lived, though they all waded through knee-deep water and emerged on the other side with wet boots. “Please tell me you're not going to make us do that again,” Taishi Ci groused as they took a moment to rest on the remote path behind the castle.

“It's just a little water,” Sakon snorted. “Come on, you're a big, strong guy, you can handle it.”

“How much further?” Saizo asked, a bit anxiously.

“This path will get us halfway there,” Sakon admitted. “But we're clear on the other side of Osaka from our rendezvous point. I might have to drag you fellows through another moat in order to slip past the main gate unseen.”

“Do whatever you have to to get us out of here, Sakon,” Ce said urgently. “We didn't come this far to get caught now.”

Ranmaru looked up to Sun Jian, finding him as tall and imposing as most of the warlords he knew. “Are you all right, my lord?”

“Yes, I'm doing fine,” Jian replied with a smooth smile. “No need to worry about me. You're new, though. You've come to help us out?”

Ran bowed his head humbly. “I have simply done my duty.”

“Still, you have my thanks. And you,” he added, nodding to Sakon. “Clearly, my son has found worthy friends to stand with him even if they aren't men of Wu.”

“You can save your thanks for later, Lord Sun Jian,” Sakon said sagely. “I still haven't gotten you out of harm's way yet. Who's this officer you're missing, anyway?”

“Jiang Qin. He's a stout fellow...”

“Yes, Lu Meng's companion!” Zhou Yu realized. “I didn't know he had been captured as well. By all means...but how do we find him?”

Jian shook his head. “I only know they said they wanted to split us up, to keep us from conspiring. Something about the west gate.”

“Hmm....” Sakon looked down the path ahead of them. “There's a garrison just outside the outer ward of the castle. I think prisoners used to be kept there, once or twice. We can check on the way – come on.”

They had all caught their breath and rested just long enough, and hustled off to continue their flight. The garrison Shima spoke of was not far ahead, and the doors appeared to be guarded. Clearly, the raiding party had not gotten their fill of battle yet, for they piled on the guards and bashed them to the ground without hesitation, and forced one of them to unlock the garrison gate for them. Before they could push the doors open, though, a strident voice called out for them to halt. “If you want to enter this way,” a warrior challenged them, “you will have to take it up with my halberds!”

“Halberds...oh damn.” Sun Ce turned around to face Pang De, giving the warrior of Xiliang a wry frown. “You really know how to show up when you're least wanted, you know that?”

“Don't give me your sass, Sun Ce,” Pang De said dourly as he came to meet them. “This is no time for words.”

“I agree,” Ce said, pushing past his annoyance. “Let's do this.”

“Wait, my lord.” Taishi Ci shouldered past him. “Allow me. You can't have all the fun.”

Pang De's face twitched briefly at the change of opponents. Both of them were powerful, and worthy foes. “Very well, then.”

The two of them lit into each other without further ado, while the rest of the officers withdrew into the garrison to leave them to their duel. It wasn't hard to find Jiang Qin, and free him from his captivity as well. “My lord!” he cried as soon as he was loose. “I'm so happy to see you're safe! They didn't harm you after all!”

“No, it was a bluff. I'm fine,” Jian assured. “Come on, we're getting out of here.”

“Yes, my lord. I will cut you a path to safety,” the officer vowed.

“Hang on there, give it a second.” Sun Ce strode past them to check, and then signaled that all was well. They emerged from the garrison to find Pang De flat on his back, and Taishi Ci breathing hard as he stood over him with one foot on his foe's chestplate. “Good work!” Ce congratulated him.

“No problem,” Taishi assured, though as he turned to join them, they could see the cuts on his arms and a dent in his helm. “Are we done, here?”

An explosion made them all jump, but this time, it wasn't Sakon and his clever tricks. He looked up, in fact, and then pushed everyone away from the garrison doors just in time. A projectile came whistling in and crashed through the doors, exactly where they had just been standing. “Cannons!” the strategist growled. “This is not good. We're going to have to avoid the outer ward if we don't want to get hit.”

“You didn't mention that they had cannons at Osaka,” Zhou Yu said with a raised eyebrow.

“I didn't think we'd have to deal with the cannons,” Sakon admitted with a shake of his head. “We don't have time to find a way back in to try to stop them, we'll just have to go the long way around.” He grumbled as he turned to lead the way. “Should've known it was too easy to get in.”

“I trust you,” Sun Jian said boldly, striding alongside him. “You've brought me more hope than I've had in months, I see no reason to stop now.”

“You give me too much credit, Lord Sun Jian.” But Sakon's smile returned faintly, and he had a bit of renewed energy as he gestured for the rest to follow.

Together, they banded together and kept close to the wall, hoping to escape the gaze of the cannoneers and slip right under their assault. It was not the easiest part of the escape by far, but the cannon fire could not land so close to the wall at risk of damage, and even a prisoner as valuable as Sun Jian was not worth knocking down the walls of Osaka. In this way, inch by inch and foot by foot, they crept around the outer ward of the castle and came within sight of the massive main gate, still locked and barred as if to keep them in. At least, from here it appeared there were no more troops in their way, but by now, they knew not to trust it. Sakon halted the group behind him and wordlessly gestured to another moat on the far side of the causeway, the one he had warned about. It was the shortest shortcut to get them to their destination, but he wanted to be sure they were ready for it. Ce grabbed his arm to indicate that he wanted to go first, and stepped out from the shelter of the walls to make a mad dash for the moat. As they expected, the final ambush was sprung as soon as he came into view, but his daring had given them a chance to see it coming so they could counter. It came not from the main gate, as he thought, but from a storehouse opposite. Taking the long way around had allowed Cao Ren to get himself and a large contingent of troops into place, and he sprang upon them with a snake demon at his side. “Stop, intruders!” he demanded.

The raiders ignored his demand, though they turned to fight him. Sun Ce flew at him from one side as Sun Jian and Zhou Yu attacked from the other, and the great rock of the Wei army looked rather startled to find himself so beset. Ranmaru tore into the demon captain with unusual fury, and the rest fanned out to clean up the stragglers. At least, compared to the rest of their fight through the castle compound, this last obstacle took far less time to clear away, perhaps because the Wu forces had taken on more fighters while Cao Ren had been left with only one retainer to assist him. The rest were cut down, scattered, injured and unable to regroup. He fought hard, perhaps knowing that he would not be trusted with command if he let a prisoner escape again, but his strong guard was easily broken by the relentless onslaught of three warriors at once. As soon as he and Mamushi were down, the raiders turned away and fled as fast as they could manage, leaping over the side of the moat and sloshing through more rank water choked with lilies in a desperate last rush to escape. They were almost there, the road on which they had come in ran past that spot at the top of the moat. They struggled through the water in their exhaustion, afraid that the splashing would attract reinforcements, but the stairway out lay just ahead, tempting them, and every single one of them knew he could not slow down. Ce mounted the stairs and waved the rest past with his tonfa, his eyes going to the far end of the moat to watch for pursuit. Had they beaten Cao Ren thoroughly enough? Were there more Wei forces inside the castle, ready to pour out as soon as the gate was unbarred? He couldn't be sure, and worry started to crowd out his hope. Ranmaru passed him last, escorting Sun Jian to safety. “Come, my lord, we must hurry!” he urged Ce.

“I'm coming, I'm coming...” Ce shot one last look back and then forged his way forward, up the stairs and onto the road. The group of them had to force themselves to speed up to a jog in order to complete their mission, seeing the first gate ahead of them and nothing but empty road and dark-clad trees beyond it. “This is too simple,” the Wu prince fretted, looking back again.

“What do you mean? We are safe,” Ranmaru noted, pointing to the gate.

“Not yet.” Sakon came alongside them, looking back at the castle. “Sun Ce is right. Hurry! Get out of here before they...!”

The bushes on either side of the road erupted with snake demons before he could finish his command. The raiding party whirled in place with weapons swinging on all sides, putting their backs to one another as the demon soldiers formed a ring around them, and they could all hear the whisper of bowstrings being drawn from a second wave. Any attempt at charging through them toward the gate was driven back. Ce stood at his father's side, Zhou Yu at his other arm, the rest arrayed behind him. “We're surrounded,” he said, the fear creeping into his voice for the first time.

“Never fear, my lord, I will pound them into submission!” Taishi Ci bragged, though he was still gasping hard from the repeated battles.

“This is not going to be easy,” Zhou Yu breathed, his eyes shifting from one snake to the next.

“I'm sorry,” Sakon said heavily. “I didn't see this one at all...”

“We must break through, like the warriors we are!” Ranmaru bravely declared. “I will sacrifice my life if it must be!”

“No.” Sun Jian brushed the boy aside, putting himself between the demon soldiers and his rescuers. “That is my place.”

“Father, no!” Ce yelped.

“Don't argue, Ce!” Jian said sternly. “It has always been my duty to protect the weak. It is no different now.” He slashed at a spear that came rushing at him, and broke it at mid-shaft, knocking the gray-skinned soldier down. “My friends, thank you, for letting me breathe the fresh air for a little bit. Now it's my turn to rescue you.”

“No, my lord,” Taishi begged, “don't do this!”

“You know he's right.” Yet, even Sakon's voice had a weight to it. “If he stays behind, they won't kill him. He's too valuable.”

“Listen to your friend.” All of them were striking back at the attempts by the demon soldiers to subdue them. “Don't worry. They will not break the Tiger of Jiangdong.” Sun Jian looked over his shoulder at the collection of officers. “You heard me, now go!”

Sun Ce turned away from him sharply. “Right. Let's go!”

“Go!” Zhao Yu echoed. “An order is an order!”

“That means you two, as well.” Jian lifted his sword to block one from a demon. “Go, Ce. We will meet again. I know now that you will not stop until you succeed.”

Ce vented his anger on the snakes trying to block him, and together the group of them punched a hole in the ring of soldiers surrounding them. They barreled up the hill to the gate and through it, and Sun Ce only glanced back once, at the threshold. The snake demons were piling on his father, whose sword sang mightily as he whipped it back and forth, slaughtering a good many of his foes. Zhou Yu grabbed Ce's arm, then, dragging him onward.

They didn't stop running until they reached the rendezvous point and heard the Wu soldiers melting out of the trees, and then practically collapsed en masse at Lu Meng's feet, heaving and coughing from the burning of their lungs. Meng stood over them to count their numbers, and then frowned. “Where is Lord Sun Jian? What happened – we heard the cannon fire...”

“We left him behind,” Ce rasped angrily.

“He ordered us to leave him,” Zhou Yu clarified, struggling back to his feet. “No time to explain. Get them up and moving. We must withdraw!”

Lu Meng turned to give the call that their forces were expecting, and with a clanking and stamping, the soldiers rose up as one and hustled off down the road as planned. He hauled the recovered officers into saddles, making sure all of them had a seat before swinging up onto his own horse. “Move it! Ride until I tell you to stop!”

For a moment Sun Ce almost turned his horse to go back, but then slapped his heels to its flanks and thundered away as ordered, pushing it further and faster than everyone else in his army and outstripping them in seconds. Zhou Yu had to chase after him, spurring his steed on beyond its limits until he could reach and grab the bridle of Ce's horse. “Ce, stop it!” he yelled into the wind. “Do not kill your horse over this! Slow down or I will lash your reins to myself!”

Ce's grip on his horse's reins eased slightly, just enough for Yu to be able to slow them both to something more reasonable, though they still loped out far ahead of their troops as the road spilled out from the trees and ran down onto wide open plains devoid of life. They rode long and hard throughout the night until Lu Meng's shout could be heard, halting the rest of the army. A silver ribbon ran alongside their path, a river catching the moon's light, providing them a good place to stop or at least pause. While the troops on foot moved to the water to get a drink and hunker down in the long grass, Lu Meng rode to catch the two errant officers and learn the full story. He came upon them just as Sun Ce slid from the saddle and stomped across the ground toward the nearest tree, which he punched with all his might. His bronze bracers did not protect his knuckles from scraping on the bark, and the pain snapped him alert just long enough to lose what little control he still had. He fell to his knees right there and pounded his fists on the ground, giving a great scream of rage that echoed across the entire plain. To his credit, Zhou Yu let him, instead stepping over to intercept Lu Meng as he dismounted. “Leave him be,” he begged tiredly.

“I wasn't going to bother him,” Meng assured. “What happened, Zhou Yu? Why would our lord order you to leave him behind?”

Yu explained quickly, keeping his voice low. As he did, Meng wilted, and rubbed his forehead with one hand. “I don't think it safe to camp here,” the strategist added at the end. “Cao Ren may have even more troops inside the castle, whether or not he or Pang De are in any shape to get up and lead them.”

“Pang De...”

“And Yue Jin. Enough strength that we should not tarry.” Yu sighed. “I know it's the middle of the night and everyone is exhausted, but all of this will mean our deaths if we don't keep moving.”

“No, I agree completely. Let's take long enough to water the horses and the men, and tend to any wounds you've all suffered.” Meng set his hand warmly on Zhou Yu's shoulder. “Thank you for rescuing my friend, Jiang Qin. He will be a good addition to our forces.”

“Our lord insisted,” Yu said weakly, trying to smile.

“Of course he would.” Lu Meng nodded to where Ce was crumpled in the dirt. “Look after him, I'll see to the rest of the army.”

Nodding, Zhou Yu turned to do so, quietly treading up behind his lord and giving him a few minutes before crouching down beside him. Ce was on his knees, still, though he had stopped trying to beat the ground in punishment and was merely breathing heavily with his head bowed. Yu slid a hand easily onto his back, using his comfort as an excuse to check him for wounds. “I'm not going to tell you to stop,” he murmured. “Just know that I'm right here beside you.”

For a long time, Ce remained huddled there, his whole body heaving with the strain of trying to wrestle his emotions into submission and failing. He shuddered, and then his sworn brother could hear him quietly sobbing. They were far enough from the others to protect his pride, but Ce still did his best to cut it short and sit up, hiding his face in the crook of his arm until he could get himself under control. Zhou Yu leaned against him, then, and was not surprised to have the young lord's weight sagging back against him in turn. Neither said a word for a long while, and when Sun Ce appeared to finally have calmed down, he only sat back against the tree he had punched and stayed there. Yu ruffled his hair gently and got up to check on the status of everyone else. As he joined them, Sakon turned to meet him. “He's not about to do anything crazy, is he?”

“No. He will be fine.” Yu nodded to the others. “Everyone all right? Can we continue?”

“Yes, let's get them moving again,” Lu Meng replied. “I don't know this area but Shima Sakon does, so I'm relying on his guidance to find a safe enough refuge so we can call catch some sleep.”

While they roused their tired army and got them moving again, Sakon strode over to where Sun Ce sat and knelt heavily beside him. He didn't stop at one knee, but sank all the way down and bowed his head to the grass in an extremely respectful kowtow. “I'm sorry I failed you.”

Ce heaved a big sigh. “You didn't. We did everything you told us to.” His fingers were idly digging at the grass and stones, scrabbling absently as if trying to touch something real. “Get up, Sakon. I don't need your honor.”

Sitting up, Sakon rested his hands on his knees. “What I said earlier still stands. I'm sticking by you. We fumbled this time, but I won't rest until I've made good on my promises to you. We'll get him, no matter how many times we have to try.”

“Don't. I don't need to hear it right now.” Ce pushed himself up, and then used Sakon's burly shoulder to get himself the rest of the way to his feet. “Let's just get everyone somewhere safe. My failure will not mean their deaths if I have anything to say about it.”

The bigger man shook his head and relented, getting up and going to collect his horse. There was nothing he could say to erase the loss of Sun Jian, even though he knew one small thing that mattered, a point of strategy that allowed logic to override emotion. Sun Jian was still important to the Orochi army, and right now, he was in the custody of the patient Cao Ren. He would remain alive, and Orochi still had him to use as a bargaining chip. Perhaps it was for the best that Sun Quan had not been a part of this venture, for he could now be the assurance that Orochi would not kill their father. Ce might not have wanted to hear it now, but later, after some rest and recovery, Sakon needed to tell him all of this. They would have another chance, but right now, they had to be more concerned about their own lives. The officers who followed him would all be branded traitors to Orochi, and all of them would be targets no matter where they roamed. The ronin wasn't sure whether he could send messages to Oda to get him to bring in all of these people and shelter them among the resistance. For the immediate time being, they were on their own. He could not afford to dwell on the pain of seeing father and son parted, they needed him to be clear-headed and sure. As he pulled himself into the saddle, Sakon watched Ce mount up and move out at Zhou Yu's side. He was more than certain, now, that he had made the right choice who to serve.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The different factions begin to move in their own directions; the aftermath of Osaka, the state of the Sima clan, and a rescue battle.

The Oda Resistance had the good fortune of being able to take a more or less direct route back to Honnoji to regroup after their spot of trouble in the mountains, and for a time, they had the pleasure of resting in comfort while their leader collected all the intelligence reports that had been waiting for him at the temple compound. There was much he needed to hear, news from all over regarding who was conquering who this week, but his interest lay primarily in the scattered reports of unaffiliated officers all over the land, wherever they may be. The spy reports about the Nanzhong were of no concern to him, he focused instead on whispers from distant corners of the known map. Meeting at Honnoji allowed him to finally catch up with Mitsuhide and learn about the fate of his youngest retainer, while Guan Ping found some time to go and sit with Maeda Toshiie and ask him about how to deal with knowing that their families were fighting for Orochi. They all enjoyed a short vacation from trouble, but eventually, Oda knew he could not wait for word from Sakon. He still had work to do, and he had his eye on a few reports that others might have overlooked. It was merely a matter of dividing his forces appropriately, for it would not serve the Resistance to underestimate their foes and send too few troops even on the smallest errands. One afternoon, he called Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, and Toshiie into his war room to discuss their options. Warm sunshine spilled in through the wide windows that looked out on a flower-strewn courtyard which no longer bore any scars from the fire or the battle which had taken place here. A table placed in the center of the room had their most current map spread out on it, with pieces taken from a shogi board standing in for the castles, fortresses, and valuable tracts of land scattered across the patchwork world. It was curious seeing it all like this, being able to read that a castle known as Bai Di lay between Odawara and Edo or that Sekigahara butted up against the lands of Xiliang and the island of Kyuushuu now sat in the middle of barren land rather than ocean. There were far too many gaps, yet, and other places where it was simply noted that a fortress or village lay here and there, as yet unnamed. The gathered retainers studied the map for a while, even as their lord had a small taste of wine poured for them so they could consider it a casual meeting. “So you’re saying Sakon is likely to be around here, now,” Mitsuhide noticed, trailing his fingers over the piece marking Osaka. “How soon until we know whether his efforts have borne fruit?”

“In some way or another, we should be able to tell soon enough,” Oda said cryptically. “I do not expect that he will return to me, though.”

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Hideyoshi remarked. “I wanted to tell him all about my adventure.”

“The time for tales will be much later, Monkey,” Oda smirked. “Focus on our own tasks ahead, please.”

“Like what? Finding another strategist to replace Sakon?”

“Perhaps.”

Toshiie leaned in over the map, his fingers curling around his cup of wine. “Boy, look at all the territory Orochi’s army has claimed. They’ve left some giant gaps in their defense, but for the most part, they’ve got some pretty big blocks of land all to themselves. No wonder the resistance cells are having a hard time getting together – this swath here almost divides the land in two.”

“Precisely why Lord Nobunaga had to skirt around it through Tong Gate,” Mitsuhide noted. “Some of these mountain passes are the only way to safely pass from east to west. And even then, the roads pass far too close to Orochi-controlled fortresses.”

“I’m thinking it might be time to start taking some of those back, but do we have the manpower for it, yet?” Toyotomi said wisely. “And what about the other two upstarts?”

“You mean the Tiger and the Dragon?” Nobunaga closed his eyes briefly in contemplation. “They have decided upon their own method of strengthening the resistance, which apparently involves not cooperating with anyone besides one another. Though, each of them has tried reaching out to me, in the past. Perhaps it’s getting to be time for me to return the favor.”

“I don’t see that ending well,” Toshiie chuckled.

“Nevertheless, our lord is right,” Mitsuhide put in. “A conference with Takeda and Uesugi will give us a better picture of their plans, so we may form our own.”

“I will consider sending a message to them to suggest the idea,” Oda mused, beginning to pace around the table and his men, “but I will reserve the decision for later. In the meantime, I am quite interested in getting a foothold elsewhere. Say…here.”

He moved between Mitsuhide and Toshiie to place a finger on a spot further northwest, not really anywhere in particular according to the map. The vast, black ocean which encircled Orochi’s dimension was some distance to one side, and there were some mountains and viable passes not too far away on the other side, and notably, Orochi-held territory bordering it rather closely. The map also bore a name, too insignificant to warrant a shogi piece to mark it. “What’s there?” Hideyoshi wondered. “Anything? A swamp, a traveling circus, what?”

Toshiie squinted at the writing on the map. “Xia Pi?”

“I need to teach you to pronounce the Han dialect properly.” Oda resumed pacing, passing behind Mitsuhide and continuing toward Hideyoshi. “Xiapi is the name of a fortress once home to the most formidable warrior of the three kingdoms of the Han, Lu Bu. But that’s not why I want it.”

“My lord,” Mitsuhide said with a touch of concern, “I cannot see any reason to hold a fortress there. It is no closer to the mountain passes than some other places, and there are no other castles within striking distance.”

“But can you see any reason for the Orochi army to claim it, aside from it merely existing?”

“Well…no, I suppose not…”

“Then why, I wonder, are Wei troops headed that way, according to this morning’s reconnaissance?”

The three officers looked at him, not amused by his theatrics but very interested in this information. “Are they, now?” Akechi mused. “It’s possible Cao Pi is up to something on his own. Or, perhaps it isn’t the fortress itself that they’re after.”

“What, is there some kind of treasure locked up there?” Toyotomi wondered.

“You may be closer to the mark than you think, Monkey.” Nobunaga reached his starting point and took up his own wine cup, though he did not yet drink. “There is much chaos spread across this map. Officers leading small platoons of their own people are driven this way and that by the winds of war. When they don’t know where the Resistance is, or who is leading it, they have no choice but to hole up in the nearest unclaimed stronghold. Case in point, our misguided friends in Kyuushuu.”

Hideyoshi shot him a smirk. “All right, stop with the riddles and just tell us. Who’s there, and do you want us to go fetch him?”

Nobunaga smiled behind the rim of his cup as he raised it to his lips. “I actually have no idea. But someone is, and I believe the entire world is better off if we personally see to it that neither the Orochi army nor Cao Pi is allowed to just wipe them out.”

“Well, geez, if that was all you wanted, you should have just said so in the first place and we could have skipped this whole meeting,” Toyotomi teased. “Although, then we wouldn't have gotten to have drinks, so I guess I can let it slide this time.”

“Who do you want to send, my lord?” Toshiie queried.

“Actually...” Oda sipped his wine and looked around the table. “...all three of you will do nicely. You are fine ambassadors for our cause. I believe I will be quite secure with all of the Shu forces here to protect me.”

“Flattery gets you everywhere,” Hideyoshi chuckled, taking a gulp of his drink. “All right, looks like we've got some work to do.”

Maeda tossed back his entire drink in one shot. “Fine by me, I need to get out and stretch my legs. Just...” He cast his lord a concerned sort of look. “...while we’re gone, don't get on Guan Ping's case too much, would you? He's doing better but all the same...”

Oda met his gaze coolly, even as the other two moved past them to leave the conference to get their forces prepared. “Do not misunderstand me, Toshiie,” he murmured. “I like the boy. He is proud and bold and intensely loyal.”

“He's also going through something you might not be able to sympathize with, given that Nobutada is nice and safe here in your army,” Toshiie pointed out. “His loyalty and strength come from the same gentle heart that is struggling to understand his father.”

“But of course,” Oda responded. “Nevertheless, I am not in the habit of coddling any of my men. If that duty falls to you instead, so be it.”

He didn't expect that Nobunaga would bother Guan Ping about his moping, but Toshiie still felt the need to make his feelings known. With that out of the way, he gave his lord a nod and followed after the other two. The fortress of Xiapi was going to be a tough ride through Orochi-guarded territory to reach in any sort of timely fashion. They would have to set up and get moving rather quickly.

Things were not so orderly in other parts of the world. When the small group of Wei officers completed their journey up from the south, they found Osaka Castle in chaos, the scent of black powder still in the air from the use of cannons and an uncertain mingling of demons and men everywhere. The soldiers, at least, knew them on sight, and waved them in gratefully. Zhang Liao watched a cluster of sentries race past their horses, heading out into the woods surrounding the castle compound. “This looks like trouble,” he remarked to his comrades. “We had best find Lord Cao Ren without delay.”

“What a beautiful castle,” Guo Jia said, as if ignoring him. “It's a shame there are so many reptiles holed up here, they spoil the view.”

Leaving their tired soldiers in the main ward, the three officers rode all the way inside to the courtyard of the keep, and fortunately, did not have to search any further to find their countryman. Cao Ren was, at the moment, standing at the top of the stairs in the wide-open doorway, engaged in a heated argument with the demon captain who had been sent to oversee his forces. “I will not take the blame for losing the prisoners!” Mamushi snarled at his human counterpart. “As far as I'm concerned, you were in charge here. The fault is yours!”

Cao Ren rarely lost his temper, but the way he glared from under his helm, his comrades below could tell he was fairly close to it at the moment. “The only one Lady Da Ji was concerned about has been recovered. Shall I tell her that it was _your_ men who nearly killed him? She wants him alive, that is not even in question.”

“He killed an entire platoon!” Mamushi shot back. “They were only defending themselves!”

“Then you can tell her. Not me.” Cao Ren glanced at the flicker of movement off to his side, and seemed to visibly sag with relief to recognize his fellow officers. “Lord Zhang Liao. Xu Huang, Master Guo Jia. To what do I owe this honor?”

“We were summoned north on a warning that you may need our help,” Xu Huang replied as he dismounted. “It seems we were too late, however.”

Ren shook his head slowly. “I fear things have gotten out of my control. There was an attempt made last night to liberate Lord Sun Jian from our custody. We were unable to capture the culprits, and as a result, Mamushi here has demanded control of Osaka Castle from me.”

“Then, Sun Jian has been freed?” Guo Jia asked with unusual seriousness.

“No. We managed to recover him before this fool's demon soldiers killed him.” Cao Ren lifted his chin stubbornly, showing no shame at what he had to report. “It appears Sun Ce has betrayed Orochi and turned on him, taking several Wu officers with him.”

All three officers recoiled in surprise, though Guo Jia's reaction was more of a flinch of interest that raised his eyebrow. “Well, then,” Zhang Liao grunted. “Perhaps Lord Cao Pi sent us here at the right time anyway. May we see the state of the prisoner?”

“Of course.” Ignoring Mamushi's spluttered protests at welcoming more Wei officers into the castle, Cao Ren led the way into the keep and up to the top floor. The damage from the attack was in the process of being repaired, torn wall screens already replaced and the prisoner now relocated to a new room with a locked door. All of his men escaped, Sun Jian had been recaptured alone on the path where he slew as many demons as he could before being overwhelmed. He reclined on a rather nice couch inside his prison, most of his wounds neatly cleaned and bandaged, though he still sported a nasty-looking cut across his forehead. He sat up at the sound of the lock being pulled back, and received his visitors with a tired half-smirk. Cao Ren stepped all the way up to him. “How are you feeling today, Sun Jian?”

“Well enough.” Jian glanced over and gave Zhang Liao a wry look. “I feel like a sip of wine would do wonders for my headache, but I know prisoners have little say in their accommodations.”

Liao strode over to join his comrade, hooking his thumbs in his belt. “Is it true your son had a hand in the mayhem that now grips this castle?”

“You want me to deny it? I don't see why I should, considering I watched him ring Cao Ren's bell last night.” Jian couldn't resist grinning as Ren looked away, embarrassed. “That was quite a hit, I'm surprised to see you walking around today.”

“Things will not go well for him once word gets out,” Liao said sternly.

“My son can handle himself just fine.” Jian lifted his gaze to meet the one peering back at him. “He didn't come for me on a whim. I have no doubt that he's prepared for the consequences.”

Liao turned to Ren, while Guo Jia stepped over to join them. “Is it safe to leave him in the custody of this snake demon? He won't be killed, will he?”

Ren shook his head. “Whether or not they get along with humans, the demons are wholly committed to obeying the orders of Orochi and Da Ji. She has not yet heard about the escape attempt, I expect, but even when she does, she isn't about to change her mind and order his execution.”

“It was only Sun Ce, correct?” Guo Jia interjected. “Not Sun Quan?”

Sun Jian shook his head slowly. “Only my eldest son and his sworn brother. None of my other children were involved.”

“Make sure Da Ji knows this,” Jia demanded of Cao Ren. “It would be best if you wrote her the message, rather than relying on your reptilian friend downstairs. It may mean owning up to your own mistakes, but if I were you, I wouldn't be too downhearted if she relieved you of command.”

“I am in service to Lord Cao Pi, not that demon,” Ren said gruffly. “She cannot command me to stay or go if he countermands.”

“Oh, guess what? He already has,” Jia smirked. “That is actually why we're here.”

“You sure you want to be discussing this in front of me?” Jian chuckled.

Zhang Liao eyed him for a moment, impressed at his fortitude and good humor in the face of what must have been a massive disappointment bordering on tragedy, and then nodded. “I believe the prisoner is right. As long as his safety is guaranteed, then I have no worries about delivering our messages from Lord Cao Pi.” He took a moment to place his fist before his heart and bow graciously. “Forgive me, my lord, for being one of the many reasons you find yourself here. Master Guo Jia and I failed you, so long ago, and in turn failed our own lord. Some days it feels as though much heartbreak could have been avoided if only Gan Xingba and I had been stronger.”

“If you really wished to make up for it, I would ask to be taken with you, but I know that isn't possible,” Sun Jian said regally, reclining back on his couch. He had taken quite a bit of damage in the fight, and needed rest whether he wanted to admit it or not. “I can tell you boys are up to something, though, so I'll have to be content with that. Your concern for my life is noted, and appreciated.”

All of them bowed to the Lord of Wu, then, and made their way out. Since the top floor of the keep had been dedicated to holding prisoners, Cao Ren's quarters and the war room had been located one floor down, so he led his comrades there to hold court on the things Guo Jia hinted at. Ren removed his helm and gauntlets as he came into the room. “Out with it, then, Master Fengxiao,” he said over his shoulder. “What is our lord's decree?”

Guo Jia breezed in behind him, looking around to admire the beautiful castle décor. “He wanted us to come and assist you as needed, but left open-ended the parameters of that order,” he replied. “It was suggested that, if you were not needed here at Osaka, we should gather you in with us and make our way around to our other allies to see what they might need, and redeploy if necessary. Given that Da Ji's own demon commanders are demanding that you leave the castle and the prisoner with them, I think it would be a good idea if you actually did so.”

“And leave Lord Sun Jian in their hands, with no guarantee that anyone would be able to stand up for him if the demons decided to harm him?” Zhang Liao fretted.

“Patience, Wenyuan,” the strategist implored, raising a hand to hold him back. “Who is all in your command here, Lord Cao Ren?”

Ren set his helmet on a table leaned against it. “I have Pang De, Yue Jin, Cao Zhang, and Hao Zhao here. All of them were injured last night, but Yue Jin the least.”

“Excellent. That works beautifully, as a matter of fact.” Guo Jia leaned on the same table opposite Ren, splaying his fingers out gracefully. “Seeing as you have no strategist on hand, will you take my advice?”

“Of course.”

“Write your letter to Da Ji. Tell her everything – every last detail you remember, of the invaders as well as her own troops. We can leave the injured here, Pang De is capable and your relatives will listen to him. He is every bit as honorable as Wenyuan and Gongming here, he will ensure Sun Jian's safety.” He nodded his blond head to indicate the two stern warriors behind him. “You and Yue Jin will come with us, to deliver your letter to Da Ji in person so that she understands the weight of her actions in choosing where to deploy her demon troops in defiance of the alliance with Lord Cao Pi.”

Cao Ren regarded him with some surprise, that he was able to map out such a cunning plan so quickly. “You know where she is, then?”

“Not exactly. But chances are best she is either at Bai Di or Guandu, where she has spent most of her time.” Jia rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “If she catches wind of even a rumor that Sun Ce has turned his back on her, she will likely head to secure Sun Quan's loyalty first. We should move to intercept her there.” He looked back at the other two for a moment, and then back to Ren. “How quickly can you have that letter composed and be ready to ride?”

It was the middle of the afternoon, so Cao Ren took a moment to think himself. “If time is against us, by sunset. If we can be permitted to wait until morning, that would be better.”

“Alas, time is more than against us,” Jia sighed. “I wish I didn't have to push our men so hard, but we should be away as soon as possible. Our lord's interests, as well as the life of Sun Jian, depend on us getting to Da Ji before her snakes do.”

“Very well, then.” Ren shed more of his armor in order to sit down and start writing. “I will do my part immediately. Yue Jin and the others are in the castle, find them and relay to them your plan.”

Guo Jia bowed to accept his agreement. “Gongming, would you do us all the favor of making sure our men, as well as the prisoner, get the food and rest they need?”

Xu Huang nodded crisply. “As you wish.”

“Thank you.” Guo Jia turned to dismiss the two proud warriors, letting them take care of their duties, before leaving Cao Ren to his writing. This urgent situation was exactly why he offered to Cao Pi to remain with him instead of being deployed. Yet, he could already see even further ahead from their immediate errand. Once Cao Ren was whisked away back to his lord's side, Guo Jia assumed someone would be sent to collect Pang De and the others. Chances were good he would have to volunteer to do so himself, given this new development. At least, he thought, he was finally of use to his young lord. That was not unpleasant at all. And he really did want to see Da Ji for himself, now that he had the chance. He had, perhaps, less than honorable reasons, but he also knew how pleased Cao Pi would be if he could report that the demon strategist was showing signs of being overwhelmed. As he strode through the castle hunting for Yue Jin, he watched the demon soldiers scrambling this way and that to obey orders from their own captain, and frowned to himself. He had been at Zhang Liao's side, with a number of officers including Jin and the two other Cao relatives currently at Osaka, at Cao Cao's orders when Orochi's army rolled over the kingdom of Wu and demolished them. He remembered these demons as their foes, it rankled to see them as allies. So much of the complicated web weaving the kingdoms together as friends and foes had started with that battle. Jia knew his lord was working to untangle that web behind the scenes, in some way, even if he didn't share even half of what he was planning with any of his officers. All Guo Jia could do was trust in Cao Pi, and forge ahead with his own plans. So far, so good.

While the various factions moved their armies in all directions, and Sun Ce quietly withdrew his disheartened forces to camp in the deep wilderness between Liang Province and the mountains, the remaining Wu forces at Bai Di had no inkling of what was going on with their countrymen elsewhere. Sun Quan was, at the moment, in a strategy meeting with Da Ji, trying to convince her to allow him to ride to Xin Di to oversee troop movements there, since it belonged to the Wu kingdom and he was more than familiar with the territory. There were rumors of pirates on the waters just off the coastline, there, and no matter how much the demon strategist trusted some of her advisers and commanders, he swore there were some things about the Jiangdong region they might not know. Thus, neither of them were available to notice when a lone messenger from the Tokugawa rode to the gate of the castle to deliver a missive, addressed to one of the lesser officers of Wu.

Ding Feng looked every part the bruiser, a massive man who seemed to scowl more than smile, but he was actually quite intelligent and even gentle to some. He was content to have his life, and be able to serve Sun Quan, and kept Daqiao company while her husband was away, meeting with her once in a while to arrange flowers to brighten up their officers' quarters. The letter came to his hands while he was engrossed in such an activity, and he paused to read it, his heavy face developing an even deeper frown as he absorbed the information. Daqiao noticed his lengthy silence, and turned to watch him as his face fell and his eyes grew dark. “Master Ding Feng?” she wondered. “Is something wrong?”

The burly warrior looked up from his letter and took a deep breath, attempting to banish his shock and worry. “N-no, my lady,” he tried to assure, hurriedly shoving the letter inside his coat. “It just. Uh. It seems Lord Tokugawa will be delayed in returning to us. He wanted me to tell Lady Ina.”

Daqiao looked at him, positive he was lying, but knew it would be rude to call him on it. “That is unfortunate news.”

“It is, indeed.” He moved back to the table. “Oh, that is a lovely way to place the chrysanthemums. They are a sacred flower, arranging them so gives so much meaning to the piece...”

When their father was away attending to the demands of Da Ji, the Sima sons and their retainers were allowed to take up residence in Ueda Castle, which Orochi's forces still controlled even though they had long since pulled away the Wei officers who had once guarded prisoners there. It was as much summer around the castle as it had been at Kawanakajima, but there were more peasants around the area tending better crops, and the land enjoyed a modicum of peace and prosperity given who was in control. At the moment, Zhong Hui was away serving Cao Pi as part of an officer exchange, and Sima Yi had not yet returned from the south, so things were extremely quiet. Even the snake demons had been pulled away, leaving only the brothers and their people maintaining the place, and Sima Shi was determined not to let anyone sneak in and wrest it away from them as had happened at Kawanakajima. Not that there were any threats, but it gave him something to do, arranging and rearranging the sentries and scouts, closing off access to the canals, and having brush cleared from some of the trails so that they could have a better view of anyone approaching. While he stayed busy, his brother did the opposite, whiling away most afternoons napping or lounging in the oddest places. Despite his occasional lethargy, Sima Zhao was a curious man, and took pleasure in long walks or rides in the countryside, learning from the peasants of Wa who lived at the foot of the castle they knew well from their own time and place, and finding out the little secrets of the castle that could lead to more interesting places to nap unmolested. It wasn't a terrible way to spend his time, though the more he ingratiated himself to the peasants, earning their trust and repaying it with rewards, the more he wondered how much longer until his service to the Orochi army would turn on him and put these nice people in danger. For the moment, he and his brother were Orochi's in name only, a duty trickled down to them from their father. The only fighting they had done on Orochi's behalf had been their vain attempt to fend off the Oda Resistance. But how much longer could that last, he wondered as he sat on a horse beneath a shady tree at the edge of the farm fields below the castle. What if their father returned and ordered them all to accompany him from now on, instead of relying on whoever Orochi sent with him? What if the Resistance grew to where they needed a place like Ueda? He watched the peasants tilling the summer crop of wheat, and wondered what would become of them if the war finally found them here. And what of the ones Ma Chao had rescued? He hoped they were okay, somewhere, anywhere else.

Upon returning to the castle, Zhao let an attendant take his horse and dusted himself off before heading inside. He knew his wife would pester him if he tracked too much dirt into the elegant interior of the castle, but he couldn't help it. He heard Shi's voice and glanced to see him discussing castle repairs with one of his peons, but continued onward, not sure what he was looking for but assured he would know it when he found it. The keep was so quiet, even with so many officers calling it home for now, roomy and easy to get lost in, particularly if the shoji screens were moved to create new rooms or divide some off from one another. Zhao meandered through them and came out to the wooden balcony on the back side of the castle, which overlooked nothing but forest and rocks. It was cool and shady, though, and that was what he wanted. As he sat on the railing, intent on making himself comfortable, Guo Huai came down the stairs from the next floor. “Oh, young master. You're back. How was your ride?”

“Uneventful,” Zhao admitted. “Say, Boji, can I ask you kind of a dangerous question? It's not personal, don't worry. It's just...not the kind of thing I can really talk to anyone else about.”

A setup like that made Huai tilt his head curiously. “But of course, Zhao. I would be happy to listen to any of your concerns. But...what's this about dangerous?”

Zhao's chosen perch afforded him a good view of the stairs going both up and down, so he could tell if anyone was coming from either direction. He craned his neck to make sure his brother, in particular, was not anywhere nearby before continuing. “Well...if you were in command of an army, wouldn't you consider it dangerous if some of your men were talking about defecting?”

The older man's eyes widened even more than usual. “What? Defecting? What are you talking about?”

“Shh! Not so loud!” Zhao waved him down, and then gestured for him to come closer. “I told you, I don't know who else to talk to about this. It really can't get back to Ziyuan. And I can already hear Yuanji scolding me for even thinking about it.”

Guo Huai leaned in close, his stooped shoulders providing them enough of a wall to screen them from eavesdroppers. “Are you saying you were thinking about defecting?” 

“I don't know.” Zhao looked down at his feet dangling just above the wooden slats. “Things aren't so bad, I know, we've been given a decent castle to live in and don't really have any duties besides looking after it. But I can't help but wonder if it's only the calm before the storm. When Father gets back, things might change, and not for the better.”

“That's a fairly big assumption to make, if you don't mind me saying.” Huai leaned against the post nearest Zhao's position. “True, things did not go quite as planned when he returned from the south the first time, but he was rather confident in the forces he took with him this time. Who knows? If he was successful, he may be down there a while, setting up an occupation and thoroughly completing the conquest.”

While the idea of his father being stuck as lord of some fortress in the jungles long-term sounded amusing, it didn't quite wipe the worries from Sima Zhao's mind. “Which leaves my brother in charge of our forces,” he groused. “It's not that I don't trust Shi, quite the opposite, but...I'm concerned.” He fixed his retainer with anxious eyes. “None of us even know why my father has decided to follow Orochi, he hasn't shared his reasons with any of us. Except maybe Shi, but if so, he hasn't told me or anyone else, either. All we can do is sit tight and follow orders, even if it sounds like a bad idea. I mean...Orochi's a _demon!_ He's cruel and wicked, and I'm sure given the right chance he would just as soon kill us all. That's far worse than any despot or tyrant I've ever heard of, worse than the ones who toppled the dynasty, worse than any emperor in our history. What could we possibly gain by serving this creature?”

“Our lives, perhaps?” Guo Huai's tone was quiet, but not accusing. “I know, young master, I know it seems senseless. We have no choice but to trust that your father knows what he's doing.”

“And if he doesn't?” Zhao's expression tightened suddenly. “You didn't see him ranting and raving at Oda Nobunaga when we were captured. I don't know, I feel like...maybe my father is on the wrong track, Boji. I'm worried about him, for his own sake as much as ours. If he attaches himself to this demon, what happens when everyone turns on him? Worse, what happens when he becomes disposable?”

“As to the second thing...that is what your father has had to deal with much of his life,” Huai sighed. “As do many of us loyal officers, who may wake up one morning to find that our years of dedicated service to one lord means our necks are the first on the block when that lord is deposed. It is the nature of our ranks and our bloodlines. For the first...” He shook his head. “I can't really say.”

“The Resistance is growing, and their intention is to fight back against Orochi,” Zhao noted. “Sooner or later, they're going to go up against him. Now, it's not like I don't know what it's like to fight on a side in a war and not be sure if you're going to win, but this isn't like a typical war. There's demons, there's sorcery, there's stuff I don't even know how to describe. We're all trying to pick up and survive like nothing's different, but everything's different. Most battles, what's right or wrong is in the opinion of each side going into it. Here? There's definitely a right side and a wrong side. A good, and an evil.”

Guo Huai gazed at him for a long time. “You have been thinking long about this, haven't you?”

“It's all I do with my time, anymore.” Zhao fidgeted, running his fingers along the smooth edge of his leather bracer. “I don't like thinking of myself as being on the evil side, even if it's just to support my father.”

Huai knew the abuse of the peasants had weighed heavily on Zhao, and while it directly led to their inability to hold Kawanakajima, there was also the side effect of simply being a bad move. Zhao never struck him as particularly interested in justice, but he did care about people far more than his ambitious father. He set a hand on Zhao's arm to reassure him. “You have done nothing evil, Zishang. I would encourage you to remember that. But if there comes a time when you are faced with the choice, I mean actually faced with it, right and wrong demanding you choose one over the other, I would never fault you for choosing right. No matter who it inconveniences.”

“No matter if it means betraying my father, maybe even my brother?”

“It is never so simple.” Huai held out a beseeching hand, palm up. “Your father and brother need you, and if they can't see it for themselves, you will have to make them see. If they truly are on the wrong path, then you have to be the one to protect them from themselves.”

Zhao sagged a little, and lifted his head to give his retainer a wry smile. “You're telling me not to think about defecting. I hear you.”

“Ah, no, you haven't heard me right at all,” Huai said, raising a thin finger. “I'm telling you to bide your time, young master. Something like that right now would be a foolish, knee-jerk reaction, nothing more than jumping at shadows. But down the road, who knows? Perhaps you are completely right and will have to do it. In the meantime, you have the clearest sight of any in your family, you can see where they're headed and may be able to step in and nudge them away from the proverbial cliff.”

Zhao blinked a few times, and then softened with a genuine smile. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Guo Huai.”

“What are friends for?” Huai patted him on the arm and stepped back. “If I were you, I would focus on maintaining readiness. And, ah...enjoying your naps. You never know when things are going to change, and leave you wishing you had time for those things again.” He nodded and then continued on down the stairs, returning to whatever he had been doing before being interrupted.

Sima Zhao watched him go, and then leaned his back against the post, tipping his head back. It wasn't much comfort, but it was something. His brother, he trusted. As ambitious and cold as he could be, Shi at least had a sense of compassion, and an understanding of what was right. But Zhao felt like something had gone off with their father, that his grudges and goals had been corrupted by being too close to the demons. Maybe Guo Huai was right and it wasn't too late, yet. The only way to know was to see what Sima Yi had to say upon returning from his latest campaign. Zhao was not looking forward to it, either way.

  


The march of time had many territories across the land caught in the throes of winter, but at least Xiapi came from a climate where even the deepest winter still meant little more than a dusting of snow. Perhaps it was influenced by the spring and summer lands around it, too. Still, the smallest amount of cold sapped the courage of the weak, and drifts of snowflakes served as a rude reminder of what they lacked. The fortress had not been maintained well, it was low on supplies and getting worse as winter tightened its grip. Having fled there from Changban, Lu Xun and his men were not well-prepared for the change, and by now, had taken to scrounging what they could from the land, hunting and salvaging. Every time they thought about making a run for a better land, the movements of the Orochi army on all sides of them forced them back to the castle. He was grateful for the quiet strength of Ling Cao, who had been an officer for a long time and understood the hardships of war. The older man was well-versed in what they needed to do to survive, and could walk among the troops encouraging them with sincerity, hiding any concerns or fears behind his authority. He listened to Lu Xun's worries and did his best to help, but by now, even he could see the writing on the wall. They sat huddled around a fire in the deepest chamber of the fortress, keeping it fed to ward off the cold, wrapped in whatever cloaks and blankets they had managed to scrounge. “I hate to say it, young master,” Cao murmured to his commanding officer, “but we're going to have to risk it.”

Lu Xun closed his eyes. “I know. We really have no choice. This castle will become our tomb if we wait much longer. But, I'm afraid our men don't have the strength to fend off any Orochi scouts that might spot us.”

“Most of them are of the opinion that they would rather die fighting than fall asleep in the cold and never wake up,” Cao sighed.

Hearing it stated so bluntly made Lu Xun flinch, but he knew he felt the same. “Then we will give them that chance. I will prepare a strategy to get us past the most dangerous regions nearby, and then it may simply have to be up to chance.”

He moved to snake a hand out of his blanket and grope for a map, but didn't get far. There was a pounding at the door, and one of their men let himself in, dropping to his knee to give a report. “My lord! An army approaches!”

Both officers stood swiftly. “Friend or foe?” Lu Xun had to ask.

“Wei,” the scout said, clearly afraid. “There is no mistaking it.”

Throwing off the extra blanket, Xun swept his cloak around him and strode to the door, following the scout to the wall and scrambling up the ladder to the parapet to have a look for himself. The south gate of the fortress lay very close to the encircling moat and the garrisons just beyond, the direction from which the army was advancing. It wasn't hard to see from this close distance that it was indeed a Wei force. Lu Xun looked down at the soldiers gathering in the courtyard below. “Everyone! Withdraw into the castle and bar the gates!”

As his men hurried to obey, Xun looked out to see a lone horse approaching from the invading army, making its way slowly over the stone bridge to the landing right before the gate. The rider drew to a stop and looked up, raising his hand to shade his eyes against the faint sun shining frostily through a pall of thin cloud. Tousled and scruffy, he wore a blue coat signifying his allegiance to Wei, and didn't look as stern and angry as the usual cadre of officers. “Hello!” he called out, seeing someone atop the parapet. “Lu Xun of Wu, am I correct?”

“Who is asking?” Xun wasn't sure he recognized this fellow. “And why do you come against us with an army of such size?”

“My name is Xu Shu, and at the moment, I serve Lord Cao Pi of Wei,” the interloper replied. “In his absence, it falls to me to do some of his official work. Such as demanding the surrender of Orochi's enemies.”

Xun glared down at that. He knew about Cao Pi's alliance, Sakon had told him ages ago, but this was the first he had actually run directly into the Wei army. Little did he know that Xu Shu had actually been keeping tabs on him since he fled Changban. “What business is it of Cao Pi's whether one lonely Wu officer is roaming free?” he called back. “My resistance was already ended at Changban, I have nothing more to give in service to anyone!”

Shu ruffled a hand through his own hair. “Maybe so, but orders are orders. We're not supposed to let anyone who ever raised a sword against Orochi remain free to build another resistance army.”

For a moment, Xun's temper rose out of his control. “Curse Orochi and everyone who kowtows to him!” he yelled down. “Leave us alone, we want nothing to do with you or him!”

Shu sighed and turned his horse. “I'm sorry to hear that. I was really hoping we could just take you in quietly, but if you'd rather fight, so be it.” He ambled away, clearly in no hurry. His affable nature aside, the threat was clear, and loomed in the shape of the dark mass of soldiers gathering on the other side of the bridge.

Lu Xun immediately regretted his outburst, but not the outcome. Being captured by Orochi meant the same fate as Sun Jian, something he feared more than death. Climbing down from the wall, he gathered his men around him and faced them solemnly. “I'm sorry, my friends. I have led you to a terrible place. We have very little in the way of supplies, so if the Wei army decides to besiege us here, we may not last long. We can try to wait this out, or we can make an attempt at escaping, and I'm not sure which is the better idea. My only hope is that you have enough strength in you for one last charge. If we can cut even a narrow path through our foes, we may yet see the light of hope.”

The soldiers looked worriedly at him. “We are to fight?” one whimpered.

“Soon. Conserve your strength until then,” Xun explained. “Ling Cao, please, distribute what we have left to everyone. Have as much to eat as you can, and stay warm. I will stand watch for you all, and when I see an opening in the Wei siege, I will lead you to freedom.”

“Yes, Lord Lu Xun,” Ling Cao said firmly. “It will be as you command.”

His faith in the young strategist raised the spirits of the rest of the assembled soldiers just enough. He went to the storehouse and threw the doors open, and began handing out the last of the food in order to strengthen the soldiers for whatever last stand they were about to make. If they were to die fighting, they would die warm and well-fed. Lu Xun turned away and went to pace the perimeter of the walls, checking on the movements of the army. There was a gate that looked northward across the cold shoulders of the hills, but there was nothing but wilderness that way, a death trap as sure as walking into the arms of the invaders. It might be their only chance, if they could exit and make a run for it before the Wei army could get into position. He studied their chances and gauged the distance, and began to form his plan.

Across the bridge, Xu Shu returned to the army and relayed the outcome of the negotiation. “I'm not surprised,” Zhang Liao sighed. “Are you positive we have this obligation?”

The group of Wei officers which had set out from Osaka castle a few days before, en route to meet up with Da Ji, had run into Xu Shu along the way, and heard his request for reinforcements to assist him in apprehending a foe. Now that they had come as far as Xiapi, they were starting to have their doubts, but Xu Shu knew something they didn't. “Unfortunately, yes,” he said sadly. “I came across this small force not too long ago, and reported to Lady Da Ji their whereabouts. She said he was a renegade, and ordered that we bring him in.”

Guo Jia clapped a hand to his face. “You shouldn't have done that, my friend. Your reports should be made to Lord Cao Pi.”

“I don't know where he is right now,” Shu protested. “The messengers I sent to Jianye said he wasn't there, and together we were all intercepted by Da Ji.”

“That means she is nearby, at least,” Cao Ren grunted. “Perhaps it will soften the blow of the letter I plan to deliver her if we can bring her some captives.”

Guo Jia tipped his head in a sort of shrug. “That is a good point...”

“But they are nothing!” Xu Huang argued. “A tiny force led by a young Wu strategist alone, what good would it do to besiege them?”

“They looked worn out,” Shu added. “They've been here a while, they can't be very strong.”

“We don't have time for a siege,” Ren said with a shake of his head. “It took us far too long to even get here. We will have to push in, break down the gate, and capture them.”

“Unfortunately, we really have no choice,” Jia agreed. “We had best get this over with quickly, to minimize time wasted as well as casualties. Lord Zhang Liao, would you take your men and circle around to the paths north of the castle? If I recall correctly, there is another castle entrance there, near the floodgates. If we can attack from two sides at once, we can overwhelm them in no time.”

“Do as he says,” Cao Ren ordered. “Surround them and take them down.”

The officers split up to obey, Zhang Liao taking Yue Jin with him while Xu Huang and Guo Jia prepared to circle around to the west. Cao Ren would stay at his current position and press toward the main gate, though they were all wary of the possibility that the castle defenders would trigger the floodgates and send a wall of water washing over the bridge, cutting them off and wiping them out. As long as Ren had their attention and kept them focused on keeping him out, he could buy his forces time to encircle the castle. So much for taking a quick and simple route to meet up with Da Ji.

Lu Xun was still pacing the walls, keeping watch, when he heard the thud of doors being thrown open and the thunder of marching feet. The officers who had been accompanying Xu Shu came running over the bridge, weapons bared and a battle cry on their lips. The Wu strategist startled – this was not at all what he had expected from the Wei army. Why would they attack when they could simply sit back and starve them out with no effort? He came running down from his watch post, drawing his paired swords at once. “To arms! The Wei army is assaulting us! Up, everyone, get up and move!”

The soldiers leaped up after him, grabbing for their weapons. “What?” Ling Cao roared. “What are they thinking?”

“I don't know, but they're assaulting the main gate! Hurry – there's no time!” Lu Xun directed his men with sweeps of his sword. “If we want to get out of here, there's only one way – the north gate! Form into units, and...”

A crash signaled that the main gate had already been breached. Wei soldiers in blue streamed into the corridors of the fortress, forcing the men of Wu to turn and fight them off before they could even think of escaping. Lu Xun threw himself into the fray without hesitating, his paired Eagle swords whirling dangerously as he cut into the flank and did his best to push the invasion force back out the gate. His heart raged, he knew he had let his men down by failing to anticipate a direct attack so soon. He fought with all his might, whipping his cloak off and throwing it into the faces of some of his foes, letting them rend it to shreds in a desperate attempt to get it off them and using it as a distraction to allow him to get in closer and make several crucial hits. He didn't need it anyway, he was already drenched in sweat from his efforts. At one point, Ling Cao grabbed his arm and pulled him back from the front line. “Young master, you should get away from here!” he urged. “Let us secure your retreat, you're more important to the resistance than...”

“No!” Xun blazed at him. “We all get out of here together, or none of us do! Go to the north gate, Ling Cao, tell me if the way is blocked yet.”

“And if it is?”

“We hold out. It's going to be tough, but what choice do we have?” He spun and slashed at an enemy soldier who had gotten too close. “Please!”

“Yes, sir.”

The battle raged on, looking more and more dire by the minute. Ling Cao threw open the north gate just enough to have a peek, and then pulled it shut when he saw the contingent of Wei troops led by Zhang Liao sitting at the far end of the path waiting for them to come out. They were trapped. He didn't have the heart to report to Lu Xun, resting his head against the door and closing his eyes. He could only hope that somewhere, in this strange land, his son was doing better than him. Collecting himself, he turned to his commander, only to find Lu Xun stumbling back, his coat torn and his hat knocked off. “I can't...I can't hold out,” he panted. “This isn't looking good...”

The door against which Ling Cao had leaned a moment before suddenly shuddered with a blow, as if someone were knocking with a very large stick, and then fell open to permit a horse to burst onto the scene. Cao yelped in surprise. “No! The gate has been breached!”

Lu Xun managed to draw himself up to meet the challenge one more time, feeling like it might be his last. “The enemy has entered the castle!” he warned his men.

“No, wait!” The invading rider turned his horse and held his hands up defensively, though he did carry a weapon in one. “I'm just a monkey, not a snake! I'm here to help you!”

The two officers recoiled, but then Toyotomi Hideyoshi sprang from the saddle and raced past them, leaving them be while he slammed his triple-staff into the last few Wei soldiers still grappling with the Wu men. A few moments later Maeda Toshiie joined him, and together the two of them completely drove back the invasion. They helped the Wu soldiers re-bar the front gate and then returned to where Lu Xun was now sitting, exhausted and confused, on the steps leading into the fortress. “Good job, everybody!” Toshiie complimented them, stowing his poleaxes for a moment. “Are you all right?”

“Ooh, you don't look so good, young man.” Hideyoshi crouched next to Lu Xun. “Cheer up, the Oda army is here to give you a hand.”

“Oda...?” Lu Xun lifted his head and stared Toyotomi full in the face, remembering the twinkling eyes of Shima Sakon. “Backup? At a time like this?”

“That's right.” Hideyoshi straightened up and offered a hand to help the young strategist to his feet. “Hope you don't mind. We noticed you were having a little trouble and figured we'd get nosy and step in.”

“Thank you,” Xun breathed, beside himself in relief. “Thank you! We need your help. I thought we were all done for...”

He took Toyotomi's hand and let himself be pulled up. “Don't celebrate just yet,” Toshiie warned, “there's a few more troublemakers on the path out back. We rode past before they could stop us, but I don't think they'll let us come back through with you.”

“What do you say? Are you partial to this damp pile of rocks, or do you wanna get out of here?” Hideyoshi grinned.

“All we needed was a chance,” Lu Xun said with a wobbly sort of smile. “My men are worn down, though, we could use your assistance clearing a path.”

“That's what we're here for. C'mon.” Hideyoshi swung back up into the saddle. “We'll handle the Wei army for you, you just take the path to the west. We set up a hasty camp over that way, you should find more help waiting for you there.”

With Ling Cao trailing, making sure that every last one of their soldiers, injured or not, left the castle, Lu Xun trotted off on foot, following in the wake of the horsemen who had come to their rescue, back out the north gate and off along the roads that wound alongside the floodgates and up the back of the compound. As they went, he realized that alone, they never would have stood a chance – Zhang Liao and Yue Jin were waiting for them, and sprang upon them as soon as Toshiie emerged from behind the castle defenses. For a moment, Xun wanted to help, his instinct burning to fight, but he saw the state of his men as they stumbled past and thought better of it. He didn't know how far they would have to run in order to make the camp of their saviors, so all he could do was urge the foot soldiers onward, telling them not to even look at the Wei troops and just keep moving.

Toyotomi rode up alongside his comrade and together, formed a two-man wall to block the advance of their foes. “Oho, looks like someone wants to fight,” he remarked as he noticed who was coming straight at them.

“I kind of feel like giving him one,” Toshiie said with a wide grin. “May I?”

“By all means, my friend.” Hideyoshi figured he would have his hands full, as there were more soldiers fanning out across the field, trying to get into position to slow down the Wu fighters. In fact, Yue Jin coming at him from the right looked like a lot of fun.

Zhang Liao was all business as he charged, swinging his Blue Wyvern up into position. “Surround the enemy, and wipe them out! Let not a single one escape!” he commanded his men.

“Ohh no you don't!” Maeda spurred his horse to meet him, pulling the two poleaxes off his back as he came and swinging both to meet his foe's rush. Not surprisingly, he knocked Zhang Liao off his horse, and then whirled around to go and hit him again.

The two-handed swing took Liao by surprise, but not for long. He regained his feet and his defensive stance in time, and faced down the burly officer with double the weaponry of his own. “I see, we have some upstarts on the field,” he challenged boldly. “You will enjoy fighting with me, my friend.”

“Something tells me I will, indeed,” Toshiie said with a gusty laugh before springing to the fight. They fought hard, polearms clashing, sparks flying, axes and halberd a blur of steel. Zhang Liao was disturbed to find himself being driven back yet again, but then, the determined onslaught of two axes would have overwhelmed almost anybody. Any of his men who tried to interfere were cut down almost as an afterthought, as Maeda focused solely on his duel partner, swinging the axes so expertly that he could twirl them around his wrists and still slash with all his might. Before too long, Zhang Liao skidded across the snow-dusted grass and found himself backing into Yue Jin, who was having an equally tough time against Toyotomi. Perhaps later, they would regroup and think about how they were not very fresh after their recent battles, but right now, all they could see was that they were being driven back. By now, Lu Xun was well out of sight, and even Ling Cao had disappeared over the stone footbridge that led away from the castle. They had no choice, and Liao whistled for his horse. Toshiie still pressed him. “Come on, you're not running away, are you?” he dared.

Liao glowered at him. Flippant warriors, it reminded him too much of Sun Ce. “All forces, fall back!” he bellowed. “Our position has been compromised! Regroup at the main camp!”

Toyotomi wasn't satisfied until they had actually rode away, at which point he gestured for Maeda to mount up as well. “Come on, Lord Mitsuhide will need us at our own main camp.”

Both of them sat for a moment, making absolutely sure that Xiapi was deserted and Zhang Liao had pulled back before turning and riding to catch up with everyone else. Lu Xun had run all the way to the main camp already, and was just stumbling into a garrison that appeared to be stoutly held by these unknown Oda forces. He was at the end of his strength, and pitched forward at the threshold, only to find himself caught by a graceful warrior in layered coats and richly-laced armor. “Easy,” a gentle voice assured. “You are safe, now. I am here to serve you.”

Xun struggled to maintain some dignity, clutching a handful of the man's robe and pulling himself up. “Serve...? But who are you?”

“My name is Akechi Mitsuhide, I am retainer to Oda Nobunaga.” Mitsuhide smiled easily. “He has sent us to assist you, and it looks like we were just in time.”

“That's what the other guy said...” Xun managed to get himself to a respectable sitting position, and picked up his swords. “I don't believe this. To what do I owe this honor?”

“That can wait until we clear the field.” Mitsuhide stood up, setting a hand on his sheathed sword. “The Wei forces have already begun to advance on us, it seems we will have to give them a beating before we can retreat safely.”

Lu Xun started to get up. “Then let me fight alongside you, to thank you...”

“No.” Mitsuhide laid a hand on his shoulder. “Rest. We've got this.” He turned and raised his voice to call out orders. “See to their wounds and get them warm clothing if it can be spared! The rest of you are with me. They are advancing on two sides, we must block both ways and push back.”

At that moment, the other two rode up from behind, herding the last stragglers of Wu into the garrison. “What's it look like, Lord Mitsuhide?” Toshiie called to him.

“Ah, good timing, you two.” Mitsuhide swept a gesture to beckon them through the camp to the far side. “It seems our intrusion has been noticed. The Wei army is headed this way, but I have no doubts we can fend them off. Come, let's push them all the way back to their own camp and put an end to this!”

He strode off on foot, headed one way, while Toyotomi went the other and Maeda remained to hold the main camp secure. Seeing that orders had already been given to tend to the refugees, Toshiie simply smiled at Lu Xun and gave him the space to rest and try to wrap his head around the timely miracle.

From the opposing side, Cao Ren had been beyond nonplussed to learn that a third army had rudely intruded on the battlefield and interfered in their mission. For a moment he forgot all about their larger errand and focused solely on repelling these reinforcements, pulling Xu Shu and his men away from Xiapi Castle and sending them to back up Xu Huang and Guo Jia. When Zhang Liao rode back in to report that they had encountered more of these warriors on the northern path, Cao Ren nearly punched a wall in frustration. “This was supposed to be an easy capture!” he complained. “Why did you not fight with all your strength, Wenyuan!”

Liao glared at him for daring to dismiss his strength, but Yue Jin interrupted before they could come to blows. “We are still exhausted from being marched here at all speed!” he reminded his commander. “These fighters are fresh, I would swear it. They've come from the Oda Resistance.”

“Oda!” Both officers rounded on him. “How do you know?” Cao Ren demanded.

“That one with the bronze armor, who fought you, my lord,” Jin said to Zhang Liao. “I remember him. I was with Lord Cao Pi at Tianshui, and I know I saw him there fighting at Oda's side.”

Liao let out a tired groan. “We do not have the resources to fend off a fresh contingent from Oda's resistance army. We would do better to retreat.”

“Unfortunately, my strategists are both at the front line trying to beat them back,” Ren growled. “Either go and help them, or so help me I will tell Lord Cao Pi you sat on your hands in our hour of need.”

Zhang Liao nearly advanced on him, but Yue Jin slid neatly between them. “Control your temper, my lord,” he said firmly to Ren. “We will do what we can. If we can reach Guo Jia, perhaps he will sound the wise retreat before we lose any more of our men.” He nodded smartly at his commander, who reluctantly backed off and got back on his horse to go and try again. A moment later, the two of them galloped out of the main camp and headed up the western paths to assist their own forces.

Mitsuhide stood his ground at the head of one path, gazing down the length of it as he awaited the fight he could hear coming. They only needed to buy enough time to usher the injured soldiers away from Xiapi, but their exit would be much smoother if they could force Wei back or even secure a surrender. That looked less likely, but he could hope. At least, ahead of him he could see a rather large warrior trudging at the head of the army, an enormous battle axe over one shoulder, and thought to himself, _here they come._ As soon as the big man looked up and spotted him, Mitsuhide drew his sword and settled into a wary stance. “I stand at the point of no return,” he called out in challenge. “If you fight me, you will say farewell to life.”

“If that is my fate, then so be it,” Xu Huang said as he came on, bringing his axe down into both hands to prepare to battle. “I have only done as I was told, and will press on no matter what!”

Mitsuhide let out a superior huff, a cool, deadly smile crossing his lips. “’I was only following orders.’ The words of the weak, which they use to assuage their guilt. Permit me to send you on to seek atonement in the afterlife.”

His confidence was taunt enough even without the cutting words. Xu Huang growled to himself and then charged, pounding across the frozen ground and taking a huge swipe with his axe the moment he was in range. Akechi deftly evaded him, circling around him as he swung again and again as if attempting to swat a fly. One swing buried the axe-blade into the dirt, giving Mitsuhide the opening he wanted. A quick dash and he was inside Huang’s guard, jabbing and taking shorter, efficient swings with his katana. Only the first hit scored blood along Xu Huang’s arm, the rest scraping his armor as he turned to absorb the blows while he worked the axe free and brought it back around with a back-handed slice to drive his opponent away from him. Shifting it back to a two-handed grip, he chased after the swift swordsman, pulling the blade closer to himself in order to be able to move it more quickly to keep up. Mitsuhide kept moving, never alighting for more than a second before kicking off and dashing around the muscled axe-man, first one way then the other, and though the axe itself deflected most of his blows, he managed to get a few more cuts in, until Huang was panting from exertion. He had more than enough stamina to continue, though, and rather suddenly shifted his grip so only one arm was needed to swing the blade hard and fast at his foe. Mitsuhide’s sword came up to save himself being cut, but there was astonishing momentum behind it which threw him several yards away. He landed hard on his shoulder and left a skidding track through the snow. It was enough to convince him not to take this man of Wei lightly, and even as he picked himself up and re-centered his focus and his stance, he found he had no more breath for taunts. Their blades would do all the talking for them

While the din of battle raged around them, Lu Xun sat with his back against a wall, head in his hands, trying to shut it all out. His body had finally given out on him, he couldn't have even stood if he wanted to. His wounds from Changban had healed long ago, but his shoulder was still weak, and now, after enduring all that hard fighting, it ached in the cold. One kind soldier had thrown a fresh cloak over his shoulders, and someone started a haphazard sort of campfire inside the garrison for the refugees to warm themselves, but he still didn't know how to accept it. He thought of Sakon, he remembered him mentioning Oda, telling him...telling him to seek him out, if he needed help. And now, help had come to him unasked-for by this very Oda. Xun didn't need to have it spelled out for him, he knew that he would be leaving with this army no matter what. He would let them take him to Oda, and from there, he would judge for himself whether Sakon's advice was sound. It took a long time for the noise to die down, but eventually it did, and he looked up to find Toshiie standing at the entrance to the camp, arms folded over his thick chest, watching and waiting. Ling Cao stood near him, also keeping watch for his own reasons. Too tired to think, Lu Xun lowered his head into his arms and closed his eyes.

He must have dozed off, for when harsh sounds made him raise his head, startled, he found the camp full of men again, most striding around purposefully but not in fear. The day had waned and the gray clouds had grown thicker, and now light snowflakes were drifting down on them again. Lu Xun rubbed his eyes and tried to get up, but his legs had cramped in that position and he nearly tumbled onto his face. This time, it was Toshiie who caught him. He gave himself a moment, breathing heavily, and then managed a tired chuckle. “I have to stop falling into other people's arms.”

“Heh! What's the matter, still a little wobbly, there?” Maeda helped him right himself and pulled him up to his feet. “It's all right, you're pretty light.”

“What...what is going on? The last thing I remember is sitting down by that wall...is the battle over?”

“Yeah. Everything's fine, we had the upper hand today.” Toshiie turned and waved for Mitsuhide to join them. “Are you up for the formal introductions and all that?”

Xun nodded, and managed to steady himself enough to clasp his fist before his heart, though he didn't bow too deeply out of fear that he might fall over again. “I am Lu Xun, I am an officer of Wu. Whatever help you are able to give me from here on out, I will take it gladly.”

Having introduced himself earlier, Mitsuhide gestured to the men surrounding him. “This is Maeda Toshiie, and over there is Hashiba Hideyoshi. We are glad to have you with us, Master Lu Xun. If you think you can manage, we think it would be best for all of your men if we withdrew from Xiapi and took shelter somewhere warmer.”

Xun nodded, though his eyes held worry yet. “But...the Orochi army...they hold all the paths nearby.”

“Not all of them,” Toshiie assured. “We came by a back way that even the Wei army didn't know about. We should be able to get out of the snow by nightfall, as long as we can keep everybody moving. I'll even lend you my horse for now, how about that?”

Xun bowed his head contritely. “You are too kind. Thank you.”

The commotion that had woken him was the mingled army getting ready to move out, collecting gear and forming loosely into ranks. Toshiie gave him a boost up into the saddle, and then walked ahead of the horse, leading it with a hand on its bridle. Everyone else except Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi was on foot, so that more or less everyone had an equally hard time of it marching away through the frozen grass into the foothills, striking a path that would take them by the shortest route to the next nearest springtime territory. Leading them, the two mounted officers kept their eyes open for any chance of retaliation or spies dogging their tail, but it seemed that when they sent Cao Ren into retreat, the Wei army actually pulled back completely. Not knowing of their secret plans and errands, Mitsuhide was inclined to let them go, since they had their own orders. “Interesting day,” Hideyoshi remarked as they rode. “Guess all that talk around the map table had a purpose after all.”

“It appears Lord Nobunaga’s assumptions about the situation were right,” the samurai beside him murmured. “Though, what reason Cao Pi's men had for attacking Lu Xun, I couldn't say.”

“Think they'll be coming back for the fortress?”

“Not likely. If Lord Nobunaga wants it, it should be free for the taking.” Mitsuhide cast his comrade a little smirk. “Not today, though.”

“Definitely not. Man, Orochi's gotta get the seasons figured out, all this snow in the most inconvenient places. Honestly.” Hideyoshi pulled his neck down into his cowl to try to stay warm. “It'll make a nice little toe-hold eventually, though. Every little bit taken back from Orochi adds up.”

Mitsuhide nodded absently. They were chipping away at Orochi's control very slowly, very small pieces at a time. He had been in on enough strategy sessions with his lord to know that the speed frustrated him as well, and anticipated a much larger strike soon. Those plans hinged on other plans, however, and the success of people Oda had no direct contact with. He glanced back to regard Lu Xun slumped in Toshiie's saddle, and wondered. Could they rely on Wu or Shu to get their act together in time? The Han seemed to have more trouble working together and pulling alliances together than Lord Oda and the other warlords of Hi-no-Moto. At least, thanks to their quick work today, one more lost and lonely officer had been gathered into the safety of the Resistance. That, at least, was more than enough to justify their effort. His own minor injuries suffered fighting Xu Huang did not compare to the magnitude of this rescue, he suffered them gladly for the sake of not just this young man, but his own lord and the cause of freedom. Turning his eyes back to the path ahead, he pulled his layered kimono tighter around himself to ward off the cold and hide his bandages from their men, and thought of warm campfires in a warmer land tonight.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle of Xin Di Castle, featuring a cameo appearance by Chosokabe Motochika.

At the furthest eastern edge of the lands thrown together to create Orochi's realm, a great ocean stretched out beyond sight and no one could say whether anything else lay beyond it. The general assumption was no, since pieces of islands had been ripped up wholesale from the real world and plunked down in the middle of land-locked territory, but there was still a long coastline sprawling from north to south, meaning for those with the daring and the know-how, there was another route to travel to get around hostile territory. For those who had spent their lives on land and didn't know much of boats beyond the flat-bottomed scows that traversed the rivers of their homelands, the sea was every bit as much a demon as Orochi himself. The Shu Resistance under Zhao Yun had already run into a number of obstacles in their journey toward the lands of Wu, not the least of which was meeting up with some of their own allies who had to report to them the fall of Odani Castle. Now, they were encamped near the seashore far south of their destination, stumped by the veritable barricade of Orochi-controlled lands and castles between them and Xin Di. It was a case of so close and yet so far, and some of the strongholds in their way held large armies, possibly even the eastern headquarters of Da Ji herself. They had no choice but to try to force their way through, it seemed, but they didn't have the manpower – it would be suicide, and nothing more. Zhao Yun chafed with the frustration, as he had come to place a little too much hope in the idea that his lord may be the one imprisoned in Wu and every day spent racking their brains for a strategy to simply get to the castle in question felt like an eternity of torture. He was careful to keep it to himself, though, and of the officers around him, only Yukimura really had any idea just how much it was driving him crazy. At least, he was the only one who could calm Zilong anyway, so he didn't mind being his friend's only confidant and comfort. They had sent Magoichi back toward Chengdu to touch base with the rest of their forces, and had only Jiang Wei with them otherwise. At least the weather was fair, and their unfortunate position was the only thing to really complain about while they waited and thought. Yukimura couldn't resist a walk along the bluffs overlooking the ocean while he took his turn at patrolling the sentry line, only deviating a little from his appointed route in order to enjoy the view and the warm, salt-scented breeze off the water. He was still getting used to the replacement chestplate made of boiled, hardened leather, it rubbed in all the wrong places and he was concerned that he couldn't take the kinds of chances he liked, if he was so afraid of taking a blade-thrust to the vitals. It was all he could do for now, but resolved that after this errand, on their return to Chengdu he would see if any messages had come back from Lord Takeda – and his armorer. He needed a fix much more urgently now than he did when he took the first hit from Zhao Yun so long ago.

A dark blot on the water caught his attention as he passed between the trees and looked outward at the sunlight sparkling on the surface of the ocean. Pausing, Yukimura strained his gaze, wanting to be sure. That was, indeed, a boat on the water. _Strange. I didn't know anyone with the ability to sail was even around_. He watched for a while, and noticed that the boat was riding the wind, coming closer and closer to shore with each passing minute. If it landed on the beach below the bluff, whoever was on board would be within striking distance of their camp. That could not be allowed. Yukimura backed away slowly and then turned to dash straight back to the camp, ordering a sentry he passed to go and keep watch for him while he let the others know. Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei were outside the officers' tent when he jogged up. “We have some unexpected company,” he told them, leaning on his spear. “From the ocean.”

Both Shu soldiers looked up sharply at his words. “The ocean?” Jiang Wei repeated. “But how?”

“Well. A boat,” Yukimura shrugged. “If they reach land, they will be too close to us to simply let them be. We will have to intercept them.”

Zhao Yun took up his own spear from where it leaned on the side of the tent. “I will come with you. Let's go.”

Leaving their young strategist watching the camp, the two spearmen hurried back out to the bluff, and by now, the boat had sailed considerably closer to land. There was no maybe about it, it was clearly going to touch sand just below their position. Two sentries were now watching it, and they looked to their lords for orders. Yukimura sidled up against a tree to keep himself as concealed as possible before peering out. “Strange,” he murmured. “The shape of the boat is unfamiliar but I would swear I have seen those type of sails before.”

“It looks like one of the boats usually seen on the larger rivers,” Zhao Yun said thoughtfully, squinting into the sunshine. “Like the Jiangdong. But the sails I do not recognize.” He nodded to his comrade. “You were right, though. We will have to go out to meet them, friend or foe.”

“It could be risky, just the two of us.” Yukimura smiled at him. “Yet, I am not afraid.”

Zhao Yun smiled back. “Me neither. Let's go!”

They didn't bother to include the sentries as they ran along the top of the bluff to find a place where they could climb down easily to the beach. A washout had collapsed part of the bluff into a gentle slope, so they picked their way down it, using their spears as walking sticks, and then trudged across the sand to the water's edge. Even though they had been camped there a couple of days, as of yet they hadn't really come down to the ocean, but now they could see it was rather nice. The sand and pebbles formed a nice natural quay, no wonder a boat was trying to land there. If the sailors on board had spotted them, it didn't cause them to alter their course at all. Together, the two warriors leaned on their spears, looking relaxed yet armed and ready all the same. As it approached, they could see how large the ship actually was, its hull squared but its sails and a few other additions compensating for the shape better suited to river travel. The sails suddenly furled as it came on, so that it could glide up onto the sand without damage and come to a neat stop. Whoever was handling it was clearly an expert. The pair of warriors lifted their heads as someone came up to the rail and looked down at them, though he was silhouetted against the sun and sky, so all they could tell was that he carried something across his back and his hair was swept up into a very full topknot. Yukimura frowned at his daring. “Who goes there?”

“I should ask the same,” a smooth, quiet voice said in return. “Wait. Your armor and tokens. You are of the Sanada clan.”

Yukimura gave a small start. “No...it cannot be. Chosokabe?”

He stepped out of the way as the ship's captain leaped down into the sand and surf, revealing himself at last. Lithe and yet muscled, and ridiculously attractive, he regarded the two spearmen with some curiosity. The weapon they thought he had slung over his back turned out to be a shamisen. He waded up to meet them, smiling very slightly. “Aha. Sanada Yukimura, I believe. Your reputation precedes you.” He noted that he didn't recognize the other man at all, and so bowed his head with a modicum of respect. “Chosokabe Motochika. There are some who call me the Sea Devil.”

“Zhao Yun, of Shu.” Zilong nodded back. “Then, am I to assume you are not here to launch an attack on our camp?”

“I was not even aware that there was a camp, here.” Motochika looked up and down the beach, clearly noticing that there wasn't a camp immediately visible. “The wind is unfavorable, I simply had my men land to wait it out.”

“Forgive me for needing to ask this, but...” Yukimura slid his hand up the shaft of his spear, in essence pulling it closer just in case. “Lord Chosokabe, in this strange world, who do you serve?”

Motochika's expression barely flickered. “Does it matter?”

“We cannot give the same welcome to anyone who bows to the snake demon Orochi,” Zhao Yun said sternly.

“Ah.” The sailor shook his head, his high ponytail swishing. “You have nothing to fear, then. I am not in the habit of keeping company with snakes. If you must know, I am on my own at the moment, and not exactly looking for a lord to cling to.”

“Forgive me.” Yukimura eased his grip on his spear and bowed more fully. “In that case, if you and your men would like to shelter for a while, our camp is not far from here.”

Motochika appeared to consider it for a moment, and then turned and whistled. More heads popped into view, as his men came to see what he wanted. “Moor the ship securely and tie down the sails. We're taking a little rest.” He turned back to the others with a nod. “It is appreciated. The sea has been rough today.”

Once everything had been tied, battened, and secured, the spearmen led the way back to their camp, waving off the sentries to assure them that the large group of sailors were their guests. Jiang Wei was rather interested to hear who they were and where they came from, not that Chosokabe's name was familiar at all. The men with him were rugged and hardy-looking, but deferential and patient, settling down around their leader and accepting whatever refreshments were offered by the Shu camp. Motochika took a seat as offered on one of the pieces of logs that the officers in the camp were using for seats. “What, then, brings you out to the coast?” he wondered of his hosts as they gave him something to drink. “I have hardly seen anything of the war this far out, though I have some inkling of what's going on.” He nodded to two of the men beside him, who seemed rather close to him in age. “My sons, if you can believe it, have seen their share of it.”

“Your sons?” Yukimura exclaimed. “Oh my. The tricks played on us by time are that bad, then?”

“I haven't tried to understand it. It hurts my head.” Motochika sipped casually at the water in his cup – the wandering warriors had no wine on them at all. “You haven't answered my question, Sanada.”

Zhao Yun piped up for him. “We were headed for Xin Di castle, but we find ourselves boxed into a corner by the Orochi forces. We must get to the Wu lands, they are holding my lord hostage there and I am intent on rescuing him.”

Motochika listened, and then shook his head. “I am afraid I don't know of these places. The coastline here is strange to me. I've spent half of my time at sea searching for Shikoku, or any island, but there are none.”

“It is north of here, it would be another two days at least on horseback,” Yukimura explained.

The answer seemed so obvious that it made Chosokabe's lips curl into a smug smile. “And how many days by sea?”

Clearly, until today, indeed until this very moment, none of the land-bound warriors had ever even conceived of such a thing. “The sea? Of course!” Jiang Wei realized. “We could cast off in boats and reach the Wu territory that way! We wouldn't have to fear Orochi's soldiers at all, that way.”

“But we have no boats,” Yukimura protested. “How long would it take us to procure some?”

“I may be able to help you out with that,” Motochika said slyly.

Zhao Yun sat up sharply. “Would you? I cannot believe our luck! I have been at my wits' end, fearing that in order to rescue my lord we would have to charge straight through the entire Orochi army with only the three of us...”

Motochika tilted his head slightly, regarding the Shu general with keen interest. “Normally, I am not one to stick my nose into other people's battles. But daring a rescue of an important prisoner from the Orochi army...I can support such a venture. Who is this lord that commands your passion, Zhao Yun?”

“Ah...” Zhao Yun looked down modestly. “Lord Liu Bei, Emperor of Shu.”

That name was notable enough for Motochika to really raise his eyebrows in interest. “Then, by all means. For Lord Liu Bei's sake, I think I can accommodate you.”

“Boats, huh?” Yukimura said warily. “I'm not a big fan of boats.”

“The horses may have some trouble, but I have been aboard ships before,” Yun said optimistically. “Er...they were anchored at the time, but even so.”

“The Chosokabe clan have a number of boats, we have captured some that were lying unused at various ports,” one of the sons spoke up. “We can provide you with a couple, large enough to transport your troops and horses.”

“I am generally disinterested in being drawn into this war,” Motochika cautioned. “We will provide you with ships in order for you to achieve your goal, and captains to sail them for you. After that, though, we will go our separate ways.”

“If that is what you wish.” Yukimura nodded to agree. “You are already offering more than we could have ever hoped for, Chosokabe. We will be in your debt.”

“You can repay it by leaving me to do as I wish,” Motochika said with a tiny smirk. “That will be enough.”

There wasn't much in the way of preparation to be done the rest of the day, and the wind was still too strong from the sea to allow the Chosokabe ship to leave, so the clan of sailors whiled away the afternoon hanging out with their new, temporary allies and gathering information on the battle to take back their comrades and their lands from Orochi. Motochika himself sat down with Jiang Wei to actually plot out how and when they would carry out their attack on Xin Di and how to get the soldiers there, and then gladly shared a cup and a meal with the officers while his men went to the ship for extra supplies and set up a camp of their own at the fringe of the Shu tents. As night fell and the wind finally died, the resistance soldiers were treated to an unexpected blessing, as Motochika parked himself beside a campfire, took his shamisen off his back, and played them several songs of his homeland. It was a beautiful night and the haunting twang of the shamisen strings plucked under Motochika's expert care sent them all to a rapturous place where all their cares were soothed away by the ebb and flow of the tides, and no one had anything to fear from snakes or demons or snake demons. Yukimura seemed particularly transported, hearing songs close to his own heart and reminders of home and loved ones he hadn't seen in months. Motochika was happy to play for them, smiling softly over his instrument, and sent them all to bed as sated as if they had indulged in an opulent feast.

As he lay within arm's reach of his faithful companion in the officers' tent, Zhao Yun nestled down with a soft sigh, still feeling something resonating in his heart from the amazing music. He felt comforted, and at the same time, yearned more deeply than ever to break down a door and set his lord free. Rolling over, he noticed Yukimura was still awake as well. “I have never felt so hopeful as I do right now,” he whispered. “Chosokabe is a sorcerer, I would swear.”

Yukimura smiled to himself. “I have not had such a treat in so long. I feel as though I am back in my lord's castle, at Osaka or Ueda, enjoying the comforts of home.”

Yun pillowed his head on his arm. “You must miss everyone. Your family, your cohorts...”

“Perhaps a little.” Yukimura rolled toward him in turn, taking up an identical pose. “I do not regret my choice at all. I know that my place is at your side, right now, to guide you through these hard times. But once in a while, I wouldn't mind seeing my brother's face again, or having the benefit of my lord's wisdom if I ask for it.”

“The way you speak of Lord Takeda, it reminds me much of my own lord,” Yun smiled. “I should like to meet him.”

“I'm sure someday, you will, as long as we are all still united together in this world.” Yukimura certainly could not look far ahead enough to know what would happen when they achieved all their goals, but that didn't matter. He was in a good place right now, as far as he was concerned. “What would you think of me sending another letter, to perhaps arrange a meeting?”

“I would like that, actually,” Zhao Yun replied. “Once we have my lord safe, it might be wise to join forces.”

“Yes. I think so, too.” Yukimura seemed about to let their conversation drift off so they could go to sleep, but then he spoke up again, on a different topic. “Zilong, may I ask you a personal question?”

Yun's eyes shifted back towards him. “Hm? I suppose. What is it?”

In turn, Yukimura lowered his gaze away from his comrade. “What dream has been plaguing you, of late? Almost every night, I have seen you tossing in your sleep, like something has a hold of you.”

Yun froze, his eyes widening slightly. “I...has it been that noticeable?”

“And...” Yukimura seemed embarrassed to admit it. “Once in a while, I hear you talk in your sleep. I gather it's about Lord Liu Bei.”

Zhao Yun flopped onto his back, covering his face with a hand. “I'm sorry...I don't mean to worry you. It's nothing, really. Just a...a nightmare that doesn't seem to want to go away.”

Sanada edged a hair closer, propping his chin on his hand where it lay curled on his bedroll. “You can tell me.”

Such was Zhao Yun's trust in his comrade that he only hesitated a moment before turning to whisper to him. “While I was being held in Ueda Castle, I had the same nightmare every night. I could see my lord being pulled off his horse and smothered under a pile of demons, even as they clawed at me and dragged me down as well. I would wake up still feeling their teeth in my flesh and their weight pressing on my chest.” He closed his eyes sadly. “I thought I would be free of it once I was free, but it comes back from time to time.”

“It seems to come back more frequently when you have a lead, and are directly looking for your lord,” Yukimura murmured. “You haven't slept well any night this past week.”

“I haven't,” Yun moaned softly. “Forgive me if I've kept you awake.”

“If I have, it's only because I worry.” Yukimura tempered his words with a gentle look at his comrade. “I didn't know it still bothered you. Is it...a memory? Or a fear of what might happen?”

Zilong met his eyes. “Perhaps...a little bit of both. The memory of Orochi's attack on us is slowly fading, I could not say that it actually happened the way it does in my dream. At least now I know that my lord is not dead, so I have hope instead of grief.”

“But it still bothers you. I don't know that I have any advice, but I can see that it hurts you, and I wish to help.”

“That is kind of you, Yukimura,” Yun murmured. “But the only thing I would want is to stop it from visiting me in the middle of the night. Yet, how do you stop a nightmare from happening?”

“I wish I knew.” Yukimura smiled, though, as something occurred to him. “Perhaps Lord Motochika's music will ward it away tonight. Even if it's just for once.” He seemed to want to move closer in comfort, but all he did was stretch out one hand to rest on Yun's shoulder. “If you need, though, remember that I am beside you.”

“As you always are.” Zhao Yun was certainly not complaining about that, either. “Where would I be without you, Yukimura?”

“I try not to ask that question. I don't want to know the answer.”

He left his hand where it was, and laid his head down to sleep. Yun watched him for a moment, blinking in the dim light of the tent, and then decided to take the risk and close his eyes. If the nightmare still came to him, at least he wasn't alone. His trusted friend knew about his worst fear, now. Perhaps that would rob it of its power. He tried to ignore the hand on his shoulder, warm and heavy, because every time he turned his thoughts toward it, he felt that sweet pang in his chest again. That would not help him get a good night's sleep.

The Chosokabe clan was nothing if not swift and efficient. They had prepared their ship to receive a swell of passengers aboard, human and equine both, by the time the camp had been struck, and threw their backs into the hauling of cargo as well. With the horses hobbled for their own safety and tethered together around the central mast, it was safe for them to cast off and begin the journey north. Along the way, Motochika explained, they would send a handful of men to snag a couple of smaller boats at one of their harbors to use to transport the soldiers to shore in Wu. These were the pirates rumored to be prowling the waters offshore, and they had a number of places along the coast where they kept boats and supplies for their own use, since it seemed the Orochi army had no interest in the water whatsoever. The head of the clan was not going to go with them to the edge of the Wu territory, but he intended to send Nobuchika and Morichika as captains of the transport ships. It would still take a couple of days, but the wind was now fair and favorable and it seemed fate was smiling on the Resistance. At least, until Zhao Yun realized his inexperience with boats meant he was susceptible to seasickness. It was a tradeoff for a night without nightmares, perhaps. Whatever the case, he simply accepted whatever Motochika thought the best plan for their assault from the sea and spent the journey with his head hanging over the side of the ship, tempering his misery with thoughts of what they would find at Xin Di. He had to remember the plan, he had to be ready. If only the blasted ocean wasn't so choppy!

It took a day or two longer than it would have over land, on account of needing to stop to get the other boats, but at last, the Chosokabe fleet stood off shore near Mo Ling, all the ships linked together in order to transfer troops and get ready. Jiang Wei had actually been sent to land already, earlier that morning, one of the sailors bringing him and a few scouts into position to seek out information on foot. The rest waited just off shore, awaiting his signal. The horses had already been moved to one or the other flat-bottomed scow, and most of the troops were divided, all that remained aboard Motochika's flagship were Yukimura and Zhao Yun. Chosokabe couldn't help but smirk a little at the way the mighty Shu commander still looked. “Will you be all right, Lord Zhao Yun? You and the sea don't seem to be friends.”

Yun might have still been a bit green around the edges, but he had put on a determined face regardless of how his stomach felt. “I will be fine. I must, for my lord is waiting for me and there is no more time to waste.”

“Understood.” He looked from him to Yukimura. “Everything is set, then?”

“Yes, barring any unexpected warnings from Jiang Wei,” Sanada replied. “There isn't much that would alter our plan considerably. I will be aboard the ship with Morichika, and Zhao Yun's troops are going with Nobuchika.”

Yun turned his gaze to the shore, hunting for any sign of Jiang Wei. “Once we have the signal, we must move quickly. No doubt they will eventually spot the ships and realize something is happening. Yukimura's army will land downshore and advance from the fortress of Hui Ji...”

“Yes, and you will attack from Mo Ling,” Yukimura finished for him, as they had gone over this so many times that they were of one single mind about it. “That will enable us to advance to Xin Di castle on two fronts.”

“As long as everything goes according to plan, we will meet at the castle to rescue my lord,” Zhao Yun concluded.

“A worthy plan,” Motochika complimented. “I doubt I could have come up with better myself. I wish you all the luck and blessings of the gods that you could possibly want or need.”

“Thank you for all your assistance, Lord Motochika,” Yukimura said with a bow. “We couldn't have done this without you. Lord Liu Bei will surely want to thank you himself after he is free.”

“It isn't necessary. Simply send my sons back in one piece.” Chosokabe looked past them to the shore, lifting his face a little to catch the sun. “I do like this land. It seems like the kind of place I could be content with if I cannot find the islands I've been seeking.”

“Be careful,” Yun warned. “Large portions of it on all sides of Xin Di are under control of the Orochi army.”

“I'm aware. But there is a broad river just north of here, by which I may be able to get inland and find less hostile places. Either way, I will be watching this war carefully from now on.” Motochika tipped his head in a nod, then. “I believe that's your signal.”

The other two officers followed his gaze to where Jiang Wei himself stood with a pennant tied to his trident, waving it a few times before lowering it. A sailor at the bow of the flagship waved a banner in return, and then it was time to get going. Motochika clapped a hand to the shoulders of both Yukimura and Zhao Yun to send them off, there was no more time for pleasantries and fond farewells. They split up and went to their respective boats, and soon after were drifting slowly toward the shore, aiming for the two different landings more than a mile apart. Sanada stood ready to lead his horse off the boat, though he couldn't help but glance to where the other boat was heading. He hoped Zhao Yun would regain his strength as soon as he hit land again, though he had little doubt that even while ill, he could still reign over the battlefield. Morichika had their craft well in hand, and eased the boat up along the grassy shores without a single bump, at which point his men dropped the ramp to let the invasion force out. “Fine work,” Yukimura said to their captain as he led his horse down to the solid ground. “Make sure to keep the boat safe – without it, we have no way back.”

“Naturally, Lord Sanada,” Morichika assured. “I will personally guard the boat. Fight well and hurry back.”

Yukimura nodded and swung up into the saddle. From there, he had a better vantage point and craned his neck to try to see far up the shoreline where the other boat was supposed to be. Within minutes of his landing, Jiang Wei hustled up to meet him. “Lord Yukimura! Are you ready?”

“As ready as we can be. What did you find, Master Jiang Wei?”

The strategist leaned on his trident for a moment. “The castle is under heavy guard. There is no doubt that they have someone important there, it would not be closed up so tightly otherwise. The land for miles around is nearly empty, there are no civilians that I can see.” They had brought his horse over for him, so he mounted up beside his fellow spearman. “We should progress carefully. With that kind of guard around the castle, the outlying fortresses may well be full of traps, or at the very least, reinforcements.”

“Understood.” Yukimura stood in the stirrups to look far afield one more time. “Lord Zhao Yun appears to have made it safely to shore as well. Are we cleared to advance on both ends, as planned?”

“Yes. There is nothing in our way to impede the strategy.” Jiang Wei raised his weapon high. “Forward! To Xin Di castle!”

The troops gathered around them surged past, marching through the meadow ahead. The wooden palisades of Hui Ji currently screened them from view of the castle, but it likewise allowed them a bit of stealth as they advanced. Jiang Wei accompanied his scouts to the garrison gate, but there didn't seem to be anything preventing them from pushing the doors open and heading inside. He paused, there, holding up a hand to stall the troops behind him. Yukimura alone rode up alongside him. “What is it?”

“I'm not sure. But I find this very suspicious.” Wei gestured; the fortress appeared empty. There were tents erected for troops and scout towers for looking out over the walls to the sea, but there wasn't a person in sight. “I know that the Orochi army doesn't expect anyone to attack from the sea, but surely they would still maintain these fortresses.”

“You suspect a trap?”

“Quite likely. No one abandons a well-prepared camp like this.” Jiang Wei looked down at the scouts beside his horse. “Advance cautiously. Search every corner for any sign that the defending army has been here. Traps, archers, anything.”

The men moved off to do as bidden, while Yukimura progressed inside as well, looking around as he rode. His eyes were on the tents, and whether any ripple of the canvas could possibly be due to wind inside the fortress or something else entirely. As he went, he thought he noticed movement along the palisade, and spurred forward to check it out. A lone soldier, clad in mainly gold and brown, was pressed up against the wooden wall, and startled as he realized he had been spotted. Before Yukimura could ride him down, he yelped, “Now is the time! Attack!”

From within the tents emerged an ambush force, though as they assembled, they realized that the invading army had not yet actually entered the fortress. Aside from Yukimura and the scouts, the rest waited at the gate for the result of the investigation. One of the officers, in a very old-style Han uniform, turned angrily upon their ambush scout. “You fool! You announced it too early!”

“No matter, just attack them!” a second officer demanded. “Come, invaders! We will have you all the same! Lord Zhuge Liang has foreseen your assault and is ready for you!”

Jiang Wei faltered even as he rode to the fray. “...the chancellor?”

“Forward, men of Shu!” Yukimura called to their army. “Scatter the ambush and put them to rout!”

He whirled his horse and charged down the two officers, and in no time showed them the might of a rider of the Takeda cavalry. The flood of soldiers through the gate overwhelmed and pushed back the ambush troops, and in due time the Han officers faded back and retreated southward toward Xin Di. Rather than pursue them all the way, Yukimura called his men back and regrouped them in the fortress to take control of it. It would serve as their foothold, from which they had the freedom to progress in a number of directions. He rode alongside Jiang Wei again, finally able to reconnoiter after the skirmish. “Did I hear them correctly?” he fretted. “Did they say Zhuge Liang?”

“They did.” Jiang Wei's expression was tight and concerned, and his grip on his trident white-knuckled. “My lord and mentor, the prime minister himself. I did not expect that he would be the one in control of these forces, here.”

Yukimura frowned, his expression matching the other's. “If he is running the show, he is sure to have any number of plans in place. He is legendary among strategists, even my lord knows of him.”

“Indeed.” Jiang Wei mulled over his options for the briefest second before calling a scout to him. “We must send a messenger to meet up with Lord Zhao Yun, and take him this news. Search every fortress, especially if they seem to be empty. Take great care, there may be many more ambushes awaiting us before we can even reach Xin Di.”

The scout bowed quickly and ran off to relay the plan to Zhao Yun, who was mounting his own assault from the northern shore. There were a few scattered troops lurking around on his end, but his soldiers took quick care of it. He was just thanking Nobuchika for guarding the boat when the messenger ran up from Jiang Wei and informed him of the unexpected surprises they discovered at Hui Ji. Yun's eyes widened in shock. “Lord Zhuge Liang is leading, here?” he repeated. “That...that can't be! Why would he...”

He couldn't fathom why Zhuge Liang would stand as guard and jailor for their beloved lord, but then, he remembered Hasedo. At that time, Kongming's own wife was the prisoner, and he showed no sign of remorse or discomfort at having to lead the forces who were transporting her to become a hostage of Orochi. Perhaps his treason ran so deep that he could look his lord in the eye and not flinch, and that was dark news indeed to Zhao Yun. He sent the scout off to confirm that the report was received, and gathered his own troops around him. “Ahead of us is Mo Ling, expected to be held by the Orochi forces here. If it appears empty, we must take care to search it thoroughly and not be surprised by anything the Prime Minister might have in store for us. We will not allow him to get the better of us, and flaunt his treachery in our faces. Onward!”

The Shu troops under his command shared his determination, and brandished their weapons as they advanced. Taking Mo Ling was their plan already, but they had expected to simply run into an overt assault force, not deal with traps. Zhao Yun remained at the head, offering himself deliberately in challenge to anything that might come their way. The pathways were quiet for the most part, now that they had sent the outlying scouts fleeing, but when they came abreast of Mo Ling, Zhao Yun checked warily: the doors were flung wide open. Even had he not had warning from the other branch of the army, this would have been a red flag to him. He bade his troops wait, while he went in alone. He was on horseback, after all, and would not let a single one of Zhuge Liang's tricks be pulled on him. His horse plodded at a slow walk through the large fortress while he hunted around, spear at the ready, and after a bit the animal tossed its head and snorted. It had scented someone, perhaps, or saw movement. Zhao Yun took it as a warning and turned aside, and found himself face to face with a private in a green Shu tunic. It wasn't one of his own men, though. They stared at one another for a moment, and then the soldier ducked his head and walked away like he was going back to join the rest of the troops waiting at the gate. Zhao Yun followed him in suspicion, particularly since the soldier kept glancing over his shoulder to watch him. When they neared the rest of the army, a private of his own suddenly burst out, “What is that guy doing? He shouldn't be here! Lord Zhao Yun!”

The lone soldier turned and ran back the other way, through the center of the garrison. Zhao Yun whirled his horse, but this time, didn't need to give chase. “Come out! I know you're here! Your soldier has given you away!”

From behind a section of the palisade, an officer emerged, pulling his sword. To Yun's surprise, it was a man of Shu he knew well, Ma Su. “Oh well, looks like the game is up,” he sighed as he came, his troops ducking out of the tents and through a partition in the wall. “You have your orders, men!”

Yun rode to challenge him, even as his men streamed in to meet the assault. “What are you doing, Ma Su?” he demanded to know. “You should be faithfully following our lord, not attacking your own countrymen!”

“I don't expect you to understand, Lord Zhao Yun,” Ma Su replied as he raised his sword. “These are my orders from Lord Zhuge Liang, that is all I can say. Now, come!”

While they worked to beat back the assault and take Mo Ling, Yukimura and Jiang Wei progressed across the landscape, avoiding the obvious trap of riding straight up the main road to the front gate of Xin Di and instead hunting for other locations where ambush troops may be hiding. There was a smaller garrison guarding the southern path, so they turned their attention to it and scoured it for traps. This time, the ambush forces were hidden at the top of the scout towers, where usually archers would stand to defend the castle. It was easy enough to roust them out and drive them off, at which point, the officers regrouped once more. Jiang Wei looked perplexed. “Strange...this was so obvious, not at all like Lord Zhuge Liang. It is almost as if he wanted us to see through it...”

“I thought he was in league with Orochi,” Yukimura said concernedly. “Would he go easy if he knew it was men of Shu fighting to rescue their lord?”

“No...the opposite, in fact,” Jiang Wei murmured. “If he did anticipate our coming, he would never think us so weak that we cannot handle his wise strategies. I have never known him to put on a show for the benefit of others, so...it could be a means of lulling us into a false sense of security.” He looked around while he thought, his eyes widening as something occurred to him. “The boats. I will ride back to give support to the Chosokabe men – continue forward with the plan, Lord Yukimura! It is up to you, now, to meet with Lord Zhao Yun and see this through to the end.”

“As you wish.” They tapped their spears against one another in agreement and moved off separately, Jiang Wei returning to Hui Ji while Sanada pressed forward, pushing his way down the back path and driving the routed defenders before him. Xin Di's rear gates were just ahead, and whether he or Zhao Yun reached them first, he had to break them down and rescue the prisoner inside. _Just a moment longer, my lord,_ he thought to himself. _Help is at hand, do not despair!_

The capture of Mo Ling did not take long, freeing Zhao Yun to continue down the path to the side gate of Xin Di. He fully trusted that Yukimura would be successful on his end and they would indeed meet inside the castle, leaving him standing before the gate with cresting hope. _My lord is imprisoned beyond this very door_ , he thought. _Finally...finally, I can rescue him!_ He stepped back to let his troops bring forth the ram they needed to bash in the door, and as soon as they had it breached, galloped in past them. The rear gate slammed open at nearly the same time, and Yukimura led his men in from that side. Their pincer move was a success, for the forces waiting to ambush them in the inner courtyard of Xin Di did not expect to be beset from both sides. From behind a concealing wall strode perhaps the last commander anyone wanted to see: Dong Zhuo, fresh from his conquest in Ji and looking to obliterate the most-wanted leaders of the resistance. Zhao Yun pulled up short and leaped out of the saddle to confront him. “So, you are the one I must go through to find my lord!”

“If you think you can!” Zhuo's ugly face was even uglier with pent-up rage. “I should have known. That Zhuge Liang is useless! He proclaims to be the greatest strategist of the age, but the enemy has seen right through his plans and now I have to deal with them!”

Yukimura slid from his horse to land beside Zhao Yun. “I am here as promised, my friend,” he breathed as he whirled his spear into position.

“I had every faith in you,” Yun murmured back. “Let us eliminate this last obstacle together.”

“You whelps think you have a chance? Don't make me laugh!” Dong Zhuo advanced on them, heedless of the battle mounting around them as his forces met those of the resistance all across the courtyard. He was big and powerful, but slow, and two spearmen of the grace and agility of Yukimura and Zhao Yun had the better of him before he even took the first swing. They circled him, spears twirling, slashing and darting and slipping out of the way of his sword. They needed no finesse, they merely moved in and out, avoiding one another and striking only at their very large target. One of his retainers suddenly appeared through the main gate, having been driven off from trying to do exactly what Jiang Wei had expected them to do, and Yukimura spun in place to meet and block him even as he charged them. He deftly fended this man off while Zhao Yun finished the job with Dong Zhuo, driving his spear hard at the tyrant's gut. It deflected off the thick belt he wore and sliced sideways across his stomach, just below his chestplate. Letting out a howl of pain, Zhuo flailed his arm and swung his sword directly at Zhao Yun's shoulder, where it clanged off the plate and forced him to back to the end of his spear's shaft in order to keep his head where it belonged. Dong Zhuo pulled himself off the spear and reeled back, cursing savagely. “Where are my men? Attack them! Destroy them! Augh...somebody...”

Though Zilong's heart burned with the need to follow through and actually put an end to the fat tyrant once and for all, retainers flocked to his call and blocked his way, so that one of them could hoist Dong Zhuo's bulk on his shoulder and lead him away. The Dragon Spear had bit deep, at least, and blood dripped from the blade into the dust at their feet. Annoyed, Zhao Yun battled against the men in front of him, finding Yukimura returning to his side to assist, and together the two of them fought the rest of the Han soldiers all the way back to the doors of Xin Di itself. There they were stymied, but only for a short time, as someone within the castle called out, “Turn the prisoner loose! Give them what they came for and then barricade the doors!”

Both spearmen drew back in surprise. They were just letting Liu Bei go? Could they be so lucky? Dong Zhuo was certainly the kind of coward whose resolve melted the moment he knew he no longer had the upper hand, and as gravely as Zhao Yun wounded him, that time was now. Lowering their spears, they waited, while their men clustered around them, ready to surge forward at the right order and take the castle. A shadowy figure just inside stumbled forward, they could see enough to see his cloak trailing behind, and the defending soldiers cut his bonds and hand him his sword before shoving him toward the sunlight. Zhao Yun straightened up eagerly, his face shining with joy, but a moment later, it all came crashing down around him. The man who staggered through the door and down the steps into their midst was not Liu Bei, not by any stretch of the imagination. The doors of Xin Di slammed behind him as the former prisoner revealed himself, breathing a sigh of relief at his fate. “You have come for me!” Yuan Shao exclaimed incredulously. “Such brave warriors, you have my thanks!”

“No...” Yun breathed, his spear's tip lowering to the ground.

“But you are...” Yukimura could not help but recognize the nobleman who had encouraged him and his brother to attack the innocent people of Chengdu out of fear they were phantoms. “This can't be!”

“Whatever you did to gain my freedom, I am grateful,” Shao said with some superiority. “Ah, you, the brave officer I met at Chengdu. What luck!” His gaze shifted to Zhao Yun beside him, completely misreading his crestfallen look. “Oh. Yes, I suppose there is that matter of what happened there. You are not phantoms, correct? You are really Gongsun Zan's retainer Zhao Yun, yes?”

Zhao Yun turned away from him completely. “Fall back! Return to the ships, our time here is finished!”

Yuan Shao sidled up to Yukimura. “You are sure they aren't ghosts? They look rather pale...”

Yukimura rolled his eyes so magnificently that it made his whole head roll. “Oh, please,” he retorted. “Not this again! Just....come on. Lord Zhao Yun...!”

He tried catching up with his comrade, but then Jiang Wei rode in unexpectedly, encountering no more resistance at the gates of Xin Di. He thundered up to them. “Another ambush! We have spotted men coming from the outer garrisons, they must be here to cut off our escape! Where is Lord Liu Bei, have you...?”

His eyes came to rest on Yuan Shao just as the man bristled with indignation. “You mistook me for that peasant Liu Bei? Do you people know nothing of true nobility?!”

“We'll explain later,” Yukimura said shortly. “What of the ambush?”

“They are too close. We will have to stop and face them before we can escape safely,” Wei reported. “To arms, men!”

The troops rallied around them, bracing for the onslaught yet to come. Through the gate Sanada had breached earlier marched a contingent of soldiers dressed almost the same as their own, the green and gold and silver of Shu, formed into ranks which served as a protective wall for the officer they escorted. All three of the resistance leaders stared as they found themselves coming face to face at long last with Zhuge Liang. He wore his usual inscrutable, fleeting half-smile, eyes hooded, and walked with his fan lowered at his side. “It appears your valiant incursion has been a waste of your time,” he noted, his gaze flicking briefly to Yuan Shao. “Still, I must commend you on detecting all of my ambush units. Well done.”

“It was no challenge,” Jiang Wei said darkly, almost disappointed, as he dropped from the saddle and took up his trident. “It was almost as if your plans were designed as a test.”

Liang regarded him without a change in his expression. “If so, my young protégé, you passed with flying colors. I would have expected nothing less.”

“Have you come to recapture me, Sleeping Dragon?” Yuan Shao challenged. “The Orochi army released me, I will not go back.”

This time, Liang did not look at him. “My business is with the Resistance,” he murmured, raising his fan into position. “You have played your part well, my decoy. Now, allow me to attend to these three.”

The three officers with their spears placed themselves in identical positions, ready to strike. “I cannot understand you,” Zhao Yun said threateningly, his anger at being deceived again starting to boil over. “What is it you want from us?”

Zhuge Liang did not seem inclined to answer, so Zhao Yun charged him, but so did Yukimura, matching him step for step, shoulder to shoulder with him. The famed strategist might have been prepared for one of them, but two at once was more than he could directly take. If he intended to capture the resistance leaders, he would have a tougher time of it than expected. He backed away as his men moved in to intercept them, but the spears whirled in opposing directions and batted them all out of the way so the two could plow their way toward Zhuge Liang that much more quickly. He brought his fan up to counter-attack before it was too late, fending their spears off as best he could, but anyone watching knew he was no match for them as a pair. He swiped the fan into position before him and, without warning, summoned a lightning spell to drive them back just enough. Gritting their teeth, both Yukimura and Zhao Yun endured the blow and held their ground, and then went back in one after the other. Liang braced and batted Yun aside only to find himself raising the fan to block a driving blow from Yukimura's cross-bladed spear. Zhuge Liang regarded him with interest from behind the dyed feathers, already feeling his arm strength failing under the pressure. “The parallels between you and Zhao Yun really are striking,” he mused softly.

Yukimura said nothing to acknowledge his remark, only disengaging in time for Zhao Yun to come back in from the side and deliver an identical blow. Liang's defense gave way, forcing him even further backward into the arched gate of the castle. He whisked himself away with a whirl of feathers and tunics, but the generals pursued him. “Do not dismiss me, Zhuge Liang!” Yun yelled at him. “If you cannot bring yourself to fight us, then why fight at all?”

Liang turned at the end of the gate and summoned another of the shielding spells he used to keep foes at bay, much as he did against Zhao Yun before. It gave him a moment in which to finally answer his challenge. “You do not understand because you let your heart rule your head. When you can shed that burden, your spear will be ready for your true enemy.”

“No! Not again!” Yun tried to press forward, but the spell held long enough for Zhuge Liang to disappear, retreating behind curtains of soldiers who held them off, unwilling to really attack them in earnest for they were all countrymen at heart. Yun wilted, then, dragging his spear's blade through the dirt. He felt rather than heard or saw Yukimura come up alongside him, and squeezed his eyes shut. “Not again.”

“Lord Zhao Yun.” Yukimura's tone was gentle but firm. “I understand, but we cannot rest yet. There is someone else coming up behind us. We must either retreat or face them.”

Driving the head of the Dragon Spear into the dirt, Zhao Yun used it to push himself up again. “We face them,” he said angrily. “I will not have anyone at our rear chasing us to the sea. We will put an end to this farce!”

“Yes, my lord.” Yukimura turned to their forces, waiting with Jiang Wei. “We will not be safe to depart until we have cut off all pursuit! Advance on this new force and engage them outside the castle, we can't afford to be hemmed in here!”

Their troops shouted acknowledgment of the orders and rushed to obey. Yukimura glanced at Zhao Yun as he stalked past to go and mount up, and then followed silently. He had never seen the brave general so full of passion and rage, not even when they fought each other at Chengdu. Ignoring Yuan Shao's demands that they protect him, the army moved off as one, passing through the gate and following a path to find the rumored foes coming up on their flank. It was clear that the orders were not out of pure fury – if they merely retreated they would have this additional force immediately in position to either pull them down from the rear or flank them before they could reach the boats. As tired as they all were, they had to press on and take out these reinforcements. The three spears rode at the fore, and came around a bend in the path to find soldiers of a different token thick as leaves in a forest. Striding at the crest of russet-clad troops, a tall warrior with a long, curved sword faced them boldly, standing like a fierce, dark wall between them and his own lord. His appearance changed nothing for Zhao Yun, he rode on with the Dragon Spear flashing in the sunlight. One good swing drove this foe out of his way so he could press on to the commanding officer just beyond. Zhou Tai whirled in place, ready to leap after him, but then the other two were on him, and Yukimura swung his spear even as he flew from the saddle, nearly tackling the dour warrior. They came up at stalemate, the Crimson Fang's shaft pressed against the defending blade of Zhou Tai's sword. “Your fight is with me,” Sanada declared, putting his weight into it. “I will not let you hurt him.”

“I must protect my lord,” Zhou Tai said in return, low and dark and calm. “Both of us cannot have our way.”

“Then we will fight to see who gets it,” Yukimura dared, disengaging in order to bring his spear around to jab and thrust. He had forgotten all about his makeshift armor, and threw himself into the usual life-or-death battle that he enjoyed far too much. Spear against sword was never a good match to begin with, but he did not falter. Defeating this army and escaping to freedom was all that mattered.

Zhao Yun did not stop until he had plowed through the ranks of soldiers and met the commander directly, clouting him off his horse and then leaping down to press the attack without even realizing who he was facing for a few minutes. Sun Quan picked himself up and fought back, his surprise turning to displeasure as he realized that the strategist who had come with them and planned this whole endeavor had failed. Their targets, the Resistance, had survived and pressed so far – and apparently freed Yuan Shao while they were at it, he could see the man swinging his own sword amid the chaos. Scowling, he raised his sword against his foe and agilely blocked every thrust of the spear. “So you're still fighting,” he noted. “Be warned. For the sake of Wu, I will not hesitate to take your life.”

Zhao Yun had had enough of lofty speeches. “You talk of the sake of Wu,” he seethed as he swung and clashed, “and yet you are nothing but a slave to Orochi! If you had any love for your people, you would save them from him!”

“Don't act like you're so above me, Zhao Yun of Shu!” Quan barked at him. “You have led your men into a trap, nothing more!”

“Then fight, and we will see who walks away!” Zhao Yun drove in hard, venting his aggressions on the younger lord of Wu with great swings and sweeps of his Dragon Spear. Like his bodyguard, Sun Quan faced him with the sword, his reach far shorter and his power considerably less than the determined, furious Tiger General. Quan lacked the drive to seek victory in this battle; as yet he had no news of anything regarding his brother so his own emotions were lulled and his only focus was winning to keep Da Ji from complaining. Compared to Zilong, riding a crest of passion driven by his desperation and need to rescue his lord, he could not hold out. The spear clanged off his sword, pushing it aside time and time again to force openings through which he could strike, and then one good hit threw the sword completely aside. Quan had no choice but to grab the spear-shaft as it came at him, defending himself by merely stopping the weapon with his own strength and trapping the blade beneath his arm. Zhao Yun yanked at it, trying to pull it back, but his momentum had been successfully broken. Raising his head, Quan whistled to call his horse, which also brought Zhou Tai to his side. He let go of the spear at the last second and vaulted into the saddle. “Wait!” Yun called after him. “We are not finished!”

“You may have your life today,” Sun Quan said sternly as he rode away. “Next time won't be the same!”

“Servants of serpents!” Yukimura shouted after them, as he ran to try to catch Zhou Tai. “You will pay for your treachery!”

The Wu soldiers melted back, following in the wake of their lord's retreat. Whether he left the area entirely or merely fell back to the castle, it didn't seem to matter. Sun Quan no longer blocked the way to the shore and their boats, so Jiang Wei roused their troops and sent them into their safe retreat. He looked back at his two comrades, worried that they may be beyond reason, but to his relief, Yukimura was able to collect their horses and they quickly joined their men. Yet, neither of them spoke until after they had reached the boats and split their forces up between the two in order to safely transport them away from the Wu territory. Motochika's ship had already withdrawn, his sons were to pilot the flat-bottomed boats along the coast to find a safe place in which to drop off their cargo before they could return to him. Zhao Yun did his best to move away from the others, not wanting to discuss the battle at all, but he had the misfortune of running into Yuan Shao. They had allowed him to join them, seeing as he had nowhere else to go, but he had no retainers or soldiers of his own, it was just him. He stepped in front of Yun before he could escape. “So you came looking for Liu Bei, is what I'm hearing,” he said pompously. “I suppose I can overlook the slight, this time. But you had better step it up if you want to serve as my army.”

Zhao Yun stared at him, his mouth dropping open at the nobleman's audacity. Jiang Wei moved up beside him. “What? _Your_ army?” he protested for them all.

Shao waved a hand dismissively at them. “I know, you're overwhelmed by the honor. It happens. But we have so much work to do. I must send out word to find my retainers, wherever they have been scattered, and then we should find a castle to turn into a fortress worthy of our status.”

Yun turned away without a word, continuing his search for a safe place to hide onboard the boat. Yukimura watched him go, and then interfered before Yuan Shao could tag after him. “How did you become a prisoner of Orochi, Lord Yuan Shao?” he asked cautiously. “The last we saw of you, you were doing well enough...”

Shao eyed him. “It was the phantoms of Chengdu, you know,” he said darkly. “The ones who drove me away. I retreated from there before they could kill me, but I ran smack into a contingent of the Orochi army just beyond, down by the river. It was the demon woman, Da Ji. She captured me on the spot, and I have been a prisoner of theirs ever since. They only recently moved me to be housed at Xin Di Castle, I could not say why.”

“You were bait,” Jiang Wei said bluntly, having no history with and no regard for the noted Yuan family of the Han Dynasty. “Lord Zhuge Liang used you to draw us in. No doubt the intention was to lure us to the castle and then dispose of us there, had we not defeated his ambush units ahead of time.”

Shao gave him a disgruntled look. “Bait? Curse that Zhuge Liang, for treating a noble of my status so commonly! But you got the better of him in the end, didn't you? I am free again, and ready to build the forces we need to protect ourselves from Orochi.”

Yukimura ignored him for a bit, looking away to where Zhao Yun had gone. “My heart aches to think how disappointed he must be,” he murmured to Jiang Wei. “I have never seen him like that on the battlefield.”

“Nor have I, actually,” Wei sighed. “Lord Zhao Yun is usually the calm one, the voice of reason. He has never lost his head on any battlefield that I've seen.”

“He said he was trying not to get too hopeful, but he must have let it get away from him.” Yukimura frowned to himself. “I don't know whether to go to him, or to leave him be for now.”

“It feels strange to say so, Lord Yukimura, but I think right now you know him better than I do,” Jiang Wei offered. “If you feel you should look after him, then I would say to trust your heart. I may not be much help, considering all I can think about is my lord chancellor.”

“You mean, Lord Zhuge Liang?” Yukimura had heard him call Jiang Wei “protégé,” he knew there was more there than he understood as of yet. “I still don't understand what he is up to. Why he would so cruelly bait Lord Zilong with a false lead and draw him into a trap, when he should be protecting Lord Liu Bei?” He shook his head ruefully. “He does not seem like an evil man, so why does he serve Orochi instead?”

“That is the question I ask myself nearly every day,” Wei said sadly. “And I still have no answer. It pains me that we have to be foes in order for him to even pay me a compliment...it feels cold and hollow.”

“The Sleeping Dragon is not to be trusted,” Yuan Shao interrupted arrogantly. “You are a strategist, then, young man? I think you'll do much better than he. But if you fellows are so determined to find Liu Bei, then perhaps I can help.”

The two of them gave him matching deadpan looks. “You wish to help find Lord Liu Bei?” Wei repeated as if in disbelief.

“As a matter of fact,” Shao replied, swelling up proudly, “I overheard something while I was imprisoned about where they were moving him. I assume you would like to know?”

Their expressions changed instantly. Yukimura nearly called Zhao Yun over to hear it, but they were too eager to hear this news. “Of course!” Jiang Wei pressed. “What did they say?”

“Why, I might even go so far as to lead you to him,” Shao continued, not even hearing them, stroking his beard importantly. “Er...just as soon as I can remember where it was...”

Yukimura and Jiang Wei looked at each other as if to silently beg each to hold the other back from hauling off and punching Yuan Shao where he stood. In the end, Yukimura turned away abruptly to go and find Zhao Yun, while Jiang Wei heaved a huge sigh. “Then, perhaps, Lord Yuan Shao, it would be best if you thought about it for a while. And say nothing of this to the others of Shu, until your memory comes back.”

Yuan Shao stared at him, as he turned to disappear like the others, and stood there still looked nonplussed at their treatment. “But I said I would help you!”

Yukimura found Zhao Yun standing against the high wall that comprised the stern of the boat, his arms folded and resting on the top of it so he could look out at the view. The water was calm enough at the moment that he didn't seem affected, or else there was too much going on with him to even entertain seasickness for now. As he stepped closer, Yukimura cleared his throat to let him know he was there. He followed his friend's gaze and realized he was looking back at the shoreline of the territory they had just left. “Lord Zilong...” he said gently.

Yun closed his eyes. “He wasn't there, either. He must feel like we are never going to come for him.”

“Oh, Zilong...” Yukimura closed the distance between them and set a hand on Yun's shoulder. “You worry so much for him. It must hurt...I know it does...”

“No. I mean...” Yun raised his head to glance back at his comrade. “It does, but how can I focus on what I feel when it is my lord in danger? My feelings don't matter.” 

“You're wrong.” Yukimura's hand slid away, and Zhao Yun turned toward him with a perplexed look. “It does matter. You're giving everything you have, even your own life, in order to find him. I admire your determination and faithfulness, but I worry about you as well.”

Yun lowered his eyes to avoid the concerned gaze of his dear friend. “I lost control today. I'm sorry...”

“It takes a lot for you to lose control,” Yukimura noted. “Your men have said as much. It's not a surprise, though. You've been pushing yourself hard, so much so that even your enemy knew the easiest way to lure you into a trap. I do not blame you, but I do still worry.”

With his gaze averted, Zhao Yun was able to see Yukimura's armored chest right in front of him, and noticed that the leather chestpiece bore a number of deep scratches, some almost cutting right through the boiled leather. Distracted by the sight, he lifted a hand to trace his fingers along some of the slashes. “What happened...?”

“That man I fought, the one I think is Sun Quan's bodyguard. He was extremely adept with his sword,” Sanada replied, looking down at his armor. “It was a difficult fight, but I managed to fend him off long enough.”

“Yes...that man is Zhou Tai, one of the most capable of Wu officers and personal guard to Sun Quan.” Yun looked up from the damaged armor to Yukimura's face. “You won't be able to go into battle again with this armor.”

“No, probably not...”

“You risked your life for me.” Yun wavered, and then stepped toward him, leaning against him so that his head rested on Yukimura's shoulder. “You have followed me all this way without complaint, you have given yourself to save my lord just the same as I would. And yet here I am, denying everything you say, dismissing your worry. Forgive me.”

Yukimura only raised one arm, reaching across himself to rest his hand on Zhao Yun's head. “I'm not offended. I only want to protect you, from doubt and fear as much as swords and arrows.”

Yun's hand came up and laid flat against his comrade's chestplate, his fingers absently stroking the damaged leather. “You are too kind,” he breathed. “I don't know what I've done to earn your care, but I will take it. I simply...” He sighed and raised his head. “I do not know what to do, now.”

“Would you take my advice?”

“Gladly.”

“Allow yourself to rest.” Yukimura smiled wryly, aware that he had advised the same thing when they had first met back at Chengdu. “Lord Liu Bei is still a prisoner, yes, but he is likely safe where he is. Our foe today might not have said so, but it seems like he knows that your lord is fine, wherever he is. You would be allowed to take a few days to rest and collect yourself before we sit down and talk about our next move.”

“A few days...” But the more Zhao Yun tried to justify to himself a need to keep moving, keep looking, he couldn't help but remember Zhuge Liang's words. _You let your heart rule your head_. Right now his heart burned with a need to keep going. Should he take the advice of someone he once trusted but now considered a traitor, though? He looked down at where his hand rested, blinking absently at it. “We are deep in enemy territory, though...”

“Once we escape, then.” Yukimura found himself looking down at the hand on his armor as well. “I know. I will need to get my armor mended, properly this time. What if we sought out Lord Shingen's camp, so I can have his armorer replace my chestplate? You would be safe under his watch, we could resupply and see if he has information that may help us.”

It wasn't so much Yukimura's words as the cuts in his armor that finally swayed Zhao Yun. He met his companion's eyes and nodded. “That seems reasonable. Do you know where your lord is camped?”

“My brother sent word not too long ago, so yes, I have some idea. It is still hidden, to keep it safe from Orochi spies,” Sanada cautioned, “but I have no doubt we can make our way there from here rather easily.”

“All right. Then, when we reach safer ground, we will.” Yun pulled his hand away slowly, averting his gaze for completely different reasons. “Yukimura, I...thank you.”

Yukimura smiled gently. “For what?”

“For staying beside me.” Yun shot him a shy little half smile and then turned away, finding himself able to stop looking back at the Wu lands behind and instead wanting to look forward. Comforted by his change in attitude, Yukimura smiled back and tagged along with him.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news of Sun Ce's betrayal gets out to several Orochi bigwigs with varying consequences; Zhao Yun's forces take a rest with some allies.

The sentries at Ueda Castle called out enthusiastically to report that Lord Sima Yi had returned, stirring the castle into action to receive him. No letter had gone ahead of him this time, meaning his sons had to scramble to make sure they and everything around them was presentable enough in the handful of minutes they had before their father physically entered the gates and rode up to the castle. They gathered Wang Yuanji, Deng Ai, Xiahou Ba, and Guo Huai with them and lined up at the main door to welcome their lord, eager to find out why he was back so soon and whether he had any extra forces with him. Even Sima Shi was surprised to see Sima Yi riding up alone, attended only by a dozen low-ranking soldiers for protection. The brothers glanced at each other but said nothing, waiting until their father rode up and let the castle attendants take his horse. Only then did they move, palming their fists and bowing deeply. “Welcome back, Father,” Shi said smoothly. “We were not expecting you so soon.”

Sima Yi's gaze swept over the line of retainers as he stepped up to them. “Yes, well. I do not plan to get comfortable. We will be riding again rather soon – yes, we,” he said to the wide-eyed wonder of some. “There are important issues requiring our attention at hand. Lady Da Ji is allowing me to choose my army, so many of you will be joining me this time.” His gaze settled on the short young man in full plate armor standing with his usual retainers. “And who is this?”

Sima Zhao spoke up for him. “This is Xiahou Ba, father. You may not remember it, but he has been a loyal officer of ours before, in our normal time. Luck brought us together while you were away.”

Yi continued to peer at Ba, who did his best to smile in the face of scrutiny. “And which of Lord Cao Cao's faithless cousins are you related to, then?”

Ba didn't understand his animosity at all, but mustered up his courage and an answer. “My father was Xiahou Yuan, my lord. Er. Is, if he's alive in this world.”

Yi peered at him a little more before relenting and returning to his own sons. “Show me to my offices. I have much to do.”

Shi stepped aside gracefully to lead the way, inclining his head respectfully. His father followed him into the castle, leaving the rest to gossip amongst themselves. Zhao turned to Ba, who stood at least a head shorter than him. “Don't worry, it doesn't mean anything,” he assured with a lazy smile. “My father is known for being a bit arrogant. He's probably tired from his long ride, too.”

Ba sighed and looked down at his armored toes. He had come to Ueda of his own accord and quite by accident, his roaming had brought him to the peaceful-looking castle and he had gladly fallen in with his old comrades of the kingdom of Jin, who remembered nothing of betrayals and the chaos between kingdoms and were only too happy to bring him into the fold. With Zhong Hui away serving Cao Pi, they were slightly short-handed otherwise. It cut short Ba's long search for his father or uncle, but he did better having someone to serve and obey, someone with the resources to undertake searches for certain people if they wanted. “It's all right, Lord Zhao. I'm used to it,” he assured. “Thank you, though.”

“I would be happy to speak for you when Lord Sima Yi is deciding who to take with him, young master,” Guo Huai offered. “You are far more powerful than a weak and sickly man like me, after all.”

Deng Ai looked around the courtyard, at the soldiers moving away with the horses and supplies. “He did not have a single retainer with him. That does not bode well.”

“I suppose you want somebody to go stick his nose in and see what's up with that,” Zhao said wryly. “Fine, I guess I can be your man.”

“It would give you something to do,” Yuanji said pointedly, giving him a scolding look. She had rousted him from a nap in the rafters of the castle when the call came in to receive their lord.

“Yeah, I know. All right. Go on about your business, everyone.” Zhao slapped Ba amiably on the shoulder as he left them and went up into the castle keep to where he knew his brother was maintaining offices for them. Shi spent a lot of time in them, reading and keeping up on reports, planning things for the castle, and so on, but Zhao hardly set foot in them. At least he knew where they were, and edged into the opulent room with a flippant, “Knock knock!”

Shi and Yi looked his way with matching glares of annoyance. Yi sat at a desk already while Shi stood opposite to hold conference with him. “What is it, Zhao?” his father asked sharply.

“Nothing, I just wanted to see if you needed anything.” Zhao strode over to stand beside his brother. “What, I can’t take an interest in my father’s well-being once in a while?”

Sima Yi eyed him and gave up, returning to what he had been discussing with Shi. “So you see, there will be every attempt made to capture him. No one will be sitting idle this time, it is to be the army’s primary goal until someone manages to bring him in.”

Zhao looked keenly to his brother to explain. Shi cast him a solemn look. “Sun Ce of Wu has defected from Orochi’s army. And has apparently taken a number of officers with him.”

“Whoa…” Zhao was young enough that he had never had the chance to meet such a legendary warrior, but after his brush with Ma Chao, he was keen to learn more about these great figures from the generation before his, the ones who led the way to the Three Kingdoms he knew. Even he knew that the Sun children had been conscripted to fight for Orochi, and what a monumental development it was for one of them to turn his back and desert his post. “So we’re going after him, I take it. Why did he leave?”

“He made a failed attempt to rescue his father from under Cao Ren’s watch,” Sima Yi explained, not hiding his contempt for the Wei officer. “He gambled everything on being able to free Sun Jian and lost, and now he’s somewhere out there trying not to die while every Orochi officer descends upon him like vultures. Cao Pi is reportedly nearest his last known position, but that will not stop me from raising my own army and going in pursuit as well.” His lips curled in a greedy smirk. “Whoever brings him in is due a substantial reward from Da Ji. It would be in all our best interests to go after him and recapture as many of the traitorous Wu officers as can be found.”

Zhao grew serious, his brown eyes darkening. “Is that all it is? A big reward?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Yi narrowed his eyes in his younger son’s direction. “Under Orochi, reward is better than the alternative. I am his officer and you, in turn, are mine, so what he wants is what you will do. Has that not been made clear to you, Zhao?”

“It is no use complaining that you’ll have to get up and actually use your sword,” his brother cut in. “You knew this day would come.”

“It’s not about that.” Zhao glanced at Shi, knowing that his brother shared the ambitious nature of their father, but felt he could no longer keep quiet. Not when his family was at stake. He fixed Sima Yi with solemn eyes, no cajoling or flippancy about him any longer. “Father, I’m concerned about you. Ever since you chose to join the Orochi side, you’ve become harsher. Angrier. You don’t seem to care about anything but getting in Orochi’s good graces anymore. I’m worried that it’s having an effect on you.”

Yi’s face grew positively irate. He slowly pushed back his chair and rose from his desk in order to stare his sons in the eyes. “Is that so? Tell me, Zhao, just what do you mean by ‘harsher?’ Because I force you to work instead of laze about all day?”

“No, it’s…” Zhao clawed a hand through his hair and decided to try again. “All you seem to care about is showing up Zhuge Liang and becoming Da Ji’s favorite. It’s like you don’t even look at the bigger picture, of what this war is doing to people. To families, and to the innocent…”

“Since when do you care about innocents?” Yi leaned on the desk with his fingers splayed on the surface, poised like an eagle about to fly over it and strike them both. “War is war, Zhao, you know this well. You have two choices: die, or live, and if to live you must ally yourself with demons, then so be it. Honor be damned, it only gets perfectly good men killed for no reason.”

Shi stood listening to this, but finally found reason to speak up. “You have never openly told us, father, why you chose Orochi in the first place. We were not there, so we may not know your mind.”

His brother glanced at him in interest – so Shi didn’t know, either. Sima Yi shot him a quick look and then began to pace behind the desk. “It’s quite simple, Shi. Orochi is the most powerful being in this world. He can, at his whim, destroy every human he brought here without hardly putting in the effort. The fools in Wei and Shu, and the so-called Oda Resistance, think they can fight him if they just gather in enough officers, but I know the truth. He is more powerful than they, and he could obliterate them so easily that he finds it a bore to even think about. Subjugating them is only a matter of using the right strategies. While they flail around trying to find some logic in it, or allow themselves to be forced to do his bidding because of their blasted honor, I have risen above them all by choosing to align with the most powerful.”

His answer made even Shi blink. Zhao looked downright disturbed. “Then, it’s not to protect us, or anything else?” he breathed.

“Of course not,” Yi spat. “I know better. Cao Pi agreed to the alliance because he knew he was too weak to take Orochi on, but I know him. I know his conniving and backbiting, I’m sure that one day he, too, will turn on his master and will need to be beaten down. It’s all worthless! Pointless and foolish. Only idiots struggle against the storm, as if their feeble efforts can tame the wind and harness the lightning. The truly wise know when they have no chance, and instead bend with the wind so that it doesn’t break them. They are the only ones left standing when the storm passes.”

“So your long campaign in Nanzhong, doing Da Ji’s bidding,” Shi realized, “was for your own gain? To remain faithful?”

“Yes, and I will continue to stay loyal to her and to Orochi,” Yi said sternly, ending his pacing by turning to his sons and clasping his hands behind his back. “When all others fail him, I will still be there. Orochi will see that I have no intention of toppling him from his throne, and that will leave me alone ready to take the reward.”

“But…” Zhao leaned his hands on the desk, now. “…he’s a demon! Possibly the worst demon the heavens ever threw out! Innocent people are dying every day and for what?”

“Innocent people always die in wars, Zhao,” Yi said harshly. “When did you become such a fool and a dreamer?”

“Not like this!” Zhao fretted. “This isn’t war, it’s madness. This isn’t anything like gauging the attitudes of pampered nobles in Luoyang to get a good position under the Emperor, this is life and death we’re talking about!”

“Zhao!” Shi scolded him, but out of fear rather than anger.

Yi stared down his younger son with an ugly look. “You dare question my motives? After everything I’ve done to secure you a post at a luxurious castle and the freedom to come and go as you please! Ungrateful child!”

“No, father – you’ve secured your own freedom and post.” Zhao frowned at him. “At the cost of your soul. You’ve changed. I don’t like it.”

Yi suddenly erupted with fury, whipping out his war fan and raising his other hand in a commanding gesture. His sons were only tangentially aware of what kind of sorcery he had picked up within the Orochi army, but now the full brunt of it was directed at Zhao. The shockwave knocked him off his feet and sent him skidding across the polished wood floor to knock into a table. For a moment he didn’t stir, and Shi rushed to his side to make sure he wasn’t hurt. He picked his brother up to find him shaken, groaning with pain, but awake. “Father!” he cried, alarmed.

“That is the price of defying me!” Yi raged. “You will learn your place, boy! When I rise to become Orochi’s right hand, those who failed me will be his first victims! Will you join him, Shi, or will you show your father the respect I deserve?”

Shi’s face was tight, as he found himself caught between the two. In his arms, Zhao winced, a hand going to his head where he had struck it against something. “I have done nothing to defy you, Father,” Sima Shi said quietly. “Please, calm yourself.”

“You don’t know what it’s like, having to deal with Zhuge Liang getting all the credit just for existing,” Yi continued to snarl, waving his fan around as he talked. “He doesn’t even lift a finger and they all look to him, while I do everything Orochi asks of me and more, and am disregarded. Well, no more! We will be going after Sun Ce, and when I drag him crying back to Orochi, my position will be secure! I will hear no more disrespect from my own children – you’re going on this mission with me, Zhao, and so help me, if you say one word about it, I will deliver you to Orochi as well, as a traitor!”

Shi’s eyes went cold, hearing that. He helped his brother to sit up, and was glad to see that he wasn’t bleeding. Zhao did not raise his eyes or acknowledge the order at all, leaving Shi to straighten up and bow to his father. “If it pleases you, I would like to ride in the army as well.”

“No, Shi. You will remain here, to hold Ueda for Orochi,” Yi decided on the spot. “It seems I can no longer trust that job to Zhao, so much as it pains me to leave a brilliant mind behind, I must. Now get him out of my sight before I reconsider and take him straight to Orochi right now.”

Sima Shi bent to haul his brother to his feet, and steadied him with an arm under his shoulders to guide him out of the offices. It did seem like a good idea to separate the two, and get Zhao some medical attention just in case. As they walked down the long hall, Zhao breathed a jagged sigh. “I’m sorry, Ziyuan,” he whispered.

“You fool,” Shi whispered back, finally showing some signs of pain himself in the edge to his voice. “There were better ways to go about that! Why, Zisheng…”

“I can’t take it any longer,” Zhao admitted. “If it was to keep us all safe, maybe, but you heard him in there. He doesn’t care about anything except himself. He’s changed – you can see it, can’t you?”

“Yes. I see it.” Shi maneuvered him into an alcove and sat him down so they could talk head to head, whispering worriedly to each other. “I’ve watched him fall into this state ever since we were first sent to Nanzhong. His obsession over Zhuge Liang has gotten out of control, perhaps corrupted.”

Zhao leaned against his brother. “I’m sorry I dragged you into it. I don’t have your patience and cunning.”

Shi sighed hard; while that was true, he still cared about his brother, even if he had a hard time showing it sometimes. “Are you hurt?”

“I think I’ve got a bump on the head. It’s nothing, really.”

“Have your wife look at it, at least.” Shi looked back down the hall, but Sima Yi was clearly tending to his own matters in the office, he did not follow them and no one else had seen them. “You’re a fool, to be sure, but I cannot disagree with you. We may have to do something to open his eyes and bring him back around before it’s too late.” He closed his eyes sadly. “If Mother were here, she wouldn’t have let him get like this.”

“Maybe…but she’s too good for this world,” Zhao moaned. “I hope she’s in the real world, where it’s safe.”

Shi shifted to face him, taking him by the shoulders. “Listen to me, Zisheng. While you are out with him, you can say nothing else about this. This is between us alone, do not bring any of our retainers into it. Watch him, see what he does and how he acts, but do not raise any objections or do anything to interfere. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it,” Zhao sighed. “What then?”

“Let me worry about that. Anticipating the future is what I’ve been trained to do.” Satisfied, Shi got up and pulled him up after, giving one more once-over before sending him off to find Yuanji. “You must trust me, Zhao. I know we’ve had our differences growing up, but this is not a game. Our father’s sanity and possibly his life are at stake. We must work together to save him.”

“I trust you, Ziyuan,” Zhao murmured. “I’ll keep an eye on him and bring him back here safely.”

“Good.” Shi gave him a rare shoulder-pat to send him on his way before turning and stalking off to his other usual duties around the castle. He may have been more like his father in many ways, but this time, he shared his brother’s concerns entirely. Something had happened to the wise and powerful Sima Yi, and he would get to the bottom of it. His filial duty as well as the need to solve a mystery worked in his favor. He was already thinking back to their time in Nanzhong, before his father’s failure at Kawanakajima, and piecing information together in the back of his mind. At least, while the others were all out chasing Sun Ce, he would have lots of uninterrupted time at Ueda to think.

  


The news of Sun Ce’s betrayal got out rather quickly once Da Ji knew. It was a pivotal twist, a shakeup at the very core of the Orochi army, a benefit to the Resistance and a blow to the other conscripted officers. Even those who willingly followed Orochi, like Maeda Keiji, had less than pleasant things to say about the desertion of the Little Conqueror. Unfortunately, his siblings were quite possibly the last to know. Ding Feng actually broke the news to Shangxiang when she and Ina returned to where he waited, he wanted her to know before Da Ji or any of the foul snakes could tell her. Sun Quan had the misfortune of being far away in Wu lands at the time, and had entered into battle at Xin Di not knowing a thing. After their foes had gotten away cleanly in their boats, he had withdrawn into the castle to recover, finding Zhou Tai rather beat-up from his fight with Sanada and needing to reconnoiter with Zhuge Liang. The strategist did not seem terribly put out at the loss of his decoy prisoner, but that meant that his reason for being there had also slipped away, and he talked about returning to the main army as soon as an escort could be mustered for him. He had Ma Su, at least, but he had been injured in the battle as well. Sun Quan wanted to remain in Wu as long as possible, he showed no signs of getting his own forces together. To their combined consternation, Dong Zhuo had been seriously wounded by Zhao Yun’s spear, and his officers insisted he could not be moved at all for several days at the minimum, so if Quan wanted to remain in his own lands and his own castle, he would have to deal with that onerous houseguest. Before Zhuge Liang was ready to depart, a couple of days after the battle’s end, Da Ji appeared among them rather abruptly. She had a tendency to ride with an escort close enough and then teleport herself into the strongholds where her forces lay, usually to shock them but this time to save herself the headache of dealing with gate guards, castle courtyards, and honorifics. Fortunately, both Sun Quan and Zhuge Liang were in the same room where she magically appeared, in the middle of yet another discussion about whose job it was to report the outcome of the battle to Da Ji. As the shimmer of magic faded, Liang remarked, “Well. It seems that should save us the trouble of making a decision.”

Da Ji looked from one to the other, her face sour for once. “Good, you're both here,” she said with unusual curtness. “We've got a big problem.”

There was a moment's pause before either responded, as they needed that moment to recover from the startlement of having her blink into their midst without warning. “Why, Lady Da Ji,” Zhuge Liang said smoothly, and only a little sarcastically, “how nice of you to join us.”

“Yeah, save it.” She strode over to Sun Quan and faced him directly. “Your brother has betrayed us.”

Quan frowned in confusion. “My brother _what?_ ”

“He turned on us and attacked our forces at Osaka Castle,” she snapped. “He disobeyed my orders, then pulled this stunt and took a bunch of Wu officers with him. He hasn't returned since.”

Quan's face rapidly grew stormy, his thick eyebrows knitting together. “What?”

“Why would he attack Osaka?” Zhuge Liang queried seriously.

Da Ji cast him a suspicious look, but there really was no way to explain without speaking the truth. She immediately resented him for forcing her to own up to it so quickly. “He was trying to rescue Sun Jian, what else? I'm sure he figured that if he could just sneak behind my back and get his father, it would change everything. Well, it sure has – and not in his favor.” She returned to glaring at Quan. “Don't get excited, your father is still in Orochi's custody. Your brother _failed_. When my men caught up to him, he abandoned your father and ran to save his own skin. So now, he's nothing but a traitor. He's betrayed Orochi, and he betrayed _you_.” Her eyes took on a cunning, dangerous shade. “Unless, of course, you knew what he was up to.”

Judging by the towering fury in Quan's dark eyes, he had no idea of the plan at all. His hands clenched into fists, and as she needled him, his anger grew until it exploded and he slammed one of those fists on the table next to him. “No!” he blazed. “I knew nothing of this! You're telling me he just up and decided to quit, and turn his back on his own family? That fool!”

“How long ago?” Liang wondered.

Da Ji folded her arms in frustration. “I received an early report from my men at Osaka last week, but the full story came to me from Cao Ren just a few days ago. Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and all the officers they had with them when I last met with them at Odani Castle all took part in the raid, and all of them are now missing, against orders.”

“What was he thinking?!” Quan continued to rage. “He's going to destroy everything we've worked to protect! Of all the bull-headed, impetuous, _stupid_ things to do...!”

“There is one way to redeem your cause.” Da Ji frowned impatiently at him. “I don't mean your brother, his fate is sealed. He is a traitor to Orochi and deserves death, nothing more. But if you really had nothing to do with it, then I suppose I can hold off on the execution of your father. Because of your faithful service, he will live – for now. In exchange, I want _you_ to go after your brother and apprehend him.”

Quan gritted his teeth, but faced her and nodded. “Of course. It's my duty as my father's son to take over lordship of Wu from my worthless failure of a brother, and personally see to it that he's brought in.”

“Good. And don't bother going easy on him,” she added. “Betrayal is a capital offense. I would prefer to execute him myself, but if he decides to die on your sword instead, so be it.”

There was the slightest flicker of emotion in the younger Sun's eyes, at that, but he covered it quickly, his face going tight, lips pressed together in a thin line. “Understood. I will give my all to stop him before his rebellion spreads to the rest of our officers.”

“That's what I like to hear.” Da Ji relaxed slightly, moving her hands to her hips and swishing around the table, inspecting Zhuge Liang as much as her loyal Sun retainer. “You'll need to get moving quickly if you want to get to him before I do. What's the status of things here, have the Resistance been sniffing around?”

“Alas, the reinforcements from Lord Sun Quan were too late,” Liang reported, his voice completely empty of emotion. “The Resistance did more than sniff, they took my bait as I expected. Yet, they somehow managed to launch their attack from the sea, so they were able to best us and free the decoy prisoner.”

Da Ji's eyes narrowed in his direction. “I see. So you failed to quash their assault, then. Well, I don't much care about losing the prisoner, he was _so_ annoying. But I'm not happy with you, Zhuge Liang. You're supposed to be the wisest of any human in this land, I don't expect failure from you.”

“Wise or no, I am still a human, and therefore imperfect,” Liang murmured. “Nevertheless, the Resistance fled from here. Xin Di should be safe in whoever's hands you choose to leave it.”

“Dong Zhuo took a spear in the gut,” Sun Quan felt the need to mention.

“Ugh.” Da Ji rolled her eyes. “So he's not going to be any help in the near future. Fine, I'll leave him here. Zhuge Liang, I have orders for you, too. Sun Quan, round up your men and get moving. I have spies crawling all over the land between here and Osaka, looking for any sign of Sun Ce's force, so I'll go with you. I want to witness this for myself.”

Both officers bobbed their heads in acknowledgment of her orders, and Quan turned to go and take care of his part while Da Ji remained behind to make plans with Zhuge Liang. He stomped down the corridor, the tails of his coat and tiger-skin drape fluttering behind him, and barged into the officers' quarters where he had last seen Zhou Tai. His stoic bodyguard was not taking any time to rest no matter how much he hurt, going about his duties with nary a complaint and only a few bandages securing his bruises and cuts. He turned at the noise of the door slamming open, his eyes narrowing at the way his commander appeared. “My lord?”

“It's Ce,” Quan said bitterly, his anger starting to bubble up again. “He's left Orochi's service. He betrayed us, Zhou Tai!”

Tai stared hard at him. “What?”

“Da Ji just arrived, she told me everything.” Quan stormed past him, going to a window and looking out at the quiet lands of Wu surrounding them. Dark clouds were moving in off the ocean, while the sun fought to shine through them in defiance of the coming rain. “He didn't tell me he was going after Father. How did he even find out where he was being held? I thought we were going to all save him together!”

His bodyguard moved in behind him, glaring from under the shadows of his helm. “Explain.”

Quan turned just enough to answer him directly. “He defected in order to attack the castle where our father was being held. He was unsuccessful, though, Father is still being held against us. Da Ji wants him destroyed for it, and wants me to do the destroying.”

Zhou Tai regarded him coolly. “Will you?”

Quan rounded on him. “Ce has turned his back on our family and betrayed me! Of course I'm going to go after him, he needs to pay for abandoning us like this! I don't know _what_ he's thinking! _If_ he's thinking!”

Tai remained impassive, though his posture was tense and his eyes cold. “And if he had rescued Lord Sun Jian?”

“That doesn't matter. He didn't, and that's why we're in this position.” Quan faced him down, never afraid of him. “The only thing keeping my father from being executed is me – I have to stay loyal to Orochi no matter what, now, or he'll be dead. Shangxiang, too! Damn...I don't know if she knows. I need to tell her. But we're being ordered out in pursuit of Ce immediately, I came to get you to start the preparations to march.”

“It can wait.” Tai stepped close to him, invading his personal space. “Do you hate your brother, then?”

“I...” Quan found himself unable to answer. He looked into Zhou Tai's scarred face and then gripped his shoulder. “I can't condone what he's done!” he hissed. “He's put us all in danger, thanks to this brainless whim of his! Now I have to lead Wu, or what's left of it.”

“You are ready,” Tai said simply in his low growl. “But brainless? Not with Zhou Yu at his side.”

Quan's ire deflated slightly. “Then how do you explain it? He didn't care about us enough to tell us that he knew where they were holding our father, he just ran off to try to take care of it himself. Why wouldn't he tell me? I could have helped! Maybe with all of us united, we could have taken Osaka Castle!”

“He must have his reasons,” Zhou Tai grunted. “Careful, my lord. Da Ji has ears everywhere.”

Growling to himself, Quan eased back. His bodyguard was right, the demon could have heard him and branded him a traitor alongside Ce. “Fine, then. But we need to get moving. If someone else gets to Ce before we do, they _will_ kill him and I'll never know what was going through his thick head. If I want an explanation, I'm going to have to capture him myself.”

Tai looked down at his brawny chest, where beneath his tunic and armor he was well-bandaged to give his wounds time to heal. “I may not be in good enough shape to endure much of a pounding from him.”

“I'll handle that part. I'll need you to watch my back, my friend.” Quan slid a hand onto his shoulder and then off again as he strode past, the heat of his anger finally extinguished for now. As he departed, Zhou Tai stood silently thinking, as he always did. This news was tragic indeed, for the family as well as all of Wu. But he counted the number of officers who should have been with Ce, and calculated the extent to which the strength of the Orochi army had been diminished. It wasn't massive, but it was not small, either. Sighing, he tightened the strap holding his long, curved sword to his belt and strode out after his lord to go and round up their troops. So much for being able to enjoy a lengthy repose in their homeland.

Sima Yi and Sun Quan weren't the only ones being sent to apprehend the traitor. Far off in Xuchang, Ishida Mitsunari also received word of the turning of the young lord of Wu, and immediately brought the missive to Cao Pi's attention. To his surprise, Pi willingly agreed to obey this directive, and even looked interested in the development. Most of their officers were far afield at the moment, scattered to all corners of the map under either his orders or Da Ji's, but he had Zhong Hui on hand, so he declared that he would take the brash, young officer of Jin along, leaving Xu Zhu to hold their stronghold for when their other officers caught up. Mitsunari would be going as well, since he was under orders to remain with Cao Pi like his shadow no matter where he went. It had been some time since Cao Pi had gone into battle himself, it seemed a task like this was worthy of his personal attention, orders or no orders. They rode out from Xuchang at the same time as Sun Quan’s small, streamlined force departed from Xin Di, having Da Ji in their midst. Which of them would catch up to Sun Ce first, no one could say, not with the Sima clan right behind them.

The small army under Zhao Yun, meanwhile, were being escorted up the wide and wild river through Jiangdong on the two small boats piloted by the Chosokabe clan. They put in at a rocky quay to unload the troops and bid farewell to Morichika and Nobuchika, sending messages to their father with them, wishing him well and thanking him for his assistance. For his part, Zhao Yun had had quite enough of boats by then, and was rather glad to be back on solid earth for good. He refused to let the troops see him mope, and mustered his strength and determination to lead them somewhere safe. It took a little while before they could get an idea of just where in the world they had ended up, and with a little reconnaissance, finally got themselves safely across enemy territory and into open lands. From there, Yukimura knew more or less which direction to head to be picked up by the right scouts, who could then lead them to the hidden camp of the Takeda-Uesugi alliance. It would be safer to shelter there, and send out messages to reconnect with the rest of their forces afterward. They knew they were on the right track when roaming horsemen of the Naoe Cavalry spotted them, though only after they had halted the marching army and noticed the token of the Sanada clan on the brow of one of the leading officers did they stand down alert and agree to take them to their lords.

Much of this area of the patchwork world was unclaimed wilderness with only small villages or long-neglected ruins scattered here and there. It was summery, at least, with warm sunshine and the scent of grass and hay in the air. The paths they took wound around through the hills, confusing to even the most astute among them, making it clear that without a guide they would be lost and the camp was quite safe from invasion. At last, they rode down and struck a broader, more well-traveled road, and followed it to its end in a small village that had been completely taken over by the two warlords and their expansive collection of soldiers. Uesugi Kenshin was camped on one hillside, protected behind wooden palisades, while Takeda Shingen resided in a separate garrison on the other side of the village. Even in alliance, the two rival warlords remained apart from one another, no matter how many of their forces went easily back and forth between them. The village itself, abandoned by civilians, lay in the center, and served as a meeting place and extra housing. The cavalry chief sent his men ahead to alert one or both of the commanders while he saw to the needs of the Shu troops, getting them settled and encamped in the extra huts along the walls surrounding the village center. They had barely stripped the gear off the horses and hadn’t even placed the officers yet when a familiar silver-haired young man rode up through a side gate in an excited hurry. Yukimura heard the hoofbeats and turned in time to burst into a big smile. “Nobuyuki!”

“Brother!” Nobuyuki greeted him, leaping from the saddle and going to grip him by the arms in salutation. “I was wondering how much longer I would have to wait to hear from you!”

“Is this better than sending a letter?” Yukimura laughed as his comrades came alongside him. “You remember Lord Zhao Yun, and Master Jiang Wei.”

“Of course.” Nobuyuki inclined his head to each of them in turn. Every bit as handsome as his brother, he had the manners and diplomacy in the family, while Yukimura had the courage and warrior’s spirit. “Lord Shingen will be down shortly, he has some matters to wrap up first. He sent me ahead to find you proper quarters, and now that I see just who we’re entertaining, I would offer no less than the officer’s housing in the Takeda side of the camp.”

“Laying claim to him already, Lord Nobuyuki?” The clarion voice which interrupted their reunion came from another horseman who had ridden up from the other side, his smile just as bright as that of the elder Sanada.

Yukimura laughed to see him. “Lord Kanetsugu! Of course, I should have known.”

Naoe Kanetsugu dismounted more regally than the other had and strode up to them to greet them all. “Of course. It was my men who discovered you traipsing across the land like a vagabond, after all. I am so happy to see you, my friend.”

“And I you,” Yukimura said warmly, clasping his hand briefly. “I will report everything to Lord Shingen when he arrives, but right now, I must simply ask you both for shelter for a short time. We’ve just come from a tough battle at Xin Di castle, and need time to recover.”

“You will have it, there is no need to even ask,” Nobuyuki assured. “But, brother, what happened to your armor? It’s damaged…”

“A tough battle, indeed,” Naoe noted.

Yukimura held up a hand to caution them both. “I will explain everything. And while I’m here I will have it repaired. All in good time.”

He turned, then, to introduce his companions to Naoe; upon hearing their names, Kanetsugu’s eyes widened in amazement. “Truly? You are the famed Tiger General, then?” He suddenly bowed deeply to them. “Lord Zhao Yun, it is a great honor to meet you. I had received word that you were abroad in the land, and with Lord Yukimura, but to be in your presence at last…”

“Please, I am not nearly so worthy of praise,” Zhao Yun said modestly. Indeed, after Xin Di he felt lower than some of his least-ranked soldiers. “A pleasure to meet you as well, Lord Naoe.”

“The men of Shu who have devoted themselves to resisting Orochi with all their might are more than welcome among my lord and his nemesis,” Naoe assured. “Whatever you need, ask and you shall have it. I suppose I cannot begrudge a brother his wish to have you stay in the Takeda camp,” he added with a wry smile, “but in return I would ask that I be able to come and visit my friend as I please.”

“Of course, Lord Naoe, you are always welcome,” Nobuyuki said kindly.

“Give us a few minutes to see to our men, and then we can all ride to Lord Shingen’s camp together,” Yukimura offered.

It didn’t take long at all to order their troops and see to their housing, after which the officers turned their attention to their host. Only Nobuyuki rode, in order to return his horse to the cavalry in their own camp, while Kanetsugu left his in the central meeting area with the rest of the troops and the mounts belonging to their visitors. Even without horses, the three spearmen cut an impressive sight as they strode into the camp together, escorted by the notable generals of the alliance army. They came upon the commander as he was just leaving his tent to go and greet them. Yukimura bowed properly to his lord, and after a moment the other two followed suit. “Yukimura,” Takeda said in his big, booming voice, failing to disguise a smile. “You don’t write, you don’t visit…”

“Ah…sorry, my lord,” Yukimura said sheepishly. “I have been rather busy, please forgive my absence and my sudden appearance.”

“How could I not, when you bring me such interesting news.” The eyes behind the mask went immediately to Zhao Yun, as if recognizing him without the introduction. “If I must lose you to another lord, I can think of few more worthy of your talents, my young friend.”

“Please…I am no lord.” Zilong bowed a second time. “Zhao Yun of Shu is only a servant of Lord Liu Bei, nothing more.”

“Even a servant of Liu Bei is welcome in my camp. I see you have been taking good care of the younger Sanada for me – though whether he has been taking good care of himself in turn is not so clear.”

Yukimura tried to grin. “If this is about my armor, Lord Shingen…”

“As long as there are no injuries under that missing chestplate.”

“Only a scratch or two, nothing more.”

“Good.” Takeda breathed a longsuffering sort of sigh. “You’re lucky you sent word so long ago. The armorer is actually nearly finished with a replacement for you, you should see him before the day is out.”

“Ah! Excellent – I hadn’t expected to need it so soon, but that is good news,” Yukimura said happily.

Takeda looked at all of them, even taking note of Naoe’s presence. “So. Is this a pleasurable visit, or is it all business?”

Zhao Yun bravely raised his head to answer directly. “Our errand in the Wu territory did not go as planned, leaving us in need of somewhere to lay our heads for a few days. If it be your will, my lord, we would like to request assistance – only rest and supplies, and a chance to trade information while we make an attempt to contact the rest of our forces.”

“Granted,” Takeda replied without even needing to think about it. “Nobuyuki, give them housing among the officers. Anything they or their forces need, give it.” His gaze flicked to Kanetsugu. “Unless you and your lord wanted that duty, Naoe?”

“Lord Kenshin will give anything they ask,” Kanetsugu replied with a tiny smile. “I will report to him the nature of our visitors, and see if he is interested in meeting them as well. We may not have the ties of family, but we do have ties of other kinds making these fine fellows welcome in our camp at the same time.”

“There is one more officer of high rank with us,” Jiang Wei broke in. “Perhaps your lord would like to shelter him for a time. He was a prisoner of Orochi until recently, we managed to free him in the battle for Xin Di.”

“Oh? Then, by all means. Allow the Uesugi to handle his need and comfort,” Naoe said.

Yukimura really did not wish Yuan Shao on anyone, certainly not his dear friend Kanetsugu, but in order to appease Uesugi, they did need to allow him to offer hospitality. “Very well,” he consented. “That should be fine. He is, ah…a nobleman of the Han, if Lord Kenshin is curious.”

“A distinguished guest, then. I will let him know,” Naoe said proudly.

“The time to stand around and gossip can come later,” Takeda said with a wave of his fan. “You must all be tired from your journey. Rest, and I will receive you later.”

He turned to go back to his commanding duties, allowing Nobuyuki to finally escort them across the camp to the tents where the officers made their quarters. There was room enough for more, and they could even have their own private sections if they wished. To his brother’s surprise, Yukimura asked to share quarters with Zhao Yun, since he had pledged his service to the other warrior and did not want to be separated. Nobuyuki let him have it as he pleased, and gave Jiang Wei the other room to himself. Once they had all gotten out of armor and had something to drink to soothe their throats, Yukimura excused himself to go and consult the armorer about his situation, leaving his comrades to sit and talk with the other two. Kanetsugu was clearly still beside himself with joy over getting to meet more officers of Shu, and sat facing them with his hands clasped around his helm in his lap. It was the only way to try to restrain his giddy glee. “I count myself extremely fortunate,” he said brightly. “You are the third of the famed Five Tiger Generals whom I have been able to meet. I will cherish this for the rest of my life.”

“Third?” Zhao Yun repeated. “Who else have you met, then?”

“Why, Lord Ma Chao and Master Huang Zhong,” Naoe replied.

The news hit like an arrow to the heart. Yun gasped, and Jiang Wei nearly leaped off his seat. “They are alive and well? You’ve seen them?” the latter cried.

“Yes,” Kanetsugu answered, all smiles. “They are quite well. They are currently serving under Lord Oda Nobunaga, another resistance leader from our time. He apparently rescued them from dire circumstances, so they have consented to fight with him for now. As well as one of the sons of Guan Yu…Guan Ping, I believe?”

It wasn’t the one Zhang Bao was specifically looking for, but it was extra good news for Zhao Yun. He sat back, covering his eyes with a hand while he tried to rein in his emotions. Jiang Wei breathed a huge sigh of relief. “What luck! I was separated from Lord Ma Chao at Mount Dingjun, I did not know what became of him and his cousin.”

“They are both with Lord Oda, do not fear,” Kanetsugu said gently. “It has been some time since I crossed paths with them, but I was able to tell them what Saika told me, of your own safety. Lord Ma Chao was especially glad to hear that you were all right, Lord Zhao Yun.”

“You have been corresponding with Master Saika, then,” Jiang Wei noted. “I had no idea.”

“Oh, yes. Saika Magoichi and I have worked together before, I was glad to receive messages from him to keep Lord Kenshin apprised of your situation.”

“Then...” Wei looked to his comrade. “...we will be able to send word from here that we're all right, and arrange to meet up with him and others from our forces.”

“Yes, I suppose we will.” Zhao Yun was still reeling a little from the happy news. He had been so focused on his lord for so long that he had almost forgotten about the other officers who got separated from Jiang Wei, and realizing it now, he couldn't help but be a little shaken. “Thank you, Lord Naoe. You have raised my hopes with this news.”

“Anything for a friend of Yukimura's,” Kanetsugu smiled. “And of the honorable Ma Chao, as well. I only met him once, but I got to watch him ride roughshod over a battlefield to my delight. Perhaps our forces will be able to unite, and we can all fight alongside one another someday.”

“Perhaps so,” Yun agreed with a little nod.

They talked for a while, mainly comparing notes on what they had seen in their travels and what they thought of the places they had visited, until Yukimura rejoined them and steered the conversation politely away from what had happened in Wu. He and Kanetsugu clearly had a strong friendship, and after a while, Zhao Yun found himself simply listening fondly as the two talked of better days, of the plum and cherry blossoms in their native lands and the relationships that bonded people they knew. They were so engrossed that they nearly didn't hear an attendant call for them, to meet Takeda for dinner. To their collective surprise, when they ducked into the main tent where the table was set for them all to gather, several Uesugi attendants clustered around as well, and Lord Kenshin himself was seated at the opposite end of the table from Lord Shingen. It was to be a feast of united forces, and Zhao Yun humbly found himself welcome at Takeda's right hand, opposite Yukimura on his left. Not even Yuan Shao's pomposity and bragging could ruin their dinner at this point, though Uesugi did look less than amused at having to sit next to him. Naturally, in such company, talk couldn't be stopped from turning to war, but the tension was eased by good food, a little wine, and the setting. “As a matter of fact,” Takeda was saying, ruling over his table with a cup in one hand, “I received the most interesting letter earlier today. I didn't think it an omen at the time, but seeing you lot here now, I might start to wonder.”

“Oh?” Kenshin purred from the other end of the table.

“I suppose I may as well tell you here and now, Nemesis. You were named in it as well.” Getting a raised eyebrow from Kenshin in response, Shingen smiled knowingly. “It came from Oda. It seems he would be interested in paying us a visit.”

“Oda himself?” Naoe wondered. When Shingen nodded, he looked intrigued. “I see. Perhaps he, too, has heard about the sudden shift in the Orochi army.”

“Sudden shift?” Yukimura repeated.

“The Wu lord Sun Ce has apparently defected,” Takeda replied. “Details are sketchy, yet, but it means the Orochi army is losing a significant officer – likely, several, at that.”

“They can no longer keep him held hostage with his father's fate, apparently,” Naoe mused. “I wonder what changed.”

“Either way, it's a blow to Orochi and a boon for the resistance forces all across this land,” Takeda said boldly. “I'm sure I would personally be quite honored to have a great prince of Wu joining my side.”

“I would welcome him into the ranks of the Uesugi,” Kenshin put in, not to be overshadowed.

“Sun Ce? But we just fought Sun Quan,” Yuan Shao interjected. “How odd.”

Zhao Yun thought about it, about facing Quan on the battlefield and his great, swelling words of Wu pride, and looked across to Yukimura. “I don't think he knew, when we faced him. It's possible he simply hid it well, but...”

“I'm sure I would have heard him talking about it to the Sleeping Dragon, when I was their captive,” Yuan Shao said importantly.

“The plot thickens,” Takeda mused, stroking his chin below his mask. “Suffice it to say, things are going to become very interesting in the coming days and weeks. I shall be curious to see what Oda has to say about it.”

“We will meet with him,” Uesugi affirmed, taking up his own cup. “But if he thinks he can order either the Uesugi or the Takeda around, he will have a rude awakening.”

“I know little about this Oda,” Zhao Yun mentioned. “Yet, he is also building a resistance army? I have only heard that he has some of my countrymen with him.”

“He is, and he has been rather successful,” Takeda said with a nod. “Whether that is for the good or ill of us all in the long run, is not quite so certain. But right now, I am loathe to dismiss anyone who makes Orochi their enemy no matter which army they belong to. As my nemesis at the other end of the table would agree – in times like this, even longtime foes must work together, lest we all be trampled under Orochi's next wave of advance.”

“At the very least, the assistance you have offered is welcome,” Yun murmured. “I must continue my search for my lord, sooner rather than later, but our men need rest first.”

Shingen bowed his head graciously. “Of course. An army pushed to its limits is of no help to anyone. Take all the time you need.”

When at last their gathering broke up, rather late, Zhao Yun excused himself from the presence of the two great warlords and walked back to the officers' tent alone, having far too much on his mind after listening to the talk of things much bigger than he had even realized going on around him. It seemed Zuo Ci's sage advice to him so long ago was coming true – there were others, and they were all working to resist Orochi. At the same time, what had he done, aside from roam the land like a vagabond? True, he had liberated Chengdu from assault, and met Yukimura in the process, but since then, all his efforts had yielded nothing. He was now far from their headquarters, far from their own people, among allies perhaps but they were all strangers to him. The deference and respect shown to him by Takeda Shingen was appreciated, but at the same time made him feel even more like he had failed his lord, and couldn't dare call himself a resistance leader next to these men with their massive armies, their cavalry, and well-protected hidden encampment. He sat on the cot he would be calling his for the next few days and dropped his head into his hands, taking advantage of the quiet to be alone with his thoughts, melancholy though they might be.

Yukimura and Kanetsugu paused outside the main tent, lifting their heads to the inky twilight stealing its way across the sky. “It truly is beautiful, still, sometimes,” the former remarked. “In the midst of war and fear, that we can still find moments like this is a remarkable treasure.”

“It is the way of the samurai to find beauty wherever it may be, even in the midst of battle,” Kanetsugu mused. “But I have to agree with you. It's quite nice, here. I have had no complaints, except perhaps that I haven't seen as much action as you have.”

“If the boredom chafes you, you could always come with us,” Yukimura suggested with a smirk. “The nights are sometimes cold and sometimes hot, and we sometimes sleep with rocks for pillows, but there is rarely a dull moment.”

“Hm, that is a difficult choice,” Naoe smirked back. “I believe my lord may not be ready to send me away, yet. At least Lord Shingen has your brother to lead the cavalry in your stead.” He walked a few paces into the quiet dark of the camp, and his companion followed. “You will be staying with Lord Zhao Yun, then?”

“Yes. I have pledged my spear to him, I will not leave him now, nor at all until his lord is free of Orochi's clutches.” Yukimura glanced at him with a softer smile. “He is a good man, Kanetsugu. I am honored to ride with him.”

“I remember Master Gan Ning comparing the two of you, that one time. It seems he was not in error.”

Yukimura chuckled a bit. “Perhaps. Now that I know him myself, I feel as though I'm not worthy of being compared to him. I have so much to learn to even become half the warrior he is.”

“I hear the wonder in your voice,” Naoe teased as they walked. “Should I be jealous?”

“Ah, Kanetsugu....” The darkness hid his blush, but Yukimura edged shyly closer to him. “You know my heart is big enough for more than one.”

“I'm only joking, Yukimura,” Kanetsugu assured, nudging him with an elbow. “Samurai like ourselves must pursue love and beauty without limitations. I admit to being a bit in awe of him myself; if I am envious, it is of you being able to spend so much time with a legend.”

“I don't see him as such,” Yukimura admitted. “We have become fast friends in our time together. I wish that we had the time for you to come to know him as I do. He is honorable and generous, much like you.”

“I will take whatever time we do have, limited or not.” Kanetsugu paused just outside the officers' quarters and reached to take Yukimura's hand, drawing him closer. “That goes for you as well. Save me some time for a walk or a moon viewing?”

“I promise.” Yukimura squeezed his hand warmly and lingered a moment before drawing apart and waving good night to him. He ducked into the tent and pushed through the various partitions to the farthest chamber he would be sharing with Zhao Yun, a little surprised to see him already there. “Oh, Zilong...”

Yun looked up at his entrance. “Yes?”

“No, I simply...I didn't know you were here.” He noticed his comrade's expression, then, and came to sit beside him. “Is everything all right?”

“Fine,” Yun reassured, sitting up a bit. “Perhaps I am a bit overwhelmed, at all the information heaped on us. And your lord's generosity.” He smiled slightly. “He is a fine man, no wonder your clan has pledged to serve him.”

“At least,” Yukimura said kindly, “the worst is likely past. We should have the luxury of time to rest for the next couple of days, to spend it as we please without being called to any war councils.”

Zhao Yun knew he had command decisions to make, messages to send and reconnaissance to set up, but right now, he didn't much feel like thinking about anything. It was late, and though he had cut back on the wine, he was still well-sated with good food and drink. “What did the armorer say, about your chestplate?”

“Oh – he had been working on it, since I sent word from Chengdu about the crack in it,” Yukimura answered brightly. “It is nearly ready, all he had to do was size it to me to be sure and then paint it. It should be ready before we move on, so I can ride in full confidence that I will be protected.”

“Good, I'm glad.” Yun had not hid how much the scores and slashes in the replacement armor piece worried him. He had seen Yukimura throw himself into battle with the abandon of a warrior who had promised to himself to give his all, and fortunately he had the skill to bear it out, but they both knew that one wrong move, one unlucky hit, and he could be dead. “This was the right decision to make, coming here. I just need to learn how to actually relax, before you start nagging me about it.”

Yukimura smiled for him. “It is because I care about your heart. You have so much on your shoulders, more than most warlords I've ever known.”

“Not that much,” Yun demurred gently. “I don't mean to be so much trouble, Yukimura. I will be good and take some time to rest.”

“It's no trouble at all.” The young samurai set a hand on his comrade’s knee in comfort. “Perhaps the first step is not sitting up all night talking like usual, and actually getting some sleep.”

“You’ll get no argument from me on that.” Zhao Yun smiled softly to reassure him that he really did intend to rest, before Yukimura got up to give him his space. They said little else as they disrobed and wrapped up in their blankets, and in due order the tent was dark and silent and Yun found himself succumbing to his exhaustion.

In the deepest part of night, the heavy slumber of the weary began to ease and the dreams began to play, light and forgettable at first, but then growing more frantic, unpleasant, then dark and dreadful. Innocuous dreams of riding through cool green bamboo forests turned swiftly to the same old nightmare, to the conquest of Chengdu and the hordes of snake demons, the red sky and the sharp-clawed hands, the choking dust and the terror of witnessing true defeat. Some part of Zhao Yun’s mind knew it for what it was, but that didn’t make it any easier to wake himself from it. Then, he thought he saw a flutter of red among the green, and heard Yukimura’s voice calling to him. In the dream, he looked around everywhere, trying to find him, but all he caught was the wind-driven flutter of a red headband darting past him, out of his reach. He turned to chase it and found himself snapping awake into the inky darkness of the tent. The voice was there, it came from beside him, as Yukimura crouched beside his cot, shaking his shoulder. “Zilong, wake up!” he breathed.

“I’m here,” Yun gasped, his eyes searching the darkness for anything familiar, finally able to register the dark shape beside him in the dimness. What little light from torches outside bled through the tent canvas gave him just enough to orient himself. He set his hand on the one tightened on his shoulder, and only then realized that his own face was wet and he was breathing heavily.

Yukimura leaned over him, his eyes gleaming with concern in the darkness. “Are you all right? You were thrashing so much I thought you would hurt yourself…” he whispered.

He leaned back as Zhao Yun sat up, giving him space. Yun brushed a hand over his cheeks to wipe the errant tears away; he hadn’t even been conscious of shedding them while caught in the throes of the nightmare. “It’s nothing,” he assured, his voice low and tired. “The same dream, is all.”

“I have never seen it affect you this much,” Yukimura worried. He set a hand gently on his comrade’s arm, rubbing it soothingly. “Do you care to speak of it, or no…?”

Yun looked away, though as he came fully awake he could tell that whatever he had been doing in his sleep, it hadn’t awakened anyone besides Yukimura. They were still alone in their chamber of the officers’ tent. At last, he shook his head. “I wish to forget about it, and try to sleep. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to, so easily…”

Yukimura breathed a soft sigh, and then leaned in even closer, as if their situation weren't private enough. His whisper was gentle and laden with extra feeling. “What if I were to sleep beside you? I may not be as soothing as Lord Motochika's music, but...”

The sudden pang of yearning that clenched his chest was too much, on top of his jangled nerves and shame at weeping in his sleep, but Zhao Yun bore it silently. His jaw clenched for a moment, and then his hand fell on top of the one on his arm, clutching it tightly. “Is it wrong,” he breathed, “for a warrior and a general to want to be held like a child?”

“Never,” Yukimura immediately replied, though he cautioned with a light chuckle, “as long as it's what you want. I don't mean to press you. I only want your happiness, my friend...”

“I only want to sleep,” Yun demurred, finding himself wilting toward Yukimura's warm, solid presence in the darkness. His head came to rest on his companion's shoulder, and the feeling in his chest grew even stronger, as a heat rushed through his body and pooled in his gut. He wanted the contact more than anything right now. His plea came in the quietest whisper of desperation. “Please. Stay with me.”

A soft noise escaped Yukimura, and he pressed his cheek against Yun's head, so near to his own. “You need not put on a brave face around me, Zilong. I would rather help to bear the weight on your shoulders than let you suffer with it alone.” He moved even closer, shifting onto his knees in order to offer more of himself to be that support he spoke of.

Yun found himself reaching for a hold of something and clenched a handful of Yukimura's tunic at his chest. Something was building in his heart besides the need for comfort and sleep, but he was quick to recognize that now was not the time for it. He wasn't thinking clearly, his emotions were addled by the nightmares, surely he should just accept the offer given and not read too much into it. After a bit, he lifted his head and tried to draw back, but gravitated to Yukimura's warmth like a moth to flame. It took Yukimura actually disengaging first in order for them to move from that spot. The cots were not at all conducive to sharing a bed, so the young samurai stripped them of blankets and made a quick nest on the mat on the floor instead. It was more akin to their nights in the field than a comfortable rest in fine quarters in a camp, but Yun didn't care any longer. He curled up on his side and allowed Yukimura to wrap up against his back, and then let out a huge sigh. Yes, this was what he craved, indeed. An arm came around him, and he failed to stifle a small moan of need at the feeling. In response, Yukimura hugged him even more tightly, trying to get him to relax. “I've got you,” he murmured in Zilong's ear. “You can sleep safe and sound, now.”

Zhao Yun wasn't sure he could, now, but for entirely different reasons. He did his best, breathing deeply and keeping his eyes closed, but he couldn't ignore his comrade's presence. They fit so well together, and Yukimura's closeness certainly did help him relax, but after a little while, Yun did something that surprised even himself. He shifted to roll over and immediately pressed Yukimura onto his back, leaning in close and bending his head as if to kiss him. He stopped himself just before doing so, turning his face so that his nose brushed against his friend's cheek instead. Before he could apologize and revert their positions, Yukimura's hand prowled up through his loose hair and caressed soothingly. He was trapped, now, and blinked in the darkness at the lack of distance between their faces. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I...”

“It's all right,” Yukimura assured. “No need to apologize.” His fingers worked through the silky strands of dark hair and moved around to brush against his cheek. “Am I keeping you awake?”

“No...” The soft touch against his skin raised tingles down Yun's back, and as he lifted his head to face Yukimura directly, he realized that not only was he not being pushed off, but the touch was encouraging – and decidedly not the type friends used to console. “It's me,” he tried to confess, “I didn't mean to. I should...I should sleep...”

Yukimura blinked up at him, able to see him well enough in the darkness to see his uncertain expression. “Is there something you want, Zilong? You know I would do anything for you.”

“Not...no. There are some things I cannot ask of a friend...”

“But you can.” Yukimura cupped his hand along Yun's face, making sure he didn't look away, and smiled shyly. “If you want to. I would not say no.”

“Yukimura...” Zhao Yun stared at him for a long while and then shook his head. “I cannot. Not now. But you...do you really feel this way?”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Sanada breathed the tiniest hint of a chuckle. “Is it so surprising? We have ridden together for so long, now, I feel as though I've known you for a lifetime. The bond between us is stronger than blood or oath, or so it seems to me. I hope that I'm not overstepping my bounds saying so...” His hand trailed down along Yun's neck, drifting away slowly.

Yun felt the heat rise into his neck and face, thank goodness the darkness hid his blush. “You do so much to encourage me. Do you truly believe in me that much?”

“I do. What's more...” Yukimura hesitated, not wanting to bother Zilong any further, but he couldn't help but hear Kanetsugu's words in his head again. Love and honor were Naoe's prime philosophies, but he did agree with them in a general sense; talking about it with him earlier had brought it to the fore. “It is more than just believing in you, Zilong. I care for you, deeply. I've grown quite fond of you, far beyond mere admiration.” Yun lowered his eyes away in embarrassment, but Yukimura kept him from withdrawing with another caress through his long, loose hair. “You know that long talk we had while riding to Nanzhong, about what it means to be a samurai, and what I believe in?”

“Of course.” Zhao Yun remembered it well, and fondly. Not that he hadn't learned much about Yukimura prior to that, but it gave him an interesting new perspective. “After Magoichi said I could be one.”

“Then, you remember what I said of our ideals, of honor and beauty and such things. That means we pursue them wherever we find them, even in another warrior. Even in our friends, and sometimes our foes.” Yukimura lowered his voice to the gentlest murmur in the darkness. “He was right, you know. You have the honor of a samurai, but also the kindness, love, and beauty of one.”

Yun made an embarrassed little groan deep in his throat. “I haven't felt like much of one today, or tonight. I am still beset by nightmares, and wake up in tears and need to be held...”

“That only means you still have the kindest heart, which is still beautiful to me.”

“I...Yukimura....” Completely taken aback, Yun wriggled a bit and then drooped his head so that it rested on his comrade's shoulder. “I don't know how you could say such things about me.”

“I gather that such things are not completely unheard of, in your time,” Sanada said hopefully. After all, Zhao Yun had not pushed himself away or put any distance between them.

Yun lifted his head slightly. “It is said that sometimes, sworn brothers will share that kind of bond,” he admitted. “Not always, though.”

Yukimura slid his arms around his companion's shoulders, hugging him gently. “I don't wish to put any more of a burden on you, so late at night. You don't have to say anything. Just know how I feel. And that I won’t let you suffer alone with your fears, I am here with you.”

The embrace was so comfortable and welcome, Zilong knew that he could never push it away. Nor Yukimura himself, generous and honorable and benevolent and loyal. He took a few deep breaths to try to clear his head, and then laid back down, pillowing his head on Yukimura's shoulder this time. The protection and comfort he needed was easier to grasp in this position, and he knew that he was safe. Whatever else happened, in the morning or in the days to come, he had no fears, exactly as he had once declared when he and this samurai first met. He closed his eyes as Yukimura's cheek came to rest against his forehead, and to his surprise, he was able to fall asleep rather soon afterward. No more nightmares bothered him that night, or any night while in the safety of the Takeda camp over the next few days. Perhaps it was indeed Yukimura himself warding them off, all the more reason to sleep with him.

In a military camp such as that maintained by the Takeda-Uesugi alliance, there were few entertainments to be had, which suited Zhao Yun just fine. He wanted the time to himself to rest, and to clear his mind before thinking of what needed to be done next. Jiang Wei was more than capable of sending missives to their forces at distant castles, he knew what must be done and, as the resident strategist, had the necessary foresight to plan for what might be on the horizon. He enjoyed the opportunity to talk strategy with Takeda Shingen and assist with the plans, as much for his own experiences and learning as for the chance to take some of Zhao Yun’s duties so he could rest. Yukimura seemed to be everywhere at once all over the camp, looking after his comrade, conferencing with his lord, visiting with Kanetsugu, and even taking time to inspect the cavalry with his brother. Nobuyuki had ridden for a little while by himself, but returned to Takeda to undertake all the tasks that normally would fall to his younger brother. “At least,” he said as the two of them walked along the fences keeping their horses separate from the Naoe cavalry, “we are still stumbling on allies here and there, and adding them to our forces. Father may still be out there somewhere, but Uncle will take on some of his responsibilities for now.”

“It’s good to see Nobutada well,” Yukimura said with a nod. “I have no doubt Father will join us, when we can finally clear the way for him and others like him to find their loved ones.”

“And there are so many in that position,” Nobuyuki sighed. “Lord Nagamasa still hasn’t found the Asakura no matter how far and wide he’s searched, but he did at least manage to claim a fortress to use as a base. It gives us another small foothold. Meanwhile, Kagekatsu has heard that the rest of the Hojo are still in search of their lord as well.” 

“Does Lord Ujimasa truly believe that his father is out there, too?”

“He does. But they haven’t had much luck themselves. What with the Fuuma clan serving Orochi, I’m not surprised.” Nobuyuki paused to lean on a fence stile and watch the horses grazing peacefully. The grass among the hills was thick and lush, prime for pasturing large numbers of cavalry steeds. “It is all so frustrating, Yukimura. Not even knowing if our lands or our own families are even here in this world, and then knowing that some of them are either captives of Orochi or servants to him.”

Yukimura leaned beside him, having some idea what was vexing him. While not yet married, his brother had been promised to Lady Ina, and knew she was currently under Orochi’s thumb in order to protect Tokugawa, a thought that rankled him. His brother must have felt awful about it. “You mustn’t lose hope, Nobuyuki,” he encouraged. “Everything will be made right, I’m sure of it. If we give in to despair, those who are counting on us will have no one to turn to in their hour of need.”

Nobuyuki glanced at him and smiled a little. “Where did you learn to be so optimistic?”

Yukimura smiled back. “I don’t know. I’ve been with Lord Zhao Yun so long, perhaps some of his hope and determination has rubbed off on me.” He turned his eyes back to the horses and rested his chin on his arm where it leaned on the fence stile. “He believes without a single doubt that he can reach his lord, that he will be the one to save him. I can’t help but admire his faith. He has had almost nothing to support him, yet he doesn’t give up no matter how many setbacks he sees. If he can go so long on hope alone, and not give in to despair, then so can we.”

“Can anyone really live on hope alone?” Nobuyuki mused.

“In this place, we must.” Yukimura did not share with him, though, his comrade’s private fears. Those were for him alone to bear on Yun’s behalf. “Orochi means to use our loyalties against us, we must show him that faith in our lords and our allies is not a weakness. And that our love is stronger than his darkness. We will rescue everyone he has in his control, whether a prisoner like Lord Liu Bei or a servant like…Date, and Ishida, and all the others.”

His brother glanced at him, and then breathed a soft sigh as he, too, leaned on the fence and watched the horses. “You certainly have me convinced. Keep speaking like that, Yukimura, and you might find yourself commander of your own resistance army.”

Yukimura chuckled under his breath, ducking his head. “Me? Not likely. I am content to follow Lord Zilong…he needs me more than anything.”

When at last they came down from the pastures and cut through the camp, they ran into Zhao Yun himself, who was actually looking for them in turn. “The armor-maker sent word that your new set is ready,” he reported. “He seemed very excited to have you see it.”

“Come, then, let’s go and pick it up,” Yukimura said brightly. “I want you to see it, too.”

Curious, the other two went with him, crossing to where a contingent of artisans were set up to maintain the arms and armor of the entire Takeda army. Smithing fires burned bright and hot everywhere, and most of the skilled tradesmen were busy making fresh spears and clusters of arrows for the rank-and-file, but a few special craftsmen had their own setup off to the side to ply their skills shaping, adorning, and maintaining the exquisite armor of the top-ranking officers. The one who had spent weeks preparing Yukimura’s armor in case he needed a replacement, only to be called upon to actually finish and deliver it, had already started in on his next project, but he took the time to bring out Yukimura’s new set himself and fit it to him. The instant he uncovered the bright-burnished lacquered leather embossed with silver and bronze, they were all rather amazed. It was a duplicate of his favored setup, yes, but instead of the vivid crimson that he proudly wore to proclaim his family crest and colors, this one was silver with gold and green accents. In fact, it looked remarkably similar to Zhao Yun’s in terms of paint. Nobuyuki’s expression upon seeing it became somewhat confused, while Zilong smiled softly in interest. There could be no mistaking the color change, or its purpose. Yukimura donned it with his usual kimono and trousers, and then turned to stretch his arms and move to verify that it was as perfectly-fit to his body as ever. “It is exactly as I needed,” he complimented the artisan. “Thank you.”

The old man bowed deeply. “I only aim to please your liking, Lord Sanada. If you are happy, then I am happy.”

“That is…an interesting choice, brother,” Nobuyuki murmured.

Yukimura turned to him, and guessed at his thoughts from his expression. No one had ever seen Yukimura in anything but Sanada red. “It was explained to me that simply replacing the chestplate wasn’t so simple at all,” he said. “I will leave my old set here, to be rebuilt properly, and wear this for the time being.” He stepped over to place a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I promise, our family will still be properly represented.”

Nobuyuki shook his head to try to correct his thoughts. “It’s just going to take some getting used to, is all. The white does become you, though.”

They returned to the officers’ tent together, so Yukimura could deposit the armor, which no one needed to wear while in camp. While they waited outside, Zhao Yun lowered his head humbly before Nobuyuki. “I didn't know what he was planning. It comes as a surprise to me – a pleasant one, I admit.”

“I am not offended, Lord Zhao Yun,” the elder brother said gently. He stepped to one side in order to bring himself to face the Shu general squarely, and speak in confidence while Yukimura was elsewhere. “I may not know you as well as he does, but I know enough. He believes in you, and I know that belief is well-founded. Please, continue to take good care of my brother.” He bowed, even as Yun lifted his head to regard him in surprise. “I worry about him sometimes. He is brave and powerful, and Lord Takeda's faithful servant, but there are times I fear that he doesn't truly know what he wants. You have given him a new perspective, and for that I am grateful.” As he straightened up, he was smiling softly. “If the price of his happiness is seeing him wearing the colors of your kingdom for a while, it is a price too small.”

“You are too generous, Lord Nobuyuki,” Zhao Yun said kindly. “I am eternally grateful to have made the acquaintance of the Sanada, in this world. I promise, I will give everything to live up to your expectations.”

Yukimura ducked out of the tent then, and smiled to see them chatting together. “What are you two up to, out here?”

“Nothing,” Nobuyuki assured. “If you don't mind, I need to look in on Lord Shingen and get caught up on things. Enjoy your rest, my friend,” he added to Zhao Yun as he departed.

Once they were alone, Yukimura rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I hope you don't mind...”

“Not at all,” Yun assured, and his smile proved it. “I'm honored, and I know my lord will be, when he can see it for himself. You do my heart good, Yukimura.”

“I am glad to see you smiling so widely,” Yukimura admitted. “It has been a while since I've seen such joy in you.”

Looking away, Zhao Yun briefly covered his mouth with his hand in embarrassment. “I...I suppose I haven't taken the time to look for reasons to smile, lately. I have you to thank for that as well.”

Yukimura only grinned even more brightly. “And what if I asked you to take a walk with me? Not to talk or do anything, just to enjoy the sunshine.”

Yun looked around, and then shyly nodded. “If I can be allowed to steal you away from Lord Takeda for a little while, then yes. I would like that.”

“Of course.” Yukimura gestured for him to follow, out through the palisades and along the shoulder of the hills to a rather remote spot where they could sit in the grass and just bask in the wonder of the natural world. He and Kanetsugu had actually found it the night before, looking for a private place to have a moon viewing party, but it was just as nice in the sunshine. They didn't even need to talk, they simply sat or laid in the grass, feeling the sun on their faces and the wind in their hair, and remembered that life was still worth living in their own personal ways.

In all, they spent four days among the Takeda-Uesugi alliance, which wasn't nearly enough in most estimations for Zhao Yun to truly rest and recover, but they had things to do. On that last day, Saika Magoichi himself rode into camp, answering the messages that made it halfway across the landscape to him in person. He had already been on his way back from reconnaissance with the rest of their forces, and had with him Wang Ping and Zhang Bao, all of them eager to keep working to find Liu Bei and the rest of their countrymen. They had news, as well, and Zhao Yun knew there was no more time to waste. Takeda couldn't be too put out that someone else had found their secret camp when he realized who it was – Saika was known to be too good at his job. Yet, he had strict words with the marksman about just traipsing into hidden camps before they traded scout reports. Magoichi's return signaled the time for the rest to leave, and they didn't even wait for the day to be out. Both warlords, with Nobuyuki and Kanetsugu, came to see the Shu warriors off, to bid them fond farewells and give them any last important advice and information before they left. It was their first time seeing Yukimura fully arrayed in his new armor, all of it had been painted to match the new chestplate. He had donned new clothing with it, blues and whites, but atop it all he still wore the bright red headband with the Sanada crest of six coins emblazoned on it, matching the red filigree shaft of his cross-bladed spear. The trailing ends of the headband hung over his shoulder, red ribbons spilling over the silver, white, green, and gold. “That's quite a striking look for you, Yukimura,” Takeda noted. “It might be harder to see you coming across a battlefield, now.”

Sanada laughed a little. “I hope not. But thank you, my lord.”

“You will simply have to carry your passion in your heart, rather than displaying it across your chest,” Kanetsugu said warmly. “Do you have everything you need, then? Is there anything else we can supply?”

“You have done more than I could have ever asked for,” Zhao Yun said humbly. “You have my gratitude. One day, I hope to repay your generosity, my lords.” They had even offered an escort to bring Yuan Shao across the land to regroup at Chengdu with the rest of their army – not that they didn't want him along, but he was adamant about talking to commanders and looking for his sons, who had been scattered in the battle for Chengdu. His interests did not include riding across unknown lands like vagabonds looking for clues. The Shu army, however, did not want to just leave him with Uesugi, in the off chance he remembered where he had heard Liu Bei might be held by the Orochi army. Whenever his memory finally surfaced, they wanted him among their own allies in order to get that information right away.

“You remember what I said about the Azai and the Hojo,” Nobuyuki mentioned to his brother. “If you run into any trouble, you can find Lord Nagamasa at a place called Chencang. The Hojo are still wandering, perhaps you may run into them.”

“If we see them, I will pass on your messages,” Yukimura assured.

“Everybody here? Good,” Magoichi interrupted. “We've got a ways to go if we want to be clear of Lord Shingen's sentry lines by nightfall. I don't need any more lectures about accidentally calling attention to ourselves.”

Takeda's eyes behind the mask glittered at him. “Indeed. Ride well, my friends. May you find everything you seek and nothing you don't.”

Zhao Yun nodded his thanks and turned his horse, taking the lead as the mounted officers peeled away one by one, followed in due order by their troops. As they rode out, Kanetsugu and Nobuyuki raised their hands to wave goodbye, and the assembled members of the Sanada and Naoe cavalries saluted. For that moment, at least, Zhao Yun and his army were not vagabonds, but lords and generals, honored and cherished. He placed a hand over his chest as he rode away, as if to clutch the memory to his heart and keep it there forever.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun Ce attempts to lead his men to safety and runs straight into his brother - and Cao Pi - at the Battle of Xia Kou.

Since fleeing Osaka Castle, Sun Ce had led his men as far away from known Orochi strongholds as possible, traveling mostly by night and holing up during the day to save them from being spotted by demon scouts. They had the fortune of knowing most of the Orochi army bases and usual supply routes, making escape easy for a time, but as the days went by they had to start taking risks, crossing enemy territory while giving roads and castles a wide berth. The officers following him were not nearly as disappointed as Sun Ce in their defeat, most of them were of the confident opinion that they would try again when they had more troops to take on the castle defense, and would be victorious next time. Only Ce and Zhou Yu knew that it wouldn't be so easy, and Sakon understood their unease. As they came down through the empty wilderness and made camp near a riverbank, the officers gathered around to finally consult about their plans from here on out. “We're not a small force, if you think about it,” Sakon noted. “We're going to attract attention if we all travel together like this. Besides, you're going to need somewhere to go, and then maybe some allies to support you.”

“What of Oda Nobunaga?” Zhou Yu asked him. “You know him, correct?”

“Oh...yeah, I suppose I do.” Sakon smirked for a moment before shrugging it off and resuming his seriousness. “See...I know Lord Nobunaga would be happy to pull you into his forces. But I'm not so sure it's a good idea. You don't want to exchange one taskmaster for another – you seem like the kind of guy who's better off on his own. It'll be harder, sure, but trust me on this. I think you'd do much better without him.”

Ce made a face, but nodded. “I trust your judgment, Sakon, especially since you know the guy.”

“There is also Zhao Yun of Shu,” Lu Su reminded them. “The one Da Ji was keen to apprehend.”

“Oh, yeah...” Taishi Ci realized. “But does anybody know where he is?”

“Our intelligence picked up nothing of his whereabouts, he has been constantly on the move,” Zhou Yu replied.

Ce shook his head slowly. “I know we need more allies, but Sakon's right. I haven't given up on my mission, we need to rescue my father before Da Ji decides to execute him. They're probably going to move him from Osaka, so attacking there again won't do us any good anyway.” He lifted his head and looked at Zhou Yu. “What about trying to make it to our own Wu lands, and sending a message to my brother?”

“What good are you hoping that would do?” Lu Meng wondered. “With your father's life at stake, do you think Sun Quan would join you?”

“I don't know, but I have to at least let him know what's going on, and see if he can maybe find out where they're going to move our father to.”

“It's not a bad idea,” Sakon shrugged, “even if it doesn't gain us any more officers.”

“I am with Lu Meng, my lord,” Zhou Yu said solemnly. “But I am willing to go along and try either way. We do need help, and we have two options – Oda, with whom we have ties through Ranmaru and Sakon, or Zhao Yun, whose location is unknown. But, if Sakon suggests we split up in order to shrink the size of the target Orochi has to aim for, we could send a force to search for the Shu resistance.”

“There is one other,” Han Dang spoke up. “Tokugawa. Didn't his ninja say that he might be with us?”

“You're right,” Ce breathed. “Lord Ieyasu was the one who started the investigation to find information on my father, before I ever did. Even if we failed...maybe he would be convinced to defect for the same reason I did.”

“It would be dangerous to return to the area of Odani, though,” Lu Meng warned. “In that case, we would be better off sending messengers.”

Taishi Ci snorted, then. “There are way too many strategists here.”

They all looked at each other, and realized he was right. It made them chuckle lightly before resuming the discussion. “Not that I really want to take over Zhou Yu's job for him,” Sakon said dryly, “but it might not be as bleak as it looked at first. I can send out feelers in Oda's direction, meanwhile maybe ride out with a couple guys to see if we can find Zhao Yun. Someone else can sneak their way back to send a message to Hattori Hanzo, and find out what Tokugawa's thinking. That means, Lord Sun Ce, if you want to try to reach your brother, you probably can.”

“Where would you go, though?” Lu Meng wondered. “Are any of the Wu territories free of Orochi control?”

“There’s always Hefei,” Lu Su replied, glancing at his compatriot. “As I recall, it was never actually captured. After the battle, we were all drawn off to the main army. It may yet be deserted.”

Ce glanced to Zhou Yu, who nodded his agreement with the assessment, and then took on a firm expression. “All right. We'll do it that way, then. I don't know how we'll meet back up, but I'm sure we'll find a way. If nothing else, head for Hefei when you can, and hope that it isn’t being held against us.” He looked around at his faithful officers, and realized they were looking at him to give them orders rather than ask for volunteers. He decided to split the difference. “Lu Su, how do you feel about trying to contact Tokugawa?”

The elder statesman bobbed his head graciously. “I can handle that, Lord Sun Ce.”

“Lu Meng...I know we haven't been back together long, but can I send you with Sakon? Take Taishi Ci with you, too, in case you run into any trouble.”

Meng smiled easily in Sakon's direction. The two strategists had gotten to know each other well in the past few days, and liked one another's style. “I think that can be managed. I’ll keep Jiang Qin with me, too. You want us to see if we can round up anyone else?”

“Focus on locating Zhao Yun for now,” Zhou Yu advised, “but use your judgment as you go. Never pass up an opportunity if it looks promising and low on risk.”

“The rest of you will come with me, but I may need to split us up further if we get into trouble,” Ce concluded. “I'm the one they want, the rest of you might be able to escape and join back up with the rest of our forces if anything happens to me. And I don't want to hear any argument on that,” he quickly added before anyone could protest about how important he was. “Got it?”

Everyone agreed, so they called it a plan and separated to go and get some rest before they would have to set out again. Ce wrapped himself up in his bedroll and passed out almost immediately, but Lu Meng and Zhou Yu sat up for a while, ordering the watch and divvying up the troops between their respective forces, and then quietly chatting. “We did the right thing,” Lu Meng said certainly, keeping his voice low. “He's just not used to defeat like this.”

“He has been living his defeat for the past few months straight,” Zhou Yu explained. “Orochi destroying us at Hefei was the start of it, he never recovered from that. We were hostages, his father's life was being held in the balance, he had so little to encourage him to persevere. If not for Quan and Shangxiang, I fear he might have given up.”

“And now he's separated from them, even if he has all of us safe.” Meng shook his head slowly. “None of it is easy, I know. He probably doesn't want to hear about how much we all believe in the Little Conqueror if he doesn't believe in himself.”

“Deep down, he knows,” Yu assured. “But no, he doesn't need to hear it right now. I think, actually, the quiet loyalty from young Ranmaru has been more of a balm to his soul than any amount of platitudes from his retainers. We follow him because we always have, our trust is ingrained. Ranmaru has chosen to leave his lord and stay with Sun Ce based only on what he has seen in this world, most of which has been done in service to Orochi. Ran sees something in him that Ce has not seen in himself for some time.”

“These fellows from the future really are something, aren't they?” Meng smiled. “I feel like I could stand to hang around them some more. Shima and I will get along fine on our errand, I'm sure.” He paused to look up as a bird chirped in the trees over their heads, a wistful sort of look on his unshaven face. “I recognize these woods. We’re near Xia Kou, aren’t we?”

“I believe so.” Zhou Yu rubbed his chin thoughtfully, remembering that battlefield. The place where the rivalry between Ling Tong and Gan Ning arose, if he wasn’t mistaken. “This river may take us there. I have not heard of it being occupied by any forces, so the safest way past may be straight through.”

“I’ll lead my group to the south, then, we’ll skirt around the other way.” Meng sat back on his hands, tipping his head to peer through the dappled shadows of the leaves blocking the sky. He had been captive in a stronghold among Orochi's snake soldiers for so long, he felt like he had too much to catch up on. Riding with his comrades old and new since leaving Odani had given him the chance to learn as much as he could, but he still hadn't lived those conflicts alongside his lord and countrymen. He knew he would have to work hard to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with them again and share the experience. “It pains me to think that you had to attack and ruin the plans of the Resistance just to free me, given that we turned and became part of it so soon after. But all the same, it feels good to feel the sun on my face again.”

Zhou Yu remembered his own captivity all too well. “Did they harm you, at all?” he asked very softly, almost warily.

Meng took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “They smacked me around a little, at first. It wasn't the worst I've ever seen. For the last, oh, couple of months or so, they just ignored me, though.”

Yu glanced his way and rested his chin on his arms, where they sat folded on his knees. “It was the same for me. I haven't had the heart to tell Ce what they did.”

“He doesn't need that extra burden,” Meng agreed. “Maybe someday it'll be worth talking about, but not right now.”

“Mm...agreed.” Yu glance to make sure their lord was still fast asleep, some distance away, and then unfolded himself to stretch out where he was. “I suppose we should rest as well. There is much to be done before we can go our separate ways.”

Lu Meng eased a hand onto his shoulder and squeezed it amicably before getting up and going to his own bedroll. At least, they were taking an extra-long respite before moving on, camping there the rest of the day and coming night so that they could make their move in the morning. He glanced around the officers scattered among the trees, curled up to nap or relaxed in the forest shade, and smiled to himself. As difficult as these times were, he truly would not have wanted to be anywhere but with these men.

The small army spent the night in place, safe and undisturbed, and awoke with the dawn to strike camp and say their farewells, hoping it would be temporary. Lu Meng, Taishi Ci, and Shima Sakon departed first, cutting down the embankment and keeping to the fringe of the copse of trees that stretched away south to distant hills. Lu Su took written messages from the strategists and was given a horse in order to head across country to make contact with Tokugawa's ninja, and then at last, Sun Ce led his men down along the river. By midday, it was clear that Zhou Yu's assessment had been correct – they were entering the lands around Xia Kou, even though the fortified territory should have been closer to the sea's edge. It had been torn up from reality and thrown into the middle of Orochi's dimension instead, so instead of the ocean, it now sat on the shore of a massive lake created by the accidental damming of the river further below. As they emerged from the woodlands to discover the ruined outbuildings of the fortress, Zhou Yu requested they halt and send scouts ahead to see what the landscape now looked like. It didn't take long, and permitted them time to rest and water the horses. The report came back to them that the shoreline where once the ocean lapped was intact, including the piers, but the lake water had filled in instead, so that there was still an enormous body of water blocking their way. Without being able to see the other side, they couldn't say whether it would be faster to go around it or try to sail across it. Now that he was the lone strategist in charge of this segment of their army, Zhou Yu made the decision for them. “It depends on only one thing. If there are piers, are there boats?”

“Yes, my lord,” one of the scouts said happily. “Well, there's one, anyway, that we could see.”

“If there is one, there may be more nearby. I remember enough about Xia Kou, I believe I know where others may be moored.” He nodded to Ce. “I think it would be wiser to sail across, regardless. It will take us away from prying eyes for a short time, and right now, we need every advantage if we are to make it unscathed to the eastern lands.”

“Fine. Let's do it,” Ce agreed. “What do we need to do?”

“Actually, these ruins are a good place to stop for the moment,” Zhou Yu noted. “It would be more dangerous for all of us to ride to the lake and stand there in plain sight for any enemy spies to catch. I will go on ahead, and prepare the boats. I suggest waiting until closer to evening, and then crossing the river here...” He pointed to a nearby bridge over a spot where the river was at its narrowest. “...and joining me. We can safely and silently pole our way across the lake at twilight, after the wind drops. With these clouds coming in, and possibly rain, we would be well covered by the dim light.”

“A clever idea,” Ranmaru murmured. “I would not have even imagined it possible.”

“As I said – we are fortunate that I remember Xia Kou well enough to propose it.” Yu turned to his lord. “I know sitting tight and waiting is not your favorite thing in the world, but if it means being able to slip across the lake ahead like ghosts and arrive that much more quickly on the other side, I think it best.”

“It's all right, Zhou Yu,” Ce assured. “I can wait. The fortress over there looks like it's in better repair than the others, we can close up and set a guard.”

“It's a plan, then.” Yu swung back into the saddle and gathered his scouts to assist him, adding Zhu Ran to their number for now. “Let's be off, and make the most of our fair luck.”

They really had been particularly lucky so far, having escaped Osaka without being pursued and avoiding even the slightest hint of spies as they made their way across the land. Not even an eagle in the sky had spotted them, or so it seemed. Keeping the men clustered together, Sun Ce weighed his options. One garrison was indeed in excellent shape, but it was too small to house everyone they had with them. Another, across the bridge, was larger, but there were places where the wooden palisade had been breached, and a large patch of glowing coals just to one side of it made it impossible to go around it, they would have had to pass through it regardless. He called his handful of officers to him. “Ranmaru, can you run over there and have a look around, make sure there's nothing else dangerous lurking behind those walls? Maybe go with him, Han Dang, and see what the condition of the paths is like. Cheng Pu, let's go see how stout that garrison really is, and maybe make sure the doors are locked on the other side.”

“Do you expect trouble, my lord?” Ranmaru wondered. “It is so quiet, here...”

“Exactly. It's too quiet. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but better safe than sorry,” Ce suggested. “As long as we control the paths on either side of the bridge, here, we won't have any problem moving everyone down to the piers when Zhou Yu gives us the signal that the boats are ready.”

“Sounds like the right idea to me,” Cheng Pu said gruffly. “I'm with you, Lord Sun Ce.”

Most of the soldiers sat tight where they were, but some went one way and some the other, following their leaders. Ce was pleased to find the high-walled garrison to be undamaged by either war or cataclysm, and the iron doors on the far side still able to be bolted shut. He slid the hasp open and pushed one door ajar enough to see through it, content to see that the path running away across open fields was wide and empty. Now, to hope it stayed that way. He pulled the door closed and bolted it once more. “We'll set up a guard post here, and hold our ground until tonight,” Ce ordered his retainer. “I'm gonna go see how the others are doing.”

He started toward the other end of the garrison, but then one of his soldiers gave a cry. The young private had climbed up to the top of the wall to have a look himself, and clearly saw something his lord did not. “Somebody's coming!” he yelped. “It's not Lord Zhou Yu, I don't...wait, no! Those are Wu soldiers!”

“What?” Ce turned on his heel and raced back, this time vaulting up the ladder to join the man on the wall. He leaned over just enough to have a better look and saw the cluster of soldiers this time – and knew they weren't there when he looked out from the doors. “Where did they come from?” he wondered warily. “They're not ours...”

“Are you sure?” Cheng Pu dared to unbolt the door and take a good long look himself, from the ground, and noticed the soldiers streaming out from a side path. It was fairly unlikely that they had come from one of the other forces that had left them earlier in the day, but because they weren't sure, Cheng Pu stood there a bit too long in curiosity. The soldiers formed up into ranks, and at the end, an officer on horseback rode out to lead them. He turned a dark look on the open door of the garrison, and in turn, Cheng Pu scrambled to grab the door and yank it shut again. “Oh no!”

“Zhou Tai,” Ce breathed. “That can only mean one thing.”

“Barricade the doors! My lord, you should come down from there before he spots you!” the other officer yelped.

“Too late.” Sun Ce practically locked eyes with the dour warrior before he could duck down below the edge of the wall and then leap down. “They've spotted us, either way,” he warned as he strode past Cheng Pu. “Hold this position! Don't let them past, we need to buy Zhou Yu some time!”

He left the garrison by the far door and broke into a run, dashing across the open ground toward the bridge and the second fortress beyond it. As he went, he relayed this sudden development to his men and drew as many as he could with him. _Damn! Where did they come from?_ he fretted as he ran to muster the troops. _They must have seen the door open and close. No, not now! Not until Zhou Yu is ready! We have to hold out until we can get to the shore..._

Zhou Tai's men had indeed seen the movement of the door, and understood just enough of what they witnessed to be able to turn and ride to meet the main army where they waited for a report. Da Ji's spies had been correct, it seemed. Leaving a contingent there to keep tabs on whoever was holed up in that garrison, Tai made his way back to the unusual conflux of troops that had come together just hours earlier and went straight to where the commanders were all gathered together in an uneasy alliance. As Da Ji and Sun Quan rode to respond to reports from spies that the traitor was still in this territory, they met Cao Pi coming from Xuchang, and had no choice but to arrive together at the borders of Xia Kou even though both had been bent on being the first to reach their target. The real awkward remained between Quan and Cao Pi, as neither had really cooperated at all so far during the course of the Orochi alliance, and indeed had not even been in the same location at the same time. Da Ji paced impatiently, her gauzy tails swishing, while the other officers stood around not even making small talk. Cao Pi's army was larger, but not by much, and for the moment he had left the ordering of the troops to Zhong Hui while he and Mitsunari waited with the others, near but not too near. Zhou Tai strode into their midst and bowed before relating what he and his men saw at the end of that path, immediately drawing the attention of all the officers his way. “Oho, so I was right,” Da Ji chirped, looking at the two young lords. “What a terrible situation he's in, hmm? Caught between his brother and the water. How awful.”

If she was trying to get some sort of rise out of any of the officers, it didn't work. Sun Quan stood with a firm, dark look on his face, arms folded. “He brought it on himself,” he grumbled, barely sparing Da Ji a sidelong glance. “If you think I'm going to back down now, think again.”

“Really?” she needled him, sidling up against him.

Quan frowned sternly, not looking at her and her flouncy, flirty antics. “My brother has betrayed my father, and myself,” he declared. “He has severed the ties between us. He is _nothing_ to me now but a criminal who needs to be stopped.”

“So you're good to go ahead and take him down, then? Oh, I do love a man of conviction,” the demon strategist cooed, coming around him in order to smirk at Cao Pi and Mitsunari standing a few feet away listening to every word. “You two could learn a thing or two from this one.”

Cao Pi glanced her way just long enough to convey just how unimpressed he was with the show. Sun Quan's declarations meant nothing to him. Instead, he turned to his own strategist at his elbow. “It sounds as though Sun Ce's army is in disarray,” he noted. “If they are already running around in a panic, they won't be hard to corral.”

“Never underestimate the power of a desperate man,” Mitsunari warned.

“Of course. But he is not merely desperate.” Cao Pi turned his eyes slyly toward Sun Quan. “His defection was not properly planned, and now he must make do with what he has. Not a situation I would ever want to find myself in.”

Ishida smirked impishly. “So you're saying that when your time comes, you'll do a better job?”

Da Ji's eyes snapped to both of them, though Pi merely met the smirk with one of his own. “Why should I need to? I have everything I could possibly want already.” He turned completely to face the Wu officers. “So, then, Sun Quan. Do you have a plan?”

“What else do I need to do besides pursue him?” Quan held Pi's gaze for a moment, glaring at him, and then trudged off to where Zhou Tai held his horse for him. “I don't care what you do, but if you interfere in this, I will run you off the battlefield, alliance or no alliance. I don't need your help, but if you want to give it anyway, just stay out of my way.”

“Support is easy,” Pi stated. “We will lend you whatever aid you need.”

“I guess the camp is mine to hold, then,” Da Ji said with a flip of her braided hair. “I expect results, from both of you. Bring him to me.”

Pulling himself into the saddle, Sun Quan nodded at his taskmaster and rode off, though Zhou Tai remained behind to guard the camp. Cao Pi noted this with interest, and then turned to his own men. “Sun Ce must not escape,” he declared to them. “Sun Quan will make the first move. Support him, get him to his goal.”

“Really.” Mitsunari raised an eyebrow at him.

“Really,” Pi affirmed. “It is not my place to interfere in a battle between brothers. Let them settle this animosity between them, but in order for them to do so, we must stop Sun Ce. If he eludes us, he could go on to do even more damage to our armies. To that end...” He turned to their extra officer. “Zhong Hui, I want you to go ahead along the same path Zhou Tai took. See if you can get around them and flank them.”

“Understood,” the young officer sniffed. “It shouldn't be difficult. You really mean to leave that traitor to his brother, though?”

“I do. You have your orders, now go.”

Zhong Hui strode to his horse and climbed up, and then he was off with a handful of troops. Cao Pi and Mitsunari both waited a few minutes longer, and then followed in the same manner, though they took their time so as not to overtake Sun Quan. The Wu lord seemed to be barely containing his anger, and having trouble restraining his speed, but once he ran headlong into a defense force impeding his progress at the gate of the garrison which blocked the path, it slowed him down for a time. He hacked at the Wu soldiers loyal to his brother without even thinking, but there were many of them and they fought valiantly, holding him at bay. It took the addition of Cao Pi's reinforcements to finally gain the upper hand and clear a path to the iron doors, and all three officers to attempt to open them. They were shut tight, though, and all Quan could do was beat on the door with his fist. A fan suddenly blocked him, and he rounded on the bearer. Mitsunari was calm and collected. “Allow me, my lord,” he said smartly, gesturing with little jerks of the fan to get him to back off.

“What are you going to do?” Quan snapped.

“Just watch.” Ishida was not at all impressed with his bluster, but held his ground until Quan stepped away. From inside the satchel hidden beneath his robe, he pulled out a couple of small objects and a flint. Both lords watched him warily, having never seen him do this before. Mitsunari placed the little balls against the hinges of one of the doors, and then lit the fuses with the flint. “Back off, or you might get more than you bargained for!”

He swept everyone back with his fan, retreating behind a fence stile just in time. The little gunpowder bombs made a surprisingly big noise as they exploded and tore off the thin metal hasps pinning the hinges to the stone walls. The door slid off its joint and flopped flat on the ground, leaving the way open to them. Quan pushed past them to continue his pursuit, while Cao Pi gave Mitsunari a curious look. “What other tricks are you hiding in that bag of yours?”

“Nothing, really. Just keep me away from open flames.” Ishida favored him with a brief smile before pressing on as well, wading into a sudden flood of Wu soldiers belonging to Sun Ce.

Sun Quan rushed straight into the garrison, even as the farther doors clanged shut to lock them in and a burly warrior stepped in front of them. “Out of my way!” the Wu lord demanded. “I have to speak to my brother!”

Cheng Pu whirled his short spear into position. “I cannot allow anyone to pass, even you, my lord.”

“Then you leave me no choice but to resort to force!” Quan raised his sword without hesitating and launched himself at Cheng Pu, each swing and hit full of the force of his anger. Cao Pi hung back a little, leaving them to fight, watching out of the corner of his eye as he funneled the Wu peons back into the garrison and knocked enough of them down to leave the officers room to duel. The irony of countrymen fighting one another did not escape him, but he said nothing for now. In short order, Quan vented enough of his fury on Cheng Pu to drive him to his knees and disarm him, at which point Mitsunari glided in to grab the defeated officer by the cowl. Quan eyed him yet again. “What?”

“We may need prisoners,” Ishida replied smoothly. “Not that I doubt you have the ability to actually reach your brother and capture him, but in the miniscule chance that we fail, we'll need hostages to use against him.”

Whipping his sword back out of the way, Sun Quan nodded curtly. “Fine. Take him, he's of no use to me anyway.” He shot Cheng Pu an ugly look and continued past him to the rear doors of the garrison, which could be opened from this side now that resistance had been thrown aside. 

Mitsunari waited until he had accomplished as much before throwing his captive up against a wall. “Don't go anywhere,” he retorted before turning to Cao Pi. “Well?”

Cao Pi was watching him closely, it was an interesting choice. “Keep up with him,” he implored. “I want to see what happens when he comes face to face with the traitor.”

“All right. Let's get moving, then.” He glanced at Cheng Pu once more before waving their forces onward, collecting their horses and bringing Sun Quan's along – since he was apparently in too much of a hurry to even bother getting back into the saddle. The Wu officer did not miss how they obviously did not actually capture him, and left him alone without even being bound. Surely, Cao Pi didn't miss it either, but he said nothing as he strode past and, with Mitsunari, left the garrison at all speed.

Battle had already swept into the clearing where the bulk of Sun Ce's men had been waiting, and complete chaos already ruled the field. As Sun Quan hacked his way through ranks of his own men, Ce watched from across the bridge with a look of pure despair on his face. Not that he expected his brother to catch him, but watching the way he mowed through people who used to follow him loyally, showing them no mercy and no sign of even the slightest sympathy, tore his heart in two. Just one day before, he had been so hopeful that if he could just make it to the right place, and sent the right message, he might be able to convince Quan to join him and strike out to rescue their father. Seeing him now, caught in the throes of battle fury with his sights set only on apprehending the traitor, Ce began to realize that his hope was for naught. They weren't going to unite, they were divided by his actions. Beside him, Ranmaru watched the melee and then touched his lord on the arm. “Lord Sun Ce...you must go. There is no time to wait.”

“I can't,” Ce said with a shake of his head. “He's already gotten past Cheng Pu...who knows what lengths he'll go to just to reach me.”

“All the more reason why you should go,” Ranmaru insisted. “Look, there are more officers coming up with him.”

Ce followed his prompting, his heart sinking even further to recognize the backup. “Oh no. It's Cao Pi,” he moaned. “I wasn't expecting them both to be here. That must mean that Da Ji herself can't be far behind.”

“They will be here in no time at all,” his young retainer said with the firm resolve of a warrior who did not fear his possible death. “Please, my lord, you must escape – now, while you have the chance.”

“I said I wasn't going to do that!” Ce rounded on him anxiously. “You heard me, yesterday. I said I would give myself up so all of you could get away safely – and now, I'm going to have to!”

“You have it backwards!” Ran shot back. “We are the ones who must sacrifice everything in order to let you get away! You are the hope of your father, and of your people, my lord. We are nothing. _You_ will be Orochi's undoing, not us. Please! Leave the defense of this fortress to me and go – meet up with Lord Zhou Yu and escape this horror!”

Sun Ce stared hard at him, but he knew Ranmaru was right. For a boy his age, he was remarkably astute, to say nothing of loyal and humble. He turned and set a hand heavily on Ran's slight shoulder. “I am in your debt,” he murmured. “You've been a joy to fight with, kid. Please, stay alive. I want to be able to pay you back for this.”

“It is my duty and pleasure, my lord,” Ranmaru said gently, smiling up at him. “I will let nothing prevent me from returning to your side.”

“Thank you.” Giving his shoulder a squeeze, Ce pushed past him and took off running, crossing the rubble-choked compound to where their horses were all tethered and grabbing one, slapping it to get it galloping before he even got more than one foot in the stirrup. The lava field outside made it impossible for him to take the quick and easy way to the piers to meet up with Zhou Yu, but there was another path, and he knew Han Dang had already gone up it to scout it and possibly block it in case of pursuit. He would certainly need to do it now. He thundered past all the troops, leaving it to Ranmaru to call them back and muster them together to ambush the pursuing forces, and followed a line of fences away from the lava, up the path into the hills. Xia Kou was a mess thanks to the cataclysm, but he was sure he remembered which of these trails would take him back down to the water. It would be risky and take longer, but it was his only chance. At the crest of the hill, he found Han Dang busy looking for ways to block the path ahead, and reined in only briefly. “Han Dang! There's no time, Da Ji caught up to us.”

“What?” The heavyset warrior blinked up at him, shocked. “But there was no sign of anyone...”

“I know. They came up on us all of a sudden, they've already gotten to our position. Ranmaru's holding them off but I don't know how long he can stall them.” He looked at the loose rocks the man and his soldiers had already pried out and positioned to block the path. “Change of plans. Can you barricade it from the other side? In case they get past Ran. Stop them here.”

“On it, my lord,” Han Dang grunted. “Get moving, the fork to the right will take you back down to the docks.”

“Thanks. Be safe – don't do anything stupid,” Ce warned. “I want you all to live to fight another day, your deaths won't help defeat Orochi!” He spurred his horse on, riding alone to the side path and clattering down it as directed. Behind him, the stout Han Dang pulled himself and his men together and directed them to begin building the barricade, this time, placing themselves on the other side. If anyone came up the hill in pursuit of Sun Ce, he would stop them, all right.

Sun Quan burst into the ruined garrison without even pausing to check for a defense, and as a result, blundered straight into the ambush led by Ranmaru. He had no idea that Ce had so many men under his command, let alone that boy with the long sword who tore into him with the fury of a determined servant who truly loved his master. Quan barely got his sword up in time to block the first swing, and backed away with each and every subsequent strike, giving up far too much ground. He had seen plenty of Ranmaru attending his brother, but never had actually seen the boy fight in earnest, and gritted his teeth angrily at how easily he was being beaten back. All he could do was defend, he couldn't even find an opening through which to counter. Ran wasted no words on him, speaking with his long sword instead, giving no hints that he was doing it to buy Sun Ce time. In his mind, he was fully dedicated to allowing his lord to escape, even if it meant his death at the hands of these pursuers. Cao Pi and Ishida caught up after the fight had already begun, at which point Mitsunari threw out a hand to keep his lord from interfering. “Don't. If Sun Quan can't take him, I don't think you will, either.”

“Is that so?” Cao Pi fixed him with an intrigued frown. “Just who is that boy, then?”

“A companion of Oda Nobunaga's,” Mitsunari replied seriously. “He's surprisingly handy with that enormous sword.”

Pi could not keep the keen interest out of his voice. “One of Oda's servants is fighting for Sun Ce, and fighting to the death at that.” He could tell, he had been in enough battles to be able to read the tension and fervor of a warrior devoted to dying for his lord in every action, every swing and block of his sword and the cold glare on his young face. “I feel like I've been remiss in my duties, ignoring Sun Ce's activities for so long.”

“Not that I don't want to see you cross swords, but I mean it.” Mitsunari looked straight at him. “Mori Ranmaru's skills are legendary. If he can outmatch one Han prince, he can take on two.”

“Then let us see if he really can.” Cao Pi leaped from the saddle, Pure Havoc already in his hand in its singular state; as he rushed into the fray, he pulled the two blades apart and came in from the side, swinging both. For the first time Ranmaru actually had to go on the defensive, jerking back and blocking just in time. Pi disengaged even as Quan shot him a glare for interfering. “You seemed to need an extra hand, Lord Sun Quan,” he purred. “Wasting too much time will allow our quarry to get away.”

As much as he hated being helped, Quan couldn't argue with that. “Fine, then. Let's do this.”

While Ranmaru had been doing well against the Wu lord's one blade, adding in two more from Cao Pi was enough to change the momentum of the battle against him. He still managed masterfully, fending them both off with short, calculated movements that sometimes successfully blocked all three blades at once. Yet, the onslaught wore him down, he couldn't keep his eyes on both of them at the same time and soon made the right mistake for his foes to capitalize on. Quan hit him hard enough to break his block and throw him back, and Pi slid in to follow it up with a fast double-slice that finally disarmed the boy and dropped him to the ground. Ranmaru wasn't wearing much armor, so he showed every single cut and blow dealt to him. He tried pushing himself up and grabbing for his blade, but Cao Pi rushed in, flicking a wrist to put the tip of one blade against the boy's throat. “Yield,” he demanded. “I have no interest in giving you any kind of honorable death.”

Ranmaru lifted bitter eyes to him. “You should kill me anyway, for I do not fear your evil.”

Sun Quan came to the Wei lord's side, still panting from exertion. “Where is my brother?”

Ran faced them both defiantly with tight-closed lips, but didn't know enough of Cao Pi to know whether he would be honorable or truthfully not give him what he wanted. “He is not in this fortress, he has escaped,” he replied.

Quan turned away to resume his pursuit. “Forward! Don't stop for anything, our quarry is still ahead!”

Pi remained where he was, holding Ranmaru at the point of his sword. “A valiant attempt,” he murmured to the boy, “but pointless all the same.”

Ran's glare shifted from him to Mitsunari as he joined them, and his expression flickered as he recognized the strategist. Ishida pouted a bit at him. “You're a long way from home, Mori. What is it about Sun Ce that makes you want to die for him?”

Ranmaru lifted his chin haughtily. “I see his greatness. I want to watch how far he can go, and be there at the end of it.”

Pi sniffed at that, swiping his blade to the side to disengage and free him. “Be sure that you haven't placed your faith behind the wrong man,” he complained. “Now back down. You're cut to ribbons, and it isn't my job to wrap the wounds of children today.”

Ran nearly started up to attack him again, with fists if he had to, but Mitsunari swung his fan and knocked him down, dazing him just enough to force him to obey the directive. “Let's go,” he said curtly. “I'm already tired of this. How many more of his officers are going to stand in our way?”

“All of them,” Cao Pi replied sarcastically. “But I'm starting to see a pattern, here.” He returned to his horse and to their mission, but rode slowly, pausing at the gate of the ruined fortress. He noted the noise of Sun Quan's continued battle up the path ahead, and the patch of land to his right where the ground glowed from the molten rock welling up at the surface, and knew what was going on. “This land is Xia Kou,” he said. “There is a fortress nearby at the edge of the ocean, which often housed boats. They must mean to escape by sea.”

“That's impossible,” Mitsunari challenged. “We're nowhere near the sea.”

Pi lifted his head to regard a bird winnowing above them. “We're near some kind of water. Either way, there are piers at the fortress, and a means of escape. How cunning.”

“Then that's the way we'd better head,” Ishida said. “You know how to get there?”

Pi glanced at the lava again. “There is a shortcut, usually, but it seems to be blocked by the turmoil of this world. We'll have to keep going on Sun Quan's heels.”

“It sounds like he's run into a little trouble ahead.” Gathering the reins, Mitsunari made to ride on, but at that very moment, Da Ji decided to teleport herself instantly in front of them, startling their horses.

The demon strategist took one look at where they were located and set her hands on her hips. “What's this? You _still_ haven't caught Sun Ce?”

“How wonderful to see you, our illustrious leader,” Cao Pi said with the thickest sarcasm he could muster.

“Yeah, yeah, save it. You're wasting time,” she noted. “I want that traitor caught!”

“Sun Quan is ahead of us, he's probably already on his brother's back,” Mitsunari said dryly. “We've been hamstrung by his officers.”

“Ugh. Fine. Hurry it up, I'm getting tired of waiting,” Da Ji snapped. “The camp is boring and I want _blood_.” Her reconnaissance finished, she vanished on the spot, returning to her guard duty. Cao Pi closed his eyes and heaved a sigh of utter contempt before resuming their journey.

Above them, at the crest of the hill, Sun Quan had discovered just what Han Dang could do when cornered and desperate. The barricade had been partly completed, but then he took to having his men roll the rocks down the hill into the path of the Orochi forces headed their way. It was actually fairly effective, even if most of the rocks were not very large, for they rolled right into the legs of the men trying to climb up the path, faster than they could step to the side. But then, to the surprise of all on both sides, Zhong Hui's contingent burst from the trees right beside the renegades, sweeping over them and putting an immediate end to their resistance. The young officer called out orders in his strident voice, gesturing this way and that with his blades, until Quan finally reached his position. “I don't know where you came from, but thanks,” he muttered.

“Thank Lord Cao Pi, he was the one who sent me,” Zhong Hui said arrogantly, “though I admit I did choose my ambush point of my own volition. These pathetic fools are only throwing up defenses out of desperation. None of it has been particularly well-planned.”

“It's still been enough to slow us down,” Quan complained. “I'm going on ahead, our target is still attempting to escape.”

Zhong Hui watched him hurry onward, making a face to himself. “At least the men of Wu have some manners,” he remarked to no one in particular before turning his horse to follow. If Quan had outpaced his own troops by such a distance, he was going to need someone watching his back, and Hui was the kind of man who knew how to use such a situation to his advantage.

While his officers were throwing themselves one by one in front of his pursuers, Sun Ce kept riding, down from the shoulder of the hills and across wide open ground in search of the water. He, too, could see the waterfowl flying overhead, and knew that it had to be near, but there were crumbled walls and ruined palisades to navigate around, remnants of better-fortified days at Xia Kou. He started to look over his shoulder more often, worried about the men behind him, but he knew Ranmaru was right and he needed to press on. He slowed his horse in order to pick his way around more lava patches, finally able to sight the piers and the water ahead. All was as the scouts had reported, the piers were intact and a great, wide lake lapped at the quay in place of the ocean, but at the moment there were no boats and no sign of his sworn brother or the scouts. The thickening clouds rumbled with thunder, making him look up. _Come on, Zhou Yu_ , he worried, _we haven't got all day_. The longer he sat astride his horse, waiting, the more uneasy he became, and the more he looked over his shoulder. At last, when he turned his eyes back toward the huge, glassy gray lake and the tiny line of black on the far side indicating the opposite shore, he saw his hope coming for him – a flat-bottomed boat, catching the wind and sailing towards him. It was only the one, but it was something. And none too soon, as a clamor arose behind him and he realized that someone had caught up. Was it his officers or his foes? Was it his brother, or was it Da Ji? Ce slid out of the saddle and hovered just behind his horse, using it to block him from view to an extent while he craned his neck to have a look. His heart tightened in his chest as he saw that the lead riders included Sun Quan, and there was no sign at all of any of his men. He was alone on the pier, and didn't know who would reach him first, his pursuers or his savior. At the last minute, as he was pulling out his tonfa and preparing to defend himself, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Some of the rank-and-file soldiers of their force had caught up via the shortcut, they had found a way past the lava on foot and followed the river straight across the plain to the seaside fortress of Xia Kou. They would be too slow, though, so Ce turned his attention to the horsemen bearing down on him, stepping out from behind the crumbling arcade stretching along the pier to let himself be seen, one man alone with tonfa in each fist.

Thanks to Zhong Hui's timely arrival, there was nothing left to slow down Cao Pi and Ishida as they raced to catch up, desiring to at least bear witness to how the battle ended if they weren't able to put an end to it themselves. Da Ji's warning to them meant nothing to Pi, he rode with his head low to his horse's neck for his own reasons. The two of them came abreast of Zhong Hui just as Sun Quan reached the point of no return, reining in his horse and hitting the ground running, sword still out. “Hold it, Ce! You're not going anywhere!”

Cao Pi pulled up, halting the other two beside him. He could see the boat on the water, and knew that he had been right all along – they sought to escape that way, and were so, so close. Sun Ce faced them all manfully, though, not turning or fleeing any longer. “Is this how it's going to be, Quan?” he dared his brother. “You're going to take me in?”

“Don't you understand? Your selfishness has placed all of us in danger!” Quan berated him as he advanced, sword bared. “Surrender yourself, for the good of Wu _and_ our father!”

“For the good of Wu and Father, I won't!” Ce protested, sliding into a defensive position.

“Damn it, Ce!” Quan swiped his sword through the air angrily. “I don't want to hurt you, but I have to take you back – dead _or_ alive!”

“Would you really kill me?” Ce challenged. “Do you have it in you, Quan?”

His brother sprang from his place, incensed to the point of needing to attack right there, right then, regardless of how irrational and unfocused his jabs were. Ce dug his heels in and swung his tonfa to block, one after the other, having no trouble fending off Quan's fury. As brothers they had sparred often, so they knew one another's moves all too well, and Sun Ce was frustrated to see that no matter how many times he or his father had tried to give Quan advice to improve his skills, all it took was the tempest of emotions to completely revert any progress in his training. He made all the same mistakes he usually did when sparring, overreaching to pursue the wrong openings and not guarding his off hand, thrusting and parrying more like a thinner rapier than the thick, notched broadsword he used. It didn't take long before Ce broke his momentum and fought back hard and fast, punching with the tonfa and shuffling to stay mobile, darting to one side and then the other to keep his opponent off-balance. It was almost too easy. Quan raised his blade high and brought it down powerfully, but his brother dodged it with a step to one side, and then made him pay for overreaching by slamming one tonfa right into his shoulder. He could have gone for the face, but he didn't share his brother's level of rage. It was enough, for Quan had left his entire side exposed and it only took one hard punch to knock him over. He hit the dirt, and then Ce was on him, stepping on the blade of the sword to trap it against the ground, then landing on him with a knee in his side and the tonfa pressed against his cheek. Sun Quan was out of breath, and eyed his brother warily. “Don't you realize what you're doing?” he growled.

“I do,” Ce murmured. “And I know that Father will understand, too.”

That angered Quan more than anything, but he was pinned and could not retaliate for it. He still tried, reaching to push the tonfa away, which only made his brother swing it around and press it against his throat, showing that he, too, meant business. The heavy pole on his neck soon hindered his breathing, leaving him incapacitated enough. At that point Ce looked up to see how close the boat was, but the jingle of a horse's tack behind him stole his attention away quickly. Cao Pi had dismounted, while his two officers rode away to try to intercept the Wu soldiers scattering across the paved yard of the fortress. Seeing another foe coming, Sun Ce swiftly moved aside, freeing his brother in order to back up and return to defense. “You should have kept your head, Sun Quan,” Pi said curtly. “We have him trapped against the shore, and yet you let your emotions defeat you in a simple duel.”

Ce edged away a step. “I won't be caught!”

“Then you had best start swimming, little fish,” Pi taunted him with a nod to the boat which still had not reached shore. He drew the twin swords of Pure Havoc and stepped past Sun Quan, leaving him sprawled in the dirt feeling pathetic for losing in front of others. “Or would you rather prove yourself against me?”

“You're both intent on taking me in,” Ce noted. “I can't let that happen. I can't let the sacrifices of my men be in vain.”

“Then come.” Cao Pi slid the two halves of his weapon together with a click to form the double-ended blade and gestured gracefully with crooked fingers, daring Sun Ce to fight him rather than run.

Determination was all Ce had left, for the run and the fight had already taken their toll on him. He brandished his tonfa yet again, stared down the smug face of the young lord of Wei, and then charged in, pushing past fatigue in order to back up his words with actions. He couldn’t fail his men by being captured, even if it meant spending the last of his strength in order to beat down Cao Pi. He came in hard with a punch and a kick, but the swift blades of Pure Havoc diverted him and then countered, coming around toward his arm faster than he could blink. He shifted one Conqueror to block it, backing up a step, and in that instant the momentum had already turned against him. Pi stayed close and deftly swung his joined blades like a staff, raining blows against the tonfa with both flat and edge of the blades almost faster than Ce could block them. Once parried, Cao Pi used the chance to circle around his foe and hit from another side, and not even a blind block over Ce’s shoulder could surprise or disrupt his rhythm. It truly was a sight to behold for the scant few men there to behold it, as the two lords dodged, spun, and swiped at one another in a deadly dance. Sun Ce wasn’t even thinking of buying time for the boat to arrive, he was caught in the fire of battle and wanted to keep fighting until he could knock Cao Pi down for no other reason than he knew he could. He was so focused on this goal that he almost didn’t see his brother stagger to his feet and attack him from the side, but at the last second he spied movement out of the corner of his eye and threw his shoulders to the side to let the Tiger Sword pass him and clash with Cao Pi instead. Both men growled at the interference, but turned as one to Sun Ce to press the attack. As much as he enjoyed the thrill of battle, Ce was tired, and this new twist was something he couldn’t be sure he could handle. He shuffled back to draw them in and then moved between them to separate them, finding it easier to fend them both off at the same time if he had one on each side. It wouldn’t last for long, though, and he was fading fast, so he had to force one of them out of the fight. He had already rattled Quan, so it seemed the obvious choice. Ce twisted to evade Cao Pi and then poured all of his power into smacking his brother down a second time, pulling no punches and missing no chances. Sun Quan seemed to be startled by this reserve of strength, but he mustered himself manfully and cut in before Cao Pi could rejoin, both hands on the hilt of his sword as he drove in hard. Ce was ready for him and swung his tonfa left and right to bash the sword away, and rather than wait for an opening, made one himself. Quan over-extended again, leaving his left shoulder exposed, so Ce spun to deliver a high kick to his arm. It was enough to throw Quan clear to the side, but as he stumbled Cao Pi dashed in again. Sun Ce saw him coming, and hooked one tonfa around Quan’s chest to pull him back against himself. In a flash he had his brother pinned, the weapon at his throat again, and turned him to use as a shield against anything Cao Pi could throw at him. The Wei lord wisely held back, a keen, cold smirk on his lips. “Why, Sun Ce. I didn’t know you had it in you,” he remarked silkily. “Using your brother’s life like that. Perhaps what he says about you and your father is true.”

Ce’s face remained stony, but Quan raged between them. “Let me go and face me like a man, brother! Not like a coward!”

“You can’t beat me, Quan,” Ce growled in his ear. “Not today. But I don’t want you to get hurt, so…”

He shifted quicker than either of his opponents could move, yanking Sun Quan to the side enough to clear space to crack him hard across the back of the head with the other tonfa. Quan’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed onto the ground again, completely out cold. As he fell, Ce dashed to the side, making for the pier now that he could see how close the boat was, and it almost seemed as if he would take Cao Pi’s snide advice and swim for it. But Pi was fresh and ready, and darted into his path with Pure Havoc singing through the raindrops. This time the tip of one blade scored across Ce’s ribs as he tried to dodge and didn’t quite make it. He staggered to the side, and brought up his tonfa in defense as Pi closed in to stop him from escaping. It was all Ce could do to hold him off, as his speed redoubled and he switched back and forth from two swords to one, smoothly pulling them apart and rejoining them a second later to make for a stunning technique. Apart, the two blades could easily fend off the two tonfa, but once returned to full form, Pi could slip it inside Ce’s guard and throw him off-stride that much faster. He began to land more hits, mostly to Ce’s arms as the swords skipped off the tonfa and found flesh exposed between his bracers and shoulder armor, but still the Wu prince fought back, striking instead of blocking and punching at any part of Cao Pi that got too close. He would leave bruises, but Pi left cuts, and the one to Sun Ce’s flank burned as it seeped blood and sapped his strength. He refused to yield, though, and kept on punching, no longer able to find a chance to kick or dodge. Cao Pi battled him masterfully, eyes cold as he watched his opponent weaken and change tactics to protect himself. It had gone on long enough, and Pi was ever mindful of their demon commander waiting for her prize. He swirled Pure Havoc at full length around to throw Ce’s arms wide apart, and in the blink of an eye pulled the two swords apart so he could spin one on his wrist and jam the pommel into Sun Ce’s exposed chest. The force of the blow was enough to send him staggering backwards, stumbling, flailing, and even Cao Pi could only think, _Go down, you fool, and stay down!_ He had to make sure, though, and ran in to hit him again with the other sword. The tonfa fell beside him with two hard thuds even as Ce choked on the force of the blow and then joined them.

The moment Ce's back hit the dirt, a thump and a creak of wood announced the arrival of a boat at the quay, and Zhou Yu flew from the deck to land on shore before his men could even tie it up. Cao Pi looked up at the flash of red at the corner of his sight and was briefly startled at the sudden fury of the retainer storming at him so quickly from the side. “You will not lay a finger on my lord!” Yu challenged as he came, charging hard and slicing at Cao Pi with unexpected might. Pi backed away a couple of steps in order to absorb the blow and recover, rejoining the blades in order to block and then keeping his weapon low and in front of him. Zhou Yu placed himself between the two of them, his sword raised, as he spoke over his shoulder. “I'm sorry I'm late, Ce. Are you all right?”

“I've had better days,” Ce groaned as he sat up. He shifted a wary look to Cao Pi, even as Ishida and Zhong Hui moved in to back him up, and the rain began to fall in earnest, huge drops spattering all around them and speckling their clothing. “He's got us cornered. I don't think we're going to make it out of this.”

“Do not give up,” Yu insisted, his eyes also on their foe. “Zhu Ran is with the boat, we can load everyone aboard while I hold this one at bay.”

Pi's eyebrow lifted in disbelief. “You think you have it in you to continue to fight me? Even with Sun Quan unable to continue, we still have you outnumbered.”

“You've bested me,” Ce admitted. “I could run, and get on the boat and be off, but that would leave my men behind to be slaughtered. I can't do that. So fine...you got me.” He heaved a sigh and bowed his head. “What are you going to do with me?”

“Nothing.” Cao Pi regarded him haughtily with no change in his expression. “You may go.”

“What?” both Wu officers gasped.

As if to prove he was serious, Pi gave his weapon a graceful flick to twirl it around and out of the way, no longer threat nor defense. “Go, before Da Ji decides to pop back in to check on me. You have mere seconds to make your choice, Sun Ce – make the right one.”

Ce stared at him, and then leaped into action, scrambling to his feet and scooping up his tonfa. “Quick, men! Hurry to the docks!” he yelped even before he had his feet, stumbling a few steps before turning to urge Zhou Yu with him. “Everyone on board, there's no time to waste! We can't wait for anyone else!”

Zhou Yu remained a moment longer, eyeing Cao Pi suspiciously. What was the point of all of this, of chasing them down and fighting Sun Ce to disarmament, only to let them go? In the end, though, he couldn't take the time to ask and get an answer. “Hurry!” he echoed his lord. “Zhu Ran, launch the boat as soon as everyone is on!”

“Got it!” Ran called out, hopping off the boat and untying the mooring line he had just managed to get tied, holding it taut around the post with his own meager body weight until every last soldier still standing, stumbling, or limping could get on board. So many of their officers weren't there, so many had been left behind, but with Cao Pi standing right there, watching them, and his own officers immediately at hand, they couldn't allow for any more time. Sun Ce staggered to his knees on the deck of the ship, and within seconds Zhou Yu was at his side, looking him over. Both stared hard and long at their foes on the bank, and were still gazing at them through curtains of rain as the last soldier flopped on board and Zhu Ran finally let go of the mooring rope, giving the ship a kick and then leaping onto it as it coasted back from the pier.

Sun Quan stirred a little at Cao Pi's feet, groaning a bit but not regaining full consciousness. Pi held his ground, not twitching a muscle as he watched the ship ease away from the pier and catch the current where the river emptied into the great lake. In moments they had drifted out far enough that no one could pursue them from the land, and Pi smirked very slightly to himself. “And Orochi's grip weakens...” he murmured under his breath so that no one could hear – except, perhaps, for Mitsunari.

As they moved further from shore, Sun Ce managed to support himself against Zhou Yu and push himself to his feet. It was too far for anyone on land to hear them speak, but he muttered something all the same, for himself if nothing else. “Thank you,” he breathed so that his lips clearly formed the words. “I owe you one.”

“Ce...?” Yu wondered.

“Nothing...” Sun Ce turned to his sworn brother, clinging to him. “Did anybody make it?”

“Just a handful of our soldiers.” Yu glanced to Zhu Ran, who was capably directing the rest of the men who were uninjured enough to help to man the oars and rudder to steer the boat into the middle of the lake, keeping them far from either shore. “I'm sorry. I didn't even expect that anyone would have gotten to Xia Kou ahead of us, or I wouldn't have tarried.”

“It's all right. You didn't know. We still got away...” He wilted against Yu, his knees going weak. Zhou Yu caught him and let him down to a seat on the deck. Pulling aside blood-soaked folds of tunics and pushing the armored plate on his right shoulder, he found the cuts and wounds Ce was simply bearing in silence, and made a small noise of worry that Ce waved aside with a little flutter of his hand. “I'm fine, really.”

“No you're not. Let me tend these.” Yu looked around. “Zhu Ran! Do you have things well in hand? I need to treat our lord's wounds.”

Ran glanced at him, startled, but then nodded briskly. “I can handle it, Lord Zhou Yu. Do what you need.”

Picking Sun Ce back up, Zhou Yu escorted him into the single small cabin in the center of the boat, which served as helm, bridge, and captain's quarters all at once. There was only a pallet on a bench on one side to serve for seating or a bed, so he lowered Ce onto it and set to his work at once. They could talk about the unexpected battle and the fates of their officers later, right now this was more important.

From where he stood, Cao Pi could not hear a word of what was said on the boat, but he could read enough in the movement of his foe's lips, and acknowledged it with only a sweep of his arm and a nod of his head as he turned around and faced his officers. Zhong Hui was eyeing him with almost as much suspicion as the Wu officers, but Ishida's face was blank. Pi went to where Quan was finally pushing himself up on his elbows, noting the blood on his neck running down from the injury dealt by his brother, and crouched beside him. “There is bad news, Lord Sun Quan,” he murmured. “Your brother has beaten me and escaped.”

Quan's face twitched, torn between a scowl and a look of relief, or possibly resignation. “I thought you were fresh enough to take him,” he grunted.

“As did I. But his retainer came with reinforcements while you were out cold.” Pi shook his head slowly. “I am afraid our glorious leader will not be pleased when I have to make this report to her. Allow me to take the blame.”

Quan peered at him. “What? Why?”

“It was my fault. I was supposed to back you up, and I failed.” Pi's icy eyes narrowed in a shadow of a smirk. “Unless you would prefer to tell her that he knocked you out. By all means.”

It took him a moment, but then Quan shook his head slightly. His anger had deflated completely, for now, he was too exhausted and in pain to remain peeved at his brother. “No, if you want so badly to make the report, then do it.”

Straightening up, Cao Pi strode to his men. “Zhong Hui, I want you to ride back along the path we took and see if any of the Wu officers have lingered. Any that remain must be captured. Meet us back in the main camp.”

“If you still have your head after this,” Hui snorted. “Very well, Lord Cao Pi, it shall be as you request.”

He turned and rode off, even as another horse came toward them, passing him on the trail and heading straight for where they clustered. Zhou Tai had caught up at last, and immediately turned his concern to Sun Quan, who looked badly in need of his help. He was trying to sit up, though still dizzy from the blow to his head. Leaving them to it, Cao Pi mounted and, with a nod, beckoned Ishida to ride with him. He did know the shortcut, and now that they had the luxury of time to find it, made his way along the river until he could find the narrow strip of common dirt that allowed those soldiers to skirt the lava pits and make it in time to reunite with their desperate lord. From there, it was easy for them to make their way back to the main camp ahead of everyone else. Along the way, neither said anything to the other, mostly because Cao Pi was deep in thought, preparing his statement for Da Ji. When they reached the camp, they were ushered to her commander’s tent immediately, as the handful of retainers roaming around thought they had great news and knew how urgently their lady wanted to hear it. As they came up the steps, however, Da Ji swished through the tent flap and met them at the top. “There you are,” she said cuttingly. “Come, bring me Sun Ce. You did capture him, right?”

Cao Pi marshalled his features into an appropriately contrite look. “I’m afraid he escaped,” he said unhappily.

“That’s not what it looked like to me.” Folding her arms, Da Ji looked from him to Mitsunari and back again, her smirk positively devilish. “From where I was standing, it looked like he was _allowed_ to escape.”

She was sure she had him, there, sure he had no idea that she had teleported over to watch the outcome of the battle, and really wanted to see if he could weasel his way out of this one. To his credit, though, Pi showed no sign of surprise at her pointed accusation. “From where you were standing? Why, if you were there, my lady, why did I not see you? You couldn’t have been all that close to me.”

She gave him a dark look. “Close enough. I could see you talking to Sun Ce, and him leaving without your sword in his gut like I wanted. That certainly doesn’t _sound_ like he just escaped.”

“And does that not seem a little _too_ perfect to you?” Pi tipped his head slightly. “Me just dismissing Sun Ce when I knew full well you were waiting on his capture? You’re a smart woman. You must realize that it was an enemy plan to divide us in suspicion.”

Da Ji gave him a look of complete disbelief at his audacity. “Is that so? And just how do you figure that, Cao Pi?”

“It’s Zhou Yu's doing,” Mitsunari suddenly interjected. “He’s a brilliant strategist. He was away from the area when the battle started, clearly he was cooking up some kind of plan to help his lord escape. He used an impostor and made it seem like we were in collusion with the real Sun Ce.” He glanced briefly at the lord beside him. “What did he call him? Zhu Ran, was it?”

Pi picked up on his ruse smoothly and nodded back. “Yes, that was the man’s name. I knew it couldn’t be the real Sun Ce – whether or not you think me much of a fighter,” he explained to Da Ji, “the truth of it is, I am no match for Sun Ce. He is a powerful warrior and his strength would have me overmatched. I knew as soon as I defeated him that it wasn’t him, for real. They tricked me, so I let them flee.”

Da Ji pursed her lips tightly, clearly not buying any of this but also grappling with doubt. It would have been one thing to have Cao Pi flinging excuses at her again, but for Ishida to back him up without hesitation, that was quite another. Ishida was her servant, she assumed, and had been rather instrumental in passing her information on the movements of the Wei army. What reason would _he_ have to lie? In the end, all she could do was toss her hands up. “Of course, of course,” she lilted, pretending to fully buy into this tale. “How foolish of me not to see something so _obvious_.”

Clearly, she doubted, and clearly both of them knew she knew better. Yet, they continued the charade as long as she did. “It had me fooled as well,” Cao Pi said respectfully. “I believe the real Sun Ce defeated his brother and knocked him unconscious, and made his way in secret before the decoy on the boat landed. That was before I reached their position. It would have been the perfect moment for them to switch, in order to delay me long enough to allow Sun Ce to escape via another path. Tricky, though, since they had so little time.” He nodded to Mitsunari. “That clever bastard. My father always did underestimate his intelligence, and so often it cost him as it did at Chi’bi.”

“Well, don’t you feel stupid, now?” Mitsunari taunted him with a wry smirk.

“I do, indeed,” Cao Pi replied, though his tone carried an underlying threat for Ishida not to go too far.

Da Ji was still making faces at them. “And just where is Sun Quan, then?”

“His bodyguard is with him,” Mitsunari reported. “They’re moving slowly because Sun Quan is injured.”

“Damn it.” The demon strategist glowered at them and then turned and thrust the tent flap out of her way. “Strike camp as soon as they get back!” she snarled before ducking back inside. “We’re leaving, we have a traitor to track down and catch! Somebody get me a messenger, too!”

As much as Cao Pi wanted to know who she was sending messages to in this particular hour, he graciously bowed in apology and backed down the stairs to put some distance between them. He moved off through the camp to collect their own meager forces, not planning to go with her on her hunt, and noted the sense of movement at his elbow that told him Ishida was keeping up with him. By now, both had been riding and standing in the rain so long that they were nearly soaked through, so they ducked into the privacy of a tent to wait for Zhong Hui to report, knowing full well that he would have no prisoners with him. After all, neither Ishida nor he himself had actually bothered to stop and restrain any of the Wu officers in their path. It had left Pi wondering all along, and now that Mitsunari’s clever lie had unexpectedly protected him from being on the receiving end of well-deserved demon wrath for his actual insubordination, he was intensely curious. A couple of their soldiers serving as attendants brought them fresh clothing and something to dry themselves with, and then left them in privacy to change and prepare themselves for whatever else the weather had in mind for the region of Xia Kou. Cao Pi stood watching as Mitsunari delicately removed the pieces of burnished bronze armor from his arms and took off his gloves in preface to shedding his coat so he could dry off. The thick, embroidered coat seemed to keep him mostly dry, but the collars of his layered kimono were as damp as his auburn hair, which hung in limp strands around his face. He only noticed the eyes on him after it was too late, which flustered him. “What?”

“Nothing,” Pi murmured with a cool look in return. “I was simply wondering if I am finally able to see the truth in you.” He took off his cloak, then, and began his own ministrations by drying the intricate scales of his armor so he could remove it comfortably. One or two were dented from his fight, but overall they had protected him well. 

Turning his back slightly, Mitsunari removed his circlet and began to vigorously towel off his hair. “I might say the same of you.”

“Doubtful. You’ve always known enough about me,” Pi said with a bit of a sardonic sniff.

“You still surprised me,” Mitsunari admitted, lowering his voice even more. “This wasn’t the same as Huang Gai at Tianshui, you know. And you still walked right in there and told Da Ji to her face that he escaped, knowing full well what she’d say.”

“It was pointless to avoid it,” Pi shrugged, unbuckling his belt and removing his armor so he could change into a fresh tunic. Like his comrade, his cloak had protected most of him from the rain, but his collar was wet enough to be bothersome. “At least I knew I had more of a chance to salvage the loss than Sun Quan would have. He would be dead right now. Yet, nothing I had dreamed up came anywhere near what you said.”

There it was, out in the open between them. Mitsunari shook out his hair and tossed the towel aside before turning to face him. “What of it, then?”

His posture spoke of confrontation, but Cao Pi only turned to face him after he wrapped the clean, dry tunic around himself and secured it with his sash and girdle. “You protected me,” he said boldly, but quietly. “Again.”

Remembering his threat to Date at Jianye, Mitsunari averted his eyes. “There’s no reason to call attention to it,” he said sulkily. “I’m not looking for gratitude or reward or anything.”

He did not even dare to hope that Cao Pi might surprise him by saying thank you. Pi elegantly secured his clothing, though he needed to leave his armor to dry a bit longer, and then stepped closer to Ishida, as if to walk past him. He stopped shoulder-to-shoulder with him, though, and dropped his voice to a level that could not possibly be overheard. “You deserve better than the scraps she throws your way,” he intoned softly. “What are you to her anyway, besides expendable? She used you, and still attempts to use you, under the impression that you don’t have the backbone to seek out better. Yet, I know you, Mitsunari. I know how much pride you have. You are no dog, begging at the table.”

Ishida’s face flushed nearly the same color as his rosy kimono sleeves. There was no point in denying it any longer. “I thought you hated me,” he murmured.

“I did. But that was months ago.” Pi turned his head in order to give him a very close and personal prodding look, as if to say he knew that things between them had changed. “Allow me to ask you a question I asked you back then. What has Orochi done to secure your loyalty, Ishida Mitsunari?”

In that tent, at that moment, that was a dangerous question. But Mitsunari had a new answer, very different from the one he flippantly gave back at Jianye. “Nothing,” he breathed, a very dangerous answer indeed.

Cao Pi’s icy eyes narrowed in an eager, hungry smile. “Then what have I done to earn it?”

Mitsunari chewed on his lip as if biting back certain words. “Let’s just say,” he finally replied, “that I’m extremely curious about the path you’re taking. For once in my life, I can’t see the future ahead clearly. It has an equal chance of succeeding or blowing up in your face.” A smirk began to curl his lips. “I want to see what happens.”

That was enough for now. Pi nodded and continued on, going to the door of the tent to have a look out and see how much it was still raining. “We will discuss our route when we are on the road. The lake here is an unfortunate obstacle, without access to boats we will have to travel a long way to get around it and by then, we may need to reconsider the chase and reconnoiter with our forces as they gather nearer to Xuchang.”

Mitsunari understood his veiled directive – they would be discussing a lot more than that on the road. “You don’t want to keep up this pursuit? After all, there’s a good chance the piece you played could fall into the wrong hands further down the road.”

“That is not for me to manage,” Pi said, coming back towards him. “I merely acted as I saw fit in the moment, I planned none of this. What he does from here on out is up to him alone.”

“Really.” Mitsunari favored him with one of his best doubtful looks.

“I am not as clever as most strategists.” Cao Pi came dangerously close to actually smiling. “Where others can pull strings to make days like today happen from a distance, I am not so wise. Merely lucky. Yet, the result does please me.” He clasped his hands behind his back and paced across the tent. “Now, to see what he does with this chance.”

Ishida eyed him, and then roused himself, realizing he had gotten distracted and needed to finish changing. He merely swapped out the layer closest to his skin and then re-dressed, all while Cao Pi idly paced back and forth through the tent. There was much they couldn’t say right at that moment, particularly with Zhong Hui due to arrive at any moment. The young strategist had his own thoughts on that; he suspected that Da Ji was sending messages to her other loyal officers, particularly to Sima Yi. He didn’t know Zhong Hui hardly at all, but the young man’s attitude rubbed him the wrong way, so he wouldn’t have been surprised to find that of all of Sima Yi’s officers, he was the most loyal and least likely to turn against him. They had to be careful around him for the time being. It was also possible, once he returned empty-handed, that Da Ji might punish them for their failure by burdening them with much less pleasant orders and duties. As much as Mitsunari really didn’t want to ride in the rain any longer, putting distance between them and their taskmaster seemed like the better idea. He reluctantly pulled his coat and armor back on and gritted his teeth to deal with the dampness and the chill against his skin. At least, Cao Pi would fare no better than him in that regard. They could be miserable together.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tracing the movements of Tokugawa and Pang De in their separate travels; meanwhile, Oda, Takeda, and Uesugi finally meet, and Cao Pi learns something about Mitsunari.

Because of his position holding Odani Castle, Tokugawa Ieyasu knew before anyone else of Sun Ce’s defection. Indeed, he knew before the attack on Osaka had even taken place. Hattori’s report to him, and Zhou Yu’s subsequent letter, came as a relief to him. He had been looking for any advantage since the very first day in Orochi’s service, and though he wasn’t the one to finally secure it, he was nonetheless glad it existed. While not a strategist per se, he understood the value of making moves at the right time, like a well-played game of shogi, and as a result, sat tight while the chaos unfolded around him. He was not surprised that Da Ji’s orders to him were to hold that castle at all costs, she was afraid that if they pulled all their forces away to pursue the traitor, the Resistance would swoop back in and retake every stronghold they left unguarded. At least that gave Tokugawa the time needed to calculate his own risks and rewards and gather what was left of the men of Mikawa to him, so that when the time became ripe, they would be able to make their move with far more planning and preparation than was afforded to Sun Ce. Thus, when Lu Su arrived one day, prowling quietly on foot into the village below the castle like a gentle peasant with no suspicious ties whatsoever, he found himself ushered into the castle with great dignity and enjoying audience with Tokugawa himself. The news of the failure at Osaka was not exactly news, but the movements of Sun Ce and the rest of his officers certainly was. When he finished, they allowed to him to wait just outside the room while Ieyasu discussed it with his retainers. Really, though, the only opinion he cared about was Hattori's. His ninja had spent much time with Sun Ce and had the best perspective, compared to Tokugawa's unpleasant time brushing up mostly against Da Ji and Dong Zhuo directly. He settled back in his chair and turned to the figure standing silently beside him. “Well. It seems the time has come for us to actually make a choice, my friend.”

Hanzo closed his eyes briefly. “The choice is yours alone, my lord.”

“But your opinion means much to me. I would send you to go and protect Sun Ce from pursuit, but it seems too late for that. It's an option, but I feel as though it would be wiser for us to make our own way from here.” Ieyasu set an elbow on the arm of the chair and rested his chin against his fist thoughtfully. “It will only be a matter of time before Da Ji turns her attention away from him and remembers to give the rest of us orders, and I do not doubt that she will ask us to take up the mission Sun Ce was meant to carry out.”

“It matters not,” Hanzo said bluntly. “The time for waiting is over. You must act, my lord.”

Ieyasu raised his eyes to the ninja. He was the sort of warlord who preferred to weigh all his options before deciding who to follow, a strategy which left him the only one alive to unite the land when all others perished. Yet, he could feel the weight of unspoken implications in Hattori's simple words. His bodyguard would never defy or betray him, but he clearly respected and admired Sun Ce, and had enjoyed the Wu lord's protection and comradeship. If they crossed paths on a battlefield, Hanzo might not disobey direct orders from his lord, but he would surely make every attempt to avoid fighting Sun Ce, possibly even allow him to escape. And, Tokugawa had to admit to himself, so would he. He didn't have the same personal attachment to the prince of Wu, but he knew that his cause was honorable, and to remain Orochi's slave because it seemed safer for the moment was the coward's path. The door was open to him, he would be a fool not to take it. “It is a shame the Lady Ina is not here with us,” he murmured after a long silence to think it over. “She willingly followed me into captivity, to protect me in place of her father, but now that we have the chance to escape, she is too far away.”

Hanzo tilted his head slightly. “Will you not at least send her word?”

“Oh, I will. But at a time like this...” Ieyasu shook his head. “She has also grown very close to the Lady Sun Shangxiang, who is still under Orochi's thumb. I am loathe to remove that one source of support from the brave child of Sun Jian, though I hope Ina will forgive me for leaving her behind.”

“She is her father's daughter,” Hanzo noted, meaning that if Honda Tadakatsu could be gracious and honorable, so would Ina.

Tokugawa breathed a long, heavy sigh. “Honda, Honda...where are you, old friend? Surely, you could not have been bested by Orochi...”

One of the other retainers waiting on him straightened up. “Does this mean we are turning our backs on Orochi, my lord?”

“Yes, I do believe that would be my answer.” Tokugawa shook himself out of his worries for Honda and got up from the chair. “We must do Sun Ce one better. We do not have the resources ourselves to rescue his father, but we have the opportunity to simply disappear from Orochi's watchful eye. The more resources we can remove from Orochi's control, the better.” He paced along the ring of eager officers waiting for his order. “In time, I would meet back up with him, but for now, he is under much pressure. Da Ji herself is hunting him. We should use this chance to become as Hattori Hanzo, and slip into the shadows unnoticed. By the time she returns her attention to the men of Mikawa, we will have already vanished. I believe it best if we tried to gather in as many allies as we can, along the way, and make every opportunity count until we can join up with the rest of the Resistance.”

Hanzo noted that with interest. “What of Oda?”

Ieyasu turned to him, hearing that murmur. “That's a very good question. I am not sure what he thinks of me and my service to Orochi, as of this moment. More investigation is in order before we can say for sure whether we would belong at his side.” Nevertheless, he did have some hopes. He was a faithful vassal of Oda once upon a time, perhaps old connections still lingered in this new world. “Then, are you all with me?”

To a man, they all agreed. Tokugawa gestured for one of them to bring Lu Su back in, since he was so helpful to encouraging them to break away, and then sidled up to Hanzo. “Am I neglecting any details?”

Hattori gave a single shake of his head. “We should not delay. It will take but a few hours for reconnaissance.”

“Tomorrow, then. We will simply abandon this castle and move off. Perhaps Master Lu Su can lead us in the direction he knows Sun Ce's forces to be.” Tokugawa nodded his agreement. “Very well. I am entrusting you to lead us right, my faithful friend. My life is, as ever, in your hands.”

The ninja nodded once more, and then swept out of the room without need for further orders. It was up to him to determine the safest path for the Tokugawa army, he had much work to do.

At the same time, the village nestled snugly in the hills where the resistance forces were safely encamped stood ready to welcome their latest round of visitors, this time having advance warning enough to prepare for them. It had become a bit concerning how easily they had been found by more than one disparate force recently; Oda's letter had reached them the same day as Zhao Yun and Yukimura were brought in by the cavalry, then Saika, and the day after they left, another small group had stumbled on the camp rather by accident. Like Yukimura, they were not unwelcome, for they were being led by the Sanada's ninja, Kunoichi. She was disappointed to hear that she had just missed Yukimura, by a little over a day, and barely allowed herself to rest and touch base with Nobuyuki before setting out in pursuit of her master. The rest of the officers with her remained, however, because they would be of great interest to the planned visitors arriving soon. Yet, Takeda Shingen was of the opinion that they really needed to look into just how all of these guests were finding a camp that was supposed to be hidden.

The morning of the summit meeting dawned gray, as the rains continued to roll across the patchwork lands and a thick pall of clouds remained before and after the storms, shrouding the green hills in wisps of mist and fog. The assembled might of Takeda and Uesugi stood in honor guard in the central village, watching patiently as the cadre of horses wound along the path leading toward their position. Among them were some fine cavalry mounts indeed, muscled and sure-footed, bearing the men of Xiliang who knew their way around horses as well as anyone in Takeda's famed cavalry. At the fore, Nobunaga rode on his big bay horse with his cloak arrayed around him to protect his armor from the mists, the feathers at its collar standing up stiffly in the cool, still air. There was no wind to speak of, and the heavy air beneath the clouds pressed the woodsmoke from the encampment's fires down upon the heads of the hills, adding to the fog. Yet, none in the party arriving nor in the camp awaiting them looked the least bit ruffled by the weather. Oda rode straight through the palisade gate into the village, and halted his line of horsemen behind him in an array to match that of his hosts. Sitting astride their own mounts, Shingen and Kenshin eyed them with interest as Ma Chao, Ma Dai, Guan Ping, and Lu Xun took their places in a row behind their benefactor. Of his usual retainers, Oda only brought Toshiie, mainly to keep control of their small escort of infantry. Once they were all safely inside the village walls, Takeda's men moved to close the gates for the protection of the very valuable targets meeting together. Oda prefaced their proceedings with a cool, haughty smile. “I see you have thought of everything,” he noted as the gates slid shut and the village quietly sank into a more relaxed aura. “Would I be remiss to assume that Lord Shingen has also gone to the trouble to prepare a feast for the occasion?”

“Close,” Takeda grunted with amusement. “The feast will take place later. We have important business to handle, first. Yet, we are not without our manners.” He gestured with his war fan, and a couple of low-ranked pages trotted forward bearing jugs of wine and the wide, flat cups of welcome. “Though, on a gray day like today, perhaps a tea ceremony would be more apt.”

“Another time.” Oda willingly bent down from the saddle to take the first cup offered, and raised it to his hosts before drinking, a gesture of trust as much as a sip to cool his thirst. At that signal, his vanguard dismounted and consented to take the refreshments, each bowing his head in thanks before drinking. Nobunaga was the last out of the saddle, and once he alit, Shingen and Kenshin also stepped down to the ground. The three warlords strode forward and met each other on foot in the space between the lines of their soldiers. “Fear not, I do not plan to weigh on your hospitality for very long,” Oda assured them. “We all have things we need to be doing. But the time for simply passing messages to one another from a distance is over. Things are building rather quickly.”

“So we’ve heard,” Takeda acknowledged. The eyes behind the mask flicked past him to the line of horsemen taking a moment to stretch their legs. “You have a rather interesting guard beside you this time. I was expecting to see Toyotomi, and instead you bring some rather mighty generals of the Han.”

“The monkey is busy about other errands of mine,” Oda responded smoothly. “And, I thought the Takeda and Naoe cavalry wouldn’t mind seeing how real horsemen carry themselves.”

Kenshin frowned at him. “Already starting the proceedings with an insult. I see how this is going to progress.”

“Easy, Nemesis,” Shingen implored. “Normally I would say the same, but he speaks of the two men of Xiliang I see there. They are famed beyond measure, I admit that I might have stolen some of their tricks after reading about them in the annals of history.”

Uesugi was still not impressed, but he knew less of the famous names in general and was more keen on seeing them perform in the here and now. Takeda moved to invite them all to join the war table set up inside one of the houses in the center of the village, where it was snug and dry and warm. There were two men waiting ahead of them, there, and both straightened up at attention when the warlords stepped inside. For once, Nobunaga allowed himself to show his surprise at recognizing the pair, and moved past where he was supposed to sit in order to greet them and look them over. “Hidenaga. Hideyori. Have you been here all this time?”

The elder Toyotomi bowed deeply to him. “Lord Nobunaga. No, we only came here a few days ago. We had been with Lady Nene in a fortress far to the north, but met with some misfortune.”

“The Sanadas' ninja brought us here,” Hideyori put in, likewise bowing as low as his uncle. “We had nowhere else to turn, my lord, but then we heard the good news that you would be here, soon.”

“I hope you don’t think me rude to keep this little surprise in wait for you, Demon King.” Takeda stepped up behind them, clearly enjoying himself. “They’re good men, but I would understand if you want to take them back to Hideyoshi.”

“Of course.” Oda nodded briefly to them. “You may join the conference, then. I should like to hear the news you bring to us, of what led you to that outcome.”

As officers settled into seats around the low table, the meeting truly became the epic summit worthy of the three rivals. On Nobunaga’s side sat Ma Chao, Ma Dai, Lu Xun, and Maeda Toshiie, while Guan Ping took his place at the door leaning on his sword to listen and guard. With Takeda sat Sanada Nobuyuki and a couple of his other retainers, while Naoe Kanetsugu graced the side of Uesugi, and last came the two Toyotomis. They began by relating what news they had as briefly and precisely as possible, touching upon the recent battles at Xiapi against the Wei army and the ouster at Ji that led to the captivity of Nene and her faithful retainers. Naoe also related to them what he heard from Yukimura regarding Xin Di, and they all discussed what they knew of Sun Ce’s defection from the Orochi army. All of it was a mere preface, though, to the real reason Oda had ridden from his stronghold to visit these two warlords in person. “Sun Ce is the first step on the path to dismantling Orochi’s empire,” he declared, having just told them that he was the one who sent Sakon with the key needed to unlock the tiger’s cage. “His grip on this land is tenuous, and each small victory we have earned has, in its own way, exposed the weaknesses in his walls and the gaps in his armor. Not that you would know,” he added dryly, “seeing as neither of you has even taken to the field in months.”

Kenshin sat up sharply, bristling in place, and even Takeda couldn’t help but look sour. “I believe I bloodied my weapon on your behalf at Honnoji,” he said sternly, “though I understand your point. You think us fools for sitting tight and not getting involved in battles, or only sending the Sanada and Naoe forces in our stead.”

“I think nothing of it one way or the other,” Oda sniffed. “Surely you have your reasons for employing this particular strategy. I really don’t care what you do, but the fact remains that by doing so, you have not actually held victory in your own hands, or seen with your own eyes what happens when Orochi’s army meets resistance. I admit that gathering information through scouts and spies and whoever stumbles into your camp is equally as valid a method as riding to battle yourselves.”

“Out with it, then,” Kenshin snarled. “What is so important that you feel you know, that we don’t?”

“I know Orochi’s weaknesses,” Nobunaga replied slyly. “First and foremost is his strategist, Da Ji. Not that she is a poor strategist, quite the opposite, but that she seems to be single-handedly in control of his army. He has not been seen in person since I met him at Mikatagahara, yet he entrusts the daily management of both his own forces – willing and conscripted alike – and the ones from Wei under alliance to him, to her alone. The second weakness is those conscripts, as Sun Ce has proven for us. His choice to rebel for the sake of his father has exposed how poorly Da Ji has handled her slaves – she cannot cow them, they have not been fully broken. It only takes the right push in the right spot, and she will lose control over all of them, bit by bit.” His glance shifted very slightly toward Lu Xun as he said so. “Which, in turn, leads to the third weakness: Orochi’s loyal servants.” His expression became suddenly hard to read, as for a moment he looked amused, then irritated, then cold and blank as usual. “Some, no doubt, are powerful, like Keiji. Others are weaker, driven by their own ambitions, like Sima Yi. When the rest of those who have been forced into servitude are finally free, it will leave Orochi with a pitifully small number of retainers who will still fight for him willingly. Yet, each of them is still human, meaning each has his reasons for believing in Orochi’s might. Individually, each one is weak to his own set of circumstances that might also cause him to turn.”

“If I am understanding the unsaid aright,” Takeda mused, “your plan is to slowly whittle away at Orochi’s numbers, taking officers and forces away from him through one means or another, until all he has is his snake demons.”

“And force him to return to face us himself, rather than allow Da Ji to run his army into the ground,” Naoe added.

“Good, your sharp minds haven’t been addled by your comfortable time in camp.” Oda ignored any of Kenshin’s growling and the disgruntled looks from the other allied officers. “There are other smaller, more specific weak spots tied into the ones I mentioned, which is where all three of us should focus our efforts. Whether it means passing information to an officer to get him to defect, attacking the right strongholds at the right time, or protecting the other resistance cells across the land, it doesn’t matter. These are things that can destabilize the Orochi army, both from within and from without. Seeing as the lords of the Han have either gotten themselves captured or forced into alliance with Orochi, it’s up to us from our own time to give them whatever assistance they need to break free and join us.” He nodded to Ma Chao on his right as an example. “They are good men, powerful fighters, and not to be underestimated. Orochi has used their bonds of honor and family against them; now is the time for us to make him pay for it, and turn what he considers a weakness into a strength.”

Takeda let out a deep sigh, then, and placed his war fan flat on the table in front of him. “Alas, perhaps I am getting a little soft from sitting around. My own men have already realized this, and yet I have not.”

Nobunaga peered at him. “Yes, I noticed Yukimura is not beside you.”

“He has chosen to dedicate himself to the cause championed by one Zhao Yun of Shu,” Shingen explained. “To search for Lord Liu Bei and liberate him from Orochi’s clutches.” His eyes went to the collection of Shu warriors at Oda’s side. “We knew that you had taken in many of their strongest generals. And he is pleased to hear that they are well. Yet, that young man will not give up his search, and Yukimura has gone with him.”

The Ma cousins shared a happy look. Oda chuckled. “Yukimura. He might just be smarter than you in this situation, old man.”

“Sadly, you may be right about that.” Shingen turned his head to give Kenshin a look, and then straightened up. “Very well, consider that kick delivered squarely to my backside. I cannot speak for my nemesis, but I do think it time we roused ourselves and acted with a little more haste. Yet, there are so many targets we could choose from, it’s hard to know where to begin.”

“Whether or not that is true,” Uesugi put in, “we are not available to be recruited, Oda. I command my forces, and my nemesis commands his. We will not take orders from you.”

“I wouldn’t bother trying to give you any,” Nobunaga snorted. “I know full well your attitude on this, Kenshin. Simply put, I don’t care. The only thing I want to see is the two of you actually behaving like the warlords I know you to be, instead of cowering behind wooden walls waiting for the right opportunity. That may have worked back in our homelands,” he taunted, again ignoring the angry faces Kenshin made at him, “but here, the rules are different. No one can afford to simply sit and let others do the work. You may very well be sitting on the keys needed to unlock the chains of other men. I came here to demand that you use them. How you do so is your own business.”

Uesugi glared daggers at him from his side of the table. Takeda, however, was already thinking and stroking his chin as he did. “That reminds me. Have you seen or heard anything of our one-eyed friend, the one who fell for the ruse at Honnoji?”

No one else at the table understood his line of thinking, except possibly for Oda. “Nothing,” he replied. “Wherever Xiahou Dun of Wei is keeping himself, it is well out of sight of everyone, including Orochi.”

“So Xiahou Dun is not fighting for Lord Cao Pi,” Lu Xun realized. “Interesting. That does cut some of his power, for sure.”

“Ah yes, Cao Pi. The lord of Wei,” Shingen said with a sage nod. “I notice you didn’t count him among the weaknesses of Orochi.”

“Cao Pi is a slightly different situation entirely,” Oda admitted, taking on some of the same keen interest in his tone as the others. “He is a potential weakness, though, you are correct. Unlike the Sun children, his key is harder to discern. Why he chooses to honor the alliance is a mystery even to me.”

Takeda began to grin below the mask. “Perhaps that is a good place to start chipping away. He does have a lot of might under his control, from what I’ve heard. If we can’t separate a little more of it from him, we can at least make it harder for him to properly deploy that might.”

“The Wei forces at Xiapi were exhausted, and ill-prepared for their battle there,” Toshiie interjected. “A wise commander would have besieged the defenders and forced their surrender, but they decided to attack the castle instead. Luckily, we were there, but even so. It seemed strange to me.”

“They would have overcome us either way, had you not been there,” Lu Xun said softly, “but in a general sense, I agree. I was surprised they didn’t set up a siege. And even more surprised at how quickly you bested Zhang Liao…he couldn’t have been at full strength.”

“Aw, are you saying I’m not strong enough for him?” Toshiie teased. “Nah, I know what you mean. I could tell he just wasn’t up for it at the first hit. I was hoping for more myself.”

“Curious,” Takeda noted. “It sounds like something I should like to poke my nose into, a little more. And my fan, yes, yes,” he added before Oda could nag him further. “You are not the first to try to stoke the flame, Lord Nobunaga. Yukimura entreated me, he is rather impassioned by what he has seen while traveling across the length and breadth of this land. This mountain may be slow to move, but once it starts, there is no stopping it.”

“Has the mountain started moving, then?” Nobunaga queried with a small smirk.

“Oh, yes. It certainly has.” Shingen sat back, gesturing to call an attendant to him. “We should talk specifics, names and places. But we will take a small break, first. Tea without the ceremony, I think.”

“Very well,” Oda agreed. “And then we will indeed speak of people and places, and trade notes. The time will come – very soon, I think – where we will be able to launch our own conquest to take back what Orochi has taken from us. To that end, we need to discuss where and against whom we will prepare to make our move.”

The assembled officers all got up and moved away from the table at once, though only a few went so far as to walk outside to stretch their legs. It was much easier to return their thoughts and voices to normal out there, and aside from the gray gloom, there wasn't a reason to shun the view and the fresh air. Ma Chao took the opportunity to clasp hands with Kanetsugu, putting aside the serious talk in favor of smiles. “It is a pleasure to see you again,” Naoe said warmly. “A shame, though, that you missed your countryman by such a small margin.”

“Is it true, then? Lord Zhao Yun was here?” Chao sighed a little. “A shame indeed, I would like to see his face again. Oh, and speak to him of his mission to rescue our lord, of course.”

“Would you join him, if you could?” Kanetsugu wondered.

Chao glanced aside as Ma Dai came up at his shoulder. “I'm not sure. Truly, saving Lord Liu Bei is our utmost priority, I would give anything to make it happen. But it may be that the best way for me to do it is to work through Lord Oda, and others. I could see myself riding off to Zhao Yun's side and roaming the land as he does, but then, would that take me away from other places where I might be needed more?”

Naoe looked from one cousin to the other. “You do not mind serving this lord, then?”

“He's not exactly a ray of sunshine,” Ma Dai grinned, “but he gets results. For the time being, we're not having any trouble with him.”

“If anything, the news of Sun Ce has heartened me,” Ma Chao added. “If Lord Oda could have a hand in setting him loose, and locating Sun Jian, then perhaps he can be the one to find Lord Liu Bei – and if he does, I will be there to rescue him.”

“You put great faith in your leaders,” Naoe noted with a small smile. “Take care, though. Lord Nobunaga has his own agendas, no matter what he may say. It just so happens that he desires the end of Orochi as much as anyone else, so he will bend all his effort to that mission, and give no thought to the fact that it is also good for everyone else, both his allies and his adversaries.”

Ma Dai looked around to make sure Nobunaga hadn't heard any of that. “Well, it's not as though we're going to be here permanently. And, I'm sure my young master would be the first to say, in these dark times we have to put our faith somewhere.”

“Fear not, Lord Kanetsugu,” Chao assured him with a clap of his hand to the man's shoulder. “We are no lost lambs, we are simply looking for a way to be of some use in this strange world. No matter who becomes the one to rescue Lord Liu Bei, as soon as that happens, we will be at his side again and all will be right. I have great hopes in that much.”

Kanetsugu nodded his understanding. At that moment, the door behind them opened again and this time, Lu Xun ducked out. “Oh, there you are,” he said softly. “I'm supposed to let everyone know that the tea has been brought, if you want any.”

They all nodded their thanks, but no one moved to go and have tea. “Master Lu Xun,” Naoe greeted him, remembering their introductions earlier. “We are simply catching up on personal news. I understand you have only recently joined Lord Nobunaga's resistance.”

Shorter than all three of them, Lu Xun sidled up alongside Ma Dai and shyly returned the cavalryman's generous smile. “Yes, I...he sent his men to rescue me from certain death. I could not help but agree to join him, though he certainly doesn't need another strategist in his ranks. But Sakon vouched for him, long ago, and I trust Sakon's judgment.”

Kanetsugu looked very interested in that. “Most of us do,” he murmured. “Shima Sakon seems to have his fingers wound around a great many strings, right now. Perhaps that's why we find ourselves convened today.”

“You're feeling all right, then?” Dai asked the young Wu officer. “That long ride didn't aggravate your injuries at all, I hope?”

“No, I'm doing very well, thank you,” Xun assured. “I'm a little restless, as a matter of fact. I want to walk around before we go back in and sit down for another long stretch.”

“I doubt we have time to walk all the way to the Uesugi camp,” Kanetsugu said ruefully, “or I would take you all to see the cavalry, and hear your thoughts.”

“Later,” Ma Chao said enthusiastically. “I certainly do want to see the Naoe Cavalry for myself! I don't know how long Lord Oda wants to stay, but I hope he'll indulge us this one chance.”

“Right now, I'll settle for a walk around the camp,” Lu Xun smiled, bobbing his head to all of them. “If you'll excuse me...”

They let him go, and Ma Dai's gaze lingered on him as if watching to be sure he wasn't lying about his injuries not bothering him. “Is he the only Wu officer in Lord Nobunaga's ranks, then?” Kanetsugu murmured.

“Technically, no,” Chao replied. “A young woman, the wife of one of their officers, is with us, but she remains at Honnoji most of the time. Lu Xun is more likely to ride with us when his injuries have healed. I didn't know him well, before, but I know he is one of their valued strategists. And, like my cousin and myself, he, too, suffered defeat against Sun Ce. All of us are rather glad to hear that the Little Conqueror has finally shed his chains and set out to do what he should have been doing all along.”

“Now, now, cousin,” Dai cautioned. “We don’t know what kind of pressure Sun Ce has been under. The least we can do is just be glad that he’s free. It’s not like we know what it’s like to fight against our own countrymen.”

“I do hope such a thing never comes to pass, for your sake,” Naoe sighed. “It is a hard thing to bear, even if you believe you can still fight at your best in such a situation.”

Ma Chao remembered the last time they had sat around and talked about such a thing. “True, we were not with Guan Ping when he faced his father. And you said you know people on the wrong side as well. It seems there are more prisoners than just those being held in dungeon cells.”

“Yes…and to that end, I do agree with Lord Nobunaga,” Kanetsugu said, “that we should work to free them no matter what it takes.”

“I think you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t agree with that,” Dai said smartly. “As usual, I get the feeling that the difference of opinion is in the hows and not the whys.”

“I would rather be having a look at the cavalries of these armies than sitting around the table talking,” Chao grumbled, “but we were requested to be here for a reason. Whatever it may be.”

Naoe smiled and chuckled a little. “Strategy meetings are not your favorite activity, I take it. I promise to reward you with a look at the cavalry when it’s over, Lord Ma Chao. Men like you and I are needed at these meetings to keep our leaders from riding roughshod over the innocent people who may be in the way of their great plans.”

Ma Chao tossed back his head for a great big sigh. “Very well, you drive a hard bargain, Lord Naoe. Then, let us get some tea before it all starts up again.”

The two of them moved to do so, leaving Ma Dai lingering behind for a moment. He looked to see that Lu Xun was, in fact, taking a bit of a walk around the compound, and resigned himself to tag after his cousin. He knew Naoe was right, and they had to be thankful that as of yet they hadn’t crossed weapons with people they respected and cared about. That day could be right around the corner, and then they, too, would know of the deep sorrows of a young man like the lonely Wu strategist. Dai resolved to make more of an effort to include Lu Xun in their activities, to be a friend to him even though they should have been enemies in their time. In the Resistance army, there was no Wu or Shu, only those who strove to fight against Orochi, bonded together. He needed to remember that, and make sure his cousin knew as well.

Far from the village where the Resistance leaders met, things at Osaka Castle were still in something of a state of disarray. The ranking Wei officer left in charge of things was Pang De, though the various Cao cousins and second-cousins should have commanded more by virtue of their names alone, were anyone but Cao Pi ruling them. He trusted Pang De more; thus, the missions laid on him by Zhang Liao and Cao Ren before they departed were of the utmost importance for a man of honor such as himself. He stood as the last line of defense between the snake soldiers and generals now crawling all over the magnificent castle and their prisoners, a job which had just gotten that much more difficult. He stood leaning on one of his halberds with a deep frown of misgiving as Fuuma Kotaro marched his prisoners up to the castle keep, not sure he liked the sound of the ninja captain’s orders at all. Though most in Cao Pi’s army had not met Orochi’s most trusted warriors, they knew _of_ them, and knew to be on their guard whenever the chance came to brush shoulders with them. Fuuma had arrived not just with more prisoners, but with new orders from Da Ji. “This is only a temporary situation,” he noted after throwing his charges in with the one already locked away in the top floor of the keep. “Sun Jian must not remain here, it is no longer secure. I will be taking him with _her_ to another location, and soon.”

“What about the other two?” Pang De questioned. “They looked to be in bad shape.”

“I care nothing for them. They were extras. I would have killed them along the way if Lord Orochi had allowed.” Fuuma waved a hand dismissively. “I am through toting them around. Nene is the only one I must bring to Orochi.”

He left to go and abuse the snake demons for a while, since they were all supposed to be subservient to him and at the moment, he found their lack of defense and organization pathetic. Sighing, Pang De called some of his men to him to arrange for food and medical care to be brought to the prisoners. Since he was in charge of looking after them, he would do so properly.

Inside the locked room, Sun Jian waited until their jailers had left them before bending to untie the ropes holding Kato and Fukushima’s arms bound behind their backs. Masanori immediately sat up and tried to rub some feeling back into his hands, but Kiyomasa was still in a bad way. He had been regularly abused along the very long trek from Ji Province, mostly because he refused to bend to their demands no matter what. Any time Fuuma or his men threatened Nene, he spoke out, and paid for it. She was currently locked in an adjoining room, separate from them just for the purpose of taunting them further. Jian knelt beside him and turned him gently onto his back to get a better look at his wounds. “You boys look like you’ve seen some hard times,” he noted.

“You don’t know the half of it, old man.” Masanori crawled closer, patting his comrade on the cheek. “Oi, come on, Kato. You with me?”

Kiyomasa roused from his delirium just enough to be able to open his eyes and focus on his surroundings. “Where are we?” he groaned. “Who are you?”

“This is a place called Osaka Castle. And my name is Sun Jian…”

“Osaka…?” Kato tried to sit up, but lacked the strength, and fell back clutching at Masanori. “Are we really at Osaka?”

“Yeah, we are,” his friend replied, going serious for the moment. “It’s completely intact. We’re up on the top floor in Lord Hideyoshi’s chambers.”

Relief mingled with the pain in Kiyomasa’s face, and a fleeting smile briefly graced his lips. “Good…this is a good place…”

“Easy, son. Rest up, it’s not like you can go anywhere right now.” Jian turned his attention to Masanori. “You two know this place, then?”

“It’s the rightful home of our lord, of the Toyotomi,” Fukushima said proudly, if gruffly. “We know it better than anyone.”

“I see. Then, I don’t suppose you know of any hidden doors or passageways to get us out of this prison?” Jian wondered with a bit of a smirk.

“Uh…no. No, there really aren’t any. Besides, we’re on the top floor of the keep, there’s probably a couple hundred guards between here and the door.”

“Ah. Shame. I was really hoping for a little bit of good news.”

The door opened, then, permitting the entry of a couple of healers and one servant bearing a tray of food. It wasn’t a usual mealtime, Sun Jian knew, so he moved back out of the way and left it all to the two new captives. Pang De shadowed the doorway, making sure no one had the ill-advised idea to challenge him and try to escape. The healers focused mainly on Kato, wrapping his wounds and making him comfortable before reporting the state of both prisoners to their captain. De scowled darkly at what they told him. “That man is more of a demon than the demons,” he grumbled. “See to it that the prisoners are brought back to health. They are of no use to us in this state.”

“Thank you, Master Pang De,” Sun Jian said patiently from where he stood. “It is good to see that someone still recognizes civility around here.”

“You may not want to thank me so soon, Lord Sun Jian.” De shook his head slowly. “You are to be turned over to the care of the ninja creature who brought the new prisoners in. It’s time to move you to a more secure location. You will be out of my hands, after that.”

“Aw. And I’ve so enjoyed our time together,” Jian quipped.

Pang De snorted at that. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell Lord Zhang Liao.”

“Are you leaving the castle, then? Or are the Wei forces coming back to resume control?”

De eyed him for a moment before deciding it was safe to answer. “No, we are no longer a part of this castle’s defense. Everyone has been reassigned. I am only here until Lord Cao Pi calls me back, and after that, who knows.”

“Then, I think you would have an easier time reporting to Zhang Liao if you didn’t leave these two in the hands of the snakes.” Jian nodded to Fukushima and Kato, the latter of whom was still stretched out on the floor on his back, resting. “You can’t do anything about me, I’m Orochi’s precious hostage. I know that. I’ll be fine. I’m not so sure about these two.”

Pang De looked down at them, finding Masanori peering up at him with distrust and anger from behind the bowl of rice he was hastily gulping down. He knew the Wu lord was right. If Fuuma had treated them so, how much worse would it be with only snakes around, demons who cared absolutely nothing for the well-being and honor of humans? “I will see what I can do,” he grunted before closing and locking the door.

After a moment, Sun Jian quietly sighed and then sat back down by Kato’s head, looking him over now that he had been cleaned up a bit. Kiyomasa seemed to sense his presence, for he roused himself again and looked up. “Are you really Sun Jian? The ancient leader of the Han?”

Jian made a face. “I don’t know about _ancient_ , but…yes, I am the lord of Wu.”

“What’s a bigwig like you doing as a prisoner?” Masanori asked bluntly.

“That’s a very long story.” Jian focused his attention on Kiyomasa. “How are you feeling? Can you sit up enough to take some food?”

“Maybe.” Kato gave it a try, but didn’t get very far. Sun Jian caught him and braced him for a bit, helping him to at least drink some water. When he had enough, Kato lifted his eyes wearily to the mature face framed in a stubbly goatee. “You don’t have to help me. A man of your stature…”

“…is no more or less than you are, right now,” Jian assured. “You’ve been injured. I’m happy to help. And have some company for once, such as it is.”

“Come on, Kiyomasa,” Masanori begged, leaning over him. “You have to eat something. You haven't had hardly anything in days.”

Jian frowned even more deeply than before. “They starved you?”

“I'm sure it was only because I wouldn't go quietly,” the young man murmured in his deep voice. “I am not a very good prisoner.”

“Well, fortunately for you, I have plenty of experience. But things aren't as bad as they could be,” Jian assured, easing Kiyomasa back down so he could lie comfortably. “As long as human officers are in charge, we can expect to at least be treated like humans rather than animals.”

“But, what about what that guy said?” Masanori fretted. “Didn't he say they were taking you away?”

“Whatever happens to me,” Jian said patiently, “I am positive that Pang De will not mistreat you. He is a man of honor.”

“What about Lady Nene?” Kato groaned. “I don't care what happens to me...”

“Hm. They didn't bring a woman in,” Sun Jian noted. “Though it's possible she's in another room, to protect her from us brutish fellows.” He shook his head, then. “You have my word. For now, at least, Pang De will see to it that we're all kept safe. It may not sound like much when you're a hostage of the Orochi army, but believe me, it could be far worse. And it may be, for me at least.”

The other two looked away, a bit sheepish. A moment later, Kiyomasa found the strength to sit up enough to eat, though he sat hunched and moved rather slowly. Sun Jian seemed satisfied that he was improving bit by bit and pushed himself to his feet, going to a chair and settling down to see what else fate might bring him that day. When he could eat nothing more, Kiyomasa set the dishes back on the tray and laid back down, resting an arm over his eyes. “At least we're at Osaka,” he murmured, mostly to himself. “It may be overrun by demons, but it's still home.”

In the next room over, which coincidentally happened to be her own, Nene sat quiet and composed with her hands curled around a cup of tea while the same set of healers checked her over for injuries as well. She kept her head down and eyes low, not giving the armored man in the doorway the satisfaction of seeing her face. “Fine,” Pang De said at the conclusion of their discussion. “I will look after your sons. I can do nothing for you, this Fuuma is beyond my control.”

“I'm not surprised,” Nene sighed. “He has only ever been able to be controlled by one man, and I haven't yet heard whether that man is even in this strange world. Of course he would happily fall in with Orochi instead.”

Pang De stepped out of the way to allow the healers to depart. “I will allow you to have one attendant, for the time you are here in my custody. That may not be more than a day, I can't say.”

“Thank you.” Nene finally looked up to regard him, reading much of what she needed to know about her warden with one glance. “Just who are you, then?” 

The gruff warrior bobbed his head respectfully. “My name is Pang De, my lady. I am a retainer to Lord Cao Pi of Wei.”

“I don't really know who that is,” she admitted, “but I'm glad he stationed you to look after our castle. Someday I hope to be reunited with my husband, and I know he would be grateful, too.”

De's eyes widened. “Osaka is... _your_ castle?”

“That's right.” She allowed herself a smirk. “I am the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and we call the city of Osaka our home. If only the castle grounds have been brought to this world, we'll be content with that.”

This time, De gave her a real bow. “Two attendants, then.”

“Aww, aren't you sweet?” Nene favored him with a genuine smile, at last. “You don't have to go to those lengths for me. I'm not your usual Lady, I don't like fancy kimonos and putting on airs. I'll be fine.”

Nodding his understanding, Pang De ducked out and secured the door behind him. Once in the hall, he heaved the hugest of sighs. All of this was getting completely out of hand, from his point of view. Yet, he wasn't sure that if he reported these minute details to Cao Pi, that his lord would care. He always seemed to have much bigger pictures in mind. Shaking his head, Pang De made his way down the stairs to the main floor of the keep, hoping to keep out of Fuuma's range, but before he got too far one of the sentries called for him. He changed direction to answer the summons, finding Cao Zhang at the top of the steps consulting with an out-of-breath messenger who had just arrived. “It looks like our lord is up to something again,” he noted as Pang De joined them. “The missive is for you, though.”

“I'll take that.” De held out his hand for the scroll and broke the seal, giving it a quick skim right there on the spot. “Indeed,” he finally said to Cao Zhang. “We are being ordered to regroup with the others. Ah, Lord Cao Pi has located Xuchang, to use as a secondary base, good. Hm. The timing of this message is incredible. If Orochi wants the prisoners moved, then we have no reason to stay ourselves.” He rolled it back up and tucked it beneath his armor to read in full later. “I can do nothing about Lord Sun Jian's well-being, he is in Fuuma's hands now. Once they leave, we will take the remaining prisoners with us and depart on our lord's orders.”

“Take them with us?” Zhang repeated, stunned. “Are you sure that's wise? They'll slow us down, someone will have to stand guard over them at all times...”

“If we leave them here, they will die,” De said bluntly, turning a scowl on the man. “They may be useful to us yet. I will let Lord Cao Pi decide what to do with them, rather than leave them in the hands of snakes.” It was no secret that he neither trusted nor liked the demons currently in charge of Osaka Castle, to say nothing of Orochi himself, but he kept quiet and obeyed his orders from the Wei lord. If all he could do to show his defiance was take the prisoners into his own protection, so be it.

Cao Zhang made a face, but knew he couldn't be swayed from his decision. “Very well. What did the creature say, about when he plans to leave?”

“’Shortly.’ I will consult with him to see exactly when that might be. We will depart within a day of him, so you and Hao Zhao should prepare immediately.” Pang De turned on his heel and strode off to do so, as much as he didn't want to talk to the smug ninja captain. Finding out how quickly they could be away from him and his influence was the one good thing about having to speak with him at all. Yet, Pang De knew he had to be just delicate enough. For a man such as himself, blunt and hard-nosed, delicacy and diplomacy was a difficult endeavor. Yet, he couldn't let Fuuma know what he was up to, or that Cao Pi had sent them orders to supersede Orochi's at all. For that, he would endure whatever was necessary, including a very valiant attempt at showing tact. He would do his best, and make Zhang Liao proud.

  


The men of Wei seldom had any inkling of just how carefully Cao Pi made his decisions, deploying his forces shrewdly and carefully like a master at a chessboard, doing his best to see just one step ahead of his allies as well as his foes in order to have the right people in the right places. He made it all look so easy, and even defeats were turned to his personal triumphs. Yet, none of them knew just how hard he worked to manage everything at once, how deeply he thought and how often he actually found himself pressed by his choices. Deliberately leaving Da Ji's company after his supposed failure at Xia Kou could only be acceptable if he left one of his own men behind, and the task fell to Cao Ren to ride to meet one of the numerous armies bearing down on Sun Ce's path of retreat. Once his letter had been sent to Osaka, Pi had to order Guo Jia to go to meet Pang De, concerned that the Orochi army might intercept them along the route and attempt to alter his plans. As much as he wanted to call his wife to his side, he needed her to remain at Jianye to keep control of the prisoner being held there, for word had it that Dong Zhuo had retreated there to recuperate from the wound given him by Zhao Yun. Cao Pi did not trust the odious tyrant one bit, and loathed even knowing that his wife was in the same fortress as he, but he knew she could take care of herself. At least he was finally able to draw everyone else back to Xuchang, so he could make better use of their strength and skill. After Xia Kou, after Mitsunari showed him the first signs of being willing to rebel against their taskmaster, Pi knew the balance would get even more precarious from now on. He retired to his quarters at the close of another day, exhausted by his thoughts, and barely got out of his armor before dropping into a chair with a heavy sigh. No sooner had he closed his eyes to try to decompress and there was a rap on the door, making him groan. “Who is it?” he grumbled, certain that he didn't want to see most of his attendants or retainers right now.

“Ishida.” The door slid open just a crack, allowing a glimpse of Mitsunari's eyes glimmering in the darkness of the hallway beyond. “May I?”

Cao Pi cast him a glance and then nodded silently to permit him. Like himself, Mitsunari had taken off his armor as well as his coat, and stood in the doorway in just kimono and his bright, striped pants. “You need not hover,” Pi murmured. “If you want to come in, then come in.”

Mitsunari took a step to do so, though he kept one hand on the door as if expecting to leave. “Just one question. Would you like some tea?”

“Tea?” Pi lifted his head to give the strategist a perplexed look. It was unusually civil for them, Ishida had never voluntarily offered hospitality, let alone checked in on him like this.

“You looked like you could use some.” Mitsunari finally let his hand slide away from the door as he took another step further inside. “All right, maybe it's more than that. In my country, the tea ceremony is an art form practiced by some; mastered by few.”

The curious look intensified. “You?”

“I’m not too bad at it.” Mitsunari’s smirk was nowhere near as modest as his words. “It is a good way to relax. You looked troubled when you left the war room, like you could use a little relaxation. I thought to ask if maybe you'd be up for letting me show you the ceremony.”

Pi briefly made a face, mostly because he didn’t like for anyone to be able to read his emotions in his expression. Either he had slipped, or Mitsunari was getting better at it. “And if I said no?”

“Fine by me.” Ishida turned back toward the door. “I just figured, a castle as nice as this ought to have some class. The tea ceremony captures the elegance and grace of civility – the ability for a commander to still be poised no matter how fiercely war rages around him. A general who knows how to conduct a tea ceremony even in a dingy old tent in a field encampment has more grace and tranquility than an emperor in a palace with no sense of taste.”

The description had Cao Pi’s attention. And he did feel like a cup of tea. “Very well,” he relented. “Show me.”

Inclining his head in a nod, Mitsunari ducked back out of the room and returned shortly with an attendant carrying a tray laden with everything he would need. Unlike a more formal ceremony he would hold at a castle, he had to make do with whatever could be found at the fortress of Xuchang, and had the water heated ahead of time. Once he had cleared a low table for their purposes, Mitsunari dismissed the attendant and beckoned Cao Pi over to join him, kneeling on the floor on either side of the table. “There is a lot more to it, in some forms,” he explained as he set the kettle back on a charcoal brazier to keep the water very hot. “But we just had dinner not long ago, so I’ll count that. I know you won’t know the receiving traditions, so bear with me.”

As he settled opposite his strategist, Cao Pi studied him closely as he would anyone who took him by such a surprise. Ishida might have been dressed down, but he was still neat and tucked, with his fan in his obi. He had left off his circlet, as well, so his auburn hair cascaded loose around his face, swaying gently as he leaned forward in a deep bow to begin the ceremony. Pi wasn’t sure why but he felt he needed to echo that bow, and did so. From there, it was a fascinating glimpse into another country’s culture, as he watched the intricate way Mitsunari moved as he ritually cleaned the implements on his tray and then prepared the tea. Every motion of his hands was indeed a tale of grace, down to the way he swept his kimono sleeves out of the way now and then. It was quite a process, grinding the tea just-so and adding the right amount to the bowl, then carefully whisking the hot water in a little at a time to make a thick, rich green tea. The aroma instantly called to mind the gardens at Luoyang, the sun on the fountains and the exquisite taste shared among the nobles of his clan. Pi was impressed, but said nothing, focused on watching. Mitsunari kept his eyes demurely low, for the first time perhaps showing sincere modesty in front of the Wei lord, unless that was what the ceremony called for. After a long silence, the tea was ready, and he held the bowl up in both hands. “I’m honored to be using actual tea from your homeland,” he murmured. “Tea came to us about six or seven hundred years ago, direct from your people. The finest tea is grown in Kyoto, from seeds directly brought from the mainland.”

Pi nodded, genuinely interested in that fact. “What is it you want me to do, then?”

Mitsunari bowed with the bowl of thick tea held before him. “You take the bowl, and then rotate it so you’re not drinking from the front.”

As Cao Pi’s hands came around the bowl, their fingers brushed, and neither called attention to it. He gazed at the bowl curiously before carefully turning it and then taking a sip. It was as though their humble tea had been transformed, he had to actually pause and look at Mitsunari in keen wonder. “You really know your way around tea,” he complimented.

Ishida smiled slightly; Pi didn’t know that compliments were part of the ritual. “You’re the only guest, so you’re free to enjoy as much as you want.” He returned to the process, this time whisking up a much thinner, typical tea for both of them to casually drink.

Pi didn’t mind if he did, it was truly elegant tea. “You’re not allowed to have any?” he wondered.

“It isn’t traditional for the host to have the koicha,” Mitsunari replied. “That’s why I’m making this.” When finished, there were two cups of green tea shimmering on the tray between them. He graciously accepted the bowl back from Cao Pi and served him the fresh cup, taking the other for himself. “Mind you, this is really simplified compared to what I would do for Lord Hideyoshi. A ceremony entertaining honored guests can take hours.”

Sensing that they were now free to talk, Pi sat back on one hand and indulged in the thin tea as if it were as rich as wine. “So. Hideyoshi. I’m trying to remember where I heard that name…”

Mitsunari’s expression remained unmoved. “I might have mentioned that I knew him to be riding with Oda Nobunaga.”

“I see…” Pi allowed himself a shadowy smile. “The ties between his forces are even more intricate than I thought.”

Sharing this part of himself was Mitsunari’s way of finally opening up, bestowing and accepting trust in his new lord. He looked away slightly as he cradled the cup in his graceful fingers. “The Toyotomi are the faction to whom I owe my allegiance. They were the first ones set upon by Orochi, as far as anyone knows, and I wasn’t there to help them.”

Cao Pi regarded him for a silent moment. “And you joined him before, or after this?”

“After. When I heard that Maeda Keiji had joined him.”

Pi had heard that name as well, but tangentially, as someone to whom Orochi had given free rein to use his might to conquer in the demon’s name. He didn’t know the connection between the two men, and didn’t need to know. “Orochi overran many who didn’t have the help they needed, at the time,” he noted. “One might even say my father could still be alive if he had had help.”

Mitsunari glanced at him, wondering if it were safe to talk about that battle. “There were a lot of officers at Yiling.”

“And a lot who weren’t. They were with me,” Pi murmured. “Indeed, sometimes I almost wonder if Orochi swept down on us when we were so unprepared for a reason. As powerful as he is, why would he only attack the small armies, mere segments of much larger kingdoms? There must be a reason, aside from the obvious.”

“What, that he didn’t want a challenge?” Ishida thought about that with the cup to his lips. “Hmm.”

“It does make you wonder, doesn’t it?” Pi said slyly after a sip of his own tea. “Mm. At risk to filling your head with hot air, I have to say, this is very good tea. I am glad I decided to indulge you.”

“Thank you, for giving me the chance,” Mitsunari said humbly. “It’s been a very long time since I practiced. Art needs to be shared in order to be maintained.”

“Elevating tea to an art form. Yes, I can see how that might come to pass in the centuries between my time and yours.” Pi also had to admit to himself that the ceremony had done as planned – he was relaxed, now, at peace. He sat nursing his tea for a while, his eyes roaming from the collection of utensils borrowed from the castle to the fan in Ishida’s obi, to his slender fingers around the cup. “When I’m finally able to bring my wife here, again. Would you indulge us in another practice?”

“If you’d like,” Mitsunari nodded. He was finished with his tea, and set the cup down in its rightful place before moving to the final phase of the ceremony, cleaning everything with a fine linen cloth. “I don’t mind. But I’ll have to teach you the proper responses to each step before then, so you do it right.”

“Oh?” Cao Pi looked genuinely amused. “Did I do something wrong, then?”

“You’re supposed to bow to me when you take the bowl,” Mitsunari replied with a smirk. “You did do the one turn right, though. That’s important, so good job.”

“Thank you.” Pi almost didn’t realize he had said those words until they were out. He didn’t take it back. “Very well, in order to achieve perfection for my wife, I’ll learn the proper ceremony. I don’t know if she’ll be impressed or not, but she does like beautiful things.”

He set his empty cup down as well, and Mitsunari moved to take it in time with everything else, to be cleaned of every last grain of tea powder. “Then, I can tell you this much,” he instructed. “At this part of the ceremony, the guests are allowed to ask the host if they can inspect the tools used. It may not be much now, since everything here came from your castle, but if I were hosting at Osaka, you would get to look at some heirloom pieces.”

“I see. I think I’ll pass.”

“Fair enough.” Mitsunari bowed once more to end the ceremony, and then rose, taking the tray with him. “Sleep well, my lord.”

Cao Pi found himself slightly disappointed, that that was it and now Ishida was leaving him alone. Realizing this, he decided he needed a moment to puzzle out why he felt that way, and so accepted the end of the ceremony with a nod. He even went so far as to hold the door for the strategist, so he could depart without fuss, and then closed it behind him with a quiet snap. The ceremony had successfully eased his mind, taken away his stress and left him in a placid mood, but not quite ready to sleep. He went to the window to look out across the rooftops and trees to the stars, turning things over in his mind privately. It was a very interesting ceremony, indeed.

Morning brought only a return to work, and as they threw themselves back into the ordering and planning of coming ventures, Cao Pi and Mitsunari showed no signs of having shared a rather friendly moment between them the night before. There were scout reports to be heard and arrangements to be made on top of the more mundane duties for ordering troops and maintaining their supply lines. Around mid-morning, however, there was an unexpected interruption. Sentries reported someone on their way up the main road to Xuchang, and not long after, a guard came in to announce that an officer had arrived and requested audience with Lord Cao Pi. They weren’t expecting someone so soon, so Pi had the visitor shown in immediately, in the off chance there had been another setback and one of their men abroad had returned in haste with news. He went to the throne room to receive this officer, settling into the position of honor with Mitsunari at his right hand and Zhang Liao at the bottom of the dais to stand guard. The doors at the far end of the hall opened wide to permit a man in simpler garb, who walked with a long stride and jingled faintly with each step from a chain coiled at his belt, attached to his weapon. Cao Pi’s eyes narrowed as he recognized one of his father’s acquisitions. Still, he said nothing until the man came to the base of the dais and went to one knee, clasping his fist in a proper bow. “My lord. It is good to finally see you. I’ve been searching for you for a long time, now.”

“Jia Xu,” Pi murmured. “What a curious surprise this is.”

“Curious isn’t the word I would use,” Zhang Liao muttered under his breath as he cast a suspicious look down at the man before him.

The head-scarf he wore shadowed his eyes, but Jia Xu’s lips could be easily seen curving into a sly smile. “How nice to see you, too, Master Zhang Liao.”

“I see my father’s strategists have decided to flock to me one by one, now that I have one of my own,” Cao Pi remarked. “Tell me, Jia Xu, have your travels been kind to you?”

“No more or less than usual,” the strategist replied, lifting his head. “Forgive me for taking so long to rejoin you, it wasn't through my own intentions. It wasn't a lack of knowing where to find you, but a rather literal inability to safely travel to meet you without running into Orochi soldiers who would rather attack than stop to listen to my lineage of servitude to the kingdom of Wei.”

All things considered, Cao Pi could easily believe such a tale. Then again, he didn't really care whether Jia Xu had reason to avoid him or fail to join him. “And now that you have managed to safely travel to Xuchang, you wish to enlist.”

“If you would have me.” Jia Xu's head lowered again. “I heard about your father. What a terrible shame that is. As lord of Wei, I appeal to your filial duty to allow me to return to your side and assist.”

Pi grew slightly more cold in that moment. “You need not do so. If this is what you want, then so be it. But my primary strategist in this alliance is Ishida Mitsunari,” he added with a slight nod to the man standing beside him. “Master Fengxiao has submitted to this arrangement. You will, also.”

Jia Xu's lips twisted a bit, but he nodded. “Very well. As a token of my service, allow me to present you with some important information I gleaned very recently, as I turned aside to Xuchang.” From within his coat he drew a scroll, which he laid flat on the step of the dais to show that it was a map with notations hastily made. “I have kept up on the alliances and rumors, so I know the names of the leaders of the Resistance, whom your ally Orochi considers his foes. As I rode this way, I managed to come across a sentry who provided me the opportunity to find a rather interesting place – a village, tucked back in the hills that most people wouldn't have known was there had they not a little help finding it.”

Cao Pi raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“It is the main camp of two fellows known as Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin.”

Mitsunari attempted to stifle a gasp, but the lord beside him sensed his sudden movement. “Takeda and Uesugi,” Pi mused. “I might have heard something about them.”

“We have standing orders regarding them,” Mitsunari said in a low tone. “Should we find them, the same as Oda Nobunaga, we are to destroy them. They're resistance leaders just like he is.”

“Yet, unlike Oda, we haven't ever seen them on a battlefield,” Pi noted, glancing up to him. “Are they that much of a threat?”

Ishida met his gaze. “They were the first to act, when Orochi was working on conquest. Instead of waiting around for him, they gathered all their forces and hit him head-on. And lost, of course,” he thought to mention, “but the key is, they're not to be underestimated. Takeda and Uesugi are rivals, for them to work together – and keep the same camp together – is pretty serious.”

“I see.” Pi shifted his attention back to Jia Xu. “Then, I suppose this would be pretty valuable information. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will determine our move as soon as possible.”

Jia Xu swept up the scroll and tucked it away, and then rose to his feet. “It is my pleasure to be working with you, Lord Cao Pi. I think I will enjoy this much more than roaming around the countryside alone.”

Pi got up from the throne and stepped down to him, regarding him haughtily. “I do not know what time and place all of my men have come from. Some may not remember my father employing you. At least, you won't have to deal with him or Dian Wei.” He smirked very slightly. “Only me.” With that, he signaled for an attendant to find their new officer some quarters.

“I have no great designs on anything, besides being useful,” Jia Xu assured. “And, given the choice, I would really prefer not to go back to Dong Zhuo.”

“Pity. He is currently recovering from injury at my other fortress,” Pi noted, “it would be no trouble to send you there if you wish.”

Xu's eyes went dark. “Er. No, really, thank you, I think I prefer Xuchang to Jianye.” That reminded him of something else, then, and he raised a finger. “Speaking of which, I also found out along the way that Orochi's army is passing through there. Under one Date Masamune.”

Pi closed his eyes briefly in irritation. “That is of no concern to me. The Lady Zhenji will make sure he knows his place, if he decides to quarter his troops there again.”

The attendants gathered, then, so Jia Xu bowed properly before going with them to see what kind of quarters could be had in the fortress. Cao Pi then glanced to Zhang Liao, who remained standing at the foot of the dais with his face wiped clean of expression. “You will be able to work with him, I hope?”

“If my lord doesn't hold my own past with Dong Zhuo against me,” Liao murmured, “then I can surely understand him overlooking Jia Xu's.”

“That isn't what I want to know.” Pi laid a hand on his arm. “At least, your sense of honor overrides all, I will trust in that.”

“Indeed, my lord.” Liao glanced aside at him. “You have nothing to fear. I will uphold the honor of Wei and behave properly. I have nothing against him, really...”

“I understand,” Pi assured. “True, he has already proven valuable, bringing the location of this resistance camp to us. If we must move against them, I would trust you to lead that mission. But, that can be decided later.”

“I'm up for anything, young master,” Liao assured. “Standing guard in a quiet fortress is hardly my style.”

“I will remember that.” Cao Pi turned and beckoned Ishida to follow him, then. “We have a lot of work to do. More, now, than I thought when I woke up this morning.” Not the least of which, he thought as he strode to a side door and into the corridor beyond, was getting more information about these resistance leaders from Mitsunari, if he knew them so well. That had to come before he could make any decisions about sending Zhang Liao out to meet them himself.

His handful of officers scattered across the land had their own decisions and troubles to deal with. Zhenji was most certainly not amused by having to play host to Dong Zhuo, and even having Zhang He as her bodyguard was not enough to lift her spirits. The Orochi army was overstepping their boundaries, using Jianye as prison and stopover location for their forces, and now it was a hospital? Not on her watch. Cao Ren, meanwhile, was not thrilled to be with Sima Yi, but their pursuit of Sun Ce was a mission of such importance that he was able to put aside his distaste and focus on the matter at hand. Perhaps if he were able to capture Sun Ce, he would redeem himself from his failures at Osaka Castle. As for Pang De, his meeting with Guo Jia went well, but from there, things fell completely apart. They had the misfortune to blunder into a branch of the Orochi army on its way to attack a castle, and were forced by the snake demons in charge to come along, since they had prisoners in their employ and attempting to convince them that they were taking the prisoners to Da Ji only got them scooped up that much faster. After all, Da Ji had given them these orders and they would be returning to her once they had knocked over this castle. The officers had little choice, and not even watching over their prisoners was enough to get them out of assisting in the attack they had not planned.

Flames rose high into the night from the destroyed castle, light and shadow flickering on the faces of the unfortunate residents who had barely evacuated with their lives. They clustered together behind their castle lord, who didn't seem all that fussed to have lost it. He faced the small group of officers who had come to their rescue, arriving almost too late but with just enough time to drive off the Orochi army and ensure that the residents were not harmed. Many of his people were disheveled, afraid, and confused, but the man with the painted face who led them showed none of these emotions. Instead, he was fascinated by fate's choice in rescuers. “Now, how about that cup of tea, Master Ieyasu?” he chirped.

Tokugawa stood opposite him, still breathing hard from exertion. Hastening the rescue of innocent civilians from the castle had been complicated by attacks from Wei officers supporting the demon army, and he himself had clashed with Pang De in the midst of the flames. His bearded face streaked with soot, he looked completely opposite from the man across from him. “Lord Imagawa. Are you sure you will be all right? You've lost everything, we are simply fortunate to have made it here in time to prevent you from losing your lives.”

Imagawa Yoshimoto waved a hand idly. “Possessions. We are alive, thanks to you and your men, Master Ieyasu. I only rue the loss of my peace and quiet. But, I suppose, Orochi just can't leave well enough alone. One man comfortably keeping to himself in a little castle out of everyone's way just can't be allowed to stand.”

Tokugawa leaned heavily on his weapon. It was late, and he was tired, but he had to see to the safety of his former ally. “When Hanzo returns, we will better know the shape of the army we drove off. I would willingly join with you, if you need protection.”

“We'll be fine,” Imagawa assured. “I have my samurai and my servants, they will look after me.”

That wasn't quite what Tokugawa meant, but he relented with a sigh. “And so, Orochi will now know that we, too, have defected. I had hoped to delay running into the main army for a while yet.”

“Oh, have you? That's nice.” Imagawa looked away to the flames lighting up the night. “Really, young master, I know what I need to do. I don't much like being a wandering vagabond, nor a target for demons, so if you don't mind, I will see to my faithful servants on my own.”

The trouble with Imagawa, Ieyasu remembered, was that one never could tell whether he was genuinely foolish or simply pretending to be an idiot while gathering in information from the unsuspecting. It seemed he knew of Tokugawa's jaunt as one of Orochi's officers, and the more he thought about it, the more it did seem a bad idea to take this group of civilians into darkness and fear with them. Once it was reported that he had defected like Sun Ce, the men of Mikawa would be under pursuit, forced to flee and hide. In the end, Ieyasu nodded. “I understand, my lord. Please, be careful. Orochi's soldiers are all over this land, and their cruelty and evil is growing day by day. They will not hesitate to attack anyone, anymore.”

“I understand. A shame, Master Ieyasu, I would have liked to sit at tea with you again, like old times. Alas, it will have to wait. I will send word when I find a better castle, one that doesn't smell like smoke and ash.”

With that, Imagawa roused his tired retainers and directed them to move off into the night. He did have samurai with him, and a village elder from nobody knew which village, so perhaps he did have protection enough. Tokugawa couldn't be sure, but it wasn't for him to handle any longer. Around the same time, Hanzo reappeared at his shoulder, a shadow coming into the light. “They have retreated,” he reported in a low purr. “They seem satisfied with their victory and moved off.”

“Good.” Tokugawa turned to his ninja. “Lord Imagawa will not be coming with us, he has his own plans. We should split from him and head in another direction, to keep distance and minimize pursuit.”

“Understood.” Hattori remained with him from that point on, watching over him and making sure his lord got water and rest. They hadn't intended to end up at Wan Castle, they didn't even know it was here, but the sound of battle and the fires started in the outer courtyard had gotten their attention from a distance. They had saved lives, but not the castle, at the cost of their health and rest. Yet, it bore some fruit in the end. The wayward ninja Kunoichi had also been drawn by the sight of the fire, and diverted from her own mission to help them. Now that it was over, she was curled up asleep in the midst of Tokugawa's men, not even caring who she fell in with. If they could convince her to stay, Hanzo would not have minded. A fellow ninja would assist him well with scouting and preparing a safe path for their travels. He did find it interesting that she was not with the Sanada, but at the same time, he didn't care enough to wake her and question her. Sharing information could wait for the light of day.

Far on the other side of the valley which housed the castle, Pang De rode at the head of the column of Wei officers with a dark scowl on his face. Being coerced to assist the Orochi army to take this castle was one thing, but in the process, he had fought a mighty man who equaled his stature and strength, and found himself full of doubts. In facing Tokugawa, his very motives had been challenged. He couldn't get the warlord's words out of his head: _Take a look around you. Who do you think is the more dangerous between us?_ At the time, he had been pursuing maidservants fleeing the castle, when Tokugawa's massive weapon had blocked his way. Pang De could not deny that between the two armies, his side was performing more evil than good. They weren't putting down a resistance cell, they were razing a castle full of civilians, of servants and villagers. No matter how much he bragged about being an honorable officer of Wei, the alliance with Orochi was bringing them into situations he loathed. Being allies was turning them into the evil faction. He was far from his lord, though, and could not register his complaints. Instead, he and Guo Jia were now swept up with the momentum of the snake soldiers and the other officers from Wa who marched with them. At least their prisoners were sitting tight, not that they were in much shape to do otherwise. Under much better treatment their wounds were healing, but they still had a long way to go before they could be said to be hale. As they rode, Pang De eased as close to the fair strategist as he dared. “What do you think, will it be better for us to try to break away?”

“Right now, no,” Guo Jia replied softly. “These lot seem convinced that as allies, we are completely happy to be part of a larger army and ready to help. I am not inclined to give them reason to change their minds. For now, we are in a position to watch and learn much, and while I don't approve of orders that countermand Lord Cao Pi's, we may uncover something of value by playing along.”

“And what of our burdens?” De glanced back at the horses tied to their own, and Kiyomasa dozing in the saddle. “The point of taking them away from the army at Osaka was to keep them out of demon hands, but if we do end up meeting with Da Ji...”

“Let me handle that,” Jia implored. “Would you hate me if I threw you to her as a diversion while I or one of the others spirit the prisoners away to Xuchang?”

De sighed in aggravation. “If you must, Master Guo Jia. But I will miss having you around to give me advice.”

“I'm terribly sorry about that,” Jia smiled. “Perhaps there is an alternative.”

“Not Cao Zhang. He is rather useless in a tense situation.”

“So I've noticed.” Jia waved a hand at him. “Leave it to me, really. I will make sure that Lord Cao Pi's directives as well as those burdens laid on us by Lord Zhang Liao are upheld without any further mistakes. It's my fault we ran into this army, I will be responsible for getting back out.”

Pang De nodded and turned to face forward, so as to watch the road ahead in the darkness of night. “I will hold you to that.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun and Sun Ce come face to face at the Battle of Hulao Gate.

Upon departing from the Takeda camp, Zhao Yun and his group moved away through the hills to find the most deserted wilderness they could before making their own temporary camp and sitting down to discuss their next move. Magoichi had good news, at least, that Shimazu had personally made sure that everyone at Odani made it away safely, regrouped, and returned to Chengdu in good condition. Only Gan Ning and Ling Tong were never recovered, but Shimazu reported the pirate's willing departure, so they assumed they had simply lost the alliance of two capable officers, and privately hoped that those two men would find another resistance cell to join up with. They were too good to lose to Orochi. Zhao Yun was simply relieved that Xingcai and the others were safe, and he could see for himself that Zhang Bao wasn't injured too badly. He sat beside the fire looking none the worse for wear, and Zhao Yun was pleased to be able to pass along the information from Naoe, that the eldest Guan sibling was well and in the company of Oda Nobunaga. The joy on young Bao's face was all he needed. There wasn't much else in the way of information to go on, since Yuan Shao couldn't remember what he had heard about Liu Bei, so they were back to square one in terms of plans. “We wander from place to place,” Yun sighed. “I am beginning to wonder if we are really getting any closer to finding my lord at all...”

“Surely someone, somewhere knows where they're holding him,” Yukimura reasoned, trying to keep his spirits up. “As much as we learned from Lord Shingen and the others, even they haven't been able to come up with that information.”

“You guys have put a lot of faith in me to find these things out for you,” Magoichi said with uncommon seriousness, “and I haven't gotten very far. Even chasing Da Ji got us nowhere. But I'm with you, Zhao Yun – we can't just keep wandering. We have to have an actual plan, and focus our efforts somewhere. With Sun Ce bailing on the Orochi army, the enemy is on high alert and always on the move. We can't afford to blunder into their troops now.”

“Is there any chance Lord Liu Bei was being held at the same place as Sun Ce's father?” Jiang Wei wondered.

Magoichi shook his head. “None at all. Da Ji doesn't want you guys teaming up with Wu in any way, so she's bound to keep her two biggest hostages as far apart as possible.”

“You learned much about Orochi and his army while scouting behind enemy lines,” Zhao Yun remembered. “I'm wondering if something along those lines might bring us the same success – capture someone from their army, or liberate another prisoner like Lord Yuan Shao.”

“The trouble is, we don't know who else they're holding, besides Liu Bei and Sun Jian,” Saika complained. “That first idea, though, that's not so bad. Of course, that means picking a fight with the Orochi army, but hey, I'm up for a little action.”

“Has any of your information turned up a smaller fortress, or an outpost maybe?” Yukimura asked him. “Somewhere we can raid easily with an army the size of ours?”

“Hmm...” Magoichi rubbed his stubbly chin as he thought. “Come to think of it, yeah, maybe. I'm not entirely positive, some of these places I've never heard of. You guys know anything about a fort at Jieting?”

Wang Ping started. “Yes, I've fought there. There wasn't a fort, though...a village nearby, yes, but...”

“Well, there is now. I don't know who's manning it, but there's a big temple that got deposited on top of this mountain, and it's being held by Orochi's forces.”

Wang turned sharply to Jiang Wei beside him, and Zhao Yun beyond. “Someone else has made Ma Su's mistake.”

“And we know from experience how to capitalize on that mistake,” Jiang Wei murmured, nodding. “Jieting is difficult to hold from the high ground, that temple is extremely vulnerable.”

“Then, perhaps we should head there, and see who we can collect,” Zhao Yun proposed. “It would give us a goal to aim for.”

“Sounds good to me,” Magoichi agreed. “I know where it is, from here. It's probably faster if we take one of the passes over the mountains, and cut across land that way to come up on Jieting from the wild lands.”

“Then it's settled,” Yun declared. “You will lead us, Magoichi, and we will head for Jieting. One step at a time, but each step certain, without wavering.”

Their counsel was sound, and over the next few days they moved toward the mountains, riding as quickly as they dared without putting too much strain on their forces. The passes were precarious, but no one controlled them – it was as dangerous for the Orochi army to pass over the mountains and risk ambush as it was for the Resistance to use those trails to slip past Orochi-controlled territories. As they started up into one of the passes the army closed up, and scouts were sent ahead as well as behind to watch for pursuit. Partway up, Zhao Yun made a small noise under his breath as he recognized the shapes and positions of the peaks before and around them. “I see, now,” he murmured to Yukimura. “We are riding toward Hulao Gate, I believe.”

“Is there anything we should know about it?” Yukimura queried.

“I'm not sure. There are technically two gates, one right after the other, in this pass – Hulao, and Sishui. If Orochi brought this area whole from our world, they should still be in sequence. Yet, these days, anything is possible.” Yun nodded to a fissure of lava off to the side of the path they rode. “We may come out from Hulao to a clear path down the other side of the mountain. Or, someone may be holding the gate.”

“Then, we should proceed with caution,” Yukimura suggested. “Magoichi's scouts should warn us in advance if anyone is at the gate.”

“Indeed. The gate can be approached from different paths, and there are safe areas in which to camp just below,” Yun explained. His voice softened somewhat, then. “Long ago, I was in service to Lord Gongsun Zan when we fought here, and he challenged Lu Bu himself. In that battle, I saw Lord Liu Bei fight for the first time, and I was amazed. He and his brothers also fought Lu Bu, and were the only ones to succeed. I knew then that not only was he a man of honor and kindness, but also great strength.”

Yukimura smiled at him. “So, we're riding to the place where you met your lord. How amazing. But, this Lu Bu...I've heard you and others speak of him. Is he really as dangerous and powerful as it sounds?”

Zhao Yun breathed a sigh. “Before Lord Liu Bei faced him, he killed three of the officers who came to take him down, and stood at the gate, demanding that our coalition send him a challenge. Any forces who failed to retreat in time were slaughtered. Not even Cao Cao would take his challenge directly.”

In his mind, Yukimura was seeing a figure not unlike Maeda Keiji, but with a halberd instead of a pike, standing in the middle of the path. “I see,” he said quietly. “Then, if he is on Orochi's side, along with Maeda, we will have a real challenge of our own ahead.”

Zhang Bao was riding just behind them. “I’ve heard my father’s stories about that battle many times,” he broke in. “Almost so often I could tell it myself by now.”

“Your father distinguished himself in that battle,” Zhao Yun said smartly over his shoulder. “It is said he went fifty rounds against Lu Bu with neither coming out on top, when every other officer who faced him managed no more than ten before being slain.”

“Are all the men of Shu so legendary?” Yukimura said in wonder, half-teasing and half-sincere.

“The three brothers are,” Yun said modestly. “The rest of us, I cannot say.”

The further up the mountain they rode, the harder the ground became, but this area seemed to be in the midst of summer, so there was no snow to be had, only hard-packed dirt and dry riverbeds. It was cooler but not chill, and became even more so as the sun disappeared behind a veil of cloud. As they neared the gate, Zhao Yun thought he could see smoke against the gray skies ahead, but wasn’t entirely sure. He was about to call for the army to halt at one of the old encampments when Magoichi trotted up to him from the fore, where he had been consulting with the scouts. “There’s fires up ahead,” he reported. “Looks like somebody’s holding the gate just like you thought.”

“Is there any indication who?” Yukimura asked.

“My guys are working on that. Meanwhile, we might want to tighten up into formation and get ready, just in case.”

“There is an area just to the side of the path, ahead, where some of our forces once camped,” Zhao Yun noted. “Perhaps we can hold ground there until we know who or what may be ahead of us.”

Saika nodded and turned to go back, heading to the front where the scouts did their work. Yun led the rest of their men to the encampment, intrigued to find that there were still stout walls and barricades as there had been in Gongsun Zan’s time, protecting the paths which led inward to the gate at multiple points. No sooner had they gathered there to wait when the scouts returned in haste. One of them was half-carrying a wounded soldier with him, his colors and tokens indicating that he belonged to the Wu army. Zhao Yun nearly leaped from the saddle to help, but his men rushed in to do so for him, while he faced the scouts to hear their tale. “Battle is joined ahead of us,” a Shu scout said breathlessly, “the Orochi army is already here ahead of us. We found this man…”

The injured soldier looked up, and after a moment, his eyes widened to recognize the officer gazing down from his white horse. “It’s Lord Sun Ce!” he gasped. “You must save him!”

Magoichi came up behind his men, then. “He’s right, there’s a big scuffle going on. Orochi’s forces have ‘em pinned down and outnumbered.”

“Sun Ce!” Yun repeated, startled. “What is he doing here?”

“We have been fleeing Orochi for days. Weeks,” the soldier lamented. “They caught up to us, here, and used the paths of Hulao to surround us.”

Zhao Yun took up his spear and brandished it boldly. “Do not fear. We will not leave them to die! Men of Shu!” He whirled his horse and positioned himself before his army. “The time to fight is now! Any enemy of Orochi is our friend, we must help them!”

The assembled men of the Resistance raised their weapons high and cheered his order. Jiang Wei rode into position beside him. “We will split into two groups,” he decided on the spot, having read the situation well enough. “One group will go after Sun Ce, to rescue him, while the other will serve as a distraction, to draw the enemy’s attention away from the Wu forces. Wang Ping, will you do the latter?”

“Leave it to me,” the gruff warrior affirmed.

“Lord Zilong and I will go after Sun Ce,” Yukimura declared. “We must reach him before it’s too late.”

“Very well. I will hold ground here, with the rearguard,” Wei determined. “Zhang Bao, go with Wang Ping. Do your best to make the biggest ruckus on this end of the gate, make them think that the Wu army is much larger than it looked.”

With that decided, the warriors saluted each other with their spears and split off, heading in opposing directions. It was up to Magoichi to provide reconnaissance, and he was already up on top of a parapet, looking outward as far as he could see with the mountain’s shoulder in the way. “Looks like Sun Ce’s people are up that northern path,” he called out to Zhao Yun as they rode past. “Better get in there, he’s under heavy attack.”

“Right. Come, Yukimura!”

“Right behind you!”

The two spearmen charged through a gap in the wall and straight into the first wave of enemy soldiers, a mingled force of men and snake-demons clustered along the path. It looked like the injured Wu man was right, and these had come up a back way to surround Sun Ce on a path with no way to retreat. The paired spears thrust right through them, and in no time they had cleared themselves a gap all the way up the back side of the trail. With the mountain looming before them, blocking the westering sun, they rode down their foes and blazed their way up to where it looked like fighting was already going on. More stoneworks blocked the path at the top of the incline, and it seemed that the worst of the fighting was clustered there, as perhaps someone was attempting to use it as a defensive bulwark. The horses’ hooves clattered on loose stone as they gained the top of the hill and came up behind the stone wall, and at last, Zhao Yun beheld the desperate scene for himself. In the middle of the path, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu stood back to back, holding out as fiercely as possible against a determined onslaught which had already breached their defenses and clustered around them. Most notably, they were being ridden down by a stout warrior with a great shield on his arm, who had gained the gate in the stone wall from the other side just as Zhao Yun arrived. Giving a great yell of determination, Yun spurred his horse to its fastest and charged straight at the attacker, and the Dragon Spear clanged mightily off the shield as he passed. No sooner had Cao Ren recovered from the blow and another was launched at him, as Yukimura rode right on his companion’s heels and mirrored his actions. Both of them whirled about as Cao Ren grimaced and glowered at them. “Sun Ce!” Zhao Yun called out. “My spear is at your service!”

Ce lowered the tonfa protecting his head from mounted attacks, staring stunned at this unexpected help. He let out a gasping breath and dared to start to smile. “No way! Is that…Zhao Yun? Never have I been happier to see a warrior of Shu!” he called back.

Sanada pulled alongside his comrade, though his attention was entirely on their foe. “We will be your opponents now,” he challenged. “Our spears are unmatched by any on this field!”

Cao Ren dropped from the saddle before he could be knocked out of it, crouching behind his shield. “You will find this rock hard to move, even with your spears,” he said in return.

There was no time for banter, as Zhao Yun saw it, so he charged him again, this time swinging the spear wide instead of thrusting forward with it. He knew enough of Cao Ren’s defensive fighting style to know that fighting from horseback would be useless, and leaped down to press the attack. He expected Yukimura would be right with him, and could practically sense him at his shoulder, as the two slammed their tandem attack against the famed shield of Wei. It would not be long before the doughty warrior behind it was overcome.

Given a moment’s respite, Sun Ce bashed a few soldiers aside and made them some breathing room, so that he and Zhou Yu could step back and recover. They had placed themselves as the last line of defense, protecting what was left of their men. Ce watched in amazement at the way the two spearmen moved, stunned by the grace and speed of their movements as well as the way they worked together, essentially doubling the strength and power with which they fought. “Who is that guy?” he wondered, noting the way Yukimura’s cross-bladed spear spun so fast it left red streaks in the air.

“I’ve never seen him before,” Zhou Yu murmured as he caught his breath. “His armor is unfamiliar, yet he wears the colors of Shu.”

“His armor reminds me of Tokugawa’s,” Ce said. “Maybe he’s one of their people. Look at him move…I can hardly follow his spear with my eyes…”

The pair of spears finally sent Cao Ren crashing to the ground, and instead of letting his soldiers drag him to safety, Zhao Yun made sure to hold him, commanding some of their own men to keep watch on him for the time being. Disarmed and battered, Ren didn’t look like he would be going anywhere of his own volition anytime soon. The rest of the attacking army faded back, seeing their commander defeated so soundly, and they retreated back down the path toward Hulao Gate. The rescue was a success, and the resounding nature of it bought them enough time to stop and talk. A bit out of breath from the spirited battle, Zhao Yun came over to where the lost Wu officers were waiting and nestled his spear in the crook of his arm so he could bow with fist clasped over his heart. “Sun Ce. It is good to see you alive.”

“Zhao Yun,” Ce greeted him with the same salute in return. “Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes. That was way too close.”

“Are you all right?” Yukimura asked as he came alongside his comrade.

“Tired, but not injured,” Zhou Yu replied. “I don’t know how you came to be in this gate at this moment, but we are grateful.”

“Fate is a mysterious thing,” Yun smiled. “Nevertheless, I am glad we came in time.”

“Are you guys it, or is there more of an army behind you?” Ce asked worriedly. “Cao Ren isn’t the worst of it, there’s a whole contingent of the Orochi army on our tails, led by Sima Yi.”

“Our men are providing a distraction down a different path, away from the gate,” Yun explained. “Have no fear, we will not withdraw until you are completely safe.”

“That is generous of you,” Yu said humbly. “Even knowing we have been your foe for so long, both here in Orochi’s service and back home...”

“That matters little,” Yun said with a little shake of his head. “We share a common enemy in Orochi. I would rather overcome our differences and fight together to end him.”

“You don’t have to convince me.” Sun Ce stepped forward and held out a hand, which Zhao Yun clasped at the wrist in a gesture of unity. “I’d team up with the devil himself if it meant I could see panic in that smarmy face…”

“Whose, Sima Yi’s?” Yun looked back and forth between the two of them. “If he is commanding this pursuit, we will need to use every ounce of our wits before our strength in order to drive him off.” Not that he didn’t think Jiang Wei capable – after all, he had proven himself against his mentor not long ago – but they needed extra strategy now. “Zhou Yu, you are renowned throughout the land as a brilliant tactician. Would you lead our combined forces in this battle?”

“I would be honored,” Yu agreed. “Now that I’ve caught my breath, I think I will be able to continue just fine. As a warning, we have very few officers with us. Who do you have to the south?”

“Jiang Wei is holding our rearguard. On the field are Zhang Bao and Wang Ping, with a marksman named Saika.” Zhao Yun gestured to his comrade. “Then there is Yukimura and myself.”

Ce nodded at the newcomer, impressed. “Yukimura, is it? I was watching you fight, you’re like a twin brother to Zhao Yun. Good work.”

Yukimura looked away modestly. “Thank you. I can only hope to live up to such praise.”

“May I use the two of you as my messengers, then?” Zhou Yu politely queried. “This is the way of it: the enemy forces are vast in number. A frontal assault would be the height of idiocy, even with the addition of your army. Therefore, we shall smoke the enemy out, and burn their defenses to the ground. I have an engineer with me who is an expert in fire attacks, and we have the men for it.”

“Understood,” Yun said. “What are your orders?”

Yu smiled in keen interest, having the great Shu general defer to him so easily. “Take these orders to your men. Advance to claim the central square below Hulao Gate, where the paths converge. When it is clear of their forward line, I will send Zhu Ran to set up the attack. Sun Ce and I will hold position here, until we can draw out some of their lead officers and thin the ranks a little.”

Nodding, the two spearmen collected their horses and mounted up, and with quick salutes of their spears, were off to carry the instructions to Jiang Wei and beyond. The paths had become suspiciously clear of enemy soldiers, due no doubt to Wang Ping’s successful diversion elsewhere. In fact, he and Zhang Bao were striding out across an open field below the central square, calling out to challenge any Orochi soldiers they could spot and draw more of them away from the assault on Sun Ce. Wang was a stout and talented fighter in his own right, with a good head on his shoulders, and got the idea to announce himself as one of the Wu officers who might or might not have been in Sun Ce’s army, to be extra convincing. “I am Sun Ce’s loyal retainer…uh...Lu Xun!” he called out as he strode to the battle. “Yes, that’s it. I’m Lu Xun!”

“What are you doing?” Zhang Bao hissed at him as he sliced through foes with his arm-blade.

“Trying to get their attention,” Wang Ping responded as quietly as he could.

“It’s not going to work,” Bao scoffed. “You don’t look anything like Lu Xun, he’s my height and he’s skinny.”

“Are you saying I’m fat?”

“I’m saying anybody who knows the men of Wu will know you’re not Lu Xun!”

Across the field, they suddenly noticed an officer charging right at him, all clad in armor and leading with a massive lance. “An officer? Where? Is it Lu Xun? After him, he’s one of Sun Ce’s men!”

Ping and Bao looked at each other. “Told you,” the former snorted before bracing himself. Xiahou Ba was coming at them fast and hard, and likely wouldn’t go down without a serious fight.

Zhao Yun and Yukimura returned to where Jiang Wei waited, and relayed to him the outcome of the rescue as well as Zhou Yu’s thoughts on strategy. Wei agreed immediately with the plan. “It’s brilliant,” he remarked. “We don’t yet know how many officers Sima Yi has with him, but drawing them out little by little and setting a fire ambush on them, that’s quite a plan. What does he need us to do?”

“The central square where you sent Wang Ping, we must clear it of the enemy so they can set up the ambush,” Sanada explained. “Allow us to lead the way.”

“Right. I will have messengers sent, to coordinate the attack.”

“I’ll handle those,” Magoichi said, stepping in. “I want to see this fire ambush for myself.”

They split up and rode to their respective duties, whether relaying messages or conquering the field below Hulao Gate. Fortunately, Xiahou Ba seemed to be the one in charge of the front line, and once he was defeated, the way was open for Zhu Ran to bring his specialized archers down from the northern path and set up the field so that it would catch fire immediately. Magoichi’s scouts were running back and forth as well, informing them of their revised head-counts of enemy officers and which paths they occupied. It seemed Sima Yi had indeed out-thought Zhou Yu for the onset of battle, and had troops on every single path in and around Hulao Gate, so that no matter which way they tried to flee, they would run into resistance. But with Cao Ren captured and Xiahou Ba down, enough of a gap had been made in the defense to allow for Zhou Yu’s strategy to work. It was up to the Shu resistance to buy Zhu Ran the time needed to set up the complex ambush – he had but one chance to trigger it, in order to catch as many foes in the trap as possible in one go. Yukimura and Zhao Yun rode up and down the field on patrol, driving off or slaying anyone in their path. At last, Zhu Ran waved to them to signal that the fire attack was ready. “Now, draw the enemy into the fire zone!” he called to their allies.

Jiang Wei relayed the next step in the attack from Zhou Yu. “Front line, retreat to a safe distance! Draw them in, let them see you retreating!”

It was a delicate operation, one the spearmen undertook with pleasure. Each rode a short way up a different path, allowed themselves to be spotted, and once the Orochi army forces gave chase, they retreated, falling back past the central square all the way to Jiang Wei’s position. As he joined them, Zhao Yun breathlessly announced, “We must be cautious! I recognized a few of them. They are Lu Bu’s retainers.”

“What?” Jiang Wei gasped, eyes widening.

“I would know them anywhere,” Yun said urgently. “If they are around, then there is a possibility that Lu Bu himself is here.”

“Of course he would be at Hulao,” Wang Ping grunted. “Is there no end to it?”

“If he is,” Yukimura said in a low voice, “I want to see him. I would take his measure myself.”

“It will take you and I together, and possibly Sun Ce as well,” Yun warned. “I won’t have anyone lost to Lu Bu, not now. Not ever.”

“All the more reason for this fire attack to succeed,” Jiang Wei fretted. “Is everyone in place?”

They looked up to where Magoichi was observing from the high ground. He turned and gave them a thumb’s-up signal, which was returned by Jiang Wei’s wave. “They’re ready,” Yun noticed. “Now is the time! Turn and set upon their flank!”

The field they had vacated was filling with Orochi soldiers, led by no less than three officers. Above the rumor of their advance, they could hear Magoichi call out Zhou Yu’s order. “Launch the flaming arrows!”

Zhu Ran repeated the order for his men, and the whisper of bowstrings was the only warning their foes had – and by then, it was too late. The fiery missiles streaked overhead, arcing over their heads to land exactly where Zhu Ran had set accelerants to catch instantly. In mere seconds the entire field below the gate erupted into a raging wildfire, which raced on the heels of the enemy soldiers and overtook them before they could flee. The snake-demons among the men screeched and screamed, as they feared fire more than anything and dropped their weapons in a panic. The fire fanned itself on the dry winds of the mountaintops, and in no time the whole central area of the gate where the paths converged was aflame, forcing soldiers to retreat or die. Many ran flailing in all directions as the flames licked their shoes and a hot wind drove into their faces, and the snakes squealed in pain as the fire overcame them. Some soldiers dared to press forward, having nowhere to retreat to, and found themselves running straight into the redoubled attack from the Shu officers who had drawn them into the trap. By the time the fire burned itself out, finding no more fuel among the rocky ground, a fair number of snake-demons lay dead in charred heaps and the retainers of Lu Bu had been either subdued or driven into retreat.

Behind the tunnels carved into the rock by wind and water, which many called Hulao Gate, there was no actual gate standing. Sishui, some distance over the mountain, was still intact, but now there was a massive field of lava in place of the man-made structures of Hulao, and a large building with many-tiered pagoda roofs, likely from somewhere in Kyoto, sat on a foundation of its own stone in the middle of said field, tilted at an unsafe angle. The building was of no use to anyone guarding the pass or making camp, but it did shield the area that used to lie behind the gate, making it even more secure. As reports came to him first of Cao Ren’s defeat, then the failure of Xiahou Ba, and finally the curious retreat of the forces that had been gathered below Hulao Gate, Sima Yi became so annoyed with his troops’ repeated losses that he came down from the safe place behind the foreign building to take the field himself. Already waiting at the edge of the glowing lava field were Sima Zhao and Guo Huai, diligently holding the rearguard as directed. When his father came up between them, Zhao gave him a worried look. “What are you doing here, Father? You should be behind the gate…”

“What good am I back there when everyone out here is useless?” Yi snarled at him. “I can’t believe Cao Ren let himself get beaten down by a mere Sun child. Every single one of Cao Pi’s reinforcements has been utterly useless to me. I will not take so much as a cup of water from him, from here on out!”

Guo Huai winced a bit. “My lord, another messenger just reached us. The men who came with her ladyship have been routed as well. It seems the Wu army had a fire attack up their…”

“Damn the Wu and damn their fire attacks!” Yi roared, fist knuckling on his fan’s handle. “Who let that slip? Was it your pathetic friend from the Xiahou clan?”

Sima Zhao’s face was stony, disturbed. “Xiahou Ba is seriously injured, father. He had to withdraw. I don't know where these reinforcements came from, but they're not weak.”

Sima Yi rounded on the older man on his other side. “You vouched for that boy, his failure is on your head!”

“But my lord,” Huai attempted to plead, “the choice to place him below the gate was yours. Your strategy focused on subduing Sun Ce, which was Cao Ren's duty.”

Yi glowered savagely at him. “Do not,” he said darkly, each word precise and harsh, “call my strategy into question. Zhou Yu should not have had the men to be able to carry out a fire attack. We have them separated from all of their retainers. Where are the men who failed to defeat them? Who _are_ these reinforcements? I need to know, now!”

Guo Huai shook his head. “The only reports were that they might be wearing the colors of Shu. Their identities are unknown.”

The commander fussed and grumbled for a bit and then thrust out his fan to direct them. “Messengers! Tell Diaochan she must move in, now! Flank them before they can regroup! You two...” He looked mainly to his son. “...move into the gate and pursue. Those traitors will not leave this mountain pass alive, and everyone who came to help them must be brought down as well. Show me that you are not as weak as your companions!”

“Yes, father,” Zhao said flatly with a nod, turning to find a horse.

“This battle is costing far too much in resources,” Yi continued to grouse as he ordered his own vanguard around him. “Call in the reinforcements, and send them to support the lady.”

Once the fire had died back enough to allow the resistance forces to safely cross the field, Zhao Yun and Yukimura rode through into the caves comprising Hulao Gate in order to meet back up with the ones they had rescued. The remainder of their forces spread out, taking different paths to turn Sima Yi's strategy around onto him, securing all byways and means of reaching the far side of the gate. Saika joined Zhang Bao and Wang Ping to the south, while Zhu Ran jogged to follow the two spearmen heading north, in order to meet back up with Zhou Yu and report on the success of the attack. Yu was rather satisfied, and breathed a bit of a sigh of relief. “Excellent work, my friends,” he said, nodding to them. “That should have cut their forces in half, at least. We shouldn't linger, though - we should not give them a chance to regroup. Continue pressing them!”

“I don't know who is left, but there may be surprises in store, yet,” Zhao Yun warned. “A number of the officers we routed...I remember them being in Lu Bu's service.”

As expected, Sun Ce looked startled and then intent. He, too, had been a brave young warrior at Hulao when Lu Bu made his famous challenge, when his roar sent infantrymen running. “If he's here, we'll just have to take him,” he said determinedly. “Come on, let's go!”

He raced off through the rocky channel, not even waiting for the rest to follow. They did, though, the two horsemen taking it a bit easy on the uncertain ground. To the south, Wang Ping's group progressed well enough until they came out from a narrow trail into the arms of the Orochi reinforcements, now led by the graceful dancer Diaochan. Wang Ping let out a bit of a growl under his breath when he spotted her coming. “Oh no,” he murmured to the others. “Lord Zhao Yun may be right.”

Magoichi, on the other hand, came to a stop for a completely different reason. His mouth gaped open for a moment before he could shake himself alert and start grinning. “What a wonderful sight!” he exclaimed, his arm drooping at his side and lowering his rifle. “Such a lovely flower blooming in such an ugly place! I oughta sweep her up and take her away from all of this...”

“Master Saika, pay attention!” Wang barked at him. “This is no time for dallying!”

“Is that who I think it is?” Zhang Bao wondered. “Lu Bu's wife?”

“Wife? Nah, couldn't be!” Magoichi said boldly, striding away from them into the open field beyond. “A gorgeous lady like that wouldn't be tied down. Just look at her...”

Diaochan stood motionless in the clearing, poised as if to begin one of her famed dances, her hair pinned up and her mace held low like a baton. She said nothing, and merely watched them, as Magoichi stood down his weapon and strolled toward her. Wang Ping clapped a hand to his face. “He's going to get beaten to a pulp.”

“Hello there, little lady,” Magoichi called out to her, all swagger and bravado as he advanced. “What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this? Come on, let's leave these big, dumb oafs to their fight and let’s you and me slip off somewhere private, hmm?”

Diaochan lowered her eyes demurely, but it only served to hide her expression. She allowed him to get within a spear's length of her before suddenly darting from her place, leaping right up to him so quickly that he barely had time to startle. She dealt Magoichi three hard cracks from the mace before he could even realize that she wasn't there to take him up on his invitation. He staggered backward, then caught himself and drew the back of his hand across his jaw to wipe away the trickle of blood. “Whoa...you really hit hard...” He grinned and wagged an eyebrow. “I kinda like that.”

She glared at him. “Silence. If you will not fight me, then I will have to kill you. I have no time to suffer your prattling.”

“Now, see...I don't really want to fight you.” Magoichi tried another rogueish smirk, but the instant she took another step to attack him, he raised his rifle just as quickly and pointed it straight at her heart. “But I will, if you think it's what you want.”

The long bayonet at the end of the rifle stood poised over the center of Diaochan's chest. She flinched only slightly, and then raised her eyes to her foe. “You are one of those,” she noted. “Like the man who calls himself the One-Eyed Dragon.”

“Oh, you've met Masamune, have you?” Magoichi let loose a full-on charming grin. “Then you know how this works. You make an unfortunate move, and I put a bullet somewhere that I really don't want to. Let's just call this one a draw and go on about our business, hm?”

To the surprise of both, Zhang Bao suddenly flew between them, his arm-blade cutting a wide arc that sent Diaochan bounding backward agilely and Saika dodging with a yelp. Bao said nothing as he kept up his attack, chasing Diaochan across the clearing until she found a way to turn and counter him, swinging the mace up to clang off his blade. They fought with speed and lots of kicks and dodges, turning their duel into a dance of its own. Magoichi grumbled at not being able to finish what he started, but there were reinforcements coming up on him from the side, so he turned his attention to them instead. When they were all taken down and set to retreat, he glanced to find Zhang Bao striding up to him, alone and in one piece. The woman he had been fighting had disappeared. “Sorry about that,” the young man said as he came on. “I wasn't sure whether you had it in you to pull the trigger.”

Magoichi frowned at him, disappointed, but in truth, he couldn't say for sure whether he would, either. “Trust me, I wouldn't have rolled over for an enemy officer, even one as gorgeous as her,” he said. “All the same, thanks for cutting in. That's one dance I'll save for another day.”

Bao nodded sharply. “This is why we do not fight alone. Anyway – that passageway ahead, it looks like it comes out at Hulao Gate. We should be able to meet up with the others by going through it, rather than backtracking.”

Wang Ping joined them, having also successfully sent enough of the enemy fleeing to consider it a success. “That is correct. Forward, and on to victory!”

The northward contingent had their hands full as well, as the main body of the Orochi army still remaining flooded into the tunnels and renewed the battle with vigor. The four famed officers waded into the fight without hesitation, Zhao Yun and Sanada dismounting in order to power through the throngs of infantrymen. Sima Yi's forces had the superior numbers, it was clear, as they just kept coming relentlessly into the caves, but the four powerful officers had the upper hand, cutting and punching their way to daylight. They emerged from the end of the stony tunnel into the narrow valley of Hulao and beheld for the first time the huge building, whether a temple or castle, teetering like a new mountain peak in the middle of the lava field. It was impressive, and arrested their attention for a moment before they had to return it to the battle at hand. They had come at last to the final round, and discovered that the unending waves of soldiers were under the command of two stout officers, each rather capably ordering their forces into the fray to attempt to overwhelm their foes. Seeing that it hadn't been enough, each moved in to take up the fight themselves. The Wu duo rushed in to meet Guo Huai and his arm-cannon, while the pair of spearmen took on Sima Zhao. Each put up a valiant fight, for they were fresh while their foes had already exhausted themselves cutting their way through the Orochi army, but neither could manage to win fighting two officers at once. Zhao, at least, kept Yun and Yukimura busy for quite some time, his agile style of fighting with the long, broad-bladed sword he favored allowing him to duck and dodge their spears and circle around and between them. He hacked at them with all determination, giving everything he had, while they in turn wove around one another in order to keep hounding him, jabbing and swinging. Zhao rolled his shoulders to avoid being skewered, bending back to let Yukimura's spear pass over him, and came out of it in a low spin that sent his sword toward Zhao Yun's feet. Yun leaped to avoid it and brought his spear down hard and fast, and this time, Sima Zhao wasn't fast enough to dodge the direct hit. The shaft hit his shoulder right beside his neck and drove him to the ground, his leather armor wasn't enough to soften the blow. A follow-up swing cracked across his jaw to knock him down, though he maintained his wits just enough to look up and find both spear-blades at his throat. Yun stared down the length of his spear at him. “Stay down,” he demanded. “Let go your sword, you cannot best us.”

Panting, Zhao closed his eyes to signal his acceptance of the terms. “Who are you?” Yukimura wondered. “What lord do you serve?”

“Sima Zhao,” the young man breathed, hardly moving and not looking up. His head ached from the blow. “Don't bother showing mercy, just kill me, or else my father will.”

Zhao Yun pulled his spear back. “No. I have no quarrel with you, only your father.” He looked around, found Zhu Ran nearby, and waved him over. “Take him captive, for now. What of the other?”

“Lord Sun Ce has bested him,” Ran said crisply. “That should leave only their commander.”

“Sima Yi.” Yun's gaze darkened. If Lu Bu were indeed on the field, he would be guarding the commander. Now was the time for them to find out. “He has been terrorizing our armies for too long, he must be stopped!”

“Then let's move!” Yukimura agreed. “All servants of Orochi will be impaled upon my spear!”

Nearby, Sun Ce let out a bright laugh, hearing him. “That's the spirit! I like your attitude, Yukimura!”

Leaving Zhu Ran to keep control of their captives, the four moved off together, pushing their way across the field to locate the commander. They didn't even wait for the rest of their army to catch up, for the end was tantalizingly in sight. The vanguard encircling Sima Yi could be seen ahead, and there were no officers of great rank among them. Yun breathed a quick gasp of certainty that they would not be facing Lu Bu after all, and doubled his pace, charging ahead of Sun Ce in order to meet the enemy strategist head on. He remembered the battle at Nanzhong and kept an eye on the black-feathered fan as he came, wary of any sorcery that might be directed at him. As he came, the look on Sima Yi's face grew completely ugly, as he finally discovered the identity of the unexpected reinforcements. “You!” he snarled at them. “All you do is get in my way! What do you want with this worthless traitor?”

“Only to keep him out of your hands!” Yukimura answered. “ _You_ are the traitor to your people, consorting with snakes!”

Yi did not flinch from their advance, but rather turned to bring his fan into position to meet their attack. “Insolent fools! Defying me will lead you nowhere but to the gates of Hell!”

Zhao Yun angled his spear into position and drove in hard and fast. “Then I will see you there!” he cried with just as much anger.

As he plunged to the fight, he realized the presence at his right hand was not Yukimura, for once, but Sun Ce, who had caught up to him and was diving in with the same eager determination and rage. The other two were just behind them, as if allowing them to lead. It wasn’t quite the same perfect match of skill and strength, but Yun and Ce were equally capable and had every reason to challenge Sima Yi for the field. With the Tiger General at his side, Ce finally had the strength he needed to retaliate against the man who had driven his weakened army up the mountainside, and represented the yoke of his oppressor. Yi had powerful sorcery at his fingertips, and blocked them with gusts of wind before calling down lightning to push them away, but they refused to give in, coming back time and again to strike at any opening. Each charge gained more ground on him, and before long the look of panic Ce desired so much began to take the place of the savage glare Sima Yi wore. In desperation he unleashed a far more powerful attack, thrusting both hands up and out to conjure a web of ice, the threads of which cut his foes and blasted them backward. As they stumbled, though, Yukimura and Zhou Yu leaped past them, carrying through with their intended attack while Yi was unguarded. He hadn’t anticipated them at all, and fell back from the dual hit of spear and sword. Only the thin scale armor hidden beneath his robes protected him from being killed in that instant. All four warriors converged on him, ready to rectify that oversight, but out of nowhere Diaochan leaped between them, crossing her weapons to block if they dared to try to strike. It bought a few precious seconds, allowing Sima Yi to struggle to his feet and Guo Huai to catch up to them, leading their horses. He, too, stood his ground in order to let his commander get into a saddle, but Yi wasn’t done yet. He was out of breath, each gasp tinged with pain, as he sat hunched over his horse’s neck. “I will see you ended,” he rasped. “I will kill you myself!”

“My lord, please! Get moving!” Guo Huai begged, only to erupt in a violent coughing fit before he could finish.

“Hurry, before their forces take Sishui behind us!” Diaochan added, vaulting gracefully into another saddle.

A strangled snarl was all Sima Yi could manage before she grabbed the bridle of his horse and spurred them both onward, leaving Guo Huai collapsed on his knees in agony behind them. The four officers stood down at last, deciding it was better to remain there and hold the gate than to pursue the Orochi commander. He was injured, at least, but escaped them in a complete turnabout of his original mission. Zhou Yu sheathed his blade and then crouched beside the aging retainer. “You are not well,” he noted.

“I’ll be fine,” Huai rasped, able to speak again. “Unless you decide to kill me, of course. I wouldn’t blame you.”

“No one’s going to be killed,” Sun Ce declared. He lowered his tonfa to his sides, and found his arms beginning to ache from exertion. He had been punching things for a long time, apparently. “Good work, everybody. We now control Hulao Gate.”

“There isn’t much left of the gate fortress,” Zhao Yun noticed, “but up there, behind the rocks. That seems to be where they were originally going to camp. We should make use of it.”

“Yes, the sun is going down,” Zhou Yu added. “There is no reason to keep going today. We will hold the gate for our own use, and make camp, and sort out the prisoners.”

Messengers were sent to call up Jiang Wei and the rearguard, and slowly but surely everyone gathered and moved around the crumbled fortress walls, finding a clearer path that took them behind the former gate so they wouldn’t have to worry about the lava field. There wasn’t a great amount of room for an encampment, but they managed well enough. Once a command tent had been set up, the first thing to be settled was who could claim command. Seeing as their army was smaller and in disarray, Sun Ce deferred to Zhao Yun, but he was allowed to assist directly in any decisions made as a whole. That meant he stood at the Tiger General’s side when the prisoners were brought before them. Of all the officers defeated that day, they managed to keep four: Cao Ren, Sima Zhao, Guo Huai, and Xiahou Ba. Two of them were seriously wounded, and the other two were too tired to even care about their fates. “This is a new situation, for me,” Yun mused as he regarded the four men kneeling before him. “We have taken no captives in any of our previous battles, and our mission does not really allow for keeping any.” He had no problem admitting as much in front of their foes. “I cannot spare any men to take captives back to Chengdu, it is far from here and my own lot is to rove the land with a smaller force.”

“I understand,” Ce said. “We’re in the same situation. We had to leave a number of our officers behind at Xia Kou, and I’m pretty sure none of these guys are interested in joining up with us.”

“It seems there is only one solution, then.” Yun looked specifically at Cao Ren as he said so. “Much as it pains me. Orochi does not need any more strength.”

“I know, but there are worse things.” Ce tipped his head to a soldier standing guard behind the line of captives. “Cut them free.”

Cao Ren looked sharply at him, as the guard moved to do so. “Are you mad, Lord Sun Ce?” he asked rather sincerely. “You know I will simply return to Lord Cao Pi.”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t really have a problem with that.” Ce still owed the Wei lord, after all. Returning his retainer to him would barely make a dent in that debt, but it was a start. “Right now, we have the upper hand, so all you _can_ do is leave here and go back to Cao Pi. By the time you report to him, we’ll be long gone from Hulao. Tell him I said: let the chase continue.”

Heaving himself to his feet, Cao Ren looked down at the three Sima retainers, two of whom knelt in clear pain from their injuries. “They, however, are not my responsibility. They belong to Sima Yi, and to the Orochi army itself.”

“Leave that to us,” Zhao Yun said with quiet authority. “Go, Cao Ren. You may take a horse, but we give you nothing else to aid you on your way.”

“As it should be.” Ren bobbed his head to them, accepted his shield from another soldier, and allowed himself to be escorted out. The other officers would ensure that he left alone and stayed gone.

Attention shifted to the remaining three, who were likewise free of their bonds and free to go, if they could manage to stand. That was in doubt, yet. As Sima Zhao tried and then fell backwards, clutching at his shoulder, Zhao Yun signaled to have healers brought to look after them. He stepped before Zhao and dropped to one knee. “I heard what you said, on the battlefield,” he said gently. “If I free you, will you return to your father?”

“I don’t know.” Zhao lifted his head in order to look straight into the wise eyes of the famed general of Shu. “He needs me, but I don’t think he wants me.”

“Lord Sima Yi has become more ruthless than ever,” Guo Huai mentioned, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. “I don’t doubt that he would be rather unhappy to see us crawling back to him. He has no use for weak officers.”

“I wouldn’t call you weak,” Yukimura interjected. “You are ill and yet you fight, and Sima Zhao, you fought well. If he can’t see that, then he is the fool.”

“Fool or not, he is my father,” Zhao said sadly. “Besides, my brother will know something is up if we don’t return to Ueda.”

Both Yukimura and Zhao Yun started upon hearing that name. “You’re occupying Ueda Castle?” Sanada pressed.

Guo Huai chuckled a little under his breath. “Young master, what have I told you about giving information to the enemy?”

“It’s nothing they wouldn’t find out themselves just by looking.” Zhao raised his head again, finding Yun a ready audience. “I want it known that I don’t agree with anything my father is doing. I hate Orochi, and I hate this war. But he’s my father, and I’m worried about him. I’m afraid that if I don’t stay by his side, he’s going to lose all sense of himself and…and I don’t know what he’ll do, then.”

“You don’t have to say any more. I understand.” Sun Ce stepped forward to join them, arms folded over his thick chest. “Orochi is holding my father’s life hostage. I thought the same as you, I thought that in order to protect him I would have to do Orochi’s bidding, no matter how detestable it became. But now that I’m free, I know better. I still want to rescue my father, and I plan to, but I’m not going to let fear hold _me_ captive any longer. This is your chance, Sima Zhao. You and I are the same. We can both save our fathers, but we can’t do it by serving Orochi.”

Zhao closed his eyes tight in a grimace. “You make it sound so easy,” he murmured. “But I know just from looking at you that it’s not.”

“It never is.” Ce shook his head, making his ponytail sway. “But good sons do what they have to in order to aid their fathers, no matter how hard it is. I admit, I thought serving Orochi was the hardest thing I would have to do, but honestly? Rebelling against him and being alone, pursued, maybe even hated, is a lot harder. Obeying my father’s order to leave him behind was the hardest. I’m not going to lie – things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.”

“But as long as we don’t give up, or allow despair to consume us,” Zhao Yun added, “then they _will_ get better, someday. We must fight the long fight, if we ever want to live free of Orochi’s rule.”

Xiahou Ba had been listening to all of this with his head hung low, wallowing in his own pain and fears that Sima Yi would see him as worthless and cast him out, but now he looked up quickly. “I will fight for freedom!” he declared. “My father is out there, too, and the only thing I want is to find him and see him once more. I don’t care if I have to roam alone like you do, Lord Zhao Yun, but I would rather do that than help Orochi for one minute longer!”

Guo Huai glanced at him with a tiny smile. “You really are your father’s son.”

Ce nodded his approval. He didn’t know this kid, their times had never intersected before. “Who’s your father, then?”

“Xiahou Yuan, of Wei.” Ba dropped his gaze sheepishly. “I already know, from Cao Ren, that he isn’t with Lord Cao Pi. He’s with the rest of our family somewhere, I’ve been searching for him for what feels like forever.”

_At least it isn’t Xiahou Dun_ , Zhou Yu thought to himself. That was a mental image he didn’t need.

“Well, all right, then,” Ce encouraged. “You go and find him, then. We all have a duty to do our fathers proud.”

“Maybe so.” Sima Zhao looked at his younger retainer, and then past him to Huai. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to do that, though.”

“We have given you your freedom,” Zhao Yun noted, “but the two of you are injured. Our own forces will not break camp until tomorrow, so you have until then to rest and make your decisions.”

“I appreciate it.” Zhao gazed at him again, and the faintest, rueful smile touched the corners of his mouth. “You really are everything your protégés said you were, Lord Zhao Yun.”

Yun blinked at him. “I have protégés?”

“The children of Shu owe a lot to you, at least.” Zhao shot a glance at Jiang Wei, the one officer he knew personally from their time. “This world is weird, but I like getting the chance to know people from the past.”

“I would have to agree with you on that,” Yukimura murmured, mostly to himself, though Zilong heard him and smiled in his direction.

The healers arrived, then, and Zhou Yu gave them the directive to put the three captives up for the night in an adjacent tent in order to give them medical care. With humble bows, all three allowed themselves to be helped up and taken away, leaving the rest of the officers to complete their business together. The sun had gone down behind the mountain and night was coming on fast, so they had food brought so they could finish their conference in some comfort. Zhao Yun could not remember a time when he would have ever been able to sit beside Sun Ce like this, and enjoy a meal together. It wasn’t the most luxurious of camps, but the company of devoted allies kept it warm and pleasant. “What, then, will you do?” Yun asked the Wu prince beside him.

Ce sighed. “I know I owe you my life, and normally I would pledge my allegiance to your spear, but…” He gave Yun a sincere look. “I can't turn my back on my father in his hour of need. He made me leave him behind, and I swore I would come back for him. By now, they’ve moved him from Osaka, I’m sure, so I have to search for him all over again in order to rescue him.”

“I understand completely,” Yun said kindly. “I, too, am searching for my lord, wherever he might be held.” He realized, in that moment, that he was talking to the kind of person his retainers had been pondering just a few days before – someone who used to be with the Orochi army who might have heard information. Sitting up, he leaned toward Ce with urgency. “Is there any chance you might know where they are holding Lord Liu Bei? Have you seen him, or heard from any of Orochi’s minions who might have been guarding him?”

Sun Ce felt bad having to shake his head, his lips twisting in a pout. “I’m sorry, Zhao Yun. I haven’t heard anything. The only thing I was ever told about him was that he was alive, and being used by Da Ji to keep you and your people suppressed.”

“Obviously, that backfired on her,” Zhou Yu smirked.

“It’s all right.” Yun heaved a sigh and sat back. “I had to ask. We are short on information and must look to any possible source we can find.”

“You know, there’s somebody else you might be able to ask, before you let him go,” Magoichi interjected, gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder as if to suggest the nearby tent where Sima Zhao rested.

“We should, but he has his own battles to deal with,” Yukimura said. “Let him be for tonight, maybe we can ask him in the morning.”

“There is one thing I can at least say for sure,” Zhou Yu offered. “While we were in the Orochi army, Da Ji made sure to keep Lord Sun Jian so far removed from anywhere that we happened to be, that we were never able to find out exactly where he was. I expect that will continue to be the case – she will keep him as far away from Sun Quan and Lady Shangxiang as possible.”

“Well, the Orochi army has control of a lot of cities, castles, and fortresses,” Magoichi put in, “and has the freedom to move their prisoners at will. That’s probably how they’re keeping your lords under lock and key, they don’t even want you to accidentally visit the same castle where they’re being held.”

Yu nodded. “Indeed, and it stands to reason that they’re doing the same with Liu Bei – regardless of Zhuge Liang’s reasons for staying with the Orochi army, they can’t risk allowing Lady Shangxiang to find out where her husband is. That is why we've never been told a thing about him.”

Zhao Yun shifted his glance to Sun Ce, then, and noticed his mood darkening, his face turning morose. He decided it would be better if they didn’t talk about Ce’s family so directly. “That does give us something to think about, in terms of planning our next move,” he said diplomatically. “I thank you for your insight, Lord Zhou Yu. It’s been an honor fighting beside you today, I’ve learned so much just being able to watch you in action.”

“You do me honor as well, Lord Zhao Yun,” the Wu strategist said smoothly. “Ce is right, we owe you our lives. There must be some way for us to return the favor.”

Ce cheered a little and looked at the man beside him. “Yeah, I don’t forget my debts. I want to be able to help you, even if I can’t join you right now.”

“I don’t begrudge you the reason why you can’t,” Yun assured. “We both have an important mission to carry out, and I don’t think either of us would be successful if we stayed together. Bringing down Orochi is a matter of all of us doing our part, and to do that, both our lords need to be rescued.”

“True. And since they’re not going to be held in the same place,” Ce reasoned, “then uniting our armies won’t do either of us any good anyway.” He gave Yun a rap on the arm with his knuckles. “They’re worried we’ll join forces, you know.”

“Oh dear. Heaven forbid,” Zhao Yun chuckled. “Well, after today, there will be rumors in the Orochi army that we _have_ teamed up, won’t there?”

“That may work to our advantage,” Zhou Yu purred. “Even if we go our separate ways tomorrow, we do have the same goal in mind. I would say, perhaps we aren’t uniting _now_ , but someday soon, we will be able to for real.”

“A good leader always does what his enemy least wants him to do,” Ce shrugged. “How about this: if I can get to my father first, once he’s safe, I’ll come back to join you and help you find Liu Bei. Is that good?”

“I would appreciate anything you could offer,” Yun smiled. “And if we happen to come across any information on Lord Sun Jian, we will pass it along to you.”

“Aw, come on, if you do that I’m just going to owe you even more.” Ce grinned ruggedly. “It’s a deal. We might not be riding together in the same army, but we’ll be allies all the same.” He raised his cup, poured from a single precious flask of wine gifted to Yukimura from Takeda in their camp, and Zhao Yun matched it, so they could drink to seal their alliance.

They lingered for a long time at the table, and even when the other officers trickled away to go and get some rest, Zilong and Sun Ce remained with their best friends beside them, talking about a great many things. There was a lot of information to be shared, and the Wu lord's time with Orochi proved invaluable, but in time they grew tired of discussing strategy and location and allowed the conversation to take a more casual turn. Takeda's wine would be gone by the end of the night. Yun gazed idly into the shimmering surface of the liquid in his cup, at the way the firelight danced across it. “Have we ever had a chance like this, Sun Ce?” he wondered. “To sit, and simply talk.”

“I don't think so,” Ce replied as he poured himself a fresh drink. “Times were tough, it never really allowed for things like this. I guess, Sima Zhao was kind of right – it's not so bad that being in this world lets us get to know each other better. You're a good guy, Zhao Yun. I always kind of knew that, but now I really know.”

Yun chuckled softly. “The same goes for you, Sun Ce. I am glad that you've been able to break free, I can't even imagine what it must have been like.”

“It was no party, that's for sure,” Ce complained, leaning an elbow on the table in order to mull over his cup of wine. “The castles were nicer, though. I really appreciate what you're doing for us, this is the first time I'll be able to even sleep in a tent since we all split up at Xia Kou.” He took a sip of the rich sake and regained his smile. “First wine I've had in weeks. Since we left Odani Castle.”

“You will have to thank Lord Takeda Shingen for that,” Yun said modestly. “He equipped us well.”

“That is your lord, then, Yukimura?” Zhou Yu asked to confirm. “You will certainly have to thank him on our behalf.”

“Perhaps someday you'll be able to thank him yourself,” Yukimura smiled. “My lord is a strategist himself and a student of history, I think he would be pleased to entertain someone of your notoriety.”

“Me?” Yu looked rather surprised. “I wasn't aware I was notorious.”

“Hey, anybody can get famous after a thousand years,” Ce teased him. “Maybe in their time you're practically a god.”

“Ce,” Yu chided him with a droll look. “Really, now. It is our pleasure to have met you, Master Yukimura. You are clearly a formidable warrior no matter which time we are in.”

Yukimura actually blushed at that. “I feel like I ought to take after Lord Zilong, and say that I'm only a servant of my lord and nothing more. I am glad that things worked out the way they did.”

“Are you kidding? You're a great fighter,” Ce encouraged. “I'd love to fight you myself someday, just to see how good you are.”

“When things settle down and we no longer have to fear being foes, I would like that,” Yukimura agreed. “After all, I've sparred with Gan Ning of Wu, I would be interested to test myself against someone even greater.”

“Whoa, you fought Gan Ning? No way,” Ce laughed. “I can't consider myself better than him, he's pretty strong. But, I guess the only way to really find out is to give you that chance, huh?”

“The nature of the Resistance makes for interesting opportunities,” Zhao Yun said to explain. “My own fellows are scattered everywhere, part of this army and that. For now, it seems the best way to get anything accomplished.”

“That's true,” Zhou Yu said thoughtfully. “Right now, holding strictly to our countries and old alliances is the surest way to handicap the resistance efforts.”

Yun set down his empty cup, feeling a warmth throughout himself that clearly went beyond the wine he had imbibed. “I am pleased not just to call you allies, but friends. We need that, just as much as we need one another's spears and swords. If you run into any trouble at all, Lady Yueying is holding Chengdu as a safe haven – we will send word so they don't give you any trouble if you walk up to the gates of Luo Castle.”

“I wouldn't blame 'em if they did,” Sun Ce said wryly. “The last order I received before I defected was to take our whole army to Chengdu and wipe you guys out. We were the ones who took Odani from your people, I'm sure they wouldn't be too happy to see us.” He looked into his cup before taking a sip. “I bet Ma Chao still wants my head, alliance or not.”

“You may be pleasantly surprised,” Zhao Yun assured. “He is with Lord Oda, at the moment, but once he hears the whole story, I don't think Lord Mengqi would hold a grudge.”

“No more than anyone among our kingdoms does,” Zhou Yu added dryly. They all had to laugh at that.

“How do you stay so optimistic?” Ce asked Zhao Yun, squinting at him. “You've had as hard a time making it in this world as I have, and yet here you are, full of confidence and belief in your friends. And in us, no matter what.”

Yun shook his head. “Don't mistake me, Sun Ce. I have my moments of doubt as well. But I need to believe, believe in hope, because the alternative means we should all just lie down and die where we are. In order to live, I know I have to give everything I have for everyone else around me. Yet, you have given me something to believe in, as well.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You threw off your chains and defied Orochi, knowing full well what it would mean,” Yun explained. “It gives me hope that, like you, others will start to do the same. Because you were able to find your father, I have hope that I will be able to find Lord Liu Bei. Our struggles are not so different.”

Ce gazed at him for a moment and then gave him a lopsided little smile. “You're really something, you know? I don't think I've ever met somebody with a heart like yours.”

“Stop,” Yun laughed, looking away modestly, “or we will be here all night complimenting each other.”

“Speaking of which,” Zhou Yu interjected, “it is getting late. We still have much to do tomorrow before we can break camp, perhaps we should all get some sleep.”

Ce tossed back the rest of his drink and slammed his cup on the table with finality. “All right, if you insist.”

The supplies provided by Zhao Yun's army were fairly streamlined, to allow them to move quickly and make or break camp with minimal fuss, which meant the command tent in which they had all been holding their meeting and then dinner was also where they would sleep. The guards from outside came to help rearrange things, and before long the four of them were stretched out asleep on the mats. At least, three of them slept. Zhao Yun laid awake for a while, listening to the complete stillness of the camp at rest. This high in the mountains there weren't even insects or birds to make night noises, all he could hear was the occasional tread of a guard going about their patrol through the camp. Compared to the day of chaos, with the clash of battle and the roar of the wildfire, this peaceful moment now was welcome. And to think, they had even made a completely unexpected alliance thanks to their chance meeting. Fate certainly had something in store for them, he thought. He rolled over to get comfortable, and found himself lying close by Yukimura. His dear friend was already passed out, head pillowed on his arm; even in the dim half-light of the tent he could see his vulnerable, unguarded expression and felt a pang of longing. It was unmistakable, now, after the things that transpired between them in Takeda's camp. It wasn't even the wine, this time, he knew that if they were alone and awake, he would want to kiss those barely-parted lips, and this time not turn away or hesitate. Perhaps it was better that they weren't alone, then. He didn't want to make any rash mistakes. Yun had to content himself with sleeping beside Yukimura, though he couldn't be blamed for inching a little closer first.

In the morning, scouts reassured the combined armies that they had nothing to fear for miles around, the pursuing army had withdrawn past Sishui and were long gone down the far side of the mountain range. They had enough time to get everything in order and determine their paths without having to fear another Orochi force finding them. Much of the morning was spent in the command tent sharing information, so that both armies could go their way fully equipped with everything they needed, particularly since Sun Ce and Zhou Yu could provide a wealth of news from their time in the Orochi army. They had seen much from a different perspective, and knew things that most of the Resistance didn't. Magoichi hungrily soaked up everything they could tell, and in turn, made sure Zhou Yu knew all their options for seeking out allies, safe refuges, and potential assistance. Once the long meeting finally broke up, Sun Ce stood outside the tent looking up at the clearing sky, feeling truly hopeful for the first time since the afternoon before their assault on Osaka. Zhao Yun joined him, turning his face to feel the first rays of sun breaking through the clouds. “It's a shame we're going two different directions,” Ce sighed. “It would be fun to hang out a little longer. You're sure you want to head to Jieting? I don't even know who's there, right now.”

“We have few options,” Yun replied. “We need to find someone who may have information on where my lord is being held. If you don't know, despite being with the Orochi army, then we must keep searching for someone who might.”

“Not that I'm much of a strategist, but it sounds like a good idea to me,” Ce shrugged. “Honestly, I'd probably do the same thing. As for us, we have to find the rest of our officers. I sent Lu Meng to look for you, and here you are, so I have no idea what he might be up to where he is.”

“The way ahead of you is safe, at least. We will keep any of Orochi's forces from pursuing you through this pass.” Zhao Yun glanced aside as the tent flap behind him opened and Magoichi stepped out, shading his eyes with a hand as the sun hit them fully. “It is time for all of us to stop running and start fighting back. We will make the first move, rather than wait until we've been attacked to defend ourselves.”

“Couldn't have said it better myself,” Sun Ce said proudly. “Hey, Magoichi. What's up?”

“Just making sure we've left no stones unturned,” the rifleman said suavely, grinning. “Zhao Yun, you've talked to Sima Yi's guys, right? They don't know anything else?”

Zilong had in fact taken care of that brief interrogation just after the morning meal. “They've done all they can for us,” he confirmed, “all we're waiting on now is for them to decide what to do with themselves.”

“Right. Then I think we're good.” Magoichi folded his arms over his chest. “Now, did I hear that right, in there? That pretty girl who tried to bash my brains out is seriously married to Lu Bu?”

“Yep,” Ce said smartly. “He more or less stole her from Dong Zhuo, too, so she's completely devoted to him. If I were you, I'd stay far, far away from her.”

“I'm just glad her presence here didn't mean that Lu Bu was right behind,” Yun said with a groan. “Usually to see one is to see the other.”

“Come on, you don't want to fight Lu Bu?” Magoichi teased him.

“I do,” Sun Ce said boldly, “but not right now. Yesterday, I was so tired, I don't think I would've lasted against the likes of him.”

“He _is_ with the Orochi army, though.” Yun remembered them saying that much, during their conference. “I wonder why we haven't had to face him? Or this Maeda, who Yukimura told me about.”

“Oh, right, Keiji. Yeah, he's pretty much on the same level as Lu Bu,” Ce warned him. “I don't know where they've been, lately, but you can bet that when it comes time to go after the big snake himself, we're bound to run into them.”

“One thing at a time, Lord Ce,” Zhao Yun smiled.

“Yeah, I know. We've got a lot to do. I've got family to rescue, first.”

The last thing to be done, while the camp was struck, was to see to Sima Zhao and his comrades. They were looking a bit better after food and rest, with their injuries properly tended beneath their clothing and armor. Zhao looked serious, after whatever they had discussed in private, but his eyes lightened a bit in the presence of the two great generals of Shu and Wu who had spared his life and that of his men. “You've been more than generous,” he said to them, clasping his hands before him. “By all rights you should have just left us on the battlefield to fend for ourselves, but you didn't, and I won't forget that.” He glanced at the two beside him, young Ba and old Huai. “We talked it over, and it looks like we'll be splitting away ourselves. I'm not going back to my father.” Zhao lifted his chin, mustering his pride. “You're right, this is my time. Maybe once he realizes he's losing even his own family and support, he'll rethink his ways.”

“I, however, must return to him,” Guo Huai said seriously. “Not that I want to fling your mercy back in your faces, my lords, but it's up to me to see Lord Sima Zhao's plan carried through.”

“Say no more,” Zhao Yun acknowledged, holding up a hand. “If you have something planned, I would not interfere.”

“We do. I don't know how well it'll work, but it's worth a shot.” Zhao palmed his fist and bowed deeply. “Thank you, both of you.”

“You seem like a decent guy, Sima Zhao,” Sun Ce said, folding his arms over his chest. “Make the most of it.”

“I will. I promise.”

There were no spare horses to be had, but for the lost retainers of Sima Yi, retreating on foot was enough. Sima Zhao took Xiahou Ba with him, and they headed out first, down the far side of the mountain. Guo Huai took what scattered soldiers of the Orochi army had collected themselves after the battle and led them forward, following Sima Yi's path of retreat. Once they were well and gone, given a head start, the Shu and Wu armies had to bid one another farewell for now. Zhao Yun's army gave over what supplies they could to give their new allies an extra boost, and in the empty space where the camp had been, Sun Ce and Zhao Yun strode forward and clasped each other's arms at the wrist in a sign of solidarity. “Be safe, my friend,” Zilong said kindly. “I hope to see you again soon.”

“You have my word, I'll come back to help you the minute you find out where Liu Bei is,” Ce vowed. “I, too, hope that's sooner than later. Good luck.”

“And you as well.”

The plan was to allow the Wu forces to depart first, so they could increase the distance between themselves and any remaining pursuit. The Shu army held the gate for them, so to speak, and Zhao Yun sat astride his horse watching the organized soldiers march their way back down the pass in the direction he had come from the day before. “I'm sure they'll be all right,” Jiang Wei murmured. “Lord Sun Ce is a different man than he was the day I fought him at Dingjun. He has his honor and pride back.”

“Freedom lends a man his strength,” Yukimura said sagely, gathering his reins. “As, no doubt, our own Lord Zilong can attest.”

Hearing his style name spoken so fondly, Zhao Yun couldn't help but smile at Yukimura in thanks. “I know we are no closer to discovering Lord Liu Bei's whereabouts, but right now, I feel more confident than ever that we _can_ defeat Orochi. All of us, together.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Enough pontificating about honor and let's roll out,” Magoichi encouraged.

The officers, both mounted and on foot, turned and led the way down from Hulao Gate. Zhao Yun proudly rode at the fore, his thoughts turning inward to all the things they had ahead of them. Whatever else was going on around them, he always returned to his main goal. _Do not despair, my lord_ , he thought, lifting his eyes to the sky. _Hold out, and I promise I will come!_


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Pi gets some unusual recruits; Sima Shi makes a choice; Lu Meng decides to hit Jianye and rescue a prisoner.

Within days of the report of Sima Yi's defeat at Hulao, Cao Pi had his men moving again. He had not been idle at all, and now that reports were reaching Mitsunari almost as soon as things happened elsewhere in the land, he knew exactly what he wanted and needed to do. A short, concise missive also reached him from Guo Jia, letting him know about the unplanned detour taken by Pang De, so he sent his reply by way of personnel. Jia Xu rode to meet the main army, bearing news and tokens from Cao Pi so that he wouldn't be attacked this time, and plied his wits ingratiating himself with the officers in order to allow Guo Jia and Hao Zhao the opportunity to take their prisoners and surreptitiously depart. As expected, he had to leave Pang De and Cao Zhang behind, but they were prepared for it. They would have to wait for their own chance to be ordered back to Xuchang, and until then, rode without vocal complaint at the tail of the Orochi army, leaving it to Jia Xu to explain to Da Ji that they were the current crop of Wei retainers being offered to her service by her ally Cao Pi. He played his part well, she questioned nothing.

The small entourage rode into Xuchang with casual ease, and Guo Jia was rather pleased to be able to bring two much-improved prisoners up into the fortress with him, to present them to his lord. He strode into the throne room to report in, finding Cao Pi and Ishida already waiting to receive him. As he paused and kowtowed low, Mitsunari's eyes went to the men behind him and suddenly widened, his whole posture going stiff and the confident smirk on his face disappearing. Of the two, Fukushima was the only one looking around and up, but the instant he opened his mouth to yelp in surprise, Kato elbowed him hard in the side. They needed to stay quiet, and assess the situation. It wasn't that he didn't notice – he did, but he swallowed his reaction and kept his eyes low, hiding behind his shame and his shackles. “As requested, my lord,” Guo Jia was saying airily, “here are the ones we took from Osaka. It looked like Orochi was just going to toss them on the rubbish heap, so Master Pang De decided they would be better off with us.”

“I see.” Cao Pi sat with his cheek propped against his fist, not really very impressed by the selection, but then he noticed Mitsunari's posture and took a second look. “Very well. You may take your ease, Master Fengxiao. I'll deal with this.”

As Guo Jia bowed again and sauntered off to his quarters to put his feet up, Pi turned to Mitsunari directly, speaking low so as to keep their consultation between themselves alone while the prisoners waited below the dais. “Who are they?” he asked simply.

It took a moment for Ishida to find his voice and then control it. “They...Toyotomi's men,” was all he could manage to say.

Cao Pi read between the lines and nodded. Xu Huang was standing guard today, leaning on his axe. “Gongming. Cut them loose.”

Kiyomasa's head came up sharply, at last, as Huang stepped over and slit the ropes binding their wrists. He looked at the burly warrior, and then past him to Cao Pi and Mitsunari, both of whom had unreadable expressions of a rather divergent nature. “Why?” he wondered.

“You will show your respect to Lord Cao Pi, ruler of Wei,” Mitsunari interjected quickly, harshly.

Kiyomasa shot him a glare, and then slowly eased to one knee, tugging at Masanori to join him. “My apologies,” he said, his voice tight. “I was unaware. If you please, my lord, explain why you've freed us.”

“It's quite simple, really,” Pi said with an aloof toss of his head. “My strategist knows you. I assume that you would prefer being free to being prisoners?”

“I didn't ask you to do that,” Mitsunari grumbled under his breath. He saw his two old friends share a look and spoke more loudly. “Lord Cao Pi is giving you a choice, you idiots. Either join his forces, or he'll put you back in a cell. He is an ally of Orochi's, so he has the authority to decide your fate.”

Both men glowered back at him. “Orochi's forces captured Lady Nene and he has her under his control,” Kato snarled, “why on earth would I _ever_ willingly join his side?”

“I have no problem putting you back in prison,” Cao Pi said, sitting up straight and taking on all of his authority. “There are a number of storehouses around this fortress that make good, stout cells, and I have plenty of men to stand guard. If you would be such an idiot not to listen to what is said, then I will withdraw the offer.”

Kiyomasa met his gaze and then lowered his eyes, his face tight with anger. “I am not asking for mercy,” he said quietly, “but I cannot fight for Orochi. I will not.”

“I'm not asking you to.” Pi glanced at his strategist. “They really are idiots, aren't they?”

“Oi!” Fukushima barked. “Nobody gets to call us idiots!”

“Shut up, you fool!” Mitsunari yelled at him, his voice echoing in the grand hall. The silence that followed pressed upon all of them as he collected himself, his gloved hand tightening on his folded fan. “Shut your mouths and listen, for once.”

Taking his cue, Cao Pi resumed where he left off, closing his eyes in an expression of impatience. “I am Orochi's ally. I am not Orochi. If the distinction isn't clear enough to you, then I will have a cell prepared for you for the duration of our occupation of Xuchang. Do you understand?”

The two men glanced at each other again, their faces grim. “I don't want to be a prisoner,” Masanori whispered. “It sucks. I want to fight, and rescue Lady Nene!”

“They work for Orochi,” Kato insisted in a similar hush. “I don't know if I can do it, Masanori.”

“Come on, what choice do we have? Sitting in a prison isn't going to save Lady Nene. Maybe if we join up, there'll be a chance.”

Kiyomasa held his gaze for a bit, his brows knitting in frustration, and then he sighed. His dim-witted comrade was actually right, for once. He turned back to the lord of Wei, resting a fist on the floor and leaning on it to offer a bow. “Very well. We will fight for you, Lord Cao Pi. But our loyalty is to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, so if faced with the choice, we would go with him instead.”

Cao Pi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Idiots, indeed. The kind of muscle-heads he could count on to swing their weapons around successfully but not see an opportunity presented to them on a silver platter. “Fortunately, at the moment, you do not have that choice,” he said curtly. “Orochi's soldiers are, at least, bigger fools than you two, and could not see the value of employing your strength. Their loss is my gain. Gongming, have the attendants find quarters for these two.” He pushed himself to his feet and turned to Mitsunari. “You're with me, Ishida.”

Mitsunari was rather relieved that they had work to do, and turned without a further glance at the new recruits to follow Cao Pi to the war room. The last thing he needed, in the dangerous position in which he danced, was a glaring reminder of his loyalties and ties of friendship. He didn't want to see Kato Kiyomasa right now, let alone have to work with him. But he wasn't sure how to explain the complexity of the Toyotomi alliances to his lord. He could ask not to have them placed under his command in a battle, but he wouldn't be able to avoid them around Xuchang. He had heard Kato's declaration, though, and privately began to fret. Whatever allegiance he owed to Lady Nene, he was disturbed to hear that she had been captured. Da Ji had kept that from him. He needed to look into it further.

At Ueda Castle, Sima Shi had not expected his father’s army to return so soon. It was hard to say whether taking so little time meant success or failure, but when he looked out the window to see that the army marching through the outer ward was half the size of the one which set out, he began to worry. He came down to receive them, and stood at the top of the steps doing his best to hide his shock when he saw that his father was, once again, returning alone. Where was his brother? Where were any of their retainers? He got no answers, though, as Sima Yi demanded to be left to recuperate alone and told him nothing of what had happened in their pursuit of Sun Ce. The only attendants allowed to be around him were physicians and one servant to bring him food. Sima Shi withdrew to the office and sat awake until very late at night, combing through reports sent through Orochi scouts and finding nothing to explain the state of the army. Well past midnight, Yuanji noticed the lights still burning and came in to impress upon her brother-in-law the need for all strategists to get their rest. He obeyed, but not without first asking if Sima Yi had said anything to her in the process of requesting the servants. Yuanji shook her head. “He retired to his rooms without reporting a single thing,” she said solemnly. “I’m worried, Ziyuan. He didn’t even say so much as whether they lost, but he’s injured…and Zisheng didn’t come back…”

Shi set a hand on her shoulder. “Things may not be as they appear,” he tried to reassure. “I will attempt again in the morning.” Yet, he too had the same thoughts. Despite what he and his brother had discussed in secret before he left for this mission, Shi knew Zhao was not the type to just abandon their father. Something had happened, something he wouldn’t like. He tried not to think about it as he went down the hall to his quarters and got into bed, but it kept him awake even longer anyway.

Sima Yi was still in no mood to share in the morning, but there was a small stroke of fortune later in the day. Guo Huai had managed to procure a horse somewhere, for he rode in with the remainder of what forces had survived the battle at Hulao Gate trailing behind him. He was disturbed to hear that Sima Yi was refusing contact with even his beloved son, but he wasn’t entirely surprised, and willingly sat down with Shi to tell him everything. That included a short letter written to him by Zhao in the tent in the camp of their enemies, before they all went their separate ways. “Your brother did not make this decision lightly,” Huai murmured as they sat together in the office, close by one another in order to share secrets. “He agonized over it all night, I don’t think he slept. But, I believe in him, young master. I believe he is right.”

“Does he really expect me to abandon our father when he is injured from battle?” Shi hissed, nonplussed. “This is not the time!”

“Don’t worry about your father.” Huai nodded to the letter in his hands. “Master Zhao has already thought of that. I have a letter for Deng Ai, as well. He wants the two of us to remain with your father for now, to keep watch over him and make sure he doesn’t exert himself or worsen his injuries. I’ve consented to do so, and I’m sure Deng Ai will do the same.” He covered Shi’s hand, and the letter, with his own thin, withered one. “What I said is the truth. Lord Sima Yi is so consumed with his anger, and his single-minded desire to rise to importance under Orochi, that he considers those of us who fail him to be worse than traitors. I have no doubt that he will throw things at my head when I try to look in on him later. But worse, I know that he would hold Zhao’s defeat over him and refuse to allow him to return. Master Zhao fought well, he took on both Zhao Yun and another spearman of equal strength at the same time. You should have seen him! Well, I admit I wasn’t actually watching him that much, on account of having Sun Ce in my face at the time…”

Shi blinked incredulously at him. “You fought Sun Ce? And _lived?_ ”

“My weak constitution was actually my salvation,” Huai said sheepishly. “I collapsed, and they consented not to beat on me any further. They were merciful, and allowed us to live and choose our path. Master Zhao knew he would not be allowed to return here, simply because his father was waiting for him to fail.”

“But Father still trusts me.”

“And that is where you come in.” Guo Huai shook his head. “I don’t know what has gotten into your father, Master Shi, but I fear it’s only a matter of time before he turns on you as well. He can see nothing except Orochi's overwhelming power and his own hatred of the Sleeping Dragon. I believe that if you were to depart from him now, not making a scene, it would shock him into paying attention to what his actions are doing to the people around him. It is because he trusts you that it would be a bigger impact than Master Zhao not returning. He may consider your brother as good as dead, but you are still important to him. You must show him through actions, not words, what you think of his attitude.”

While his tactical mind understood the need for an impactful gesture, something that would shock Sima Yi out of his selfishness, Shi wasn’t sure this was the way to go about it. He looked at the letter, and the hand on his, and breathed a quiet sigh. “I need to think this through.”

“I understand.” Guo Huai patted his hand and then withdrew. “I know you to be every bit as shrewd as your father. You will make the right choice for your family. No matter what it is, know that I and Deng Ai will be here to guard him, and protect him with our lives.”

Sima Shi stood from his chair and swept out of the office without further word. He understood, fully, yet a small corner of his mind railed against the plan. He didn’t want to abandon his father, yet he knew his retainer to be correct. Without Zhao around to abuse, all of the scrutiny would fall onto his shoulders, and Sima Yi would be ten times as harsh toward the son he trusted, the son he thought would carry on his legacy and support his every thought and word. Shi already disagreed with his father’s Orochi-centered policies, how much worse would it get when he was the only one standing in the way of his father’s success? He wanted to think it over some more, but he could at least go and inform Yuanji of her husband’s decision.

Wang Yuanji listened to the whole explanation without a word, and then took the letter from Shi and read it for herself. At last, she gave an annoyed twitch of her lips. “He may be a fool, but his heart is in the right place,” she said. “I will go to him. He needs me more than our lord does. Particularly if he is off roaming the countryside trying to help Xiahou Ba find his father and their family.” She lifted her gaze to Shi. “What will you do, my lord?”

“I admit to being torn,” he answered. For some reason, even though Yuanji was his brother’s wife and handler, he found her easy to talk to, someone he could trust with his own secrets. “On its face the plan is sound, and I can already see that my father is gone beyond where logic and reason can easily reach him. Yet, it is my filial duty not to abandon him. My heart misgives me. If he thinks we’ve turned on him, it may not be so easy for us ever to come back even if he does come to his senses.”

“There comes a time when the only choice to save someone from themselves is to let them dig their own grave,” Yuanji said sadly. “I respect your father, but I fear the path he is on. And, you do not enjoy being the servant of a snake demon any more than Zisheng does, do you?”

Shi shook his head slowly. “I do not. Orochi has no honor, he is worse than any of the puppet emperors we have ever known. He is a true tyrant, who will happily dangle promises in front of his servants while wielding threats with the other hand, and then revoke everything he offered in the end. He is no man, but a demon, so nothing he says can be trusted. As my father has said, he would just as soon kill all of us, and if he decides to do so, what good are promises of rank and power?”

“I believe you have your answer, Ziyuan,” Yuanji said gently. “You simply do not want to reach out and grasp it.”

“It is a difficult thing to do,” he complained. “I love my father, I don’t want to cause him this kind of pain.”

“Is it his pain you fear, or your own?” She turned to begin packing some of her things, preparing to depart as soon as she was able. “I will say this for your brother: he chose the harder path, but he did it all by himself. He didn’t need anyone pushing him one way or the other. I’m actually rather proud of him right now. He’s maturing, just a little.”

Shi’s lips pursed into a tight, thin line. To think that Zhao, who everyone in their family derided as lazy and weak, had the strength of heart to make that difficult choice, knowing the consequences and deciding to shoulder them anyway. Perhaps she was right after all, and he was the one being weak this time. “Very well. I will have the attendants saddle our horses.”

Yuanji shot him a sly look over her shoulder. “Good, because if you hadn’t come to your senses I was about to remind you that you were almost going to let a lady go out into this dangerous land without an escort.”

Suitably chastened, Shi lowered his head and slunk out of the room. He still felt unprepared to make this move, but there could be no more denying it. First, to pack, and then to saddle the horses.

They said absolutely nothing to any of the guards or attendants as they came out of the castle, carrying supplies for the journey, acting as though the horses waiting for them were for a jaunt around the countryside. Soldiers around the main ward looked curiously at them as they mounted and started away, but no one had the daring to ask Sima Shi his business, particularly when he looked so stern. At the last moment, as they were about to pass through the gate, the door to the keep slammed open and Sima Yi charged down the stairs, berobed and without his hat, his eyes burning with anger. “Where do you think you're going?” he demanded of them. “Shi! You are to remain here and look after our troops!”

Drawing his horse to a stop, Shi sat as still as stone, not looking back. “My brother is missing,” he said flatly. “He must be found.”

It was precisely what he needed to say in order to gauge his father's state of mind. Yi bristled and then burst out, “Your brother is a failure and I left him to die at Hulao Gate! If the Shu Resistance hasn't ended him, the elements will!”

Shi's heart broke within him, but he hid the pain behind the mask protecting his weak eye. There was only a twitch of his lips, and then he had it clamped down. “Not if I hurry. I will find him, Father, rest assured.”

“You would choose your worthless brother over me?” Yi raged. “If you leave this castle, Shi, don't bother to come back!”

That constituted the permission Sima Shi needed. He picked up the reins and tapped his horse's flanks to resume his departure. He had to steel himself against his father's further curses hurled at his back, until Guo Huai and Deng Ai came out of the castle to restrain him and try to protect him from himself. Yuanji glanced at her brother-in-law as they rode out of Ueda and out of the Orochi army. “I wish your mother were here,” she murmured. “I miss her advice. And her manju.”

The thought of delicious, fragrant meat buns was not enough to bring even a shadow of a smile to Shi's face. But he understood the intent behind her words. “I am starting to think that only my mother could possibly turn him from his path,” he said in return, his voice breaking once before he could control it. “I am no longer able to do anything, except look after the rest of my family.”

“Your family is more than your father,” Yuanji said wisely. “I, for one, am glad to see it.”

“Let us hasten our pace, to get beyond this territory before nightfall,” he said, deflecting any more talk that would roil his feelings even more than they already were. A jab of his heel sent his horse into a lazy canter, and she followed suit. The sons of Sima Yi had officially defected from Orochi. Whether it would make any difference in Orochi's eyes, Sima Shi could not say.

  


While much more dangerous and desperate things were going on elsewhere with their lord, Lu Meng and Shima Sakon had been riding in relative peace and comfort, running into little trouble in their long and unsuccessful search for Zhao Yun's resistance forces. Even for Sakon, who prided himself on being able to dig up the most impossible-to-find information, the search was relatively fruitless. Rumors didn't pan out, whether the Shu army had either moved on from place to place or never actually been there at all. Yet, the burly ronin was finding out plenty of other things, and dismissed his latest informant with a payment of food before striding back to where the rest of their forces were waiting. Lu Meng was pretending to occupy his time by checking his horse's hooves for stones, but really, he had been watching the consultation from afar. He regarded Sakon's somewhat pleased look and smirked. “I don't know where you find them,” he said with a shake of his head. “Bandits, now?”

“Hey, bandits have the luck of occasionally being hired to do the dirtiest of dirty work for armies,” Sakon reasoned as he came over and took his waterskin from where it draped off his saddle. “As I'm sure you know.”

“Of course,” Meng responded, “but in a land where the top dog is a demon, I figured there wasn't such a thing as ‘too dirty’ for his army.”

“Maybe not for his snakes, but his human allies?”

“Point taken.” Meng tipped his head in acknowledgment. “Anything good?”

“Nothing about Sun Ce. Which, I'm still inclined to believe means he hasn't been caught yet. But there was something.” Sakon leaned against his horse while he sipped some water. “How'd you like to go and free some Orochi prisoners? Ones that aren't being guarded tightly, I mean.”

Lu Meng gave him an interested look. “Anybody I should know?”

“Not in the slightest, unless you were held in the same place she was at any point.” Sakon gestured with the waterskin as he explained. “See, I’ve been thinking that sooner or later, we ought to thank Oda Nobunaga for the information on Sun Jian, even if we dropped the ball afterward. I’ve just learned that somebody important to him is being held not far from here, so, I kind of started thinking…wouldn’t it be nice if we could get her out of there? He’d probably be real grateful to us if we did.”

“Her?” Meng’s eyebrow arched in both curiosity and wariness. “A woman?”

“His wife.”

“Ohhhh…” Meng nodded slowly. “Yes, I see where you’re going with this. By all means, it would be rude of us not to liberate a fine lady from her prison cell.”

“Good, I’m glad you see it my way.” Sakon grinned; he clearly hadn’t doubted Meng at all. They really had come to be good pals along this journey, finding one another capable both in terms of deep thought and strategy, and in strength. “I’ll warn you up front, though, it’s probably not gonna be a walk in the park. We’ll have to assault a castle that’s being held by Wei.”

“Psh, that’s not a problem,” Meng said with a wave of his hand. “Wei’s officers have been slipping, lately. Not that I would consider any of them pushovers, but then again, our men have been chafing for some action. I think a raid like this will do them some good, raise their spirits and get their blood pumping.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Morale had not been low, necessarily, but the stagnant plateau maintained by all their wandering was certainly starting to get to the Wu soldiers, who had been fighting regularly up until now. Sakon had seen the same thing Lu Meng had, and knew their forces needed something to do beside roam the land looking for any sign of Shu. He put away his water and swung back up into the saddle. “Come on, I know the way. We’ll ride closer and scope it out, and decide what to do from there.” 

By late afternoon they were settled some distance from the fortress in question, though the two strategists crept closer to get a better read on the troop situation while Taishi Ci and Jiang Qin watched over the camp. “Well, well,” Lu Meng said under his breath as they came in sight of the walls. “So Cao Pi claimed this as his own? Slimy eel.”

“You know this castle?” Sakon wondered.

“Jianye is…well, it’s one of the places constantly under dispute,” Meng admitted. “Cao Cao kept trying to take it, but it’s supposed to sit in Wu lands – it’s one of our chief cities.” He looked around, then. “Though, I don’t see the rest of the city with it, it’s like Orochi’s sorcery just pulled up the castle itself and dumped it down here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Strategically speaking, I can see why Cao Pi would hole up here, then.” They had come to a hillside where rocks and thickets of trees screened them from view, so they could examine anything going on around the stout walls of the castle. Sakon leaned forward, peering in interest. “Word has it he’s withdrawn, though, to another location, and left just a small contingent to keep Jianye for his uses. Ah, and I see some other things of great interest.”

“Hm?”

Sakon nodded toward the tops of the walls where sentries could be seen. “Riflemen. I know these days it’s nothing unusual to see rifle troops with the Orochi army, but those guys have the tokens of the Date on their armor. I’m willing to bet that means it’s Date’s own private troops, which means he’s probably inside.”

“Did your fellow have any information on how many Wei officers might be here, or who?”

“Sadly, no. Just that the main force is somewhere else.” Sakon looked at his comrade. “Does it matter?”

“I might be inclined to try different strategies depending on who’s there. Some of them are more inclined to fall for ruses than others.” Meng shot him a wry grin. “Though, I suppose if we aim to match wits with all of Wei’s tacticians, that should cover everyone else less intelligent than them.”

Sakon chuckled low. “Should be fun. All right, I’ll let you plan it out, since you’re familiar with the grounds.”

They crept back to the camp and sat down to think, determining that they had the time to wait and observe troop movements and sentry shifts in order to maximize their advantage. Rather than try to take Jianye, even if it did by rights belong to Wu, they would aim for raiding the castle, sneaking in to liberate the prisoner and then busting their way out by whatever means seemed the most prudent. If they could liberate some supplies along the way, so much the better. Lu Meng called on his extensive knowledge of the fortress, helped along by his two countrymen, and prepared a detailed plan to get them inside. They would wait a full day, to allow their scouts to study the changing of the guard and get the rhythm and timing down, and then launch the assault the following evening. The important part, as he saw it, was to successfully free the prisoner. After that, it didn’t matter if plans fell apart, they could fight their way out; still, he prepared a retreat plan that they should at least try to stick to. Once that was done, they left the scouting to the scouts and settled in to keep their camp as secret as possible, so as not to tip off the Wei forces that anyone might be outside.

Within the walls of Jianye, Zhenji was more or less at the end of her patience. Whether or not she was any kind of appropriate warden for her prisoner, she didn’t enjoy dealing with the Lady No and limited contact as much as possible. Yet, even the sultry wife of Oda was better company than Dong Zhuo and Date Masamune. Zhenji refused to even be in the same room as the former, demanding that Zhang He handle him instead, while the latter only became a target for her ire every time he opened his mouth to complain about something. He was only supposed to be there a few days, as a stopover for his troops, but he was lingering over-long while waiting for orders from Da Ji, and had rather overstayed his welcome. She sat in the window playing a slow, melancholy tune on her flute, completely oblivious to any scouts that may have been watching from outside. The sound naturally attracted Zhang He, though he did not dance his way into the room. “Such a sad, lonely song,” he remarked as he sashayed in. “I would ask if there was a reason for it, my lady, but I'm sure I know the answer.”

Zhenji lowered the flute. “Is it that obvious?”

“I'm sure he misses you, too.” He wandered over and leaned on the wall beside her. “This Orochi business is bad for relationships. Everyone is divided, even when it's for a perfectly logical and natural reason. It's just so awful.” Tilting his head downward, he gave her a magnificent pout in order to commiserate with her feelings. “Is there anything I can do?”

“You do plenty to keep my spirits up, Junyi,” she assured, looking up to him. “Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to play you something for dancing.”

“Oh, I can dance to sad music,” He said, “but it makes for a sad dance. There is a time for sadness, and a time to try to find happiness instead.”

Zhenji nodded, and then rose, arranging her dress around her. “Was there something you needed?”

“Oh, no...I simply heard you playing and had to listen.” He smiled impishly. “Lord Masamune claimed to want something, but I wasn't paying attention to him as usual, so I don't really know what it is this time.”

“I don't wish to deal with him today,” Zhenji sniffed haughtily. “If he comes around, get rid of him for me, would you?”

“Gladly. He's easy to fluster, it won't be difficult.” Zhang He tossed his hair proudly. “Shame, he's cute, but I can't _stand_ his attitude.”

She swished past him to lay her flute on the desk and look for something else to occupy her time. “I wouldn't have thought you to be interested in one-eyed men.” She shot him a look, letting him decide if she was implying something with that remark.

He smirked back. “The number of eyes makes no difference to me. I prefer the entire package. Though, that does give me an idea of how to drive him away next time...” He tapped a finger against his chin. “I wonder if it's common for men who lose an eye to pluck it out and eat it.”

Zhenji gasped at his audacity and then giggled behind her hand. “If you ask him that, do tell me exactly how he responds.”

“Ooh...now I'm going to,” He grinned, clapping his hands together in evil glee. “Maybe I should go find him.”

“It can wait.” She dropped into a seat and leaned on the desk. “Keep me company, Junyi, I'm bored. Not even tormenting our prisoner holds any fun anymore.”

“Aww, my poor caged bird.” He leaned across the desk. “If I had any more gossip to share, I would. The Lady No is fascinating, but I think by now even she has tired of this whole game. I would give her over to a different castle lord so she can entertain someone else if we could.” He leaned his chin on his fist. “A shame, really, that circumstances weren't different. I'm sure the two of you would be great friends if you weren't on opposite sides.”

Zhenji gave him a reproachful look. “Oh, please. She thinks her lord is somehow greater than mine. That isn't even remotely possible. I don't care how tall or strong or powerful or cruel her Lord Oda is, he can't measure up to my Zihuan in any of those departments.”

“Too right,” He agreed, “although I've never actually seen this Oda for myself.” There was a bit of gossip he hadn't shared yet, and he leaned back in to do so. “Wenyuan told me that Zhong Hui said that he looks like a phantom of Lord Cao Cao. Said they could be brothers, they look that much alike.”

“What? No, not possible,” she chided him. “You would trust the word of that snooty upstart of Sima Yi's?”

“I don't know, but our fine Master Liao believed him.” Zhang He prodded her with smiling eyes. “You should ask your husband, I heard he clashed swords with the man once.”

“I know he has, but he said nothing of the encounter to me.” Zhenji gave him a bit of a pout. “He has become more guarded than ever, Junyi. I'm concerned what all this Orochi nonsense is doing to him.”

“Remember who you're talking about.” He's smile warmed into his lips. “Have faith in him, my lady. You know him, you _know_ he has plans hiding beneath plans hiding beneath plans. We must trust him, and wait for him.”

She managed to meet his smile, lowering her eyes. “Some days I wonder if you love him as much as I do, Junyi.”

“Not in the same way, I assure you. You are his beloved, I would _never_ dare to step in the middle of that.” Zhang He straightened up and sat on the corner of the desk instead. “I do trust him, though. The two of us came into his life for different reasons, but the end result is the same.”

Zhenji gave him a sly smile. “And that is why we've been friends all these years.”

“There's the smile I like to see.” Junyi beamed brightly. “Are you sure you don't want to top it off with a round of taunting? If you don't want to bother the prisoner, you could always torment Date.”

“No, thank you, though. I'll leave that to you.” But Zhenji was smiling again, she couldn't deny.

Elsewhere in the castle, Date Masamune was actually behaving himself, equally as disinterested in keeping company with the castle's residents as they were with him. He was taking advantage of the relative quiet to get some target practice in, shooting at a knothole in a wooden slat on the side of an outbuilding halfway across the courtyard. He missed twice, enough to cause him frustration, even if the bullets hit the board on either side of the knot. It wasn't the perfection he expected of himself, and that meant he needed more practice. As he paused to reload both pistols yet again, two of his retainers approached him. It was strange, having his own grown son at his heels, along with Kojuro's son, but most days Masamune was so focused on his duty that he didn't think much about it. Watching them come across the courtyard, he felt the eerie shiver that intersecting timelines gave him, but bit it back to keep his face neutral. “My lord,” Hidemune greeted him with restrained politeness. “I'm sorry, but there's nothing to report.”

“And the lady of the castle still refuses to see us,” Katakura Shigenaga added.

“Then don't bother,” Date snapped. “They probably don't have any information to share anyway. They've been holed up in this castle for so long that I bet even Cao Pi forgot about them.” He cocked one pistol and drew a bead on his tiny target. “Your father is late, Shigenaga.”

The young retainer bowed his head. “I'm sure he'll be here soon enough, my lord. Perhaps he simply had to travel farther to find Lady Da Ji.”

Masamune let him grovel his way into silence before finally taking his shot, putting another bullet through the knothole. “I don't doubt him. But this is getting annoying. I hate having to deal with that prancing ponce almost as much as the fat man.” Privately, he had half a mind to take his troops and leave and rendezvous with Katakura Kojuro elsewhere, but Jianye was a decent place now that the majority of Wei's forces had removed elsewhere. He holstered his pistol, and then swung his other arm around and shot once more without aiming, pleased to hit his target all the same. “Muster the rifle units,” he ordered his retainers. “I want to drill them. Just because we're waiting for orders doesn't mean we should waste our time, everyone should get their turn to practice.”

The pair of sons bowed and rushed off to obey. Date holstered the second pistol and rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand. For as much trust and responsibility Orochi placed in his riflemen, he still fought constantly with the other officers in his army for respect. All the more reason to keep his troops in top shape, so that when they marched to battle, they would prove their value. So what if some of the Han wanted to do things the old-fashioned way, keeping to their ancient tried-and-true methods? _Doing so will get them killed,_ he was sure, and he would be there to laugh when they failed.

Throughout that night and the following day, the occupants of Jianye were focused solely on their petty issues with one another and remained oblivious to the small raiding force camped just over the hill. The sentries on the walls were keeping a proper watch on the land around them, primarily looking out for the Date reinforcements who were supposed to be meeting up there, but even they saw nothing. Sakon and Lu Meng kept their people quiet, their camp dark, and their scouts working hard. By the time the sun set on the second day, Meng was completely certain they had the guard schedule down, and prepared their men to move. They struck camp and formed into two separate groups, one for the raid itself and one to serve as backup once the retreat was sounded. Jiang Qin took control of the latter, and eased them all into position within easy reach of two of the castle gates in the darkness. The raiding party consisted solely of three officers, a small enough force to move easily and quietly through the castle while powerful enough to defeat anyone they might meet. There was a brief gap of pure darkness between the end of twilight and the coming moonrise that they used to their advantage, slipping along the wall to a service gate the Wu officers knew well and ducking in before the next sentry came by on patrol. Once inside the castle, they were entirely reliant on Lu Meng's memory and luck, because they had no idea whether there would be any internal patrols or guards in the common areas. Their luck, at least, held, for the resident officers were all tucked away in their quarters seeing to their own private business and as a result, the lower levels were nearly empty of guards. Meng had a pretty good idea of where prisoners would be held, and led his group down to the storerooms which had no windows and heavy doors with locks, prime for keeping supplies as well as captives. Sure enough, at the far end of the hall they saw their first real sentries, standing at their posts on either side of one of the big iron doors. Sakon eased a hand onto Meng's shoulder to give a silent signal, agreeing that that was their goal. Meng held a hand up to affirm, and at the same time ask the other two to leave it to him. He was, after all, the smallest and quickest of the three of them, though he was not a small nor quick man in general. They waited while he hefted his pike into a better position and then sprang from his place in the shadows, racing down the hall with the blade turned so it wouldn't catch the light from torches. The guards heard him coming, but didn't think his footfalls were anything special until they turned to look and realized it was a stranger running at them rather than one of their own men. They could recoil and shout for him to halt all they wanted, it was to no avail. He swung the pike around and took them both down before they could actually sound an alarm. Meng searched them for the keys, and had the door unlocked by the time Sakon and Taishi Ci caught up to him.

The prisoner's cell was still brightly-lit at this hour, as the occupant likely had no idea what time it was outside. She sat with her back to the door while she pinned her hair up, sliding ornaments and sticks into it to keep it out of her way. “Whoever you are,” she said in a throaty, sultry voice, “that's an awful lot of noise to be making at this time of night.” She glanced over her shoulder just enough to show a sly, painted eye. “You're not worried about attracting attention?”

Lu Meng was not at all prepared for her appearance. He straightened up manfully, resting the butt of his pike on the floor at his feet. “You must be the lovely Lady No,” he remarked. “Uh, sorry about the intrusion, but we've come to rescue you.”

“Rescue?” She turned fully in her chair to give him a good, long look, her graceful legs folded in such a way as to peek completely through the opening of her kimono. “Well. This is an unexpected development.”

Sakon decided to peek into the room, then. “Can we save the chat for later? Rescuing means we need to actually get moving.” His rugged face split in a grin, then. “Nice to see you, my lady.”

“Oh, it's _you_.” No smirked and pushed herself to her feet. “In that case, I suppose I should play along. You do have fine timing, I was starting to get bored.” She swept up a folded cloth from the bed, oddly already prepared for traveling, and tucked it into her obi. Prowling up to Lu Meng, she trailed a painted nail along his arm. “I need a little...excitement. You look like you'll provide.”

Meng flushed a bit. “Er...well, uh. I do what I can,” he stammered. “Come with us, then, my lady.”

He turned and led the way out, intending to backtrack along the same way they had come in, but Lady No set a hand on his arm. “I don't suppose I could ask you to help find my weapons? I do so hate being without them, they're quite precious to me.”

“Uh oh,” Sakon muttered. “Yeah, I guess they would have disarmed you before going in. Is there any chance we might know where they'd hold something like that?” 

Meng wilted. “I have no idea. Uh. Let's at least start with the area around here, in case the sentries just put them nearby. The armory isn't too far away, but we'd really be risking our necks going after it.”

“Ooh, yes, let's,” No purred. “I could really use a little stimulation.”

Her gaze fell on Taishi Ci, who startled and straightened up. “Don't look at me like that! I'm a serious man!” he insisted, averting his eyes to the ceiling rather than her low-draped kimono.

Sakon rubbed his face with a hand. “I feel like I should have expected this. Oh well, come on. Let's see what we can find. And keep it quiet!”

They crept further along the corridor, though the clack of No's geta on the stone was far less than stealthy. Taishi decided to take the rear, so as not to have the lady staring at him from behind, while Lu Meng led. None of the other storerooms held anything weapon-like, few even had supplies in them. It looked like they would have to locate the armory after all. Getting there without being spotted was going to be far more difficult, once Meng verified that it was exactly where he remembered, easy for the castle’s defenses to reach but harder for invaders to breach and capture. They moved slowly, mindful of well-lit corridors and rooms for quartering soldiers nearby, but even as he crept toward it Meng was certain this was not going to end without some noise and chaos. He got within sight of the armory door when the first yelp of alarm came from behind, and guards converged to see who might be awake and roaming around this part of the castle first. In truth, the mistrust between the officers inside the castle was their undoing, each thought the other capable of going behind their back and pulling off anything from nicking extra supplies to peeking in on the prisoner. The latter was precisely what some of Dong Zhuo’s retainers were attempting to do, but they came across suspicious movement around the armory instead and, mistaking it for some sneaky move on either Date or Zhenji’s part, ran to intercept. Growling to himself, Lu Meng hefted his pike and made a mad dash for it, gaining the armory door and throwing it open. They didn’t have time to raid it for weapons for their own men, but No strode in after him and hunted around before finding what she wanted: a set of metal claws, far shorter and more elegant than the type favored by Zhang He. She slid them on with a gleeful smile and flexed her fingers. “Ahhh, that’s more like it,” she breathed before turning to Lu Meng. “Your assistance has been most welcome.”

“Unfortunately, it also looks like it called down half the castle our heads.” Meng stepped back out and looked around quickly to read the situation. “The shortest distance out of here is straight across the courtyard and out one of the gates. It’s also the most dangerous and least likely to succeed. There’s no way around it, we’re going to have to fight.”

“I’m used to those kind of odds,” Sakon shrugged.

“Lead the way, Lord Lu Meng,” Taishi Ci said boldly. “I’m right behind you.”

“I don’t mind,” Lady No purred, striding past them. “Anything to get the blood flowing again.”

The men shared a look, as if to question one another whether she was for real. “Better get moving, then,” Sakon sighed. “Here they come.”

“All these fellows coming to greet me?” No remarked, brandishing her weapons. “I feel so honored.”

The fellows in question were no less than five of Dong Zhuo’s retainers, leading any of their own soldiers who might be awake. Like their lord, they had been spending much of their recent time recuperating, so they were all fresh, uninjured, and intent on discovering what kind of shenanigans were occurring in Jianye tonight. With the lady right behind them eager to fight as well, the three officers lit into the pack without further hesitation, slicing and pounding and doing everything they could to subdue their opponents with all haste. The side gate ahead of them was near enough, but the courtyard was fast filling with men to block the way. As Dong Zhuo’s men fell one by one, Taishi Ci looked around to find the sentries fleeing into the castle itself, and realized too late what was going on. “They’ve gone to rouse the rest of the castle!” he reported. “If reinforcements get here, we’ll never get out!”

“Then stop the messengers if you can!” Lu Meng demanded. “I’ve kind of got my hands full right now!”

“Too easy,” Lady No responded, breaking away from him and chasing down several of the sentries, ripping her claws through them and piling their injured forms at the door. She didn’t get all of them, but enough of them fell victim to her unexpected attack that soldiers began to recoil from her. “Pathetic,” she sighed at them. “This is hardly satisfying.”

Taishi Ci stared and then looked to Lu Meng. “How can she move so fast on those sandals?”

“Beats the hell out of me,” Meng said with the same incredulity.

Leaving all of the Han retainers sprawled senseless across the courtyard, they regrouped and pressed on toward the side gate, hoping to battle the guards there to breach an opening and signal to their waiting troops to enter and secure them a retreat. The sentries who escaped into the castle were faster than they, however, and a roar of noise behind them told them that the first of their true foes had arrived. “What’s going on here? What’s all this commotion?” a harsh voice snarled above the din. “What do you mean, the prisoner has escaped?”

“Oh, no,” Lu Meng groaned. “It’s him.” He stopped in his tracks and turned, whirling his pike into position. “We don’t have time for this. I’ll handle him!”

Time and too much pampering had brought Dong Zhuo back to full health, and right now he only had one thing on his mind. Zhenji had prevented him from even getting a peek at the prisoner while he stayed at Jianye, so he was bound and determined not just to see her, but to nab her for himself. “Where is that beauty?” he called as he waded through the chaos. “I’m going to make her mine! Come to papa!”

No rolled her eyes to the heavens. “Is he serious?”

“Afraid so,” Meng sighed. “Keep going, my lady, I’ll handle him.”

“I was looking for a foe I could really sink my teeth into…” She glanced back and caught a glimpse of the odious tyrant, and shook her head. “…ugh, no, that’s a bit too much, I think.”

Dong Zhuo had spotted her, unfortunately, and made a beeline for them. “They weren’t lying! Oh, I _must_ have her!”

Lu Meng charged in while he was distracted and whipped the pike around so fast that it very nearly separated Zhuo’s beard from the rest of him. “I’m not dealing with your delusions tonight. Get out of our way!” he demanded.

Dong Zhuo’s sword came up fast to block him. “You dare to speak to me like that? You’ll pay! You’ll pay big!” he challenged.

Meng was not impressed, though he knew well enough of the man's abilities to know that he would be no pushover. Yet, he wasn't aware that Zhuo had been injured recently – healed or not, he was slower than usual, and kept his distance from the long pike being swung too near his midsection. He fended off Lu Meng as best as he could, sweeping his sword back and forth to bat the blade of the pike away from him, but neither gave nor lost ground as he blocked access to the gate and the guards. Meng jabbed and sliced, trying to power him out of the way. The others started towards them to try to even the score, but a shout across the courtyard arrested their attention and forced them to turn and deal with a different conflict. “Who dares to flee from me?!” a brash voice cried. “I'll make them wish they hadn't even dreamed of it!”

Sakon started away immediately. “There he is,” he said in a low, eager tone. “Don't worry, I've got this! Get those doors open for the reinforcements!”

Taishi Ci accepted the orders and turned to help his countryman, but Lady No darted after Sakon, keeping pace with him with surprising ease. “Come now, you didn't think I would stand by and let you have all the fun, Sakon?” she purred as they ran. “I've been craving some action.”

Sakon laughed under his breath. “You've been cooped up way too long, haven't you?”

Date Masamune had been roused from his quarters and arrived on the scene still fully armored, ready for battle, with the two young retainers tagging after him. He didn't flinch at the sight of who was coming to meet him, though seeing the prisoner evoked a scowl. “You should have been a good little girl and stayed in your cell!” he barked at her, raising his pistol.

No glided easily out of the path of his aim before he could shoot. “Oh, you know me. I don't behave just because someone tells me to.”

He swung around to try to keep a bead on her, but then Shima Sakon came at him from the side, forcing him to spin in order to pull his saber and block the huge blade. “Gotta keep your eye on things, Masamune,” Sakon taunted as he pushed him back.

“Is that supposed to be a joke?” Date spat at him. He had shifted the pistol to his left hand, and capably fended off the dual attack with both weapons, using the brass inlays of the pistol to block No's claws. Hidemune charged in to assist, giving his father the opportunity to focus on just one, and he took Sakon despite his overarching need to recapture the lady.

Across the courtyard, Taishi Ci had managed to get around behind Dong Zhuo and clubbed him across the head enough times to get him to finally back off, and this time, he refused to risk himself against the weapons of his foes and retreated. That left the gate clear and only a handful of castle guards holding it, though not for long. Taishi heaved the door open, and a minute later their own men flooded in through the open gate to assist the retreat. “Come on!” Lu Meng bellowed. “We came here for a reason, let's get her out of here!”

Their purpose for raiding was enjoying herself way too much on the far side of the courtyard, though, laughing throatily as she clashed with Hidemune and young Katakura while Sakon attempted to battle Masamune into submission. Even though his saber was no match for the Wrecking Blade, Date was holding his opponent off masterfully, bracing behind the saber with the pistol to keep Sakon from cleaving him in two. He shoved the bigger blade off and then took a couple of hops back to give himself room, this time kicking desperately at the blade when it came at him and using it to propel himself upward and back – and there was his opening. He drew the second pistol like a flash and shot both directly at his foe. Sakon stumbled, but then Lu Meng was at his shoulder, flying past him and sweeping his pike hard at Date as he landed. The spear-tip scored across Date's chest armor, leaving a long scratch in the burnished silver breastplate as it threw him backward into a wall. He staggered to his feet, out of breath from the impact alone, and raised his head to find first Lu Meng, then Lady No herself, darting into his line of sight. They were swarming on him, and his retainers had been beaten down. He fixed the former prisoner with an ugly glare. “Fine, cast in with these ruffians!” he snarled as he backed away. “We don't need idiots who can't see Orochi's greatness anyway!”

“His greatness?” Meng scoffed. “You must be kidding.”

“We shall see who is the greater Demon King,” No taunted him, flicking her claws to show the blood of his own son on them.

With so many officers converging and his backup nowhere in sight, Date wisely chose to retreat, though he called for even more reinforcements as he ducked back into the castle. Meng turned to Sakon. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” The burly strategist leaned on his blade as he pushed himself back up and brushed himself off. “He missed me by a hair, probably ricocheted off my sword. If you're done having fun, my lady, we're holding the door open for you.”

No smiled keenly at him. She could see the bullet hole in his coat. “Such gentlemen,” she complimented them, making Lu Meng look helpless and Taishi Ci blush again.

They jogged back across the courtyard toward the square of night showing beyond the gate, but one more obstacle remained in the way. The time spent battling Date had given Zhenji enough time to get down to the main level. Zhang He was still lagging behind, as he had been fast asleep, but she figured herself far more capable than the other two and faced the entire raiding party by herself. The men slowed to a stop, but Lady No kept coming. “There she is,” she cooed, “the adorable little lap dog. Whatever will Da Ji say when she finds out you've lost your toy?”

Zhenji glared icy daggers at her. “That smart mouth of yours is going to get you in big trouble one of these days,” she shot back, all business and no teasing. She stood poised at full guard between them and the open gate, arms tight across her chest and flute ready. “If I were you I wouldn't brag about being free while I still stand here.” 

“Please,” No scoffed, “don't make promises you can't keep.”

Lu Meng thrust an arm out to keep Taishi Ci from advancing to help. “I think we'd be better off leaving this to the fair Lady No,” he warned. The way the two women faced off had _cat fight_ written all over it, something he knew better than to interfere with.

Several months of repeated sniping, backbiting, taunting, annoying, and captivity had turned both women into each other's worst nightmare, and their fight bore that out, even with their unconventional weapons. They lit into each other with pure fury, one driven by the need to release the tension of being held captive, the other powered by her anger at everything else that the prisoner embodied. The three men tried not to watch too closely, but even Lu Meng couldn't help but be fascinated. Their men had cleared enough of the castle guard away and protected them in a ring until this fight could be concluded, not sure whether there were even more officers on their way or if the others could recover enough to strike again. Fortunately, Zhenji's exhausted body hit the ground before Zhang He and Date Masamune could return, and No barely even spared her foe a superior smirk as she stepped over her and strode out the gate to freedom. The officers swarmed around her to escort her, and their men closed in behind, guarding the retreat.

Sakon knew they were still vulnerable to shots from the wall, even in the dark, and raised his big sword like a shield over his back to protect them as they crossed the open field between the walls of Jianye and the wooded slopes beyond. Jiang Qin melted out of the darkness in just the right spot to guide them through a gauntlet of Wu soldiers to the trails beyond. The combined Wei and Date forces were still scrambling around in chaos, trying to regroup and send out their troops to give chase, allowing the raiders just enough time to make it to their horses and slip away into the night. The moon had risen by now, giving them enough light by which to see their way. Lu Meng looked back at the lack of pursuit and breathed a quick sigh of relief. “Looks like we're out of the woods.” He offered a modest smile to the woman now riding behind Sakon and clinging to his muscled form. “You're safe now, my lady.”

She smiled coolly back. “I do so like a man I can rely on. And here I have three of them.”

“That was a little closer than I would have liked,” Taishi Ci admitted, glancing over his shoulder. “Are we setting up camp, or what?”

“We need to put a few more miles between us and Jianye first,” Sakon replied, showing no sign of being at all bothered by having a woman melded up against his back. “We can rest later. Sorry, my lady,” he added over his shoulder.

No heaved an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I'll have to be content with that. Given that the alternative would be another night in that musty old room...” She looked over at the man riding just to their right. “So. You fellows aren't who I would have expected. Did my husband send you with Sakon?”

“Ah, no. Actually, we decided on our own to rescue you,” Meng said. “Sakon had the information, sure, but I have yet to meet the famous Oda Nobunaga myself.”

“Really?” The lady arched an eyebrow in interest. “That's either very gutsy or very stupid, all things considered.”

“A little bit of both,” Sakon acknowledged. “These guys are retainers to Lord Sun Ce of Wu. He's on his own, now, and owes his freedom to Nobunaga as well.”

“It's our way of paying your lord back for what he did for Lord Sun Ce,” Lu Meng added.

“Aren't you all so honorable,” No teased them, hugging Sakon. “Well, then. I don't mind accompanying you for a while. Don't feel like you have to rush to contact my lord on my behalf.” She turned her head to give Taishi Ci another sultry smirk, since it was so easy to fluster him and make him look up and away to avoid her eyes. From the way she giggled at his reaction, she would never get tired of that game.

Jianye remained ablaze most of the night, as guards raced this way and that to try to pick up the trail of the raiding party and failed, and then reconnoitered in the courtyard to blame one another for the loss. Dong Zhuo ranted and raved more about them keeping him from seeing the beautiful prisoner than anything else, while Date snarled and gnashed at both him and Zhenji for being so weak as to let them escape. Zhenji mostly stood and allowed them to scream at each other, as she was still hurting too much from the cuts she sustained in the battle to bother getting annoyed at them, but after a bit she hefted her flute and blew a shrill note that sent everyone in the courtyard into spasms of agony, clapping their hands over their ears. “Enough!” she declared. “The fact of the matter is, they would not have escaped if all of you had worked together! Are there no strategists to be had at all in this castle?” She rounded on Dong Zhuo, who had nearly all of his army with him, potentially including someone with brains. “Every single one of your men was beaten like a dog before you even woke up and heaved yourself out of bed, don't you dare lay blame on Date or myself! We will _all_ bear the blame for losing a prisoner, and if Orochi asks, I will not hesitate to tell him exactly what the both of you have done while guests in this castle!” She drew herself up for one more parting shot, eyes cold. “And you can be sure my lord will know. If you do not fear the serpent, then fear the Lord of Wei, for he is much nearer and more willing to raise his fist!”

With that, she spun in place and stormed into the fortress, heading straight back for her quarters. Zhang He humphed and tipped his nose in the air before following, even though deep down he felt awful for not being able to get down to the courtyard in time. At least, his lady was not too badly injured; he would have been devastated if she had gotten more than a few cuts. Behind them, Date bristled at Dong Zhuo once more and then stalked off to his own quarters, already planning to withdraw his rifle corps in the morning and head out to meet Katakura Kojuro in the field instead. That left Dong Zhuo, and he had plenty of men to blame before he would ever accept any for himself. No one at Jianye would sleep well that night.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wei army hits a setback, while the Resistance plans something huge. Also, a visit to the Xiahous.

Another day dawned fresh and clear in the spring and summer lands enjoying their relative moments of peace between battles. The green hills throughout Saika territory were deceptively quiet, given that there was supposed to be a large camp of resistance forces located at a village there. As they rode down through the winding paths and struck a well-used road, Zhang Liao wondered at the veracity of the information that had led to this entire operation. If there was a camp here, then why was there no smoke rising into the sky, from the fires necessary to sustain a military force of the rumored size of the Takeda-Uesugi alliance? That wasn’t all that had him suspicious. The lack of noise, the carefree ease with which songbirds flew overhead and chirped in the bushes, it all suggested that the camp was not there – or if it had been, was no longer. Liao wasn’t the only one concerned; beside him, Yue Jin was looking around as they rode, more and more insistently with each mile. “Something isn’t right,” he noted after a while.

“I feel it, too,” Liao murmured. “Though I’m not sure what it means.”

“What are you talking about?” Xu Zhu walked with them, as he tended to do rather than ride.

“There is no sign of a large encampment in the area,” Zhang Liao replied. “Not even the scent of campfire smoke in the air.”

“Yes, I noticed that as well,” Xu Huang muttered from the other side. “Do you think Master Jia Xu’s information was in error?”

Liao frowned to himself. “Jia Xu may be a lot of things, but he is still a cunning strategist. It isn’t his way to fall for incorrect information. All of you, be on your guard. Things may not be as they seem.”

Ahead of them, the path wound down into a valley, and as they came around a bend they could see the wooden palisade of a protective wall ahead. Yue Jin raised an arm to point it out. “There, that must be the village he spoke of. It is just as he said.”

“There is movement inside, I just glimpsed it.” Xu Huang gathered up the reins in one hand and laid a hand on his axe. “Someone is there, without a doubt.”

“It doesn’t look like a very big village,” Xu Zhu noted.

“Big or small, it must be investigated,” Zhang Liao ordered them all. “Remain cautious, but advance. Let us see what might be waiting for us.”

There was a total of five commanding officers in this campaign, and each led a contingent of soldiers for the purpose of investigating the reports of the Resistance camp and eliminating it if possible. While no strategists could be spared to go with them, Cao Pi had sent Zhang Liao and Xu Huang together again to allow them to recoup their dignity from their recent losses. They were powerful, and together, could be more formidable than most rag-tag collections of allied warriors. He entrusted them with even more mighty officers, Yue Jin and Hao Zhao included, now that the latter had returned to the fold from Osaka. United, they would be more than a match for most outpost armies. No one, not even Jia Xu, could attest to what kind of strength and capabilities might be found among the Takeda and Uesugi armies, the only thing discovered about them was their location. This was their chance to find out, a testing jab at the flank of the Resistance. None of the officers involved could guess whether Cao Pi intended them to succeed in the mission, but then, aside from securing the village, they weren’t sure what else the mission might entail. They would find out soon enough. The palisade had no doors, the gates were wide open to allow them to pass inside. Each officer took up his weapon before advancing, and the formations of men following them did likewise. Zhang Liao took point, as the command of this battle had been laid on his shoulders. “Our scouts this morning confirmed that this is the place,” he said to the officers around him. “Advance, and roust out any of these Resistance troops we find. Rearguard, watch our flanks!”

He passed under the wooden gate first, and was not at all astonished to find a handful of troops inside the fenced-in village. More than a handful, even – there were several groups of them clustered around certain officers, and all of them wheeled to meet the challenge as first one, then the rest of the Wei officers intruded into the village. Orders were cried out to stop them, push them back, a move which sent the invading troops into action. Xu Zhu trotted forward, hefting his club off his shoulder, and Yue Jin nearly flew out of the saddle with his hooked blades drawn. Zhang Liao drew up to allow his men to take the first shot at their foes, while he looked around to verify the situation. The soldiers didn't seem to be comfortably camped here, but they were clearly holding this fort for some reason. As Xu Huang rode up alongside him, readying his Destroyer, he grunted at the array facing them. “It does not seem like the kind of army a notorious alliance would field,” he noted.

“No, it doesn't,” Liao agreed. “It seems the Takeda and the Uesugi have moved on, and left a rearguard alone to hold position. In that case, this will be all too easy.” He raised his voice to give the official order to counter-attack. “Sweep what's left of the enemy aside and claim this village for our own use!”

All of them, Gongming included, leaped in to obey. Liao let them have their fun for a bit before joining in, his keen eyes taking note of the length of the battles and the power behind the officers facing them. There were lines of riflemen as well, their formations set up beneath the eaves of the outbuildings to make the most of the shadows to hide their movements. The battles were certainly not quick and easy, but there wasn't much of a challenge either. Zhang Liao mowed through a rifle line, ignoring the bullets pinging off his armor, and whirled to find Yue Jin putting one of the commanding officers to rout. “You won't be laughing for long,” the strange officer boasted as he shuffled back and beat a hasty retreat.

Jin made to give chase, but Liao called him back. “Leave it. They aren't worth our time. Who knows how long they were ordered to hold this garrison before giving it up.”

“I don't think it's that, my lord,” Jin said warily as he straightened up and looked around for something else to fight. “What he said...we should be cautious.” He glanced up to his commander. “I know you're too smart to walk into an ambush, but I'm starting to get suspicious.”

“Hmm.” Liao would have entertained his theory longer, but another rifle unit emerged from behind a building and peppered them with bullets. The horses reared and nearly unseated their riders, and Yue Jin had to duck back behind a wall to avoid being shot. If it were an ambush, surely they wouldn't fight so valiantly? Ambush leaders tended to draw back without landing a blow, encouraging their prey to follow them into the trap. These were not giving up the village without a fight, and a ferocious one at that. In the end, though, the Wei forces were triumphant, and the last of the enemy officers stumbled out through one of the palisade gates, doing his best not to collapse on the path as he fled. The men of Wei gathered in the center of the deserted village, leaving their men to return to formation on all sides. “What do you think?” Liao asked them.

“They did a poor job holding this village,” Hao Zhao declared. “But if they're just the rearguard, why hold it at all?”

“Why indeed,” Yue Jin said darkly.

“Secure all the gates and hold your posts,” Zhang Liao ordered. “This was too easy.”

The brief quiet that had settled over the village in the moments while they stood together broke all too soon, as the thunder of marching feet and the battle cries of an army swelled up from the north side of the palisade. A fresh wave of men came rolling down the hill with even more officers leading them, completely different from the first, and were through the gates before the invaders could even turn to stop them. “Where did all of these enemy reinforcements come from?” Xu Huang yelped.

“It was a trap.” Liao raised his halberd and brandished it angrily. “Men! Stand your ground and fight! We have taken this garrison, we will not give it up so easily!”

The hills above the village, which were no longer covered in tents and armies at repose, were a perfect vantage point for anyone to see down behind the wooden palisade and make their move accordingly. To the south, there were only a few horses standing at the ready, their riders looking down the paths. “Orochi's men have lowered their guard after taking the village,” Naoe Kanetsugu mused. “Now is our chance.”

The man beside him raised his notched sword high into the air. “First wave,” Uesugi Kenshin said gruffly, “go forth and enjoy.”

Their soldiers moved out immediately, marching on foot down to the village below. Far above them, able to see both their position and the village in the center, Takeda Shingen smiled coolly. “On the move, are you, Nemesis? Good, good. That should give them plenty to deal with.” He, too, waited astride his horse, looking down on the men around him on foot. “Let the first wave do their job. Second wave, prepare to move, but not yet.” He tapped his war fan against his knee. “First, we implement the secret plan.”

The Wei officers fanned out and ran to meet the reinforcements advancing from the north, only to have some of their scouts cry out in alarm at a wave pushing in from the southeast. No sooner had Zhang Liao turned to meet that challenge and another report came from the east. One after another the waves hit them, each from a different side, necessitating that the officers split up and each take a gate. It was far from the ideal situation, and Liao immediately regretted not asking for Guo Jia to accompany them. They had fallen right into a very clever trap, and would now have to fight for their lives. Holding the village was only secondary to surviving. He dismounted in order to fight his hardest, throwing himself against the Uesugi forces trying to press in from the south, trusting to his comrades to hold their ground at the other gates. Xu Zhu had the east and Xu Huang the west, while Yue Jin manned the north gate, even darting beyond it to push the attack back up the hill. He didn't know these men of Wa and their fighting styles, but they had no way to last against his unique style either, and before too long he had cut halfway up the path and left himself exposed from behind. As he turned to get back to the gate, he noticed another cadre of soldiers coming down toward him, none of them officers but one or two garbed a bit differently, carrying no weapons and hiding behind a cluster of swordsmen. Jin eyed them, unsure what to think, and backed slowly down the hill in order to keep his eyes on them. “Master Gongming,” he called out over his shoulder, in the off chance Xu Huang wasn't too busy to attend to him.

Huang hustled over rather quickly, in the few moments he had between waves of soldiers being sent at them. “What is it this time?”

Jin nodded his head toward the soldiers uphill, who had checked a bit at the resistance facing them. “What do you make of that?”

“Xu Huang!” Zhang Liao rode up behind them just then, having taken care of things to the far side of the village for now, at least to where Hao Zhao could hold ground for him. “How progresses the defense on this side?”

Huang gestured to the men Yue Jin had spotted. “I believe our foes are up to something else. What does that look like to you, Wenyuan?”

Liao squinted into the sunshine. “Engineers of some sort,” he determined. “If I'm not mistaken, they're trying fire.” His eyes widened, then. “Of course! They drew us into the village and are now hemming us in in order to set fire to the whole place. Do not let them in!”

He whirled his horse and raced across the village, repeating this order to all of his men. Yue Jin braced himself, ready to leap out and slaughter those engineers as soon as they came into range. Behind them, their soldiers called out that another wave was advancing from the southwest, making Xu Huang sigh in aggravation. “A superbly-executed wave formation,” he grumbled under his breath as he shifted his grip on his axe. “The enemy certainly knows what they're doing.”

“So do we,” Yue Jin said bravely. “Stand firm, Master Gongming.”

“I know of no other way to live.” Huang gave him a nod and strode back to meet the next wave of soldiers coming at them from all sides while the engineers attempted to slip through them. Every last man on their side fought to exhaustion, fending off more and more officers each round while keeping an eye out for unarmed men being sent to set the village on fire. It wasn't just on Yue Jin's side, additional men with the same goal pressed each gate in turn, and it took everything the men of Wei had in order to spot them and defeat them before they could reach their goal. Takeda's plan was perfect, and he sent his men in at the right moments, coordinating with Uesugi through nothing more than distant visual signals. Eventually, one man got through the defense, slipping behind Xu Zhu while his back was turned and ducking through the buildings where the rifle corps had hidden earlier. A few short seconds later and every man in the Wei army turned in shock at the whoosh of fire erupting from the storage buildings beside the palisade. Dry kindling stacked inside burst into flame, catching the roof and from there, the palisade wall. In no time at all the fire would follow the wall all the way around the village and ring the invaders completely. Zhang Liao saw some of their men running to try to beat out the flame and called them back. “Don't waste your energy on that, it's no use!” he bellowed. “All forces, get out of the garrison while you can! The only way out is through our enemies!”

“Cut a path to freedom!” Xu Huang added to exhort the troops on his side of the village. “Forward!”

From the hill far above, Takeda watched soldiers pour out of the central village and heaved a short, dry chuckle to himself. “Like fish in a barrel. All forces, advance!”

Simultaneously, the Uesugi army watched their hapless victims flee the village from their hillside vantage point. Kenshin waved an arm to send Naoe off down one path on his own mission, while he turned in a different direction. “All forces, follow me!”

The valley quickly turned into a scene of utter chaos, as the Wei fighters spilled out of the various gates before the fire could overwhelm them, finding themselves on all sides of the central village with no way to reach one another except through the flames. Forward, then, was indeed the only way out, and standing between them and freedom were the arrayed forces of the Takeda and Uesugi armies. Yet, not the entire force of either – only the two great warlords knew that, aside from Kanetsugu, they had sent their primary forces and both cavalries elsewhere, reserving their secondary units to carry out this ambush, planned and purposed from the very moment they sent a scout to “accidentally” cross paths with Jia Xu. They surrounded their hapless victims on four sides and marched slowly inward, and the outcome now depended solely on the individual strength of each man. Naoe's job was to hold the path of retreat, and he stood at the crest of the hill with sword drawn and ofuda arrayed in his other hand. He stared impassively down as Xu Zhu hustled up toward him, out of breath and smudged with ash already.

Hao Zhao emerged from the village and hacked his way up the path, only to run directly into the full Uesugi army coming at him. He bravely raised his weapon, but Kenshin rode him down without hesitating and didn't even bother dismounting, swinging the mighty blade to beat him down again and again. Hao Zhao held as long as he could, staring up at the grim-faced man shrouded with a white hood from behind his block. “Was it you who was behind all this?” he growled, striving to keep his feet in the face of overwhelming strength.

Uesugi drew back his blade, raising it high. “Struggle in vain, weakling.”

Xu Huang dashed out the side gate just in time to see the great Barbed Fang slash down and Hao Zhao fall. Without breaking stride he barreled straight for Kenshin, swinging the Destroyer as he ran to clear himself a path to the warlord. Uesugi's gaze went him even before his previous victim hit the ground, and he spurred his horse to meet the challenge rushing at him. Huang moved to the horse's off side and slammed the axe sideways, knocking the animal over and its rider sprawling. Uesugi came up ready, moving in with his barbed sword held low. Huang spread his hands out along the shaft of his axe to lower it into a matching position. “You are one of _them_ ,” he noted. “I don't even need a scout report to tell me, you are a warlord of unmatched power.”

“Do not think to flatter me,” Kenshin said in his usual low growl, his entire body tensed and ready and his eyes alight with keen interest. “I want only one thing.”

“Then I will give it to you.” The Wei warrior chanced an eager grin. “I am Xu Huang, and I will gladly do battle with you!”

Kenshin smirked back. “The Dragon of Eichigo accepts your challenge, mighty warrior. This fight shall be my ecstasy.”

“You may not be saying so after I have bashed in your skull,” Huang threatened. He sprang from his place first, swinging the Destroyer up, and had it trapped in the barbs of Uesugi's blade instantly. This would indeed be a fight they would both remember.

Far to the other side of the burning village, Zhang Liao had lost track of all of his men, but focused for the moment on clearing a retreat for them. It would be of no use for them to join together if the opposing army ended up surrounding them in the end. Securing a path out of Saika was his first priority, even if it meant going through the enemy commanders themselves. As he charged down the path they had taken in, it looked like that was exactly what he was going to get. Coming at him at the same speed was the enemy vanguard, escorting a man in red armor and a fierce mask. Liao's eye was drawn to him immediately, he knew not to even bother with the other soldiers and head straight for this man. He had heard that Takeda was a strategist, and gathered from the war fan in the man's fist that this was he. Pulling up short, Zhang Liao dismounted and faced him on foot, hefting his polearm into place. Takeda came close but remained in the saddle as he regarded his foe. “Oho. So the Lord of Wei has sent me his best,” he noted. “I gather you are the infamous Zhang Liao, of whom there are sayings equating his value to Gan Xingba.”

Liao's eyes widened, and then narrowed in a suspicious peer. “You know much of me, and yet I know nothing of you, except your strategies. I must commend you on your wave formation, it was one of the best I've seen.”

The warlord swung down and faced him squarely. “Oh, flattery, is it? Strategies can be broken by true strength, in the right man,” he said boldly. “As evidenced by you standing here before me now. Time for me to stretch my legs and not just my mind, I think.”

Liao bowed his head briefly. “Your intellect is beyond doubt. How does your courage compare?”

“I'd be happy to show you.”

Takeda allowed his foe to make the first move, standing at guard with nothing but his fan held before him. Zhang Liao called that courage, all right, but he still charged, needing to move this man out of his way in order to secure the retreat for his fellows. He didn’t expect that slender fan to hold his halberd in a block, nor push him back. It wasn’t even sorcery of the type Sima Yi used, it was mere strength. The mouth below the mask grinned boldly at the flicker of surprise in Liao’s face; that grin only made him want to fight back even harder. They clashed for quite some time, beating on one another, neither getting the upper hand. For all Zhang Liao thought he could manage against a mere strategist, Takeda was proving that it took more than strategy to make a warlord. He wasn’t even aware of how much time it was taking just to wear the old man down, and he himself was not exactly fresh after fighting in and around the village. He got exactly one cut in against Takeda, slicing through part of his robe to expose the stout armor beneath, and managed nothing better. The only thing that finally broke their battle apart was the thunder of hoofbeats on the turf as Yue Jin rode pell-mell down the path, towing horses with empty saddles behind him. “Lord Zhang Liao!” he called out as he came. “Quickly!”

Liao was not finished with his fight, not satisfied, but as he turned to order the young man to stay back, he realized the reason for his haste. There were more horses coming at them, belonging to the bulk of the Uesugi army. Kenshin rode at the fore, his white coat spattered with the red of someone else’s blood, and Naoe rode beside him, face grim and dark beneath his helm. Zhang Liao turned to his opponent with a hard look. “It seems we will have to finish this later,” he said sternly.

“By all means.” Takeda was a bit winded, but still steady on his feet. He moved to the side as if to allow the two officers to pass. “Our work here is finished. Do give your lord a message from me, though.” His eyes followed Liao as he mounted up. “Tell him that the Takeda, and the Uesugi alike, are eager to meet him.”

Giving one another shifty looks, Zhang Liao and Yue Jin said nothing as they clapped their heels to their horses’ flanks and darted away, just in time to avoid meeting the Uesugi charge behind them. Kenshin pulled to a stop beside his rival and let them go, watching their retreat the whole way. “It is finished, then?” he murmured.

“I think so. We’ve put a good dent in their forces,” Takeda replied, using his fan to cool himself. “I would have liked to capture a couple, but I will settle for putting them out of commission before the coming battle. Whoever gets the chance to meet Cao Pi on the field will find his strength much reduced, now.”

“Indeed,” Naoe said with a keen look at his lord. “I bested one officer, and my lord took down two more. They will be returning to Cao Pi with far fewer men.”

“That is all we needed to accomplish. Fine work, everyone.” Takeda looked up at Uesugi. “Two, Nemesis? I fell far short of you this time. I shall have to make up for it in the next battle.”

“If you can,” Uesugi sniffed, turning his horse. “Naoe. Gather the men. We ride.”

Yue Jin and Zhang Liao rode hard until they had cleared the area of the village completely, until the smoke from the fire burning itself out could no longer be seen against the sky. Only then did they stop to look one another over. Jin had a few small cuts but nothing serious, he had escaped mostly unharmed. However, he did have bad news to report. “I think the others have all fallen,” he worried. “I couldn’t find any of them, only the army in white with the strange tokens.”

Liao sighed hard. “We will have to ride back and look for them. Bested or not, they must be found and helped. No matter if there are still two armies scouring the paths for us.” He shook his head sadly. “We were routed here, truly. This should have been a simple mission, and here we are licking our wounds…”

“Who was the man you fought?” Jin wondered. “Was that one of the Resistance leaders after all?”

“We did not exchange names, but I believe that was the man called Takeda,” Liao answered. “He is as splendid a strategist as Master Ishida warned us. Had we been any weaker, or our army smaller, they would have trapped us in that village and burned us to death.”

Jin’s face grew grave, his eyes darkening. “We must find the others, then. I hope they’re all right.”

It took hours to circle around and find the remote paths back to the hillside where the Uesugi camp had been, and from there, to search the area around the burned village to locate their comrades. Xu Huang had at least undertaken half of their job, and withdrew the survivors to a clearing to the north of the smoldering palisade. He bore a number of wounds but was still on his feet, refusing to let his body force him to stop. Xu Zhu was even more seriously injured, sitting on the ground with his head wrapped and too tired to even eat. Hao Zhao had suffered the worst, he was still unconscious and unable to be moved without great care. Once they had all regrouped and related their tales to one another, Zhang Liao fell heavily to his knees, exhaustion and shame both catching up to him at once. “Forgive me, my friends,” he said in a hush. “I have led you to this failure, and we’ve suffered great losses. You all gave everything you had, and we were still not able to suppress the Resistance army.”

“Do not even think of bearing the blame, Wenyuan,” Xu Huang said boldly, reaching to rest a hand on his comrade’s shoulder. “We gave all we had, it’s true. Therefore, no one can be held in contempt. Defeat happens. I’m starting to hate the bitter taste of it, but the only thing to do is get back up and fight another day, as long as we have our lives.”

Liao looked worriedly toward Hao Zhao, who still might not come out of it with his life. “I see I still have much to learn,” he moaned, hanging his head. “These men from the future speak of how great a warrior I am, and yet against them I am repeatedly left in the dust. I cannot allow myself to lose like this again.” He wallowed for a moment and then pushed himself up, leaning on his polearm. “Yue Jin, my friend, are you hale enough to ride?”

“Yes, my lord. What do you need?”

“Someone needs to return immediately to Xuchang and report this to Lord Cao Pi.” Wenyuan looked sadly at him. “I must look after the others, and they are all in far worse shape than either of us. I wish I could let you rest, but this is urgent.”

“No, I understand, my lord. It’s fine, I’ll go.” Yue Jin turned immediately to his horse, which was probably just as tired as he was. “Is there anything specific you want him to know?”

“You heard Lord Takeda’s message; take that to him, and tell him everything that transpired here.”

“Assure him that we will return as soon as we physically can,” Xu Huang added. “Hopefully we can move in a couple of days. Until then, we will simply have to camp here.”

Jin nodded to accept their directives and climbed up into the saddle, a bit stiffly. “Be safe, my friends. I will see you at Xuchang, and pray for your quick return.”

“Safe ride as well, young master,” Liao bade him with a bob of his head in respect. His words showed his trust in Yue Jin, who had lesser rank than him, making the younger man smile briefly before he turned and rode away. He might not get far before night fell, but he understood the gravity of his mission. The Wei army would be without its strongest warriors until they could limp back to Xuchang, and Cao Pi needed to know that before he made any more plans. Even so, Yue Jin was not looking forward to being the messenger with that news.

  


The war room at Honnoji was filled with more people than ever before, as Oda Nobunaga had called every last officer in his employ to an audience with him. He hadn’t been so open when he returned from his visit to Saika, he had only turned Hideyoshi’s son and brother over to him and retired to his own business. It was up to the Shu and Wu officers who had listened in on every word of the conference with Takeda and Uesugi to report what transpired, so when the directive finally came to call them all together, few in the Oda Resistance were unaware of what it would be about. All the same, they wanted to hear it from their lord himself.

He paced among them in full armor, his cloak brushing the floor behind him as he walked the length and breadth of the room. Half the officers were seated almost at his feet, the others stood behind them, leaning against the walls. “This is the way of it,” he declared to them. “We have gathered enough strength to finally strike back against Orochi. His army has been weakened – he has lost Sun Ce and a generous portion of the Wu army, and also Tokugawa and some of his men. Meanwhile, repeated skirmishes have thrown Cao Pi’s army into disarray, and just a few days ago our allies again struck them. Word has come to me that the men of the Shu Resistance also were successful in doing damage to Sima Yi, not long ago. Now is the time to make use of these weaknesses, and launch our own assault directly on an Orochi stronghold. After consulting with the Takeda-Uesugi alliance, it has been agreed that we will move to take the castle at Guandu.”

Some of his retainers murmured amongst themselves. “Boy, you never do anything halfway, do you, my lord?” Toyotomi teased. “You’re going right for the big one.”

“Guandu is where Da Ji keeps residence, when she’s not abroad maintaining the army,” Mitsuhide said for those who weren’t aware.

“It is a large castle,” Ma Chao added, “protected by a complex of multiple garrisons and smaller fortresses, notably Bai Ma. There is also a supply depot nearby at Wuchao.”

Nobunaga smiled one of his cold, cutting smiles at their reaction. “I see no reason to peck away at Orochi’s smaller strongholds when this one lies in a perfect position for us. If we can control it, we would open up a broad area of territory to allow resistance forces to travel easily from one end of this land to the other – and take away Orochi’s ability to maintain contact and supply lines with their other castles. It is far more important, strategically, than Osaka or Odawara – not to mention, the benefit to morale, taking such a large prize. It would make a splendid new headquarters.”

“Even with the Orochi army weakened and us with new officers,” Huang Zhong said warily, “that castle is bound to be heavily guarded.”

“On a day like today, yes, it certainly is,” Oda said smoothly. “But the day we attack, it will not be so.”

“Are we joining with Takeda and Uesugi, then?” Mitsuhide pressed.

“No.” Oda paced back past him, past Toshiie and Xiaoqiao and the cluster of Shu generals. “The three of us decided, together, to set up a two-pronged attack. Takeda has, as I said, moved against Cao Pi to give him a taste of their power, and in the coming days, will be preparing for a much larger assault, with the intention of drawing the bulk of the Orochi army to face them in a very particular place.” He didn’t have the table with the map out, or he would have pointed to the place in question. “We chose a location far enough from Guandu to prevent reinforcements from returning to the castle easily, yet close enough that the lure of assailing the Resistance alliance will be too much to resist. Da Ji will have no choice but to send out her best men to go and attempt to destroy Uesugi and Takeda together in one place. While she does that, defenses at Guandu will be thinned out enough for us to march in and take it.”

“It’s brilliant,” Lu Xun breathed, having been there to hear it originally and even contribute to the plan. “Though it does put Takeda and Uesugi in a tight spot. They’ll be facing the more difficult fight.”

“Even more difficult than possibly facing Da Ji?” Guan Ping worried.

Oda waved a hand as he completed his circuit of the room and reached the front again. “Da Ji is nothing. Demon she may be, strategist she may be, but as evidenced by her army’s growing losses and her inability to keep a tight leash on Sun Ce, she is far from infallible. Do not mistake me – we will also have a difficult battle ahead. But I am well aware that our allies will face worse odds at Nagashino.”

“Nagashino!” Toyotomi repeated in awe. “They’re seriously going to take the fight to Orochi there?”

“They do know the battlefield well,” Nobunaga said wryly. “When we ended our conference on this decision, those two accepted their fate. Whatever happens, they are willing to throw themselves into that hell in order to buy us the distraction needed for our own success. Nagashino is merely a ruse, an elaborate and deadly ruse. The battle which must be won at all costs is ours, at Guandu.”

“So it’s all hands on deck, is it?” Huang Zhong asked.

“Yes…and no.” He turned and swept back around the room with a rustle of his cloak. “I will need to leave someone here at Honnoji to hold it against invasion, but it will not be a large contingent. I believe Lady Xiaoqiao should be able to handle this duty – as I have little expectation that any of Orochi’s forces will be available to even think of sneaking in behind us to take it. Nevertheless, I wish to keep control of Honnoji, so someone will be required for that duty.”

His eyes passed over the diminutive girl, who sat with Okuni, as they had gotten to be fairly good friends in matters of both war and beauty. “I can do it, my lord! You can count on me!” she piped up with determination. “Nobody gets past me!”

Satisfied, Oda continued on. “Everyone else will be with me. By this time tomorrow, you must all be prepared to ride. This endeavor requires the utmost in timing. We cannot approach Guandu too early, or Da Ji will see our hand and move against us instead of the Alliance. Too late, and we risk assaulting it while her forces are in position to flank us at the rear. It must happen at the same time, once the Orochi army has taken the bait laid by Takeda and moved to intercept them at Nagashino. Therefore, I will entertain no hesitations or lagging. If our men are not in formation to move out precisely on time, I will leave you behind.”

Fortunately, everyone present wanted in on this battle so intently that the threat of having to stay at Honnoji was valid. Everyone straightened up a little, from Mitsuhide and Kanbei down to Toyotomi Hideyori, the youngest officer even next to Lu Xun and Guan Ping. “Then, tonight,” Hideyoshi said, “we drink to the downfall of Orochi!”

Nearly all of them vocally agreed with that, and even Oda smirked. “Indeed. Tonight, enjoy yourselves. Build your strength and energy for the battle to come. It will be something the likes of which has not been seen in this land, yet. Show me your pride and power, all of you!”

The meeting broke up shortly afterward, with no need for the strategists Kuroda Kanbei and Lu Xun to actually lay out the plan of their battle yet. They would do that when they were closer to being in position for the real fight. Officers scattered every which way to inform their troops, check on their armor and weapons, and get ready to have a good old-fashioned pre-battle feast to rally together. But before all of them could completely desert the war room, Oda called back one handful. The group of Shu officers had been sitting together during the meeting, keeping one another company, and were still together at the door when they heard their commander ask Ma Chao and his friends to hold on a moment. The warlord clasped his hands behind his back, beneath his cloak, and turned so that he faced them from where he still stood in the center of the room. “I know you to be an expert cavalryman, Ma Chao.”

Surprised at being addressed directly, Chao’s back became a little straighter. “Of course, Lord Oda.”

“Do you remember what was said at the meeting, about the Sanada and Naoe cavalries being prepared for Nagashino?”

“I do…”

“It seems to me that, despite their expertise, they could use an extra horse or two.” Oda raised an eyebrow in Chao’s direction. “How would you like to take your cousin and perhaps one or two others with you, to go and lend Takeda a hand?”

The Ma cousins glanced at each other. That idea hadn’t come up at the conference at all. “If you think the handful of us will make a difference,” Chao responded.

“As I said, whether the battle is won or lost is of no concern. You know that,” Nobunaga reminded him. “Yet, there are several goals which must be accomplished before our own assault at Guandu is concluded. I only wish to offer Takeda a small bit of extra reassurance, so that these goals do not fail. Am I clear?”

It took a moment, but Ma Chao remembered what had previously been said, and tipped his head back in a knowing nod. “Understood, Lord Oda. If I may take Ma Dai and Huang Zhong with me, it would do.”

“Yes, that would do nicely.” Oda smiled at them, more cunning than cutting. “Perhaps Guan Ping would like to go with you as well.”

“If it’s all the same, my lord,” Ping spoke up from behind the others, “I would rather fight at your side.”

Nobunaga’s face showed the briefest flicker of interest before his cool mask slid back into place. “Very well. Toshiie, then. But I caution you not to make it widely known that I’m sending you on this mission. I will give you more orders before we set out, but until then, it will be as if you’re coming to Guandu with the rest of us. Understood?”

The men of Shu palmed their fists in an instant. “Yes, my lord!” they said as one. Oda nodded to dismiss them, then, and they headed out to join the others in their preparations.

The feast in Honnoji’s courtyard rang of a victory already counted, as food and wine flowed liberally beneath the bamboo leaves and many toasts were raised to battle, to camaraderie, to the moon shining above them and the hastening of Orochi’s demise. Here and there up and down the tables, officers great and lesser leaned over one another to talk excitedly about this chance. Morale had shot up from the mere promise of a decisive battle against Orochi, one meant to actually make a difference in the war in a large and showy way. The men who placed their trust in Oda Nobunaga knew that he had been making the most of small victories along the way this entire time, but they could hardly see his hand moving. This time, they would all get to be a part of it, and the entire landscape of Orochi’s dimension would see, hear, and feel the resounding roar of their victory. Even Oda himself was looking forward to it, anyone could read it in the cool, cunning smile he wore as he raised his cup to assent to every single toast.

In contrast to the great alliances forming between warriors from all times, some were diligently and expertly keeping themselves separate, not for lack of wanting to fight Orochi but mostly unwilling to support any of the warlords calling themselves the Resistance as of yet. Since battling phantoms at Honnoji, the Xiahou clan had withdrawn to where not even Cao Pi could locate them, having their own headquarters at a remote, unnamed village where the hapless civilians needed protection from the occasional incursions of snake demons which threatened their crops and their lives. It wasn’t the glamorous work of taking Orochi’s armies head-on, but it needed to be done, if any of those larger armies wanted to stay supplied with food and arms. The only way to stay truly incognito in this land was to completely disappear, to become a hermit somewhere and contact no one, so in time even the lengthy silence maintained by Xiahou Dun had to be broken, perhaps by one of the very people his family strove to protect mentioning to some soldier in some contact with the Resistance how happy he was to have the Xiahou clan looking out for them. At least word of their existence traveled far more slowly than news of much bigger happenings. It wasn’t only Yuan with him, in this far corner of the landscape, but the majority of their relatives as well as young Li Dian, one of Dun’s own favorite retainers. They made a fine mercenary force, and kept their weapons sharp on the skins of any snakes that happened to trickle into the summery valley they called their refuge. Heedless of the great movements taking place elsewhere in the world, they played sentry for their meager charges, riding along the edges of the fields to maintain a safe perimeter for the farmers and peasants inside. Dian was the one on patrol when a couple of men on foot crossed their sentry line, and rode to intercept them before they got too near the village. He pulled up in front of them to halt them, and then blinked in surprise. “What…? No. It can’t be.”

Tipping back his helm, Xiahou Ba let out a bright laugh of triumph. “At last! It’s true, they said you would be out here! Master Li Dian, is my father here?”

A grown-up Ba took adjusting to, but Dian set it aside for the moment. He looked from Ba to the man beside him, looking rather haggard after all their traveling. “Er…yes, actually, he is. I suppose I should take you to him.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Sima Zhao sighed. “I didn’t want to walk another step, today. If we hadn’t found them in this village, I was gonna give up.”

Ba glanced at him as well, looking a bit worried. He could usually tell the difference between his lord’s casual griping and his actual distress, and at the moment, Zhao was looking like he leaned toward the latter. “You’ve been so generous, accompanying me on this journey, my lord,” he said solemnly. “Thank you. We’ve arrived, at last, so you can get some rest.”

“Almost,” Dian said good-naturedly. “The village is up ahead. Have you…how far have you come without horses?”

“Down the mountains from Hulao Gate and then some,” Zhao responded tiredly. “Lucky for us, we ran into just the right people or we’d still be wandering. You guys aren’t easy to find.”

“There’s a reason for that.” Li Dian dismounted, then, and offered the reins to Ba. “If you want to get to the village faster, take my horse. I can stand to walk for a little bit.”

Ba shook his head and pressed the reins into Zhao’s hand instead. “My lord is injured, he won’t let on how much it bothers him. Please, Lord Sima Zhao, you ride. I can walk.”

Dian’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing the confirmation of the other man’s identity. Zhao shrugged and gave his young charge a brief smile before taking his advice. “All right, if you say so. You’re the one wearing all the heavy armor, though.”

“I’m used to it,” Ba assured. “Lead the way, Master Li Dian.”

Dian turned and escorted them across the field to a road much more widely-used than the path they had been on, allowing them to walk comfortably together on either side of the horse. While Xiahou Ba had recovered quickly from the concussion suffered battling Wang Ping, Sima Zhao was still moving stiffly from the beating he took at the hands of the two spearmen, his injures aggravated by the long trek on foot. He relished the chance to ride, even if it wasn’t far. Dian brought them to the village proper and waved to assure the townspeople that these visitors were no threat. All the same, he had hardly gotten to the house which his countrymen called their headquarters when they were surrounded by Xiahous. At least their attention went straight to Ba, and the mood immediately lightened as they loudly welcomed him into the fold. Ba had eyes only for his father, and ran straight to him to endure a hearty round of back-slapping and hair-ruffling. For now, they didn’t even notice Sima Zhao, and he was fine with that. He rested where he sat in the saddle, but eventually figured he couldn’t stay there forever and slid down to the ground. The movement finally broke the clansmen from talking about how they’d been looking for one another for so long and snapped their attention to him. Ba broke from his father to go and catch Zhao before he could collapse. “My lord, I’m sorry! I forgot, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay,” Zhao assured with a tiny laugh. “This is a big victory, after all. We found your father! I wouldn’t dare interrupt such an important moment.”

Xiahou Yuan moved in behind his son, peering curiously at the extra visitor. “I don’t know you, do I?”

The taller young man shook his head as he tried to straighten up, so as not to burden Ba. “Sima Zhao, son of Sima Yi…”

Several of the Xiahou cousins startled and reached for weapons, but Ba stood in front of his lord, shielding him with his body and armor. “Wait! Stop! Sima Zhao is a good man, he’s nothing like his father! He was injured in battle and his father cast him out, so I’ve been looking after him. He was willing to come with me on my journey, I owe him so much. Please!”

Yuan waved a hand to his clansmen to get them to stand down. “It’s all right, don’t worry. No one’s gonna attack anyone here. I could already tell he was hurt.” He faced up to Zhao, hooking his thumbs in his broad belt. “Sima Yi’s at it again, huh? Even his own kin, what a bastard.”

Zhao’s face darkened slightly. “He’s still my father.”

“…yeah, I guess so. Sorry.” Yuan scratched under the edge of his helm awkwardly. “You know what I mean. Right?”

With a sigh, Zhao relented. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well, don’t just stand there, then. C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up and rested. We don’t really stand on decorum, here,” Yuan explained as he guided the two of them inside. “Yuanrang’s the only one with any real rank as it is, but we’re just mercenaries at the moment. We’re good to the villagers and keep ‘em safe from snakes, and in turn they don’t go blabbing about us to the Orochi army.”

“Mostly,” Ba laughed. “We found you thanks to villagers on the other side of the ridge who get supplies from here. We’re not Orochi army troops, though, so I guess they figured we were safe to tell.”

“That so? Huh.” Yuan was not pleased to hear that secrecy was starting to erode. But there was no reason to pick at it now, he had to be a good host. Father and son got Sima Zhao settled and looked at his lingering wounds, which could now be properly cleaned and set, after which Yuan provided them plenty of water to refresh themselves and then a cup of wine for fortitude. The rest of their clansmen eventually joined them to start dinner and rearrange bedrolls in the back room to account for more guests. It freed Yuan to sit and catch up with his son, and eventually get around to asking the important questions. “So, you guys wanna hang out here with us? It’s nothing fancy, but it’s still doing good work for the common folks.”

“I don’t know.” Zhao still looked haggard, dark circles under his eyes, but he was improving a bit, particularly after the wine. “I didn’t defect from the Orochi army just to hermit away in a quiet village somewhere, even if the idea of whiling away the days with long naps is really kind of appealing right now.”

“But who do we even join up with?” Ba wondered. “We can’t go to Lord Cao Pi, he works for Orochi too.”

Yuan snorted magnificently. “Cao Pi! That brat. I couldn’t believe my eyes, him serving the snake that killed his father. I’d just as soon go kick his ass as look at him.”

En peeked in on them, then. “Yuan, he’s returned.”

“Oh, hey, good timing.” Yuan gestured for the others to follow if they wanted, as he headed for the door. Zhao decided to stay where he was, resting, but Ba hopped up to join his father. They came outside to find a horse cantering toward them bearing Xiahou Dun, looking dusty but otherwise none the worse for wear. Yuan waved to hail his cousin. “Hey, look who showed up while you were out!”

Dun’s good eye went from him to the diminutive figure beside him and widened. “What? Incredible. Ba…”

“Uncle!” Ba beamed at him. “Good, you’re here too. That’s everybody! It’s good to see you!”

Dun pulled up and dismounted, letting Li Dian take his horse’s reins and lead it away to be cared for. “Did you really just wander in here and find us?”

“Sort of.” Ba scratched his head much in the same manner as his father. “It’s kind of a long story, I’ve already told Father but I’d be happy to tell everyone again over dinner.”

“He brought a friend, too,” Yuan said with a touch of wariness. “One of Sima Yi’s kids, but don’t worry, he’s on our side.”

Dun’s eye narrowed, not sharing his cousin’s optimism. “I will determine that for myself.”

He shouldered past them and went in to find Sima Zhao, and eyed him even as Zhao lifted a hand in a tired wave to show he was no threat. Even though Xiahou Ba was generally terrified of his famous uncle, he came to Zhao’s side and sat with him. “My lord has defected from the Orochi army,” he assured his clansmen. “I swear it.”

“Your lord?” Dun found that way more interesting than Sima Zhao. “When, exactly, did that come about?”

“Erm…” Ba looked away. Speaking of others’ deaths which had been rendered null and void by the demon dimension was never not awkward. “…after you were gone, Lord Yuanrang.”

“And me too, I’m guessing.” Yuan sighed. “Say no more, my son. You’re welcome here, and so is your friend. _Right_ , Dun?”

Dun grumbled under his breath. “I have yet to take his measure, but we will put that aside for tonight. He’s clearly injured and in no shape to defend himself except with words, anyway.”

“Gee, thanks,” Zhao quipped, giving Ba a quick, wry smile.

The entire group sat together for dinner at the same table, showing that there were indeed no ranks or airs put on between them, even if Dun and Yuan were high-ranked generals in Cao Cao’s army in other places and times. The food was simple but delicious, particularly to those who had been roaming far afield for many days and had to live off rations and whatever they could gather from the land. The Xiahous chattered about whatever small doings in the village passed for gossip rather than ask after the greater doings of the war against Orochi, and things were kept casual until after everyone had eaten their fill. Shang and Li Dian got up to clean the remnants from the table, and the rest melted away, leaving just four to talk more seriously. Ba finally told the full story of what had happened at Hulao Gate, as it seemed a more important story than his wandering around the world before falling in with the Jin contingent at Ueda. That allowed him to tell his father and uncle of the defection of Sun Ce and other, much bigger news than whose cow kicked who yesterday in the village. Yuan grew more intense as he listened to his son, while Dun’s face shadowed, hiding his thoughts and reactions. It brought them right back to the conversation they had been having privately before Dun returned home from his errand. “We’re free to join the Resistance army,” Ba reasoned, “but we’ve already passed on the chance to join Sun Ce. What should we do?”

Yuan regarded his son with an exasperated sort of look, lips twisted in a frown of uncertainty. “You really wanna keep going, and get involved in this war?”

“I don’t see why not,” Ba replied honestly.

“I can’t speak for anyone but myself,” Zhao broke in. “But Sun Ce gave me a chance I didn’t deserve. I owe him, and to just hole up somewhere…I feel like that wouldn’t repay his trust at all. Quite the opposite. If you two don’t want to, that’s fine. I’d appreciate an escort back to the Resistance after I’m recovered, at the very least, but you’re free to choose your own path.”

“Ah, man…” Yuan heaved a huge sigh, looking to his cousin. “You’re killing me, here.”

“Do you feel guilty, Miaocai?” Dun’s eye was closed while he listened, he only opened it in order to turn his gaze on his kinsman. “They’re right, though. To whom would we even go? Cao Pi is a traitor to Wei in every sense of the word, I would not rejoin him even if he were fighting against Orochi rather than for him. And don’t even speak to me of that pretender Nobunaga.”

Zhao flinched visibly. “Oda…”

“Why not?” Ba pressed, curious at their matching reactions.

Dun bristled at him. “Oda Nobunaga wishes he were as great as my lord. He is nothing but a tyrant, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Those who flock to his banner are setting themselves up for failure at best, betrayal at worst. I would never kowtow to the likes of him.”

Zhao’s eyes were on him, gauging his declaration. He remembered all too well facing Oda himself, being spared, and yet thoroughly defeated. “I take it you’ve met him.”

“I brushed up against him briefly while investigating the rumors of my lord, quite some time ago,” Dun answered. “I was not impressed.”

“Then who else is there?” Ba fretted. “I mean…Lord Zhao Yun of Shu was at Hulao as well, but he might have joined Sun Ce…”

“We could always just go it ourselves,” Yuan offered. “Maybe I do feel a little guilty that we’ve just been sitting out this war, and men like Sun Ce and Zhao Yun are doing what we’ve been too…I don’t know, weak to do?” He said it, risking his cousin’s ire, and accepted the glare turned on him. “Think about it, Yuanrang. Us, with Ba now, Li Dian, and all the others, we’re a small army. We don’t have troops but I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to roust some retired soldiers out of their sleep.”

“I don’t begrudge you what you’ve been doing,” Zhao said with a shake of his head. “Protecting innocent people is pretty important. I’ve tried to do the same, even if I haven’t always been good at it. Lord Ma Chao…he was doing the same.”

Dun looked displeased to hear that name as well. “I will not be shamed into joining a war.”

“But, uncle, didn’t Orochi kill Lord Cao Cao? Why wouldn’t you be out there trying to avenge him?” Ba wondered naively. “If he’d killed you and my father, I know that’s what I’d be doing. I wouldn’t rest until that demon was dead.”

If it were possible for Dun’s glare to become even darker, it did. Even Zhao had to whistle softly at the balls his young retainer had for saying something like that. Yuan, on the other hand, burst out laughing. “You tell him, son!”

Dun rounded on him instead. “I haven’t exactly seen you doing the same, cousin!”

“Hey, I tried!” Yuan said defensively. “When Huang Gai asked for my help, I didn’t hesitate, even if we got our asses handed to us. I know you’re still trying to get word on where Dian Wei took our lord, but…think about it, Yuanrang. Having to guard this village hamstrings us in more ways than one. And when was the last time we even had a threat here? We’ve had to ride far and wide in order to even _find_ snakes to skin, lately. It’s like they’re tightening up their armies to face the real threats – Oda, Sun Ce, and so on.”

Dun let out an aggravated growl, dropping his head into his hand. “I am loathe to get involved in this war any more than we have, but I will not be shamed by my nephew into acting.”

Ba stared at the table in front of him. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was shaming anyone. I’m just speaking the truth from my heart. This world is awful, Father, and I thought for so long that Orochi might have killed you at Yiling. I was so glad to hear you were alive, even if no one knew where you were. I’m just glad to have found you. But my heart won’t rest if I have to stay here. I know Lord Sima Zhao wants to return to the fight when he can, and I’ll go with him. You don’t have to.”

“No, I think we do,” Yuan said sadly. “No two ways about it. Dun, don’t make me gang up on you and force you.”

“Like you could.” Dun looked at him again, and then breathed a long sigh through his nose. “If we must, we will go as the Xiahou clan, and not place ourselves under any lord. There is no lord who could take the place of my lord Mengde, anyway. We might as well declare ourselves independent.”

Ba perked up with a hopeful smile, and Yuan shook his head ruefully. “Yep, that’s just how it’s gonna have to be. We’ll tell the others later – and we’ll give Sima Zhao some time to heal from his injuries. What do you think,” he added, turning to the young lord, “wanna become a Xiahou?”

“I don’t know, is there an initiation rite?” Zhao smiled wryly. “I appreciate it. I’ll ride with you at least until I can find my way. I’ve got some things to see to, eventually, but I wouldn’t mind the company until then.”

He hadn’t even told Ba of the plan he and Guo Huai had formed, it was too dangerous at the time and now that they had found the Xiahou clan, it seemed of less importance to do so. But he had laid the groundwork to get his brother to also defect from Orochi. He needed to find Shi, eventually. Whether they remained teamed up with the Xiahous after that, or sought a different resistance cell by which to stretch out and reach their father, it could be decided later. For now he was deeply grateful to these stalwart men for their aid, and would quietly follow their lead.

“It’s settled, then,” Dun stated. “While we prepare, we will get the village ready to look after itself. It will take time, that should allow the young master here to heal.”

“Works for me.” Yuan turned a fond look on his son. “Looks like it’s a good thing you found us, indeed. Look at you, Ba…you’ve really grown into something. A father couldn’t be more proud.”

Ba grinned happily to be complimented so, even if he didn’t fully grasp what his father was so proud of. “I can’t wait to ride and fight beside you, Father! Together, we’ll trample the Orochi army from here to Chengdu!”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukimura and Zhao Yun grow closer, prior to the Battle of Shizugatake.

Upon leaving the mountains, Zhao Yun’s forces had need to pause on the other side to reconnect with their scouts, now that they had a much better picture of the layout of the land due to the vastly-improved maps seen and copied at the Takeda camp. They knew exactly where they were in relation to the most important strongholds, both their own and Orochi’s, and could route their reconnaissance much more directly and quickly. Magoichi needed to pull in a little information before they proceeded with their larger plan, and Jiang Wei likewise was intent on reporting to Yueying so that if the newly-renegade force under Sun Ce needed refuge, they would not be turned away. The intention was still to head to Jieting to see if they could capture themselves another Orochi retainer to interrogate, but they did not get the chance. While still camped at the foot of the mountains, they received a rather unexpected visitor. A horse being ridden hard came up to them in the twilight gloom of the sheltered dell where their army rested, and the outer sentries quickly reported that it was someone important for Lord Sanada. Yukimura and Zhao Yun both responded to the call, ducking out of the command tent with all haste as the visitor was escorted through the camp to them. They recognized him even before he stepped into the torchlight, by his bearing and his silvery hair tied back with a gold ornament. “Nobuyuki!” Yukimura breathed. “What are you doing here? Is there trouble?”

“You could say that,” Nobuyuki replied as he met them, and then held up a hand in caution. “Not at our lord’s camp, no, it’s something else. May we speak in private?” He nodded to Zhao Yun to indicate that he would be included.

They went back inside the tent, where Jiang Wei and Saika were already hanging out, so everyone was able to gather around to listen to Sanada Nobuyuki’s report. He knelt in his proper place facing them. “I do have news from Lord Takeda, but that can wait a moment. The reason I’ve been sent to find you so quickly has to do with the Hojo.”

Yukimura frowned in concern. “You just told me about them when we were at the camp. Has something changed already?”

“Yes. We received word on their present location, only to find out not a day later that some of Orochi’s forces were marching in pursuit of them. There is no one else available to spare, so Lord Shingen sent me out alone to find you and beg your help. We are not far from them, here, if you divert to the south.”

“Completely the opposite of where we’re going, but okay,” Magoichi remarked. “What’s so important about the Hojo, now?”

“They’ve been searching for any of their people, but especially their lord, Ujiyasu,” Nobuyuki explained. “They think that, like our lord, he might be alive in this world. Lord Shingen feels that their strength is not to be thrown away, but they insist on doing things on their own without assistance from the alliance. Now they’re about to be attacked by Orochi’s forces directly, and have only the tiniest fraction of a chance of succeeding.” His eyes darkened with dread. “It is more likely that they will be wiped out unless they receive reinforcements unlooked-for. Lord Shingen says, and others agree, that in the present state of the world, not a single soldier can be allowed to fall. We need everyone, great and small, to be able to stand up to Orochi, and that includes the Hojo no matter how wayward they’ve roamed.”

Yukimura glanced to Zhao Yun, as if hesitating to even ask, but Yun’s face was already set. He nodded briskly. “Of course, Lord Nobuyuki. We will come to their aid without question.”

“Thank you.” Nobuyuki placed his hands on the ground before him and bowed low. “I hope this doesn’t inconvenience you. I will come with you, to lead the way.” 

“You are alone, then?” Yukimura wondered. “You have no troops with you?”

“No, none. Only a vanguard.” Sighing, Nobuyuki straightened up and rested his hands back on his knees. “That’s the other bit of news. After you left us, Oda Nobunaga did come to hold a conference with Lords Takeda and Uesugi, as planned. They decided to make a deliberate move against Orochi, and soon, so the camp has already been struck and our forces moved into position. The cavalries will be instrumental in the battle, and every officer in the primary _and_ secondary units has orders.” He shook his head a bit. “I wanted to be there, to fight alongside them, but our lord needed someone to look out for the Hojo. It fell to me.”

That had all of them, even Magoichi, sitting up in interest. Yukimura leaned toward his brother. “They’re planning a major assault and yet he sent you on this errand? Who is leading the cavalry in your place?”

“Nobutada is heading the Sanada forces,” Nobuyuki answered reassuringly. “All of the Takeda cavalry officers are present as well, and Lord Kanetsugu will be leading the Naoe cavalry. It is well in hand, brother, don’t worry.”

“It just means the Hojo are that important to Shingen, if he’d send your brother out to us,” Magoichi noted.

“What are they planning to do?” Zhao Yun wondered. “Do you know?”

“I only know that our lord remained behind with the secondary unit to skirmish with some of the Wei army, he sent me ahead with the cavalry to set up our new camp. No sooner had they returned successful and this information fell into our hands, so I haven’t been privy to the rest of the plans.”

“Sounds like a pretty big deal, all right,” Magoichi mused. “Especially if Nobunaga was in on it from the start. I’d half want to see that.” He tossed up a hand idly. “But, we’re gonna go see how the Hojo are doing, I guess.”

“I don’t mind.” Zhao Yun looked to his comrades. “While it does delay our own plans, there is no telling what we might learn by taking on this errand. Stranger things have happened.”

They made room to add Nobuyuki to the officers’ tent and found someone to bring him water and food, giving him the chance to rest while Jiang Wei eagerly told him about the battle in the mountain pass and the secret alliance between Sun Ce and Zhao Yun. Yun, on the other hand, excused himself to take a walk around the camp, to check on the sentries and verify that the Sanada vanguard had also been brought in and made comfortable. As commander, it was his prerogative to make these evening checks himself, and he usually did because it gave him something to do besides sit and look important. When he came back, he found Yukimura standing outside the tent, his head tipped back so he could look at the stars. He heard his friend’s approach and glanced his way with a gentle smile, and for a moment Yun’s pace faltered. That smile had gotten to him; every time Yukimura looked at him like that, he found himself blushing even in front of others. It was too much, he needed to do something about it before it started to become detrimental to their pursuit of his goal. Catching himself before he could trip, Zhao Yun strode up to the young warrior and grabbed him by the wrist, towing him along as he changed paths and skirted around behind the tent. Startled, Yukimura nonetheless followed obediently, hardly saying anything as he followed Yun’s lead. Some distance away, in a deserted part of camp near where supplies were kept, he finally asked, “What’s the matter, Zilong?”

“It’s nothing,” Yun replied softly as he came to a stop, out in the complete darkness of the edge of camp where only the stars and moon lit them. He smiled to put his comrade at ease. “I only wanted some privacy, that’s all.”

“Privacy…” True, the command tent was not at all private for any of the officers, and now they had one more to house. Yukimura gazed at him for a bit, and concluded that it wasn’t for any nefarious purposes that they came out here, his shoulders relaxing and his hand finally settling into Zhao Yun’s as they stood together. “I guess the real question is, is there something you need?”

Yun immediately nodded, and then ducked his head as if to hide the flush in his cheeks. “I cannot get you out of my mind. Here we are, in the middle of serious errands, and dangerous battles, and I find myself constantly distracted by my thoughts. I must know, Yukimura…” He used their clasped hands to pull himself closer to his companion. “Did you mean what you said? That you would do anything…”

“Of course.” Yukimura smiled that same smile again, the one that made Zilong weak in the knees. “I also meant the part about being very fond of you. At first I thought, like you did, maybe this is what it’s like to have a sworn brother. But no, I know how I feel. I wish to be closer to you than even that.”

Yun moved even closer, step by hesitant step. “Is such a thing even possible? Can we…?” He made a small noise of yearning as Yukimura mirrored his movements, pressing in so close that they could feel each other’s breath warm on their faces. “I don’t want anything to distract us from our purpose…”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Yukimura murmured as he leaned in, clasping Zhao Yun by the shoulders and letting their foreheads rest against one another, six coins pressed against golden dragons. “I would never let anything come before our fight for freedom. As a samurai, I know what’s most important. But we’re allowed a little moment of happiness for ourselves once in a while.”

“Are we?” It came to Zilong, in that moment. He had not only placed the lives and needs of his men and himself below the quest to find Liu Bei, he had also put aside his happiness, as if the success of their plans depended on his full commitment, his very soul and being. But Yukimura was right. Without happiness, there was only despair. Even loyalty and devotion were nothing without joy and love. He groaned again, this time in regret. “What have I done…?”

“Zilong?”

Yun pressed as close as he dared, lifting a hand to rest against Yukimura’s cheek. “If I am allowed a moment of happiness,” he whispered, “then let me take it right here and now, before the desire consumes me.”

He tipped his head, and found Yukimura moving to do the same, closing what little distance remained between them. The lips which met his were soft and pliant, gentle, and warm, as Yukimura simply offered him what he most desired. Zhao Yun took it and reveled in it, moving to kiss him again and again with short, eager caresses of his lips. There was a warm hand at the back of his neck, beneath his tied-back hair, and it seemed to beg him to give even more of himself. He did so without hesitating, parting his lips and delving as deeply as he could, energized to pursue everything that was given to him. They kissed for what felt like ages, pressed against each other so tightly that their chestplates scraped together as if to warn them that they could go no further. Even when they could kiss no more they clung to each other, holding on as though each were the other’s lifeline, breathing in the closeness of one another. The desperate yearning had been tamped down, but as they stood there together in comfortable silence, Yun realized then that it hadn’t gone completely away – the ebbing tide of passion gave way to a steady burn of deeper feelings, which could not be sated in their present place and time. He needed Yukimura more than ever, now. A few stolen kisses in the briefest moments of privacy would be all they could offer one another for the time being, and perhaps that would be enough to keep himself steady and stable. He opened his eyes just enough to register the moonlight falling on his friend’s cheeks and wet lips, and then was kissing him again, one grand, lingering kiss to last him the rest of the night.

Yukimura broke off at last with a small gasp of wonder. There was nothing he could say in that moment, but his eyes met Zilong’s in the darkness and he knew he didn’t need to speak. They stood close and held one another for a little while longer, and then silently agreed to part, to head back through camp to the command tent, no matter how badly both of them wanted to just stay hidden in the dark with one another and let come what may. They walked slowly, at least, giving themselves enough time to compose themselves and ensure that no one would be the least bit suspicious of their absence. No one in the command tent remarked on it, at least, assuming that the two had been out taking care of the camp as usual. Nobuyuki had been settled in, so they all agreed to call it a night and roll themselves in their blankets for a good night’s rest. Yet, even as Zhao Yun curled up on his side, the instant the light was doused he felt a hand on his, and clasped it, drawing it against his chest to hold tightly. Yukimura made a soft sound of contentment, feeling his hand trapped so, and drifted off to sleep in utter bliss.

While the camp was in the process of being struck and preparations made to move to reinforce the Hojo, a pair of scouts were spotted riding like the wind in their direction, not from the path Nobuyuki had taken but instead, the southwest. As they neared, Jiang Wei could tell that they were Shu scouts, likely from Chengdu, and stood out to meet them while the others took care of the camp and supplies. They had been waiting for news from the main camp, but did not expect it so soon nor coming with such urgency. Once he had heard their report and read the letter entrusted to them, he strode back to the others, looking somewhat exasperated. “You won’t believe this,” he said as he met Zhao Yun and the Sanada brothers. “It’s from Lady Yueying. They request our assistance moving toward a place called Shizugatake.”

Everyone else started in surprise – that was the name of the territory Nobuyuki had mapped for them the night before. Magoichi had overheard and wandered over. “Are you kidding me? They’re headed there, too?”

Jiang Wei nodded crisply. “The lady has had word that an Orochi battalion was moving to encamp there, in pursuit of some unknown cadre of refugees attempting to escape them. They are sending a force themselves to go and roust Orochi’s soldiers from this place, but need reinforcements as soon as possible.”

“They must not realize that it is the Hojo, and not mere refugees,” Nobuyuki remarked.

“Yet if even Lady Yueying has received word at Chengdu and moved out, then the threat to the Hojo is imminent,” Yukimura added. “We must hurry.”

“Indeed,” Zhao Yun agreed before turning away and raising his voice. “Men! We must move out at once! Make all haste to get the rest secured so we can march immediately!”

Their army was almost finished anyway, but they did as ordered, doubling their pace and getting everything in place in time. Their officers on horseback led the way as usual, but they set a much quicker pace this time, and relied on their rested soldiers to keep up with them so as not to arrive to Shizugatake too late. It was fairly close-by, but still required a fair march. The lands sloped down from the mountains and became lush and green, giving them little trouble at all for the journey, but as they went they began to run into outlying Orochi scouts, snake soldiers and hired mercenaries lurking along the paths to investigate and waylay the unwary. Magoichi’s scouts were better, and their army larger, so they mowed down any resistance in order to keep word from getting back to whoever was manning this battalion. The appearance of ruffians working alongside the demons made Jiang Wei extremely wary – this was no mere whim, thought had been put into this. Someone with a clever mind might be ahead of them, a thought which lent speed to their travel. They rested only briefly that night without a full camp and set out again after dawn, pressing on into a springlike land of steep, rolling hills crowned with plum and cherry trees. Here, they ran into the first real outliers of the opposing army, a handful of soldiers fleeing in the opposite direction. Zhao Yun reined in at the head of the army. “Are we too late? Is this going to be another instance of arriving after battle has already started?”

“Looks like it,” Magoichi warned. “I say we go in guns blazing and see what we find.”

“It worked for Sun Ce, let’s hope it works again,” Yukimura said, taking up his spear. “We are very near to Shizugatake, I know.”

“Then, let us let the Sanada cavalry lead us,” Jiang Wei encouraged, smiling at the brothers. They were, essentially, the entire cavalry. Honored, both smiled back and nodded to one another before spurring their horses into full gallop. Leaving it to Magoichi to work with Zhang Bao and Wang Ping to order the infantry, Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei immediately followed their mounted fellows. Their priority was to locate their allies, or the Hojo, whichever they came across first, regardless of whether they needed to plow through the entire Orochi army to get there. 

Thundering down a trail speckled in the discarded petals of the tree-blossoms, they came out to a green valley already swarming with the mingled forces of the Orochi army. It was quite the rag-tag collection, all things considered – snake demons, hired thugs, Wei soldiers, and even a cadre of cavalry officers charging across the valley on some errand. A fair portion of them heard the horses coming and turned to meet them, but the sword and spear of the Sanada brothers at the fore drove straight through them and the spears of the Shu warriors behind cleaned up after. The commotion they made attracted even more attention, but fortunately, that included Shu scouts who could identify them and happily flag them down. Zhao Yun rode to meet them, proud to see the brave men of Chengdu looking so strong and capable now. “Lord Zhao Yun!” one greeted him. “You came! The Lady Yueying will be glad to hear it!”

“Where is she?” he wondered of them. “We should make short work of the army on this end...”

“There are far more Orochi forces than it seems,” another scout reported. “Her ladyship is not far, we are holding ground but cannot make progress.”

“Right.” Jiang Wei rode up on his left, so Yun turned to him. “Have Magoichi bring the troops up this path to meet us here. I will reconnoiter with Lady Yueying.”

The scouts led them along a side path toward a wall they hadn't noticed before, which turned out to be the protective palisade around the spot where the Shu forces from Chengdu had stopped to order their attack. They were taking advantage of the existence of the fortifications, but so far, had not been able to push beyond this point. It sat at the confluence of multiple paths, and enemy soldiers were pouring in toward them from all sides. As Zhao Yun and the Sanadas rode to their countrymen's assistance, they could see that for now, the stout bravery and powerful arms of Wei Yan were keeping the foe securely at bay. Their forces saw them coming and let out a raucous shout of joy that reinforcements had arrived, which in turn got Yueying's attention. She strode out from the palisade gate, looking beyond pleased that her fellows had answered her summons. “Lord Zhao Yun,” she said in relief. “I am glad to see you well.”

Yun drew to a stop but remained in the saddle, ready to do battle should any enemy soldiers get past Wei Yan. “My lady. It has been a while, hasn't it? We were already on the way, thanks to the Sanada army.” He gestured with his spear as the other two came up beside him. “This is Sanada Nobuyuki, he asked our assistance in rescuing the Hojo from Orochi pursuit.”

“The Hojo?” she repeated. “So that is the name of the army trapped on the other side of the valley. Yes, we were keeping an eye on the movements of the Orochi army, only to realize that they were hard on the heels of a small Resistance force of some kind. Our scouts were unable to get more information than that.”

Nobuyuki nodded. “It is the Hojo, a small clan allied with the Toyotomi and friends of my lord Takeda Shingen. They are Resistance, all right, and must be saved at all costs.”

“Then we shall work together to do so,” Yueying agreed. “They are outnumbered, and surely by now their morale is flagging. I am not sure they even know that reinforcements have come to their aid.”

“You have the numbers, now, to press toward them and rescue them from their pursuers,” Zhao Yun assured. “Jiang Wei and Saika are bringing up the rest of the forces behind us.”

“Then he did meet with you, good.” Yueying looked away, to the battlefield cluttered with fallen soldiers and Wei Yan holding ground during this momentary lull in action. “We are up against an Orochi battalion led by Wei forces. I know not who is leading their ruthless strategy, but the commanding officer is Pang De of Xiliang.”

Zhao Yun blinked. “No wonder. Then the cavalry may be men of Xiliang, men better sided under Lord Ma Chao!”

Yukimura had noticed the cavalry on the field as well. “Pang De is a countryman of Ma Chao?”

“Indeed,” Yun replied with a wary look at him. “But he has been part of the Wei army for some time now, as far as I know. Where his loyalties lie at the moment, I cannot say. We can only vie against him and see what comes of it.”

“Well, right now our priority must be the Hojo,” Yukimura said urgently, raising his spear. “What comes after that, we shall indeed see.”

Yueying pointed down the nearest path. “Their army is scattered to the west. Find them, and make sure they know that there is hope. We will hold this place to keep the main army from coming down to attack their flank.” She glanced to Wei Yan with a quiet smile. “He has been single-handedly making life very difficult for them. With reinforcements, we can now lend him a hand as well.”

“If he lets you,” Zhao Yun smirked before turning his horse. “Very well, then! When the others catch up, send them after us!”

Nobuyuki actually led the way for them, knowing the land just well enough to guess at where the Hojo may be standing their ground. There were more fortifications nearby, nothing more than hastily-erected garrisons in no strong tactical position, thrown up in ages past to shelter troops in time of need. Considering how much of the Orochi army was already in that valley when the reinforcements arrived, it was no stretch to imagine that their prey was also there. As they rode, Yukimura glanced at his comrades alongside him. “I think we should split up, to cover more ground quickly.”

“Lord Ujimasa should have at least four or five of his men with him,” Nobuyuki added. “That was how many they had the last time they reported in to Lord Shingen, but I know not the size of their actual army.”

“If they are clustered together it will be easy,” Zhao Yun noted, “but if they have scattered, then yes, we should split up.”

Yukimura lowered his spear into a charging position. “Then let us show Orochi that even three cavalry riders can be more than a match for his whole army!”

All three of them spurred their horses to full speed, and as the path emerged back into the valley, they could see that their tactic was the correct one. A melee nearby indicated one of the Hojo officers already beset by their foe, but the others were nowhere to be seen. Nobuyuki rode immediately to back up that lone officer, while the other two split off and rode off across the valley in opposite directions to find the rest of their beset allies.

Atop one of the taller hills of Shizugatake, the largest fortress remained stoutly held by the pursuing Orochi force led by Pang De. He had been dragged from place to place and put in charge of the kinds of armies Cao Ren had been leading, now that his countryman had been called back to Xuchang at long last. He didn't know why, but he didn't question it, knowing that for now it was his lot to uphold his lord's alliance on his behalf. At least, he hadn't questioned it until being given the order to pursue this small resistance force clear across the landscape. He stood atop the wall looking out at the indistinct figures crossing to and fro below them, unable to even tell from this distance which were theirs and which were the enemy. Beside him stood Jia Xu, who might not have been able to see much better but seemed to have a much more optimistic read on what he could see. “It shouldn't be long now,” he murmured, squinting out across the sunlit hills. “We were fortunate to get here first and lay the trap. Now these Hojo are pretty much doomed.”

Pang De gave him a wary look out of the corner of his eye. “And just what is our mission here, anyway? Are we to destroy them entirely? They are no match for Orochi's forces, we all know it.”

“Squeamish, Master Pang De?” Jia Xu turned toward him, arching an eyebrow, but his smirk was cool and collected. “Lady Da Ji's directive to me was to remove them as a threat. I suppose, they don't necessarily have to be killed...” He nodded toward the battlefield below them. “Yet, that seems to be what they want. They have stopped and turned to fight, presumably to the death. I don't know that they can be dissuaded otherwise.”

De grumbled under his breath. “They stride boldly toward certain death, with true faith that they must do so to resist Orochi,” he noted. “Whereas I...what am I doing...?”

“I wouldn't call it true faith,” Jia Xu snorted. “More like desperation. But if you have such qualms about it, my lord, I could suggest an alternate tactic.”

“Such as...?”

“Demand their surrender.” Xu stroked at his goatee as he watched the battle unfold below. “I don't know that Lady Da Ji wants any more prisoners, but we could always do with more capable officers. Such valiance should be rewarded.”

“Do you think they really would?” De questioned. Men like the Hojo who would stand and fight to the death even in the face of a more powerful enemy didn't seem like the type to turn and join said enemy.

“There is only one way to find out.” Jia Xu turned away from him and hustled down the stairs to call some messengers over. “Before we unleash the final wave, go to our officers and give them this directive: the enemy is to be given the option to surrender. If they do so, they will keep their lives. If not, they will be destroyed. Nothing more. Now go!”

Pang De watched him do this, watched the messengers slip out through the main gate and dash off into the field to carry out the order, and settled himself to wait and see. What honor could there be for men who had to choose between death or serving their enemy? But then, he thought, that was the choice given to the Sun children, and others. And he knew full well that one by one, those others were turning, choosing honor and death. Even Lord Sun Jian was not afraid that he might die at Orochi's hand. De leaned heavily on the rampart of the wall, stretching to see as far as he could and try to discern the last, desperate stand of the Hojo. Would they turn, or would they die? 

Nobuyuki successfully drove off the forces assailing Matsuda Norihide, who had been separated from the others, before the order could be brought down, and turned to him to find out where the rest of the Hojo forces were. “We were beset and scattered,” Matsuda shamefully admitted. “My lord is uncertain of his plan, he would resist Orochi to his death but he still holds out hope of finding his father.”

Nobuyuki frowned. “I can understand his yearning, but there has been no word of Lord Ujiyasu at all. Death will not serve him either way, he must hold out and live!” 

“Go to him, Lord Sanada,” Matsuda begged. “Show him this! I fear he will not understand until it's right in front of him.”

“That is my duty. Go, the Shu army is right behind us, they will protect you.”

“No, my lord, I must stay and fight!” Norihide's resolve hardened with a darkening of his expression. “You have saved me, I cannot thank you enough. I will continue to fight, I won't give up.”

“As you please, then. Be safe!” Nobuyuki spurred to a gallop again, heading across the valley in the direction he had been shown by the young Hojo retainer. His brother and Zhao Yun were already there, but the more hands, the better.

Hearing cries of “I do not want to die!” drew Yukimura toward the youngest, Hojo Ujinao, where he found himself driving off hired bandits serving as additional Orochi forces. By the time he had cleaned up the mess and roused the terrified troops they had been joined by Zhao Yun leading Hojo Ujinori to safety. Ujinao wilted in relief to find his fellow officer alive. “I don't believe it. Reinforcements at last! Ujinori, are you all right?”

“More or less.” Ujinori looked grim, but likewise relieved. He looked up to the two horsemen who had come to their rescue. “Thank you. We were about to abandon hope and surrender to the Orochi army.”

“What?” Yukimura's eyes widened. “Why would do you that?”

“They came to us, offering us our lives in exchange,” Ujinao admitted. “Not a few moments before you showed up, Lord Sanada. I thought it would be the only way to survive this battle...”

“What of your father?” Yukimura demanded. “Would he surrender?”

“I don't know.” Ujinao looked worried. “We got separated, I can't say what he might do when they give him the choice. But would you ask us to give our lives on this field, for nothing?”

Yukimura stared down at him. “I can ask nothing of you but that you fight with everything you have,” he answered grimly. “Only your own honor can tell you whether or not surrender would be right.”

“There is no need to surrender when there are reinforcements enough at hand,” Zhao Yun said sharply. “The Shu army is here to help you, do not even think of giving up – either to die or to become Orochi's vassal!”

The two retainers lowered their gazes at the same time. “You are right, my lord,” Ujinori said after a moment. “With you beside us, we have nothing to fear.”

“Then let us fight until we drop!” Ujinao said bravely, despite the fear still plastered across his face.

“That will do,” Yukimura encouraged with a nod. “Come, then, Hojo warriors!”

The rescued officers had to continue on foot, as their contingent had lost all their horses, but Yukimura and Zhao Yun more than made up for it on their own. They charged across the field once more, seeking the centers of activity that marked where larger skirmishes were taking place amid the battle in the hopes that they would find more officers there. They met Nobuyuki again as he drove a sheepish Hojo Ujiteru back into the fray to join his fellows, having liberated him from a snake demon who had been openly taunting him about surrendering to the might of Orochi. The assembled retainers told their saviors that the only one left was their lord, Ujimasa, who had last been seen further north in the valley, trying to hold a garrison by himself with only simple private soldiers at his back. When the momentum of the battle shifted entirely in his direction, he had been left with only a handful of soldiers as his vanguard, one of whom was at that very moment desperately exhorting him to take the offer and surrender to Orochi in order to save their lives. Exhausted and fearing for the lives of his son and his men, Ujimasa looked across to the demon captain forcing his way into the garrison gate. “Surrender is shameful,” he muttered, “but what other choice do we have? If I must stay alive to find my own father...”

“What good is pride and honor when you are dead?” one of the other soldiers whined.

A clamor behind them turned all their heads, and even the snake captain looked around wildly at the sudden intrusion of three powerful horses from the rear door of the garrison. They did not even pause but swept straight past Ujimasa toward their foes, and threw themselves against the swell of Orochi soldiers. To the Hojo commander's surprise, his own men came running in right after, with Ujiteru crying “For the pride of the Hojo!” as he came. It was the very definition of help unlooked-for, and Hojo Ujimasa fell to his knees as he realized he had almost given up at just the wrong time.

Yukimura and Zhao Yun were both caught in the thrill of battle and did not even stop to look around before leaping from the saddle and pushing through the Orochi forces, their spears doing their perfect tandem dance yet again to the wonder of many and the terror of their enemy. Nobuyuki left it to them, riding back to the Hojo to check on them. “Lord Ujimasa,” he greeted the elder man. “Are you hurt?”

Ujimasa shook his head slowly. “Only my pride. It is a miracle to see you here, Lord Sanada, and you bring your mighty brother with you. And...who is that other powerful man?”

“That is Lord Zhao Yun of Shu,” Nobuyuki said with some pride of his own. “The Shu Resistance has come to aid you, Lord Ujimasa. Lift up your head, for the darkness is past.” He glanced down at the man groveling in the grass, even as his son came up beside him to look after him. “Lord Shingen wanted me to make sure nothing happened to you.”

Ujimasa paled even further. “In the face of this enemy, we forgot our pride, our name...and our own friends,” he lamented. “Forgive us, Lord Sanada.”

“It is not the Sanada you need to ask for forgiveness,” Nobuyuki said wryly. “Nor even Lord Shingen, I'm sure.”

“We are not injured, father,” Ujinao said hopefully. “Come, we have the strength now, we can fight back!”

“Yes...” Ujimasa allowed himself to be helped to his feet. “You are right. We will continue, and fight...fight with an iron will.” He glanced at his son, then. “We may not be of much use, though.”

“I'm sure you must be tired,” Nobuyuki said understandingly. “But we cannot rest yet, even with reinforcements at our backs.”

“You have given us hope, Lord Sanada,” Ujinao said brightly. “We have a reason to give our all, now. And we will, you can depend on us.”

Yukimura and Zhao Yun returned to them, then, triumphant after driving the last of the Orochi demon captains into retreat. “Is everyone all right?” the former asked. “No one is too badly injured?”

“We can keep fighting,” Ujinori assured. “We must.”

Zhao Yun nodded once. “Good. I don't think we can simply escort you to the main army and retreat. We will have to push our way to the enemy commander and defeat him soundly, in order for our forces to escape safely. We do not need to claim Shizugatake, but if we can drive Orochi out, so much the better.”

Just then, Jiang Wei rode up from outside, his trident showing signs of having mowed through his own share of foes in order to reach them. “Lord Zhao Yun! We've arrived, everything is in place. Zhang Bao and the bulk of our army is with Lady Yueying...”

“Excellent news,” Nobuyuki murmured. “They should be able to manage on that end, now.”

“What of the Hojo? Have they been secured?”

“We have,” Ujimasa reported. “You may consider us your reinforcements, now.”

“Then we have what we need to turn and attack.” Yukimura gestured with his spear toward the paths beyond the garrison. “If we advance from here, and Lady Yueying and Magoichi press from the south, we can surround the enemy commander on both sides. It means the Hojo will have to remain in this position and repel the enemy from our flanks, so they don't come up behind us...”

Ujimasa nodded. “We can manage that much. We will fight with the last of our strength to keep your way clear, Lord Yukimura.”

“That should do nicely,” Nobuyuki acknowledged. “There is something strange about the disparate forces united in this contingent of Orochi's, they need to be held at bay lest they try something sneaky.”

“Very well. Lead us to it, Lord Sanada,” Jiang Wei assented. “Lady Yueying is already mounting the counter-offensive with Zhang Bao and Saika. We will meet in the middle.”

“Wait.” Ujimasa strode forward, to the door of the garrison, and gestured with his sword to an overgrown path just to the side. “If you wish to exact a pincer tactic, take this trail. It will bring you further north. We will make our stand here, and distract the Orochi army. Once they see that they have not yet broken our strength, they may be drawn in this direction, allowing you to flank them.”

Nobuyuki looked worriedly at him. “That would be highly dangerous, if you are all worn out. If the full strength of the rest of the army falls on you here, they may actually kill you.”

“I no longer fear such a fate,” Ujimasa assured. “We will hold them long enough, that's all that matters.”

“I will remain with them,” Jiang Wei offered. “I can call Wang Ping or someone else to join me, we will bolster their forces.”

“Very well.” Yukimura strode to where one of the Hojo soldiers was holding his horse for him and mounted up. “It looks like it's up to the Sanada cavalry, and Lord Zilong, to make our move on Pang De.”

“Take care,” Wei implored. “I do not recognize the hand of the strategist in this fight, there is no telling who it might be.”

The assigned officers gathered themselves and headed out, while one of the Shu soldiers went to fetch more reinforcements. As they went their own ways, they could hear the start of the distraction behind them – the collected Hojo officers calling out a challenge, daring any Orochi officers in range to come and try them once more. Whether for good or ill, their daring ruse worked; the message was received uphill at the main camp, and Jia Xu shook his head. “If they refuse to bend, then they must be broken,” he sighed. “All forces, advance on the Hojo. One more strike should put them down.”

“But sir, what about the reports of reinforcements?” someone asked him.

“The Shu army is still pinned down to the south,” Xu said confidently, shaking his head. “As long as we hold them there long enough to accomplish this other task, that is all we need. We can turn our attention to crushing them after.”

Pang De was beside him, and looked absently toward the gate through which their own remaining forces marched. “The Hojo fight bravely. They must know that they have no chance, yet they refused the summons to surrender.”

“The folly of honor,” Jia Xu sniffed. “It pushes otherwise brave and intelligent men to do ridiculous things. I thought their clan bonds were weaker, but no matter. Whether one dies or they all die, it is the same to our overlords.”

De was not so sure. Cao Pi did not seem like the type to so quickly move to destroy capable men, but he couldn't be completely sure these days. He had been out of contact with the other lords of Wei for so long that he knew nothing of current developments – and Jia Xu had told him nothing. At least, he had few suspicions that Jia Xu was intent on happily working for Da Ji, but he also didn't fully trust this strategist of Cao Cao's. His strategies were efficient, but also merciless. He took up his halberds and strode to the gate to wait for his chance, expecting that sooner or later, he would also be called to the field to fight. He did better with fighting, this commanding from behind a wall was not his style. “Would that I had the men of Xiliang with me. I will show you what honor can do.”

“What, my substitute cavalry isn't enough for you?” Jia Xu glided up beside him, unhooking the chain of his blade from his belt. “It was the best I could do on short notice.” 

“They are fine, for run of the mill battles,” De sighed. “But in a true fight, against skilled cavalry, they would fold easily.”

Xu harrumphed quietly. “Then we shall have to tell Lord Cao Pi that you need some real cavalry under your command. I doubt the Lady knows good horseflesh from a hole in the ground.”

De grumbled loudly. “Too right.”

Whether it was because they hadn't received accurate reports or because the defeated snakes of Orochi's original army refused to tell them who had actually beaten them out in the valley, they had no idea that the Sanada wing was coming up a back path directly towards them, nor that Yueying had the forces necessary to finally break through and head north. While Cottonmouth slammed the full force of their final wave of troops against the weary Hojo, he failed to see Magoichi's rifle troops coming up on their flank until they were being attacked on both sides. Zhang Bao and Wei Yan together charged up the hillsides toward the secure fortress at the top, and even as they came into view of the enemy's main camp, the three horsemen charged out from around an embankment and rushed to join them. Because of their sheer speed they gained the door before the enemy could close it on them, but by then, the commander had no reason to bar their entry. If they were coming for him, so be it. Yet, Jia Xu moved in front of him, pushing him back out of the way and preparing to meet the attack first. Both Yukimura and Nobuyuki slid out of the saddle the instant they burst into the fortress, and mutually charged the strategist, dodging the swings of his sickle at the end of the chain and cutting in with spear and swords swinging. Jia Xu had never seen the like of these brothers of Honshu, they fought almost as well together as Yukimura and Zhao Yun. He had little chance against them, but fought determinedly until the younger struck a hard blow with his spear, giving the elder an opening for a follow-through. Yukimura immediately turned his attention to Pang De even as Nobuyuki wheeled his paired swords around and subdued the enemy strategist with a blade to his throat. Jia Xu wisely let go of his weapon and showed his empty hands in surrender as Zhang Bao came to Nobuyuki’s side to assist.

While the last of their infantry, men of Wei all of them, did their best to defend against the sudden incursion, Yukimura strode through the chaos to meet Pang De. The stolid man of Xiliang stood waiting in the center of the fortress, halberds held low at his sides. He reminded Yukimura a little of Maeda Toshiie, in that sense. “So you are the mighty Pang De,” he said as he came on. “I have heard from my comrades that you are a fine warrior and a man of honor.”

De squinted at him from under his helm. “You have me at a disadvantage, young man,” he grunted. “Yet I can see that you, too, are a powerful fighter as well as an honorable man.”

“I am Sanada Yukimura, and I have come to test you,” he responded, whirling his spear around into position. “The Hojo are safe from your tyranny, and now it’s time for you to take Orochi’s snakes and leave here.”

“Tyranny?” De’s scowl deepened. “If you think I have any wish to oppress anyone, you certainly have not heard the truth from your friends.”

“Then why do you side with evil?” Yukimura pressed. “What do you have to gain from Orochi?”

Pang De’s eyes closed briefly. “It is not my place to ask such questions. I know of no other way than the way of the warrior – to fight, to obey, to live and to die. If you wish to test me, then bring me your spear, not your questions!”

Yukimura slid into an attacking stance, the tip of his Crimson Fang low and his body tensed for action. “So be it!”

Whirling the pair of halberds around, Pang De charged him, attempting to power through him and overwhelm him with his two-handed onslaught. But Yukimura was not the pride of the Sanada for nothing, and easily evaded him before turning the attack back on him, his spear jabbing and swinging too fast for a heavier, slower fighter to counter. He circled around the armored man, parrying the halberd blades and then darting between them, the spear's blade constantly ringing off De's armor as he landed blow after blow. It might not have injured him, but each hit was like a punch to the chest, sapping De's energy and winding him rather quickly. Pang De retaliated, though, never giving up no matter how many hits Yukimura scored on him, and kept sending the younger man backwards into a moment of retreat to find his footing and circle around to a new angle. He spun his halberds again and hacked at Yukimura, only to find himself blocked by the spear's shaft and then shoved back. For a moment there was an equal opening, both had the chance to strike a winning blow against the other, leaving it up to speed. Yukimura was clearly faster, drawing back and then driving forward with a hard, fast, efficient blow. His spear connected with Pang De's chest and then scored upward, adding a twist that sent the heavier man tottering sideways, unable to regain his footing and his momentum. Yukimura followed through with a sideways strike, leveling the shaft of the spear and slamming it underneath De's arm as he flailed, finally putting him down. A flick of his wrist turned the Crimson Fang so that the tip of the blade hovered over De's chin, silently demanding his surrender. Closing his eyes, De released his grip on his halberds. “I yield,” he panted, his entire chest heaving beneath the plates of armor. “I cannot...cannot continue...”

Seeing their commander beaten, any soldiers still on their feet inside the garrison dropped their weapons, immediately surrendering. They had no officers left to lead them, both of the Wei retainers had been captured and the snake demons who had accompanied them on this errand had fled rather than return to assist. Zhao Yun and Yueying came to Yukimura's side, facing their foe with serious expressions. “What, then, shall we do with these men?” the lady openly wondered.

“They cannot be permitted to return to bolster the Orochi army,” Zhao Yun stated. “We have an opportunity, here. Take them into custody and treat their wounds.”

Pang De's eyes went to him in amazement. “Lord Zhao Yun...”

Zilong met his gaze for a moment and then nodded to confirm his orders. He set a hand on Yukimura's shoulder, then. “That was a fine match, my friend. Stand down, you have done well.”

Yukimura withdrew his spear to allow their own soldiers to drag Pang De to his feet and properly take him captive. “You are better than this, Master Pang De,” he said in a low tone. “Orochi does not deserve your loyalty.”

“Orochi does not have my loyalty,” De grunted. “Lord Cao Pi does. I need not explain anything to you.”

He turned away, as if demanding that his captors take him out of the presence of these officers. Now that they had defeated the pursuing army, the fortress at Shizugatake was theirs for the taking if they so wished. In doing so, they prevented the demon captains from returning to claim any supplies or wayward Wei soldiers for their own use. Many of the army that had been left out in the valley simply melted away, disappearing either to their own purposes or allowing the snakes to corral and keep them, but those left holding the fort gave up their arms and allowed themselves to share the fate of their commanders. Despite Zhao Yun's first impressions, the cavalry did not actually contain any of Pang De's compatriots from his homeland of Xiliang, and no one who should have rightfully been in the Shu army instead. He stepped back and allowed Yueying to handle the ordering of their camp and the preparations for their rest and recovery, and watched Jiang Wei direct the sentries to look after their security while he himself casually strolled around the garrison. Now that the battle was over and the Hojo were safe within their ranks, Zhao Yun could allow himself to relax just a bit, and turn his attention to the well-being of his own men. He was curious about Yukimura's intense reaction to meeting Pang De, but allowed his comrade some space to rest before pouncing on him about it. In contrast, Magoichi was flitting everywhere around the garrison, observing everything and saying little of what he was thinking, getting into everyone else's business along the way. He, too, had noticed Yukimura's comments to their enemy, and watched him warily from across the open yard before slinking up to Yueying. “So, babe,” he said rather flippantly, “what do you think about our prisoners, eh?”

Yueying closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to keep from turning and snarling at him, or worse. “I refuse to talk to anyone who addresses me like that.”

“Whoa, sorry,” Magoichi chuckled, leaning back out of the way as if expecting to be hit. “I can't help it, you know? I just wanted to touch base, that's all.”

“I'm sure you can help it,” she grumbled before giving him a peering look out of the corner of her eyes. “What is it, Master Saika?”

“It's about Pang De.” Magoichi rubbed his unshaven chin. “What do you make of him? I mean, I might not know the guy from fighting him, but I watched him fight Yukimura. His heart wasn't in it at all.”

Yueying turned more fully to him, not expecting such insight. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, surely you've seen men in battle enough to know when someone's got conviction, and when he doesn't.” Magoichi cast her a smirk that made his eyes twinkle rogueishly. “A lady like you? I know you're well-versed in the ways of men and how they fight, and I don't mean which weapons they use.”

She looked away from him, then, flushing a little. “Must you make everything sound so vile?”

“I totally didn't mean it that way,” he assured.

She shook her head slowly. “I had not thought about it, but there is something to what you say. I know enough about Master Pang De through Lord Ma Chao to know that he is a man of honor, and not ruthless and cold the way so many officers of Wei can be. In a world such as this, it is entirely possible that he has no idea what path he should be taking. Or, even that there is more to surviving in this place than simply clinging to past loyalties.” Yueying looked back at the marksman hovering at her shoulder. “But, that is only speculation. I cannot speak for him, you would have to ask him yourself.”

“Mind if I do that?” Magoichi straightened up and shrugged. “I mean, couldn't hurt, right?”

As much as she disliked the way the man kept hanging around her whenever they were in the same stronghold together, Yueying knew that Saika was skilled in many areas, capable of digging out the most hidden information from unusual sources and tactfully discovering small changes that could be turned into major advantages for their army. When he was behaving himself and doing his scouting, he was one of the most useful men around. She regarded him for a moment. “I would not stop you,” she said at last. “I suppose he has little choice now but to be subjected to whatever we do to him, including enduring nosy questions.”

“Aw, come on, my lady. I'll be tactful!” Magoichi promised, raising his hands defensively. “I swear! What's the worst that can happen? He could just get annoyed with me and clam up and say nothing, and we get to cart him to Chengdu to enjoy a lovely stay at our private accommodations. But if I'm right...” He raised a finger smartly and winked. “We just might gain ourselves an ally.”

Yueying gave him a dubious look, but relented with a sigh and a nod to dismiss him to go and do his worst. At least it meant Saika would leave her alone for a while. Magoichi sauntered off across the garrison, stepping around soldiers rushing this way and that to set up camp and idly waving to Zhao Yun as he passed, heading for where the two Wei officers were kept bound. Though they were treated well, they still had to be kept captive, regardless of whether they could be trusted not to try to escape. Jia Xu was watching the goings-on around the camp with shifty eyes, but Pang De sat quietly, divested of helmet and armor so he could be examined for wounds. He did not look up as Magoichi strolled on by and casually leaned on the wall a few feet away. “Well, well. Doesn't look like you two got off too badly, all things considered,” he smirked.

Jia Xu glanced his way. “Is that how you see it, then?”

“I merely meant, it doesn't look like you're dead or even nearly-dead,” Saika smirked. “Coulda been worse. What do you think, is Orochi gonna be mad that he lost another one?”

The Wei strategist sighed and shook his head. “I really don't care.”

“That's certainly different from what you were saying earlier, Master Jia Xu,” Pang De broke in. He shifted his eyes over to regard Magoichi. “And just who are you, to the Shu resistance, then? I expect another man from the future.”

“Pretty much. Saika Magoichi of the Saika Renegades, at your service. Though,” Magoichi chuckled, “I guess it's not so much service if you're our prisoners.”

Jia Xu eyed him a bit more. “What, then, do you plan to do with us?”

“Eh, that still hasn't been decided,” Magoichi admitted. “Everybody's cooling down after that big rush, they'll probably talk about their options later tonight. Don't be surprised if you end up a guest of the Shu Resistance at Chengdu, though. At least until the tides have turned and Orochi's on his way out, however long that takes.” 

Xu chuckled softly, darkly. “You think it would even be possible? To turn Orochi to rout.”

“Anything's possible in a world like this.” Magoichi folded his arms over his chest as he lolled on the wall. “You just gotta open your mind and see beyond the obvious, you know?”

Pang De could feel the marksman’s eyes on him, and wondered if that off-handed remark were meant for him. “What, then, has become of the Hojo?” he asked quietly. “Reports from the field were woefully off the mark, if they did not even see this Shu army coming.”

Jia Xu grumbled a little under his breath, as it has been his mistake to underestimate Shu and thus, his failure. Magoichi gave a short laugh. “Really? It’s not like we were that stealthy about it. Nah, the Hojo came through just fine. Every single one of ‘em survived. Things looked a little dark, there, but Zhao Yun and the others made it in time.” 

“Ah. Good.” De closed his eyes again. “They are fortunate to have such valiant allies, who would come to their aid at all costs.”

“Wow. It's not every day you hear a commander say he's relieved to hear his enemy survived the battle,” Saika pointed out. “I wonder. Is that the real Pang De I'm hearing, finally?

De raised his head and turned to peer at him over his shoulder. “What do you mean by that?”

Magoichi straightened up off the wall and leaned toward him instead, smirking widely. “Come on, old man, how about some honesty? You look like you'd rather be anywhere than here, that's for sure.”

“Wouldn't you, if you had been captured?”

“Fair enough. But I meant before that. Unless you were going easy on Yukimura...”

De's gaze shifted away, at that, and happened to catch the green-and-silver clad warriors clustered some distance away, talking seriously among themselves. Yukimura and Zhao Yun were busy about camp matters and didn't notice what was going on with the prisoners. “Of course not,” he grumbled. “A man of his stature doesn't need anyone giving him an easy fight.”

“So.” Magoichi laughed again as he straightened up. “You got that much figured out. I wonder what your real reason is, then, hmm?”

“I am quite tired of your speculations, Master Saika,” De grumped at him. “Don't you have anything better to do?”

“Not at the moment.” Magoichi stood there gazing at him a moment longer, and then raised a hand to wave and catch Yukimura's attention. He got even more than he bargained for, as both Sanada and Zhao Yun assumed he needed them for some reason and strode right over. As they did, Pang De groaned under his breath, not wanting to face them but having no choice in the matter. Magoichi deftly stepped forward to meet them, so that they could have a conversation right in front of the prisoners. “Hey, Yukimura. Good work out there.”

“I was only one of many,” Sanada said with a little toss of his head. “The Hojo did their part, and Lady Yueying had things well in hand on the other side.” He glanced toward the prisoners, his face still as serious as it had been upon finishing the battle. “Master Pang De. Are you being treated well?”

De lowered his head, wishing he still had his helm to hide behind. “Of course. Your army is honorable to do as much for their captives as they do for their own men.”

“It isn't mine, but Lord Zhao Yun's.” Yukimura gave his comrade the quickest of fond smiles, it was gone in an instant.

De looked up again, this time toward the Tiger General. “Yes. There have been rumors that you were leading the Resistance. I believe Da Ji herself mentioned that she wanted you dead.”

Yun blinked at that blunt admission. “....oh. I-I see.”

“Tell me, Lord Zhao Yun...” Pang De's eyes hardened. “What has become of my countrymen? Do you know?”

Yun breathed a quiet sigh, his shoulders relaxing. “Yes, I do. Lord Ma Chao is with Oda Nobunaga, another resistance leader. I have not seen him in a long time, but we have had messages passed through mutual comrades. He and his cousin are fine. Quite well, last I heard.”

“I wish I could say the same for myself,” De muttered. He shook his head as if to try to take it back. “What reason would he have to serve another lord, and not be riding with you?”

Zhao Yun shook his head slightly. “While my lord Liu Bei is still being held by Orochi, I do not begrudge anyone who feels they can be of good use to others. I know he is safe, so if Oda can use his strength, so be it.”

“That's a pretty noble goal for yourself, though, Zhao Yun,” Magoichi noted, not that he needed to. Pang De had gotten the point already.

Yun smiled vaguely for Magoichi's sake. “Yet, my goal is my own, and only one of many that must be accomplished before Orochi can be brought down.”

“There you go again, talking big,” Jia Xu interjected. If he was going to be subjected to this chatter, he would have his say, too. “You think your rag-tag army of homeless rejects is going to accomplish something as dangerous and nigh-impossible as defeating Orochi?”

“One thing at a time,” Zhao Yun said wisely. “We're going to free his captives, first, and take back everything he's stolen from us. Including Lord Liu Bei. I care not if you think it impossible, it will still be done.”

“I guess it's not so easy for somebody from Wei to sympathize with,” Magoichi drawled. “They've got everything, more or less. At least for now, until Orochi gets bored with them, too.”

Jia Xu's brow twitched slightly. Pang De heaved a sigh. “Lord Cao Pi has his reasons,” he said, “even if I am not privy to any of them. He is more close than ever.”

Yukimura regarded him for a moment. “Master Pang De. If you had the chance to choose who to fight for, not based on old loyalties but honor and justice alone, would you remain with Cao Pi?”

Conscious of Jia Xu's eyes on him, eagerly awaiting the answer, Pang De met Yukimura's gaze for only a moment. “Do not ask me this. I don't know what you think you see in me, but you are likely mistaken.”

Zhao Yun set a hand on Yukimura's shoulder. “Come. Let us leave him be, for a while. We can decide the fates of our prisoners later, we have more than enough to do in the meantime.”

Nodding, Yukimura turned away from them, beckoning Magoichi to follow. “Right. Nobuyuki needed to speak to me about something.”

They wandered off across the compound, leaving the captives to mull over their situation on their own. Pang De had much to think about, particularly now that he knew that Ma Chao was not only safe, but carrying out noble missions as part of the resistance. And here he was, the last of Cao Pi's forgotten lackeys, sent to obey Da Ji as a means of keeping her out of his business just a little longer. Of course, now he only had captivity to look forward to, in the best case scenario, so his reasons for obeying Cao Pi seemed of little consequence anymore. He had no problems with his lord, but at the moment it seemed that whatever the young master of Wei was up to, the fate of a couple of officers sent far afield did not heavily factor into it. Sighing again, he resolved to show the honor of a warrior and sit tight, and accept his fate with dignity. He did not expect someone of Zhao Yun's grace and gentleness to execute him, but he knew they were right – they couldn't just send him back to Cao Pi. Prison, then. He deserved it, he thought. He had strayed so far from honor that it didn't matter anymore. He should share Sun Jian's fate, it was only right.

The rest of the Shu army spent the waning day looking after the camp and taking care of matters, wrapping wounds and setting up tents, preparing food and sending sentries out to keep tabs on the retreat of the failed Orochi soldiers. By evening, even the commanding officers were more than wiped out and merely sat around the warming fire outside their tent. “If we are to take the prisoners back to Chengdu,” Yueying was reasoning, still alert enough to want to think and plan, “then you should come along with us. We could use the extra hands, and you look like you could use the rest.”

“I cannot,” Zhao Yun demurred. “We have much to do ourselves, we have been intent on traveling to Jieting ever since we left the Takeda camp and we keep getting sidetracked.”

“I don't suppose there is any chance a couple of Wei officers would have any information on Lord Liu Bei,” Jiang Wei said tiredly. “Else, I would recommend asking them.”

“It's not like time is of the essence, or Jieting is all that important,” Magoichi shrugged. “We could go anywhere else and try the same tactic, there's Orochi strongholds all over the place.”

“I wonder who now holds Odani, if Sun Ce has defected from Orochi and left,” Zhang Bao idly mused.

“What about Yuan Shao?” Yukimura asked Zhao Yun. “I share your sense of urgency, my friend, but we are close by. We could check in with him, and see if he remembers anything.”

Yun made a bit of a face. His desire to continue his search without any more delays burned hotter than almost all his other yearnings, but he couldn't ignore the rather logical proposition. “When you put it like that, I suppose. But I would not want to linger too long. A day, perhaps. A quick visit.”

“The people of Chengdu would welcome your presence even for that short spell,” Yueying encouraged. “It isn't that morale is falling, but it always does well to keep morale up to see the commander once in a while.”

Zhao Yun relented with a weak nod. “Very well.”

“Lord Ujimasa. Would you consent to resting up there?” Nobuyuki asked the Hojo lord.

The older man nodded. “I would be honored to be allowed to see the great city of the kingdom of Shu. We can rest there as easily as anywhere.”

“Better, because you will have the protection of the walls of Luo Castle,” Jiang Wei assured.

“And there are others there who would welcome you,” Yueying encouraged. “Just before we set out, the Nanman arrived from down south. The great king Meng Huo and his wife finally put things in their own lands in order enough to allow them to come to us and pledge us their aid directly.”

“Ah, that is good news indeed.” Zhao Yun’s eyes lightened a bit, hearing that their efforts had finally paid off. Suddenly, their army was looking rather large and impressive – large enough to attract Orochi’s attention, no doubt, especially if they were all concentrated in one place and not divided between castles. Such a thought darkened his mood again almost immediately, which only Yukimura seemed to notice.

They talked collectively for a while longer as night deepened around them, but Zilong’s attention was no longer focused on matters at hand. He felt Yukimura’s hand subtly brush his knee and glanced his way, to see him looking still so grim. He nodded, and as one the two of them got up, excusing themselves to have a last walk around the camp to check their defenses before retiring to bed. It was not a flimsy excuse for other entertainments, for both were too tired and thinking about too many things to want to resume their secret activities from the other night, but they didn’t mind taking this walk together, two pairs of eyes to scout for trouble where one might not be enough. They said nothing at all as they went, but walked so closely together that their shoulders brushed now and then. Halfway through their rounds, a private soldier came up to them just before they reached a guardpost. “Lord Zhao Yun? One of the prisoners is asking for you.”

“Me?” Curious, Zhao Yun changed paths to attend to this summons, with Yukimura glued to his side. They came up to where the two captive officers had been bedded down separately from their soldiers, and found Pang De sitting up awake still, intently awaiting them. He looked up, his expression unchanging even as he noticed that he was getting two officers for the price of one. “I received your message,” Yun murmured as they approached, not wanting to call attention to this nighttime conference. “What is it?”

Whether or not Jia Xu was asleep, he was at least not in immediate earshot at the moment. “I wished to ask you one more thing,” De said quietly. “I am glad you brought young Sanada with you, for he may be able to answer as well.”

Yukimura blinked at him. “I will do my best.”

De dropped his gaze, searching the ground for the right words. “There were a number of additional officers sent with us by the Orochi main army. Did any of them survive?”

“You mean the demon officers?” Yun wondered. “Most of them fled. They have a tendency to do so, once the tide of battle turns against them.”

“As I thought.” De scowled hard at the ground. “There is no honor in the Orochi army, and I have allowed myself to think as they do, to follow their lead in order to protect my lord. This is a sacrifice I do not think I can make. I will surrender to your army. Take me to Chengdu, I will be your willing hostage.”

“That may not be necessary.” Yukimura took a step forward. “Whatever the others may say, I still felt passion in the halberds which crossed my spear today. You are not a defeated man yet, Master Pang De. You simply have lost your path.”

“And if I am to find it…?” Pang De squinted up at him in the dim firelight. “A captive cannot make that journey.”

“But a free man could.” Zhao Yun understood what his comrade was getting at, and stepped alongside him. “You see before you a union of armies from across time. The faithful of Shu and the valiant Sanada, who have the same goal in mind.”

“We believe in ourselves and our allies,” Yukimura continued for him. “It keeps our feet on our path without stumbling. We have come a long way already, even though we still have further to go.”

Pang De gave the pair of them a strange look, at the way they spoke almost from the same single mind. It was a unity of purpose and heart that he hadn’t seen in a long time. “Earlier, you seemed on the edge of asking me to turn my back on my lord.”

“I’m not in the habit of convincing people to betray their loyalties,” Yukimura admitted. “But in this world, things are a little different. It feels like we’re coming to a crossroads, and battle lines must be drawn. Those who wish to see Orochi toppled must work toward that goal, and not hinder one another for whatever reason.”

“I have not had any contact with the Wei army, aside from occasional battles,” Zhao Yun added. “I cannot even pretend to know the mind of Cao Pi at a time like this.”

“Nor can I.” De huffed a short sigh. “It isn’t that I don’t trust him. But I cannot see what he does. I feel as though he is already on a different path than I am.”

“Where, then, does yours take you?” Yukimura asked hopefully.

“I don’t yet know. But it will be a path of honor.” De looked up to meet his gaze. “I only know that I will not find it while I still cling to my old ties. I must break away from Wei while I have the chance.”

“Join us,” Yukimura said eagerly. “We fight for honor, and to protect the innocent. Your strength is great, I know it just from our battle today. It would be put to much better use with the Resistance.”

Pang De glanced from him to Zhao Yun and heaved a short chuckle. “You are extremely convincing, young Sanada. I would not beg for my freedom, but if you would offer it so willingly, I would be a fool to say no.”

“He does have that effect on people,” Yun said wryly. “I ought to run it by Lady Yueying, but as commander of this army, I extend the offer officially. Would you lend us your strength, Master Pang De?”

“If you would have me, Lord Zhao Yun.” De regarded him proudly. “I know we have never fought together, but if Lord Ma Chao can be counted your equal, then I would humbly accept the chance to see you in action again.”

Yukimura waved for one of the guards to come and set him loose, and give him back his armor and weapons. “I suppose we can make room for one more in the command tent. What about your comrade?”

“Master Jia Xu? No, his loyalties are firmly with Lord Cao Pi,” De sighed as he rubbed his wrists and accepted a hand getting up. “Hold him captive if you wish, but he is a shrewd strategist and may have other ideas in mind already.”

“Then we will pit his mind against Lady Yueying and Master Jiang Wei,” Zhao Yun assured. “In the morning. For now, let us clear this matter up and find you some decent quarters.”

Pang De bowed in respect to them both, and gladly followed them across the camp to where a few of the officers were still hanging around. Magoichi’s unshaven face split into a wide, knowing grin when he spotted them coming. The rest needed a little convincing, but in the end accepted this turn of events. Regardless of where he had been, Pang De belonged with them, and they would be glad to have him.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Players on both sides of the conflict move to begin the epic battles at Nagashino and Guandu. Meanwhile, Sun Ce's forces come into a bit of good luck. Note: this chapter rated M, actual naked touching here.

A dreary, soaking rain fell on Xuchang the day messengers arrived with the biggest news since the fall of Wei at Yiling. Only a few days before had first Cao Ren, then Yue Jin returned to the fold, the latter bringing with him the bad news of the failed errand in the Saika Territory. Cao Pi had been rather distressed to hear the outcome of the battle, particularly that three of his stoutest officers had been wounded to the point of being unable to travel, but he bit back his reaction and kept his cool mask on around his men. He already knew that Jianye had been raided and the prisoner lost, and now this; fortune was beginning to turn against him. It meant something different to him than it would to his ally Orochi, but either way, it meant he needed to tighten his control on his army and once again see to things directly. Cao Ren would be crucial to him, with Zhang Liao and Xu Huang temporarily unavailable. Yet, the only person around the castle who had any idea of the Wei lord’s inner struggles continued to be Ishida, as Cao Pi let no one else, not even his own relatives, see the slightest crack in his armor. That rainy day, however, even Mitsunari could not keep everything under control.

The first messenger brought the challenge from the Takeda-Uesugi alliance directly to them. Yue Jin’s report of Takeda’s teasing message had been the warning, and here was the confirmation. No sooner had Cao Pi retired to his war room to peruse the information in its entirety and another messenger arrived from the Orochi main army, carrying urgent orders from Da Ji. They, too, had received a challenge, and troops were already moving to meet it. Mitsunari snatched this missive from the messenger and then chased him out so he and his lord could pour over it together. The skies outside were so dark from the gray pall of rain clouds that every lamp and candle inside was already lit, bathing the war room in a warm glow that barely chased the chill away. Laying out Da Ji’s orders next to the letter from Takeda, Mitsunari stood and glowered at both of them. “So this is what they’ve been up to,” he said in a low tone. “All along, biding their time, storing up the resources they would need to make a move this grand.”

Cao Pi moved up next to him, looking at both missives as well. “Is there any possibility of this being a trap?”

Ishida frowned deeply, covering his mouth with a hand while he thought. “Doubtful,” he finally answered, speaking half through his fingers. “Even if it is, we have no choice but to walk into it. Takeda is shrewd and careful. He would not issue an open challenge if he didn’t have the power to back it up. This threat is real. If we don’t meet them in battle, this alliance army will just keep marching across the land until it finally encounters a force big enough to stop it – and given how many resistance cells are out there feeding into the instability, that might not happen until Orochi himself is roused from his hiding place.”

“Then, they are essentially daring us to stop them,” Pi noted. “And thus, our taskmaster sends orders to go and do so at the same time.”

“Well, she’s gone and lost Tokugawa, now, so she’s starting to run out of warlords,” Ishida snorted. “Looks like it’s us and Sun Quan again.”

“Is that all?” Cao Pi began to pace the length of the strategy table, clasping his hands behind his back beneath his cloak. “Whatever happened to those massive powers she should have under her control? The ninja, I forget his name. The man you know, Maeda. Lu Bu. Even Date, what _is_ she doing with her resources?”

“Beats the hell out of me,” Mitsunari responded, setting both hands on the table in front of him and leaning on them. “Considering the reports from your wife at Jianye, Dong Zhuo is healthy again and capable of fighting. I know Date left there, I have no new reconnaissance on where he was headed. But you’re right, there are others even above them. If she’s so panicked about Takeda and Uesugi, why is she sending us?”

Cao Pi glanced over his shoulder at him. “You believe she’s panicking?”

“The tone of the letter reads like it.” Mitsunari nodded toward the missives laid out before him. “If she didn’t write it herself, the scribe who did was scrambling to keep up with her dictation. They’re turning out everyone from Fan Castle, and clearly that won’t be enough. Part of me is starting to think we’re the only ones close enough to actually reach Nagashino ahead of the alliance and do something about it.”

“That is probably more likely than you think.” Pi turned and strode back slowly, his gaze on the map in the center of the table. “Orders or not, I will have to go myself and lead our troops. Cao Ren and Yue Jin will have to come with us.”

“You.”

“…pardon?”

“Not us, you.” Mitsunari had been reading Da Ji’s letter again, and looked up with a cold glint in his eyes. “She’s called me to her.”

Pi’s blue eyes widened, and he hastened his step to reach the strategist’s side and see for himself. Sure enough, the end of Da Ji’s orders included a request for Mitsunari to return to her side and report on the status of the alliance with Wei. For a moment, his face registered anger, that she still believed herself to be in control of both of them such that she could make demands so freely. Then, he tossed the letter back onto the table and turned his attention fully to Ishida. “Will you go?”

“Do I have a choice?” Mitsunari lifted his head and met the young lord’s gaze; he didn’t look any happier to have received these orders. “If I don’t, she’ll know something is up.”

“If you do, there is a chance she will keep you. Moreso if she is the least bit suspicious that we’re plotting together behind her back.”

That made Mitsunari look away with a little growl. He didn’t want to leave, and not just because they actually were plotting behind Da Ji’s back. He didn’t like the idea of being separated from Cao Pi, even if he wasn’t sure why he felt that way. “I won’t let her keep me,” he finally said, a bit petulantly. “I’ll make my report and find some excuse to return.”

“Then, find out from her just what she’s thinking. If she’s suspicious, if she thinks you’re still under her thumb.” Cao Pi’s expression was unguarded, he appeared to dislike losing Ishida as much as he disliked being lost. “I can’t promise to rescue you, if we’re all killed at Nagashino.”

That made Mitsunari snort, a tiny spark of humor returning to him. “You won’t be. Takeda and Uesugi are good, sure, but so are you. I make no promises for the rest of your men or Sun Quan, though.”

“In that case…” Pi smiled coolly. “I will need you to fill me in on everything you know about these two warlords – before you even think of riding away out of my sight. You are far more valuable to me right in this very moment, Da Ji can wait. Let her stew about whether or not she holds your leash.”

Mitsunari grumbled and looked away. “She doesn’t,” he said curtly.

“I know that.” Pi took a step closer to him, intruding on his personal space and towering over him. When he spoke again, his voice was low and without its usual icy edge. “Your place is with me, now. I would claim you as mine, but you can find your own way without a heavy hand to guide you, I’m sure.”

The choice of words made Mitsunari blush quickly before he realized they probably weren’t quite meant that way. Or were they? “I choose who I will back,” he affirmed. “Now that you’ve proven to me that you’re willing to undermine Orochi from within, I know I’ve finally found what I was looking for.”

Pi’s brow twitched. “Is that so? And what is that, Ishida Mitsunari?”

Mitsunari gave him a wry half-smirk. “Why do you think I decided to place myself in Orochi’s service in the first place?”

Cao Pi was genuinely surprised to hear the admission, and somewhat amused – he still couldn’t claim to know Ishida well enough to believe him to be speaking the truth. “Really. You also wanted to work from within? I see. Then, perhaps Da Ji’s ‘match made in heaven’ was not far off the mark after all.” He shook his head and turned away to give his strategist his space back. “I will not let her keep you. If you have any trouble, we shall see what the situation is like after this battle, and move accordingly.”

“Possessive, much?” Mitsunari eased alongside him and reached to move the letters out of the way so they could study the map and talk war. “I will return, whether she likes it or not.”

“Gather as much information as you can in the time being,” Pi said, more a suggestion and less an order. “I want to know if anything has been done about Sun Ce, what the current reports are regarding Zhao Yun, all of it. I cannot count on our men to bring us this news, the only ones still far abroad are some of my lesser cousins, and Jia Xu with Pang De.”

“Will you be calling in reinforcements from Jianye?”

“There’s no time. Given the timing of the orders from Da Ji, they need us to move immediately.”

“Right. Well, then,” Mitsunari sighed, “let me tell you what I know of Takeda. You might want to call for tea, this is gonna take a while…”

It wasn’t quite raining where the small army protecting Sun Ce had holed up, but it was dark and dreary, moreso without a fire. They were cautiously making their way through territory overrun by Orochi’s forces and had to go dark in order to keep from calling down legions of snake demons onto their heads. They had made a slow go of it since coming down from Hulao Gate into open lands, and found Zhao Yun’s information to be correct, that there was no immediate danger at hand. They had wounded, so they made secret camps here and there in order to give their men time to heal up, at the end of which they finally started to make their slow journey across more dangerous territory. Though they had not made definite plans for meeting back up with their scattered officers, Sun Ce remembered discussing Hefei with them, and so they were, in essence, creeping their way eastward in a vague attempt at reaching Hefei sooner or later. If the others remembered that talk, they too would be heading in that direction once their own errands were complete. At least, so Ce hoped. Zhou Yu thought it as valid a plan as any, and helped to order the march to keep quiet and unseen as much as possible. Yet, reports from his scouts today had him worried. Someone might have picked up their trail, somehow. He hastened the troops on, letting Ce lead, while he brought up the rear to reconnoiter with their scouts. Before too long he had his confirmation, and urged them to even more speed before jogging forward to report to the commander. “It’s true,” he said as soon as he came into earshot of Sun Ce. “Someone is following us. And it is no small army.”

“Damn,” Ce breathed. “Think we can outrun ‘em?”

“No, I don’t.” Zhou Yu looked grave, but not hopeless. “Our best bet is to leave this path and cut up into the trees, and then hunker down to wait and see if they pass or not. As stealthy as we can be. I don’t wish to ambush them unless absolutely necessary, we should simply hide and try to throw them off our tail.”

“All right,” Ce consented. “You heard him, men! Up into the trees!”

Their path wound through a valley that didn’t clearly belong to any one land, territory, or time period, thick fir woods screened them from view and made the gray day even darker. It was a good place to hide, so long as their men didn’t make a big production out of it. They slipped up into the trees as quickly as they could, spreading out and dropping down out of sight in small clusters of two or three at a time. Once satisfied with the preparations, Zhou Yu directed Zhu Ran and Sun Ce to help cover their tracks before they, too, found an overgrown thicket in which to settle down to watch and wait. They didn’t have long. Further back along their trail they could hear the clear clamor of horses and a great many men, possibly even supply wagons, but they were slow in coming. Yet, no sooner had all of their own men quieted and ducked out of sight, covering even their armor and weapons, and a lone figure appeared below them, walking along with a light tread, shoulders hunched as he scanned the ground. For a moment, Ce could have sworn he recognized that stance, and had to stifle a little gasp of hope. No one could have possibly heard that small noise, and yet the figure paused immediately, looking around. As he turned and the dim light revealed his shape, his clothing, his weapon, Zhou Yu had to grab his sworn brother to keep him from jumping right out of the underbrush and running down to meet him. “Wait,” he breathed into Ce’s ear. “Let him make the first move.”

The dark blue shadow on the path below remained poised exactly where he was, straightening up and folding his arms. He was clearly waiting for the forces he guided to catch up, head slightly tilted as if to listen for other movement. When the first of the horses came around the bend, the shadowy figure raised a hand and gestured – not to his own troops, but to the hidden Wu forces up the hill from where he stood. Ce understood it to mean that he knew they were there. “Come on, it’s no use staying here,” he urged Zhou Yu. “Unless you want him to come up here and escort me down.”

“How did he find us?” Yu murmured incredulously. Yet, he knew Ce was right and relented, pushing himself to his feet. Ce jumped up and marched straight down the hill, carrying his tonfa in each fist but not posing any threat at all to the waiting ninja.

The three Wu officers emerged from the trees just as the horses came to a stop, so that Tokugawa and Hanzo could behold them in person at the same time. “Well!” Tokugawa exclaimed at the unexpected meeting. “It looks like you were right, Hanzo.”

Hattori Hanzo’s eyes were on Ce, though, peering over his face mask. “Why did you leave the forest?” he growled. “That was ill-advised.”

“I told you,” Yu smirked.

“Because if you knew we were there, we couldn’t have ambushed you even if you _were_ here to attack us,” Ce reasoned with a shrug. “But you’re not, are you?” 

The ninja shook his head once. “Hanzo has been working hard to try to track you, for a long time now,” Tokugawa replied for him. “We’ve run into a few snags of our own, trying to meet up, but at last, here we are.”

“To what do we owe this unexpected encounter, then?” Zhou Yu wondered.

The man riding just behind the warlord swung down out of the saddle. “I brought them, just like you wanted, my lord.”

“Good work, Lu Su!” Ce said brightly. “Does that mean you’ve left Orochi, too, old man?”

Tokugawa made a small face at being addressed so casually, but he could hardly begrudge Sun Ce his enthusiasm. “Yes, we have. And we’ve been looking for you, to give you whatever aid you need. It sounds like you’ve had it rough.”

“We should keep moving,” Hanzo muttered even as Lu Su and Zhou Yu clasped hands in gratitude to one another for taking care of their respective parts of the mission. 

“Come on, we’ve been hiking nonstop for what seems like forever,” Ce groused.

“He’s right, though, my lord,” Yu said, turning back to him. “Let’s quietly fold our force into this one and continue on as one. As long as they haven’t been trailed, it is as safe as going on as we were.”

“Here, Lord Sun Ce, take my horse,” Lu Su added.

Much as he didn’t want to be the sole one riding when the rest of his worn-out men continued on foot, Ce knew the purpose of putting on appearances, and nodded before swinging up into the saddle. The men of Wu came back down the hill out of the trees, and as the Tokugawa forces moved out, the others gradually melded in with them, slipping in between their ranks and becoming indistinguishable from one another in the dim light. Ce watched as a very petite female ninja darted past him and joined Hanzo, and the two of them dashed ahead to scout and keep the way open, but he didn’t ask their fellows just who that was. He turned to Tokugawa beside him, and for a fair distance they quietly told one another their stories of where they had been and how they had managed. The battles at Xia Kou and Wan Castle made for good tales, but also hid valuable information in them, about who was allied with whom and where these forces were moving. Zhou Yu listened carefully from where he walked beside Sun Ce’s horse, one hand resting on the animal’s flank to make sure he didn’t stumble. In time, the narrow track began to descend out of the trees, headed for a river they could see in the vale ahead. Night was beginning to draw on in earnest behind the clouds, and a quick report from Hanzo assured them that the land for miles in any direction was completely empty of Orochi forces. They could make camp by the river in relative safety, and now that their forces had joined up, their army was just large enough that any old raiding party of snakes or conscripted fighters could not take them. Still, they were careful about the camp’s cooking fires and placed their tents as close to the eaves of the wood as they could to keep them screened from unfriendly eyes.

Once encamped, it fell to the lords and their strategists to do more than just swap stories. They had to decide what to do, and there was no reason to delay that talk. With cups of warm, fragrant tea in their hands, they sat around the lamp in the main tent to go over their options. “I still think we should try to get to Hefei,” Ce declared with a huff. “Obviously, it’s going to take time to get there at our speed, and there’s some pretty dangerous Orochi-held territory in the way, but it’s our best bet.”

Zhou Yu nodded. They had been of one mind about this for so long, but Tokugawa had not yet heard of this development, so he explained. “When we parted ways with Lu Meng and Sakon, we had talked about Hefei as a possible destination. If we cannot meet up with them by chance, as we did Lord Ieyasu, they might head there as well.”

“Shima Sakon has really had a hand in a lot of this, hasn’t he?” Tokugawa noticed. “You trust him, I take it?”

“As much as I would any of my own men,” Ce said firmly, nodding. “Sakon refused to go back to Oda and said he’d rather join up with me. I want to give him that chance.”

Tokugawa’s eyebrows nearly shot off his head. “Is that so? Interesting. Well, it sounds as good as any other plan we could devise. If I had information that would change your minds, I would have already given it to you.”

“We don’t have any maps on us at the moment,” Zhou Yu went on, “but I remember enough from our days inside nice castles that Hefei is a considerable distance from Hulao – and on the other side of Orochi-held lands, no less.”

“I managed to abscond from Odani with some information,” Tokugawa offered, “but you have it right. You’ve come further south, but a direct line between those two territories would have had you walking straight through Orochi’s stoutest strongholds. Diverting south and skirting up between the occupied castles and the sea will be our safest path right now.”

As if on cue, Hanzo melted out of the shadows and unrolled a map in the center of their gathering for them all to consult. The Orochi-held fortresses at Guandu, Fan, Odawara, and Bai Di were clearly marked, as this had been a map made by loyal Orochi retainers for the Orochi army’s use. “And we know they hold our own lands of Jiangdong, here,” Yu added with a brush of his fingertip along the coastline, “because Lord Sun Quan was always keen on being assigned to Xin Di Castle.”

“It is no stretch to assume that some of these lands, while not held by Orochi, are places where the army has the freedom to travel without fear of being attacked,” Tokugawa said wisely, also pointing at the map. “Nagashino for one, Sekigahara over here for another. There are no castles or fortresses in these lands, only battlements and fortifications for wartime.”

“You know those lands from your time, then,” Ce realized. “What do you think? Is one better than another or are they all the same?”

Tokugawa gazed at the map in silence for a while, rubbing at his goatee. “The only thing I can say for certain is that Orochi, in whatever fit of pique drove him to create this world, did not bring us cities and farmlands. He brought us battlefields. Some are castles, yes, but some are simply places where either my people or yours made use of the terrain and threw up temporary forts to serve during battles. So, if we need to plot a route through these lands to get to Hefei, it would be my suggestion to move from one battlefield to the next. Open land may be empty of Orochi forts, but if any of them were to fall on us, we would have nothing to help us – no fences or garrisons, no way of knowing whether the terrain favors us or them. We would be at the mercy of chance. If we route ourselves past these named fields, we would at least have the benefit of a palisade wall here and there to duck behind, should any of the Orochi army spot us moving.”

Sun Ce looked to Zhou Yu, who nodded. “His logic is sound. Quite astute.”

“All right, then.” Ce slapped his hand on his knee. “We’ll do it your way. Take the long way around, so we’re not doing something stupid like riding right under the walls of Bai Di, and pass by some famous battlegrounds just in case.”

Tokugawa breathed a long, rumbly sigh as he eyed the map. “Sekigahara is a field I know all too well. If it is as it should be, there are cannons there – large ones, such that it would take more than a mere army to pick up and move if they wanted to. As much as I really don’t want to disturb the ghosts of the past there, it looks to be the safer and wiser of the routes. If we get attacked, we can use the cannons to our advantage. Besides, Nagashino is a bit too close to Fan Castle for my comfort, and I know Da Ji was keeping some reserve troops there.”

“The further out of the way from anything Orochi, the better,” Lu Su agreed. “Avoiding Fan is wise for multiple reasons.”

“I will find us a way through Sekigahara, then.” Ieyasu nodded curtly. “And in due time, I will be able to stand with you when we look out upon your homelands at Hefei.”

No one in that tent knew anything of the moves about to be made by the Resistance armies at the very places they discussed, but fortunately for them, they were some distance away and likely to spend a few days sitting tight while they planned their route and prepared for a very long march. Without an army or lord to supply them, they were forced to live off the land as they went like any vagabond group, taking days out of their march in order to hunt enough meat to feed the entirety of their forces or looking for signs of unprotected villages who might have rice and wheat to barter for protection and labor. Thus, the meeting broke up with the decisions made, but no plan to break camp just yet. They were in a good place to do some hunting, so as long as they weren’t likely to be spied out by any enemies, they would take a few days to do just that. At last, Sun Ce and his officers were given their own tent in which to lay their heads, something the young Wu lord did not take for granted. He and Zhou Yu had a separate section for themselves – the perks of being a lord – and even as his comrade secured the tent flap, Ce threw himself onto his pallet and stretched out, almost wriggling in the blankets like a cat. “I can’t believe our luck!” he said happily. “I get to sleep in a _tent_ again! I never thought I’d hear myself say that but I don’t even care right now – I will take the leakiest, moldiest tent over sleeping on the bare ground a minute longer.”

Zhou Yu smirked broadly as he crossed to him, already undoing his sash and making sure their weapons were within reach of their beds. “I will remember you said that, so that next time you actually complain about sleeping in tents…”

“I will _never_ complain about tents ever again in my entire life,” Ce interrupted, grinned. “I swear it!”

“I will hold you to that.”

He busied himself peeling off layers, delighted to be able to not sleep in his clothes for once, until Ce spoke again – much more softly this time. “Are you really gonna sleep over there?”

Smiling to himself, Yu folded his arms behind his neck and made a great show of sweeping out his long, loose hair with them, with his back to his lord. “Our beds are an arm’s length apart,” he scolded in amusement, “that isn’t close enough for you?”

“It’s a bit chilly,” Sun Ce retorted. “Maybe I just want to keep warm.”

Turning to him, Yu looked down at him sprawled out, all of the tension and fear absent from his posture at last, and knew he really couldn’t refuse. But they had only just made it to this camp, and the rest of their men were right on the other side of a canvas wall, so if he wanted to favor Ce he would have to be creative. Yu took the few steps over to his bedside and swiftly dropped onto him, sitting astride his waist and trapping him there on the pallet. Ce let out a small chuckle and rested his hands on his sworn brother’s thighs. “I won’t lie,” Yu murmured, “I like to see that you’re already so comfortable that you’re suggesting what you’re suggesting. Until this afternoon, I’m sure the thought hadn’t even crossed your mind for weeks.”

The smirk faded off Ce’s face, and his eyes sobered. “Longer than that,” he admitted, moving his hands in long, slow sweeps up and down the length of his thighs. “I’ve been so focused on keeping us all alive, I don’t think I’ve even considered touching you since the night we decided to defect.”

“And even then, you didn’t,” Yu recalled. “You passed out exhausted before I could even get to bed.”

“That’s true…” Ce smiled more softly. “You’re right, though. Suddenly, it’s like a weight’s been taken off my shoulders, and I can think about more frivolous things. I guess the security of a camp and an extra army at your back does that to you.”

“It’s good, though. Not to always be thinking about life and death, I mean,” Yu said. “You have a lot of responsibility, and I hate to see you consumed by it. I know, it was necessary…but I’m still glad that you have a moment to set it aside and breathe freely.”

Ce looked up and met his eyes. “Does that mean you’re up for trying something?”

Yu gave him an exasperated look. “You can stop begging, Ce.”

He had already shed his armor and extra layers, even the tiger skins, but Sun Ce reclined still dressed in his sleeveless tunic and silk trousers. It was easy to slip a hand between the edges of the tunic and spread it open, giving Yu full access to his lord’s broad, muscled chest. For a few silent moments he gently massaged those muscles, working his fingertips across the breadth of his body. Ce’s eyes drifted closed in a content little smile. “You have exactly all night to stop that.”

“If you’re going to talk the whole time, I’d suggest watching your tone in case the others overhear.” Yu withdrew his hand and stretched out on top of him, nestling against him and draping his arms on either side of Ce’s head. Hazel eyes snapped open again, and Ce grinned at the face just inches from his. “I mean it,” Yu scolded. “That wall behind me is rather thin and Zhu Ran is not a heavy sleeper.”

Ce chuckled a bit. “I’m not the one still talking, though.”

“You could be.” Zhou Yu’s expression softened, calming a bit, as he reached to untie Ce’s topknot and let his hair flow free. “We haven’t talked of anything besides practical matters, of which direction to travel or who stands sentry every night, for so long.”

Sun Ce snaked his arms up around Yu’s waist to keep him there, and let out a little purr at the fingers combing through his unbound hair. “I know. But you already know my mind, what is there to share?”

“I like to think I know your mind,” Yu said with a smile back, “but you still surprise me. I want to hear it from your own lips, Ce. Your own voice.”

Ce pretended to pout, since this was getting in the way of more intimate touching, but he relented rather quickly. “All right, then, what do you want to know?”

Anyone who knew him might have expected Zhou Yu to ask something about plans or strategy, but no, he meant it when he said he wanted to talk about something else. “What’s really on your mind, that I don’t ask after enough because I, too, have been so consumed with our journey and our army.” He kept threading his fingers through Ce’s brown hair as he held his gaze. “You must worry so, about your father…”

“Of course I do,” Ce murmured. “That’s not hard to figure out. But I’m worried about my brother and sister, too.” One hand crept up under the loose folds of Yu’s tunic, brushing up the smooth, warm skin of his back. “And our wives. We have a lot of family caught up in this and I worry about all of them, all the time. Even if I don’t let on,” he added, looking away.

Yu made a soft noise of sympathy and rested his chin on his sworn brother’s chest. “You don’t have to keep it to yourself. I know, there are some things a lord shouldn’t freely show among his men, but this is a unique situation. We are all refugees together, they will understand.”

“It’s not that…” Ce tipped his head back, catching Yu’s eye again. “I don’t mind showing a little emotion around the men. I’m not like Cao Pi, I don’t make like nothing ever bothers me. But it’s my duty to make sure they all get through this. They’ve followed me faithfully, I don’t wanna let them down. They need me to stay focused and not always go around fretting about…about things I can’t fix right now.”

Yu raised an eyebrow slyly. “Is that your story?”

“It’s all I’ve got.” Ce cracked a small smile and brought one hand up to brush his comrade’s long hair away from his face. “But I’ve got you, too. I promise, if I feel like I need to get something off my chest, I know you’ll be there for me.” His finger brushed back down along Yu’s cheekbone to his jawline. “What about you? Feeling like spilling any secrets?”

Zhou Yu matched his smile. “I already have. But, you’re right…I’ve had the same thoughts. I have no way of knowing what’s become of my lady, I can only hope the Resistance found her. And as much as I know it helps no one to worry, I still worry.”

“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Sun Ce threaded his whole hand up into Yu’s hair and used it to bend his head down so he could kiss his forehead. “I know. You put on that face for everyone, so they can’t see how you feel. You’re a lot better at it than I am.”

“I don’t enjoy being better at it,” Yu softly complained. “At least you see through it.”

“At least somebody does. Well,” Ce said hopefully, “until we meet back up with the others. Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m guessing Lu Meng can see right through you, too.”

Yu’s smile was sly and coy. “Most of the time. You still take the prize for managing all of the time. But then…I’ve never been able to lie to you, my friend.”

“That makes me feel like a pretty lucky guy.” Ce caressed him and then let his hand slide back down, from neck to shoulder and down his back to join the other. “I miss them. I know we’ll manage, but I still wouldn’t mind having Zimeng and Ran and all of them at my side again. Even Sakon…I really like that guy.”

“What I said earlier was true,” Yu noted. “I honestly believe they know to meet us at Hefei, as soon as they are able. For that, all we have to do is be patient. It saves us the energy to worry about our families instead.”

Ce nodded to accept this. “In the meantime…” He pressed his hands flat against the small of Yu’s back, holding him close. “…I got something I definitely _don’t_ want off my chest.”

Yu closed his eyes in exasperation. “That was terrible.”

“What?” Ce grinned all over again. “It’s true.”

He could only pretend for so long that he wasn’t going to give his sworn brother what he wanted. Zhou Yu failed to suppress his smirk and bent his head to press a real kiss to Ce’s waiting lips, not at all surprised to find himself drawn in and ravaged rather quickly after. There was no hesitation at all, and Yu gladly agreed to the pace by wrapping his arms around Ce’s neck and diving in to meet him. It had been a truly long time since they had a moment to themselves for such things, and the taste made both realize how desperately they needed it. Ce’s hands were pawing at Yu’s tunic in no time at all, trying to pull it open without untying it first, and Yu began to wriggle and slide his way down to Ce’s hips, repositioning himself so that both of them could get the most out of it. Ce groaned against his lips at the friction and movement, and a moment later found himself being treated to those same lips moving down his neck and into the open gap of his tunic. Gentle fingers pulled it even further open, and tendrils of Zhou Yu’s long hair tickled his chest as he bent to kiss every inch of exposed skin as it was laid bare to him. Yu treated him to as much as he could stand and then abruptly pushed himself up, only so he could unlace his own tunic and throw it off. It was, actually, a little cold in the tent, but very shortly neither of them would have to worry about that. From where he was seated astride Ce’s hips, Yu had an excellent view of his bared chest and the perfect spot in which to grind a little, to let his companion know what he intended and would get down to in just a moment. Before he could, Ce reached to grab him, getting a handful of hip and thigh and then tugging at the drawstring of his trousers to set him free. Yu likewise snagged at a lacing and loosed the rest of his sworn brother’s clothing, pulled out a growing erection, and smiled tiger-like at the way it grew even harder in his grip. Ce’s callused palm glanced along his own, drawing an eager shudder out of him, and then he was falling, draping himself back down over Sun Ce from nose to toes and pressing their hips together so that heated flesh rolled comfortably against one another. Yu snatched another brief kiss and then nuzzled against Ce’s cheek. “I’ll keep you warm,” he promised, prompting Ce to growl happily, a noise that made him chuckle in turn. There wasn’t much room for rolling around and getting wild anyway, so snuggling on the pallet and grinding their way to ecstasy would work just fine for them. Once sated, Sun Ce would find it easy to fall asleep despite whatever worries still floated around the back of his mind, as the first patters of rain began to fall on the canvas roof above their heads. It was a soothing sound, primed to lull them both to a content slumber.

  


The larger an army, the less likely it would be able to move across the landscape unseen or be involved in any kind of mission requiring stealth, and Oda’s attack force was no exception. Yet, the plan laid out by Takeda and Uesugi went a long way toward drawing off most of the Orochi troops who would ordinarily be hanging out in the lands surrounding Guandu, Fan Castle, and other strongholds in the region. It was clear that the greater part of the might of Orochi’s army had already been drawn off toward Nagashino, judging by how empty the fields and forests were and how easy the Oda Resistance actually had it. They did not announce their passage, though, they went as covertly as they could, given the size of the army and the noise made by supply wagons and horses. Fleet-footed messengers ran the gauntlet between their position and Nagashino to the south, bringing Oda Nobunaga the latest updates on the movements of his allies. He had to time this perfectly, he could not launch the assault until he had word that battle was already joined elsewhere. As a result, he kept his army camped quietly on the other side of a hill from the broad paths leading to Wuchao, holding their ground and preparing for the moment their orders would be given. To that end, he kept Toyotomi busy ensuring that not a single wide-ranging Orochi scout knew they were there, and if they happened to be spotted, those scouts could not return to their masters alive.

The sun was setting behind the hills, turning the autumn-colored landscape a rich gold, the perfect lazy evening for sitting on a porch with a good wine or lounging beside a quiet koi pond. Alas, the officers of Oda’s army were not so lucky, they had weapons to sharpen, saddles to tighten, and men to instruct in the specifics of their part in the overall strategy. They were all waiting on one last message, which could come at any time, so there was no opportunity to get comfortable or put aside duty for fun. Yet, the longer they waited, the more some were prone to fidgeting, so they started to cluster together to discuss the situation, repeat their plans ad nauseum, and speculate on what might be going on elsewhere. Only one or two had seen Ma Chao split off from the army earlier that morning, taking a fraction of the troops and three other officers with him, so very few even guessed that there was another plan within the plan. They could only assume the Shu officers were being sent around by another path to set up an ambush or pincer. Guan Ping remembered the orders given back at Honnoji, but he was sworn to secrecy, and could only nod to encourage the speculation. Talk turned instead to what their allies might find at Nagashino, as those familiar with the battlefield made suggestions about how best to make use of the bridges and whether Date would be there with riflemen to pull off the same defense trick that Oda himself once had at the same location. Given the reports from messengers about the size of the Orochi army that had gone past them to meet this threat, it sounded like Takeda and Uesugi would be outmanned. Some wondered if they could finish the battle here quickly, and then ride to the assistance of the other army in time to save them from complete rout. Mitsuhide heard these worries from the men and shook his head slowly. “It won’t do us any good to worry about them, we must concentrate on the matter facing us here. They chose their path, and Lord Oda has faith in them.”

“But, Lord Mitsuhide,” Guan Ping fretted, “I’m more afraid for their lives. I know Lord Oda said it didn’t matter whether they win or not…but they could still all be killed.”

“So could we,” Lu Xun reasoned. “Fear of death will cripple a single warrior or an entire army. I’m a little concerned, too, Guan Ping, but Lord Mitsuhide is right. We’ve got to focus.”

“I know…I know,” Ping sighed.

“Lord Nobunaga knows exactly what he’s doing,” Toyotomi broke in, having heard this part of the conversation as he arrived. He sounded entirely confident in their lord’s preparations. “I know it’s scary, but he trusts our allies, so we’ve gotta do the same.”

Mitsuhide nodded wisely to him. “What news in the field, then?”

“All quiet on every front,” Hideyoshi assured. “Not a single scout to be seen far and wide, and the castle itself looks pretty quiet. We got within arrow-distance of it, it looks completely at ease.”

“I had not expected to have the element of surprise, with an army this size,” Mitsuhide said, impressed, “but it seems we have it.”

“Do not let your guard down, Mitsuhide. Even now.”

The interrupting voice belonged to Nobunaga himself, as he came over to see what his officers were gossiping about. They all bowed in respect and then resumed their casual stances. “Don’t worry, my lord,” Hideyoshi said brightly, “we’ve all got our heads on straight. Can’t help but be a little confident, you know? We’ve snuck up on a major stronghold without any resistance, after all.”

“And yet, I would not be the man I am if I did not suspect that our enemy knows we’re here,” Oda murmured. “In some way. Is everyone ready, then? Since you all seem to have some time on your hands.”

“As ready as we’ll ever be, Lord Oda,” Ping said warily. “I don’t know what else to do to prepare.”

“Everything is well in hand, my lord,” Mitsuhide agreed. “We are only waiting for the same report you are.”

“Good.” Oda’s eyes drifted to Lu Xun, who was already trying to make himself less of a target behind Guan Ping’s broad shoulder. “This will be the first we’ve seen real battle in a while, so I hope you are all rested and at your best. Show me what you’re made of. Victory will not fall into our hands easily, without full effort on everyone’s part.”

They all nodded, for whether or not they felt ready, they had to be. Even down to their friends and retainers behind them, waiting to move out with them when the orders came. “It’s a nice night for a fight,” Toyotomi enthused, looking up at the sky gradually turning pale and then indigo with the coming twilight. “Couldn’t ask for better. I really hate waiting, though.”

Beyond them, a clatter of hooves announced the hurried arrival of a messenger, which made Oda arch an eyebrow in interest. “Perhaps you won’t have to any longer, Monkey.”

He remained where he was, letting the messenger come to him and kneel to present him with his news. “My lord, the Orochi army has entered into combat with the Takeda-Uesugi alliance at Nagashino.”

“When?”

“As of mid-afternoon.”

“Is that so…” Nobunaga allowed himself a cool smirk. “Then, it is time. Rouse the men. We move without any further delay.”

All of the officers chorused a crisp, “Yes, my lord!” and split off in several directions to call their troops. Oda himself turned to gesture to his attendants, who brought his horse to him immediately. The messenger was allowed to withdraw to rest and wait, in case he was needed here during this battle. 

Once he had swung up into the saddle and arrayed his cloak around him, Nobunaga wheeled around to find his army responding instantly to his call. The officers were coming back already, some on foot and some mounted, with their individual cadres of infantry following in formation. Their commander smirked to see it, and raised his voice to give his final order before beginning. “We will attack on three fronts, as planned. Mitsuhide, you’re with me. Nagahide, I am relying on you to keep our main camp safe.”

Near to him, Niwa Nagahide stood at attention. “Yes, my lord! You can count on me.”

Nobunaga seemed satisfied with the defense left behind them, while he himself rode to the front. He could not keep his hands out of this battle, he was chafing for action as much as his men. Drawing his blade, which flickered purple in the deepening night, he raised it high over his head. “Da Ji will not be allowed to keep this fortress tonight. Bury her army in the rising tide of our victory. Advance!”

The army before him let out a collective shout of triumph, likewise brandishing their weapons, and began the march instantly. Oda spurred his horse into a charge, even as the sentries pulled back the wooden gates of the palisade that had been hiding them from unfriendly eyes. He thundered through at the lead, Mitsuhide just beside and behind him, with the rest fanning out from there. Guan Ping leaned low over his horse’s neck as he rode, following in the wake of his lord as one of his personal guard. “So it has begun,” he breathed, mostly to himself. “Lord Takeda, Lord Uesugi…our thoughts are with you!”


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The entirety of the Battle of Guandu.

Deep within the main castle at Guandu, Da Ji was doing her best to enjoy a quiet evening to herself, seeing as nearly every officer and retainer at her disposal had been sent to Nagashino. Yet, she was not without backup; she preferred the company of other women, if any could be had, and with the luxury of being able to order anyone she wanted to stay or go, she had decided to keep two women with her to guard the castle against intrusion. Daqiao looked ill at ease among so many demons, sitting mostly with her hands in her lap in a closed-off stance, but Diaochan seemed better equipped to handle so much ugliness around her. She was silently combing her hair and putting it back up into loops with her many jeweled pins and clips, privately enjoying a moment to show off her beauty right in front of Da Ji herself. The demon strategist lounged on a settee, seemingly uninterested in even the scouting reports coming in late from Nagashino, so long as she could just hang out looking and feeling superior. Their repose was abruptly shattered as one of the demon captains barged right into the room without knocking, all flustered. “Lady Da Ji! We’re under attack!”

“… _excuse_ you, don’t you have any manners?” Da Ji cast a snippy look at him. “What are you talking about, the battle isn’t anywhere near here…”

“No! There is an army coming over the hill, right here and now!” the snake flailed. “It’s a big army! You have to do something!”

Scowling at him, Da Ji slid off her comfy seat and plodded out of the room, heading straight for one of the big windows that looked out over the fortress compound. A quick glance showed nothing out of the ordinary, but the continued panic of her captain meant she would have to look into it for real. Across the courtyard, the battlements of the outer wall had nice, wide parapets from which sentries could look out, so she flitted up the stairs to a good vantage point and found the guards already staring and pointing. Following their gestures brought her attention to the path from Wuchao, where a confusion of activity and dust rising into the air pinpointed where Oda’s front line had clashed with the troops bivouacked far out by the supply depot. Da Ji’s perplexed gaze hardened into a glare for a moment before she recovered, shaking it off with a toss of her head. “Oh, no,” she moaned playfully for those around her to hear, “how awful! Our main force has gone and I’m all alone, whatever shall I do?”

Swishing around, she gave the captain an impish look and hopped down the stairs to the courtyard. “Don’t be such a baby. We have the upper hand, we’re dug in nice and safe here and we have troops from here to Wuchao and Bai Ma. I don’t know who this is who’s decided to interrupt my private time, but they’re going to pay. They’ll find out soon enough that we have other tricks up our sleeves, here at Guandu.” She noticed, then, that Diaochan and Daqiao had followed her out, out of their own curiosity or worry, and smiled for them. “Better go get your weapons, ladies. Just in case. We’ll see what we can do with our troops in the other castle, first, but there’s always a chance you could see a little action tonight.”

“Yes, my lady,” Daqiao murmured, bowing before ducking back into the castle to fetch her fan.

Diaochan was not so quick to move. “Are there orders, then, my lady?”

“Hmm, let’s see…” Da Ji made a great show of thinking about it. “Actually, if you could call up your men, that’d be great. Let’s send them to do the dirty work.”

Even though they were Lu Bu’s men, the retainers currently inside Guandu were following Diaochan around. For some reason they weren’t needed wherever Lu Bu himself had been stationed, so they backed his wife up in his place. Nodding demurely, the dancer left to call them to her and get them ready to face battle. As she did, Da Ji heard the creak of the fortress gate and turned to find a messenger being admitted. It was one of theirs, and he had blood running down the side of his face. “My lady! A message from the invading army!”

“Oh?” She was expecting a report, and so blinked in surprise when he held out a rolled parchment. The flower on the seal made her frown again, and what she read when she broke it and unrolled the letter had her near fuming. “That rat! What does he think he’s doing?”

The snake demon captain near at hand chanced a query. “…um, lady Da Ji?”

“It’s _Oda_.” The name roiled off her tongue like a curse. “Demanding my surrender! As if! Ooh, I bet he heard about Takeda and Uesugi and decided he would take the chance and go behind their backs to get at me!” She crumpled the missive in a fist. “This is the perfect opportunity to show him Orochi’s true power and knock him down a few pegs! You!” She immediately started pointing at soldiers to issue orders. “Bring a message to Hognose and tell him to hold Bai Ma at all costs, and use his special powers if he has to. Someone else take one to Keelback to tell him to get ready. Yellowbelly – gather your troops and lay an ambush between Wuchao and Bai Ma. That way, if any of them decide to try to take one or the other fortress from behind, you’ll stop them. You, take Lu Bu’s lackeys and head them off at Wuchao. And where’s that man I trained just for a moment like this? He needs to go with you. Now!”

Her soldiers scrambled left and right to obey. The majority were snakes but there were a few contingents of humans among them, mingled soldiers from various kingdoms who had been conscripted with their lords only to be sent out at the strategist’s whim. At least most of those would remain to protect the castle, while the demon hordes streamed out to meet the threat coming at them from three different pathways. The snake captain who had delivered the news straightened up and banged his spear on the ground. “What about me, Lady Da Ji?”

She made a face at him, but then came up with an idea. “How about this, Urutu. You’ve been so _good_ about bringing me news, you can be my bodyguard. That way, if anyone gets to me, it’ll be your fault.”

“U-understood.” Urutu made a very uncertain face, reptilian eyes shimmering with fear, but he knew better than to gainsay the demon commander. He slunk off to see to it that the castle gates were barred and well-manned so that no one could get in to attack her.

Da Ji looked around to make sure everyone had a task to carry out, and then folded her arms over her chest. “Good. That should do the trick. Oda thinks he’s so hot, but when it comes right down to it, I’m more demon than he is. I’ll have him groveling at Lord Orochi’s feet before dawn.”

Far to the west, the Toyotomis were enjoying a rather straightforward battle as they drove their way down the path like a spearhead, gaining ground slowly but diligently and keeping the path back to the main camp completely secured. To the east, Lu Xun was rather chagrined to have to fight alongside Zhang Jiao, but the old man was holding his own fairly well so far. Down the center, Oda’s advance on the Wuchao supply depot had met real resistance, but it was nothing he seemed very concerned about. With Mitsuhide and Guan Ping attending him, he almost didn’t need to bloody his sword, but he did anyway, showing the snakes by force what he thought of their conquest. His summons to surrender had been a mere formality, though some part of him really did enjoy writing it up, knowing it would be dismissed and battle joined regardless. He didn’t count on the type of response that came, though. There was a shimmer of light in the middle of the darkened plain, and Da Ji appeared before him in a swirl of magic that sent men ducking for cover around her. Oda reined in his horse and gave her a dangerous look in return. “Why, if it isn’t Orochi’s favorite pet. To what do I owe this show of magic tricks?”

Da Ji cocked her head flippantly. “Show, huh? I merely came to answer your letter. The answer’s no. If you don’t take your army and withdraw from Guandu, I won’t be held responsible for their deaths.”

“You assume you can even harm a hair on their heads,” Nobunaga purred. “I expected as much. So be it, fox. Get back to your den before I cut off your tails and use them to decorate my palace.”

She sniffed arrogantly at his threat. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Why don’t you try this on for size?” She waved her hand, and then vanished as abruptly as she had come. Within seconds of her disappearance, one of the lower-ranked lieutenants on foot just off to Oda’s left suddenly shuddered and clutched his head out of nowhere. Some in the area could have sworn they saw a purple mist weaving among them, surrounding some of the men, but others saw nothing. The lieutenant went still, hunched over, and then slowly straightened up, but stiffly, moving in odd, jerking motions rather like a marionette in unskilled hands. As he turned to his fellows, his eyes were blank, and he raised his sword to slash down at Guan Ping. Several other infantrymen staggered around and did the same, turning their weapons on their countrymen.

Oda frowned to himself while Ping held back the sudden betrayal with easy blocks from his giant sword. “Get a hold of yourself, Liu Fang!” he yelled at the officer. “What’s gotten into you? It’s me, Guan Ping! Stand down!”

“They’ve turned our own men against us!” someone else yelped.

“What is this, some kind of sorcery?” another wailed. “Hey! Hey, open your eyes! Don’t you know me? I’m – aaaaugh!”

Oda grumbled under his breath. “Meaningless trickery. Find who is responsible, and make them pay.”

Guan Ping could hear the anger behind his seemingly disinterested order, and wondered. There was no time to even comment, though, he had to break through the line and find whoever had done this. These men were loyal Shu warriors, gathered in by Ma Chao and Huang Zhong – some, even related to Lord Liu Bei, such as the man blankly beating at him with his sword. They would not have willingly betrayed their fellow soldiers, Ping was ready to believe that it came through sorcery. After all, Da Ji had made a gesture before teleporting. Maybe she had control of them! But then, Mitsuhide cut in front of him and struck Liu Fang across the back of the head with the blunt side of his katana, knocking him out. “This sort of thing,” he said sagely, “the person doing it must be nearby. Even with ninjutsu, the further they get from their target, the weaker their ability.”

“It isn’t Da Ji?” Ping gasped, abruptly turning to block another attack on his side.

“Not likely, unless she hasn’t retreated all the way to the castle.” Mitsuhide swung to keep men from swarming him on his horse. “The supply depot is through those trees, we’ll check there first!”

Ping had already dismounted and didn’t bother trying to find his horse, it was easier to forge ahead on foot. Great sweeps of his Young Dragon sent enemies scattering, as he bulldozed his way across the open ground toward a cluster of trees where faint traces of lamplight suggested man-made structures. Behind him, Mitsuhide moved quickly to fend off both Orochi’s soldiers and their own, doing his best not to harm their men. They would need the lot still capable of holding their weapons if they wanted to take the castle, not one loss could be spared. Guan Ping plowed through waves of snake demons and found himself racing toward a stout, closed gate, his huge blade held low as he came. There were a couple of units blocking his way, led by two officers who startled at the sight of the young warrior of Shu barreling towards them with such a dark look on his face, teeth gritted. They roused their men to stay with them, crying, “Hold the gates! Let no one pass into Wuchao! Men! Stand your ground!”

“What have you done to our men?” Ping raged at them as he came, a mighty swing of the Young Dragon sending one of the officers flying straight through the others and into the brush on the side of the trail. He didn’t recognize them, only that the tokens on their uniforms were Han. By the time Mitsuhide caught up with him, he had already cleared a path through them all and was hacking with all his might at the gate itself. For a moment Mitsuhide thought to restrain him, but one look at the thick timbers forming the gate and he realized that the young man’s strength was the only way in, if it was being held against them. Of course, all the noise meant they had absolutely no element of surprise, but it was likely too late for that anyway.

With a crash, the center of the doors collapsed in on themselves under the onslaught, more effective than any battering ram. Guan Ping didn’t even stop for breath but ran right in, though Mitsuhide checked before following. He knew his lord was right behind him, and glanced at him. “What if it’s a trap?”

“It isn’t a very good one, if it is,” Oda grumbled. “Whoever’s inside, take them down.”

“Yes, my lord.” Akechi spurred his horse onward, leading their troops into Wuchao while Oda watched their backs himself, placing himself between them and the men behaving oddly. It was frustrating, not being able to just hew them all down, he had to restrain himself and only knock them out so that whenever this spot of trouble was cleared up, they would still have that entire cadre of men to fight with them. Meanwhile, Guan Ping charged into Wuchao and looked around wildly for something to hit. 

The depot was dimly lit by torches on all sides, but there were still plenty of shadowy corners surrounding the tents and storehouses. Spotting movement at the edge of one of those shadows, Ping prowled around a fence and circled around into a small yard where a cluster of men stood busy at something rather unusual. A handful of snake demons attended them, clearly to guard them, for the men themselves were not wearing armor but rather long robes. As Ping blustered into their midst, the demons recoiled and immediately drew their bows, shrieking for backup. He lowered his head and charged again, sweeping Young Dragon up and across his path to deflect the rain of arrows that came at him. An instant before he could hack into the throng, however, one of the robed men turned flashing eyes on him. “Witness the true power of Orochi!” he intoned, raising his hand palm-outward toward their attacker.

Ping found himself hesitating, sword raised high. For a moment, a mist passed over his eyes, and the sounds of battle grew strangely distant. He couldn’t remember what he was there for, what he was even doing. Was he supposed to be battling? Where? Who? Yet, something in the back of his mind nagged, _Lord Oda will not be impressed if he sees you falter like this._

_Lord Oda?_ Guan Ping blinked. _But what about Lord Liu…Bei?_

The shrill neigh of a horse and the ring of steel brought him abruptly awake, as something swift and shining passed before him and tore into the cluster of men. Ping’s head cleared instantly, and he found himself still standing there with his great blade raised high, poised to strike without following through. The men before him were scattering, even as Mitsuhide came to a stop in front of him, shielding him with both armor and sword. “Are you all right, Guan Ping?” he breathed over his shoulder.

“I think so…” Ping lowered his sword to the ground and looked around wildly. He didn’t have much time to collect himself, there was another shower of arrows that he had to leap to block or parry. Mitsuhide sprang forward, chasing after the robed men and grabbing one by his flowing garments, pulling him back and then holding him captive with the katana’s blade to his throat. Guan Ping backed up to join him, once the coast looked more or less clear, and stared down at the prisoner. He was Han, no doubt, but to which lord he owed allegiance was uncertain. With a sharp edge dangerously close to his jugular, the man was in no mood to fight back, but his eyes went to Ping with something slightly less than fear, more like doubt. Ping stared right back at him – this was the man who had done something to him to make the night go all foggy around him. “Who are you?” he demanded. “ _What_ are you?”

“Neither a demon nor a ninja,” Mitsuhide observed, bending over him to put authority behind the sword at the man’s neck. “A priest?”

The man gave a tiny jiggle of his head to deny it. “A sorcerer,” he hissed, all the more he would dare to say when he couldn’t even swallow.

Mitsuhide’s expression darkened. Sorcery was something only rumored about in his experience, never real until this world. He didn’t have the knowledge to combat it when it actually existed and wasn’t merely a tale told by priests and monks to keep the pious fearing for their souls. “You’re the one controlling our comrades,” he realized. “End it. Lift the spell, or whatever it is you’ve done to them.”

The man just stared at him, as if afraid to tell him how the sorcery actually worked. Ping, at least, caught on quickly and brandished the Young Dragon, letting the firelight glimmer on the huge blade. “Maybe we have to kill the magician to make it stop,” he threatened.

Judging by the whimper and the drops of sweat glistening on his neck, it didn’t need to come to that, Mitsuhide deduced. He pulled the katana away so quickly his captive didn’t even notice his freedom, and then struck him hard with the pommel of it. As the man slumped senseless to the ground, they both heard a faint cheer beyond the palisade. “That seemed to have done it,” Mitsuhide murmured.

“No more of this sorcery,” Guan Ping said angrily, now that he realized even he had started to succumb to it. “We must end this.”

“First we must secure Wuchao,” Mitsuhide cautioned, looking around. “They can’t have left the sorcerer unguarded.” He raised a hand commandingly to his men swarming around them. “Search the depot! We will secure and raid the supplies later, right now a battle must be fought just to claim this ground! Turn out any guards and remove any and all resistance.”

He barely even got the order out when both he and Ping noticed a flurry of action heading straight for them. The commanding officer didn’t wait to be discovered, she came straight for them to stop them from advancing any further. Carrying two club-like maces low to the ground, Diaochan practically flew across the dewy grass without touching it, she came on so quickly, so gracefully and silently. Not so much the men with her. Even as Guan Ping dropped to a crouch to meet her attack, and Mitsuhide turned to allow himself to pull his sword in an iai, she swept to one side around them, nearly dancing as she evaded both of them, easily adjusting her steps to accommodate Ping’s slower, heavier movements compared to Akechi’s. It was clear the samurai would be better to keep up with her, and he nodded to the younger officer to send him off to handle securing the supply depot while he dealt with this. Diaochan’s attention shifted briefly as Ping hustled off, but Mitsuhide cut in quickly to keep her focus on him. “So you wish to play this game, do you?” she said demurely as she paused, bringing the maces around to defend herself. “I had a feeling violence would come of this. It cannot be avoided.” 

“Not in the midst of war, my lady,” Mitsuhide said respectfully. “If you will not stand down, then I will indeed have to get a little violent. Please forgive me.”

Her eyebrow arched slightly at him. “The men from the future are always so polite. It will get you killed, you know.”

“Manners have never earned me so much as a scratch,” he retorted, lowering his stance and grasping his sword. She came at him to test him, and received a swift iai that not only parried her strike, but cut so quickly that she almost lost a weapon or a limb. As it was, the slash tore through one of her draping sleeves, rather like a warning. Diaochan backed down a step, but then came right back into it, taking it more than seriously. Mitsuhide was not prepared to have her back-flipping and spinning all around him like an acrobat, but he was just as swift and parried everything that came at him. She certainly knew where to aim, sending her maces at his head or arms or vitals, but he was well-protected and his swordsmanship was far superior. As curious as it was to have this woman as his adversary, Mitsuhide could not allow it to go on too long. The battle would not suffer delays. As she glided in once more to try to sneak past his guard, he turned abruptly and thrust his well-armored shoulder into her, breaking her momentum. As they passed one another so closely, he dared to mutter, “There is something dark and disturbing about your dance, my lady.”

Diaochan reeled back with the blow, covering herself with one mace in defense while she tried to recover. “And when that darkness encompasses you,” she responded, “you shall be no more.”

“That is where you’re wrong,” he said boldly, but did not elaborate. Mitsuhide immediately went on the offensive, whipping his sword out toward her and jabbing and slashing with blinding speed. It was nothing like the first part of their fight, and Diaochan was rather taken aback by his prowess. It was too much for her, down she went even as Oda Nobunaga rode into the supply depot to check on the progress of his retainers. Mitsuhide did not want her to die, nor to escape, she seemed valuable, but Diaochan was a step ahead of him in that regard. No sooner had she hit the ground and her maces left her hands, than she swirled around in a dancer’s pirouette to get back up and then leaped with all the grace of a ninja to evade his grab. She stumbled, but managed to gain her feet and flee into the darkness, vanishing that much more quickly.

Mitsuhide sighed harshly as he realized he had failed, as Oda rode up beside him. “I take it that means you’ve captured the depot?” he said with a slight note of sarcasm.

His retainer glanced at him and straightened up, shrugging off his mistake. “It is as you see, my lord. What of the men, have they been returned to their senses?”

Nobunaga scowled in annoyance. “Such parlor games are only fit to amuse small children. Everything is in hand, Mitsuhide, worry not for the men.”

Nodding, Mitsuhide sheathed his katana and whistled for his horse. “Wuchao is now in our control. From here, however, we will have the same disadvantage that Orochi’s forces faced. This position is vulnerable from both sides, there are direct roads to Guandu from both the east and the west. Rather than concern ourselves with holding it, it is my suggestion that we split our forces again and push forward on both paths at the same time. The more we can divide Da Ji’s army up, the better.”

“Wisely decided.” Oda raised his flickering blade to call attention to him. “Now is not the time to stop and rest, we still have far to go before we can claim Guandu Castle itself! Mitsuhide, continue on through the forward gate, take as many men as you need and hold that path. Guan Ping, stay with me. We will return to the other road and continue to press southward.”

Both officers nodded to accept their orders, but before they could move, another out-of-breath messenger arrived in the depot and collapsed to one knee. He looked like he had ridden or run for miles. “My lord!” he gasped. “News from Nagashino!”

Mitsuhide turned toward him. “What is it?”

The messenger took a moment to catch enough breath to speak. “The Takeda-Uesugi alliance is holding its own!”

Oda allowed himself a hungry smile. “Excellent.”

“They’re holding that huge Orochi army in check?” Guan Ping repeated. “Incredible!”

“At least they were, as of several hours ago,” Oda cautioned him as he gathered up the reins. “You all have your orders. Onward!”

He rode out with Guan Ping trotting at his heels, not even bothering to find a horse again. Mitsuhide mounted up and took his men the other direction, out onto a darkened road bathed only in faint moonlight. It looked exactly like the kind of path the snake demons would use to get to and from their garrisons behind the front lines – the kind of path they needed to claim and hold, and exact a toll in snakeskin for any troop attempting to use it.

Far to the east, the lesser-ranked officers under the command of Lu Xun and Zhang Jiao had spread out as they met the outliers of the Orochi defenders, and some were busy battling back the snake captains while their commanders pushed as far forward as they could. Lu Xun had the benefit of his rank as a strategist, and all along had been allowed in every planning meeting with Kuroda and Akechi, among others. He knew the maps of this territory inside and out, and was well aware that the mission he had been given from Oda would have him eventually coming right up to Bai Ma Castle, a smaller fortress that sat apart from Guandu. They didn’t even need reconnaissance to know that Da Ji would have placed a large portion of her army in and around Bai Ma, it was a defensible position and difficult for attackers to engage. From this direction, only one bridge and one gate would allow passage in or out of the fortress, setting them up for a narrow choke-point. Then again, Lu Xun had reasoned, that also meant that Da Ji’s people would only have that one gate and one bridge by which to route their forces behind enemy lines. He and Kuroda had agreed that sending one branch of the army down this way to either invade or cut off such an advance was the wisest plan, which was perhaps why Lu Xun himself had been chosen to lead it. So far, so good, until they came abreast of a crumbling fortification and found snake demons pouring out of it in an attempt at an ambush. A snake captain led them, whirling his spear around into attack position. “So, you’ve decided to surrender your lives to us, have you?” he taunted as he came on.

“Surrender? Hardly,” Xun snapped back, bracing for the clash with his twin swords held in position. All he could see in the snakes was the living embodiment of the reason his lords had been blackmailed into serving Orochi, the reason they let Da Ji crush their spirits under her claws, and all he wanted to do was pay them back for every drop of Wu blood spilled at Hefei and Changban. His fury was cold, channeled into the Eagle blades, and nearly swept Yellowbelly entirely aside in the first onslaught.

The clash of battle could be heard at a distance, and even though sane people in safer locations were thinking about bedding down for the night, one person in this territory understood the sounds he heard and knew he would not be sleeping. He had been alone for so long that the chance to see people – warriors – again was hard to resist, and battle meant that one side was probably related in some way to the Resistance. At least, it was guaranteed one side was Orochi’s, so anyone who would dare to bring a fight to them had to be resistance fighters by virtue of definition. This lone warrior had given Guandu a wide berth, knowing that it belonged to Orochi’s army, but as he skirted the fields he realized that an attack this near to the castle had to be something more than just a skirmish. He pushed his way through the underbrush and emerged into the clearing next to the half-damaged garrison to find the area ablaze with torchlight, and fires in the grass where the torch-bearers had been cut down and dropped their burden. One side, definitely snakes. The other, an uncertain mingling of warriors in various types of armor, but all clearly fighting the snakes. _Looks like these guys are making life tough for Orochi_ , he thought to himself. _I guess I could help them out…and maybe they’ll be able to tell me what’s going on_. It was an easy decision to make. He slipped a set of nunchuku from his belt and darted out from behind the garrison wall, aiming to hit the first snake he came across.

The mingled Resistance army of Han, Shu, and some Wu officers was busy trying to repel this ambush force, they didn’t notice that a new fighter had appeared in their midst and was busy knocking down demon soldiers as he went. Among them, Zhang Jiao was doing his best, saving his magic for bigger battles and merely smacking enemies around with his staff. At one point he heard something coming up on his side and whirled with staff raised high to crack over a skull, only to find a young man holding nunchuku up in defense. “Whoa, whoa!” he cried. “I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but I’m on your side, man!”

“Our side?” the old sorcerer said imperiously, squinting at him. It was still plenty dark even with all the dropped torches lighting the grass, hard to tell friend from foe among humans. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Don’t get excited, it’s just me,” the young man sighed, “not another army or anything. But if you’ll take one more man on the field, I’m ready to bash in some snake heads.” 

Zhang Jiao considered this and then brightened up immediately. Bashing snake heads did indeed mean he was on their side. “Praise be!” he exclaimed in all his pompous audacity. “Your good deed will not go unnoticed by the heavens, stranger! Join us, and we will put this demonic force to route!”

“Uh…yeah, I kind of just said I would,” the other groaned.

Hearing Jiao crowing about something, Lu Xun turned to see where he was, and froze in the middle of battle upon discovering who the old man was talking to. Luckily, he came to his senses immediately and raced off, while the demon attempting to attack him while he stood unguarded brought down a spear into empty air, missing him completely. As he came running, he cried out, “Ling Tong!”

Ling Tong looked away from Zhang Jiao and then froze as well, staring. “No…it can’t be!”

Lu Xun forgot all about rank and decorum and crashed into his friend, hugging him fiercely. “You’re alive! I can’t believe it! I’ve been so worried about you!”

Jiao didn’t even see him coming and then he was there, and there was hugging. He was quite perplexed. “Ah, young master…”

“Watch our backs,” Lu Xun demanded of him, rather abruptly. “Give us a minute, would you?”

Shrugging, the old man did so, tipping his staff to shoot a jet of flame at some of the snakes and really give them something to shriek about. Behind his back, Ling Tong finally let go and held Lu Xun at arm’s length. “You’re in one piece, too! I’m so glad. Man, do I have some stories to tell you.”

“As do I,” Xun beamed. “Where’s Gan Ning? He wouldn’t want to miss a battle like this…”

Tong’s face fell instantly. “I don’t know. We got separated, weeks ago. I’ve been all on my own, since.”

Xun received that with some concern, but pushed past it and put a determined face on. “Well, you’re not alone anymore. Come with us! Er, let us get through this battle, first, and then you can join up with us.”

“Who’s ‘us?’” Tong asked, just to be sure.

“Ah, I’m currently with the Oda Resistance,” his friend replied.

Ling Tong’s expression clouded as an old thought, or perhaps a memory, flitted to mind. Sakon’s face, and his rough voice. “Oda…”

“I’ll explain later. Come on! We’re in the middle of an open assault on Guandu, and we can use all the extra manpower we can get. The old man and I are leading the way to Bai Ma to take it, if we can.”

Tong shook off his thoughts and whirled Rising Phoenix in one fist. “All right, I’m with you! Let’s go, Boyan!”

Lu Xun permitted himself one quick, happy laugh before turning and diving back into the fray. Stumbling on one of his own countryman in the middle of a battle was an unexpected stroke of luck, one which could only go well for them. Ling Tong did not seem the worse for wear, no matter how long he had been surviving on his own in his travels. He joined the fight without hesitation and performed as masterfully as ever, kicking and spiraling as he whipped Rising Phoenix across the heads and arms of every demon soldier he passed. With the two of them cutting a tandem path, it wasn’t long before Yellowbelly’s ambush was completely routed, and the Oda Resistance seemed to have a clear field ahead of them. Yet, Da Ji had not been kidding about her surprises. At the moment their enemies fled and the resistance army regrouped to press on, there was a shimmering of something unnatural in the darkness just ahead of them, like moonlight on water only in the middle of the air or along the dirt path. Lu Xun waved a hand to keep his men from advancing just yet, peering suspiciously at the trees just beyond. Then, one of his men yelped, and he turned to find some of the infantry waving their swords at thin air. “What is it?” one cried. “What’s happening?”

“This can’t be real!” another wailed, falling back. “They’re not even there…”

“What, what do you see?” Xun demanded of them, striding toward them. He heard the whisper of a weapon cutting through air and leaped back just in time as something whistled past his cheek. There was nothing there, but clearly a sword had just slashed down at him. He still couldn’t see anything, except perhaps a shimmer in the firelight like a mirage on the sand.

A similar phenomenon could be found at the front line on all the paths leading toward Guandu. Mitsuhide’s men found themselves stymied by the invisible army, Toyotomi even felt one strike his shoulder guard. Not far from Wuchao, Oda’s men stumbled back in terror, more frightened of what seemed to lay ahead than of their lord behind them. “Th-they’re ghosts!” a soldier cried as he fell onto his seat in the grass. “Our swords go right through them!”

Guan Ping had to pause to rub his eyes. “I can’t be seeing this,” he breathed, “yet…they’re right! They’re like phantoms…”

Nobunaga still sat astride his horse, wearing that same look of unamused disgust as before. “Hah,” he sniffed derisively. “A simple trick of the light. Ignore them, and keep going!”

The infantry wasn’t so sure, but one look at Lord Oda was all it took for some to find their courage. If he could plow forward without a care, they ought to be at least strong enough to follow. And plow he did, charging his horse right through the iridescent shadows thronging the path, waving their invisible weapons. A hit from one did hurt, but with no way to actually hit back, there was no point in hanging around waiting to be struck. The phantoms could not actually block the path, having no bodies, and Oda took advantage of it, riding straight through them without a care and zeroing in on a contingent of flesh-and-blood soldiers just beyond, attempting to hold a guard post against invasion.

The men under Lu Xun’s command were not so courageous, or perhaps they weren’t as cowed by their commander into pressing on. In their midst, Zhang Jiao was trying every trick he knew in turn, none of which were working. The phantom soldiers didn’t seem affected by fire or other types of magic. Seeing this, the old priest fell back behind the stronger fighters, but not to retreat. Rather, he closed his eyes and raised his staff as if using it like a dowsing rod, waving it this way and that. After a bit, Lu Xun heard him gasp. “I see it, I see it!” Jiao intoned, his voice rising until it rang out over the army. “This wickedness originates in Bai Ma Castle! There you’ll find the puppet-master pulling the evil strings!”

Ling Tong gave Lu Xun the kind of look that silently asked if this guy was for real. Xun shrugged in reply. “Then let’s not waste any time,” he ordered. “Advance on Bai Ma! Find the one behind this sorcery and take him down!”

“Yes!” Zhang Jiao enthused, shaking himself alert and beating all the soldiers to it, striding forth across the field. “I shall rain down divine punishment on the one practicing this devil’s work!”

No one was about to stop him, but the way he marched off straight down the path, eyes on the distant torchlight marking the gates of Bai Ma and seemingly unheeding of the phantom troops surrounding him, was enough to shame some of the infantry into picking up their weapons and forging on as well. Not to be outdone, the two Wu generals picked up the pace as well, exhorting their men to follow at all haste. “Seriously, though,” Ling Tong muttered as they went, “who _is_ that nut?”

Xun sighed. “Remember all the tales we heard about our fathers and grandfathers doing battle against the Yellow Turbans, in their attempt to stop the fall of the Han empire?”

“Yeah…” Tong blinked at him. “ _Him?_ No way!”

“That’s him, indeed. Pay it no mind, we’re a long way from home and he can’t really do the same thing here. But it looks like he might be useful after all.”

Ahead, through the trees, they could see the bridge spanning the river that wound past Bai Ma, and a small contingent of men holding it and the gates against enemy intrusion. The guard was light, perhaps because the snake captains both inside and out thought Yellowbelly could handle any incursion from the north and they would not have to do battle. To their dismay, the entirety of the eastward arm of the Resistance poured down on them out of the forest, and together Ling Tong and Lu Xun made very short work of the defense. Several of their men clustered together and, as one, formed a human battering ram, charging the door and throwing their shoulders into it. It was not being stoutly held, and the gates gave way after three or four good hits. Inside, they found that the old castle had been thrown into disarray by the lava fields that marked places where the lands were stitched together, and instead of firm walls and castle foundations, Bai Ma was nothing but a military camp with archery towers and a wooden palisade ringing it, as if thrown back in time to Yuan Shao’s glory days. The courtyard was thankfully clear of lava, but not of the enemy. As soon as the doors were breached and resistance soldiers streamed inside, the force guarding the castle turned to meet them, weapons raised. One officer in worn-looking samurai gear startled at the intrusion. “What? But Hognose’s sorcery was supposed to stop them!”

“So much for your precious creations,” another spat at the snake captain in their midst.

Hognose tipped his round head indignantly, eyes glinting behind his mask. “You doubt my power? These humans are nothing, I will deal with them myself!” He pushed past them and strode out ahead of the rank-and-file, raising his arms to the sky with his spear in one hand. “O mighty gods of chaos,” he intoned, “endow me with your divine strength!”

No one could see anything happening, but the demon seemed to be rather pleased with his entreaty, and roared to the heavens. Ling Tong was not inclined to let him start any more trouble, and rushed him, but one swing of the spear interrupted that plan. It caught him sideways right in the gut and flung him through the air, sending him crashing bodily into one of the tents that made up the castle’s encampment. Lu Xun ran to his aid and pulled him up to a sitting position before anyone could follow up on the attack. Groaning, Tong rubbed his head and then winced and wrapped an arm around his middle. “I didn’t know those bastards could hit so hard,” he complained. “What the hell was that?”

“He must have…” Xun shook his head. No, it couldn’t be possible. Had the demon actually been strengthened by his sorcery?

While their soldiers fought all around them, the two human officers sidled up behind the snake, taking some confidence from him now that he had proven his ability. Yet, of all the people in the castle at that moment, the only one to stand and face them directly was Zhang Jiao. He looked furious, a flame kindled in his dark eyes. “You fool,” he seethed at Hognose. “The heavens will never smile upon those who disrespect their laws!”

“Oh yeah?” the snake sorcerer shot back. “Then what do you call this?” He raised his spear, the shaft held in both hands, brandishing it over his head in triumph.

Jiao raised his arms as well in a commanding gesture, his staff held high in one fist. He said nothing, but after a moment, Hognose seemed to struggle where he stood, his brow furrowing. The two samurai beside him flinched and then charged, but something about Zhang Jiao would not allow them to land a hit. Seeing his determined defense, Lu Xun sprang back to his feet and raced across the compound, engaging the two enemy officers rather than let them distract Jiao from his purpose. He drew them away, whirling around them with his twin blades and darting between them to overwhelm them with his sheer speed. That left the old priest to continue to do silent battle with the demon sorcerer, and though no one could see anything actually happening, Jiao remained steadfast, his hands shaking a little with whatever power he commanded, while Hognose continued to wilt. At last, Jiao burst out, “Witness! A miracle of heaven!”

Hognose snarled under his breath, actually dropping to one knee as if the spear he held over his head suddenly weighed ten tons. “Impossible! My strength…it’s fading…!”

Not far from their position, the walls of Guandu Castle itself remained quiet and dark, as most of the activity was still contained elsewhere. By virtue of her demon nature, Da Ji could tell without having to see them that the phantom soldiers had been unleashed, just as planned, and smirked to herself. Surely, the humans had never seen anything like that before, and without the ability to hit them, they were certain to find only death by invisible hands. Yet, her confidence did not spread to her subordinates. Beside her, Urutu had only his eyes to go on, and what he could see from his vantage point high on the parapet filled him with trepidation. Oda’s front line was already past the last guard post, and soon they would be within view of the castle walls. “This isn’t right,” he fretted. “We never expected to be attacked here. And if Guandu falls, it could be all over!”

“Stop being such a coward!” Da Ji snarled at him. “Guandu is not going to fall! We have the upper hand, it’s only a matter of time before we crush these upstarts.”

“But what if they take Bai Ma?” Urutu countered. “We haven’t had a report from there in a while. If they hold it against us…”

“You’re making an awful lot of assumptions.” Da Ji glowered at him, and then turned to see who she had close at hand in the courtyard below. “The phantoms have been summoned, control of the battle is ours! Now’s our chance to turn the tables on them. Daqiao, seize the enemy main camp!”

Below her in the courtyard, Daqiao startled at the sound of her name and straightened up, looking up to where Da Ji stood at the top of the stairs. “Me? You want me to...” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “Uh, right, yes, certainly! My lady. Men, let’s go!”

The Wu soldiers who remained her faithful vanguard picked up spears and swords and agreed to follow her, so with one last darting glance of uncertainty at Da Ji, Daqiao led them to a side gate of the castle. There were many paths leading from their position up to where the enemy was encamped, but only one of them seemed least likely to be used. All the reports had the central paths filled with Oda’s men, but this western path might have an opening. At least, with the phantom soldiers going before them, she figured, they might have a chance to push all the way to the enemy camp.

The battle of wills in Bai Ma Castle had reached its peak. Zhang Jiao raised his hands as high as he could, stretching toward the heaven he so deeply revered, and then suddenly slashed downward with his staff, sending a wave of flames outward. Hognose had been reduced to cowering before him, unable to overcome his magic resistance, and the flames scorched him where he knelt. He tried to stumble to his feet and run, but Ling Tong had recovered enough to deal him a finishing blow, racing up behind him and slamming the nunchuku across the back of the bald, snaky head gleaming in the moonlight. The demon captain went down hard, plowing into another tent and laying still. Zhang Jiao wilted as well, breathing a huge sigh of relief and clapping a hand to his chest. “I did say,” he murmured, “not to disrespect the law of heaven. On your own head be it!”

Hognose could do nothing but gurble incoherently. “But I am a mighty sorcerer…”

“You’re a mighty idiot,” Ling Tong sniffed. “Good work, there, old man!”

Zhang Jiao looked delighted for a moment, but then an uncertain look creased his brow. “Old man? Really?”

Lu Xun had completed his rout of the other officers, and came back to meet them with a quick glance around the compound. “That should be the last of them. Bai Ma Castle is ours!” Their soldiers raised their weapons in victory, giving a collective shout. “Quickly, I need a messenger to take this news to Lord Oda. We must hold Bai Ma until the rest of our forces can get into position.”

While a messenger was selected and sent out, the other branches of the army seemed to guess that something good had happened elsewhere on the field, for the phantom soldiers abruptly vanished. Guan Ping stood down his huge blade for a moment to catch his breath, now that he could see that he wasn’t going to be invisibly attacked on any side. “The illusion has finally been broken,” he noted, cheering up and looking back to his commander. “There’s no sign of them! We should be able to advance, now.”

Nobunaga maintained his grumpy frown. “Foolish games,” he complained. “She is simply delaying the inevitable. If this is Orochi’s true power, then I am not at all impressed.”

Some of their soldiers called out, then, that a runner from the main camp was catching up to their position. Oda turned his horse to see, and indeed, there was a messenger headed for them down the path they had cleared. Like the last one, this messenger was rather out of breath, but the sweat on his neck was cold and his eyes were full of fear. “I bring news from Nagashino,” he cried even before hitting his knee. “Our allies are struggling, Lord Oda!”

Nobunaga arched an eyebrow in cool interest. “Is that so?”

Guan Ping leaned on his sword. “This does not bode well.”

“How long ago?” the commander asked sharply. “Before sunset?”

“Yes, my lord…”

“Then there is nothing we can do about it here and now.” Oda gave a single nod of his head to Guan Ping. “Put it out of mind. We have a castle to take.”

Ping pushed himself up. “Yes, my lord.”

“Lord Oda! Bai Ma Castle has been taken!” Lu Xun’s messenger caught up to them, there and then, full of as much triumph as the Nagashino runner was full of despair. “Master Lu Xun is holding it and is prepared to advance at your order!”

“Good.” At last, news to make Nobunaga smile slightly. “Remain here, that order will be given very shortly. Continue to the castle, do not stop until you can see the walls with your own eyes!”

The arm of the resistance force whose job it was to take and hold the western path was out of contact with the main army for most of the night, but their duty was in good hands. Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his son were in charge, and not a single thing went wrong for them, not even when the phantom soldiers appeared and held them at bay for a while. Toyotomi trusted the rest of his allies, and had nothing but happy things to say about them when the ghosts vanished as abruptly as they came, meaning someone somewhere else had done his job. As soon as the phantoms disappeared, however, a new threat came at them on the heels of the sorcery, as a contingent of actual soldiers in the russet of Wu came around a bend and poured down the path toward them. For a moment, the young woman in charge faltered, as she realized that this road was not clear at all and they would have to fight their way through for even the slightest chance at reaching the enemy main camp. It was exactly as Oda and his strategists had planned, he left nothing to luck. Steeling her resolve, Daqiao put on a serious face and kept going, raising the weapon in her hand and flicking her wrist to deploy the iron-bladed war fan at full size. She didn’t even know who was leading this charge, she couldn’t focus long enough to pick out a commanding officer by his different armor or anything. Hideyoshi had left his horse behind two bridges back, finding it easier to wage this battle on foot, but his helm was still pretty obvious to anyone paying attention. Hideyori edged up beside him and nodded toward the diminutive girl in the middle of all those burly soldiers. “If I’m not mistaken,” he said, “their target is the main camp. Just like Lord Kanbei said.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re right about that,” Hideyoshi agreed, following his son’s gaze. “Whoa, my…that can’t be who I think it is?”

“Huh? Who do you think it is, father?”

There was one good way to find out if his theory was correct. Hideyoshi broke from the pack and raced toward the girl, disjoining his staff into three parts as he came. “Come, now, do you really wanna fight?” he challenged, swinging the tri-part staff to clash with her fan. “Let’s see, pretty as a flower, big fan like that. You must be the lovely elder sister of our own adorable Xiaoqiao!”

Everything about him, not just the words he spoke, made Daqiao screech to a halt in the middle of the path and bring her fan around in front of her to block him completely. “W-what? What are you saying?”

“C’mon, tell me I’m not wrong!” Hideyoshi stood back a step, casually tossing his staff over his shoulder. “How long has it been since you’ve seen each other? I bet you’d love to meet up with her again, wouldn’t you?”

Daqiao’s face filled with mingled anger and doubt. “Do not…what do you know of my sister, anyway?”

“Didn’t you hear? She’s with us, now. She’s a faithful friend of Lord Nobunaga.” Toyotomi rubbed cutely at his little mustache. “And she’s a cutie, too!”

“You keep your paws off my sister!” Daqiao lunged to strike at him, but Hideyoshi deftly hopped out of the way. “Don’t speak of her like that!”

“Aw, I was just being friendly,” Hideyoshi teased. “You two girls are like two peas in a pod. Now that I see you for myself, you’re just like she talked about. Smart, too.” 

Daqiao flushed and then swiped at him again with the fan, sending a gust of wind at him. “You’re trying to trick me!” she yelled at him. “I can’t let you past here, I can’t let you win! For the good of Wu, I have to stop you here!”

Hideyoshi sighed and shook his head, seemingly not taking her seriously at all. “I’m telling you the truth, honest. But, if you’d rather fight it out than talk, I guess we’ve got no choice. Lord Nobunaga’s gonna take that castle, so if you don’t want to get hurt, I’d suggest retreating or surrendering. I promise I’ll behave myself, really. And you can see your sister again, if you come with us.”

For a moment, it looked like Daqiao was considering taking him up on the offer, for her fan lowered a bit and her eyes swam. But she gritted her teeth and forced herself back into an attack position. “I love my sister,” she breathed so only Toyotomi could hear, “but for the good of Wu and the good of my husband, I can’t give up. I have to see this through.”

“I understand.” Hideyoshi whipped the staff back around, ready to go on the attack. “Let’s give that nasty fox a good show, huh? Show me that fierce tiger pride.”

Still blushing at his teasing, Daqiao had no problem charging him. From where he stood, Hideyori could tell that his father didn’t really want to hurt the girl, but at the same time, she was no challenge for him. He would be able to easily beat her without damaging her, so their forces could move on. The younger Toyotomi sighed to himself. What a shame, that families should be divided so by Orochi’s cruelty. He knew the feeling all too well, and thought of a silent prayer for his mother’s safety before he, too, rejoined the battle.

It wasn’t too long before the final wave of defenders needed to be called out, as the attacking army drew within sight of the walls of Guandu Castle. The last defense was an odd assortment of whoever was left in the castle who could be spared, snakes and humans alike. There to protect Daqiao was one of her husband’s adopted sons, Sun Shao, but when she was ordered away on her own mission, he had to stay behind to heed Da Ji’s orders, and thus, was the last officer standing when Oda Nobunaga rode to the fore and gained the open ground just outside the castle wall. Far to the west, Toyotomi’s forces were on their way, having stymied the attempt at getting around them to the main camp. To the east, Bai Ma Castle was about to open to let Lu Xun’s forces pour out right into Da Ji’s unguarded flank. In the middle, Akechi Mitsuhide threw down another of the snake captains and rode right on past him to meet his lord in the field. Their plan had been perfectly executed, and though the sorcery had slowed their advance, it could not completely stop it. Oda moved to the attack, but Guan Ping raced past him, intending to engage Sun Shao directly. It was a fine battle, but the demoralized men of Wu stood no chance. They were brave, though, and Ping enjoyed his fight, but in the end it was Sun Shao on the ground with a blade at his throat. Nobunaga accepted Mitsuhide’s report, and then looked up at the battlements silhouetted against the moonlit sky. “So, all that stands in our way is Da Ji,” he said with some satisfaction. “Too easy. Messengers, take the report to all officers: All forces are to advance upon Guandu Castle immediately.”

The men nodded and dashed off in different directions. Mitsuhide tightened his grip on the reins. “A fox trapped in its hole is a foe to be reckoned with.”

Oda snorted under his breath. “A trapped fox is fierce, but also desperate. It may do as much damage to itself as to the hound.”

“Only Da Ji remains?” Guan Ping asked as he came alongside their horses. “Good. Then we can end this.”

“Patience, Guan Ping,” Mitsuhide cautioned. “Now is exactly the time we cannot afford to make mistakes and rush heedlessly into battle. Da Ji is no mere strategist, she can fight herself if she needs to.”

“To that end…” Nobunaga tapped his heels to his horse’s flanks and moved forward, advancing on the tightly-shuttered main gate of the castle. As he expected, his approach drew notice, and for a moment there was a confusion of activity atop the walls. Before he even needed to call out a challenge, Da Ji herself appeared at the parapet, arms folded over her chest. “So,” Nobunaga purred. “Have you reconsidered my offer from earlier this evening?”

The demon strategist pursed her lips in a thinking expression. “Well, I really don’t want to lose,” she admitted openly. “You wouldn’t consider withdrawing, would you? Because, if you don’t…” Her expression morphed, her lips curling slyly, her eyes narrowing. The worried lilt vanished from her tone, to be replaced by something fully sarcastic. “…I just might…have to hit you with the catapults.”

She turned away from the parapet, flicking a hand up in command. There was a corresponding shout, and then “Fire!” Something creaked, and then they all saw it – there were no fewer than five catapults atop the wall, and all of them were firing. Oda whirled his horse just in time and galloped away before any of the projectiles could find him, and he heard Mitsuhide cursing as he likewise scattered the men. They regrouped just barely out of range, ignoring the ringing laughter coming from just inside the walls. 

“Our forces both west and east are advancing on our position,” Mitsuhide reminded as they gathered together. “We cannot afford to be pinned down here by catapults.” 

“And so we will not be,” Oda said with deliberate patience. “It takes time to reset a catapult. Use that time to charge the walls, and get in beneath their range. They will not be able to hit anything at close range.” His dark eyes shot straight to Mitsuhide. “She has not even bothered to set archers on the walls.”

His retainer breathed an annoyed sigh. “The height of arrogance. Very well. All men! Break ranks, and listen for the catapults to be triggered. As soon as they shoot, you have your chance. Rush the walls, force the doors!”

“My lord, my lord!” It was yet another messenger, this one on horseback, riding so fast that he didn’t even realize they were under fire and nearly got knocked over by an explosive shot that fell near his path. He didn’t dismount as he joined them, fists white-knuckled on the reins. “News! The Takeda-Uesugi alliance is on the verge of destruction!”

Nobunaga’s expression did not change at all, this time. “Is that so…”

“There’s no time.” Guan Ping gripped the handle of his Young Dragon tightly and brandished it with an angry twitch. “I will end this battle with my own two hands!”

“Wait, Guan Ping!” Mitsuhide cried, but it was too late. Ping barreled off toward the walls, as if to tear them down stone by stone himself. Akechi sighed, and then looked to Nobunaga, who still wore the same bland, authoritative expression. “He’s going to get himself killed.”

“Leave Guan Ping to do as he feels he must,” Oda warned him. “We also have a job to do, and there is plenty of blood to go around.” He drew his sword once more, and with a small shout to his horse, spurred on to follow in the young officer’s wake, catapults or no catapults. All Mitsuhide could do was order the messengers back to the main camp and urge his men to follow the plan, to escape being hit as they stormed the gates.

Guandu Castle was protected by three main gates, only one of which had the catapults trained on it. The other two were suddenly under assault by the other arms of the Resistance, with Lu Xun and Ling Tong on one side and the Toyotomis on the other. The side gates had a strong defense, at least, and the battle for each was hard-fought, but there were no projectiles raining down on their heads. It would not be so easy battering down these gates, the doors were made of thick iron plates and no one had thought to bring battering rams. Yet, getting inside was as simple as destroying the guard and then waiting for reinforcements from inside the castle – they had to open the doors to be able to continue the fight, after all. In the center, Guan Ping cut his way through the defense force and then threw his shoulder against the door, but he was, in fact, not his father, and could not simply push the doors open. The catapults fell silent as the entirety of the attacking force shrank under the edge of the walls, where no shot could reach them, and then against all odds, the main gate opened from within, nearly pulling Guan Ping right off his feet as he strained against it. Their own forces had breached the walls from west and east, and the Orochi army opened the main gate to flee them, only to run right into Oda Nobunaga and his vanguard.

The melee which followed was not at all brief, even though more than half of Da Ji’s attendant retainers and conscripted officers had been defeated outside the castle already. Urutu was not the only captain left to defend her, and there were plenty of reserve soldiers, both human and demon. As the Resistance forces pushed their way in from the three gates, they could hear her calling out orders to her followers, demanding that Oda not be allowed to step foot inside the castle itself. A veritable sea of peons washed against the invaders, the only way through was to cut them down one at a time all while enduring a hail of arrows from the last line of defense, snake archers clustered all the way up to the steps of Guandu Castle. Oda still rode and could be seen head and shoulders above his army, but all of his retainers were now on foot in order to cut their way through the melee, knocking aside waves of infantry in their bid to meet in the middle of the courtyard. Lu Xun dashed up the steps to the parapet to stop the defense captains from turning the catapults on them, while Ling Tong waded in and found himself backed up alongside Toyotomi as they both angled to take out the archers. The outcome of the battle looked inevitable, but that didn’t stop the Orochi forces from giving their all, right down to Urutu himself charging out from the castle door with his spear held high, making the enemy commander his target. Guan Ping slid abruptly in front of him, Young Dragon angled like a shield, and then turned his attack around on him, refusing to let him get within range of Oda. He had the demon captain down and a foot on his neck when something slammed into the side of his head, knocking him sprawling. Da Ji had taken the field at last, out of mingled desperation and fury. The orbs floating above her seemed to come out of nowhere to bash in skulls, and she looked all too pleased with herself to see a ring clear around her thanks to her magic weapons. She stepped right over Guan Ping with a laugh, which cut short at the thud of hooves coming straight at her.

Nobunaga leaped from the saddle with a downward slash of his sword, which glanced off one of the orbs as it whirled around to protect its master. He still managed to land right in front of Da Ji within strike range, and flung out a hand to bash away the second orb before it could circle around and hit him. The demon strategist’s eyes were hard behind her smirk, showing all of her displeasure at this development. “If you wanted a go at me like this, all you had to do was ask,” she taunted him, though his face remained set in stone. “Are you sure you want to throw your life away?”

“Save your breath,” Oda murmured as he swung again, pressing forward step by step and forcing her to back away in order to bring her orbs around to block him.

The more she got pushed back, further from the safety of the castle and out toward the perimeter wall, the more she began to frown, losing some of her arrogance. Yet, the mocking lilt remained in her voice as she tried again. “Can you really afford to waste time here? Your friends might not make it unless you go and help them.”

Clearly, she had gotten the same reports as Nobunaga, from her own scouts at Nagashino. His only reaction was to narrow his eyes slightly and hack at her even faster and harder. “That is of no concern to me,” he muttered between swings of his sword.

Da Ji’s eyes widened in turn. She hadn’t expected him to be so stoic. There wasn’t even a heartbeat’s falter in his rhythm, he swung and clashed with her deftly, forcing her to exert effort to keep up with him. Only too late did she realize her mistake, thinking he was every bit as soft-hearted as most of the humans who had surrounded her until now. She hopped back out of his reach and brought the orbs in front to protect her while she attempted to summon magic to her use, but Nobunaga kept coming, and so did his men. The battle had progressed so far in their favor that Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, and Ling Tong all came at Da Ji at the same time, from different sides, and she snarled desperately at all of them as she had to forego magic just to be able to stop them. She was out of retainers and out of options. One quick spiraling whirl of the orbs pushed them collectively back just long enough for her to summon enough power to teleport herself to the top of the castle gates, though Mitsuhide was fast enough to slash one of her gauzy sashes to ribbons before she blinked out of there. From her new perch, she glowered down at all of them. “Fine! You want this castle so badly? You can have it! I’ve got better palaces elsewhere!” And with that, she disappeared into thin air, undoubtedly teleporting herself as far away as she could.

Oda was not about to let his guard down so soon. “Mitsuhide,” he ordered, “take some men and search the castle. Make sure she hasn’t gone to filch some pretty prizes or take any valuable prisoners or information.”

“Yes, my lord.” Akechi turned and gave a nearby cadre of soldiers a quick gesture, and they immediately trotted off at his heels.

“Is that it?” Lu Xun alit nearby, having jumped down from disabling the last catapult. “Did she really just retreat, like that?”

“It seems so,” Nobunaga murmured.

Toyotomi knocked over one last enemy soldier, and then the courtyard seemed to quiet around them. Da Ji’s departure had been public enough that no one left within the castle compound could deny that she had left the remainder of Orochi’s army to the wolves, and most of them willingly gave up their weapons on the spot. Some of the demon soldiers continued to resist, but most fled rather than be made prisoner. The mingled men of Wu and Han descent did not mind surrendering, as it finally freed them from Da Ji’s control. Oda directed the Toyotomis to handle that task, separating willing deserters from defiant prisoners and securing both so that the Resistance army could take occupation of this castle. Guan Ping picked himself up off the ground, a little rattled but swearing he was fine. Oda laid a hand on his shoulder as he passed, but gave him no more compliment beyond that. It was enough for Ping, who stood there rubbing the lump on the back of his head for a bit.

As he made his rounds verifying the situation, Nobunaga came to face the young man with the nunchuku who had appeared out of nowhere at his right hand to charge Da Ji alongside the others. Ling Tong already grasped that this was the famed commander and straightened up. “You,” Oda purred at him. “I don’t recall you being one of my officers.”

“My lord…” Lu Xun placed himself between the two with a respectful kowtow. “This is Ling Tong, one of my own countrymen. He happened to be passing by when he heard the sound of battle and joined on our side.”

“Hey.” Ling Tong casually raised a hand in greeting, and then corrected himself and bowed properly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to sign on with you, Lord Oda Nobunaga. If Lu Xun likes it here so much, I’d rather be with him than on my own. Is that cool?”

Nobunaga eyed him, his expression vague, and then tipped his head in the tiniest of shrugs. “Very well.”

He continued on his way, leaving the two Wu officers to grin at each other. “See? I told you,” Xun said proudly.

“Man, he’s really tightly-wound, isn’t he?” Tong said under his breath. “No matter. Thanks, Boyan.”

“There is no need,” Xun assured. “I’m simply glad to see you again, and fight beside you. You did well out there tonight, we ought to be thanking you for the assistance.” 

“Well, we’re all in it together, now, aren’t we?” Tong clapped a hand to his comrade’s shoulder. “Thank our lucky stars, eh? And to think I was gonna just keep right on going.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Xun’s expression softened, and he leaned tiredly against Ling Tong’s hand. “It’s been a hard road since we parted. Your father will be glad to see you well, he’s back at Honnoji with Lady Xiaoqiao.”

“Yeah? Good.” Tong’s flippant response hid the sudden rush of emotion, knowing his living father was doing well and that the remnants of Wu had found such good footing among Oda’s army. He pursed his lips tightly to keep from letting any of it show on his face, but still had to look away across the castle courtyard to really hide it. “Okay, well…I’ll follow your lead, then. You know what’s what with these guys.”

“I do,” Xun smiled. “Come on, if Lord Mitsuhide has cleared the castle, we should be able to rest a bit until quarters are decided. Something tells me we still have a lot of work to do before we can lay our heads down, whether inside Guandu or in a tent out here.”

There was indeed much to be done, between prisoners and defectors, the wounded, the scattered stragglers of their troops wiping up the last bits of battle out in the field and around Bai Ma, and the ordering of Guandu itself. Because the battle had been brought to them in the middle of an otherwise nondescript evening, everything had been dropped in an instant, leaving the castle more or less fit for the invaders to take. A few snake demons had to be chased out of corners where they had fled or attempted to hold ground, but once word got out that Da Ji had abandoned the castle, they all seemed to vanish in some way or another. Zhang Jiao had been unable to hold Hognose prisoner, all of the demon captains escaped with their lives yet again. But between the branches of the army and the reserves brought up by Niwa Nagahide from the main camp, the resistance was able to take and hold Wuchao, Bai Ma, and Guandu. It was well after midnight when the battle ended, and an hour later there was still a lot to be done, though orders and assignments had gone out so that most of it was in the hands of lesser-ranked officers, allowing Oda to withdraw his particular retainers to the throne chamber of the castle to quickly touch base before assigning them quarters. He wasted no time in making himself comfortable in the ornate throne atop the dais. “The serpent now knows what it feels like to truly lose,” he mused, tapping his fingertips together. “We have control not just of Guandu, but the territory all around it, including Fan Castle just to the south and Xiapi to the northeast. After a good night’s rest, I will be sending a small contingent to make sure Da Ji did not hole up in Fan, and bring it firmly under our control. This is imperative, it must be done before the Orochi army returns from Nagashino.”

“Any news from there, lately?” Toyotomi wondered.

Nobunaga shook his head. “I have not had another scout report since before we breached the castle gates. At last word, things were not going well for the allied forces there.”

“I hope they’re okay,” Guan Ping murmured, mostly to himself.

“If we can hold both this castle and Fan,” Mitsuhide explained for the group at large, “we control a large swath of land and can allow our forces and our allies to pass easily from west to east. In addition, we stand as an obstacle between the Orochi main army and the rest of their holdings. If they want to retreat to a safe location, they will have to go through us.”

“Hopefully not before our forces have gotten some rest,” Lu Xun fretted.

“All the more reason to ensure that we have occupied Fan Castle before Orochi gets there,” Oda interjected. “Anyone severely injured will be returned to Honnoji, while we call up our reserve forces from there to take their place. We have gained one officer tonight as it is…” He nodded in Ling Tong’s direction. “…was there any luck in persuading anyone else?”

“Sorry, Lord Nobunaga,” Hideyoshi sighed. “I tried my best with the Lady Daqiao, I really did, but she went all noble on me, and said she needed to go back to Wu for their protection.”

Nobunaga closed his eyes briefly in a gesture of impatience, but let it slide. “The tigers of the Jiangdong are more stubborn than I expected. Present company excluded,” he added for Lu Xun and Ling Tong. “No matter. Our intention tonight was to take Guandu, and we have done so. New allies are merely an added bonus.”

A door somewhere nearby slammed open, and one of the guards at the door rushed in. “My lord! A report from Nagashino!”

Everyone around the dais straightened up in interest. “Send them in,” Oda ordered immediately.

The scout who stumbled in clearly had seen a fair bit of battle himself, whether at Nagashino itself or on his way to Oda’s location. He eased to his knees before he could even get close to the throne, exhausted and distraught. “I bring…terrible news,” he panted, wilting so that his face nearly touched the floor. “The allied armies of Lord Takeda and Lord Uesugi have been defeated. Lords Takeda and Uesugi…are dead.”

Oda’s dark eyes flickered briefly, but as usual, he showed no obvious reaction. The rest of the room, however, could not hold back. Guan Ping let out a small cry of dismay, Hideyoshi gaped, Lu Xun fell back a step, and Mitsuhide stared. “How?” he demanded.

“I was told to report this by Master Huang Zhong,” the scout replied, this time genuinely lowering himself to the floor on his hands. “He gave no tale, my lord, but said it is the truth and must be reported. Both commanders were slain in the battle.”

“No!” Ping cried.

“Oh, no,” Hideyoshi moaned.

“I didn’t think…” Lu Xun breathed.

“What horror!” Zhang Jiao crowed. “It is a black day, indeed!”

Ling Tong suddenly caught his breath and bit back his own cry, though his eyes swam. “No,” he said softly. “Those guys…they couldn’t…” He remembered all the good Takeda had done for him and Gan Ning, back when they needed aid. How could the big, friendly warlord with the mysterious mask be dead? They had faced Orochi himself and survived!

Nobunaga closed his eyes. “Shingen. Kenshin,” he intoned, silencing the reactions around him. “Know that I am grateful for your sacrifice.”

A long moment of silence followed his words, as they all privately lifted the same wish up to their lost comrades. In due time it passed, and they looked around at one another, unsure how to proceed from there. “Master Huang Zhong is safe, then,” Mitsuhide said softly. “What of Lord Ma Chao and Maeda Toshiie?”

The scout bobbed his head. “They survive as well, my lord. Master Huang Zhong will arrive in due haste to report in person of the outcome.”

“Oh good,” Ping sighed. “At least…there’s that…” If all of his countrymen had been slain as well, he wouldn’t have known what to do with himself.

Oda pushed himself to his feet, then. “We must not let their sacrifice be in vain. Because of them, we were able to secure victory here instead. The price is steep, but it must be paid in order to take down Orochi. To that end, I ask you all to retire and get some rest. If we cannot hold what those two bought with their lives, we are not worthy to sit in heaven beside them.”

Without a word, the assembled officers broke apart and moved to the door to head to their quarters within the castle. The two Wu officers were given a room together, and once the door closed behind him, Ling Tong sagged into the nearest seat, dropping his head into his hands. “Not Lord Takeda,” he lamented, squeezing his eyes shut against emotion. “You have no idea, Lu Xun. He took me and Xingba in, he was so good to us…”

“No, I know,” Xun said quietly. “I went with Lord Oda to a summit meeting between those three lords, and met him myself. He seemed like a great man – they both were. This is awful. But…” His brow furrowed. “They went into it, knowing the odds were against them. They willingly sacrificed themselves for this plan. I have no doubt that they died like the samurai they are.”

“In battle. The honorable way.” Tong blinked away his tears and sat up with a small nod. “Sorry, it’s just…”

“No, I understand.” Xun smiled gently and offered a hand to help him up. When no one else could grieve for one reason or another, Ling Tong would do it for them. “Come, let’s get some sleep, for real. I know you have a lot to tell me, and I want to hear every bit of it, but now’s not the time. You can tell me everything in the morning.”

Nodding, Tong allowed himself to be dragged from the chair to the nearest bed, and barely got his tunic stripped off before he fell onto it. He thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep after hearing such news, but his body knew better and shut him down before he could get carried away with his thoughts. He noticed, just before sleep overtook him, that one of the soldiers had brought his pack into the room for him. It carried the only things he had to his name in this world at the moment, the change of clothing given by Takeda while in his camp – the nice green silk tunic and pants. Ling Tong resolved to change into them in the morning, to help him remember what he was there to fight for.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slight flashback to the Battle of Nagashino, which takes place the same day as Guandu.

Earlier that same day, not far but not too near, the fields of Nagashino lay golden under the sun, which had parched the grass with summer heat. Thunder grumbled against the shoulders of the hills, but no rain looked to fall on the battlefield. Along the way to fulfilling their orders, the reinforcements led by Ma Chao had passed Fan Castle and knew it to be nearly emptied, as all of the Orochi forces which usually camped there had drawn off to the battle at Nagashino. As directed, he left a handful of men there to serve as spies, while the rest of them rode to the more difficult battle. By the time they got there it had already started, and the mission laid on them by Oda himself became a genuine call for reinforcements to save the day. The battle itself could be won or lost, but Ma Chao had very explicit orders from Oda, which he was not allowed to share with any but Ma Dai, seeing as among the rest of the army only Kuroda Kanbei, who had devised the strategy, knew of it. As they rode hard upon the flank of the Orochi army and saw for themselves the reported insurmountable numbers, Ma Chao had to silently endure the burden of his orders. It would not be easy, especially for a man of honor like himself, but he knew it was for the greater good. If all of them wanted to ever live free from Orochi’s tyranny, he would have to bear it.

The Orochi forces had advanced rather quickly under Cao Pi’s direction, and the commanders had been pinned down in their main camp before they could even make their own first move out into the battlefield. Unable to even put their plans into motion, Takeda and Uesugi were too busy defending the walled-in garrison they had claimed for their own and trying to keep as much of their army intact as possible. Each man took a gate and held it, though wave after wave of Orochi infantry poured in on them from both sides. Were it a battle for any other purpose, they wouldn’t have held their ground in this way, but Takeda Shingen knew they were supposed to be grappling with this army for as long as they could. To give in now would have this huge army breathing down Oda’s neck at Guandu within hours, and it wasn’t even sunset yet. But how could they last when they couldn’t even get a messenger past the gate to reach the cavalry in reserve? It certainly looked bleak. But then, the warlord heard a shout behind him. “My lord!” one of his majors called out. “I have good news! Reinforcements have arrived from the Oda Resistance!”

Shingen paused where he was and looked over his shoulder, clearly surprised even if the mask hid it well. “From Oda? Well. This is a pleasant surprise.”

Across the compound, Kenshin had heard the shout as well, but aside from a glance he didn’t take much stock of it, he had his hands full and his blade bloodied from fighting off the invasion. He heard them come, though, and might have allowed himself a tiny smirk of gratitude. It was hard not to notice the arrival of the Oda reinforcements, as the majority were on horseback, leading a smaller cluster of infantry to bolster the reserves. As they burst into the garrison from the rear guardpost, the riders split up, half going to one gate and half to the other to provide immediate backup to each of the two commanding lords. A fierce light shone from Ma Chao’s eyes as he rode to Takeda’s side, and he didn’t even stop for breath or so much as a greeting until the enemy soldiers who had overwhelmed Takeda had been driven back. Not to be outdone, on the opposite side Huang Zhong and Toshiie hit the ground running and were quickly at Uesugi’s side, giving him more than enough extra manpower to battle the enemy officers who had breached the garrison. The momentum shifted instantly and control of the battle went with it, so that the alliance force no longer had to fear being swept away too soon. The overall success of their plan depended on a number of factors, including preventing the enemy commanders from hearing about reinforcements, so for a while the focus lay solely on capturing or incapacitating the officers who led the front line out so far. They had, at least, foolishly outpaced the rest of the army, pressing all the way back to the main camp like this, but it took genuine strategy and determination to prevent those officers from ever making it back to where Cao Pi and Sun Quan waited. Only when that had been accomplished could the allied commanders take a moment to pause and properly welcome the reinforcements to their camp. The gates were barred as well as they could, for now, and scouts dispatched to verify that the path running to the north had been cleared of enemy soldiers, so that they could finally launch this vaunted strategy they had worked up for just such an occasion. At last, Ma Chao and Ma Dai dismounted for a moment’s rest, and all the officers gathered around them. “That ought to keep them quiet for a while,” Shingen grumbled as he strode to meet them. “Well! I’m not the kind of man to look a gift horse in the mouth, so all I’m going to say is, thank you, my friends. At this moment I really don’t care why Oda decided to send you, I’m merely glad he did.”

“It is an honor to be able to come to your aid, Lord Takeda,” Ma Chao said, palming his fist over his heart.

“It is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Shingen. Lord Kenshin,” Huang Zhong said kindly.

“Welcome, my friend,” Takeda said with a grin, accepting such familiar address from someone even older than himself and likely more venerable. “Tiger Generals at my side, I can’t complain.”

“We are here to serve, not to lead,” Ma Chao affirmed. “My spear of justice is at your command.”

Kenshin nodded approvingly. “Such righteousness will bring us the protection of the heavens.”

“High praise indeed,” Ma Dai interjected with a grin.

Takeda took a deep breath and then glanced at the man beside him. “What do you think, Nemesis? Is it time to proceed with our original plan?”

“Yes,” Uesugi replied bluntly. “We will need the cavalry if we intend to have any chance at all of taking their main camp.”

“Agreed,” Shingen nodded, “but given the unexpected strength of our foe already at the onset, it seems the two of us won’t be able to leave this position unguarded. At least, we have extra hands now, they can do what we had planned to do ourselves.”

“Give us your orders,” Ma Chao said eagerly, “and we will carry them out for you.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Takeda gestured with his war fan to the gate he had been defending with his own strength. “To the north of us, our cavalry waits under Lord Kanetsugu’s command. As I’m sure you no doubt know, cavalry is useless in the trees but essential on open ground, and therein lies our trouble. Between this positon and the enemy main camp, there is a chasm carved by lava and the only way to maneuver over it is on very narrow bridges. Easy enough for men on foot, but not for horses.” He glanced at Ma Chao as he spoke, and received a very understanding nod in response. “That is how the enemy front line got to us so quickly. But I know this field well, so I can tell you about a path to the north that winds through the trees to a gate that opens onto the field of Nagashino. Our cavalry is waiting for my signal, to advance to that gate and await their chance to ambush the enemy’s main forces on their flank. We’ve been pinned down here so long that they must be worried, but I know Kanetsugu will hold them in check until he has word that it’s safe.”

“Yet by now he has noticed what we have,” Kenshin added. “The enemy has access to that path as well. If the cavalry is to make it to the ambush point, they will need an escort.”

“Hm, yes,” Shingen agreed. “And it is my advice that they not advance all at once, but split into three or four units and take their time, one after the other. It will buy us time as well as allow them to do their best not to be spotted on that path. The ambush is crucial to severing a good portion of the enemy’s strength at its source, it would not do well to have it seen in advance.”

“Understood,” Ma Chao grunted. “Ma Dai and I will handle the cavalry. I will bring Lord Kanetsugu your advice and make sure he arrives safely at the ambush point.”

“Guess that leaves me and the old man to help out here at the main garrison,” Toshiie said briskly. “Sounds like a good time.”

“The main camp is mine to hold,” Takeda explained. “My Nemesis would chafe at the bit if he had to stay back, so his task is to take his army and head for the main camp from the south, across the bridge. I will draw attention here, so both the cavalry to the north and the Uesugi to the south can make their rendezvous.” He smirked at Maeda. “So if you’d like to join me, by all means. But I think I might make better use of a master archer, if you’d rather pour your effort into keeping up with Kenshin.”

Toshiie glanced to the dour warlord on the other side of him and whistled. “Me, keep up with Uesugi Kenshin? Well, I sure can try. It’ll be worthy of a story someday, I’m sure.”

“As long as you fight to your very last,” Uesugi grumped at him. “We must prevail.”

“I’d be pleased to watch your back, Lord Shingen,” Huang Zhong said proudly.

“Then it’s a plan.” Shingen bowed his head slightly in respect to the Ma cousins. “You have saved me from having to worry, my friends. Mount up, and let our Takeda and Naoe cavalries see the might of Xiliang in action for themselves.”

Both men bowed in return, and Ma Dai smiled warmly. “Careful, my lord, lest you give my young master too many compliments. He might blush.”

“Dai!” Chao hissed under his breath, and he did in fact blush. Takeda let out a great booming laugh and dismissed them with a wave of his fan.

Far across the battlefield, in the valley below the river gorge now filled with lava instead of water, a very stout fortress lay in prime position, guarded by huge fences made for stymieing mounted troops attacking from the front and swarming with the Orochi army’s second, third, fourth, and fifth waves of troops. Given how far out the front line had gone in its initial charge, the enemy commanders were a little concerned when very few of their soldiers returned. Safe within the well-guarded confines of the fortress, Sun Quan sat astride his horse as if already waiting to take the field, while Cao Pi paced on foot nearby. This was the first time the two had been dispatched together since the failure to capture Sun Ce, and neither was very thrilled to be around the other. Cao Pi had taken command of devising and doling out strategy, while Sun Quan handled the dispatching of troops, since he was single-handedly in control of the Orochi-led portion of their army, which was not at all small. He looked around, expecting to hear from scouts, but saw none coming back to report and sighed to himself. “I hear tell the enemy commanders are formidable,” he said to gauge Cao Pi’s current mood.

“So it’s said,” Pi responded, halting his pacing for a moment. “I underestimated them, and paid for it with the blood of my own men. The merest rearguard of this Takeda-Uesugi Alliance took out several of my best officers, leaving me with what few I could scrape together to bring here.”

Quan glanced at him with a bit of alarm. He had noted that the Wei lord had only brought two trusted officers with him, neither of which were Zhang Liao or Xu Huang. Not that Cao Ren was weak, but he wasn’t what Quan had been expecting. “Is that so? What about your strategist?”

Cao Pi kept his back to the Wu prince. “In yet another display of astounding folly, Da Ji called him back to her at the same time as she ordered me to join forces with you here.”

“What?” Quan frowned at his back. “What is she thinking? I know our army has theirs outnumbered, but this isn’t a joke. These guys are serious, and won’t stop unless we destroy them. We need every advantage we can manage, we must take nothing for granted.”

Cao Pi glanced back at him. “I noticed that for yourself, you only brought your bodyguard. I don’t recognize the other officers in your employ.”

Sun Quan heaved an aggravated sigh. “They’re mostly from Wa. I don’t know any of them, they’re not Tokugawa’s men.” By now everyone knew that Tokugawa had followed in Sun Ce’s footsteps and defected, hamstringing Orochi’s army further. Yet, there were still more than enough ground troops available even without famous officers leading them, seeing as so many of them were here to fight this battle. “They take orders well enough, though, so we have to make do with what we’ve got.”

Pi had no argument to that assessment. He hadn’t really done more than touch base with Sun Quan upon arriving at the site that morning, he didn’t need much information to be able to devise the wave strategy and make use of the terrain to overwhelm the alliance’s main camp. Yet, even he was wary to the fact that the first wave had more or less disappeared over the shoulder of the hills. By now, it was fairly obvious. “The front line has broken down,” he stated flatly.

“I guess so,” Quan concurred. “Our men will have to proceed with more caution from now on. Second wave, hold tight. We need to scout out the terrain and see what’s happening out there.”

The soldiers saluted to accept the order. Among them waited Cao Ren, eager to lead a triumphant line into battle; he glanced back to catch his lord’s eye, and Cao Pi gave him a single nod to tell him that he should obey this order. The lack of word from the front line was concerning, even knowing that they were going up against powerful foes. Yue Jin had been there at Saika, he knew how concise and well-planned the enemy’s movements could be. He stood at Cao Pi’s side with one hand on one of his hooked blades, gripping the hilt to keep himself from fidgeting. He had sworn to himself, and to Zhang Liao in his absence, not to allow harm to come to their lord, not to repeat their failure here. For now, at least, Cao Pi didn’t look to be leaving the fortress anytime soon, so his safety wasn’t an issue just yet. The only ones permitted out were the scouts, and sentries atop the towers at the corners of the garrison assured them that there wasn’t a single sign of the enemy in the immediate area. Sun Quan found that somewhat comforting, but one look at Cao Pi warned him that he should be suspicious of such a report as well.

As they rode up the trail in search of the cavalry, Ma Chao and Ma Dai kept their eyes peeled for any enemy soldiers who might have gotten away earlier, but it seemed this forested area had indeed been cleared. The Orochi front line, in its eagerness, had gotten out too far ahead of the rest of their forces and paid for it dearly. Chao’s horse suddenly snorted, lifting its head and sniffing the air, which he took as a welcome sign. “He’s smelled other horses,” he murmured to his cousin. “We must be close.”

“You want to risk a shout, or shall I?” Dai asked, rather seriously.

There was no need, for a messenger keeping watch abruptly darted into their path, making their horses shy back. Seeing as they weren’t Orochi soldiers at all, the young man stood down quickly and put his fingers in his mouth for a signal whistle. Only one horse rode out to answer the summons, but it was exactly the right one. “What is it?” Kanetsugu asked his man before he even came into sight of the horsemen. He glanced and then sat up in the saddle with a bright expression. “Why, Lord Ma Chao! I did not expect to see you here, at all. We were waiting for messengers from the main camp.”

“Consider us those messengers,” Chao said, his tone warm but serious. “The time for pleasantries will have to wait, Lord Kanetsugu. Lord Takeda has sent us to aid your mission, and get the cavalry safely to its goal.”

Naoe nodded, turning his focus to the battle no matter how badly he wanted to ask what they were doing there instead of backing up Oda at Guandu. “What is the status of the road ahead, then? What do you know?”

“The Orochi forces that had been attacking the main camp have been wiped out,” Ma Dai reported. “We took good care of that, so Lord Takeda’s plan could be put into action. As far as we know the path is clear, but he advises that you split the cavalry up and only send a few units at a time down to the ambush point.”

“Given that the enemy has already used this path to get around behind the main camp,” Ma Chao added, “it is likely they could do it again. If they spot the cavalry moving along the road, the plan will be ruined.”

“Yes, I feared as much.” Kanetsugu glanced past them down the tree-covered road and breathed a quick sigh. “Lord Shingen is right. So be it. If I can count on you two to run interference, and head off any enemy soldiers who might blunder into these woods, I will see to it the cavalry units are dispatched a few at a time.”

He turned his horse and rode back to carry out these orders, while the Ma cousins remained to hold the road, looking and listening for any sign of a fresh wave of Orochi reinforcements coming on the heels of the previous incursion. The first unit which rode out behind them bore the white and gold tokens of the Naoe Cavalry, following an older man who seemed to know the exact route they needed to take. Without a word the two riders of Xiliang fell in alongside them, but cautiously, blocking the view of the road from any unfriendly eyes in the trees. Far ahead, through the dappled shadows cast by the thick, overhanging tree limbs, they could see the worn pillars of a recently-damaged palisade marking a bend in the path. Through there, the cavalry could safely regroup and prepare to charge. Ma Chao noted it to himself. Their task, then, was to prevent anyone from interfering with the transportation of troops across the mile or two of overgrown forest path. The horses had to go quickly, but carefully, lest any be tripped up by root or branch and rendered useless. It was a dangerous endeavor, but if successful, would tip the favor of battle in an instant. He had seen an intersecting path back a few furlongs, and rode back to it, bringing Ma Dai to a halt beside him. “Here. We hold ground here,” he decided. “Lord Kanetsugu is capable, he can manage the cavalry itself. If Orochi’s army were to pass through, we would meet them right here.”

“If you think it’s wise, then, cousin,” Dai agreed, turning his horse in order to lower his massive polearm into position off the side of his saddle. “Here or there, it’s all the same to me.” He glanced at Chao, lips twisting in a thoughtful frown. “You’re still bothered, I can tell.”

Ma Chao’s eyes remained steadfastly fixed on the path ahead, which lead down a hill through the trees to a clearing further down, he could tell by the strength of sunlight on the grass in that direction. “I understand the reason for it,” he muttered, “but I do not like having to lie. To our own forces, no less!”

“Lord Nobunaga wouldn’t have asked us to do it just for fun,” Dai reasoned. “He did say it was Lord Takeda’s idea.”

Chao huffed something that sounded like a complaint about strategists. “It doesn’t matter whose idea it was. I still find it detestable. I’m not saying I won’t cooperate, it is for the good of the Resistance. I know that.”

“Then I’m glad he allowed me to share it with you,” Dai murmured. “If I found out later that you had to bear this secret alone, I’d feel just awful about it. So don’t forget that you have me, here, to understand.”

For the briefest moment, Chao’s eyes flicked in his direction, and the tiniest look of worry replaced his sternness. “You are too kind, my dear cousin.”

“Not kind enough, sometimes,” Dai smiled. “Chin up, Mengqi. You can beg the others’ forgiveness later. I’ll be right there on my knees next to you doing my own begging.”

Ma Chao opened his mouth to respond but then spotted movement, and raised a hand to silence their conversation. Something was coming up from the open fields to the south, advancing with haste behind a mounted officer. “Here they come. Blasted serpents, they will not get past my spear!”

Ma Dai watched for a moment, and then shot a quick glance over his shoulder. “Keep those horses moving,” he whispered, not that anyone would hear. It was more a wish or a prayer than an order.

Coming up the path from the sunlit fields, Cao Ren rode at the head of his unit, squinting into the shadows beneath the trees. He had been given the go-ahead to advance at last, when Cao Pi grew impatient with the lack of news and voiced his suspicions about where and how the alliance army could be moving. The bridges were wide open, anyone would be seen using them, but as of yet there was nothing. The Wei lord’s concern was that there were paths elsewhere which they, being unfamiliar with Nagashino, knew nothing about. It was up to Cao Ren to scout them out and, if he discovered the army moving in secret, set upon them without hesitation. As the Wei soldiers passed from sun into shade and came under the eaves of the forest, the thud of their feet and clatter of their armor drowning out the soft whisper of wind in the leaves, they found only two horsemen barring their way. It was so small an obstacle that some might have smirked at it, or thought the resistance alliance made up of imbeciles who didn’t actually know how to array their troops, but Cao Ren knew better. He knew them on sight, and drew up with a hand raised to halt his men behind him. At the bare minimum, these two were the bait to a trap. At the worst, they were here to remind Wei of their prowess and exact long-overdue payment for the blood spilled at Xiliang in times past. Two horsemen alone were still not enough to stop an entire army, they were certain to taste defeat in the end, but how many troops would they take out before they went down? Ren’s gauntleted fists clenched on the reins. “I wasn’t aware that the men of Shu had come out so far,” he called out in challenge. “Is there something you want, Ma Chao?”

Ma Chao likewise had recognized the officer coming toward them immediately, and the tokens borne by the troops with him. He wore a dark glare in response. Even if they weren’t being led by Cao Cao, they were Wei men all the same. “Only to let my spear do the talking,” he called back. “This is not a time or place for idle words, Cao Ren. You shall not pass this spot, I swear it on my life.”

Cao Ren’s frown deepened. They really did intend to fight the entire army, just the two of them. “Resistance merely leads to more bloodshed. The longer you and all the rest of the Resistance army continue this foolishness, the longer this war will drag out.”

“The longer you and your fool of a lord serve Orochi, you mean,” Chao snarled. “Lay not the blame on those of us who would protect the innocent! Enough – come at me and show me what you have left in you, traitors of Wei!”

He immediately brandished the Silver Stallion, and his horse beneath him picked up its feet eagerly, ready for the command to charge. Cao Ren hastily swung his shield off his back and into place on his arm. His questions would have to wait, there would be no answers as long as they opposed one another as foes. Both horses sprang from their places at the same time, leaving the Wei soldiers on one side waiting for orders and Ma Dai on the other holding the path to allow the Naoe Cavalry time to get into position. He was tempted to look back again, but figured the less he called attention to anything that might be going on behind him, the better. He focused instead on his cousin; reckless or not, this was the only way to buy the cavalry the necessary time.

The two horses thundered toward each other, and Ma Chao leveled his spear as he came, not at all fooled into overconfidence. Of course Cao Ren’s shield would block his strike, he was still going to make that strike. The crash of their meeting rang all through the trees and sent birds scattering into the air, shrilling their displeasure. The Silver Stallion hit the shield just below the center boss, and the impact jarred both of them so severely that they simultaneously faltered, their horses skittering sideways. Cao Ren wobbled but managed to keep from being knocked out of the saddle, while Ma Chao gritted his teeth at the pain jolting up his arm. He whirled his horse immediately and attacked again, this time swinging the spear wide and sweeping it lower. The shield blocked him again, but at an angle, giving him the briefest opening to jab inside Cao Ren’s guard. The Wei general refused to be beaten so easily and did the unexpected, spurring his horse forward right into Ma Chao’s path. It allowed him the chance to bash his shield right into Chao’s spear-wielding arm, and though he took a hit to the side for it, his armor protected him well. Ma Chao ducked and drew back his spear to deflect the bayonet at the base of the shield before it could cut him, and then jabbed again, even as he clapped his heels to his horse to send it further on past his foe. Circling around, he came back again and again, not letting Cao Ren get a moment’s rest nor another opportunity to hit him at close range. Some of the Wei soldiers attempted to jump in and drag him off his horse to support their leader, but Ma Chao only whirled the spear around to deal them all a hail of blows as he galloped past them. Only then did he hear the din of battle and glance to see that Ma Dai was busy with the infantry as well, single-handedly holding the path with great swings of his brush and pulling his foot from the stirrup to kick at anyone who tried to unseat him. Growling at Cao Ren, Ma Chao pulled back, trying to go to his cousin’s aid, but Ren chased him, not allowing him to give up their duel. A yank of the reins had his cavalry mount rearing and pawing the air, just the right opening for Ma Chao to slam his spear down onto his opponent’s helm and disengage. The path was too narrow for a real cavalry battle, so he slid out of the saddle the instant his horse’s hooves touched down and maneuvered his spear to unseat Cao Ren, figuring that if he wanted so badly to continue this fight, they would do it on foot on even ground. Now Ma Chao could fight with speed as well as strength, and though he knew Ren to have a powerful defense behind that shield, he also knew it wouldn’t stand firm forever. No amount of bragging about being a rock would help him withstand the relentless onslaught. Considering it had not been a very long time since Cao Ren last found himself being beaten around the head and arms by a Shu spearman, he knew full well this wasn’t going to be fun. As much as he liked to think he had learned from his defeat by Zhao Yun, he was not prepared for Ma Chao’s sheer power. Rather than simply hold ground behind the shield, Cao Ren pushed with it, swinging it back and forth to bring the bayonet to bear and do more than just block. The weight of that huge shield was enough to rattle Ma Chao’s teeth every time he took a hit from it, but he kept going, past the point of fatigue, ducking and dodging and swinging and jabbing. He was lost in the haze of battle, nothing would stop him now but death itself.

Ma Dai had his hands full stopping the entirety of the Wei contingent by himself, but he still shot his cousin glances now and then, fretting that he couldn’t help. The battle looked painful, but it was important that they not let Cao Ren pass and discover the ambush. Just when he was about to give in and pull away from the soldiers to race to Ma Chao’s side, there was a hiss of arrow-flight and three feathered shafts were suddenly stuck fast into the face of Cao Ren’s shield. Ren recoiled in surprise, though the arrows didn’t even graze him. Ma Chao didn’t need to look to see who had shot them, he recognized the barred pattern on the fletching. Roaring in defiance, he raised the Silver Stallion one more time and barreled for Cao Ren, catching him off-guard and spearing right between shield and armor, catching the shield on the back of the rim and throwing it aside. Cao Ren’s eyes widened in the split second he realized he was open, and then the spear came back around and cracked across his helm. He went down hard as more arrows whistled past them, finding marks among the lightly-armored Wei troops and sending them scattering back towards their previous position. Any who bravely attempted to move in to assist their commanding officer were driven out of the way or knocked down by Ma Dai, as he finally rode to meet his cousin. Ma Chao whipped the spear’s blade into position and dropped his knee onto Cao Ren’s chestplate, panting savagely into his vanquished foe’s face. “Yield,” he demanded in a raspy snarl, “or I will see to it you never leave this battlefield again!”

“I yield,” Ren gasped, the wind knocked out of him. His eyes rolled up to regard the face of the man who strode up behind his countryman, just then. “…you…”

Huang Zhong shook his head slowly. “I had a feeling it was more than your run-of-the-mill trouble out here.”

“Mengqi, stand down.” Ma Dai’s voice was gentle, as was his hand on his cousin’s shoulder beneath the edge of his armored plate. “We’ve been successful, here.”

As the haze cleared and Ma Chao began to catch his breath, he realized the voice at his side was right. There was no need to keep the blade hovering over Cao Ren’s throat, he was theirs. Pushing himself up with the spear, Chao staggered back and looked around. “The cavalry…?”

“Almost there,” Huang Zhong assured. “Just a little further and we’ll have it.” He stood with his bow still drawn and an arrow fitted to the string, but Cao Ren’s troops had retreated – they could see, now, another garrison wall at the end of the path, marking where the Orochi forces had passed through. “Lord Shingen asked me to check up on your progress. Good thing I came when I did.”

Cao Ren tried to push himself up and winced as he realized it wouldn’t be so easy. Ma Chao had really battered him, he needed more than a moment to collect himself. “Capturing me will not change the outcome of this battle,” he warned the men of Shu. “I am but a single man, Lord Cao Pi and Lord Sun Quan have insurmountable forces still in reserve.”

Huang Zhong regarded him with a quirk of his eyebrow. “Oh, that’s not why we’re capturing you, Cao Ren. No, there’s more to it here than you understand.”

Ren frowned at him, perplexed. Ma Chao managed to straighten up from leaning on his spear. “Whether or not I even cross Cao Pi’s path today is of no consequence. We have a greater cause to champion. You may see this battle, this single win or loss, but we look ahead to much greater things.”

“You cannot do that much if you’re dead,” Ren said sternly, finally getting a hand beneath him to prop himself up and stare at them. “You are outnumbered. To fight this battle is suicide!”

“What would you rather have us do?” Ma Chao snapped back at him. “Live our lives in fear of Orochi, pretend as though this world is just fine under his thumb? I for one will gladly spend my life if it means his will be ended as well!”

Cao Ren looked from him to his companions, and found all three men of Shu sharing the same grim expression. Death did not concern them. Then, he heard a faint noise of hooves on the turf, and even felt the rumble of their passing in the ground beneath him, and glanced past Ma Dai to see the shadows of cavalry forces riding away down a nearby path. At last, he grasped what they had been doing – and now it was too late for him to bring the report to his lord. “Oh, no,” he breathed.

Huang Zhong followed his gaze and then nodded. “Just in time, all right. What do you say, want me to bring him back to Lord Shingen?”

“That would be best,” Ma Chao agreed, finally rested enough to throw his shoulders back proudly and call his horse. “Ma Dai and I have more work to do out here. Can you manage, old friend?”

“Can I manage,” Zhong snorted. “You kids. Get going, and don’t get yourselves killed, all right? I’ll take care of this.” The tension eased from his bow, and he put the arrow back in his quiver so he could have a hand free to manage Cao Ren, binding him securely before driving him off. It would be a bit of a hike back to the main camp, but disarmed and injured, the prisoner would not be trouble at all.

Ren was silent all the way to the Resistance camp, and kept his eyes down except for one moment when the last of the cavalry units passed by them on the road. It had been his job to verify whether such a thing was happening, and he had failed. He knew full well that if he tried to resist now, Huang Zhong would cut him down and leave him to die rather than risk him going back to Cao Pi, so he complied. The chaos of battle lay around the gates of the main camp, but inside, things were still quiet and secure, and Takeda Shingen was striding around seeing to every last detail of his strategy. Having a prisoner delivered to him delighted him considerably, and Huang Zhong was sure he wasn’t being sarcastic at all. “So this is Lord Ma Chao’s doing?” he noted after being told the story. “Impressive! Even more than I expected! Oh, this will come in very handy, indeed.”

“I’m also happy to report that the last of the cavalry has run the gauntlet,” Zhong continued. “They’ll be ready when you call, my lord.”

“Excellent. I knew we could do it, Kanetsugu is so reliable.” Shingen nodded in keen interest. “Well, then. I think the time has come for us to join the advance.” He looked across the compound, and as if on cue, Uesugi rode in alone without the troops he had taken to the front line, or Maeda Toshiie. “What do you think? Once more into the breach, old foe?”

Kenshin broke into a cold, dangerous smile as he rode over. “Let us glide over the battlefield together, Nemesis.”

“Master Huang Zhong, a word, if I may…” Shingen waved the old warrior to come with him, stepping away from Cao Ren for the moment. “I am a bit concerned about that path, where you say you met Cao Ren’s troops. If the Orochi army knows about it, they could attempt to flank us there. I don’t suppose you could take some of my men and head through there? If I’m remembering correctly, there is a back gate there, and troops could be massed on the other side. If the way is clear, you’ll come out onto the same field as us, in another spot.”

Zhong nodded slowly. “Ah, yes. Pouring troops out through as many holes as you can. A clever plan.”

“I’m glad you agree.” Takeda waved for one of his officers to join them, and put the man and his contingent under Huang Zhong’s care. “Make haste,” he cautioned as they headed out, “or you might come out too late to have any fun.”

Once the old soldier had left and the rear gate was barred behind them, Takeda returned to where Uesugi waited, still on his horse and giving his unfeeling stare to Cao Ren at his feet. Kenshin only stirred when his nemesis joined them. “What’s this, then?”

“A small addition to the plan,” Takeda replied. “Master Cao Ren will play his part in the battle to come.”

He turned his face to the prisoner seated before them, and though he smiled below the mask, it was disconcerting to behold. Cao Ren stared at them both, unsure what any of this meant. He had seen enough, however, to know that the outcome of the battle wasn’t anywhere near as clean-cut as he made it sound when he challenged Ma Chao. _All of them are so certain_ , he thought to himself. _Every single one is prepared to discard his life in order to defeat Orochi. And I…what is it that I do? All along, saying it’s for my lord, but…_

He remembered holding Zhao Yun’s spear and gazing at him through the grate of his prison cell, telling himself that holding this brave general of Shu was for the good of Wei and the good of his lord. Staring into the calm smile worn by Sun Jian as he knew he was delivering him to certain torture at Orochi’s hand. Desperately ordering the attack on innocent Lu Xun, and feeling the bite of Akechi’s sword in payment for his haste. Kneeling captive before the combined might of Zhao Yun and Sun Ce as they showed him mercy. All along Cao Ren had faithfully carried out every order laid on him, accepting the demands from Da Ji and the Orochi army as if they had come from Cao Pi himself. But Cao Pi wasn’t the one telling him to divide and conquer, or torture, or take the lives of those whose only crime was to stand up against Orochi. If he had doubts, Ren had hidden them away in a private part of himself. Here at Nagashino, he had finally been proud to take orders directly from his lord, and got himself captured again for it. He was content serving out this sentence, unless these two mighty warlords were more interested in executions than they let on. Then again, the way they were looking at him, they had something else entirely in mind. He decided to keep his mouth shut and let them do as they pleased with him.

The Ma cousins found their horses waiting for them and rode ahead to where the cavalry had disappeared, and were welcomed into the fold by Kanetsugu himself, who had ridden as the rearguard to confirm that all their forces were safe and ready. The gate through which they could enter Nagashino was wide enough for three horses abreast, so his officers were already getting their troops into position. As he sat resting in the saddle, Ma Chao inspected the lot, noticing the white of the Naoe and the differing reds of the Takeda and Sanada cavalries, but he missed one familiar face. He turned to Kanetsugu as he rode to wait with them. “What of that noble young man we met at your camp?” he wondered. “Sanada Nobuyuki?”

“Lord Shingen sent him on another errand,” Kanetsugu answered. “His uncle over there is leading the Sanada for him, and quite well enough I might add. Actually…” He brightened and smiled. “…if all has gone well, by now he should be with your Lord Zhao Yun, and his brother.”

“Aw, missed our chance by a hair again,” Ma Dai broke in, feigning dismay. “Honestly, cousin, by now I’m starting to think that _every_ one besides the two of us has gotten to ride with Lord Zhao Yun.”

“We will see him again.” Ma Chao’s voice was steady, unafraid. “When it comes time to rescue our lord Liu Bei, and return to Shu. We will all be together again, I know it.”

“I have no doubt you will,” Naoe encouraged warmly. He looked around the mass of cavalry, then back at the gate where a sentry waited for the signal. “It’s almost time. For the rest of the plan to be put into effect.” He gave the Ma cousins a pointed look.

Ma Dai blinked at him. “You know about the plan, too?”

“Of course. I am in the same position as you are.” Kanetsugu shook his head. “It’s upsetting, but it must be done. Prepare yourselves. I would be honored if you rode at the crest with me, when we charge.”

“I would be honored to do so,” Chao said in turn, brushing aside mention of the plan. “Let our justice shine forth as we ride together!”

“Yes!” Naoe enthused. “We will show Orochi the power of righteousness!”

Ma Dai only rolled his eyes a little at the two of them.

It was only a few short minutes before the sentry at the gate announced that the signal had been given. Kanetsugu led the way, with the other two beside him. “Now is the time to show our faith!” he cried to the mingled cavalry, who raised their weapons with a great battle cry in response. The three officers plunged through the gate first, followed by wave after wave of horsemen, wasting no time. The main camp had been turned out and the Orochi army flooded the field of Nagashino, meaning the greatest number of soldiers were already out there, when horses suddenly charged in lines out of the trees, making for the infantry’s flank and skirting right past the fences that were supposed to stop them. The Uesugi came up from the south, Huang Zhong’s troops from the center garrison, and their commanders rode in tandem over the last bridge. The Orochi forces had moved in response to them, leaving their flank completely vulnerable to a cavalry attack from the north. In due order, the field was in chaos, and the shallow creek that chattered through the center of the valley ran red with blood.

Sun Quan slammed a fist into the log wall of the fortress as he watched never-ending waves of horses plow over their soldiers. “Urgh, no,” he grumbled. “I had no idea they had so many forces in reserve!”

Cao Pi strode to his horse to finally mount up and prepare for battle. “To set an ambush right in front of our main camp,” he murmured, “a bold tactic. There really is only one solution.” He settled into the saddle and shot Sun Quan a look. “We will have to handle this ourselves. Move out!”

Yue Jin leaped onto his own horse and immediately followed him away toward the gate. Nothing had been said of Cao Ren’s disappearance, and now seemed the worst time to bring it up. Sun Quan got back on his horse, finding his own bodyguard already beside him. “You heard him, Zhou Tai. Let’s show these warlords how we do things back in Wu.”

The stoic warrior nodded once, and together they rode to join the Wei contingent on the field. They could see, now, that the barricades were useless when the cavalry attacked from the side rather than head-on, and not being from the land which Nagashino belonged to, they had no idea how to make use of them the way Nobunaga and his rifle units once had. Instead, the open field was a mayhem of horses and men, the troops scattering in all directions with no idea which way to turn first. Cao Pi restrained his charge, riding first to collect as many of his men as he could so they could form a wedge and strike more precisely, though some part of him chafed to ride straight for the enemy commanders and find out whether they had defeated Cao Ren. Sun Quan blasted past him, attempting to battle the cavalry directly, but in no time he and Zhou Tai were driven back almost to the gate of the main fortress. Both lords checked at nearly the same moment when Ma Chao rode past them both, first one then the other, and leveled an icy glare at them. He didn’t stop to engage them, he had work to do elsewhere, but he let them know with just that look what he thought of their presence here. Cao Pi watched him, and finally spotted Takeda and Uesugi together, riding more slowly but battling as they came, striking from horseback. So, those were the famed warlords who once attempted to vie with Oda Nobunaga, according to Mitsunari. Foes who chose in Orochi’s world to ally, and not unwillingly, whose combined strength had nearly shattered his own troops in their attempted raid on the village at Saika. Pi’s eyes narrowed, watching them, but still he refrained from going after them. If the battle progressed as expected, he would meet them soon enough.

Despite the triumph of the cavalry ambush, it was still painfully clear that the Orochi forces, combined with Wei, outnumbered the Alliance more than two to one, even after losing one commanding officer and a large chunk of their front line. The attacking army had to sustain the momentum as long as they could, and attempt to control the Orochi army’s perception of who was actually winning. If they could actually drive through to the center and capture either Cao Pi or Sun Quan, so much the better. For now, they mainly concentrated on pressing the attack steadily and relentlessly from all sides. The cavalry’s formation split after the first charge so separate units could spread across the battlefield and be of use on all sides, the Sanada here and the Naoe there, though Kanetsugu himself was busy riding back and forth, exhorting both mounted and foot troops as he went. Some of the Takeda cavalry were even using ropes to pull down some of the barricade fences, adding to the chaos. Huang Zhong’s unit pushed from one side, and Toshiie led the Uesugi on the other, so that combined, the Alliance infantry hemmed the Orochi forces in along the perimeter of the field of Nagashino while its cavalry threaded back and forth through the middle to keep the enemy from regrouping. There were simply too many, though, and Cao Pi managed to get his people clustered in one place so he could drive them in a wedge through the middle. Breaking that perimeter became his goal, and he barked out an order above the din for Yue Jin to lead the assault. Above them on the slope, Takeda was watching, his masked face hiding everything, but he distinctly managed to catch the Wei lord’s eyes from across the battlefield. At that moment, when he was sure he had Pi’s attention, Takeda gestured with his fan to the man riding at his side, and both of them made a show of fighting their way toward the wall of the final guardpost on their side of the field. There was enough activity all around them to disappear into, and it certainly did seem from where Cao Pi and Sun Quan held ground, that the enemy commanders had needed to retreat to the guardpost to regroup their own forces to meet the Wei counter-attack. Ma Chao, Ma Dai, and Kanetsugu all drew back as well, definitely time for a quick conference and maybe a change of plans.

Behind the palisade, Takeda directed the last remaining stragglers of their army into the fray and then had the gate closed and barred behind them. No retreat now, no surrender. The five of them dismounted and stood together, hidden from both friend and foe. “I know, I know,” the stout warlord said to his companion, “you would have liked to fight longer than that. But it’s time. Did you at least enjoy yourself?”

Uesugi looked at him and allowed himself a sly smile. “…have I ever not?”

Shingen shrugged. “It did have everything you would want, really. Dire circumstances, fighting back from the brink of defeat, there were even lots of snake demons to cut down.”

“My lords,” Kanetsugu said, far more seriously. “Must it come to this?”

“I’m afraid so, Kanetsugu,” Shingen replied. “It was our intention all along, even if we had won this battle. And you could still go out there and win it, things are very much in flux at the moment. We may not have the numbers or the upper hand, but anything is possible from here on out.”

Naoe’s shoulders sagged. “Then it would be no use attempting to persuade you otherwise.”

“We do this for the good of all who fight against the serpent,” Kenshin murmured. “I know it will be hard for you, my young friend, but you must. I need this of you.”

“Yes, my lord,” Kanetsugu said faithfully, without hesitation.

“We will bear the burden along with you,” Ma Chao said, with only the smallest hint of regret in his tone. “It must be done.”

“I’m very sorry you’ll have to go telling the news to everyone,” Shingen interjected, and he did actually sound apologetic. “At least, there is one man out there who will know what it really means, when he hears. The three of you must hold firm, until the time is right. Well. Four of you.”

He glanced to where one man had been waiting silently for them to finish, having been escorted there in secret. Cao Ren had use of his hands and his shield back, with the arrows still stuck in it, and stood privy to the plan. “You trust me to carry this out, and not tell Lord Cao Pi the truth,” he noted.

Takeda gave one slow nod. “I think you’re just the right man for the job, actually. You asked for death, and we didn’t give it to you. It seems to me you’re looking for some kind of penance, for whatever reason, so I hope having to live with our secret is difficult enough to serve the purpose.”

Ren’s face clouded. “You seem to be a fairly good reader of people, Lord Takeda.”

“I wouldn’t be where I am today otherwise.” Shingen tapped his fan against his open hand. “It seems I’ve chosen wisely, then. So, here is the long and short of it: Cao Ren is going to be returned to his lord, under the stipulation that he inform Cao Pi that the two of us have been killed in battle. In essence, the same thing as you three are going to report. I don’t know what that young man will do in response, he may press the attack even harder and make it impossible for our side to win the day, but we have done our part. We’ve kept their attention here long enough, and by the time they can even think to wrap up, things will have already started elsewhere.” He cast a glance back at Cao Ren. “Of course, don’t expect these boys to go easy on your forces, either. They’ve had a hard day and probably don’t feel very cooperative toward Cao Pi at the moment.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Ren looked straight at Ma Chao, who held his gaze with one eye narrowed suspiciously. “Perhaps we will get to enjoy a second round against one another, Lord Ma Mengqi. I expect you to fight with all your strength, to support your cause.”

“And what of you then, Cao Ren?” Ma Chao queried, leaving off any honorifics just yet.

The Wei officer lowered his gaze to the ground in front of his shield. “I honor and support my lord, but my eyes have been opened. All of you are willing to die for the single-minded goal of defeating Orochi, whether it takes days or months or years to accomplish, while all I do is follow my lord around and let the alliance with Orochi dictate my actions. No more. It is time for me to reclaim my own honor. I can’t join you, but I can at least participate in this plan. The greater good of bringing down Orochi depends on it.”

Chao’s expression did not change, but Ma Dai looked surprised enough for the both of them. “Now that, I wasn’t expecting,” he admitted. “All right, then. Maybe that’ll lend a little weight to the story, huh?”

“Precisely my thought,” Takeda nodded. “All right, then, you have your orders. Get going, all of you. We will meet again someday, though I can’t say when or where.”

Kanetsugu bowed deeply. “I will rejoin you as soon as I am able.”

“Sooner rather than later, Kanetsugu,” Kenshin urged him. “Even if you will not be given up for dead, they cannot know where you have gone, either.”

“I know. It shall be done, my lord.”

“Be safe, my lords,” Ma Chao wished them, palming his fist before his chest with great solemnity. Takeda actually returned the gesture, and Uesugi nodded curtly to agree. A spare horse was given to Cao Ren, and the gate thrown open so that he could charge out alone and make it look like he was fleeing from the enemy’s side. The other three gave him a few minutes and then mounted and rode off after him, spurring as if into pursuit. The two warlords remained behind the guardpost, double- and triple-checking that no one else could see them there, and then silently melted away into the trees at the edge of the gorge.

It was difficult for Ma Chao to feign emotion, he was a man of honesty and given to expressing his passion purely and sincerely. It was one thing to say the words, speak the lie and have others believe it, but if he really wanted the ruse to work, he needed to impress upon both armies that the rumor was true. He settled for letting himself get angry at the lie itself, and pretty soon was able to steel his face into a scowl and ride hard in search of vengeance. _Curse the snakes for forcing us into this position!_ he told himself. _If not for them, I wouldn’t have to do this! I will take payment for my lords out of their hides!_ Ma Dai watched the change come over him and matched his passion, though he did find it easier than his cousin to put on an act. They found it hard to say the words so soon, though, it didn’t feel right, so they settled for telling the cavalry officers that something terrible had happened before grouping them up for one more charge. Ma Chao was starting to believe his own ruse, and brandished the Silver Stallion angrily. “We must not let their sacrifice go to waste!” he roared to rally the cavalry. “Forward with me, and let us throw down these traitors! Let not the treachery of Wei and Wu take one more life today!”

Some of the officers looked at one another in alarm at those words. Sacrifice? Lives lost? But there was no time to ask, he was caught up in his own emotions and about to charge with or without them. They grouped up behind him as he dug his heels into his horse’s flanks, and together they followed him across the battlefield, forming a wedge of their own which drove into the Wei contingent from the side with renewed fury. Yue Jin was taken completely off-guard by their sudden onset, and wheeled his horse to try to stop at least one of them as they plowed right through his troops and broke their ranks completely apart. He had the misfortune of setting upon Ma Dai, who spun to meet his attack with a mighty swing of his polearm, which sent one of the hooked blades spinning off into the middle of the melee. Yue Jin still had a second blade, and threw himself heart and soul into the fight. There wasn’t even time to wonder why the Shu officers were here, he just fought his damnedest, and so did Ma Dai.

Cao Pi watched the cavalry slam into his army’s flank and tugged at the reins, ready to join the fracas himself, but then Cao Ren galloped up out of nowhere to meet him, forcing him to stand down. For once, the Wei lord’s well-maintained mask was down, he could not help but show his surprise and urgency. “Where have you been?” he demanded. “I was beginning to think you had been defeated and run off the field.”

“Very nearly so, my lord,” Ren answered, and showed his shield with the arrows in it. He certainly looked as though he had been hard put to. “I harried the alliance army to the north, but we were blocked in the middle.”

“So that’s why the cavalry outflanked us,” Pi grumbled. “There’s no time to rest, you’ll have to get back out there – as will I.”

“There may not be a need, my lord,” Ren warned. “On my way back I learned something that will turn the tide of this battle.”

Pi raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yes. The enemy commanders, they…” Cao Ren’s face tightened for a moment, in true distress. “They’ve been killed.”

The icy eyes of his lord widened in unrestrained shock. “What?!”

“I wish I could take credit, but.” Ren shook his head. “I came upon their battle from behind, and made to attack, but it was too late. I watched them fall before my eyes. It was Orochi’s snake soldiers, the ones Lord Sun Quan brought, no one in particular. They swarmed on the two of them and dragged them down.”

Disturbed, Cao Pi immediately turned to look back out at the battlefield. He understood, now, the renewed energy in the cavalry, and the fury in Ma Chao himself. No wonder. He sat for a moment digesting this, determining what it meant for their army. Should they press, or should they pull back and claim a weak victory? _No_ , he decided with a shake of his head. _We must keep it up. If we leave this army to their grief and panic, they’ll ride our heels all the way back to our own strongholds_. “Call back the troops and reform their units,” he ordered Cao Ren, forcing himself back into business mode. “We must not let the cavalry continue to rip us to shreds like that. We must hold a firm line, and advance to encircle them in order to crush them.”

“Yes, my lord.” Cao Ren turned his horse and thundered away, to call back anyone still standing and rebuild the perimeter. He would be too late to save Yue Jin from injury, but he could at least get an army to listen to him.

Cao Pi managed to wrestle himself back into control and rode over to where Sun Quan was holding his end of the line, and told him what Cao Ren had reported. The Wu lord reacted just the same, eyes wide, and they held a hasty conference before agreeing to continue the battle, to make an attempt at cutting off this wayward arm of the resistance army. With the commanders dead, control fell to Naoe Kanetsugu, and he could be seen all in white screaming across the battlefield, no longer simply exhorting and supporting but attacking with fervor. There were also three Shu generals and one of Oda’s men, and none of them looked to be going down anytime soon. If the Orochi army was in fact to win the day, they would still have a long, hard fight ahead, and the sun was already sinking past the tops of the trees in the west. Cao Pi knew he couldn’t hold back any longer and spurred his horse into the thick of it, riding up alongside Cao Ren and then past him, commanding his army to follow. On the other end, Sun Quan did the same, although a fair number of the demon soldiers under his control were already blundering about the battlefield and didn’t really give much heed to formations and strategies. He still had Zhou Tai, at least, and together they led as much of the army as they could to support Cao Pi. They could pincer what was left of the Alliance in the center, corral the cavalry, and end this battle on their terms.

Unbeknownst to anyone on either side, Naoe and Ma Dai were quietly, carefully withdrawing their troops, sending small units into retreat through the central guardpost so they could return to the main camp. It was hard to get some to leave the field, necessitating that the remaining officers be told of their great tragedy. Huang Zhong took it hard, and once he knew, it seemed like everyone knew. It was easier, then, to pull their forces back, routing them through the old general’s watchful command and sending them through the northern paths into safe retreat. Some portion of the army would have to remain to prevent Cao Pi and Sun Quan from simply harrying them all the way back and destroying them at the main camp instead, and they still needed to play their part in buying time. The bravest and most loyal of the Uesugi, as well as the entirety of the Takeda cavalry, decided they would stay and take the brunt of the final counter-attack, come what may. Ma Chao and Naoe remained with them, intending to lead them until the end. They could see the pincer attack forming, and pulled the cavalry out of the center before it could close on them. “You know you cannot die, here,” Ma Chao warned Kanetsugu as they regrouped atop the hillside for another charge. “I was expressly sent by Lord Oda to make sure you escaped this battle alive, Lord Kanetsugu.”

“Is that so?” Naoe frowned darkly. “It is a good thing, then, that I am not acting out of a need for vengeance, or it would be harder to pull me away. Even so, I’m not giving up yet.”

“Nor am I,” Chao vowed. “I wish to take the battle to them, and give them reason not to underestimate the Resistance.”

“Then by all means. I would not want to call it a day until I had faced one of their commanders on behalf of my lord.” Kanetsugu nodded to where he could see them advancing. “One for me and one for you, what do you say?”

“I would say I don’t mind settling a portion of my score with the Cao clan on the son,” Ma Chao grumbled. “You seem like the right man to teach Sun Quan about the folly of treason.”

“I think I could teach him quite a few lessons. Then, let’s go.”

Ma Dai returned from escorting another unit surreptitiously to safety in time to see them barrel off into the thick of things, and sighed to himself before racing to join them. He could see exactly where his cousin was going, and was not at all surprised, though he thought it a foolish idea. Attacking Cao Pi and Sun Quan head-on wasn’t going to win them the battle, they might barely get out of this alive as it was. Keeping an eye on where Naoe was in case he needed rescue, Ma Dai circled around and found himself face to face with Cao Ren instead. “Oh dear,” he said aloud. “It’s going to be like that, is it?”

“Do not back down on me now, Master Ma Dai,” Ren exhorted him. “Let me see if you are worthy of standing beside your noble cousin.”

“Aw, if you keep flattering us like that, it’s going to be hard to fight you.” Or so he claimed. As Cao Ren charged, Dai spun his brush and swung it hard, showing that he was indeed no slouch with a weapon or with a horse. It would be a challenge for the wounded officer to unseat him, much less defeat him, now.

Cao Pi turned his attention to the enemy army just in time, as Ma Chao was nearly upon him by then. Though he was not his father and could not be held complicit for anything done in Xiliang to the Ma clan, he had a feeling Ma Chao didn’t quite agree, judging by the dark look on his face shadowed beneath his helm. He turned his horse at the last second in order to deflect the charge of the Silver Stallion with one good sweep of Pure Havoc, and then followed through with the momentum as Ma Chao reined in and turned to have another go. Pi was not about to let an expert cavalryman dictate the battle from horseback if he could help it. He closed in fast and got a hold of the reins of his foe’s horse, which threw both steed and rider for a loop. The horse tried to pull away, while Ma Chao attempted to bring his spear around to engage in battle at close range. He could see what Cao Pi intended and spun the spear around in order to jab forward with the butt, catching the Wei lord in the chest and disrupting his balance. As soon as he felt the impact, Chao knew he had met his target and did it again, harder, until he battered Cao Pi out of the saddle the hard way. With a swirl of his cape, Pi rolled across the dirt and came up with both swords apart, ready to meet the next attack. The mighty Tiger General came at him from the air, launching himself right out of the saddle and soaring with spear raised for a huge overhead strike. It slammed down onto Cao Pi’s crossed blades, which gave slightly but still held the block in the nick of time. Ma Chao’s feet hit the ground at the same moment, giving him the opening to step back and renew his attack by different means. If his enemy was at all confident that he could win this duel, it didn’t show in his icy eyes.

No sooner had Sun Quan realized that one of the enemy commanders was on top of his ally, than he himself was drawn into the fray, unhorsed by an attack he didn’t even see coming. He gained his feet only to be rushed by a swordsman, and as he swung to block, he found himself crossing blades with the man in white, his dark eyes livid. “So you are the child of Wu who continues to live as a traitor to his people,” Kanetsugu hissed in the space between them. “Allow me to put an end to your captivity!”

“What do you know of it?” Quan snarled at him before throwing him off and counter-attacking. For all his noble countenance, Naoe was not weak and knew both sword and sorcery. He stuck with the sword for now, expertly parrying everything the Wu prince threw at him. They circled around and around, slashing and blocking in turn, sparks flying where their blades met, oblivious to the battle continuing all around them. Naoe’s focus seemed solely on his opponent, but as something moved to his left, he suddenly flung out his free hand, splaying a handful of ofuda into a makeshift shield just in time as Zhou Tai’s sword came at him. The spell blocked him on one side while Quan engaged him on the other, but he called to his bodyguard. “Leave him to me, Zhou Tai! Make sure Cao Pi isn’t defeated again!”

As much as he didn’t want to obey such a pointless order, Zhou Tai never went against his lord in these matters. He pulled back and turned to cross the field, only to have Maeda Toshiie slam into him, poleaxes singing amidst the din. Toshiie took one look at him and knew he’d have fun fighting him, undaunted by the grim face and wordless reception to his eager smack-talk. Kanetsugu rearranged the ofuda with a flick of his wrist and lightning-fast fingers, bringing them to the fore and swinging his shoulders around to use them to fire off a burst of energy that had Sun Quan scrambling to dodge. He followed it with a slash of his sword, and step by step forced Quan further away from reinforcements, wearing him down while keeping himself from being hit through clever ofuda spell-shields. It was too much, Sun Quan wasn’t used to fighting someone who could wield actual sorcery with such precision. It made up for any difference in their strength, and gave Naoe the upper hand at just the right moment. He pressed in hard and clashed one more time, their blades screaming as they scraped against each other, trembling in their respective masters’ fists. “You cannot escape judgment,” Kanetsugu said darkly. “My righteous blade will find you wherever you flee.”

“You think so,” Quan shot back through gritted teeth. “You have no idea of the extent of Orochi’s reach. Can’t you see? Your commanders are dead, and you’ll be next!”

Naoe’s eyes narrowed, shadowed beneath his silver helm. “So you’ve already heard the news. No matter. My lord’s sacrifice will not be in vain, I shall carry on his legacy until all this land is wiped clean of Orochi’s stain!”

He drew back once more and hacked at Sun Quan, driving him back until he hit the wall of the main fortress. Luck alone saved the Wu lord’s life, as he rolled to the side to avoid a hit and found himself stumbling through the open gate of the fortress. A handful of soldiers still inside saw their lord in trouble and ran to the rescue, swarming on Naoe and forcing him to redouble his efforts just to keep them all off him. A shout nearby arrested Quan’s attention, and he looked past his men to see Cao Pi on the ground with Ma Chao’s spear hovering over him. Somehow, despite their commanders being dead, the Resistance army had managed to turn the tables at the very end. Quan understood his only option and raised his voice to repeat the shout he had just heard. “Retreat! Our men, retreat! Into the fortress! Clear the field!”

Sounding the call distracted Ma Chao for the briefest moment, allowing Cao Pi the opportunity to roll to the side to avoid being skewered and snatch up his swords. He disappeared behind a charging cavalry horse and used the mayhem and confusion to back away, to find another gate and make his way into the safety of the fortress. Bit by bit the Orochi army disengaged itself from its foe and drew back, though the snake demon soldiers mostly careered around the field in complete disorder, having no one to really command them properly. Many fled into the trees. Seeing that the enemy commanders had slipped through their fingers, Naoe likewise whistled for the cavalry to cease fighting and return to formation. He regained a saddle even as Ma Chao marched up beside him, and held his ground before the gate until everyone had been accounted for, horses had been collected, and the battleclash died down around them. The sun went down behind the shoulder of the hills as they drew back, verifying the retreat of the Orochi army from a distance. The fortress doors clanged shut, finally putting an end to the tragic day.

Finding themselves at the rear of their army, the commanding officers followed them all the way back to the main camp, reaching it as darkness began to draw on in earnest. Sentry posts had already gone up, and everyone was prepared to defend in case the Orochi army changed their minds and tried to attack them there, but it seemed they had successfully beaten the enemy down enough that they, too, found it more prudent to wall themselves in and recover from the battle than to press it any further. Everyone knew their place and duties and went about them diligently, but that didn’t stop a good many from taking a moment here and there to stop and utter a lament or shed a tear or two for the loss of their lords. There was no time to properly and openly grieve, but they did whatever they could while collecting weapons, cooling down horses, guarding the camp, and tending the wounded. The commanders, likewise, had little time to stop and really let it hit them, but Huang Zhong occasionally stopped mid-stride and covered his eyes with a hand, catching himself thinking or talking about asking Lord Shingen something and too late realizing that he couldn’t. The others, who knew the truth, went about more or less in silence, until Maeda Toshiie took them aside and demanded the impossible of them. He hadn’t seen it happen, no one had, and while they were glad that none of the enemy officers could lay claim to having been the one to slay them, there was one small detail amiss. “We need to give them the proper rites,” Toshiie insisted. “What happened to them? Where are the bodies?”

The Ma cousins had not thought of that, but Naoe fortunately had. He shook his head with the gravest of expressions. “We were too late,” he said seriously. “The Orochi army took them away, perhaps for the very reason of denying us the chance to lay graves and mourn properly. Surely, the grave mounds of two such great men raised on Nagashino would turn this place into a shrine, a pilgrimage for the Resistance and a rallying point…”

“Naturally, they would deny us such a thing,” Ma Chao hastily agreed. “Those serpents know nothing of honor, they would desecrate everything we hold dear.” That much, at least, was true.

Toshiie pounded a fist against the nearby palisade wall. “Bastards! They can’t be content with destroying our best men, they have to desecrate their memory as well? Orochi has to pay for this! A thousand deaths are too good for him!”

Kanetsugu reached to put a hand on his shoulder in comfort. “I know your heart, my friend, but there is no time to even stop to catch our breath right now. I don’t intend to let those two escape so easily. Once the cavalry can be regrouped, I will harry them all the way back to their own strongholds. The Sanada and Takeda cavalries are with me on this, their anger cannot be contained any more than my own.”

“Unfortunately, we must return to Lord Oda,” Ma Chao said darkly, folding his arms over his chest. “We have orders.”

“I will head out as soon as I can,” Huang Zhong interjected, “and inform Lord Nobunaga of the terrible news. We’ve sent messengers but I think he’d rather hear the whole story from one of us.”

“Yes, do,” Chao nodded, “and the rest of us will follow you once we’ve ordered the troops and seen to Lord Naoe’s safety. Without his lord, he becomes leader of this faction. He needs all the support he can get.”

Kanetsugu sighed. “I would appreciate your assistance getting our forces prepared to march, Lord Ma Chao, but then I will have to say farewell, and send you back to Oda. Loathe as I am to send anyone away right now…”

“We didn’t foresee this outcome,” Ma Dai sympathized, “or else we might have been better prepared. Are you sure you want to follow on the heels of our enemy?”

“I must,” Naoe insisted. “They may attempt to return to Guandu, and I cannot let them do so until we hear whether or not Lord Oda has taken it as planned. Our distraction here has now become a more vital and dangerous mission – we will have to prevent the Orochi army from recovering even a portion of their strength. We may not have won the day, but we dealt them a nasty blow. If our lords are to rest in peace, we shall have to prolong the battle and turn their retreat into a sure defeat.”

“If only we had been able to capture one or both of their commanders in turn,” Ma Chao grumbled. “No matter. Without a clear outcome, they may not know what to do with themselves besides withdraw. If Lord Oda is successful, tonight, they will have nowhere to turn.”

“All the more reason to dog their heels, I get it.” Toshiie scrubbed a hand down his face to sober himself up and try to push aside his anger. “All right, then. I’ll make sure our vanguard is rested enough to set out at dawn’s light. Master Huang Zhong, are you sure you don’t need anyone else to ride with you?”

“I’ll be fine,” the old archer assured. “Alone, I can ride fast and not attract any attention. Any more than that and I’d make myself a target for any Orochi scouts roaming abroad in the land.”

“Bring Lord Oda what he needs to hear,” Ma Chao implored. “And tell him we will follow shortly. I will not rest until I know Lord Naoe is safe and has the men he needs to carry out his lord’s last wishes.”

Kanetsugu reached to lay a hand on his arm in solidarity, which Ma Chao readily returned. Fighting alongside one another in this battle had solidified their respect and camaraderie. Ma Dai waved a hand at the others in a little shooing motion. “Go on, get some sleep if you can. At least you, Toshiie. Everybody’s got a lot of work to do, it’ll be hard to do if we’re worn out.”

The others nodded to agree with his assessment, and turned to head across the camp to roll into whatever bedroll they could manage to snatch a nap, if nothing else. It left the three in on the ruse a moment in which to share a look and a few whispers amongst themselves. “I hate this,” Ma Chao breathed. “Look at them.”

“It is crucial to our success,” Naoe insisted, though his eyes showed that his heart was also breaking for the grief his own men, his friends, must be feeling. “Never forget that. Our lords have indeed sacrificed something great in order to bring Orochi to ruin, even if it isn’t their actual lives.”

“It must be just as difficult for them,” Dai mused, looking across the camp at all the small fires where the Takeda-Uesugi forces gathered to nurse their hurts both physical and emotional. “To have to leave their devoted followers like this, and somehow stay alive?”

“At least, to that end, it won’t be long.” Kanetsugu lowered his voice further yet and drew them into his confidence, leaning in. “I am taking the cavalry to bite the heels of the Orochi army as they retreat, but once we drive them into Lord Oda’s path, I will take our army and withdraw them to a safe place. I cannot say when, but soon enough, they will witness the miracle for themselves. But in order to do that, they will also have to be given up for dead…as will I.”

The Ma cousins blinked at him in surprise. “You would do that?” Chao worried.

“It is the only way, to ensure the complete success of this plan,” Kanetsugu explained. “The deaths of my lord and his nemesis were easy to accomplish, but we could not carry out the deaths of an entire army the same way. Not on an open battlefield like this. It will be easier if we are said to have been routed while attempting to attack the rear of the Orochi army’s retreat, no one would be able to gainsay it.”

Dai nodded slowly as he understood. “So that’s how you’re going to do it. I shall be sorry to have to think of you as dead, Lord Kanetsugu. Especially after your brave stand today.”

“You were rather amazing yourself, Lord Ma Dai,” Kanetsugu said with a small smile. “You took out two enemy officers one right after the other without even stopping for breath.”

“Aw, come on now, the second one was already injured from fighting the young master,” Dai said modestly, grinning. “That doesn’t count.”

That reminded Ma Chao of the other conspirator in their plan, making his brow furrow. “Do you think we can trust him? Cao Ren, I mean.”

“Oddly, I think so,” Naoe replied. “Lord Takeda is rarely wrong about a person. Something must have happened when we left him in the camp with our lords, but I feel he will not go back on his word.”

“I hope you’re right,” Ma Dai said warily. “We’re not so good at trusting the men of Wei, you know.”

“I gathered.” Kanetsugu bowed his head briefly. “When I fought Sun Quan, he had heard the rumor already, he threw it in my face thinking it would shatter my heart. So, he must have done it. Now we can only wait to see if he sticks with it, as we must.”

Ma Chao closed his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh. “If the truth gets out, it will not be from me. I will not let a man of Cao Cao’s loyalty best me at anything, not even keeping secrets.”

Dai looked at him and then shrugged at Kanetsugu. “I’m sure it sounds weird but it makes sense to me.”

“Whatever it takes.” Naoe laid his hands on both their shoulders, giving them each a squeeze even if it couldn’t be felt through their armor pauldrons. “I am glad to go through it with you, my friends. We are brothers of the battlefield, today. Now go, get some rest yourselves. When we say our farewells in the morning, it may sound like forever but I promise you, I will see you again.”

Ma Chao laid a hand over the one on his shoulder, giving Naoe a firm nod in return. “Go with all the blessings under heaven, my friend.”


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Guandu and Nagashino, preparing the Orochi front and the Resistance both for yet another battle.

While all the mighty battles were going on in their part of the world, far to the west the reunited forces of the Shu Resistance had finally reached the familiar fields and forests of Chengdu, and a fine summery day shone down on them as they paraded triumphantly through the gates of Luo Castle. All along the way leading up to the chief city they were hailed by Shu peasants happily going about their lives as if they weren’t really living in a demon-created dimension, and by the time the army reached the castle in the capital, all their people had come out to see them and welcome them back. Seeing Lord Zhao Yun among them raised spirits even more, and he managed to smile for them no matter how tired he was. It felt like it had been a long time since they had last rested at the Takeda camp, and even though his heart burned to continue searching for someone who could bring them word of Lord Liu Bei, he knew as he rode into the castle that he couldn’t have kept going another day. He needed a short rest, no one had to nag him this time.

Once within the castle compound, they were greeted mostly by soldiers and other officers rather than civilians. They had the Hojo along, and needed to find quarters for them and what few men they managed to save, plus the newest acquisition for their army and the single prisoner they had taken. It appeared that not only had the leaders of the Nanman joined them in Chengdu, but all of the officers who had been routed from Odani some time ago had retreated safely there as well. Soldiers came to take their horses and help with their gear, allowing Zhao Yun a moment to dismount and just look around. The castle was in much better shape than when he last left it, so many long weeks ago, it looked every bit as whole and busy as it would if their lord really was home where he belonged. Yueying had things in hand, all right, and their army was getting along fine without him, while he roamed the land on his mission. He wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about that. Xingcai came up to them, to greet her brother first and then her lord. “You’ve been away so long, you must have a lot of stories to tell!” she enthused. “And information! Have you heard anything about Lord Liu Bei?”

Zhao Yun did his best not to look crestfallen. “Ah…no, not really…”

“The time for debriefing and business can wait,” Yueying said diplomatically as she came alongside them. “Let us give Lord Zhao Yun a chance to rest, and get out of armor. We’ll have a great feast tonight, so everyone can catch up on the stories of our exploits.”

“Sounds like a good time to me,” Magoichi interjected, likewise horning in on the group. “I’m always up for a party! Ladies…”

They both gave him a wary look. “Er, yes, well,” Yun said as brightly as he could, “I think Lady Yueying has the best idea. I would like to get settled in and out of armor before I handle any tasks around the castle. If I may?”

“I will join you,” Yukimura decided, coming up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder to steer him away before anyone else could pounce on him.

He remembered exactly where Zhao Yun’s quarters were, though it had been some time since their last drop-in at Chengdu, and got him there without anyone else bothering them except for a single attendant who welcomed both lords back to the capital by having their rooms already set up for them. By now, it was generally assumed that Sanada would want to be next door to the general to whom he had pledged his service, and he did leave his Crimson Fang there to rest, but went straight back to Zhao Yun’s side to stand guard while he took off his armor and quickly washed up before putting clean, fresh clothing on. They had not done anything together besides toss one another flirty glances across crowded tents since that night below the mountain pass, but for now Yukimura contented himself with merely watching from across the room as his lord and friend washed away the trail dust from face and hands and soothed his weary muscles, nothing too complex. A real bath could wait until later, he knew everyone was waiting for him. Yet, as he pulled out a fresh tunic and pants, unfolding black silk damasked with gold dragons, he could feel Yukimura’s eyes on him and tried to suppress a knowing smile. “You don’t want to wash up and change, too?” he wondered of his comrade.

“I will in a moment,” Yukimura said with the same smile. “I wanted to make sure no one barged in on you, first.”

“Ah, is that what it is.” Yun assembled himself an outfit of different colors, putting aside the green and white for today and opting for black and gray with a little purple. He wasn’t fooled at all by his friend’s diligence. “You know, until now I kept myself busy while home in order to stop myself from constantly thinking and worrying about my mission. But today, I find myself wishing that I didn’t have to stay busy. I would much rather stay in here…”

He cut himself off before finishing, but the sentiment was more than implied by the way he glanced over his shoulder at Yukimura. The young samurai flushed as crimson as his headband. “Ah…I see, Lord Zilong. If that’s what you want, I doubt anyone would deny you…”

Yun breathed a soft laugh to himself as he laced up the toggles on his tunic. “No, you and I both know there isn’t time for such a thing. I’m already dreading having to explain several times over that I can’t stay, that we must keep moving, that we have plans that have not changed even after the battle at Shizugatake.”

He moved to the mirror to inspect himself and then stood for a moment, debating whether to put a headband on and how to pull his hair back. He heard a small noise near the door, and glanced again to find Yukimura watching him intently, biting his lower lip. It was such an eager and shameless expression, Zilong found himself grinning. “What is it?”

“I…no, nothing, never mind,” Yukimura said, embarrassed.

“Come now…”

Given that they had just obliquely touched the idea of sequestering themselves together in this room, Yukimura plucked up his courage and tried not to look away as he admitted his thoughts. “I would…like to help you with your hair, if you would let me.”

“…oh.” Zhao Yun’s eyes lit up with interest. There was a brush on the stand next to the mirror, so he picked it up and offered it like the hilt of a blade. “Please.”

Yukimura let out a breath in a rush, and then dropped his head so his gaze hit the floor. “I’m still dirty from riding, you shouldn’t let me touch…”

“Yukimura.” Yun was practically laughing. “Come on. I would deny you nothing, especially when you ask so sweetly.”

Still blushing awkwardly, Yukimura crossed to him, tugging off his gloves so he could take the brush in his open hand. He found it hard to meet Yun’s eyes at the moment, but then his comrade was seating himself near the mirror, and he had his chance. Even after just coming from many long days in the field, battle after battle, ride after ride, he found Zhao Yun’s long hair soft and silky as he ran it through his fingers. Bit by bit he slowly combed it out, making it a reverent exercise in worshipping his friend’s beauty, until it fell in a smooth ebony sheet down his back. He worked in silence, and by the time he was done, he felt a lot better about it and even stole a quick look in the mirror to make the briefest eye contact. Zilong smiled back, and held a hand up over his shoulder to offer a cord to tie it. Nodding, Yukimura gathered up all that hair and drew it up high the way samurai tended to wear their topknots, and took the cord to wrap around it so it sat in a high queue. Considering Zilong usually wore it low on the nape of his neck, it was a new look for him, and he decided he liked it. By now, Yukimura felt himself brave enough to lay his hands on his comrade’s shoulders, and even raise one to stroke through the soft, fluffy fringe that hung down around his face. “Does that work?”

“Yes, I think so.” Yun raised a hand to touch the one resting on his shoulder, reassuring him, and then moved to find a headband. Considering he was at home, and seen by the entirety of the Shu Resistance as their lord, he figured he could be a little ostentatious for just one night. For the feast, really. He had a thin circlet of gold filigree that matched the black-and-gold tunic, and slipped it on his head. Yukimura assisted by rearranging his hair so it fell over the circlet, making him look rather regal and evoking a bit of a blush out of Zhao Yun in turn. “I look ridiculous,” he murmured. “I am no king or emperor…”

“You look fine,” Yukimura said adoringly, his voice soft. “You’re allowed to dress up once in a while, Zilong. When else are you going to have the chance to put aside dirty camps and all the blood and sweat and let yourself look like a general should?”

Breathing a defeated sigh, Yun swiveled in his seat to look at his companion directly. “The same goes for you, young Lord Sanada. I’m sure the attendants have provided you with clothing fitting your status as well.”

“Me?” Yukimura could hardly believe it. Nobuyuki was the lord, even here at Chengdu.

“Come.” Zhao Yun got up and took his hand, dragging him toward the door. “Let’s go see.”

Yukimura could hardly do more than splutter in protest as he was forcibly pulled to his room next door, though there wasn’t anyone out in the corridor to see it either way. Yun wagged a finger at him to tell him to get out of armor and disrobe while he went to the wardrobe and flung it open to have a look at the offerings. True, the clothing was styled as he was accustomed to, not after the customs and fashions of Wa, but there were fine brocade tunics and coats awaiting use, ranging in color from the soft ivory and cloud-gray of Yukimura’s regular kimono to Shu greens, rich reds, and even black and purple. He heard the clatter of the lacquered leather armor being put aside while he perused the options, and finally came out with gray Han-styled trousers and a red tunic embroidered with gold and purple at the shoulders, clusters of plum blossoms which had golden branches running onto the sleeves. He laid it out for Yukimura and stood aside grinning, since he got to watch his comrade go through the same washing and considered himself treated to an equally nice view through the process. His happiness disarmed Yukimura completely, the young samurai could only smile shyly as he finished patting his skin dry and moved to get dressed. The tunic made him gasp, and he gladly pulled the soft silk on. The red matched his Sanada crest perfectly, and he stood admiring it as Zilong did up the ties and buttons for him. “I can hardly turn down something so nice,” he said bashfully. “Your people are too kind to offer this for me.”

“It looks good on you,” Yun murmured, all smiles. “As befits a lord of the Sanada clan, hmm?”

“Don’t you start.” Yukimura found a sash and belt to complete the look, and then grinned at his friend. “And here I thought it was going to take some work to help you find your smile again. All you needed was to dress me up, apparently.”

Yun laughed for real, this time. “Apparently, indeed. You do my heart good, Yukimura.”

They stood gazing at one another for a long moment, inspecting and approving of their respective new outfits for the feast, and then stepped closer. It seemed only natural to bend their heads and bestow a soft kiss on one another. Only one, though, and then they stood brushing hands down chests and arms for a longer moment. “Do we have to go down right now?” Yukimura wondered.

“I suppose we might have…a _few_ minutes to ourselves,” Yun answered. “Why?”

Leaning back in, Yukimura brushed his lips across the other’s once more. “Just in case things get busy later, and we don’t have time for this.”

By the soft moan in his throat and the way he chased after that kiss with another of his own, Zhao Yun was in complete agreement with this idea.

The grand feast Yueying spoke of wasn’t exactly a formal affair, but nearly everyone attending had been recently in the field and welcomed the chance to put on fresh clothing and show off just a little bit. The castle attendants at Luo had outdone themselves preparing quarters for so many famed officers from different lands, it seemed a shame not to honor their hard work by using the finery provided to make the most of this rare chance to sit at the feast table. If only they could have gotten Magoichi to shave, too. Yuan Shao might have had something to do with all of the opulence, since he was currently residing at Chengdu and lording his nobility over everyone in Liu Bei’s absence. For once, everyone let him do as he pleased, since it kept him content and kept his nose out of the military debriefings. Zhao Yun only wanted to know if he remembered anything about what he had heard of his lord’s whereabouts, but once he learned that Yuan Shao’s memory had not yet been jogged, he left the man to the feast preparations and withdrew to share a short military council with those who had not been afield. Tachibana had just returned from scouting Odani and reported that Tokugawa had deserted it, leaving it open for them to retake if they wished. Xingcai had been holding command at Luo while Yueying was away, and reported that the only occurrence of any interest was the arrival of the Nanman forces. Things seemed well in hand, and they sat around chatting about their next moves while they waited for Magoichi to return with reports from his own scouts. The Hojo would be content remaining with them until summoned back to the Takeda-Uesugi alliance, depending on the outcome of this major battle Nobuyuki spoke of, and he agreed that it would probably be best if he went with them. Riding and fighting with his brother was fun, but he had duties to attend to. Occupying Odani a second time seemed a good idea, it would taunt the Orochi army further as well as maintain a frontier outpost for their resistance. Zhao Yun was still intent on traveling to Jieting to see if they could capture an Orochi retainer and force information out of them, but it also seemed wise to Yueying to claim whatever strongholds they could. If they had the manpower to actually conquer and occupy that territory, they should, because it would be one less fortress in Orochi’s control. At this rate, it didn’t matter if the location was strategically important or even good land for settling civilians, it wouldn’t be a place wherein the Orochi army could retreat or hole up. Yukimura expressed some regret that Ueda was still in Orochi control, somehow, but it was a much larger castle and required a more concentrated army excursion to wrest it from Sima Yi. They could speak idly of planning those campaigns, but Nobuyuki’s information on the daring assault planned by Takeda, Uesugi, and Oda suggested that they should wait to hear the complete results before seriously preparing any confrontations of their own. Control over large chunks of land could shift, after that, and the natural fallout might have far-rippling repercussions that would change more than just who sat in what castle. He was just musing about the possibility of remaining at Chengdu to receive that information when Magoichi finally joined them, pushing the double doors of the council room open with both arms. “There you are,” Yueying chided him. “We were beginning to wonder if we should start the feast without you.”

“A thousand, million pardons, my lady,” Saika said, his usual suave purr muted a bit by an unusually serious look. “It turns out the scouts who came in on our heels had a lot to tell me. And it’s pretty important, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to share.”

“Please,” Zhao Yun encouraged, “by all means. What have you found out?”

Magoichi fell in at Yukimura’s side, setting his hands on his hips. He was still wearing his Yatagarasu coat over the fresh clothing provided by his hosts, which at least matched the muted greens and grays. “It’s about Jieting,” he sighed, “and all the more reason we shouldn’t dawdle around here too long and go and attack it. Whoever was holed up there before has been replaced…” His eyes shifted to Yukimura. “…by Date Masamune.”

Both Sanadas stared widely at him. “Date? No…” Yukimura gasped.

“Is that so?” Ginchiyo said with some distaste.

“I’ve heard some about this Date,” Yueying said thoughtfully. “As regards the firearms your people use.”

Magoichi nodded slowly. “Pretty sure I mentioned him here and there, he was pressed into Orochi’s service with his rifle squads. He and I go way back, actually,” he added, his flippancy clearly covering up the unpleasantness of knowing an old friend was on Orochi’s side. “You don’t need to hear the messy details, but the upshot of it is, I’d really like a chance to face him myself. So when you set out for Jieting, I’m coming with.”

Zhao Yun understood completely, and lowered his head in a nod of solemn agreement. “I would welcome your assistance, particularly against rifle squads. In turn, we can share with you our own experiences there, so as to put together an effective strategy.”

“It’s a plan, then.” Saika’s shoulders lifted and fell in a massive shrug. “That’s all I’ve got for now, I don’t want to put off dinner any longer with all the tiny details. We can hash that out before we actually hit the road.”

“That was important, though,” Yukimura acknowledged. “Date is not small news, either way.”

“If that is all for now, I will see if the feast has been prepared,” Yueying said, closing the meeting with finality. “I do hope Master Pang De agrees to join it, he is a part of our army now.”

“I could go and see, if you’d like, my lady,” Xingcai broke in.

Everyone moved to leave the council room and find somewhere else to mill about, somewhere that wouldn’t tempt them to talk business the whole time. Xingcai departed to see to their new acquisition, while the others strolled into the courtyard to wait to be summoned. “It’ll be nice to see the lovely lady Zhurong again,” Magoichi murmured half to himself as they went. “Even if that big oaf is with her.”

“Didn’t you learn your lesson last time, Magoichi?” Jiang Wei chuckled. “Do try your best not to embarrass yourself at such a stately feast.”

“It will not be much like the parties they held after our victories in Nanzhong,” Zhao Yun acknowledged. “We are a much more sedate people than the Nanman, after all.”

“It’s still a party,” Magoichi claimed, draping his arms over Zhao Yun and Yukimura’s shoulders and leaning on them, “and I for one am happy to be able to sit and have a drink with all my friends. Even you, Jiang Wei.”

Wei shot him a look. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You know what Zhao Yun just said about being sedate…?”

Everyone who got it right away laughed, while Jiang Wei merely pouted at being teased. The call came, then, that the feast was ready, so they wasted no more time in getting right down to it.

It was rare to see everyone in their finery and an actual feast spread across the table for them, in this time of war and uncertainty. The summer had been good to the lands of Chengdu, and there was plenty of food for civilian, soldier, and lord alike. Every last officer in the Shu Resistance was there, as well as their guests and allies – the Hojo officers, Yuan Shao, Wei Yan, Meng Huo and his people, Shimazu and his sons, and Tachibana. Pang De did in fact consent to join them, once he had verified that Jia Xu was being treated well as a prisoner. Though he had told the council of the basic facts of his meeting and secret alliance with Sun Ce, Zhao Yun was encouraged to tell the full story of their rescue at Hulao Gate for the whole assembly, assisted now and then by Zhang Bao or Jiang Wei, who had watched great exploits of heroism on the field and wanted to make sure everyone got their due. It started off a round of stories of great battles, and even Meng Huo had one to offer. “No, it wasn’t me!” he insisted, leaning across the table with a jingle of necklaces and beads. “It’s like I told the Lady when we got here, it’s the reason we were late in getting here. I thought for sure we were done for all over again, I’d never seen anything like it! It was…what did you say that guy’s name was?”

He rounded on his wife for help. Zhurong closed her eyes briefly. “Lu Bu.”

Everyone at the table goggled and sat back in shock, with the possible exception of Xingcai, who had heard the tale already. “Lu Bu!” Zhao Yun repeated.

“So you guys know who that is – good!” Meng Huo said brashly. “Then I don’t gotta explain just how tough he was. Never seen the likes of him in our lands before, he was worse than Sima Yi and the whole Wei army all put together just on his own! See, we were all ready to head out like we promised, but then this guy shows up and says he’s gonna erase the Nanman from existence, because we’d been bothering Orochi for too long. I figured he was all brag and no bite, until I went up against him. Thought he’d take my head clean off, I did.”

For Meng Huo to admit defeat was a sure sign that it was Lu Bu, all right. Those who had faced the formidable warrior in times past and knew how deadly he could be leaned in, listening intently to the story. “How did you survive?” Yueying asked breathlessly.

“It was the craziest thing.” Meng Huo shook his head. “I knew it was too late to call on our friends from Shu, there was no way you guys woulda got there in time. I was just thinking we were done for, and I begged the gods to send someone to help us. Sure enough, this other big guy just sort of shows up, outta nowhere, the gods _must_ have sent him. His sons were no slouches, either, but that guy…” He shook his bearded head incredulously. “He was at least the size of Lu Bu himself, with the brightest, shiniest armor I ever seen, and big deer antlers on his helm at least _this_ big.”

He raised his arms above his head to try to convey the size of the helm in question, at which the Sanada brothers suddenly startled. “You don’t mean…” Nobuyuki breathed.

“It has to be!” Yukimura interjected. “Honda!”

Meng Huo blinked at them. “Yeah, that was his name, all right. Honda. How’d you know?”

Nobuyuki let out a relieved sort of laugh. “He is, ah…my future father-in-law, actually.”

All heads at the table turned to him and his brother. “Seriously?” Jiang Wei queried. “I didn’t know you were betrothed, Lord Sanada.”

“Ah, yes…I am promised to the Lady Ina,” he admitted, pointedly ignoring any snickering from Magoichi. “That’s neither here nor there. No one had seen or heard from Honda Tadakatsu yet in this world, it was feared he was either killed when Orochi attacked Tokugawa, or that he had somehow not been brought here.”

“After seeing him fight? If Orochi brought all the strongest people here to fight him, then he definitely wouldn’t have let this Honda out of his sights,” Zhurong put in. “He gave new meaning to strength, let me tell you.”

Yukimura turned to his brother, beaming happily. “Honda is alive and well, then!”

“Sounds like quite the warrior,” Pang De mused.

“Oh, he is,” Nobuyuki admitted. “Honda Tadakatsu is the most famed samurai from our time.”

“It’s said he’s never even received a single scratch in battle,” Yoshihiro grunted from his end of the table. “I’ve always hated and admired that about him.”

“I’d believe it,” Meng Huo said proudly. “I watched him light into Lu Bu, it was like a clash between gods! Thanks to him, my people were saved yet again. He’s why we’re here – I wouldn’t have left our people with the threat of the likes of Lu Bu breathing down their necks, but Honda said he and his sons would watch over them for us, until they could rebuild the defenses and make sure an invasion like that doesn’t happen again.”

“That’s incredible,” Yueying enthused. “Many of us had been wondering what became of Lu Bu, we knew he was in Orochi’s service but he hasn’t fought in any of the battles across the land that we’ve heard.”

“Well, he’s out there now,” Zhurong warned. “The Honda clan may protect our people from him for now, but that means he’s likely to show up somewhere else.”

“It was only a matter of time,” Zhao Yun said seriously. “I had expected to see him before this, I truly believed we would find him at Hulao Gate when we saw his retainers on the field. From here on out, I would not be at all surprised if we are forced to fight him.”

Yukimura shot him a quick look, as if to remind him what was said after that battle. Sun Ce had talked of being willing to fight Lu Bu; Yukimura himself had agreed, after only hearing rumors. He still felt the same. Yun met his gaze and nodded his understanding.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Meng Huo sat back now that his tale was over, sloshing the wine in his cup. “Every time things look black, someone swoops in just time. And a lot of ‘em have been from your country.” He raised his cup toward the Sanadas and Saika, indicating their people. “It takes all kinds, eh?”

“Indeed,” Ginchiyo concurred. “It will take all of us uniting together, putting aside our feuds, in order to stop Orochi for good.”

“That in itself will be no small task,” Pang De muttered. “But that’s talk for another day. This is supposed to be a party, isn’t it?”

“Master Pang De is right.” Zhao Yun rose from his chair, taking his cup in hand and raising it high over the assembled lords and officers. “Tonight, we drink to peace, for we know war is outside our door waiting for tomorrow. We drink to kindness and friendship, for we know cruelty and enmity will meet us on the battlefield wherever we clash with Orochi. The road ahead is long and hard, so tonight we will drink to comfort and companionship, for without it, we may falter along the way.”

Everyone raised their cups to agree to the toast, most of them smiling in their own way. Yun’s toast was sincere, and each person at the table felt it in their own way. Even Magoichi closed his eyes briefly over his cup, thinking about the battle that they were already planning to wage and the former friend now standing in their way. Zhurong lofted her cup even higher. “And to Lord Liu Bei, without whom none of us would be here gathered in this company.”

All of the Shu warriors in particular nodded to the addendum. It was Zhao Yun’s single-minded love for his lord, and their loyalty together, which laid the foundation for the Shu Resistance, and they all knew it. He drank deeply first, and the rest followed. At a gesture from him, the attendants went around the table refilling cups and bringing the next course of the feast, while Yun sat down and gave Yukimura a quick smile. Companionship was what kept him sane and steadfast on his mission, and they both knew it. Perhaps later when they had all had their fill, he would be able to steal back to his room and thank Yukimura in his own way.

  


Things at Nagashino were not as completed as commanders on either side would have liked to think. Cao Pi and Sun Quan had safely retreated and pulled their troops back inside the fortress beside the river, but there remained some uncertainty about what to do next. Even if the Orochi army had somehow successfully killed both Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin, their entire army survived the battle and was now under the command of one of Uesugi’s most trusted and talented retainers. As much as he was displeased with the situation and prepared to take his men and go home, Cao Pi knew that allowing them to retreat safely was only setting them up to repeat this battle again elsewhere. His own officers were injured, and he had barely escaped a beheading at Ma Chao’s hand, but Sun Quan’s forces were not much better off. He and Zhou Tai seemed to be more or less intact, all things considered, if a little tired, but the army at his command had seen better days. When their scouts reported that the Alliance army had only withdrawn as far as their own main camp for the night, Cao Pi considered that they might need to regroup and start again in the morning. He flopped into his tent with that in mind, expecting to snatch a few hours of sleep before having to pull himself together to launch this counter-attack before they lost any advantage. During the middle of the night, however, a sentry appeared in the command tent and roused Cao Ren, who in turn braved the wrath of their lord by going to wake him. Pi rolled over and glared in the darkness at the intrusion, while Ren lit a lamp. “And whose head is going to roll for this interruption?” he grumbled.

“Save the punishment for later,” Ren sighed, not at all pleased to be awake himself. “A sentry reported that one of your officers has arrived.”

“One of mine?” The oddity was enough to push the irritation out of Cao Pi’s mind for the moment. He sat up and rubbed the heel of his hand over his eyes to try to wake up enough to deal with it. “Fine, let’s see what can’t wait until the morning.”

“I figured you wouldn’t be happy to see me.” The partition separating the commander’s private quarters from the rest of the tent swished aside to permit an auburn-haired intrusion. “So if anyone’s head is going to roll, it’ll be mine.”

“Ishida…” Cao Pi was immediately alert, though he didn’t rise from his cot. “What are you doing back so soon?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to bring you more orders from Da Ji,” Mitsunari assured, waving a hand. He was still fully dressed and fresh from riding, his fan tucked in his belt where he could quickly grab it if needed. “In fact, it’s kind of hard to even _get_ orders when I couldn’t even meet up with her in the first place.”

Pi met his eyes and frowned at his wary expression. “Explain. It’s too late for dramatic stories.”

Mitsunari shot Cao Ren a quick look, but he was apparently not being dismissed from this conference, so he continued, more than a touch of irritation in his tone. “I have some bad news. While Takeda and Uesugi were busy annoying you here, Oda snuck behind our backs and attacked Guandu. Da Ji was there with a handful of her people, but he brought his whole army. Routed the Orochi army and took the castle, Da Ji fled before I could even get there.”

“What…” Pi breathed, eyes widening. “You can’t be serious!”

“Dead serious,” Ishida said curtly. “I got in close enough to see it for myself before some Oda scouts picked up my trail. I have no idea where Da Ji could have gone to, so I decided to return to you instead, since I knew exactly where you were.”

Pi dropped his head into his hand. Both of them had been fooled, the entirety of Orochi’s main army in this region had fallen completely for the trap. Naturally, Da Ji would not allow herself to be merely defeated or captured, she must have escaped on her own, but lost the castle and a rather valuable territory in doing so. “Damn it,” he breathed angrily. “They had the upper hand all along. Not even losing their commanders could stop it…”

Mitsunari’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“Lords Takeda and Uesugi are dead,” Cao Ren informed him. “The Orochi army swarmed them and killed them.”

“No!” Mitsunari was doubly shocked at that news, his arms falling to his sides as if to catch himself from stumbling. “That can’t be possible!” He looked immediately to Cao Pi. “You didn’t?”

“I didn’t see it,” Pi admitted. “Cao Ren witnessed it for himself, in another part of the field from where Sun Quan and I were fighting at the time. None of our officers can claim such bragging rights, it was the Orochi demons themselves.”

“There’s no way…” Ishida still couldn’t believe it, and rubbed his forehead as if trying to stimulate his thoughts. Could it be another trap? But no, if someone saw it happen… “They. They sacrificed themselves! Those bastards, they gave their own lives so Oda could take Guandu…”

Pi’s expression tightened, grim and disturbed. “That does explain why they went to such lengths. To give Oda a chance at victory against Da Ji directly. And it worked.”

Mitsunari swore under his breath before straightening and trying to put it behind him, to focus on strategy instead. “What of their army, then? Did you defeat them?”

The Wei lord shook his head. “It was a mutual retreat. One of the cavalry officers took charge and led a fresh surge against us. I am not entirely sure either side can claim a victory, but I was considering attacking them again at dawn.”

“Dawn is only an hour or so away,” Ishida warned. “It’s not a good idea, even if they’ve been demoralized. We have absolutely no reinforcements, there isn’t even anyone left at Guandu to come to help. The snakes all scattered, the whole area is under Oda’s control.”

“Demoralized,” Cao Pi huffed sarcastically. “Not the way they fought to avenge their commanders. Ma Chao and some others from Shu were along, reinforcements from Oda I suspect. The one leading them now…” He looked briefly toward Cao Ren as he tried to recall the name Sun Quan had told him. “Naoe. What do you know of him.”

Mitsunari’s eyes went dark and cold. To have to face an old friend, again… “Naoe Kanetsugu is tenacious and shrewd. He isn’t half as powerful as his lord or even Oda, but he’s still not someone I would cross at a time like this. He’s not going to sit around in his camp crying about Uesugi, he’s going to carry on – on and on until he has nothing left.”

Pi lifted his head and studied him for a moment. “What do you recommend, then?”

Mitsunari pursed his lips, hating to have to give this advice. “Pull back. They’ll probably follow you, unless their troops are as badly injured as yours, but it’s easier to fend off a rear assault than to get into another full-field battle. Let me guess, you had a lot of trouble with cavalry here.”

Cao Pi scowled at the reminder. “Considerable. You did warn me.”

“If they still managed to take the field even with that warning, then they’re not as weak as they look.” Ishida shook his head slowly. “With Guandu lost, this isn’t the time to let them dictate the field. If they want to keep fighting, let’s choose the place this time. Fan Castle is between here and Xuchang. It’s possible Da Ji fled there, so we might as well pull back that far. If Kanetsugu wants to follow us, we’ll turn and hit him there instead.”

“Fan,” Pi repeated, ideas already coming to mind. “The castle there is hard to defend, but the field can be controlled. Flooded, even. Cavalry will have a much harder time maneuvering if we turn the castle into a lake.”

“As long as we can get there ahead of them,” Cao Ren reminded.

“I like it. Let’s do it.” Mitsunari stifled a yawn behind his gauntlet. “I’ll send a messenger to try to find Da Ji or some of her idiot snake captains. She should know where I am, and why I wasn’t able to reach her.”

“It’s not your fault, if she was defeated and rousted from Guandu before you could get there,” Pi snorted. “Does that mean you’re not bothering to actually complete her orders?”

“Hey, I tried,” Mitsunari smirked. “You’ll vouch for me, right?”

Pi managed the smallest of return smirks. “Very well, then. If it’s an hour until dawn, then allow me one more hour’s rest. I expect we’ll need to be moving rather quickly after the sun is up.”

“You must need rest as well, if you’ve been riding through the night,” Cao Ren offered. “There is room in the officer’s section with myself and Yue Jin.”

“I’ll take whatever I can get.” Mitsunari glanced over and met Cao Pi’s eyes briefly before turning to follow the other officer out. An hour’s sleep wouldn’t be enough, but with so much uncertainty clouding the future, it was all he’d be able to enjoy for the time being. They had a large army to decamp and move before Naoe’s cavalry could gear up and hit them again in the daylight.

Guandu itself was already in a much better position with fewer snakes fouling its corridors. The only ones who didn’t get much sleep were the sentries and other soldiers whose duty it was to secure the walls, outposts, and borders and hunt down any stragglers. Ishida Mitsunari might have escaped them easily, but a number of demons did not. The day passed rather uneventfully compared to the night before, aside from Huang Zhong arriving to apprise Lord Oda of the situation at Nagashino in complete detail, and the officers were able to enjoy a meal together that evening where toasts were raised to the memory of Takeda and Uesugi and little was said about the war itself. That waited until the following day, when the officers began to already get restless and wonder about the next move. For his part, Ling Tong was doing his best to get to know the warriors from the future under Oda’s command, now that he would be spending a lot of time around them. Mitsuhide was too busy at Oda’s side to do more than say hello, but Hideyoshi was more than available and equally curious about the young officer from Wu, whose father he had already met. “Yeah, they said there were others from Wu haunting the ditches and bushes, besides the ones who were with Sun Ce,” Toyotomi mused as they wandered about the castle courtyard, “but the only ones we picked up were Lu Xun and your father. ‘Course, now that Sun Ce’s out on his own, free from the snake, it wouldn’t be so bad to sweep all of those guys up together.”

Lu Xun had told him of this the night of their reunion, so Ling Tong wasn’t still blinking in surprise at it. “I’m so glad. It would be nice to see him again, but he’s probably gone way underground, nobody’s going to find him until he wants to be found – especially not Orochi.”

“Yeah, that’d be my guess, too.” Hideyoshi poked him with an elbow. “That’s okay, we’ll take whoever we can get. Some fresh blood always livens things up, eh?”

Tong smiled modestly. They both heard a call, then, for officers to meet with Lord Oda inside the castle as soon as possible, and turned their steps to head back that way. “So, what’s Nobunaga like, really?” he wondered of his companion. “You seem like you’ve been in his service a while, you must have all kinds of stories.”

“Oh, you bet I do,” Hideyoshi grinned. “Most of ‘em are about battle, though, he’s not exactly the kinda guy to let anyone see his deepest darkest secret moments. Nope, he’s pretty tightly-controlled. But at the same time, when it comes to battle? What you see is what you get. He is absolutely without peer, none can stop him.” He tilted his head to the side, giving Tong a smirk. “Except, of course, for myself.”

Tong’s brow quirked, uncertain. “What do you mean by that?”

Toyotomi laughed. “Nothing too scary! But all things considered, back home, I’m gonna do what he couldn’t, someday. So it’s less about stopping him and more like, surpassing him I guess. I’d like to think if it came down to it I _could_ stop him, but I don’t really need to.”

“No…right now it’s probably better if nobody stops him,” Tong sighed. “Somebody has to be able to go up against Orochi, after all.”

“As to that, well, we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

They had reached the castle doors and stepped inside, following a growing trickle of officers toward the innermost chambers where Oda had taken over Da Ji’s comfortable throne and was preparing to hold a war council. Far from sitting around gloating, though, Nobunaga was on his feet, pacing around a new map table that had been prepared for his use while the other one was still back at Honnoji. Ling Tong stared in surprise to see two more new faces with them, as Ma Chao and Ma Dai had arrived sometime in the late morning. He slipped in to sit next to Lu Xun, near the Shu officers, and nodded a greeting at them before leaning over to whisper to his countryman. “This is a real war council this time, huh?”

“I believe so,” Xun replied just as quietly. “We should have more information on the state of the alliance and the battle that took place at Nagashino, now. I can’t imagine Lord Oda would want to wait a minute longer to plan his next move.” He glanced over and then leaned in the direction of the Ma cousins. “I’m glad to see you both well, Ma Dai.”

Dai perked up and slouched in his direction to chat before the meeting started. “Oh, thank you. And you, Master Lu Xun. Although, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that things went so well here.”

“It wasn’t an easy battle, but you wouldn’t know it to see things as they are now,” Xun smiled. “I’ll happily fill you in on the tale later, when you’ve rested. Did you two just get in?”

Ma Chao nodded. “We haven’t even been here an hour. I’m a little alarmed at the speed with which Lord Oda decided to call a council meeting, but I shouldn’t be too terribly surprised, I think.”

“Things are happening rather fast,” Lu Xun acknowledged, “I’m sure there’s a reason we need to stay on top of it.”

They would find out that reason, as Niwa Nagahide hurried in and snuck into a chair, the last officer they were waiting on. Oda gave him a simple look to convey his displeasure with tardiness and then turned to the group as a whole. “I appreciate that everyone has done their duty to secure Guandu so quickly,” he began without any introduction, “because new information has come in and we will not be lingering here much longer.” He held out a hand to indicate the Ma pair as he crossed to the head of the map table. “I have been given a complete picture of what occurred at Nagashino, and where things stand now. It seems Naoe Kanetsugu has taken it upon himself to lead the allied cavalries, while our own Maeda Toshiie has been given temporary command of what remains of their infantry. Meanwhile, the Orochi army has received word of our victory here, and will be headed back to attempt to wrest Guandu back from us, if they can. Our scouts cannot say whether they’ve received orders to do so, or are merely doing it out of desperation, but we can easily assume that they are eager to confront us for what we’ve done to their precious leader and her cozy nest.”

“Is there any word on Da Ji, to one end or another?” Mitsuhide asked.

“None at all,” Oda answered. “The demons have all drawn back far from here, to lick their wounds elsewhere. And that is precisely why we must not get comfortable, but rather move to hit them again while we can.” He leaned over the table to gesture to places on the map, which most of the officers could clearly see from where they sat. “Cao Pi and Sun Quan are trying to pull back, and they are still together for the time being. In order for Cao Pi to withdraw his Wei army back to Xuchang, they will have to route past here, and Sun Quan will likewise need to cross this territory at some point to return to Da Ji. Whether or not she has contacted them or given them orders is of no concern – the truth of the matter is, Sun Quan is still firmly under her control, and as such, he cannot disobey or run amok. He must get back to her, and she must collect him and the army he leads. I want to delay that meeting as long as possible, and use every advantage we have secured to further destabilize their armies.” He looked toward the Shu officers again, lips curling in an eager smirk as he recalled the information they all brought him. “They are exhausted, demoralized, their resources depleted. They were marched out to a field hoping for victory, only to fight to an unsatisfying conclusion and then be told that their own castle was taken behind them. If we attack them while they are low, it will tire them out even more. They haven’t had the time to recover, while we are more fresh than they. Our morale is high and we have additional resources, especially once we regroup with the men Toshiie is leading.”

“So,” Toyotomi said knowingly, “Fan Castle, right?”

Oda turned that devilish smile on him. “You’ve been paying attention, Monkey. Good.” He poked a finger down onto the map at a particular spot. “Fan Castle lies directly between here and Nagashino, it is the only outpost nearby large enough to house an army on the move. We have already secured it, and verified that Da Ji did not flee there. I dispatched scouts this morning to instruct Toshiie to head there instead of here, to bolster the reserve forces already lying in wait. That means that when the Orochi army reaches that territory, they will find it held against them and they will have no choice but to fight again, so soon.”

“Hell of an ambush,” Ling Tong said under his breath, impressed.

“What of our reserves from Honnoji?” Mitsuhide pressed his commander.

“They will reach here shortly. I will leave a small force here to greet them, but once again the majority of us will head to the next battle.” Nobunaga straightened up and clasped his hands behind his back. “Our only true goal will be to scatter the Orochi army and drive their commanders apart, send them off into the wilderness with no hope of reinforcements or even a place to lay their weary heads. Secondary to that is maintaining control of Fan Castle, for with it, we will be able to claim everything from Nagashino up through here and on toward Odawara, where Orochi’s forces still hold sway.”

“It’s going to be a lot of work, shifting forces from each stronghold to the next,” Lu Xun noted. “The more lands we control, the more we’re going to need to split people up to keep them.”

“I’m aware,” Nobunaga assured. “I will speak to those officers I intend to leave here or return to Honnoji with the injured afterward, to make sure everyone is headed where they need to be. I myself will be headed to Fan, with Hideyoshi, and whoever else I choose.”

Mitsuhide turned his attention to the Wu and Shu warriors clustered around one another, opposite the map table from him. “I am curious. Have any of you any experience with Fan Castle? Anything you can share with us, so that we might hold it and not fall prey to any of Cao Pi’s strategies?”

Guan Ping lowered his gaze to the floor. “I…think I do,” he murmured. “I feel like I know this place well. But some of my memories are a little fuzzy, and I get this strange feeling of foreboding in my chest when I try too hard to remember.”

Lu Xun grimaced at that. “Er…yes, I have fought at Fan Castle before. The important thing to know about it is that there are floodgates controlling the river which surrounds the castle. Cao Pi certainly knows about them. If we can guard them well, it will allow us to pass in and out of the castle easily, but if the river is allowed to rise and swamp the area, we will have to fight outside the castle itself, on the slopes of the valley.”

Mitsuhide was clever enough to note that information without asking why any of them might have known the place. “I see. That seems like something we should not ignore.”

“And if they get there ahead of us,” Ling Tong warned, “they'll flood the castle, and everyone inside will be in danger.”

“Maybe we oughta send word to Toshiie so he’s got that information, too” Toyotomi suggested.

“It will be done.” Oda paced along the side of the table. “Things in this region are in a constant state of flux, right now. I will make no plans beyond defending Fan Castle and giving Cao Pi something to complain about. Once we have sent Orochi’s army and his allies into confusion and retreat, and destroyed their ability to actively retake Guandu, I will see where things stand and re-arrange our forces as necessary. Be prepared, all of you, for some will be riding with me and some will be given other tasks. No one will be left idle. Dismissed.”

The assembly broke up and meandered away, though most of the officers were somewhat curious about who Oda would be sending where, and some clustered in small knots to chat while they craned their necks to see who he pulled aside to speak to privately. Ma Chao stood aside just watching everything without seeing it, his ornate dragon helm tucked under an arm. He was tired, and had no trouble allowing others to mistake his silent pensiveness for grief for the slain commanders. The less he had to say aloud to prolong the tale, the better. Beside him, his cousin clapped a hand to Guan Ping’s shoulder, trying to stay upbeat. “Don’t worry about it, it’s probably not anything important,” he reassured the youngster. “Kind of like not being able to remember what you had for breakfast yesterday. There’s a lot of places we’ve all visited at least once in our lives that we can’t remember well, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Lu Xun and Ling Tong made sure to look everywhere around the room except at Guan Ping. They both remembered very clearly what Guan Ping and his father had done at Fan Castle, once. “So you were fighting against Cao Pi,” Tong said to divert the conversation elsewhere. “I haven’t heard much about him lately, aside from the bit about being an Orochi ally. Most of my attention has been on the Sun family.”

“I regret that I don’t have more to tell you of Sun Quan,” Huang Zhong sighed. “I was busy with the rearguard most of the battle, providing support. I think it was Lord Naoe who fought him.”

That brought Ma Chao’s attention back to what they were saying. “Yes, Lord Kanetsugu clashed with him, while I fought Cao Pi,” he affirmed. “All I can say is that we all came out of it alive. Sun Quan has his bodyguard with him, but I did not see any other officers of Wu with him there.”

“That’s all right,” Tong assured. “I’ve already heard more about them since I stumbled on Lu Xun the other night than I had in all the months since Hefei. Don’t worry about it, Ma Chao, I understand. Battlefields aren’t the best places to stop and catch up with people.”

Chao nodded to accept his kind words and let his attention drift again, just as Oda stepped among them. “Of course, this is where all of you are.” They made room for him, most bobbing their heads in abbreviated bows of respect. The warlord looked among them, and then singled out Ling Tong with a glance. “You. I should like to make use of your talents in this upcoming battle. You will be riding with me.”

“Me?” Tong blinked at him. “Uh, yeah, okay. Sure, Lord Oda.”

Nobunaga nodded acknowledgment to the Ma cousins and then set a hand on Lu Xun’s shoulder. “If I could have a word, my young friend…”

Pulling Lu Xun aside made the others cluster up in instant gossip mode. “He does seem to trust Master Lu Xun’s strategies,” Ma Dai whispered. “I wonder where he’ll be sent? Maybe he’s got a secret mission for him.”

“I wish he could come with us,” Ling Tong fretted, “but obviously that’s not it. If he was coming along, Oda would have said so right in front of us.”

“Don’t worry.” Dai beamed at him, in his element as morale officer. “You’re part of the Resistance, now, so being separated from your countrymen is only temporary. Trust us, we’ve been apart and together again so many times now, I’ve lost track.”

“Yeah, I guess.” At that moment, it wasn’t Lu Xun that Ling Tong was really thinking about. But he wasn’t ready yet to start asking around the Oda Resistance, to see if anyone had heard word of a Wu pirate making trouble for Orochi somewhere else. Anyone, friend and foe alike, who would know what happened to him at Odani was nowhere near this army, and he had no means of reaching any of them. All Tong could do was silently wish and hope, and maybe being part of a larger army would give him the chance to hear reports from all across the land. He would know rumor of Gan Ning when he heard it. He had to tell himself to be patient, that he had only been with this army less than three days so he shouldn’t be surprised that no one in those three days could tell him what he most ached to know. It would come out eventually, so long as he held tight and put his efforts into the success of the Resistance. Who knows? Maybe word of Oda’s victories would reach far and wide, and everyone from Sun Ce down to Xingba himself would find themselves attracted by the promise of decisive strikes against Orochi. They would come out of the bushes like he did, and join the army, and all would be well in the land. It was a foolish dreamer’s hope, but Ling Tong was admittedly a foolish dreamer. If no one else would think such things, it was up to him to do it for them. As he stood among new allies and friends, listening to Ma Dai’s warm laugh and watching Lu Xun nod proudly to accept whatever orders Nobunaga gave him, Ling Tong let his thoughts dwell on Gan Ning, wishing to hear those annoying bells again.

  


It was hard to say whether the small corner of Jing now deposited at the strategic crossroads of multiple territories was in a summer or autumn period, but the storms which slowly settled in over the land strongly hinted of a rainy season either way. Maeda Toshiie managed to corral his ground troops and push them to march to Fan Castle just in time, before the heavy clouds broke, so they could have a little time to rest inside the snug, dry fortress rather than out there on the field in leaky tents. He had been advised by the sentries who welcomed them in that he might be surprised when he found out who was holding command for now, but the messengers had also just arrived from Guandu with Oda’s new orders and reminders, so he needed to go and meet the castle’s guardian either way. The guards at the door of the war room straightened up as he came, all bluster and energy still with his bronze armor and crossed poleaxes on his back, and he gave them a cheery nod before inviting himself in. “Maeda Toshiie, reporting for…oh _come on_.”

Relaxing in a chair with his feet dangling over one arm of it was a short figure, seemingly drowning in robe and hat, but hearing the voice, he tipped the hat up to be able to grin cutely at his visitor. “Ah, Toshiie. It’s nice to see you. Did you really have to bring the rain with you, though?”

“Hanbei!” Toshiie exclaimed in exasperation. “Where the hell have you been, man?”

“Oh, here and there.” Takenaka Hanbei’s youthful appearance belied his great wit and wisdom, as well as his real age. He lolled in the chair like a delinquent kid, resting his chin on one fist. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m here now, and I finally get to do something fun.”

“Fun, huh?” Toshiie crossed to him and perched himself on the corner of a table, since his weapons made it hard to sit in a chair at the moment. “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that you joined up with Lord Oda. It was just a matter of time, eh?”

“He does seem to be doing the most interesting things, these days,” Hanbei said dreamily. “But I’m just as eager to see Hideyoshi again. I hear they’re working together. They’re on their way, you know.”

“Are they?” Maeda turned serious for a moment. “What’s the news, then?”

Hanbei took his feet down and stretched as if just getting up from a nap. “Lord Nobunaga is coming to see to this business with Cao Pi and Sun Quan himself. He’s already anticipated them arriving here ahead of him, so we’re to hold the fort and give those two a hard time until he can get here. I’m sure the real fun will begin, then.”

“All right. Well, I hope it isn’t too soon. The men from Takeda and Uesugi I led here could use a little rest before they go tearing into another fight.” Toshiie scratched the back of his neck; he wanted to rest, too, if it meant he would be fresh enough to fight Cao Ren or Yue Jin again.

Hanbei flapped a hand at him. “Don’t worry. There’s more than enough troops here to make a mess of things already. I’m on top of it, you go get some beauty sleep.” He grinned impishly. “Not that it’s going to help.”

Toshiie made a face at him. “Nice to see you, too.”

Not far away, though not yet within sight of Jing, the rains poured down on the Orochi army as they marched, adding insult to injury. Despite their constant tendency to desert when things looked the slightest bit bleak, the snake demons seemed to be the only ones with their heads still held up reasonably high, though it seemed to the commanders that fear rather than pride drove them in their ambition to return to Guandu and repay the Oda Resistance for their gall. They still moved slowly and without great passion, while the humans just behind them slogged through the mud and wet grass with their shoulders hunched, backs bent, as if the rain itself weighed more than their weapons, armor, and packs all put together. Their commanders rode at the fore with only their cloaks to keep the rain off, soaked to the bone and looking every bit as dark as the storm clouds that closed in overhead and followed them the whole way. Though their messengers had crossed this distance in hours flat during the heat of battle, dragging an entire army across the landscape took longer, stretching the march into days. Stragglers were picked off by Naoe’s rear attack, necessitating that Sun Quan gather his men into one concerted defense, after which the cavalry melted away and seemed to disappear. Yet, anyone at the rear still feared that they might come sneaking back at any time, leading to a lot of uncertainty and looking over shoulders, and far less organization than a mighty army ought to show. Anyone who witnessed the pathetic passage might think them the last survivors of a losing side in a great war rather than the army belonging to the demon who held this whole world in his sway. In fact, on the second day when a small cluster of horses rode to meet them, that was exactly what they thought – that something awful and tragic had happened at Nagashino and they were about to receive some terrible news. At least, they looked just as drenched and bedraggled as the army, and when Cao Pi drew the entirety of their force to a stop behind him to await them, he received the visit with an icy glare. “Oh my,” Zhang He murmured as he beheld his lord in this state, hair hanging limp around his face. “You look dreadful, Lord Zihuan.”

“Thank you,” Cao Pi said crisply, “I hadn’t realized it.”

Zhang He clucked his tongue at the sarcasm. “Is this a bad time? We could turn around and ride right back to Jianye…”

“What are you doing here?” Sun Quan gruffly interrupted them as he rode up beside them, though the question was as much to one of the officers in the pack as to the Wei forces themselves.

“This is my doing,” Ishida snapped at him. “Jianye was closer than Xuchang, I sent out a request for reinforcements before I even reached Guandu.”

“It’s true,” Zhang He shrugged, not as daunted by the rain as everyone else. He did have a cowl wrapped around his head to keep his hair dry, though. “Master Ishida called for us, he said there was a chance my lord could need a few extra hands.” He inclined his head toward Cao Pi. “The lady sends her love and yearning desire, but when we drew straws to see which of us should respond, it fell to me instead.”

Pi nodded once to accept the message from his wife, a small glimmer of light on a dark day. “Yet, you arrive far too late to assist with Nagashino.”

“Forgive us, my lord,” Yu Jin begged. “We got ourselves together as quickly as we could.”

“They’ll still be of help if we need to repel any resistance at Fan Castle,” Mitsunari noted. “Late help is better than no help. Except for those guys, I don’t know who _they_ are.”

He gestured to the small cluster of Wu soldiers riding alongside the Wei reinforcements. Ding Feng hastily pounded his fist against his palm and bowed his head, looking much the same soaking wet as he would dry. “Forgive our unexpected intrusion!” he said rather loudly. “Lord Sun Quan, please allow us to assist you. We were on our way to rendezvous with Lady Daqiao at Guandu when we received the unfortunate news that the castle had fallen. If we cannot aid her, allow us to fall in with you until we can all return safely to headquarters.”

Quan’s eyes shifted from him to Pan Zhang just behind him, and he nodded curtly. “We’ll be glad to have you. Everyone’s a bit roughed up, we might need you if another battle breaks out.”

Zhang He closed his eyes briefly in an expression of annoyance. “Good, allow me to turn your men over to you, Lord Sun Quan. This one really needs a lesson in what constitutes _good_ poetry.”

Ding Feng’s mouth turned down even more than usual in a pout. Before they could get into a debate about beauty, Cao Pi wisely broke in. “Very well. Both armies have reinforcements, such as they are.” His critical gaze washed over his relatives Zhang and Zhen at that moment. “If Fan Castle is not being held against us, we will rest there, and then from there it is on to Guandu to see what we can do about Oda.”

The new arrivals fell in with their respective armies, and the entirety of the Orochi army continued on for as long as they could before they were forced to stop and camp for the night. It was a sad and lackluster camp, for their provisions were starting to run low and not a single fire would catch or stay lit in the constant rain. Few lamp wicks remained dry, and those were relegated to the use of the commanders and their officers first and foremost. The tents kept the worst of the weather off their heads, but it was still cold and dreary, and not likely anyone would get a good rest. Sequestered away in the innermost section of his command tent, Cao Pi sat perusing the maps he had brought, refreshing his memory and contemplating a great many things beyond whatever battle may or may not happen on the morrow. Ishida sat with him, hastily scribbling notes onto the only dry scrap of parchment he had in his satchel. They had only just finished their meal and were not really working on strategy so much as trying to fill the time since neither could sleep. The silence between them was comfortable, a far cry from their early days around one another. At last, Cao Pi raised his head and took a breath, a sign that he was about to speak. “I want to send you back to Xuchang. Right away.”

Mitsunari looked up to meet his gaze. “Right away as in, I shouldn’t unroll a blanket?”

“In the morning,” Pi clarified. “That is, assuming you manage to get any sleep at all tonight.”

Setting aside his brush, Mitsunari rubbed his face tiredly. “And what brought this idea to mind?”

Pi shifted his gaze to the roof of the tent, where a light rain pattered softly. “I’m concerned about a few things. Xu Huang and Zhang Liao should have returned there by now, but they haven’t been left any orders. I need to send someone back regardless, at the very least Cao Ren needs to withdraw. His injuries are worse than Yue Jin’s.”

“Why me, then?”

The ice-blue eyes drifted back towards him, and Cao Pi allowed himself a vague smile. “If you think it’s because I don’t trust you here on the field, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

“Really.” Mitsunari rested his cheek on a fist. “Talk to me, then. What’s this about?”

The Wei lord breathed a long sigh before answering. “You anticipated our needs, and sent for reinforcements. It was smart of you to do so, doubly so since you didn’t do it in my name but your own. I need that wisdom at Xuchang more than I need it here.”

Though he was a little surprised to have such glowing compliments pouring down on him, Ishida reserved his reaction. “You don’t have any other strategists along, nor does Sun Quan. You want to move on Fan and then Guandu without one?”

“We’re not moving on Guandu.” Cao Pi shook his head slowly. “I don’t know what that fool thinks, or if he’s being driven by the Orochi army itself. There is no way they can retake that castle, not in their current state. Oda is no idiot, he will have reserves upon reserves waiting for them so that he wouldn’t even need to fight himself if he didn’t want to. His army has grown exponentially while Da Ji flittered about worrying about Sun Ce, and she has already paid for her arrogant misconceptions.”

Mitsunari smirked to himself. “So, you saw it too, then. I don’t care about Sun Quan one way or the other, but if _you_ had said anything stupid to the effect of wanting to march on Guandu, I might have had to beat some sense into you.”

“Not necessary,” Pi said lazily. “I am rather aware of the ridiculousness of assaulting Guandu so soon after the last exhausting battle. If the rest of the Orochi army wishes to do so, they can do it without Wei.”

“What about Fan, then? Naoe seems to have pulled back, I’m not sure even I can predict whether he’ll try attacking us there.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Pi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve been turning some things over in my mind as we rode, and while your advice the other night was sound, it seems things are still changing hour by hour. I don’t know what we’ll find at Fan Castle, but it may not be a safe place to stop after all. If we are the ones to hole up in the castle to rest, we will be the vulnerable ones, not the Resistance. I know Fan well,” he added, casting a look back at Mitsunari. “It is technically a Wei stronghold, but Shu attempted to lay claim to it. I know its intricacies, a strategist is of little use to me there.” He looked away, then, his brow furrowing. “Sun Quan also knows this castle, as he attempted to take it once, too.”

“Ah. I see.” Mitsunari lowered his eyes to his page of notes. “That eases my mind some. I know nothing of it, you have the advantage.”

Cao Pi sat up swiftly and leaned toward him, quieting his tone secretively. “What I think we can do, there, is sabotage it. Dam the river above the floodgates, so that the castle is permanently under water. That way, not even Oda’s Resistance can lay claim to it.”

Ishida nodded firmly. “If we can’t have it, nobody can. Never a bad idea. But that relies on us getting there ahead of any Resistance forces. Which…” He made a face. “I can’t say for certain is possible.”

Pi rested an arm on the table and slowly clenched his hand into a loose fist, his gaze distracted. “…and if they are there. What concern is that to me?”

Mitsunari looked at him again, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”

“I may be here at the behest of my allies, who were sorely in need of my troops in order to keep from being routed on all sides,” the lord of Wei began to explain. “Yet, I have my own people and resources to consider. The reinforcements from Jianye look fresh, and I am not injured, but all the rest of my officers are in bad shape. At some point, it becomes important to withdraw my army before I lose it completely. After all,” he said with a sardonic twitch of his brow, “it will be hard for me to respond to my ally’s calls for help if I have nothing left to give him.”

Mitsunari did not miss the ironic twist to his voice every time he mentioned allies. “Very true,” he acknowledged. “But I feel like I need to remind you that for now you _are_ still an ally of Orochi, which means putting on a certain amount of show to keep him off your own back.”

“Precisely.” Pi’s fist eased to an open hand, and he tapped a couple of fingers on the table. “Of course, should a challenge arise that is beneath me, I won’t hesitate to order my army in to wipe it out. There is putting on a show, and there is embarrassing myself, and I don’t much feel like the latter.”

“As long as you don’t blame any future losses on not having a strategist to help you, when you go and send yours back to your home castle,” Ishida sniffed.

Pi smiled slyly at him, noting his choice of words. _His_ strategist. “I’ll be sure to leave your name out of it when it comes time for others to assign blame.”

“Good.” Mitsunari smirked back. “Fine, so I’ll take Cao Ren’s sorry carcass back to Xuchang with me. I can send out letters and missives from there just as easily as out here in the field. Try not to get into too much trouble at Fan Castle – I leave you to your own devices for one battle and look at you, falling apart at the seams.”

Cao Pi lowered his eyes in a strangely modest smile. “How will I ever survive without you to watch me?”

“All kidding aside.” Mitsunari sobered, his eyes dark in the dim lamplight. “Don’t get yourself destroyed in this pathetic backwater place. Takeda and Uesugi have gotten the better of your forces twice now, don’t make it three in a row.”

“I will maintain control of the battle,” Pi assured, “and if it looks grim, I know better than to keep throwing men’s lives away for no reason. I will withdraw if it will save my people further grief.”

Satisfied, Mitsunari nodded and went back to his note-taking. “Let Sun Quan look after his own people, and the Orochi main army. They’re not your responsibility, the fact that you’ve kept them alive this far is what I would call going above and beyond the call of duty.”

Content with the agreement, Cao Pi stretched and put his feet up on a crate that was supposed to hold provisions. “I wonder where our glorious leader ran off to. She didn’t even stick around to see if her pet would return home to her, it must not have been as important to her as she led us to think.”

Mitsunari shot him a brief glare, but did not rise to the bait this time. In essence, the summons had made him feel exactly that way, and Da Ji’s failure had only exposed her lack of control to the entirety of her army and allies alike. _She’s really losing her grip_ , he thought to himself, and managed to smirk all over again. _I wonder what Oda’s going to do next. Bai Di, maybe? That’d be fun to see_. He jotted down a couple more things and then rolled up the parchment, considering things finished for the night. The only thing left was to see if he could stay warm and dry long enough to snatch a few scant hours of sleep so that when he set out in the morning, he would not be drooping in the saddle. At least he could comfort himself with the thought that he was less likely to get into any battles than the army he would be leaving behind.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Orochi army and the Oda Resistance clash again at Fan Castle, and loyalties are tested.

Dawn came uneventfully as a mere gradual lightening of the clouds, from blackest night to middling gray. It took time to roust the army awake and tear down the camp, allowing Mitsunari plenty of time to consult with both warlords, leave them a few more words of advice regarding the tenacity of the cavalry behind them, and make his departure once Cao Ren was ready to ride. The Wei officer was rather downhearted himself, chastened perhaps by being so injured that he was being sent back to their headquarters, but it was for the best and even he knew it. The lesser Cao relatives who had come with Zhang He would carry on in his place, though none could match his stature. With that done, Cao Pi turned his attention to whipping his own army into shape, getting them marching before the morning grew too late, rain or no rain. At least it wasn’t pouring quite as hard as the day before, but it was still misty and damp. They didn’t need to worry about using floodgates to make the ground too sodden for horses, the weather was already taking care of that quite well. It didn’t take long from there to notice that they were passing into familiar territory, the forests and hills of Jing that all three kingdoms from their time had marched through at one point or another. Cao Pi remembered it well, and directed the army exactly where to go to find Fan Castle, and sure enough, it was exactly as he said. They came up on it from above the valley, pausing at an outlying garrison to send out reconnaissance scouts, but even from there Cao Pi could see that things were not exactly as he would have wanted. Someone had occupied the castle, and it would take scouting to figure out who. If friend, they needed to reconnoiter and prepare for outside invasion, but if foe, he knew what he had to do.

Inside Fan Castle, the remnants of the Takeda-Uesugi alliance had been enjoying a real rest after being pushed to reach the fortress before their enemies, but their commanders were on the alert for both ally and enemy arrivals. Which came first would dictate the exact machinations of Hanbei’s prepared strategy, but he was ready for both possibilities. Outlying scouts retreated inward with the news that an army had been spotted moving in from the wilds of Jing, the first signal that had Hanbei actually on his feet and ready to move. For all his casual demeanor around both superiors and underlings, once battle looked to be joined, a change came over him. He wasn’t worried, and strode around the castle’s parapets with purpose as well as good cheer. Toshiie looked almost serious next to him. “No, no, that won’t do,” the strategist remarked as he peered down at where some of their men were hanging around. “That whole area’s going to be flooded, they need to get back up here to high ground.”

“You’re sure about this?” Toshiie questioned. “I know it’s the Orochi army, but what if they don’t know about the river…?”

“Oh, they know,” Hanbei cooed. “Do you doubt that I’m as well-read as I like to tell people, Toshiie?”

“Meaning what, exactly?”

Hanbei grinned at him before looking away over the castle walls. “I’ve read enough history to know what became of the God of War at this very castle, more than a thousand years ago. One of the men facing us across the valley is likely the very one who used those river gates to flood the castle and force him out of it, where he met his fate. I don’t doubt for a minute that he’ll do it again, because he can. Our men need to be up on the higher floors or on the walls when it happens, so we don’t lose anyone.”

“And then what?”

“Then, we wait.” Hanbei laced his fingers together and stretched his arms toward the gray skies. “Not much else we can do when we’re trapped in a flooded castle, after all. Lord Nobunaga will be along in due time, and we’ll be ready to back him up as soon as he can get us out of here.”

Toshiie blinked at him and then heaved a short laugh. “You really do got it all figured out. Oi! You guys down there! Yeah, you,” he yelled at the milling soldiers. “Those orders we gave you earlier weren’t just for fun – get up off the ground and into the castle! Right now!”

The men looked at him, but thankfully were smart enough to not disobey direct orders from the commander and broke up their conclave to head into the nearest castle door. Takenaka watched the clouds for a bit, determining from his own wisdom whether the rain would be much of a hindrance, and then turned his attention to the hillsides to the north. “It would be nice if Lord Nobunaga decided to show up now. Ah, no matter. We’re safe enough. Hold tight, Toshiie, this is going to be interesting.”

Far across the valley, the scouts had brought their reports: the Oda Resistance occupied the castle, not their own forces. The Orochi army had truly lost much by falling into Takeda’s trap, not only Guandu but also Fan, and now they stood gazing at it from a distance, the chance at sleeping inside a warm, dry fortress evaporating before their eyes. While their commanders conferenced and then sent Zhang He and Yu Jin with a small contingent on a mission to start the battle, the soldiers of both Wei and Wu sat together, waiting to be pushed out of the garrison and into another fight. They remained apart from the snake demons for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the space to gripe about the overall situation within their army. “One battle after another,” one young infantryman sighed to his comrades as they all leaned on their spears, awaiting orders. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“How many is this for you, now?” another asked him.

The private gestured to the men with him, all of them clad in the reds of Wu. “We were marched all the way to Xia Kou to give chase after Lord Sun Ce, but he escaped us there. We hardly got back when we were ordered out again for this. First Nagashino, and now this place.”

“We haven’t had it much better,” the lieutenant in blue said with a sad shake of his head. “I count myself lucky that I didn’t go with Lord Zhang Liao, they got ambushed by the same army which fought us at Nagashino. Master Yue Jin fought there, and has been at Lord Cao Pi’s side ever since, he must be at the end of his strength.”

One of his subordinates peered across the camp to where the commanders were still talking. “How long does Lord Sun Quan intend to serve Orochi?” he openly wondered. “His brother defected, and from what I’ve heard took a lot of your officers with him.”

The Wu soldier nodded, pursing his lips in a disgruntled expression. “You see what we are left with? Master Ding Feng is stout, sure, but the others? Some of them are on loan from Lord Zhuge Liang, it is hard to trust them. The rest are not nearly up to the strength of Lord Sun Ce, or even Master Gan Ning or any of the other officers missing in action.”

“I wish he would see what this is doing to his people,” another lamented. “How can we keep hope in our hearts when everyone else has the good sense to turn against Orochi? Lord Sun Jian would not want this.”

“I wonder if he even knows his sons are fighting against one another in this pointless fashion,” a third sighed. “The glory of Wu, hah! We are the laughingstock of this world, I’m sure of it.”

“Why does Lord Cao Pi obey Orochi’s orders, anyway?” the first one asked their Wei fellows. “He has a big enough army, he shouldn’t need to.”

“Your guess is as good as anyone’s,” the lieutenant said grimly. “Though, to be sure, we haven’t had things as rough as you. I’ve been in the field nearly constantly, I haven’t even seen Xuchang since our lord took up residence there, but we have had good provisions and time to rest. It’s war, so there is a certain expectation, but we have it better than most.”

“But you’re still fighting for Orochi’s whims,” one of the Wu soldiers noted. “As are we.”

“You know how it is.” The Wei soldier pushed himself to his feet and tightened his sword belt, ready for action. “Our lot is to follow orders, and not question where they come from. As much as we can, anyway.”

The men of Wu looked at one another. “As much as we can, indeed,” one muttered.

The only warriors currently on the move belonged to Zhang He’s unit, he had a special mission laid on him by Cao Pi directly. Sun Quan insisted on sending one of his lesser officers along with this unit, one poor fellow who might have been conscripted with Tokugawa or Ishida and then left to be pulled this way and that with the tides of command, but even Yu Jin knew to defer to Zhang He in the overall plan. They rode hard and fast along a rear path to the north and came upon the structures just as it was said, a palisade wall protecting a series of sluice gates that lay across the river, open at the moment to allow the water to run normally. The river was swollen to excess with all the recent rain, and rushed through the gates at full speed, gurgling and chuckling around the wooden pilings. Zhang He regarded it for a long moment before directing soldiers to the levers and pulleys that controlled each gate. “Careful, now,” he warned them, “one at a time. We don’t want the water changing course and compromising us as well. That one first…yes, nicely done. Look, it’s already rising…”

As each gate closed, the water began to back up behind it, and the force with which it pounded against the closed floodgate increased exponentially. By the time they had one left, it took extra men to haul the ropes and push the lever mechanism, the river was so strong. The last gate stood even with the protective palisade, so that when it closed, the water which normally ran through and past the valley began to stand up behind it, and rather rapidly rushed backward into the lowlands where the castle sat. On a normal day, the water would rise gently but quickly; today, with the rain adding to its volume, the floodwaters sloshed and frothed and rolled right back the way they had come, splashing against the stone foundations of Fan Castle and pouring in through any gap in the wall, every door, foaming up every open staircase. Any soldiers dumb enough not to heed repeated warnings and orders would find themselves with water around their knees in an instant, and any who couldn’t scramble to safety would be swept away in the rising flood. From where he stood atop one of the gate platforms, Yu Jin could see it happening and gaped at the speed with which the water swallowed the lower levels of the castle. “My word. I didn’t realize it would be so fast…”

“Good! That will do nicely, fantastic work everyone,” Zhang He said proudly, sweeping into the middle of the buildings and slipping his clawed gauntlets on. “It will be our duty to hold these floodgates until we’re given the all-clear signal, once the drowning rats in the castle surrender. They may be stubborn, so hold your ground as long as it takes.”

“I’ll man the gate.” Yu Jin hopped down and mounted his horse, riding through to the front of the palisade where he had a clear view of the path leading from the castle to their position. It was completely empty right now, and likely to remain that way unless the fools in the castle were even dumber than anticipated. Zhang He had the gate barred behind him, so that anyone wishing to retake the floodgates would have to go through extra barriers before even coming face-to-face with him – and he was not about to let Lord Cao Pi down. The soldiers with him were in high spirits compared to the rest of the army, taking courage from his proud countenance. Even with rain-soaked hair and sodden silks, He retained an air of beauty and confidence that few could resist. As much as they would have liked to simply destroy the floodgates and let fate have the castle, they still needed to control the ability to raise and lower the river at their whim. Once Fan was no longer in Resistance hands, perhaps then Cao Pi might employ sabotage for a more permanent solution. Until then, it was up to Zhang He not to let these mechanisms be taken from him.

The rushing river did not take long to reach its highest flood point, after which other embankments and outlets allowed it to escape in trickles here and there. The water would rise no higher, but it already completely covered all the ways into the castle, walkways and bridges and several entrances. The reinforcements had been trapped, but thanks to Hanbei’s anticipation, they were ready for it. He was sitting on a rooftop as the rain started up again, craning his neck to peer far into the gloom, and then slid down to rejoin the other officers. “Good news!” he chirped for his comrade. “Get everyone assembled like we planned.”

“Oh, are they here? Good.” Toshiie turned and strode away, calling out orders as he went. Behind him, Hanbei clapped his hands happily. The real fun was indeed about to begin.

Just beyond the edges of the water, where the ground sloped up away from the river, the Oda army had just emerged from the trees, already in battle formation. While they hadn’t quite expected the flood to have already happened, it had been one of those possible strategies foreseen and as a result, they were ready. They would simply have to move faster than they had originally planned. What’s more, they had arrived just in time to see how the Orochi army was arrayed as they moved into the field in the hopes of forcing the surrender of the contingent in the castle. “Wow, look at all of ‘em,” Hideyoshi remarked, standing up in the stirrups to have a good look. “They still have this many left after Nagashino? Though, it looks a bit like they’ve lost the spring in their step.”

Nobunaga was watching the troop movements keenly. “They are great in number,” he admitted, “but there is more to battle than who has the larger army.”

“You would know, my lord,” Toyotomi said with a bark of a laugh.

“They don’t look so good,” Ling Tong observed, a touch of concern in his tone. He recognized the uniforms, he knew the front line was primarily men of Wu – his own people.

“The claw of the dragon and the tooth of the tiger have made their mark,” Oda mused. “Their loss has been our gain yet again.”

“We certainly have an opportunity here,” Mitsuhide noted. “The battle at Nagashino must have been more intense than we imagined. We owe those two even more, now.”

“The water attack has already been implemented.” Oda nodded toward the flooded castle at their hand. “We will deal with that in a moment, Toshiie can sit tight for a bit. Our first blow needs to fall there.” He raised his glowing sword to point to the Wu soldiers gathering on the field before the castle, where abandoned houses sat forlornly at what was now the river’s bank. “Break the vanguard, go for their officers first!”

His top three officers responded instantly, saying not a word but clapping their heels to their horses and charging forward. The Orochi army clearly had no idea that reinforcements would be there at all, let alone so soon, and attacking their flank on top of that. The soldiers scattered immediately, abandoning even the pretense at formation or defense and scrambling this way and that. Toyotomi, Akechi, and Ling Tong each led a unit, and for now, those three units were all they needed. Nobunaga himself waited for his chance, holding the rest of his army in reserve.

While he entrusted the front line to Ding Feng, Sun Quan himself was not far behind his men. He hadn’t been so blind as to not notice their grumbling when he rounded them up to give them orders, but he could do nothing to quell their doubts just now. They had work to do, and with Zhou Tai silently at his side to protect him, Quan rode to keep an eye on the front line and see how they were progressing. If all they had to do was siege the castle while it was under water, he had all faith that they could manage whatever small skirmishes took place on the shore. Unfortunately, when he heard the sound of battleclash, he realized that a siege was not at all in the cards. He made to ride to join the fight, but Zhou Tai grabbed a hold of his horse’s bridle to stop him. “What? Zhou Tai,” Quan protested.

The dour warrior gave him a look and a single shake of his head. “This is not your time, my lord,” he warned. “Wait, and see.”

Quan eased back, lowering his hands with the reins in them onto the pommel of his saddle. “Who is it, can you see?” he demanded to know. “Someone! Send a scout, identify this army immediately!”

A scout wasn’t necessary. A handful of Wu soldiers came running back towards them, having thrown down their weapons already. “It’s the Oda! The Oda!” they were crying.

“Oda!” Sun Quan seethed in place. “What is he doing here? Shouldn’t he be sitting pretty in Guandu Castle right about now?”

“This does not bode well,” Zhou Tai flatly stated. Yet, he did not let go of his lord’s horse, just in case. This was exactly the kind of battle where Sun Quan would run off all heated up and half-cocked, and they couldn’t afford that right now. Zhou Tai was not merely his bodyguard in terms of wielding a weapon in a fight.

Ding Feng was doing his best to corral his men and keep them from fleeing in every direction, but the concentrated attack from three officers at once hit the Wu vanguard hard and there was little any of them could do to keep their men together. He stood like a great red-coated mountain in their midst, exhorting them as best he could while he swung his massive circular blade around, but they were already starting to fold. A young infantry soldier stumbled at his feet, unable to even make his hand close around the handle of his sword any longer. “We…we can’t take anymore,” he whimpered, looking up and pleading with his eyes at the officer he had fallen beside.

“Be strong, men of Wu!” Ding Feng encouraged, reaching a hand down to pick this one up. “You are tigers, fight like the tiger! Tooth and claw, show these renegades what you are made of!”

His bellowing made him a target, though, and the crowds around him suddenly parted as a horse charged through. He looked up just as it was upon him, and something flew right at him, striking him in the chest before he could get his weapon around to block. He went down hard but rolled back out of it, pushing himself up to find out who or what just hit him. Right before his eyes stood the tall, lanky figure of Ling Tong, arms at his sides, shoulders squared manfully, head down, and dark anger in his eyes. Rising Phoenix swung loose in his fist, though he had attacked with a kick first. “So, this is who I find,” he said bluntly.

“Master Ling Tong!” Ding Feng rose to his feet to face him, staring. “What are you doing here?”

“Fighting for the right side,” Tong said harshly. “I should ask the same of you, Ding Feng!”

Feng’s face clouded. “Lord Sun Quan is leading this battle,” he said gruffly. “I support him, and Lord Zhou Tai. Would you then attack your countrymen, my young friend?” 

“Better me than anyone else.” Tong shifted into an attack stance, whipping his nunchuku around to tuck one end under his arm. “If anyone has the right to drive the Wu army off this battlefield, it’s me. Don’t fade on me now, Ding Feng, show me what you were telling your men. Tooth and claw, was it?”

Drawing himself up to his full, blustery height, Ding Feng nodded once and spun the blade off his shoulder to bring it around to fight. Toyotomi and Akechi rode past them, then, splitting in different directions to give chase to the army already beginning to melt back. The front line had been torn apart, and the officers of the vanguard were falling one by one. When Toyotomi knocked down Chen Shi, an officer from Shu who had been leading his own small unit on loan from Zhuge Liang, some of his men threw down their weapons on the field in an open display of defiance. They had no loyalty to Sun Quan as a person, and right now, the threat of Orochi was far away and faint, not enough to encourage or browbeat them into service in this particular battle. Toyotomi pulled his horse up short, unsure whether this was a trick or an extreme stroke of luck. “What’s this, now?” he asked a lower-ranking officer who tossed down his sword so hard it stuck in the turf.

“I am obliged to fight no longer,” the man said plainly, and then held up his open hands in surrender to the Oda officers. Several of his men followed suit.

Hideyoshi blinked at them and then shrugged. “All right, if that’s what you want.” He gestured with his staff, making a big sweep over their heads. “We don’t have time to take prisoners, so get off the field if you don’t wanna fight. Anyone who lays down arms won’t be harmed, the way to retreat is over there.”

Mitsuhide rode to join him, peering in question but not disagreeing with the idea. “This is even better than I had hoped. They would just desert in the middle of battle? They must be dispirited indeed.”

“Think we can get the same outta Sun Quan? Probably not, huh?” Hideyoshi snorted. “Oh well, we can try. He’ll have a time of it once his men start falling back to his position.”

“Lord Nobunaga would like to know where that position is,” Akechi reminded him. “Keep an eye out.”

The two of them together cleared the better part of the front line off the field, one way or another, and at the end of their ride they turned to see how the rest of it was going. Ling Tong had been fighting Ding Feng the whole time, while Wu soldiers abandoned the area, and it was clear who had the upper hand – or foot, as the case may be. Feng was doing his best, but there was a certain passion driving Gongji and he would not be knocked down or even scratched. Feng swung the big circular blade in a low sweep, trying to cleave him right through the middle, but Ling Tong saw it coming and then some. He sprang at the right moment, then kicked off the flat of the enormous blade to launch himself into the air. He came down right onto Ding Feng’s shoulders, a move which might have toppled anyone less massive in height and breadth but the burly Wu officer managed to take the blow and stay standing. Then again, so did Tong. His feet slid to lock against Feng’s thick neck, and with a twist of his body, he managed something no one watching expected. Feng was too heavy to actually throw, but Tong’s agility worked in his favor, as he spun himself in mid-air and used the twisting momentum to topple his opponent like a massive tree. As he fell hard into the mud, Tong sprang off him and landed lightly beside him, only to step a foot on his neck instead. “Stay down,” he warned. “I’m not into finishing off people who used to be friends.”

Ding Feng grimaced with his face squelched into the wet ground. “Master Ling Tong…”

“Shut it. Look around you, your men have fled. They don’t want to fight. Do the right thing,” Tong implored, leaning over him. “Pull back. And if Sun Quan won’t, then tell him _I’ll_ come find him and give him a damn good reason.”

Feng flinched again, hearing the lack of respect for their lord in his very words. At last, he let go of the handle of his weapon, at which point he was allowed to get up and retreat. He got up as far as his knees to look around and sure enough, his men had deserted him and the stragglers could be seen making for the path back to their starting position. He knew the men of Wu were tired, but he had not been able to really get a read on them since joining his lord in this region and had no idea their morale was so low. It cut him to the core, making his sour face droop sadly. “Meaningless. All meaningless. Very well, I will pull the front line back.”

It wasn’t like he had much choice, the front line was already further back than where he currently stood, but it was a battlefield gesture that allowed him to retreat with all his limbs. As he did so, Toyotomi and Akechi caught up with their comrade, the former giving an impressed whistle. “Did I really see you tackle that guy with just your _feet_? Incredible, Ling Tong! I think we’re gonna really enjoy having you in our army.”

Ling Tong looked up to him with considerably less cheer. He had known full well that Sun Quan was one of the commanders on the enemy’s side, but he hadn’t really let it sink in that yet again, he’d be fighting his own lord, friends and possibly even men from his own units in battles past. He tossed his head to get his wet bangs out of his face. “Looks like we did it. The first part of Lord Oda’s plan is complete.”

“Yes, the vanguard of the Orochi army has been broken,” Mitsuhide confirmed. “We now control the ground leading to the castle, such as it is.” He waved a commanding hand. “Hold here, until we can confirm the next movement of the enemy. Lord Nobunaga should join us shortly.”

Hideyoshi tipped his helm back in order to squint through the falling rain toward the flooded castle. “Hang on, Toshiie, just a little bit longer. We promise.”

The trickle of officers fading back toward Sun Quan became a flood, and then the officers of the vanguard, limping and weaponless. Ding Feng was at the rear of the pack, his usual ferocious look tempered with defeat and distress. Quan managed to hold himself in check until this last officer reached him, at which point he burst out with, “Why is my entire army running from the Oda like stampeding horses?”

Ding Feng stumbled before him, pulling his fist up into a respectful kowtow. “I’m sorry, my lord. They were too much for us. The front line has been completely routed.” He sagged and then rubbed at his neck where Ling Tong had grabbed him for the throw. “I had no idea they had officers like that in their ranks.”

“It _is_ Oda?” Zhou Tai asked to confirm.

Feng nodded. “The man himself may be in command, I heard them mention him. My lord…” He bit his lower lip; he hated having to speak up to gainsay his lord, but something needed to be said, now that he saw for himself the extent of the army’s disarray. “The men are tired, not just in body but in soul. They no longer wish to fight and throw their lives away for Orochi. I beg of you, do not drive them into this any longer!”

Quan’s heavy brow furrowed darkly. “What would you have me do, Ding Feng? Abandon my father to be executed, and the rest of our people to be chained under Orochi while I ride off? Wash my hands of the whole thing just because we’ve had a defeat or two? I’m not like my faithless brother, I can’t _do_ that. I have to see this through, for the sake of Wu.”

Feng’s sorry face wilted even more, but he nodded and silently moved off to collect the soldiers and see to any injuries. _What will be left of Wu, if you continue like this?_ he wondered to himself.

Sun Quan drew his sword and brandished it. “If I have no one left, I will have to do this myself. Oda cannot be allowed to continue to ride roughshod over us. Let’s go, Zhou Tai – it looks like I’ll have to lead by example this time.”

He didn’t wait for his bodyguard’s response, spurring his horse forward into the rain. Zhou Tai heaved a sigh, but likewise drew his blade and charged off after him. He had no choice, but he knew that neither did Sun Quan. If they had to face Oda directly, so be it.

In the meantime, Oda had led the rest of the army out of hiding and onto the plain, where he waited to have a look around and let Mitsuhide arrange their forces in a two-pronged formation. Lu Xun had told him what he needed to know about the layout of the valley and the most likely paths of movement for any invading army, so he made sure his people were ready for any contingency. The flooded castle needed to be dealt with, but only when the path was clear for them. He had no information, yet, on the full size and strength of the Orochi army and whether there would be a second or even third line to follow the first, so holding fast on the plain seemed like the wise route. It was easy to station units in and around the abandoned houses to hide some of their strength from view, but they would not be lurking around like brigands all day. Before he could call out an order to move, he heard the sudden rush of hoofbeats in a certain direction, and turned to see what the fuss was about. From up the side path, not far from where they had skirted the river, three horses burst from the underbrush and made straight for him where he sat astride his horse. Mitsuhide heard it as well and rushed over, but Oda stayed him with a hand. “No, I want to see what this is about,” he murmured. “It takes a certain type of gall to intrude on a battlefield, unless one of the combatants is an ally.”

Easing back, Mitsuhide frowned. “I remember him. From Honnoji.”

“Indeed.” Nobunaga sat looking indifferent, though behind his cool mask, he was intensely interested in what reason this man might have for charging him. From the way he held his broad podao bared off to the side of his horse, he wasn’t here to join the Resistance. Nobunaga waited until he was certain, and waved Hideyoshi off as well. He would handle this himself.

No one involved in this battle, not even the forces of Sun Quan nor Cao Pi, would have expected Xiahou Dun to appear like a phantom at just such a place and time. Had he been riding for days with this singular mission in mind, or was he merely capitalizing on an opportunity? He gave no indication as he barreled straight for the resistance commander, teeth bared in fury for some reason. Behind him rode Ba and Shang, not sharing his anger but armed and ready for battle all the same. “Nobunaga!” he bellowed as he came within earshot, and the rest of the Oda army finally noticed. “There is no place for you in this world, especially not in my lord’s castles! My duty is to ensure your elimination!”

“Oh?” Nobunaga drew his sword, raising it so it flickered and hissed in the rain. “One would think I had taken the emperor’s throne in Luoyang, for you to come at me this way.”

Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi moved to his right and left, respectively, and even as Xiahou Dun came on, rode past him to engage Ba and Shang on either side so that their lord could be left free to deal with the head of the clan himself. Behind them, Ling Tong had regained his saddle and sat waiting for orders when he heard more hooves approaching from a different direction, and looked to see Sun Quan and Zhou Tai coming in hard and fast. “Oh, no,” he breathed aloud. “The reinforcements aren’t here yet. What is he doing?”

“It’s the enemy commander,” one of the lieutenants following him realized. “What a time for interlopers to come into this fight!”

Tong shook his head and pulled out Rising Phoenix. “I’ve got it. Let Lord Oda do what he needs to.”

He slapped his heels to his horse and broke from the pack, riding to intercept the Wu lord at a distance rather than let him close in on the army. He looked to be without a vanguard, just him and his bodyguard, though downslope they could see some of Wu’s bravest lurking around as if wanting to see if they had retreated too soon. As they came on, Quan recognized the young man heading his way and reined in, figuring if they were to clash, he would not do it on horseback lest he be dumped into the mud in front of his whole army. “Ling Tong!” he called out gruffly. “Do you mean to attack your lord like a common thug?”

“Don’t you start with me!” Tong cried as he rode up, finding Zhou Tai ready to intercept him. He knew how deadly that sword could be and swiftly dodged, loosing one foot from a stirrup and ducking down over the opposite side of his horse. Zhou Tai’s swing missed him completely and he had to stop and turn, while Tong continued on without pause, agilely riding the last span with only one leg over the saddle and gracefully dismounting before the enemy commander. “Right now I can’t let you get past here, so you’ll just have to deal with me.”

Quan likewise hopped down, sword at the ready. “Friend or not, I will show you no mercy. You’d better not show me any, either.”

“Trust me, I won’t,” Tong said with absolutely no humor. He was all business, face set sternly. “I didn’t go easy on Sun Ce, I won’t back down in front of you either.”

The mention of his brother had Quan scowling, and he leaped to the fray without hesitating. Behind them, Zhou Tai held for a moment, not wanting to interfere but not wanting harm to come to his lord, either. Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about just sitting there watching, as some of Oda’s retainers came cresting over the hill and fell upon him, giving him plenty to do.

At the river’s edge, it didn’t take long for Toyotomi and Akechi to handle the Xiahous Ba and Shang, and they turned to find their lord battling Xiahou Dun, sword to sword, knee to knee, neither of them able to unseat the other from their horses. It was quite the clash, but Oda looked to be handling it well, an utterly blank expression on his face to counter Dun’s seething anger. He almost could be said to be enjoying himself, but there was a certain level of annoyance tempering any real pleasure at fighting. As they rained blows on each other, sparks flying from the meeting of their swords, Oda could hear his army behind him relaying information and orders. The Wei forces had not moved, they were holed up far from here. Ling Tong had ridden to stop Sun Quan. The other Xiahous had been captured. It sounded like things were well in hand, but the shouts regarding Sun Quan concerned him. At the first opportunity, Oda threw a sudden counter behind his parry and threw Xiahou Dun off balance enough that he had to take a moment to correct it, a moment in which the resistance commander whirled his horse and disengaged from the fight. “Hideyoshi!” he barked as he changed direction and spurred his horse on. “He’s all yours! Have fun.”

“Wait!” Dun was rather incensed at Oda deciding to flee, and jerked the reins to give chase, but Toyotomi was immediately on him, not just interrupting his chance at following Oda but slamming his staff so hard against the podao that Dun almost fell out of the saddle again. “Get out of my way!” he snarled. “If you stop me in my duty, then you will meet the same fate as that pretender!”

“Pretender!” Hideyoshi repeated, mocking his outrage. “I’ll have you know Lord Nobunaga is a perfectly real guy. At least he’s not a snake!”

While Toyotomi took his place in attempting to subdue Xiahou Dun, Nobunaga rode following the reports from his men that Ling Tong had gone to meet to the enemy commander. He discovered that he didn’t need to go far to find this conflict, it was only over the hill and there, the field was choked with his own men swarming Zhou Tai while Tong and Sun Quan fought to a stalemate. Both were panting and bruised, standing facing one another with shoulders squared into defensive positions to await the chance to find the energy to strike one another again. Oda thundered down toward them, making both look his way. The sight of him made Sun Quan growl under his breath – unlike Cao Pi and Xiahou Dun, he had not yet crossed this famed resistance leader, and wasn’t sure exactly how strong he was. He glided like a shadow of death toward them, the glowing sword casting a purple aura on the wet grass as he came. “No,” Quan muttered. “Not him!”

Oda’s eyes seemed locked on the Wu lord. “So!” he called as he drew near. “It is the slave of the snake, after all! Good work, Ling Tong, but allow me to do my duty as commander of this resistance.”

As much as Ling Tong didn’t want to give up the fight, he couldn’t argue. He was exhausted and needed a moment, and it was Lord Oda’s right to face the enemy’s commander. He couldn’t withdraw without one more plea, though. “Come on, you can’t keep this up forever!” he implored Sun Quan. “Let it go, and come with us! We can make Wu like it used to be!”

Sun Quan slashed at him to get him to back off. He’d had enough of the attempted enticements, he knew what he needed to do. Nobunaga alit from the saddle like a great black hawk and struck hard and fast, not allowing Quan even another moment to catch his breath. Tong backed away wisely, and went to see if he could help his fellows topple Zhou Tai. The two commanders clashed powerfully, parrying and circling with great one-handed strikes of their respective swords. Armored as he was, Oda used his free hand to occasionally bash away the sword or turned a shoulder to deflect a hit, giving him the advantage. He moved quickly, too, much faster than Quan with his heavy-handed way of fighting. It was at least as difficult a battle as the one he had been waging against Xiahou Dun, but this one was more important, and he drove in hard and fast to keep Quan from recovering. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the remains of the front line just hanging back, watching but not helping, and noted that all of them were men of Wu. There wasn’t a snake among them, and it was difficult to say where the rest of the Orochi army might be. There were no obvious ambush points in this field, it was wide open as far as the eye could see even in the rain and fog; it looked like the rest of his forces had abandoned Sun Quan. Noting this, Nobunaga redoubled his efforts and beat Quan back even further, splashing through puddles and driving the Wu prince apart from his bodyguard and everyone else. Quan gave one last-ditch counterattack, throwing all his weight behind his sword, and found himself stymied by Oda’s glowing blade. The resistance commander stared him down over their crossed blades, lifting an eyebrow but otherwise remaining serious and intent. “Is this your ambition, young lord of Wu?” he murmured. “To serve another master, and leave your men lost and broken behind you?”

“No!” Quan forcefully responded, giving a shove with his arms that wasn’t enough to disengage the stalemate. “Don’t speak as if you know me, Oda Nobunaga.”

“But I do,” Nobunaga purred. “I’ve known countless men like you. Never seizing their own destiny, ever trotting along at the heels of another.”

“Shut your mouth!” This time the surge of anger and sweep of the sword was enough to push Nobunaga off him. Sun Quan leveled the point of the blade at him in challenge. “You know nothing of the glory of Wu, and the path of ambition I walk! I am the Emperor of Wu, not some underling!”

“Then you ought to act like it.” Oda gave a sweep of his sword and lowered it toward the ground, raising his other hand instead, his fingers curling as if to seize hold of the very storm around them. “Your front line has been crushed, and from where I stand, I cannot see any reinforcements coming to your aid. Where is your ally, Cao Pi? What part does he have to play in this?”

Quan bristled, if only because he realized he needed to ask himself that question. He had thrown himself into the battle without waiting for backup, but unlike Xia Kou, that backup was not showing up unlooked-for. Where was Cao Pi with the Wei army? He, too, lowered his sword, and wiped the back of his free hand across his lips to check for blood. Ling Tong had hit him pretty hard, earlier. “If you want to fight him, be my guest,” he muttered. “I have done as much as can, if Da Ji wants your head then she can come get it herself.” He raised his voice to be heard above the din of battle. “Fall back! All men, fall back to the camp!”

The soldiers still nearby obeyed instantly, not even questioning his order. Zhou Tai disengaged from his fight with multiple officers and backed away, coming to his lord’s side. Oda remained poised to fight, though a different light came into his eyes at that. “Your time will come, Sun Quan,” he said coolly. “Until then, do not let yourself be bowed like a slave.” That was all he had to say for it, though, and then turned to stalk to his horse and mount up. Zhou Tai remained standing like a protective wall before his lord, until the rest of their men had left the field and Quan himself turned to go. At last, the final man shot his foes a wary look and wordlessly turned to retreat with the others. 

Satisfied, Oda looked to his own men. “Are you able to continue, Ling Tong?”

Tong glanced up and took a deep breath to steady himself. “Yeah, I’m fine. Ready to go.”

“Good. We still have important things to do, here. Come.”

He led the way back to the riverbank, where Toyotomi had just completed his task with great effort. Three members of the Xiahou clan now sat on the muddy ground, arms bound behind them. This development brought a smirk back to Oda’s face as he joined them and stared down at his captives from atop his horse. “Very nice, Monkey. I will take this gift.”

“It’s all yours, my lord,” Hideyoshi said brightly. “Took me a bit but I finally got him down. Didn’t stop him from babbling the whole time about how he needs to destroy you, but maybe this’ll take a little wind out of his sails.”

Oda gazed down at Dun, who refused to meet his eyes. “We shall see. There is no time to deal with it now, keep them under wraps until we’ve cleaned up, here.”

“Don’t bother,” Xiahou Dun growled under his breath. “My fate is already sealed.”

“No.” Nobunaga’s face went tight with annoyance. “Your fate is in my hands, now. You may still be of use, but that will be determined later.” He turned his horse to face his gathering retainers. “Sun Quan has withdrawn from the battle. We have a chance, now, to get rid of all this water and launch the counter-attack.”

“That time already? Right you are, my lord.” Hideyoshi raised his hand to call the army’s attention to him. “Head for the floodgates! Up along the river, we should find it right where you’d expect!”

“The floodgates,” Ling Tong repeated. “Got it.”

“Mitsuhide and I will meet you in the middle, once Toshiie is with us,” Nobunaga informed them before they could head off.

The other two bobbed their heads in acknowledgment and started off, leading their units down along the flooded river. Everyone knew Cao Pi’s forces had to be somewhere in this area, ready to fight, so they anticipated meeting them at the floodgates if nothing else. Oda remained where he was, back turned to his captives, with Mitsuhide beside him to keep order and prepare for their own charge when the time was ripe. He could feel Xiahou Dun’s one-eyed glare on the back of his neck, but only smirked to himself and kept watch for the nature of the field to suddenly change.

At the main camp, Cao Pi had already arrayed his army to meet resistance, reserving only Yue Jin for his bodyguard. The young officer was still in rough shape from Nagashino and Saika before that, but he remained at the ready, not doubting himself at all. They had the benefit of scouts roaming all over the field reporting back with every change in momentum, and had just received a rather curious tale from a messenger who had gotten all the way to the edge of the water to see what Oda was doing. “So,” Cao Pi mused, “my father’s retainers still waste their lives chasing his ghost. If they can’t find the real thing, they spend their energy foolishly attempting to destroy the spitting image.”

“What could Xiahou Dun be thinking?” Yue Jin asked incredulously. “Is he seriously so taken with Lord Cao Cao that he wants to kill Oda over it?”

“Yes, actually.” Pi rolled his eyes so his retainer could see. “Idiot. Perhaps I should be glad that he’s kept his head down and nose out of this war, if he’s going to behave like that.”

“It would have been nice if he had accidentally won the day over Oda for us,” Jin snorted. “Intentional or not, his attack could have helped you.”

Pi had not missed that detail, either, and shook his head in chagrin at the irony of it. “Yet, he did not, and is now a captive of our foe. On his head be it. And with Sun Quan withdrawing, it looks like I can only rely on my own forces after all.”

Jin glanced at him. “What are your orders, then?”

“Hold, for now. I expect Oda’s next move will be to assault the floodgates. If he succeeds, our follow-up will be much different than if he fails.” He knew, as soon as the army poured onto the field, that the water attack had not done its intended damage. It was difficult to trap an army that was not inside the castle at the time of the flood. Momentum of the battle was currently in the hands of Zhang He, and he had no reason to expect his trusted general to fail him. In the meantime, he made sure to get messengers running out to see what Sun Quan intended to do with himself. Their alliance was likely over, for the time being, but he was curious where the Wu lord would be taking his beaten army to recover. If such a place could be found.

The officers racing along the river could see their target ahead, not only the misty outline of the palisade in the rain but the cadre of soldiers standing guard in front of the gate. Ling Tong remembered this part of the castle grounds, he knew what they needed to do and wasn’t at all surprised to see the floodgates well guarded. Both he and Hideyoshi had seen quite a bit of action so far, so neither could really be said to be fresh, but both were eager to press on and show Nobunaga their worth in their own ways. As long as they worked together, there weren’t many who could stand in their way. As soon as they came around a bend and within sight of the fortification around the floodgates, their foe spotted them and went on the alert. Seeing that they weren’t stopping, Yu Jin left the gate to ride toward them, recklessly getting drawn in when he should have stood his ground. They made short work of him and plowed straight on, reaching the gate and letting their men batter the door down. Once an opening had been made, Ling Tong leaped down from his horse and ran in ahead of his unit, finding the center of the garrison quiet and empty. He raised Rising Phoenix in a block and looked around warily, even as both he and Hideyoshi heard Yu Jin’s desperate “Oh no you don’t!” right before he regrouped and fell upon their rearguard. While Toyotomi stopped to deal with him, Ling Tong turned his attention to the gates at the river’s edge, currently closed to block the water. His momentary hesitation saved him serious injury, for there was a sudden flash of movement above and then someone was on him, great bronze claws held at bay by the chain connecting the two halves of his nunchuku. Zhang He had ambushed him from the parapet above, lithe and nearly silent; had Ling Tong rushed straight for the gate, those claws would have found his shoulder and chest and likely put an end to his resistance permanently. He held as long as he could and then gave back a step so he could sweep a kick around at the Wei general’s side. Zhang He reeled but came back rather quickly, undaunted. He was fast, so fast that all Tong could do was block, wary of his men clashing with the soldiers of Wei all around them and not wanting to get knocked into one of them. Zhang He was quite fresh and hungry for battle, and pressed him this way and that, not letting him get so much as a parrying blow. Only once did he misstep, sliding in the wet grass, and as he did, a staff unexpectedly swept toward his head, forcing him to bend nearly backwards to avoid being hit. Gasping in surprise, he righted himself and flipped around to find himself now facing Toyotomi in addition to Ling Tong. “How rude!” he declared as he pulled back his claws into a defensive posture. “Interfering in my dance with this young man, how dare you, you ugly little monkey?”

Toyotomi grinned brashly, giving his staff a flick to separate it into three. “Ugly, huh? That’s a lot, coming from the likes of you.”

It wasn’t the taunt so much as the gaping reaction on Zhang He’s face that made Ling Tong giggle despite himself in the middle of trouble. “Just what is that supposed to mean?!”

“Come on,” Hideyoshi said daringly, “if you wanna dance, let’s dance! I mean, I like pretty ladies myself, but we can’t always have what we want.”

Incensed, Zhang He went after him instead, leaving Ling Tong to back out of the way. It was well-timed, he was too tired to keep up any longer. Hideyoshi had similar agility and speed to this famed officer of Wei, he would do well fighting him while the other slipped away to find the floodgate controls and open the gates while everyone else was distracted. Toyotomi’s quick, capering moves handily helped him avoid being clawed, while he in turn dealt the occasional sharp smack with one or the other end of his tri-part staff as he circled and flitted around Zhang He. Between the two of them it did look rather like a dance, up until Toyotomi pounced and drove the full staff sideways into Zhang He’s flank. Junyi stumbled and skidded across the wet grass again, almost painfully sliding into the splits, but as he regained his footing, he heard a slam and realized someone was messing with the floodgates. Yelping in outrage, he turned to see Ling Tong straining at trying to throw them open, though with the force of the water pressing against them, it was hard work for just one man. “No!” Zhang He cried, turning to attack him instead. “This water attack is a work of art! Hands _off_!”

What he found instead was Toyotomi there in front of him, again, staff blocking his path and his claws. “Ha! You call this a water attack? Trust me, I know a thing or three about water attacks!” he cackled. “All you have to do is open the floodgates and the plan’s a total washout. Don’t you know anything?”

Zhang He gave him another cry of outrage before slashing again, doubling his strength behind the claws for a close encounter. Hideyoshi battled back, his eyes shadowed beneath his helm and a rather deadly grin on his lips. In due time he had turned the momentum around again, and backed Zhang He into a corner of the palisade. Since disarming the Wei officer was rather a tall order, he settled for knocking him out, springing high and spinning to bring his weight to bear behind the battering ends of his disjoined staff. Several cracks to the head and a few more to the feet as Toyotomi spun out of it, and Zhang He was down, splashing into a puddle and lying still. His men had been routed, and the gates barred against Yu Jin coming back to help, leaving no more obstacles in their way. The Oda forces hurried over to help Ling Tong with the floodgates, and at last, one by one they pulled the levers and ropes to open each gate. The last one shuddered up with all the force of the backed-up river banging against it, and at last the water flowed into its natural channel, churning away down the river’s course with the falling rain singing on its surface. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Ling Tong straightened up on one of the topmost platforms and pushed his wet hair out of his face. “And just like that, the tides turn,” he said triumphantly. “Good job, Toyotomi!”

“You too, Ling Tong!” Hideyoshi chirped. “That guy was a hell of a lot of trouble, though. Let’s take a minute and catch our breaths. Lord Nobunaga is gonna be making his move now, anyway, so let’s give him the chance to catch up.”

The fortification was a good place to rest, and Ling Tong flopped to a seat right there on the edge of the wooden platform that housed one of the gates. His men brandished their weapons and cheered in triumph, as they watched the river find its way back into its normal state and the water level around the castle began to drop.

From inside Fan Castle, it was clear that the Resistance army had won at the floodgates, for the abrupt change in the water could not be missed. Its retreat was silent but swift, as first the stairs, then the gates, and at last the walkways became visible. Everything was dripping wet and some of the stones and flooring were now covered in silt and a few weeds, but it wasn’t anything a little sunshine and fair weather couldn’t eventually solve. For now, as the rain kept streaming down, the additional reinforcements under Maeda and Takenaka marched out from their dry fortress into the wet, none the worse for wear after being holed up for a few hours with no escape route. The two officers rode at the head of the columns of soldiers, and as they reached Oda’s position, Hanbei tapped a hand to his hat in a somewhat disrespectful salute. “Lord Nobunaga! What a pleasant day for a visit! It’s good to see you again.”

Oda had a keen, subtle smile for the diminutive strategist. “Hanbei. You’ve been missed.”

“Aww, how nice of you to say so.” Hanbei reached behind him to pat the large weapon slung over his back. “Truth be told I think I need to get some exercise before I get fat. We brought you some reinforcements, I hope it’ll be enough.”

Everything he said was playful sarcasm: he had a rather sizeable contingent himself, made up of men he had gathered in his own travels, some of Oda’s resistance forces which had come to Fan only to find him already sort of occupying the castle, and the leftovers from the Takeda-Uesugi alliance. Nobunaga smirked coolly in response, seeing them mustering along the previously-flooded ground. “It will do. There is exercise in plenty when we meet up with Cao Pi.”

Hanbei’s eyes lit up. “Oooh! The lord of Wei, really? I’d like to see him in person, so maybe I’ll ride along with you.”

“As you please.” Oda turned his horse and rode off, leading the way without much fanfare. It was up to Toshiie to decide how to deploy the men he led, but Hanbei’s forces followed him as he in turn followed Oda. The warlord rode through his waiting forces, raising a hand to beckon them along. “The time is now,” he declared for them all to hear. “Begin the counter-attack!”

The army around him broke into a charge, ready to go and finally getting their chance at it. There would be no casual march to the enemy main camp, they thundered off at once with their lord in the lead. He chose a path down the center that would more or less lead straight to where he expected Cao Pi to be waiting, once they passed through a choke point and came out in the field below the floodgates. Naturally, he expected there to be Wei forces guarding that choke point, and sure enough, battle was first joined there as his men rousted out the defenders and pushed them aside. It was clear now that of the vast numbers of troops they had scoped out before the battle’s start, at least half of them were Wei, and with Sun Quan pulled back, that was all that was left to stop the entirety of the Oda Resistance. There did not yet seem to be any word from the floodgate defense force, nor the ones who had taken it, but if the Wei army was still giving them trouble up that way, it was up to Toyotomi and Ling Tong to handle. Oda had Akechi with him, and his reinforcements, and this time he would not be pulling his troops back once he had glimpsed Cao Pi with his own eyes. He had something to settle, and it could only be done face to face. The contingents in the field were being led by the Cao relatives, Hong, Zhang, and Zhen, who were wisely spread out on three fronts to block the army’s advance in any direction. It fell to full battle, then, as the Resistance rolled up to them like a veritable flood and crashed against them. At some point, Hideyoshi’s vibrant sunburst helm could be seen zig-zagging through the melee, but no one knew when he had rejoined the front line nor what had become of Ling Tong. He met back up with Oda without a word as the warlord pressed his way through the staunch Wei defense clustered around the camp, around the time he battled one-on-one with Cao Zhang, who gave way before him and fled into the camp proper, calling for reinforcements. Oda looked to find his monkey at his right hand, gave him a nod to greet him, and then continued on, riding up to the very edge of the camp with little else standing in his way.

Cao Pi had already taken to the saddle in anticipation of being drawn into the battle, though to Yue Jin’s eye, he didn’t seem very ruffled by the fact that the floodgates had been taken, or that the Oda army had crossed the field, and there wasn’t even a flicker of emotion as the latest report had the Resistance at their very gates, which they could see for themselves. The only time he showed a reaction was when Cao Zhang came running into the camp, yelling for help. He made straight for his elder brother, only to find Cao Pi glaring down at him with contempt. “Useless,” he muttered. “I leave you to your own devices for two minutes and you’re whining about how you can’t handle this foe. You wrestle tigers, you can’t defeat an enemy officer?”

Zhang pulled up short, goggling at him. True, he had suffered defeat at the hands of the resistance more than once so far, but he didn’t expect that kind of reprimand – and in front of the vanguard, no less. “But, my lord,” he protested, “it isn’t just anyone, it’s Oda…”

“So?” Pi sniffed. “I have fought Oda myself, before. He is nothing special.”

“Then I’m sure you won’t mind fighting him again,” Yue Jin broke in, gesturing with a nod toward a cluster of mayhem at the edge of camp. “Because here he comes.”

Cao Pi harrumphed softly and tossed his hand dismissively. “Fine, then, Cao Zhang. Pull back if you must. It’s clear at a time like this that I’ll have to do everything myself.” He anticipated a disagreement from the officer to his left, so he glanced Jin’s way. “Save your strength, it will be needed. I can manage this much.”

“If you insist, my lord,” Yue Jin said quietly. “Yet if any harm comes to you, remember that Lord Wenyuan will have my head.”

“I’ll be sure not to put you in the position of having to give him any bad news.” Pi drew both halves of Pure Havoc, joined them into one weapon, and jabbed his heels to his white steed’s flank, charging off to meet the enemy commander halfway.

At a cry from one of his men, Oda glanced to see Cao Pi heading his way and grinned darkly before turning to meet him. He rode out ahead of his army and then dismounted, his very posture demanding a duel rather than a melee like the last time they met. Seeing that his enemy’s last remaining retainer hadn’t moved, Mitsuhide likewise pulled up short, preventing the rest of their men from pushing past that point and interfering with the battle of commanders. They had enough to contend with as it was, though it looked like Hideyoshi really wanted to take a bite out of the lord of Wei himself. Nobunaga stood his ground until Cao Pi reined in and hopped down from the saddle, striding forward with weapon at the ready. “It’s been a while, Cao Pi of Wei,” Oda purred.

“A bit,” Pi acknowledged. “First, let me express my admiration for how your army has fought thus far. But now, a caution.” He sprang from his place into a dash straight for Oda. “You shall go no further!”

Nobunaga barked a laugh as he lunged to meet the attack, not blocking but rather moving to counter, throwing Pure Havoc aside with a sweep of his blade and then spinning around to the side. Cao Pi’s flank was exposed, and he could have taken a blow there if Oda had chosen to deal one – and as he shifted into defense, Pi knew it. Oda shook his head once. “It isn’t my head that you really want, is it?”

Pi’s icy eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing you haven’t already heard.” Oda drove in again, and the duel began in earnest.

From where they watched a few paces away, Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi could tell that the fight was as serious as any fought in this war, this was no show being acted out. Nobunaga’s humming blade cut purple streaks in the air as he slashed and blocked and whirled around Cao Pi, who kept him moving with expert handling of his twin swords. They fought without a further word or taunt, and both faces were set in determined frowns as they battled ferociously in front of their armies. The chaos around them had quieted for the moment as if to watch this duel play out, allowing Toyotomi to fold his arms over his chest, the staff resting in the crook of an arm. “Boy, look at ‘em go,” he murmured to Mitsuhide. “They really have it out for each other, don’t they?”

“For all the good it will do Cao Pi,” Akechi complained, his eyes mostly on Yue Jin holding back. “If by some miracle he bests Lord Nobunaga, he still has us to contend with. Our army is not leaving the field until Orochi is driven back, regardless of our commander’s fate.”

“Makes you wonder why he’s wasting his troops in this meaningless battle,” Hideyoshi said warily. “He could’ve just drawn back when Sun Quan did, and not have to put himself through this. He had to have guessed we had the upper hand the minute the floodwaters went down.”

“Come now, Lord Hideyoshi,” Hanbei smirked as he joined them, “you know very well an upper hand is not an automatic victory, else we would not have pushed ourselves this far across the field. I could have stayed all nice and dry in the castle instead of riding in the rain.”

“You did want to see the lord of Wei,” Mitsuhide reminded him.

“True, I did. And there he is. Ooh, that was a hard hit, Lord Nobunaga hasn’t lost any of his stamina at all, has he?”

“I hear ya, Hanbei,” Hideyoshi rejoined, tipping his helm back to rub his forehead. “This Cao Pi, he’s not dumb. But there’s something going on here, I can tell. So can Lord Nobunaga.”

“All the more reason to let him conclude this battle his way,” Mitsuhide said wisely.

The fight was getting rougher the longer it went on, but it was a testament to the skill of both leaders that neither had suffered so much as a cut so far, though both had taken blows. Whatever bruises might be found under their armor later, they showed no signs of them just yet. Those who had seen Oda already wage a similar fight against Sun Quan could hardly believe he didn’t even look winded. They were no longer swooping around each other but stood nearly toe to toe, swinging and blocking over and over in rapid, short movements. Then, Oda flung his free hand into the middle of the fray instead of his sword, letting Pure Havoc clang off his gauntlet, so he could create an opening by force and slash downward with his Demon Slayer. It cut straight through Pi’s cowl and into the scales of his armor, though he managed to throw his shoulders backwards in time to prevent it from doing more damage than that. He stumbled back in the wet grass and went to one knee, only to find the glowing blade resting an inch from his ear. “It’s time to end this,” Nobunaga said sternly.

Panting for breath, Cao Pi allowed himself a vague smirk. “Would you take my head, then, Demon King?”

Oda quirked one eyebrow way up. “Whatever would I do with that?”

There was a long moment in which neither of them moved, aside from Pi’s heaving shoulders. Then, without even lifting his head, he called out, “Retreat! We have lost the floodgates, we must pull back!”

Satisfied, Oda swished the sword out of threatening range, and barely twitched as Yue Jin rode up to collect his lord. Oda’s retainers appeared at his right and left once again, as if to reassure that there was no way anyone could try anything sneaky to turn a defeat into an assassination. As Cao Pi straightened up to his feet, he gave the collected Resistance officers a salute with his blade and backed away to meet Yue Jin with his horse. “It seems a defeat like this could be yet another blow to Orochi,” he remarked cryptically before mounting up and riding away.

Hanbei and Mitsuhide shared a look, but no one said anything. Nobunaga just harrumphed under his breath and turned away to find his own steed. They had a battlefield to clear, casualties to count and wounds to treat, prisoners to interrogate and a castle to occupy.

Though no one really expected any portion of the Orochi army to remain behind to try anything underhanded, a contingent was dispatched to guard the floodgates while the rest of the Oda Resistance returned to Fan Castle proper and headed inside to enjoy a respite from the rain. Nobunaga himself, with the main part of his strength, would only be spending the night before riding off again, back to Guandu where he could reap the benefits of a much larger fortress and more secure command of all the lands his army now controlled. Yet, before he could even think of taking a break, he had one crucial duty to see to. Pages and attendants came to take his sodden cloak and bring him something to dry himself off, though he didn’t yet shed his armor, and stood still arrayed for battle when the three captives were brought before him under heavy guard. By now, Xiahou Dun looked positively wretched, full of loathing and resentment, some of which might have been for himself rather than the man who stood before him. Oda didn’t really care what he thought, but he did take a moment to look the three Xiahous over. One was startlingly young, but from the look of his armor, he knew his way around a battlefield. Before he could even open his mouth to make a remark, Dun spoke up gruffly. “Kill me now,” he demanded. “I do not wish to see you rule.”

Oda blinked at his audacity, and then snorted. “You are getting far ahead of yourself,” he reprimanded curtly. “I have not even vanquished the current ruler of this realm and already you expect that I should take his place. Flattering though that is, you need to rethink your very understanding of this war and your current situation, Xiahou Dun.” 

Dun raised his head and glared at him. “It wasn’t flattery.”

“I will still take it as such.” Nobunaga’s smirk drove the point home. “I maintain my position. You are too consumed with the wrong concern. As long as Orochi holds sway over this land, our little battles and petty squabbles are just that – little and petty. Those who would fight had better direct their aggressions against the demon, not each other.”

“Yeah,” Toyotomi agreed from where he stood at his lord’s right hand. “I mean, think about it! As long as he can keep us fighting each other, he doesn’t have to worry about us turning our swords on him. I bet you there wasn’t a man on that field today who actually _likes_ being under his rule, but what were we doing? Fooling around, instead of hunting us some snakes.”

Xiahou Dun regarded him for a moment, and then shifted his angry look back on Oda. “If my lord Cao Cao were alive, he would easily dispose of Orochi in good time.”

“Except that he is not. Dead men cannot do a thing against Orochi,” Oda said sourly. “I grow weary of this foolishness, Xiahou Dun. Your loyalty to your lord is not noble when it underlies every wrong move you make. I have no intention of executing you, for your strength – indeed, the strength of every living man who can manage to hold a sword – is needed to bring down the serpent. Surely even you can see that.”

Dun held his gaze, still glaring. Beside him, Ba breathed a tiny sigh of relief. “I will not serve you,” Dun growled.

The warlord tipped his head in the tiniest shrug. “If Nobunaga does not suit your taste, then feel free to look elsewhere for leadership. But look to the living, not the dead. The dead cannot help you, they cannot lead you to victory.” His eyes narrowed, a cold and cutting smile awakening on his lips. “Why not your master’s son?”

Dun seethed at him, nose wrinkling in distaste. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not? Your actions on the battlefield today nearly aided him as it is, perhaps you have the makings of one of his retainers after all.” Oda tossed a hand idly. “Do you need to cross swords with a man before you can determine his worth? By all means. You’ll find him more than a handful, as I did.”

“I don’t need your blathering, nor your advice,” Xiahou Dun snarled at him. “I alone determine who I would serve.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Nobunaga gestured to one of his guards to come and cut their bonds. “Your horses and weapons will be waiting for you at the gate. I suggest you make haste, lest you find night falling upon you while you’re still out in the wet and cold.”

Once his hands were free, Xiahou Dun rose to his feet, rubbing his wrists. Ba and Shang clambered up next to him, ready to retreat. Hideyoshi spread his feet and squared himself in a subtle threat, and Mitsuhide came to Nobunaga’s other side, silently giving the order that the Xiahou clan ought to leave. Shooting Oda one last savage glare, Dun turned on his heel and led the way out for his clansmen, not needing anyone to escort him out of the castle.

Toyotomi heaved a huge sigh as soon as they were gone. “What a sourpuss. You’re really gonna send him off to go work for Cao Pi, my lord?”

“It will not be so easy as that, Monkey,” Nobunaga assured, finally accepting the assistance of his attendants to get out of armor. “Great animosity lies between them yet. It will be some time before he accepts his path.”

Ling Tong had been sitting nearby, enjoying the opportunity to rest after a very long and trying day, and heard everything that went on. He had his own private doubts about Xiahou Dun, but they didn’t seem important in the grand scheme of things. “You really think he will, Lord Oda?” he wondered aloud. “Or was that just to keep him from attacking the resistance?”

Oda looked his way, and at last offered this new addition to his army a favorable shadow of a smile. “I have long been searching for the keys necessary to unlock the shackles of those who serve Orochi. It is a shame I wasn’t able to find one for your lord, Ling Tong, but I found a different one today. I must deploy these keys when I can, and not hesitate.”

He breathed deeply in relief as his attendants peeled away his plate armor, and the collar of his kimono underneath was askew enough to reveal the beginnings of the bruises from taking Cao Pi’s hits head-on. Hideyoshi shook his head at his lord. “Something tells me Cao Pi is already halfway toward unlocking himself without anybody else’s help.”

“He thinks so,” Oda said arrogantly. “I see more than he does. He may not realize it, but that key will come in very handy. He will find it when he needs it.”

“Astute as ever, Lord Nobunaga.” Toyotomi clapped his hands enthusiastically. “Right! Let’s get you cleaned up, Ling Tong, and then I’ve got some things to take care of before everybody can call it a day. Boy, you know what would be nice? If the rain cleared up during the night so we could have a nice, warm day tomorrow. I’m gonna hope for that.”

Nobunaga breathed a tiny laugh at his antics, and waved him off to do as he needed. For himself, he would retire to a chamber where his own medics could assess the damage and allow him to change in private. All in all, it had been a battle worth waging.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Fan Castle on two fronts; then, Zhao Yun's forces finally march on Jieting to battle Masamune.

As night stole over the rain-swept landscape, the two different branches of the Orochi army were already on their way in opposite directions, with no intention of meeting back up with one another. Cao Pi was even more keen on returning to Xuchang now, with Zhang He injured on top of everything else, and he was rather content to leave the rest of the Orochi forces to their own devices. He was only in charge of his own Wei army, and it was his responsibility to withdraw them safely to their main fortress to recover and rejoin the rest of his gathering forces. Sun Quan, meanwhile, pulled back out of Jing and made camp in the open wilderness, needing to regroup and find all the scattered contingents of the army he came out with. He had no idea where Da Ji could have gone after being defeated, so if she would not be around to give him orders, he would take his time getting back to a stronghold still under Orochi control. The snake demons were not often cooperative unless they had one of their own captains to lead them, so if they wanted to march back to Bai Di or Odawara without him, he didn’t care. Two awful battles with uncertain outcomes in a row weighed on him, lowering his morale below that of his soldiers. In the end, even with Ding Feng and some others around, he felt like the only one he could keep close to him was Zhou Tai. They sat together in the innermost section of the command tent, having ordered the camp and prepared for the worst and now facing another cold night in the field. At least there was hot tea, prepared the way he liked it by his bodyguard. “Sleep if you can,” Zhou Tai implored as he filled his lord’s cup. “You need your strength.”

Quan shook his head – as exhausted as he was, he knew that if he doused the light and closed his eyes, sleep would not come. He curled his hands around the hot cup and breathed in the soothing scent of the tea. “Battle after battle,” he sighed, “never getting anywhere. It seems like the Resistance is growing in strength every day, while Orochi’s empire just keeps crumbling, bit by bit. And where is he, during all of this? Is he just going to sit in Koshi Castle while all his past victories erode away?”

Tai sat with his own cup of tea, letting him vent his complaints to the fullest. “I cannot say.”

“No, I know. There isn’t an answer, at least not one we can find.” Quan scowled into his cup. “Meanwhile, the ones actually losing the battles are me and…well, Cao Pi I guess, but he hasn’t had it as bad. As Orochi’s ally, he has the luxury of backing out from time to time. I can’t. I just have to keep going out there every time Da Ji snaps her fingers, and hope my army isn’t defeated _again_.” He closed his eyes briefly, grimacing in anguish. “We haven’t won a single victory since Ce left.”

Guessing what his lord was thinking, Tai attempted to steer him away from blaming himself for being that much weaker than his brother. “The Resistance has more resources than they did at first. Oda…he has united a considerable army under his banner.”

“Yeah, I guess he has,” Quan groused, “including some of our own men. They’d rather abandon their loyalty to lord and country and fight on the side of a warlord from the future. It really says something, doesn’t it?”

“You have no choice,” Zhou Tai pointed out. “Lord Sun Jian’s life is in your hands.”

Quan stared at the ground between them as he sipped his tea. “Why can’t they understand that?” he fretted, more quietly, almost to himself. “I must think of the future of Wu…and of my father. Ce…he’s so selfish, he’d rather run and hide than take the responsibility of keeping Father safe. Must be so easy for him, to just shrug off the lordship of Wu and go on about his life. That way he doesn’t have to think about keeping our people safe, doing what it takes to keep Orochi from destroying what little we have left.”

Tai really didn’t think Ce was doing any of those things, but he kept his lips tightly shut on the subject. “Our men need rest,” he suggested instead. “We can’t keep going from battle to battle like this. Da Ji makes poor use of her resources.”

Quan shot him a frown. “I know. But what can we do? If I even say so in front of her, she’ll just dangle my father’s life in front of me again. If I want to save him, I _have_ to do whatever she says.”

Tai closed his eyes in an expression of deep disgust. “She will have no choice, this time. When we return, there will not be enough army left to command. She will simply have to turn to Dong Zhuo, or Lu Bu.”

Sun Quan looked more closely at him, and then relented with a nod. “That’s true enough. One look at this army and anyone in their right mind would know they’re not up for another fight. With one exception.” He raised one finger and wagged it warningly at his bodyguard. “If I get information on my brother. I don’t care where I am or who I still have left who can stand on their own two feet, I’m going after him. It’s my responsibility to take him in.”

Tai knew he would not be able to dissuade him, so he accepted with a bow of his head. “And, the lady…?”

Quan looked away, still nursing his tea while he thought. “Shangxiang is…I don’t know what she wants to do. I haven’t even been able to see her since before the news about Ce reached us. It’s been ages, half of me is starting to wonder if Da Ji is keeping us apart on purpose.”

“Of course she is,” Zhou Tai muttered straightforwardly. “To prevent the two of you from conspiring to do the same.”

“Well, I’m not _going_ to leave,” Quan retorted sharply, “can’t she see that by now? I’m not abandoning my father the way Ce did, I’m in this for the long haul. For the good of Wu,” he insisted. “It won’t do our people any good if I turn on Orochi, we’ll all just die together.”

Tai shook his head again. The good of Wu was starting to ring hollow, to him. “Where is the lady, now?”

Quan had to think about it. Even if Da Ji was deliberately keeping them from seeing one another, he still received reconnaissance that would tell him where she was stationed or who she was backing up in battle. “Last I heard, she and Lady Ina were being sent way out west, to work with Date Masamune. Seems he had a little trouble losing a prisoner and it sounds like Da Ji wants him to have double the backup at whatever fortress he’s sitting in.”

“Also to keep Lady Ina from following her lord,” Zhou Tai mused.

“Yeah, there’s that.” Quan eyed his bodyguard for a moment. “You’ve got a pretty keen eye, Zhou Tai. If you’ve seen something that I haven’t, I want you to feel free to share it with me.”

There were a lot of thoughts floating around in the stoic swordsman’s head, but he knew better than to share most of them. He casually sipped at his tea, looking away in a wistful manner. “Ling Tong has grown very strong.”

Quan regarded him for a moment and then huffed. “Yeah, he has. I was pretty impressed. I miss having him at my side…him, and all the guys. Gan Ning, Lu Meng, all of them.”

“Believe in them.” It was all Zhou Tai felt comfortable saying, for now. He cradled his cup in both hands and lowered his head to contemplate the reflection of lamplight in the surface of the liquid, silently forming his own conclusions and strategies. For all Sun Quan wanted to complain and blame his brother, he was pretty sure he knew which of the two was the one who needed to get his head on straight. As a bodyguard, it was his duty to protect Sun Quan until the very end, no matter what rose against them. All he could ponder, as he sat there in the quiet, was whether or not he would get a chance to turn his sword against Orochi before that end came.

Despite Oda’s admonitions, the three Xiahou men were still riding under cover of darkness, heading for the rendezvous point where they had left the rest of their people. It had been Xiahou Dun’s own personal decision to hunt down Oda, and he would have done it alone, but Yuan sent the other two with him to keep him safe. That meant that while they waited to hear the outcome of this foolish errand, Yuan did nothing but pace and watch the horizon. The others with him, including Li Dian and Sima Zhao, set up a semblance of a camp so they could rest and take food, but they knew full well that no one would be comfortably sleeping until their wayward fellows returned. At least the rain had stopped where they were. It looked like Yuan was going to finally come sit down at the fire and talk about night watches and bedding down when all of them heard the thunder of hooves on the turf, and they all rose to peer into the darkness toward the sound in hope. Sure enough, Dun, Ba, and Shang materialized out of the gloom one after the other, their faces blank after their ordeal. Yuan was just happy to see that all of them appeared to have all their limbs, still. “There you are!” he called out to welcome them to camp. “You’re later than late. Find out anything interesting?”

Dun shot him a glare that might have withered a weaker man as he reined in and dismounted. The other two followed suit, and seeing as his uncle wasn’t about to provide an answer, Ba decided to speak up instead. “Things, uh, didn’t quite go as planned.”

“What do you mean?” Yuan looked from him to Dun, perplexed. “You found the Resistance army where we expected them to be, didn’t you?”

Shang opened his mouth to explain, but Dun cut him off with another glare. It looked like he would have to admit to his error in order to placate his cousin. “Oda Nobunaga himself was there. They were leading a counter-strike on Cao Pi, of all things.”

That got even Sima Zhao’s attention, he moved in closer to be part of the conversation. “What, really? That big, huh?”

Xiahou Yuan, however, knew how to read between the lines, to read the expression on his cousin’s face and grasp what he was holding back. His lips twisted into a scolding frown. “You didn’t.” Yuanrang would not meet his gaze, making him sigh in aggravation. “Dammit, Dun! What were you thinking? You probably _weren’t_ thinking, though, that’s the problem.”

Zhao looked back and forth between them, and then to Ba. “What do you mean, what happened?”

Ba lowered his eyes sheepishly. “Lord Xiahou Dun chose to attack Lord Oda, when we discovered him on the field. He, ah…we…we didn’t win.”

“You coulda gotten yourself and everybody else killed!” Yuan blazed at his cousin. “Of all the hare-brained, short-sighted…”

“Save your breath, Miaocai,” Dun sharply interrupted his tirade. “I am well aware.”

“No, you’re gonna hear it,” Yuan groused, jabbing a finger at him. “I sent my son with you to keep you from going off half-cocked and you did it anyway! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but it’s gotta stop! This Oda is just another warlord, he’s not out to pull the damn stars out of heaven and rewrite his own name over Cao Cao’s or anything! What, you just saw him there and couldn’t control yourself?” He rounded on his son. “Did he make you guys go with him or did he just charge on out there himself?”

Ba fidgeted a little. “He said nothing, Father. He didn’t give us the order, but when he rode out, we couldn’t just leave him to do it alone. Shang and I went along.”

Yuan harrumphed again, though he didn’t really have reason to scold his son for trying to protect Xiahou Dun. “You’re lucky you’re not strewn in pieces across Fan’s moat right now!” he shot at Dun. “I expect the legendary Yuanrang to keep a cool head and not just charge off like a moron because some guy on the other side has the same mustache as Mengde!”

Dun flushed deep crimson in mingled anger and shame, but before he could let loose a rant of his own, Shang broke in. “We paid for our haste, Yuan. Oda’s retainers defeated us, and we were held prisoner until the battle concluded.”

“And then he let us go our own way,” Ba put in.

Zhao breathed a soft sigh of relief. He may have only brushed up against this warlord once, but he remembered the aftermath all too clearly. “He does that…if you’re not useful to him.”

Xiahou Dun turned his glare on Sima Zhao, at that. “Just what do you mean by that?”

“Don’t try to change the subject,” Yuan cut back in. “That was stupid, Dun. Completely stupid. And I’m gonna be sore with you for a while because you just don’t seem to get it unless somebody gets sore because of something you did. You got _damn_ lucky this time, but this isn’t a game you can keep playing. Forget about Oda! Not one more word about him at all, you hear me?”

Dun looked like he really wanted to curse his cousin out, but he knew deep down that Yuan was right about everything, so after a few uncertain twitches of his lips, he backed down, setting his mouth in a tight, thin line. “Then it will be up to you to plan our next move,” he said curtly.

“Be happy to,” Yuan snapped back. “The rest of us had plenty of time to chat while you went off on this fool’s errand, we’ve come up with lots of ideas. Did you find out anything of use at all?”

“We know what happened to put everything in such an uproar,” Ba answered for his uncle. “The guards were talking all through the battle, we learned a lot. Oda’s army just took Guandu and fought Orochi’s strategist herself, and then occupied Fan Castle while the Orochi army was away dealing with something else. Cao Pi and Sun Quan were both at Fan, and both were routed as well.”

“They have moved decisively against the Orochi army,” Dun added, his tone low and tempered. For all his flustering and gnashing during the battle itself, he had actually been listening to the Resistance chatter as well, and took it all in. “Some of their top commanders were recently killed, but these battles…they have done what no one else could, and scattered the Orochi main army.”

“The army is huge, it’ll regroup,” Zhao warned. “But that’s good news. Excellent news. It means the tide is starting to turn. Orochi doesn’t look so unassailable, now.”

“We should take advantage of the chaos, before things settle and Orochi’s army does regroup,” Li Dian suggested. “We can probably just traipse right on through this area without a care, now.”

Yuan nodded at him, and then shot Dun a wary look. “I know you want to go back to Yiling, even though it’s been months. You couldn’t pick up Dian Wei’s trail then, what makes you think you can find it now?”

“That isn’t why I want to go to Yiling.” Dun fixed his cousin with a bold stare. “If we are to learn anything about what happened after we were driven off that battlefield, the answers will be there. If there is nothing to be found, then so be it, but I must know that for myself.”

“Seems as good a place as any,” Zhao shrugged.

Yuan sighed. “Fine, fine. Then, if we want to make it there without too much trouble, now’s the time. Li’s right, this is a good chance for us while the Orochi army is in disarray. I got no better ideas, so we might as well.” He looked to Zhao. “Still with us, or you got other plans?”

Sima Zhao pursed his lips while he thought. “If it’s a good time to be traveling, then maybe I should go my way sooner rather than later. Alone,” he added with a kind look for Ba. “I owe you guys so much for helping me out, but there’s something I need to do.”

“My lord,” Ba fretted. “You just got back to health, what if you get attacked?”

“I’m not too worried about that.” Zhao shook his head gently. “Your clan needs you, my friend. Stay with your father. I’ve got to go meet with my brother. I didn’t tell you so you wouldn’t worry, but I made secret plans with Guo Huai. We’re working on getting my brother to leave my father and join the Resistance instead.”

Dun gave him a keen look. “And to whom will you be pledging your loyalty then, Sima Zhao?”

“Dunno. I guess we’ll see who I run into first.” He gave Dun a cool smile in return. “Does it matter who, if it’s to fight against Orochi? Who knows, maybe the Sima brothers will join the Xiahou clan in being independent.” He waved a hand. “But that’s neither here nor there. It’s late, I wouldn’t even think of moving off until tomorrow at least.”

“It is pretty late, we should all get some sleep,” Dian agreed. “I’ll take first watch, so that all of you can rest. Even you, Lord Yuanrang.”

Xiahou Dun huffed at him. “I will not be scolded like a child and told to go to bed.”

“Tough, that’s exactly what I’m gonna tell you,” Yuan said gruffly, giving him another jab in the chest with his finger. “Sleep. Everybody. We’ll work out our actual plans in the morning.”

He remained there by the fire with his arms folded until everyone but Li Dian had moved into a tent and made at least an effort to appear to be going to bed. Then, Yuan was finally able to breathe a sigh and relent. Dian smiled very faintly at him; Xiahou Dun had been his commander for a long time, but he had been around the pair long enough to know how deeply their family ties ran. “Guess we all got lucky today, huh?” he murmured.

“Yeah,” Yuan grumbled, letting his arms drop so he could rub his forehead with one hand. “I love him but he drives me nuts sometimes. I don’t even know why he’s so adamant about this Oda guy, it’s not like he did anything to any of us or even to Cao Cao himself. Dun’s just decided to focus his rage on _him_ instead of Orochi, and I couldn’t even begin to tell you why.”

“I’ve been at his side a while,” Dian mused, “but he’s still a mystery to me in many ways. If _you_ don’t know why he’s got it out for Oda, then I don’t think anyone would be able to say.”

Yuan shook his head. “I get this feeling like going to Yiling is just going to make him worse instead of better, but he’s got a point. He won’t let go until he sees things for himself, or makes peace, or whatever he feels he needs to do there. Maybe after that I can snap him out of it and push him towards doing something useful.”

“Maybe so. I don’t think I know enough to be able to predict what will happen after that.” Dian gave a quick toss of his head. “You should sleep, too, Miaocai. I’ve got things in hand, and En wants second watch so you don’t have to worry.”

“Yeah, all right. Thanks, Li.” Yuan heaved himself up from the fire and gave him a wave as he headed to his tent. Li Dian curled in closer to the flames for warmth, pushing another damp log close enough to let the wood dry in order to use it later. Even knowing that a huge battle had just taken place not far away and the remnants of two separate armies might be filtering through this territory, his instincts told him they were safe in this little glen. There were harder roads ahead, so he would do whatever he could to ensure that the Xiahou clan to which he had attached himself could rest well. The morning would bring a world of change.

  


Zhao Yun and Yukimura had already moved out from Chengdu long before any of the news of the major battles to the east ever reached them, so they marched on Jieting without knowing anything of Nagashino or Guandu. As promised, Magoichi led the raid, not only because he had all the maps and could find the mountains easily, but because he deserved the opportunity to face Date as he wished. For some reason, Zhurong expressed interest in tagging along on this mission, and wouldn’t say if it was merely to get out and see some fighting or if there was something about Saika which intrigued her. With both the Nanman queen and Lady Xingcai riding along, the others expected Magoichi to be beside himself with joy, but he was strangely subdued, cordial and suave but not to his usual level of excess. Yukimura figured he could guess why, but he didn’t share his thoughts aloud. Now that they knew who was occupying the fortress on top of the mountain, the mission changed slightly. It was now absolutely necessary, per Yueying’s advice, to seize control of Jieting from the Orochi army and put their occupation to rout. The exact how and why would be laid out when they arrived, by Jiang Wei, who would stay in control of their camp at the base of the mountains. In Zhao Yun’s own mind, his only goal was to actually capture Date, because of something Magoichi had said before they set out: if there was anyone within Orochi’s army who might have been close enough to the demon to have overheard important information, like prisoner whereabouts, it would be Date. It was sure to be an interesting battle, either way.

The rest of the Shu Resistance remaining in Chengdu had more than enough to do, even with all of the extra manpower now at their control. The Hojo needed to determine whether to resume their own search for their missing lords and allies, or to take the Sanadas’ advice and return to the Takeda-Uesugi alliance. Sanada Nobuyuki needed to rejoin the Takeda, as soon as he could, but he was waiting for information before actually beginning that journey, so the Hojo had until then to make their decision. Yueying was in full command at Chengdu, still, and had to divide their forces between the capital and Odani, now that they planned to retake it. At least to that end, they had Shimazu and now Pang De. Everything seemed to be going rather smoothly until the day a messenger rode in, haggard and worn from the long trek to the west, bearing with him the shocking news of what transpired at Nagashino. Pang De and Meng Huo were watching from an upper parapet as Nobuyuki ran to receive the message, and moments later, crumpled to his knees in grief in the courtyard of Luo. The death of his lord was hard to accept, as it was the second time, now, but he had to pick himself up and spread the news to the rest of the Resistance. It was bad news from a strategic standpoint even for those who had never met the famed warlords who gave their all at Nagashino. Worse, there was no time to ride out after his brother, leaving Nobuyuki conflicted as to whether to dispatch a messenger to Yukimura with the terrible news or to remain in Chengdu until he returned, so as to be able to tell him in person. Their worries that whatever transpired to the east would shake up the entire realm and leave them scrambling to adjust their own plans had turned out to be painfully real, if not in the way any of them had expected.

Blissfully unaware of the tragic news, the small force under Zhao Yun’s command rode to the north through empty lands which bore the marks of having been used often by the Orochi army to traverse from the dangerous lands far west to the mountain passes and all their strongholds in the east. Jieting was out of the way of this thoroughfare, yet Orochi’s forces had decided to occupy it, all the more reason to go and take it back. Jiang Wei theorized that they were using it as a hidden supply depot or something similar, though he stopped short of considering the possibility of it being a very remote prison. Whatever Orochi was doing with it, it was important enough to put Date in control of it, and that was enough for the Shu Resistance. Once they had made camp at the base of the mountains, far enough down to keep their approach somewhat secret, the officers gathered around a warm fire to make plans. Scouts had gone up earlier in the day to verify the location and report back on any changes to the pathways caused by the upheaval of the world, and most of what they saw filled Jiang Wei with confidence. “It doesn’t matter of there is a lava flow to that side of the mountain,” he mused as he triple-checked his maps, “that is the side from which it would be hardest to assault, regardless of whether you were aiding or attacking the camp on top. I had not planned for any of our forces to go that way.”

Magoichi had already taken his own measure of the terrain, and was in an intent sort of mood, leaning in close to the young strategist and not really paying as much attention to the women in their army as usual. “So why’s it such a big mistake to claim the high ground? I know you said the temple that’s up there now doesn’t belong there, but still.”

Zhao Yun remembered Zhuge Liang’s campaign well. “There is no water to be had at the top of the mountain,” he explained. “It is very difficult to shelter a large army without access to water. And the trails are steep, meaning anyone sent to fetch water or supplies from a camp down below would waste the whole day in the endeavor.”

“The Chancellor always said, to every basic rule of military tactics, there is always an exception,” Jiang Wei added.

“Gotcha.” Saika nudged a finger across the map he and Wei were consulting together. “So that’s why the scouts saw Orochi troops here and here…they must have come down for supplies.”

“That, and there are guardposts in those areas,” Wei affirmed. “It is likely he saw them and took advantage, thinking that he can hold the entire mountain that way. In theory, it makes sense, but those of us who have fought here before know that it isn’t so easy.”

“What is the best tactic, then?” Yukimura wondered. “It seems like we could take these lower slopes and force him to retreat into the fortress, and then besiege him until he gives. Without access to water, they’ll be crippled in no time.”

“That is how the Wei army took it, as I remember,” Zhao Yun sighed. “I came with Lord Liu Bei’s reinforcements, but we were too late.”

“I don’t know,” Magoichi murmured. “Knowing Masamune the way I do…sure, it might work, but he’s not the type to let himself get trapped like a rat. It’s more likely he’ll turn on us, and things’ll get really bloody.”

Zhurong studied him from where she sat across the fire, enjoying a drink and the chance to listen to all the war-talk. “What do _you_ think, then, tough guy?”

Magoichi shot her a quick version of his usual sly grin. “Masamune’s not dumb, but he’s easy to rile. I don’t know exactly who he’s got with him, but he’ll have rifle units for sure, and I’m not about to let him sit up there in that fortress with snipers picking off our guys from the high ground – water shortage or not. I think it’s a safer bet to draw him out rather than push him back.” His glance shifted to Yukimura. “With the right bait, he won’t be able to resist.”

Yukimura met his gaze with a wary one of his own. “And just who are you using as bait?”

“Me, actually.” Saika grinned and then looked to their commander. “And Zhao Yun, just a little.”

“Me?” Yun wondered.

Magoichi pointed smartly at him. “Masamune’s head over heels for Orochi, and doing his bidding no matter what. That includes the bit where Da Ji wants you dead.” That standing order, at least, was no secret to them. “If he gets wind of the chance to come after you, you better believe he’ll go for it. I’d stake my life on it.”

Yukimura sighed. “You’re right. I would expect the same thing. But what about you, Magoichi?”

The mercenary tapped his unshaven chin. “Masamune doesn’t know this mountain as well as you guys do, because he’s not from around here. Well, neither am I. From his standpoint, I’m in the same position as him, out of my element and guessing at the best strategy. He doesn’t have to know I’ve got all the inside information on how not to attack Jieting. Even if he thinks I’m just here to trick him, and he doesn’t fall for it, he’ll still make his moves based on how well he knows me and my tactics.”

“You really do have all this thought out,” Xingcai noted.

“In that case,” Jiang Wei said wisely, “I will leave it to you to order our forces. Arrange it as you think best, and I will verify that it won’t backfire on you.”

“Ooh, such trust. I’d better not abuse it,” Magoichi smirked. “First thing’s first – I want to attack at dusk. Limit how far Masamune’s rifle squads can see to shoot.”

Having seen more than enough of the Saika Renegades in action, the other officers assembled could only imagine what someone with triple or quadruple the firearms could do with bright daylight in which to see for miles around the mountain in any direction. “Done,” Zhao Yun said crisply. “We will attack tomorrow evening. That should also lend us time to cut off their access to water, and spread the rumors to lure him out.”

“Now you’re thinking.” Magoichi nodded. “That’ll do. I don’t wanna get too ahead of myself just now, but I’ll have everything ready tomorrow before sunset. Trust me.”

Content to let him take the lead, the others retired to their tents and enjoyed a quiet night and ensuing morning. Though on the cusp of a planned assault, they didn’t feel much reason to truly worry. In fact, this was the first time since Zhao Yun gained his freedom that they were initiating the battle themselves; at Hasedo they were in pursuit of a moving army, and at Chengdu they had not expected to find it besieged and held against them. For the first time as commander of this army, Zhao Yun was about to lead a deliberate attack on an enemy stronghold, and his heart beat strongly within him. Sure, he needed to be serious about it, but he wasn’t afraid and didn’t second-guess himself or his officers. He had complete trust in Magoichi’s read of the situation, and with Jiang Wei’s first-hand experience on this battlefield from times past, he felt as though they were ready for this. Still, he watched Magoichi flit in and out of camp on the heels of his scouts, laying his preparations, and wondered what he could do to help. Yukimura was at his right hand to assure him that they had made all the right choices. “I do know Date,” he explained, “or at least I thought I did. We’ve worked together. But not as much as he and Saika, their ties go back much further than mine to either of them.”

They were walking slowly around the main camp, taking stock of things and idling away a sunny afternoon. Dusk felt like a long way away, when preparing for battle. “It is difficult to face someone you thought was a friend, or at least, you thought you knew their heart,” Zhao Yun sighed, thinking back to Hasedo when he first learned of Zhuge Liang's fate. “You ask yourself how they could betray their own dreams, and no answer comes.”

“You mean the chancellor, who we fought at Xin Di.” Yukimura glanced at him. “I have no doubt that's why Magoichi asked to lead this battle. I don't have as deep a personal tie – but I do know how ambitious Date can be. It mystifies me why he would back down and serve another lord as his master, when all I ever knew of him was how much he refused to bend to anyone.”

Yun couldn't stop comparing the situation to that of Zhuge Liang. “There must be more to Orochi's control of this land than mere overwhelming military power,” he murmured, eyes trailing along the ground as they walked. “For the likes of Lu Bu to lower his flag to him as well. He was, until the day of his execution, headstrong and unrivaled. It took _armies_ to pull him down and capture him, and yet he willingly obeys Orochi where other men need to be blackmailed or strongarmed into following.”

Yukimura glanced at him again, his gaze lingering a bit longer this time. “That is indeed strange, when you think about it,” he noted. “I wonder. But that sounds like a mystery we're not likely to solve anytime soon.”

“Not with things as they are, no.” Zhao Yun looked up and noticed that they had idly wandered out too far from camp, but were screened by the trees from the opposing side up on the mountain. He didn't want to accidentally put a kink in Magoichi's plans by letting himself be glimpsed at the wrong time or place, so he tugged gently at Yukimura's arm to suggest they should hang about here and not keep wandering. “Well. Things may change, if all goes well tonight. Capturing the enemy commander is a tall task, but will he even give us the information we want?”

“We can only try,” Yukimura admitted, leaning against a tree. “He may not want to talk to me, but I would venture to guess Magoichi has a much better chance at getting through to him.” He smiled vaguely, then. “No need to think too far ahead, Zilong – we still have to actually capture him.”

“Right,” Yun said with a soft laugh. “I have every confidence in this army, though. Perhaps I should be more patient and let them do their work.”

Sanada gestured loosely with a couple of fingers for his comrade to come closer, under the shade of the tree. “Can I distract you from thinking about it for a few minutes?”

Looking both ways, first, Zhao Yun stepped up closer to him, a blush creeping over the bridge of his nose. “Do I need distraction that badly?”

“I think you do,” Yukimura said smartly. “All you talk about these days is strategy, even when we were at Chengdu you wouldn't stop talking about your plans.”

“I stopped sometimes,” Yun noted, remembering a few moments in his bedchamber here and there. “Would you rather I joined Magoichi in evaluating the women in our army for courting?”

That made Yukimura laugh a bit too loudly. “I can't even keep up with him, I don't think you could. But I would rather not hear those kinds of things from you.” He reached to subtly lace his fingers together with Zhao Yun's, the better to keep him close. “It's one thing to talk about our past memories, or what the future might hold, but I rather like the present. Things can change so quickly, so we should enjoy what we have while we can.”

“Even with a battle just a few hours away?” Yun teased. He understood, though, and leaned against an adjoining branch of the tree, letting himself be drawn in. “We shouldn't get too carried away.”

“We won't,” Yukimura smirked. He knew Zhao Yun wouldn't let them. “I'll be content with enjoying the beauty of this afternoon, the shade of the tree and the songs of the birds, and not thinking about that battle at all for a few minutes.” He raised his other hand to scold Yun with a wag of one finger. “Not even mentioning it. Can you do that much?”

“I'll try.” It would be hard, since it was lurking in the back of his mind even as Zhao Yun relaxed in the crook of the tree's branches and let his eyes roam over his companion's handsome face. No matter how distracting Yukimura was, some part of his brain kept going back to strategies and plans, to Saika and Date, it took conscious effort to steer himself toward watching the dappled shadows from the leaves play across Yukimura's shoulders and think only about the peace and quiet instead. The only way to keep from even saying the word “battle” was to say nothing at all, but they had been beside one another so long that they didn't need to always be talking in order to understand one another. It took a while, but Zhao Yun finally grasped the point of this exercise and leaned in until their foreheads touched, putting aside the reminder that they needed to get back to camp and check in with Magoichi and allowing himself a few minutes to listen to the wind rustling the leaves overhead, and to appreciate that there was more to living in this world than just going from one battle to the next.

Atop the mountain, a temple had been deposited in the middle of the lava fields in place of the fenced-in camp stockade that once existed there after Ma Su's failed attempt to hold the high ground. It gave the Orochi forces a real fortress in which to abide, and focused their goal of holding this territory for Orochi onto that spot in particular. Date Masamune had been in occupation since leaving Jianye, enfolding the rest of his troops into his ranks once meeting up with Katakura Kojuro, and though he felt a little like it was some kind of punishment for letting a prisoner escape, he figured it could have been much worse. Failing Orochi usually meant torture, imprisonment, and other nasty things, not simply being given a task to carry out or a boring stronghold to live in. He wasn't sure what to think when the small Wu unit arrived under command of Sun Shangxiang and Lady Ina, whether he should be glad for some reinforcements from the main army or insulted that Da Ji thought he couldn't hold the mountain with his own army, but it didn't seem to matter. He could complain all he wanted, but it wouldn't change either his or their orders. At least the ladies were good company; Ina still didn't seem to like him, but she kept her feelings to herself and dealt with him civilly, while Shangxiang didn't know him well enough to really cause trouble or even be impolite. They were well-behaved and kind, and kept each other’s company, a far cry from being around Zhenji and Zhang He. He had noticed the issue with the lack of water on the high ground very early in his tenure there, and laid out his troops' duty schedules so that someone was always in charge of bringing some up from the lower garrisons, which at least gave him something to do besides sit around the temple and wonder about being banished to this far corner of the realm. At least he had first-hand knowledge that the snake-demon captain who had previously been in charge of holding this territory, to allow easy transport of prisoners between other fortresses, had been pulled away for some other reason. It was an Orochi stronghold, and as such, it was important to keep under their control and not let it lapse the way Odani had.

The scouts had brought word of an army approaching earlier, but it wasn't until an hour before sunset that any of them brought him valuable information. It was difficult for any sentry to say whether the encampment at the base of Jieting meant the army was merely passing through or intent on facing them there, but the sentry who rode up from the lower garrison late in the day was breathless with excitement – he had something very important to report, and burst into the temple to find their lord. Though annoyed with the interruption, Date was indeed very interested to hear his news. “Did you say Zhao Yun?” he demanded of the scout, towering over him where he knelt to make the report.

“Yes, sir!” the man yelped. “He is with this army, right at this moment!”

Masamune bristled in place, clenching one hand into a fist. “This is an opportunity we cannot allow to go to waste! He is one of Da Ji's most wanted, second only to Sun Ce. With such a small vanguard protecting him, it should be easy to force his surrender.”

The two ladies were at his side, listening to everything. Shangxiang made a bit of a face at the mention of her brother, but decided not to harangue Date for it. “How quickly can we prepare for an attack?” she wondered.

Masamune tipped his head in her direction. “I've been maintaining military readiness since day one. We have only to send out scouts to verify their position, and we'll be ready to move out. If we can wait until daylight, we'll have the advantage of snipers on the high ground to take them out, but if there's any chance they're planning to break camp and move on, we might have to move tonight.”

“Very well,” Ina said curtly. “You have us to deploy as necessary.”

“Don't worry, I will,” Date sniffed. “We can't let him escape. Everyone will play a part in this, we must attack with all haste and surround him from the mountaintop.” The bait was far too tempting; any of his missteps could be forgiven and forgotten if he killed or captured this resistance leader, whom Da Ji wanted so badly. Luck was on their side today, he was sure of it. Thrusting out an arm, he barked out orders for scouts and then a few more for his retainers and the Wu forces to be deployed to the two garrisons, south and east, from which they could launch their attack. In the end, he reserved Ina to play bodyguard so he could send out Kojuro and Hidemune to lead their troops on the front line. Shangxiang went with them, so that the Wu officers would obey orders, in case they would rather take them directly from her than from Date himself. For all his swagger and arrogance, the two women could tell that he was more than competent in terms of military might – he was able to turn everyone out and deploy a strategy by sunset, and had his forces in place when the army encamped below them began to move unexpectedly, up toward the mountain rather than away. Clearly, they had discovered the Orochi forces breathing down their necks and decided to put up a fight rather than flee. _This Zhao Yun is no coward_ , Date thought, _but he is a fool if he thinks his vanguard is any match for my rifle corps. What a desperate move_. It was with great confidence that he ordered his men to the fray, even if he regretted that they didn't have the benefit of daylight to employ snipers. Ground troops would have to do.

Saika's own confidence was soaring as he gave the first orders to advance, standing at a crossroads with his rifle over his shoulder as he watched Zhurong and Xingcai split to head up toward the two garrisons on either side. He really wanted to trap Date in the middle, but it was pretty clear within the first few minutes of battleclash that Date was prepared, and had more than enough men on both flanks to counter that move. The defense was solid, and both wings were stymied by the onset. With Yukimura and Zhao Yun behind him, each man at a shoulder, Magoichi watched all this going on with a twist of his lips. He wasn't finished, not by a long shot, but he needed to think fast in order to counter the counter. “I had a feeling it was gonna come to this,” he sighed. “Wanna do me a favor, Yukimura?”

“What is it?”

“Tell the girls to hold position, maybe back down a little to give the enemy some breathing room,” Magoichi replied, glancing back at Sanada. “We're not gonna pincer him at the top, he was ready for that.”

“What are you going to do, then?” Zhao Yun asked.

“Just follow my lead.” He gestured to Yukimura, who nodded and called for a horse so he could ride to deliver the message. “Just tell 'em to watch for the defense to weaken, on their sides, and as soon as it does, they should hit back with everything they've got. Leave the rest to me.”

“Got it.” Yukimura swung up into the saddle, saluted the other two with his Crimson Fang, and galloped away.

Taking the rifle down and cocking it, Magoichi strode forward up the path in front of him. “What do you think, Zhao Yun, up for some fishing? We gotta lure Masamune out of his comfort zone, get him to come after us.”

Yun blinked, but followed, marching on foot with the Dragon Spear couched in the crook of his arm. “Ready for anything.”

“Are you, now?” Magoichi cast him a quick grin before doubling his pace, leading his men up the center. It was a daring move, moreso with no idea exactly how many troops were in reserve, but it was necessary. Saika was positive his old friend wouldn't be able to just let him charge up the middle, especially once he realized the identities of the two men leading their units. They had enough men at their own command to be a threat, but everything relied on Date actually taking the bait. The report of Saika’s rifle was the first to be heard on the battlefield, drawing attention to his advance.

From where he stood on the temple porch, taking reports and dishing out orders, Masamune couldn't see much of the battle itself. He knew that testing jabs had been made at his flanks, but he had wisely put his men there to prevent a pincer, and it had been a success. As darkness closed around Jieting and the red glow of the lava fields filled the twilight air around them, he looked down the slope to see movement where he least expected it, and at the same time, had a messenger at his side telling him what he was seeing. “They're attacking from the front? Morons!” he exclaimed. “Don't they have any idea how futile that will be?”

“Are there enough riflemen in the center to meet them?” Ina murmured at his shoulder.

“More than enough,” Masamune grumbled, “but I've heard this Zhao Yun is an excellent fighter. He must be trusting to brute strength rather than strategy. We'll need more.” He turned back to the messenger. “Order both flanks to fold in and swallow them in the center!”

The scout dashed off to obey. One of Date's own officers holding the central path jogged up toward him at the same time, passing the scout and letting him go. “My lord! You won't believe what I just saw.”

“What?” Masamune snapped at him.

“It's Saika,” the officer panted, winded from that short jaunt uphill. “Saika Magoichi and his renegades are the ones moving up the center.”

_“What?_ ” Date gaped, and then his good eye narrowed. Magoichi? He had heard vague rumors that the Saika Renegades were out there somewhere, most likely working for the Resistance but not Oda himself. He hadn't expected his old comrade to just show up here in the middle of this battle like a phantom out of nowhere. “What is he doing, attacking from the front? He should know better.”

It hit him, then. Magoichi had to have been planning something, to make such a bold and obvious move. His retainer blinked at him. “My lord?”

“Very well, I'll play along for now,” Date said aloud. “Let the flanks press in toward the center, and wipe him and his men out. What of Zhao Yun, does anybody know?”

“I don't know him, but there is a man with a long spear moving in with Saika,” the officer reported.

“Aha!” Date nodded firmly. “Keep it up, then. He might be acting as Zhao Yun's bodyguard. Either way, they're putting themselves at risk. Let's make them pay for it in blood.”

Ina looked at him, a bit disturbed by that remark. “But if the flanks draw in, won't that leave the side paths vulnerable?”

“It'll be fine,” Masamune assured. “We have more than enough men to crush the center and then turn to face anyone who might come up on their rear. Sun Shangxiang should be heading to the center, she'll pound him flat.” A smirk curled his lips. “You can't trust that guy when women are involved. He'll give way to her, probably try to hit _on_ her rather than hit her.”

“I suppose, there is that.” Ina was familiar with that behavior, and as much as she didn't wish Saika's smarm on anyone, particularly not her good friend Shangxiang, she conceded the point to the young lord. In a war like this, every strategy was fair game, including baiting notorious ladies'-men with ladies to fight.

The darkening sky held a tinge of red higher up, showing where the lava river and the smoldering hillsides lay, but down at the center, night was coming on fast and it was tough to see friend and foe alike. But Date had deployed as much of his rifle corps as he could, and they needed light by which to see, so lanterns had to be raised at the fringes of the field even if the light picked them out against the trees. It was clear that aside from Saika, the advancing resistance forces did not contain long-range weapons, so it didn't matter if they could see the rifle units – they couldn't avoid them, unless they could dodge bullets. At least now, as he strolled into the clearing, Magoichi could see what they were actually up against, including the movement along other paths indicating that more troops were converging on their position. Zhao Yun remained at his right side, on guard, flinching only a little when the rifle shots rang out a bit too close to his ear. “Here they come,” he warned, pivoting to meet the soldiers coming at them from Zhurong's direction.

“Good,” Magoichi purred. “That's right, keep your eyes on me, Masamune. Forget about the girls, they're not your concern.”

One of the nearest rifle units opened fire on them, and Zhao Yun suddenly shifted to dart in front of Magoichi, so that the bullets pinged off his armor as he turned his shoulder into the assault. Without a word, Saika raised his own gun and used his comrade as a block to prevent them from seeing his counter-fire until it was too late. The unit commander went down, and the rest scattered into the trees. The Shu infantry spread out, making for the rifle corps first with the intention of taking them out much as they would archer units, so that as the rest of the Orochi forces poured in on them from left and right, they wouldn't have to fear shots in the back. In no time at all the field was a mass of confusion, full of the sound of gunshots and ringing weapons, the cries of men and the tramp of rushing feet. Some of the lanterns got knocked down, but the troops coming in from the flanks carried their own to make up for it. Before too long Zhao Yun found himself back to back with Magoichi in the dead center of the field, fending off waves of swordsmen while the mercenary fought hand-to-hand with the bayonet at the end of the rifle, swinging it every bit as hard as a spear and using the butt of the stock to crack people in the head. Yukimura still hadn't returned from carrying messages, so it was up to them to hold the center long enough to let the rest of their forces continue. Zhao Yun didn't consider it a desperate strait yet, but he still glanced at the paths leading toward their position now and again, hoping to see the silver armor and crimson headband coming to join them. He heard Magoichi make a noise he recognized as keen interest, it was a very particular hum he'd heard the man make several times before, and glanced to see what had caught his eye in the middle of this mayhem. Soldiers in russet uniforms were streaming in from the south-facing path, led by a woman carrying a pair of chakrams. Zhao Yun himself had to double-take. “But that's...! What is she doing here?”

“Who cares?” All the suave and swagger was back in Magoichi's voice, as he beheld the Lady Shangxiang coming straight for him. “This battlefield is just littered with beauties! I got no complaints at all.”

Yun growled a little under his breath as an assault forced him to look away, to pay attention to who was attacking him. “That is my lord's wife,” he warned over his shoulder.

Magoichi didn't seem to hear him at all as he swiveled to meet this new development, swinging his rifle to sweep the bayonet outward and keep her from landing a hit on him with her large and sharp-looking weapons. Shangxiang deftly avoided the blade and came right back at him, swiftly darting around him and leaping into the air to aim a kick at his head. Saika dodged with a roll of his shoulders and spun around, putting her between himself and Zhao Yun, and brought the rifle up so fast that it was pointed right in her face the instant her feet touched ground again. She stared at him, and then glared, as if silently daring him to shoot. He grinned in spite of himself, though he didn't lower his weapon. “This could get messy,” he noted. “You really wanna do this?”

Shangxiang met his eyes, ignoring for the moment the spearman just behind her. “This is a battle,” she groused at him, “don't go easy on your opponent just because she's a woman!”

“Go easy on you? Naw, sweetheart, you got it all wrong,” Magoichi cooed. “I see a lady like you on the battlefield and I gotta wonder why we're fighting when we could be having fun.”

Her eyes narrowed again. “Excuse me?”

“How about forgetting all of this and coming with me instead, gorgeous?”

Shangxiang gasped at his audacity in disgust, and retaliated with another double swing of her chakrams, both at once, which forced Magoichi backwards and his rifle away from her face. It gave her the opening she needed to charge him and keep him moving, the whirling blades of the chakrams preventing him from bringing the rifle around to shoot. He got the bayonet caught in one to stop it, but she spun in place and brought the other around, straight at his neck. At the last second a spear thrust between them, blocking the chakram and throwing her arm wide. Both glanced to see Zhao Yun interfering, and a moment later Shangxiang was hopping back out of his way. “Zhao Yun!” 

“My lady.” He slid easily in front of Magoichi, face dead serious but eyes alight at being able to see his lord's wife looking well. Fighting for Orochi, but still well. “I don't believe I've ever had the honor of facing you directly.”

Her eyes shifted from him to the man behind him. “Better you than that scoundrel.”

“Whoa, burn,” Magoichi quipped. “Come on, tell me how you really feel.”

Zhao Yun lowered his spear into a daring, deadly position. “Master Saika, I believe there is more you need to do.”

As much as he would have preferred enjoying a little tussle with the fierce woman, Magoichi knew what his comrade meant. They still had plenty of other officers to deal with, as the full might of Date's left and right wings was now upon them. “Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Tch, Masamune has no idea how to have fun. Look at these guys...”

He turned to deal with the hordes of infantry and riflemen, while Zilong faced off against Shangxiang in earnest. She was much more used to dealing with the polearms of her people, both of Wu and Shu, and fought her hardest against him. She didn't care as much as Date about the price on Zhao Yun's head nor the prize he would make, but she was fully aware that he wasn't going to just let her go. There was no retreat, only defeat for one of them. She didn't realize he was holding her in place as long as possible, fighting fast and furious but without a push for a finishing blow, not until a horseman rode through the center, knocking soldiers out of his way with wide swings of a cross-bladed spear. Yun didn't see him, but they both heard Magoichi shout above the din, “What's the good word, Yukimura?”

“Our officers have begun their move!” Sanada called out from the saddle as he pulled up. “They're headed for the main camp as we speak.”

“Excellent! Nice work, girls,” Magoichi said, even if the two officers were nowhere near to hear. “Guess that means we can cool it here, though we've already gotten quite a few of 'em out of the way.”

Shangxiang's eyes widened, and for a moment she was so distracted she almost didn't see the spear coming back at her. Hacking downward with both chakrams, she held it off in a solid block, straining against Zhao Yun's pure strength. “I will not let you take the main camp!” she declared.

Zhao Yun pushed to disengage and jabbed forward instead, forcing her to dance backwards to avoid being run through. “It isn't the main camp we want,” he said confidently, plunging in again.

Only then did she realize that they had been decoys, that she had fallen for it. Charging to the center had opened up the back paths so that their reinforcements could push up to the top of the mountain without resistance. It wasn't a battle to save themselves, it was an offensive. Shangxiang continued to back away, daring to glance to her side to see if any of her men were still standing. Most of the officers from both units were down, and their men were scattered all over the field. “Pull back!” she ordered anyone who could hear. “We've been tricked! They have reinforcements! Back to the garrison!”

Some of her men followed, but a fair number still clogged the field, battling eagerly with the Shu warriors as if their victory really did hinge on holding the center. Seeing as he wasn't going to be able to defeat her decisively, Zhao Yun pulled back, backing away to meet the other two while occasionally taking swings at anyone who passed too close to him. Yukimura dismounted and gave his horse a slap to send it on its way, back to the main camp where the rest of their mounts waited. “It looks like everything went according to plan after all,” he said, nodding proudly to Magoichi.

The marksman shook his head. “Not yet. Not until we have Masamune. C'mon, let's keep going – as long as he knows we're going up the middle, we might as well keep going.” Their skill and strength had kept the decoy attack from becoming a complete slaughter, they had held off those waves of enemy reinforcements all on their own. But it was only the first phase, they still had to press to the top of the mountain, and it was a hard climb straight up the front. There were still scores of Orochi forces in the way, so the three men brandished their weapons and charged right to it.

Atop the mountain, Masamune was feeling pretty good about his masterful handling of the frontal assaults until he heard a commotion off to his left. He looked to see that it was already too late, some of his men arrayed across the mountaintop were falling back from the ferocity of the assault to that side. Snarling, he pulled his saber and one of his guns and made to march off to handle it himself, but then a similar ado to the other side showed that the enemy was in fact pressing from both flanks after all. He had thought they had pulled back and tried the center instead, but no. He stormed back as Ina pulled a couple of arrows from her quiver and fit them to the string of her bow. “Damn it! That bastard! Used himself as a decoy so the rest of the army could attack from the sides. I knew I couldn't trust him!”

Ina glanced warily at him over her shoulder. “What are your orders?”

“Hold the high ground!” Date demanded, turning so he could shoot in the other direction as needed. “This mountain is ours! If we lose this territory, Orochi will execute all of us one after the other!”

He positioned himself and took aim as a horse charged through the line of soldiers doing battle with one another, bearing a fierce woman with a boomerang at least as tall as herself slung over her back. The ranks of enemy soldiers between her and the commander did not bother her in the least, she locked her eyes on him and grinned savagely. “There! Forward! All we want is the enemy commander!”

Zhurong's men threw aside their foes and clustered around her, ready to help cleave the way through the ranks of mingled Date and Mikawa forces. Masamune heard the demand and scowled, but there was no time to ask Ina or anyone else to get in there for him. Xingcai's troops were coming up the other flank, and his bodyguard's bowstring was already singing with the effort of keeping them off. Back to back, the two of them would keep firing until they were out of arrows and bullets, and then resort to smacking people with their weapons after that.

It was a long, hard slog through the Orochi rearguard to get up the mountain, but eventually, Magoichi and his two spearmen made it. When they finally pushed past the last lines of riflemen trying to hold off the assault, sweating from the climb as well as the heat of the river of lava that flowed down the hillside next to the path, they emerged on the summit to find that the battle was more or less already over. Zhurong and Xingcai had done their jobs well, and the entirety of the Orochi defense was down to just Date Masamune himself, guns empty and saber in hand. Lady Ina lay not far from him, unconscious, but the front lines of the Resistance forces had already pushed past her in order to surround their target. Xingcai's shield bristled with arrows like an oversized cactus, and Zhurong was bleeding, but both were still on their feet with their prey cornered against one of the pillars of the temple. Magoichi strode into the middle of this, waiting until Date's eye shifted to recognize him before raising his rifle to cover him. “I've got him. Fine work, ladies.”

Masamune glowered at him from under the shadows of his helm. “You!”

“That's right. Nice to see you, Masamune.”

Zhao Yun moved up alongside him, mostly to check on the status of their officers. “Everyone all right?”

At the appearance of the enemy commander, whoever was left still fighting to preserve Orochi's territory wilted and laid down arms. It was pretty clear what the outcome of the battle would be, even if words to that effect hadn't yet been spoken. Zhurong waved off Zhao Yun's concern, insisting she was fine, the bullet had only grazed her. Xingcai lowered her heavy shield, but kept her forked spear at the ready. “Surrender, Date Masamune!”

“No!” Date snarled at her. “The One-Eyed Dragon does not surrender! Kill me if you must, but I won't be made your trophy!”

“Is that what you really want?” There was still some of the lazy drawl to Magoichi's voice, but it had taken on a sharp grimness that those who had been traveling with him longest had never really heard out of him. He stepped forward with his rifle raised in one hand until he stood at the edge of the corralling ring of fighters, watching Masamune's eye focus on the end of the barrel. “It doesn't matter if you don't want to say it, Masamune. We've already beaten your entire army, here. Like it or not, you're finished.”

Without dropping his gaze, Masamune lowered his head, but not his saber. “Fine,” he snapped. “What should I care if it's Lord Orochi or you guys, I'm dead either way. My head is yours – take it.”

Saika smirked very slightly. “Your head's more useful to me on your shoulders than off them. You're coming with us. Yukimura, you wanna do the honors?”

Date finally let his arm drop, lowering the tip of his saber to the ground, his face turning stony as he watched Sanada shoulder through the crowd and come to disarm him. He glanced briefly at the man in his Shu-colored armor, and then turned his eye back to Magoichi. It was as though he could hardly believe that two old friends had trapped him and bested him. Magoichi finally lowered his rifle and then slung it over his shoulder, silently declaring the offensive over. Zhao Yun rested his spear, nodding. “Spread the word. The Orochi army has been defeated, we will claim Jieting.”

Mindful of all the reasons not to encamp at the top of the mountain, everyone was made to withdraw back down to the Resistance camp at the base, combing through all the trails on their way down to roust out any last pockets of enemy soldiers and capture or drive them off. No sooner had the commander been taken captive than the others turned to find that Ina had escaped them, awakening and slipping off while attention was clustered elsewhere. Sun Shangxiang and the remnants of the Wu forces that came with her had also drawn off, and Zhao Yun reluctantly allowed it. He would have liked to rescue her from Orochi's clutches, or at least ask if she had had any news at all of her husband, but it was not to be. Instead, he had to be patient and let Magoichi interrogate their prisoner in his own time, to see if their venture had been as fruitful as hoped. As they trudged into the main camp and were welcomed by Jiang Wei, Zhurong patted Saika on the shoulder. “Impressive work tonight, Magoichi.”

“Yeah, your plan worked perfectly,” Xingcai put in.

Magoichi snorted and put on a big, smarmy grin for them. “I'm so good, I even amaze myself sometimes.”

“I wouldn't go that far,” the Nanman queen smirked back. “You're still only half the man my Meng Huo is.”

“I'm pretty sure size-wise I'm half the man he is,” Saika laughed.

“It went well, then,” Jiang Wei noted. “What do you mean to do with your prisoner?”

Magoichi had the two pistols in his belt, but handed the saber to their camp commander. “Do we have an extra tent to stick him in, for tonight? I'll look him over for wounds and stuff, and I'm too wired to sleep so maybe I'll keep watch, too.”

There was indeed an extra tent, all it took was moving some men and supplies around and they had a prison. Zhao Yun and Yukimura undertook the ordering of their camp and the dissolution of the enemy army, so as to let the exhausted and injured rest and free Saika to handle their new guest. What they didn't know was that upslope, the remnants of Date's forces were not as scattered as they thought.

Katakura worked to withdraw as many of the officers as he could collect, including his son and Date's, and rounded up their rifle corps before any of the Shu Resistance could return and take them to join their commander. Independently of them, Ina snuck down the back side of the mountain and ran into Shangxiang's forces, breathing a sigh of relief that she didn't have to go far to regroup. The two women looked one another over, and sat down to rest and allow for Ina's injuries to be tended. “They took him,” she reported as she sat still for Shangxiang. “It wasn't the mountain they wanted, it was Date.”

The Lady Sun shook her head. “I didn't figure it out until too late. I thought they were just trying to defend themselves, maybe counter-attack to keep us from capturing Lord Zhao Yun.”

“This isn't good for any of us,” Ina worried. “I don't know exactly what they mean to gain by holding him, but if we lose him to the Resistance, we're as good as traitors.” She looked up to Shangxiang, who was gently washing the blood from the side of her face and neck. “Lord Masamune is a favorite of Orochi. It would be the same as if the Resistance had captured...Maeda or that Lu Bu fellow.”

Shangxiang's lips pursed in anger as she contemplated the consequences. They really had no choice. “If we retreat now, and return all the way to Da Ji to tell her that he's been captured, she'll have our heads. It's one thing to be punished for failing to hold a castle, but it's a completely different thing to let an important officer get caught. I don't like him much, but I'm not risking Da Ji’s wrath over him.”

Ina closed her eyes in solemn agreement. “We shall have to free him, somehow. What happened to the rest of our officers?”

“A lot of them are injured. I don't know where Katakura went.”

“He won't be far.” Ina huffed a sigh and looked up again. “He's too loyal to Date.”

“Well, if we can find him before the Shu forces get away, we'll have enough men to attack the camp – at least to create a diversion long enough to rescue Lord Date.” Shangxiang folded her arms, completely displeased with all of her options. “If not, then it's up to us to sneak in there and get him.”

“Just us, against all of those men?” Lady Ina raised an eyebrow at her friend. “I suppose we're the only ones capable of such a thing.”

Shangxiang nodded. “How do you feel? Think you're up for a raid tonight, yet?”

Ina turned her hands palms-up on her knees as if to inspect them, and then the rest of herself. “No, I don't think so. It's long past midnight, we'll never regroup in time. If they break camp in the morning and depart, we shall have to follow them. There's no time to even locate Katakura and the rest of the Date.”

Shangxiang was in complete agreement, though she hated saying so. It would put Masamune's fate entirely in their hands, but there was no time to sit and contemplate an alternate route. They didn't know where the Resistance army was headed after this raid, or how quickly they would move out, so they needed to be ready for any possibility – meaning, they couldn't hang around and count on hooking back up with the rest of the Orochi forces scattered down the other side of the mountain. Sun Shangxiang reassured her friend with a gentle run of her hand along Ina's flowing ponytail. “All right, then. Let's get some sleep while we can.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date's fate in Resistance hands takes an unexpected turn; the Sima brothers reunite; catching up with Liu Shan.

The Resistance army was not in a hurry to depart, at least. They would remain encamped for another day or two at the minimum while they double- and triple-checked the mountain for Orochi forces, cleaned up the battlefield, tended their wounded, and made plans for taking and holding the temple atop Jieting. While no one really understood its importance, the order from Yueying was to take it as their own, which meant someone would be left there, likely Xingcai; yet, if they could dispatch a fast messenger back to Chengdu, they might be able to call more reinforcements in so she wouldn't be left holding the fortress yet again. Such a messenger was sent out while it was still dark, and the rest of the camp slept, and Magoichi sat awake at the door of the tent holding their prisoner. He knew better than to try to interrogate Masamune so soon after the battle, he could wait. While the rest of the officers took care of everything else, all throughout the next day, Saika only allowed Yukimura to take over for him for a few hours so he could go and snatch a bit of a nap, and then he was back, singlehandedly guarding the prisoner and choosing his time carefully. At long last, around the time the rest of the encampment was enjoying dinner, Magoichi brought some food in to Masamune and decided to tackle this task. He knew his old friend would be sore with him, but it was still their best chance to get any information out of him. And, there were other things he wanted to ask of him. Closing the tent flap behind him, Magoichi set the dishes down in front of the slumped figure sitting with legs crossed and arms bound behind his back. Without his helm on, Masamune looked younger somehow, and much more scuffed up. The great crescent helm sat on a supply box nearby, guarding its master. He didn't look up even when Magoichi moved obviously into his line of sight. “I know you're hungry,” Saika said as casually as he could. “Looks like I'm just gonna have to untie you, for a bit, because I'm sure you don't want me feeding you.”

“Stop it.” Masamune's voice was still rough and harsh, even in the quiet. “I don't want you joking around me, Magoichi.”

“Fine, I'll be all serious.” Magoichi bent and untied him as promised, and then went to sit within reach of him, next to the helm, to guard him while he ate. “You're not gonna like it, though. You'll be wishing you had the funny me back, after this.”

Without a word Masamune grabbed the earthenware bowl of rice and hungrily started shoveling it into his mouth. He only shot his visitor a quick glare to challenge what he was saying, he was too busy eating to speak.

“First of all, I got some business with you,” Magoichi went on, slapping a hand to his knee. “We know you're in tight with the big snake. So you can bet I'm gonna pick your brain to find out what you know about him and his army. This isn't the time to hide behind loyalty, you're gonna tell me what you know like any good prisoner, because even if we have history you know full well I'm not too good to beat the answers out of you.”

Masamune eyed him over the bowl. “You might as well just put a bullet in my chest, then. I won't betray my lord so easily.”

Magoichi snorted in annoyance. “Look at you. The One-Eyed Dragon, following meekly behind a snake! Where's your pride, man?”

Date practically pouted into his rice. “At least following behind means I won't get swallowed whole in his jaws.”

“Yeah, but you should take a good look at him from where I'm standing. He's one ugly bastard.”

“You don't know just how awesome and terrible his power is,” Masamune snapped. “Not if you can say things like that. You've never faced him, you just don't _know_.”

“And you do, huh?” Magoichi regarded him for a moment, rubbing his unshaven chin, and then sat forward. “Is that why you're on his side, because you're afraid of him?”

Masamune sat up so quickly that Magoichi moved to intercept him, expecting a punch or the bowl to be thrown at him. “I am _not_ afraid!” he blazed. “You blind fool, you can't even see that this is on a whole different level from fighting for Oshuu! Lord Orochi is a _demon_ , not a mere man like every other warlord! You idiots can’t see beyond your own foolish plans and goals, you’ll never be able to defeat him!”

“Sit down.” Magoichi put a hand on his head and shoved him forcefully back to a seat on the ground. “You may be right, that this serpent king of yours is a demon with a lot of power, but you’re wrong if you think he can’t be taken down. You need to see things from the outside – see what he’s doing to people, maybe even a few people you actually care about.” 

Date glared at him for the manhandling. “You just keep clinging to what you know instead of opening your eyes and seeing what you’re truly up against. All of you are blind, every last idiot around you is blind!”

“Fine, then I’m blind.” Saika tossed up a hand helplessly. “I’d rather be blind and free than bend my knee to that snake. If you don’t wanna be free like the rest of us, then you’ll just have to be content with being a guest of Shu at the prisons in Luo Castle for the duration of this war.”

Date’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “You might as well just kill me, then! When Orochi finds out you’ve taken me, he’ll lay waste to that castle and everyone in it.”

Magoichi eyed him, deadpan. “Tough talk, but I don’t think you can back it up. You mean to tell me Orochi’s gonna pry himself up out of his comfy chair wherever he is just for you? I don’t think so.”

Masamune rudely pointed at him with his chopsticks, as if they were a pistol in his grip. “Just watch! He’ll come for me, you’ll see!”

“Now who’s the blind one?” The marksman frowned deeply, seeing for himself just how far gone his friend was, how firmly entrenched in Orochi’s camp he had become. “He hasn’t bothered to show his face in battle since fighting Oda a long time ago. Why should he? When he’s got lap dogs like you barking at his heels, eager to please.” He ignored Date’s bristling at the comparison and didn’t let him interrupt. “He tosses you table scraps and you think it’s a feast. But he’s got plenty like you, so what’s the loss of one? He’ll leave you to die, make no mistake. He probably won’t even bat an eye when he hears the news.”

As much as he didn’t want to hear any word against his lord, Date couldn’t stop himself from wondering, for a moment, if it was true. Orochi was a great demon, after all, and great demons generally didn’t _need_ human help for anything. Never mind that somewhere deep down he still feared that his loss in battle would lead to his death anyway, directly at the hands of the demon lord rather than by neglect. “What would you have me do, then?” he challenged, his voice low and seething, wavering only in the slightest. “Join the Resistance against him, so I can die at his hands rather than yours?”

“Actually,” Magoichi murmured solemnly, “I’d kinda like that. Fighting alongside you again would be a hell of a lot of fun.”

They locked eyes for a moment, but only a moment, and then Masamune tore his gaze away. “Don’t make me laugh! You fools are only marching to suicide by keeping this up. You may be alive today, but he could destroy you tomorrow, and what then? Your vaunted resistance is nothing to him.”

“Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?” Magoichi said wisely. “Because you already know I can’t lay down my rifle and just let the ugly ol’ snake have me. I’m gonna fight to the end, because that’s just who I am. Saika Magoichi doesn’t roll over.”

“It’s your funeral, then,” Masamune said sourly, “if anyone’s even left alive to hold one for you.”

“It’s all death to you, one way or another, huh.” The mercenary shook his head sadly. “Well, hate to break it to you, but you’re not gonna die. As much as I’d rather fight beside you again, if you’re rejecting that plan, then it’s prison for you, not execution. At least the people of Shu treat their captives pretty well, and you’ll have company. We’ve already imprisoned someone from Wei.”

Masamune’s dark gaze held steady, though there was a flicker of interest at the news that others had been captured. “Is that who you serve now, Magoichi?” he grumbled. “Shu Han? You and Yukimura both?”

“Pretty much,” Magoichi admitted. “We both fell in with Zhao Yun for our own reasons, and I don’t regret it for a second. Which brings me back to that other bit of business.” He set both hands on his knees, fixing keen eyes on his captive friend. “What do you know about Liu Bei?”

Masamune frowned in curiosity. “Liu Bei? Nothing.”

“Is that true?”

“I’m not going to lie to you, Magoichi. If I know nothing then I know nothing! If I did know something I wouldn’t tell you anyway, but I really don’t.”

Magoichi tried not to look disappointed. “Do you know anything of what Orochi does with his extra-valuable prisoners?”

A question like that made Date wonder if he’d heard about the escape of Lady No from Jianye. “Only that he moves them around from time to time,” he answered after a pensive moment of silence. “The more important the prisoner, the less likely they’ll be in any one place for more than a month.”

“Hmm.” Magoichi glanced away, toward the wall of the tent, as if looking through the canvas to the top of the mountain. “And you didn’t have any here, I take it? We would have found them when we searched the place, but it never hurts to ask.”

Masamune quieted and shrank back into himself to resume eating. “Not while I’ve been here.”

“Seriously, nothing about Liu Bei?”

“I told you, no! What is with you and that guy?” Masamune eyed him warily. “The only thing I know is his name, that he’s important to the people of Shu. Aside from that, there’s nothing to tell.”

“Damn.” Magoichi sat back, running both hands through his hair in frustration. “All right, fine, have it your way. If you happen to remember anything about him between here and Chengdu, you make sure to tell me, all right?”

“Whatever.”

Masamune went silent in order to finish his food, and thankfully, Saika asked him nothing more. But he sat there on guard with a disapproving sort of frown on his unshaven face, and under that kind of look Date could only sit with his head lowered, avoiding his gaze. When he was done, he sighed and acquiesced to being bound once again, noting that his friend was true to his word and cut him absolutely no slack. He was as tightly-held and guarded as if by strangers, true foes. “Don’t try anything funny,” Magoichi warned as he straightened up, aware that Date’s keen eyes were following the pistols in his belt, almost longingly. “We’ve got another night here, and then tomorrow we’re heading back to Chengdu. That offer was real – the Resistance wouldn’t mind having your guns on our side. So, if you feel like changing your mind, you’ve got till we get back to the capitol to decide.” He held Masamune’s gaze for a moment longer, and then ducked out of the tent to leave him to stew in silence and darkness.

Just outside the tent, Zhao Yun and Xingcai waited, not eavesdropping but keen to know the outcome of the interrogation. Magoichi rubbed a hand tiredly over his face as if to wipe away the melancholy so he could face them with his usual bravado intact. “Anything?” Yun asked.

“I’m real sorry,” Saika replied heavily. “Sounds to me like the favorite of Orochi isn’t as close to him as we thought.”

Zhao Yun looked disheartened for a moment and then caught himself, straightening up. “I see. Thank you, Magoichi, for trying.”

“Hey.” Magoichi reached out, setting a hand firmly on the young general’s shoulder. “We’ll get him,” he said sincerely. “Maybe not through Date, but we’ll get him. I just know it.”

Yun placed his own hand over Saika’s forearm to accept, and then turned away. “Our efforts were not entirely in vain. We’ve taken another of Orochi’s men out of service, and claimed Jieting as ours. That’s not nothing.”

“It’s not what you really wanted, though, I know.”

Yun looked back at him, chancing a faint smile. “You were extremely valiant out there, last night. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to give the rest of the army the chance it needed. I was proud and honored to fight beside you, and I still am.”

Saika sniffed a tiny laugh and tried to put his aloof, casual façade back up. “Aw, c’mon, Zhao Yun, you’re gonna give me a big head if you keep going on like that. No, really, though, keep going.”

His attempt at humor in turn made Zilong smile. “Get some rest. Everyone.”

As he left them, Xingcai looked up to the marksman with a smile of her own. “It's nice to see you take things seriously for once. See? I knew you could.” She clasped her hands behind her back and left him to ponder the compliment without waiting for his response. He was so surprised that he failed to come up with one in time.

The camp quieted at nightfall, and though sentries were doubled on account of the unknown whereabouts of the scattered Orochi forces, no one was particularly concerned about being attacked in the dead of night. The last reports from scouts had picked up a number of trails heading down the far sides of the mountain, though it was hard to track anyone across the patches of smoldering ground where lava seeped and bubbled. They could only assume that Date’s retainers had withdrawn, and Sun Shangxiang with them. No one besides Xingcai even knew that Lady Ina had been part of the battle, and she didn’t know the woman’s name or face. It took longer than usual for the top officers to decide to go to sleep, but eventually they all did, and the only light left beneath the stars were the sentry posts here and there around the fringes of the camp. It was all too easy for two lithe, stealthy women, both carrying bows, to creep up from across the fields and steal along the perimeter, hunting for signs of which tent might be the one housing a prisoner. Shangxiang guessed rightly, based on what she and her people in Wu had always done, a habit shared among the kingdoms. It had to be one near to the officers’ tent, but not too near. And there, the tall man with the green coat sitting outside one tent, rifle against his shoulder, nodding off – that had to be it. Silently gesturing for Ina to cover her, Shangxiang went in alone, leaving her arrows with her companion and taking only a knife.

It was stiflingly dark inside the tent, and Date Masamune was already asleep himself, passed out on his side with his arms still bound. His rescuer sidled up alongside him, but refrained from laying a hand on him until her eyes had adjusted enough to the dark to be able to find his face. She clapped a hand over his mouth, naturally startling him awake and keeping him from crying out at the same time. His good eye widened in shock, and then gleamed eagerly in the darkness. He could just barely make out who it was, and nodded to agree not to shout. It was quick work from there, she groped down to find his arms and slit the ropes without hurting him and then crouched back to signal where she had cut the canvas to get in through the back side of the tent. Date grabbed his helm and tucked it under his arm, and then crouched down beside her. “My guns,” he whispered as delicately as he could. “I need them.”

“Where?” she breathed back.

“Mago.” He looked back over his shoulder, able to tell that someone was sitting outside the tent. “Damn.”

“He’s asleep,” Shangxiang hissed. “Are you sure?”

“I need them!” Date insisted. There were no pistols the like of his Dragonhunters, no one in this realm could craft a new set for him and he wouldn’t dare stoop to using matchlock rifles or, heaven forbid, a bow and arrows.

Sighing, Shangxiang crept across the open floor of the tent and stealthily drew back a fold of the flap. It was considerably lighter outside just from the stars alone, enough that she could see the big, black shape of the man slouched just to the side of the door. She waited a moment or two until she could tell from his breathing that he was, in fact, asleep, and eased herself through the tent flap enough to stretch up and try to find where he was keeping the pistols. His arms were folded tight around his rifle, making it hard to tell, but she took a chance that they might be inside his coat and craned her neck further to try and see. Taking them from him without waking him would be nearly impossible, but she had to try. Shifting the knife to use as a weapon just in case, she reached toward the hem of his coat. His low, suave voice suddenly rent the night around them. “I knew you wanted to come have some fun with me.”

Shangxiang froze – he wasn’t asleep at all! Before she could draw back, he lunged to grab her wrist, his other hand closing on the trigger of his rifle and firing off a single shot into the air. The camp erupted around them with noise and light, torches from sentries leaping up to show the raid for what it was. Masamune instantly plunged through the door of the tent and tackled Magoichi, tearing his grip free from Shangxiang and sending the two of them rolling away through the dirt, locked in struggle. Without arrows she had no way to attack and ducked back into the tent, only to see in the rising light that Date’s saber had been kept in there, where his helm had been. She grabbed it and peeked back out to see how he was getting along.

The two men grappled for possession of the rifle, until Magoichi could bring it up and crack Date in the jaw with the butt of the stock. Masamune started to slump off him, dazed, but he could see the handles of his pistols still in the marksman’s waistband and recklessly groped for them. They came out of their wresting match both armed, safeties clicking as each pointed his firearm at the other. Sun Shangxiang streaked between them at that moment, slashing out with the saber and catching Magoichi’s coat. He threw himself back but not fast enough, and shouted in pain as the blade scored across his stomach. Date lunged in and put a pistol to his head, holding him down. “Now, Shangxiang!” he barked. “Get out of here!”

“This way!” She grabbed for his arm to get him to follow, knowing the quickest path from that spot to the edge of the trees where Ina waited. Shouts and the rush of feet announced how close they were to being caught again, they had to move. For a moment, Masamune and Magoichi locked eyes, and what passed between them in the silence was difficult for both to bear, before Masamune pulled away. He scooped up his helm from where he had dropped it and followed his rescuer around the tent. They weren’t fast enough, though, for a massive cross-bladed spear streaked out of the darkness and nearly cleaved both their heads off. Date shot wildly in the direction it came from, but missed Yukimura completely as he plowed through a tent and set on them. He didn’t even know what might have befallen Magoichi, all he knew was that the prisoner had escaped and stolen back his weapons, and they needed to be stopped.

Sun Shangxiang had not spent her formative years foot-racing her brothers for nothing. She was fast and agile, and wove through the tents with ease. Date followed on her heels, ducking every swing of the Crimson Fang as Yukimura pursued him through the camp. Even the soldiers stayed out of their way, ducking and dodging as the chase passed them. As they neared the edge of the tents, arrows whistled past the escapees and screamed past Yukimura’s ear, startling him enough to slow him down. He faltered and then came around the last tent, only to find himself arrested on the spot with the gleaming point of an arrow aimed straight at his eye. Crouching before him in battle stance was Lady Ina, bow drawn taut with her next shot. His spear came to a halt just inches from her ear. They held at stalemate for a long moment, both breathing hard, eyes locked and angry. Sanada had no idea she was even there until they were face to face, the shock of it robbed him of the wits to keep pushing the fight and chasing the other two. Ina was vaguely aware of her compatriots passing her and disappearing into the night, as well as the sound of other officers closing in on the pursuit, but her senses were full of only her brother-in-law’s face. Her hand on the bowstring only trembled a little. “Ina,” he breathed when he could recover enough to speak.

“It must be this way,” she said darkly. “For now.”

“I can’t let you,” Yukimura said in return. “We need Date…”

“You can’t have him.” Her eyes hardened like flint. “If you take him, Da Ji will kill us.”

His brow furrowed beneath the six-coin headband, but he didn’t withdraw his spear even a fraction of a centimeter. “Come with us,” he urged under his breath. “All of you!”

“We can’t.” The point of the arrow dropped from his eye to his throat, unprotected except for his scarf. “Lady Sun needs to protect her father. And I must protect her.”

The Crimson Fang tipped slightly, bringing the edge of the blade closer to her neck in turn. Yukimura understood the Sun children’s plight, after making the alliance with Sun Ce, but knew there had to be a better way. They could protect everyone, couldn’t they? “Don’t do this,” he implored. “I don’t want to kill you!”

Ina showed no sign of being moved by his plea. “Is your brother here?”

He closed his eyes rather than move his head. “No. Not right now.”

She bit her lip, and at long last her composure wavered, if just for a heartbeat. “Tell him I am alive,” she whispered, and then shot the arrow over his shoulder, into the darkness beyond. It was close enough that he had to dodge, and in that moment she made her escape, evading his spear and dashing off into the trees in the same direction as the other two.

By the time Yukimura regained his balance, she was gone. He started to go after her, but was instantly surrounded by the rest of their men, most of whom had seen which way she went and took up the hunt for him. Yukimura reeled back and rested the spear against the ground, finding Zhao Yun coming up beside him. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, fine,” Yukimura answered, though his hand went to the spot beside his ear where the arrow very nearly nicked him. “Date escaped…”

“I know.” Yun scowled in frustration. “Magoichi is hurt. They got Date’s weapons from him and cut him down.”

Alarmed, Yukimura forgot all about joining the pursuit and ran back the other way, to where they had been holding the prisoner. Saika was sitting up again, only so their medics could tend the slash across his middle. His coat and pants were soaked with blood, but he was alert and managed to give both spearmen a wan smile as they joined him. “How about that,” he murmured. “I make it all the way through the battle unscathed and then a princess gives me this in camp. Ladies and their tiger tempers, am I right?”

Yukimura knelt beside him to see how bad it was. It didn’t look deep, but was certainly ugly. “I’m sorry,” he said heavily. “I wasn’t able to catch them. Lady Ina…”

“Ina?” Magoichi’s hazy smirk slid right off his face, replaced by surprise. “She was here?”

“She missed her mark, but yes.” Sanada looked from him to Zhao Yun. “I don’t think we’ll find them no matter how much our men comb the woods.”

“They will still try,” Yun said seriously. “We can’t just let a valuable prisoner walk off into the night.”

Saika heaved a sigh and then winced at what it did to the gash in his abdomen. “Shame your brother wasn’t here, that might have ended differently.”

“If I wasn’t enough to get through to her, I don’t know that Nobuyuki could have bested me.” Yukimura pushed himself to his feet using the spear and faced his comrade. “You’re right, have Jiang Wei send the scouts out to track them. But I won’t be terribly surprised if the morning light finds them long gone from here.”

Zhao Yun looked pained for a moment at the thought of losing their prisoner, and then nodded. “I will do so. You two get some rest – especially you, Magoichi.” His voice held no blame for the marksman; clearly he had done his job well, and tangled with two at once only to receive a serious wound for it. There wasn’t anything else that could be done, but to hunt for the trail and hope it had not gone cold by the time the sun rose.

Shangxiang led the other two through a corner of the wood and then back out into the fields, the better to keep them from crashing and blundering noisily through underbrush. It was easier to run through the long grass, not to mention quieter, and they soon outpaced the scouts. They crossed a stream and then headed back up along the shoulder of a slope, not to climb Jieting but to pass alongside it to where the stragglers of Wu laid in wait. Just around the bend from where their own sentries stood on lookout, worrying about their officers, Shangxiang came to a stop to let them rest, so that they wouldn’t fall into their own camp panting like dogs. Masamune collapsed on the ground, chest heaving beneath his armor. It took him a long time to be able to make words, but when he did, he managed to say something few had ever heard from him. “…thank you.”

Ina stood with her hands on her knees, her bow slung over her back, as she caught her breath. “Are you hurt, Lord Masamune?”

“No. They were…” He stopped short of saying “kind,” though the word was on his tongue. He shook his head and then sat up. “They didn’t harm me.”

Shangxiang had taken her bow back from Ina, and stood now with an arrow fitted to the string just in case. “We’re almost there,” she implored. “We regrouped with our own men, we haven’t found the others yet.”

“They’ll find me,” Date assured, finally feeling up to regaining his feet, though he wavered a little. “They always do. Come on, let’s keep moving. I don’t expect the Resistance to just let us waltz out of here. There’ll be scouts.”

He waited for Shangxiang to show the way, and marched after her with head held high, fitting his helm back onto it so that when he faced the enlisted men, they would see a commander and not a captive. He took everything Magoichi had said to him, balled it up, and shoved it deep inside his heart where no one else would know.

  


The officers assembling in the great hall at Xuchang looked less like the mighty and proud Wei army and more like a pack of refugees. Ishida Mitsunari had arrived ahead of the main army, so he was there to receive their lord and those with him when they returned from battle, though the sight which met him made him frown in concern. It looked like only Cao Pi himself was uninjured, but he was showing signs of exhaustion. Those already at the fortress fared little better, only Zhong Hui could be said to be completely rested and hale. Cao Pi gave his men the rest of that day to settle in, but he needed to collect his officers as soon as possible and get a complete picture of the state of the Wei army. So, it was the following morning when they all gathered and took a good long look at each other. Among them were Kato and Fukushima, who had been holding Xuchang as ordered with Zhong Hui breathing down their necks the whole time, until Zhang Liao and Xu Huang were able to get back. It looked like everyone was there, more or less – Zhenji still held Jianye, of course, and only Pang De and Jia Xu were completely missing. No one had heard anything from them, not since they parted from Guo Jia ages ago. The news they had to share was all dire: Guandu and Fan Castle lost, Nagashino considered a waste even though the enemy commanders had been slain, defeat on all sides, and the brief glimpse of the Xiahou clan ending in their decision to leave the field and not rejoin Wei. No one was particularly sad to hear that Da Ji had been routed and temporarily disappeared from their midst, but Cao Pi knew they had not heard the last of the demon strategist. She would pop up again when least expected and least desired, perhaps with new orders and a new strategy to counter Oda’s rise in success. “I have no doubt that our alliance with Orochi will be put to use more than ever,” Cao Pi groused as he sat in his chair, too tired to even hold his chin up haughtily. “Da Ji has lost a number of commanders, and who knows how long it will take her to collect Sun Quan and restore his army back to health. That leaves us, and Dong Zhuo.”

“What of Sima Yi?” Zhang He wondered. “I haven’t heard a thing about him since I came back from the Nanman campaign.”

“The last word I received is that he was seriously injured pursuing Sun Ce,” Mitsunari replied. “He’s recovering at Ueda, as far as I know.” His eyes drifted briefly to Zhong Hui, but the young officer had been with their army since before then, he would know nothing.

“Him, too?” Xu Huang exclaimed. “No wonder Orochi’s army is in complete disarray.”

“Perhaps it’s too early to rejoice in Da Ji’s absence,” Guo Jia broke in, “but as long as she remains unseen by any of her army, the rest of us can take the time to rest and heal. She won’t be able to call us out to assist her unless she herself resurfaces. Unless,” he added with a concerned look toward Cao Pi and Ishida collectively, “you expect that Orochi himself will slither out from his hidden fortress and come to deliver orders to us in person?”

Mitsunari closed his eyes for a moment to think. “I don’t want to say for certain, but that’s highly doubtful. Losing Guandu was a huge blow, and maybe Oda’s victory will get his attention, but it doesn’t seem likely.”

“It seems we really can’t count on anything aside from ourselves, these days.” Cao Pi rested his chin on a hand for a moment, contemplating the multiple threads in the web laid out before him. “This is all I will decide for today,” he declared. “Zhong Hui, I believe your service with me is at a natural end. It sounds like Sima Yi will need you more than I. I appreciate what you’ve done for me, you may go at your leisure with the friendship of Wei.”

Zhong Hui raised an eyebrow in his direction and then tossed his head uncaringly. “As you wish, Lord Cao Pi. It has been…interesting.” He had not forgotten the traitorous-looking behavior at Xia Kou, but as he had never gotten the chance to report it to Da Ji, it seemed less important now.

Pi inclined his head in acceptance and turned his attention to his actual army. “I will need at some point to send people back to Jianye, so that my wife is not left alone there. She may no longer have the responsibility of a prisoner, but Jianye belongs to Wei and must remain in our hands. Exactly who will go, however, I will decide in a day or two, when we’ve all had some rest. Then, there will be the matter of sending out queries to locate Pang De and Jia Xu. They were on loan to Da Ji, so if she isn’t around to tell us where she sent them, we’ll have to look for them ourselves. Beyond that, there are no new orders. Nothing. We shall remain at ease here at Xuchang making no independent moves, and wait as long as it takes for Orochi to call on us. If luck is with us,” he concluded with a small smirk, “that will be a very long time indeed.”

The collected Wei officers all nodded their agreement with his orders, and shortly after were dismissed to go their own ways. Only Mitsunari lingered after the others had all left Cao Pi alone, and watched as the lord of Wei pushed himself out of his chair with great effort. “You’re exhausted,” he noticed. “I don’t care how early in the day it is, go back to bed.”

“You have a terrible habit of thinking you can actually tell me what to do.” Pi’s face was grim, but his eyes held a hint of a smirk. “Such an attitude would get you killed in our lands.”

“Lucky for me we’re not actually in your lands, then.” Mitsunari took a step closer, and wisely so, for Pi wobbled and needed to be caught before he could collapse. “I mean it,” the strategist murmured more gently. “You need your rest if you plan to rule your kingdom at all.”

Cao Pi regarded the shoulder butted beneath his arm and the proximity of Mitsunari’s youthful face, and grunted the most miniscule of laughs. “It seems my legs would rather obey you than me. Perhaps I’ll take that as a sign.”

“A wise choice.” Without needing to ask or be asked, Ishida promptly escorted him to his chambers, and made sure there were at least two attendants around to handle the mundane needs of their lord before leaving him there to rest in some fashion. He doubted Cao Pi would allow himself to nap, but at the very least, he would likely sit and have some tea. Maybe compose some poetry or something. However, that meant that Mitsunari could not enjoy a real rest of his own, he had to keep an eye on the fortress and receive any scout reports or messengers himself. Some scant news had come in while they were all away fighting battles, he needed to look it over and prepare it to report to his lord. He had simply given himself over to Wei’s service in his own mind and heart, already, without making any kind of big deal of it. No vows had been said or declarations made, outside of his own pledge privately to Cao Pi prior to Nagashino, but that was more a promise to assist him in undermining Orochi from their current position. Mitsunari wholeheartedly considered himself part of this army, now, he called Cao Pi his lord so easily and saw no reason to take it back. Toyotomi, he figured, would forgive him, seeing as he was himself serving Oda with no ambitions to retake his own ruling title.

After taking care of some work in the map room, Mitsunari breezed on to other tasks, and came around a corner to find Kato Kiyomasa standing with his scythe firmly in hand, looking as if he were waiting for someone. They had been together at Xuchang for a while, ever since Ishida returned escorting Cao Ren to safety, but Mitsunari had studiously made sure that they were never in a room alone together, so as to never allow an opportunity for them to talk. Suddenly, with the fortress full of people, there he was, with no one else around to interfere. From the way Kiyomasa’s gaze settled on him, Mitsunari knew he’d been right all along, that the idiot wanted his attention. He couldn’t ignore it entirely, now, but he could still be an ass about it. He breezed up to Kiyomasa and then past him, hardly sparing him a look. “What do _you_ want?” he said as snidely as possible.

Undeterred, Kiyomasa fell into step alongside him. “You can’t keep avoiding me, Mitsunari.”

“I don’t know, I’ve managed to be pretty successful so far.” He lifted his chin, not affording his compatriot so much as a sidelong glance. “I’ve got a lot of work to do, so unless you’re here to tell me the castle’s on fire or Sun Ce is at the gate, go bother somebody who cares. I don’t have time to entertain you.”

Kato was, unfortunately, bigger than him, so it only took one swift step and a hook of his muscled arm to get in front of Mitsunari to halt him in his tracks. “Make time,” he demanded.

Mitsunari glared up at him from under his long hair. “Answer my question, then. What do you _want_?”

“Anything,” Kiyomasa breathed angrily. “You haven’t said two words to me or Masanori since we were brought here. Pretending we don’t exist won’t absolve you of your evil choices.”

“Evil,” Ishida snorted, folding his arms over his chest. “What are you even talking about?”

“I know full well that you belong to Orochi,” Kiyomasa said sternly. “The demon who routed the Toyotomi at Odawara, and captured Lady Nene, and has brought this whole land to ruin and good men under his thumb. You serve him.”

Mitsunari tipped his head to give his old comrade a challenging look. “What of it?”

Kiyomasa had expected excuses, denial, awkward silence, _anything_ , not a flat agreement. It took him aback for a moment. “You don’t have any explanation for it?” 

“None that I owe you.” Mitsunari’s superior expression did not change at all, as he appraised Kato for a long moment. At least, the man had healed from his ordeal being tortured by Fuuma, he looked as well as anyone in the fortress at that time. “I will say this much,” he went on after a bit, smug and aloof as ever. “You’re a bit behind the times. I fell in with the Orochi army, that’s true, but if you’d open your eyes you’d see that right now, I’m actually working for Lord Cao Pi. And quite frankly, that’s all you need to know.”

“I don’t understand,” Kiyomasa said bluntly. “How could you serve the demon who vanquished our lord? Why did you not look for any remnant of the Toyotomi after that battle? We were out there, we regrouped and fought back, while all along you willingly joined his side!”

“Like I said,” Mitsunari replied with an edge to his voice that made him sound like he was desperately trying to talk a toddler down from a tantrum, “I don’t owe you any explanations. You have the facts, I see. I have nothing to say to you beyond that.”

It only frustrated Kato further. He reached out and snatched a hold of the front of Ishida’s coat, yanking him in close. Mitsunari’s arms dropped and his fan came up between them to force him to let go just as quickly. “I trusted you!” Kato blazed in his face. “I thought you trusted me as well! Why won’t you give me the honor of an excuse, at least, no matter how lame it is?”

“I have my reasons,” Mitsunari shot back, finally raising his voice to match. “If you knew what was good for you and for the whole of the Toyotomi, the kingdom of Wei, and everyone in this godforsaken land, you’d bite your tongue, sit on your hands, and not try to worm any secrets out of me!”

Kiyomasa looked like he wanted to shout some more, but the words sank in and he slowly backed down, unclenching his fists and shifting back, though the angry scowl never left his face. “Is that the case,” he asked warily, “or are you just being over-dramatic?”

“Believe what you want, I don’t care.” Mitsunari made great show of flicking his war fan closed and putting it back in his belt. “I mean it, I’m not here to entertain you and that other idiot. As Lord Cao Pi’s strategist, I’ve got a lot on my plate. You guys just need to fall in line with the rest of Wei, and accept what you’re given. Cao Pi is no one to trifle with, but he knows the value of a warrior. His respect has to be earned and if you ever want to do more than just guard this citadel, you need to show him that you’re capable in the small things, first.” He knew what Kiyomasa really wanted, but also knew full well that he wouldn’t have access to any opportunities to reach for that goal unless he genuinely dedicated himself to the Wei army for the time being. At least, he had to impress the need to play the game on Kato – Fukushima would fall in line so long as he had someone smarter leading the way. “As to Lord Toyotomi,” he added, quieting some, “he is currently with Oda. The Oda Resistance is, at present, not exactly friends of ours.”

Kiyomasa grasped that small hint. “At present.”

“That’s what I said. Good, your ears still work.” Mitsunari fixed him with a cold stare. “I have nothing to give you, Kato. Our past together saved your lives, and that’s it. Everything else is up to you, I can’t and _won’t_ do it for you.”

“I never asked you to,” Kiyomasa complained, raising his head in a mirror of Ishida’s haughty bearing. “Fine, then. We will do what we have to.”

Mitsunari turned as if to go around him. “Maybe there is one small piece of advice I can offer,” he said, with an underlying taunt. “Forget about me. Get to know the other officers. You want an in, it’ll be through them.”

Kiyomasa sighed hard. “I don’t want an in, I want my friend back.”

“You can’t have him right now.” Mitsunari’s eyes shifted enough to give him a brief but sincere look. “You’d get along well with the others. Xu Huang seems like your type, all honor and bravery. Yue Jin’s a decent guy, too.”

It seemed like he wasn’t going to get anywhere, so Kiyomasa accepted it in silence, turning his head away. “It’s a little late to go showing concern over whether I’m making friends around this place.”

“It’s just advice, take it or leave it. Knowing you,” Mitsunari sniffed, “you’ll leave it. You never did know how to accept wisdom from someone else.”

Kato scowled to himself. “If you’re so busy, then go be busy somewhere else.”

Ishida straightened up briskly, now that he had the opening needed to escape. With only a nod, he shouldered past Kiyomasa’s muscled bulk and continued on his way, down the corridor toward the great hall and points beyond. There was nothing more to be said anyway, he simply could not even hint at anything he was doing, official or unofficial. Like Cao Pi himself, Mitsunari had to keep everything close to him. Even old friends were a liability when investigating all avenues of recourse to overthrow a warlord. 

The Resistance victories of late had opened up a great swath of land to friendly forces, once the Orochi main army which had been split between Guandu and Nagashino had been broken up into much smaller pieces which scattered in every direction. No amount of reconnaissance could pick up Da Ji’s trail, and even her snake-demon captains seemed to have disappeared in the wake of the recent battles. While Cao Pi withdrew the entirety of his Wei army to Xuchang, Sun Quan took the remnants of his Wu unit and went the other way, only to get sidetracked in the patchwork territories to the south, sniffing after scraps of information. Naoe and the cavalry he had led from Nagashino vanished as well, and rumors began to spread that they had somehow not made it to Fan Castle intact. Oda himself took up residence proudly at Guandu, and with even more troops and officers at his disposal now, had no problem peopling Fan, Honnoji, and Xiapi with more than enough of an army left to attend him in his nice new castle. Like Cao Pi, he chose to bide his time and keep an ear to the ground, expecting that Da Ji would eventually resurface like the fox she was and wanting to be one of the first to know when she did. With his army controlling so much territory in the central region, and the Shu Resistance holding parts of the west from Jieting to Chengdu to Odani, it was now the Orochi army’s turn to retreat to the small, scattered pockets where they still held sway. They had some of the largest castles and cities under their control, yet, but each one was now surrounded either by the Resistance or by wide tracts of land claimed by no one and used by everyone. Oda’s firm grip on victory laid those lands open for the innocent, the independent, and the desperate. Anyone could hasten their travel or find safe places to rest in the days and weeks following the Orochi defeat at Fan Castle.

It had taken a little more convincing to be allowed to travel alone, but Sima Zhao did his best to console Xiahou Ba and assure the whole clan that he would be fine, that he had plans and no matter what lay out there beyond their reach, he could handle it by himself. He had no delusions that he would ride to battle against any enemy forces he met, he knew full well that the wise thing to do would be to keep to hidden trails and retreat if he saw anything bigger than himself crossing his path. The Xiahou clan loaded him up with what supplies they could, since hunting had been good and they had food to spare, and genuinely wished him well before sending him on his way. Dun still scowled the same as he did every day, but Yuan sighed wistfully as they watched him ride off over the crest of the next hill. “Hard to believe his father’s that asshole,” he remarked, “he’s such a nice guy. No wonder Ba likes him.”

Dun harrumphed under his breath and turned away, to where their own horses were saddled and packed, ready to go. “Come on. We should get moving ourselves.” He was bound and determined to lead them to Yiling so long as they could find it, no matter what obstacles lay in their way – demon armies, rivers of lava, random winter-lands sandwiched between spring and fall, not even the pleas of peasants or sanctuary of untouched villages could sway him from his intended path.

Sima Zhao did indeed have a plan, and though there was never an exact time frame on when it would be fulfilled, he did not want to wait too long. He didn’t want anyone else risking their lives coming to look for him, if he tarried too long and made them worry. The choice of where to meet seemed odd, but considering how well they knew it, it really was the only option. Trying to locate any other territory, city, or castle that might or might not be safe for him to show his face around was too much work, and at the time, he had few options available anyway. He had had to think fast, that night in the pass of Hulao when he wrote his letters. There was every possibility that the Oda army lay in wait at Zenkouji, but Zhao had to take that chance. The hot, dry summer was starting to give way to autumn already, and the tips of the maple trees in the vale were already showing color as he rode up the road he knew would lead him to the temple rather than the fortresses at the river’s edge. There wasn’t much sign of life around Kawanakajima, at the moment, but he played it safer than safe, riding slowly and quietly and avoiding the river where the battle had taken place. The garrison guarding the gap between field and forest was empty, the gates still broken down as they had been on that day. Zhao slipped through unseen by human or creature and plunged into the cool shadow of the wood, following a familiar wide dirt track down into the valley where the temple of Zenkouji crouched among the trees like a mystic priest meditating on the Tao. It was as he remembered, serene and unassuming. The peasants Ma Chao had rescued were long gone, no one seemed to have come in to claim Kawanakajima otherwise, but just as he reached the temple yard and prepared to dismount, he realized he was not alone after all. There were two horses picketed on the far side of the temple where no one would simply spot them, but his horse smelled them and lifted its head, giving a huge snort. One of the others whickered back in recognition. Sima Zhao froze in place with his hand on the reins, afraid that the noise would serve as an alarm to whoever was in the temple, and he would have to mount right back up and flee. He couldn’t, though! This was where they planned to meet…

He was still tensed with fear when the paper-screened door of the temple slid open a crack to permit someone to peek out, and then was suddenly thrown wide. Zhao’s heart melted instantly as the petite blond woman dashed out to meet him, sliding to a halt an arm’s length away because proper decorum would not allow her to be so free and excitable even around her husband. He more than made up for the both of them, though, letting go of the reins and lunging to meet her, throwing his arms around her and pulling her into his chest in a big bear hug. “Yuanji!” he breathed into her hair.

She stiffened for a moment, not used to this sort of thing, but his naked emotion got the better of her, and after a moment Wang Yuanji softened and leaned into him, sliding one arm around his waist. “You’re late,” she murmured into a fold of his tunic.

Zhao laughed weakly, his cheek still pressed to the top of her head – she was that much shorter than him. Before he could say anything, he heard the door again and glanced up to see the real reason for this visit striding towards him. Relieved, he gave his wife one more squeeze and let her go so she could brush herself off and regain composure while he turned to Sima Shi. “Brother,” he greeted in a soft tone.

“Zishang.” Shi went straight to using his style name, not even bothering with formalities, though his bearing was as composed and calm as if they were standing in their father’s study. “You look well.”

“Better than I have been.” Zhao glanced from him to his wife and back. “You got my letter, then. Good.”

Shi heaved a huge sigh, but there was a tiny light of mischief in his eyes. “Who taught you strategy, anyway? Asking me to desert the Orochi army and join up with you instead. What were you thinking?”

“That,” Zhao replied with a wan smile, “is a much longer story than any letter could’ve told you. Is Guo Huai all right?”

“When I last saw him, yes. He told me what happened at Hulao Gate.”

“Come inside,” Yuanji implored them both. “If we’re going to talk, we might as well do it sitting, so Zishang can rest from his travels.”

Neither could really argue with that. They led Zhao’s horse over to the others and tied it up for the time being, and ducked into the cool, dark confines of the temple to sit and have a drink. Just water, but to Zhao, it was better than the best wine right then. It looked like they were getting ready to put dinner together before he arrived, but Yuanji set it aside and joined them to discuss matters. The temple was only sparsely furnished, so they contented themselves with sitting on the bamboo tatami clothing the floor in front of the temple’s dusty altar. Under the watchful gaze of several buddhas, they held conference on what had befallen each brother since they last laid eyes on one another, from Zhao’s injuries and convalescence in a distant village with the Xiahou brothers to Shi’s decision to accept this plan and turn his back on their father right at the gate of Ueda Castle. He and Yuanji had ridden a few other places before eventually making it to Kawanakajima as the letter requested, they had seen Hulao for themselves and investigated a few other rumors first. They had only been at the temple a few days, so Zhao wasn’t all that late to meet them after all. He had enough good reasons to have taken his own journey slowly, so all was forgiven. “You really did it, though,” he said with some awe for his brother. “I didn’t know if you would, or if the timing wasn’t right. I honestly thought it would take longer.”

Shi glanced at the woman sitting between them. “Perhaps if Yuanji had not been so insistent that we find you right away. You made her worry, Zishang, you had better take responsibility for that.”

Zhao held up both hands in a gesture of surrender, while Yuanji shot them both a scolding look, one after the other. “Perhaps Zhao did give me reason to worry, but you contributed to that, Ziyuan.”

“Oho,” Zhao laughed as his brother looked discomfited for a moment. “That sounds like a story I want to hear.”

“It was nothing,” Shi insisted, twitching in place like a bird trying to settle ruffled feathers. “I merely wanted to exhaust all possibilities before coming to Zenkouji as you directed, just in case.”

“He thought you were lying dead in a ravine on the side of a mountain,” Yuanji countered.

Shi squirmed all over again, but Zhao simply smiled at his brother’s concern for him. For all their differences, they did have a deeper bond that showed itself once in a rare while. “Thanks,” he said gently. “I made you both worry, and I’m sorry, but I’m really glad you came to meet me. I don’t know what we’re gonna do, just the three of us with no army, but we’ll figure something out.” He snuck a hand over and laid it over Yuanji’s, making her blush fiercely. “I’m glad you came along, Yuanji. I didn’t want to demand that Shi bring you, because I knew how dangerous it would be, but you’re smarter than both of us.”

She brushed off her shyness and tipped her nose into the air again. “Yes, at least you have that much right.”

Shi pushed himself to his feet and brushed down his coat. “So far the only danger has been trying to decide whose cooking is worse, mine or the lady’s. If you’d like to prove us both wrong, be my guest.”

Zhao laughed; truly, the three of them with no troops, attendants, or retainers trying to fend for themselves without easy access to supplies was a hardship, but one he was willing to endure. He had picked up some tips while traveling with the Xiahou clan, so even if he had only just arrived after a long journey, Zhao decided to take up the challenge and cook them dinner. At least he was pretty good at making rice. The other two had been able to scavenge some provisions from the sacked fortress when they first made it to Kawanakajima themselves, and had verified that no one from any army was currently in control of that territory. Oda’s forces had pillaged it and then left it so they could concentrate on more important things, and the Orochi army had not dared to return. There wasn’t much left, but a sack of rice and some grain, a few kitchen goods, and some camp supplies would service them well. The two brothers knew how to hunt, and Shi had already done some of that so there would be meat. They had never really experienced true poverty before, nor lived like peasants from hand to mouth, so it was a learning experience for both. Yet, they still knew to give thanks for their dinner no matter how meager it was. The main room of the temple was serving as their living quarters for now, they sat to eat in the same place where they had conferenced before, the same place where they would sleep later. They talked a little more of what they knew of the greater goings-on in the world around them, but seemed to steer deliberately away from discussing Sima Yi in particular. It wasn't until much later, while Yuanji cleared away dishes and put out the bedrolls, that the two brothers even broached the topic, while both worked to feed and water the horses and patrol the forest's edge to make sure there were no threats lurking in the darkness. Of course, if anyone had been staking out Zenkouji, their voices, however quiet, would have attracted more attention than light coming from the temple. “I don't know if we'll ever be able to go back,” Zhao murmured as they tightened the picket ropes and turned to walk the edge of the trees. “Even after Orochi is defeated, if such a thing is possible. He's never been the most patient, he won't forget this.”

“Weren't you the one who argued that it was necessary, in order to save what's left of our family and our kingdom?” Shi asked dryly. “Such pessimism isn't like you.”

“I know, and I stand by it,” Zhao sighed, “but I'm allowed to worry. Say this all gets taken care of, and someone defeats Orochi and we can actually have peace. Do you really think Father is just going to say, 'aw, I was pretty awful, wasn't I? I'm sorry, come and let's be a family again.' Call me crazy, but I feel like I know him well enough to say it's not gonna be that easy.”

“Nobody said it would be.” Shi faced forward as they walked, scanning the edge of the forest for the sound of wild animals. “You made an extremely difficult choice, Zishang. I believe in my heart it was the right one, even if my head occasionally questions your sanity.” His voice dropped even more in volume, then, and he flicked the slightest of sidelong glances at his brother. “When he confronted me at the castle gate, he said he left you to die.”

“Did he, now.” Zhao's heart clenched in his chest, hearing that, but he managed to keep his face and voice neutral. “I see.”

“That was after I had already chosen to leave him,” Shi went on. “I know full well apologies and atonement will be...less than likely. But if you see your path through to the end, as you laid it out for me in your letter, then at the very least our father will be alive to make the choice whether to...well.” He sniffed, the wryest of wry laughs. “It's not as though _we_ will be the ones who have to apologize.”

“I'll settle for not being at each other's throats, or on opposing sides of a battlefield,” Zhao said softly. “I don't even feel like I have the right to ask for him to even acknowledge his wrong.”

“That sounds like a more realistic expectation.” Sima Shi was not one for tactile affection, so he only lightly bumped his brother's shoulder with his own, now that neither was armored. “You have come far, Zishang. I feel like I won't be able to call you lazy anymore.”

Zhao tipped his head back and laughed a bit himself. “Give it time. I'm sure I'll be back to my old ways eventually.” He glanced at his brother, and after a moment, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It means a lot to me, Ziyuan. The amount of faith you're putting in me.”

Shi sniffed again. “Why shouldn't I? Regardless of what I may say to motivate you, I do have your best interests in mind. If that means biting back my harsher words once in a while, so be it.” He tipped his head in order to look at him more directly, around his mask. “I won't tell anyone if you won't.”

“Your secret's safe with me.” Zhao had no doubt that they would squabble like brothers again, perhaps tomorrow or next week, which would be totally normal. He would remember this, though, for as long as they had to slog through the wastes of this demon world. Shi's words meant more than he could express, so he silently hoarded them in his heart. They had walked all the way to the main road, by that time, and paused there to look up the avenue to the open patch of sky, where the stars gleamed. “Looks like everything is under control, here. You haven't seen anything at all since you got here?”

“Not even troop movements, Orochi or resistance,” Shi confirmed, clasping his hands behind his back. “To think, Orochi's orders were to hold this territory, but as soon as he lost it, it was no longer important.”

“Makes you really wonder, doesn't it?” Zhao was doing his best not to consider such a development as proof that he'd been banished there to keep him out of the way, but then again, perhaps it was a punishment for their father as well. At least Ueda was a much better position, both strategically and as a reward for service. “Well, it's not like we're going to stay here, either, it was just the only place I could think of in an emergency. I don't know who to seek out, but we really oughta align ourselves with the Resistance one way or another.”

“You did mention the options,” Shi remembered. “I don't know much about Oda Nobunaga, except that he seems to be highly successful. His victory against us here was clearly not just our bad luck.”

Zhao made a bit of a face to himself in the darkness. “He reminds me a lot of Lord Cao Cao, and not just in looks. I don't know. Meeting Zhao Yun was interesting, he's a good leader but I know he's really focused on finding Lord Liu Bei.” He turned toward his brother. “I don't mind leaving the decision to you. You have the better head for strategy, even if I've been face to face with most of these guys.”

Shi shook his head gently. “That isn't a decision that needs to be made tonight, or even tomorrow. Take some time to rest, we'll prepare our supplies first.” He turned back toward the temple, satisfied with their patrol and ready to get in some rest of his own. “If we must ally with Shu, so be it. In a place such as this, we cannot afford to think of the other kingdoms and warlords as they were back in our own world.”

Zhao chuckled a bit, and fell into step just behind him. It was true, they mainly knew a Shu wherein leadership was sparse and the great names of the past were long gone. But he approved of Zhao Yun and Ma Chao, so if the rest of the Tiger Generals were equally amazing, he had no trouble fighting on their side. “Maybe we'll just have to go with whoever we run into first. As long as it's not Orochi.”

Unbeknownst to the Sima brothers, there were others of Shu who still hadn't achieved what they sought to do. It was fairly widely-known that the main body of the resistance cell under Zhao Yun had made the chief city of Chengdu its headquarters, but for anyone not connected to an army, finding Chengdu was harder than it sounded on paper. Like in the real world, it lay to the west of many larger cities and provinces, but there was an unpleasant mix of Orochi-held territory and open land in between. It was much the same attempting to reach Nanzhong to the south, where the Nanman had thus far successfully staved off conquering from all sides. Even with the ways opening up for travel like never before, it was still a perilous journey for anyone who didn’t have the benefit of a train of soldiers and supply wagons at their back. Some had it easier than others. It wasn’t clear whether Liu Shan and his small company had deliberately sought out the Nanman on Cao Pi’s information or had merely wandered too far south on accident, but they were at least able to take shelter and succor there for a short time. Guan Xing knew full well of the ties of alliance between the barbarians and the might of Shu, he had been at Chengdu when Meng Huo brought reinforcements and threw himself into Orochi’s path in a valiant yet vain attempt at giving Liu Bei time to escape. He was disappointed to reach some of the outlying villages in Nanzhong and discover that the mighty king and most of their bravest warriors had actually gone to the capitol, but it was good news in disguise. Because of the battles fending off Sima Yi and the Orochi army, the Nanman had all the information and maps needed to guide people straight from their territory to Chengdu. After a good long rest and time to resupply, their party set out yet again, this time with Jinhuan Sanjie as their guide so he could make reports to his king and queen.

The humid jungles and biting flies did not find favor with Liu Shan at all. Nor did his relative anonymity among the Nanman, but enough of them took him at his word when he claimed to be the son of the Lord of Benevolence that they made his stay in the village as comfortable as they could. He was all too glad to be riding again, though his fine, fur-lined coat remained neatly bundled on the back of his saddle, the silk and embroidery wrapped to protect it from the elements, so he could ride in a few less layers. He wouldn’t take off the coronet, though, no matter how often he had to duck to keep the beaded strings from snagging in the trees. Even Yinping had had enough of his habits by then. “We need to find you a less complicated outfit, my lord,” she sighed in exasperation after disentangling him for the third time that morning and turning to get back on her horse. “One that’s much easier to ride in.”

“But an emperor shouldn’t go without his coronet,” Liu Shan murmured, a bit petulantly. “Whatever would Lady Xingcai say if I rode up to her without it?”

“If you get it tangled again, I’m leaving it in the tree and then you won’t have it anyway,” Yinping said sternly, with all the fire of her famous father in her eyes. He actually shrank back from her wrath even though their horses stood a good ten feet apart.

“It won’t be long now and we’ll be back at Chengdu,” Guan Xing assured, looking back at their exchange over his shoulder. He was riding nearer the front, taking point so Sanjie could stick to guidance and navigation. “Then it won’t matter, at least until the next time we actually ride to battle.”

Liu Shan pursed his lips, displeased at the mere idea. He really missed Jiang Wei at a time like this, even though his two bodyguards had been more than capable of protecting him thus far. Neither were strategists, no one was around to advise him. They had only gotten into small skirmishes with wayward troupes of brigands and the occasional snake demon, nothing their small cluster of men couldn’t handle, and though he had bloodied his rapier once or twice when an attacker mistook him for weak and unprotected, he didn’t enjoy fighting in the battles himself. “Perhaps we will find all sorts of interesting things at Chengdu,” he mused as they started forward again, leaving unsaid, _like plenty of officers who will do all the fighting for me_. “I’m sure you must be eager to see it, Guan Xing.”

Xing was facing forward again, eyes on the trail. “It is very good news that it hadn’t been razed to the ground, yes.”

“The Great King Meng Huo is there,” Sanjie reminded them as he picked his way easily through the undergrowth. “He and the queen went to fulfill promises made to Lord Zhao Yun, after all.”

Of all the people who could be residing at or defending Chengdu, Meng Huo was not the most interesting to any of the Shu troops or their lord. “Are you sure your people will be all right in the meantime?” Yinping asked him yet again. “We still have time, you could turn back if you needed to. We aren’t out of Nanzhong yet.”

“I have no fears.” The jungle chieftain puffed up as proudly as his king. “Though Master Honda plans to depart as well, enough time has lapsed since the last attacks. I agree with the others, that we may be left in peace for now and need no assistance. The Great King is also ready to ride back at a moment’s notice, if any army dares approach our lands. We have scouts in plenty, they will not sneak up on us again.”

“You’ve learned well from your hardships,” Liu Shan noted.

“We must, if it protects our people,” Sanjie said, only slightly modest.

“To think, though, you were actually attacked by the real Lu Bu,” Xing said, vaguely impressed. “I only ever heard stories of when my father and Lord Zhang Fei fought him. He was the scourge of the northern provinces for so long, it’s frightening to think of him alive again in this land with no one to hold him in check.”

“Yet there are men like Master Honda also alive in the same place,” Liu Shan said thoughtfully. “He and his sons looked every bit as powerful as your father. I should like to tell Lord Zhao Yun of him, even though we didn’t get to see him in action.”

Their path had crossed that of Nanzhong’s temporary defender briefly, at the village, before Honda announced his intention to continue on his way. He and his sons were roaming the land for an unknown reason, and when asked if he meant to find, rescue, or meet up with another lord, his answer was vague and noncommittal. Still, as tall and imposing as he was, resplendent in his armor, even Liu Shan could not help but be awed and curious. To him, Lu Bu was still but a fairy tale, he could only assume others were correct in their reports of how tall, broad, and strong he was, but seeing Honda Tadakatsu in person, the young emperor had a much better idea of what it took to fight and win against someone so legendary. As such, he didn’t take the report lightly and was rather glad that they were moving toward a safe stronghold that didn’t appear to be under threat from such a formidable enemy. Yinping, however, made a noise of disbelief. “That man was strong, to be sure,” she acknowledged, “but he would never be the match of our father.”

Xing was riding ahead of them, so they couldn’t see his expression tighten. He had not told either of them what he had heard from Cao Pi, about the whereabouts of the mighty Guan Yu. “In a land like this,” he said as neutrally as he could, “powerful warriors may get the chance to test themselves against one another. It’s better if it doesn’t happen on the battlefield, though. Maybe when all this is over and things are peaceful…I wouldn’t mind watching such a fight, if it happened they were interested in sparring…”

“That would be amazing,” Liu Shan admitted, a bit awed. “I do hope I get the chance to see something like that.”

Guan Xing closed his eyes briefly, burying the painful thought that it might not be as he dreamed. It was far more likely that it would indeed take place on a real battlefield, with lives at stake. “As do I, my lord.”

“First, we need to find our father,” Yinping said with all determination. “I don’t want to get my hopes up that he’s made his way to Chengdu by now, but it still crosses my mind now and then.”

It took all of Xing’s fortitude to clamp his mouth shut and not let even the slightest flicker of pain show on his face. Liu Shan laughed lightly, suspecting nothing and reading nothing in the tension in the muscles of his young bodyguard’s back. “Wouldn’t it be something if Lord Zhao Yun had united everyone while we’ve been out roaming? They could all be there waiting for us, you never know.”

“That’s it, my lord,” Yinping said brightly. “Stay optimistic!”

Guan Xing clenched his jaw so tightly it hurt. _I want to believe in your optimism, my lord_ , he thought, _but I know too much. It’s better that you cling to hope_. He was under no delusion that Lord Zhao Yun would be in the dark about their lord’s brothers; if the truth came from him, rather than Xing, perhaps Liu Shan would be able to better accept it and bear it. This world had been hard enough on them already, he didn’t want to be the one to heap even more pain on the young emperor’s shoulders. He glanced back briefly to verify that Shan and Yinping still had unsuspecting smiles on their faces as they rode, and contented himself with that for now.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sima Yi receives a new prisoner and witnesses Fuuma's cruelty; Yukimura finds out about the tragedy and needs Zhao Yun's help to carry on.

Far from nearly everything else, things at Ueda Castle had remained noticeably tense for weeks, ever since Sima Shi had ridden out on his father. Though Sima Yi had more or less recovered from his injuries, he did not regain a better attitude as his sons had hoped. On the contrary, he was more irritable and cruel than ever, snarling at everyone who crossed his path and nearly hauling servants to the prison in the underlevels just for opening a window near his desk and letting an inconvenient gust of wind blow some papers off his desk on accident. Only by the brave stoicism of Deng Ai and the ceaseless patience and obeisance of Guo Huai did anyone stay alive in that castle. Still, they could not stop the soldiers from whispering among themselves whenever they dared, when they could be assured that their lord was nowhere near to spy even with sorcery. The fact that the brothers had left, with Wang Yuanji, and Xiahou Ba had chosen not to return, was commonly known among the troops – many had been at Hulao and saw the officers captured, and what wasn’t inferred was known for certain thanks to Guo Huai. He was in no hurry to undermine Sima Yi’s authority either, but he felt it his duty to Zhao and Shi to ensure that facts, not rumors, got out among the men. At least no one else had the guts to defect like the brothers, no matter how much Yi abused them simply for existing. 

Deep autumn lay around the castle and falling leaves choked the canals beneath the causeways, necessitating teams of enlisted men going around to make sure none of these passages could be used by spies of the resistance to sneak into the castle. It was a regular chore, even if most of the men were full aware that Ueda currently held nothing of interest to the Resistance. That is, until the day Fuuma Kotaro rode in with a troop of Fuuma ninjas and some precious cargo, looking rather displeased at something. There had been absolutely no advance word of his arrival, so the remaining officers of Jin had to scramble to prepare to meet Orochi’s emissary, and Sima Yi contained his outburst of rage at this inconvenience to his office before straightening his hat and fan and going down to receive the ninja captain. He still wore a look of absolute disdain as Fuuma dismounted and strode up to him, skillfully hiding any concerns he might have secretly had about coming face to face with one of few individuals in this demon world who had Orochi’s complete confidence. Pissing off Fuuma wasn’t in Sima Yi’s best interests, but he also refused to cower and kowtow like a frightened eunuch. “To what do I owe this _extremely_ unexpected visit?” he said snidely, making sure Fuuma knew exactly how much he would have preferred a warning.

The ninja captain did not flinch at his sneering one bit. “Lord Orochi has given you a new order, and you would do well to just accept it,” he said curtly. “The prisoners are being relocated again. You will now be holding a very important person, and Lord Orochi will not tolerate further failures. If she were to escape or be liberated, your head will be the next on the chopping block, Sima Yi.”

A threat like that had Sima Yi backing down just enough, his mouth going tight and his eyes shifting to the rest of the company in the yard behind them. “She?”

Fuuma stepped back and gestured to his men, and two of them hustled to obey, pulling the prisoner in question off her horse and marching her to meet her new captor. She glowered at them for being so handsy, but wiped most of the open hostility off her face in front of Sima Yi. “The Lady Nene is the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, currently serving under Oda Nobunaga,” Fuuma explained in his quiet, deadly purr. “Lord Orochi no longer wishes to entertain her himself, she is now in your hands.”

Yi regarded her imperiously, while she looked back at him, only mildly annoyed and not at all impressed. “The wife of a mere captain is of that much importance to Lord Orochi?” he sniffed in mocking. “Or is this his way of further punishing me?”

Fuuma’s eyes narrowed in a cool, cutting smirk. “I was not aware you had done anything else worth punishing, Sima Yi.”

Yi’s eyes narrowed right back at him. “I am not interested in your games, ninja. Fine, if it’s Lord Orochi’s order, then so be it. I will gladly take over this charge that you seem incapable of handling.”

The smirk vanished instantly. “I have more important things to do than babysit,” Kotaro snapped.

“Oho. Touched a nerve, I see.” It was enough to put the smug superiority back onto Sima Yi’s face. He coyly tipped his fan so it covered most of his vitals. “This task is so easy, I need not see to it personally. Guo Huai, have the prison prepared immediately. Deng Ai, you will be in charge of holding her until a cell is ready.” His eyes passed one more time over Nene as he turned to go back into the castle. “Now, will that be all?”

“No,” Fuuma decided on the spot. “You will provide quarters for me and my men, for the night, until I can be assured that the prisoner transfer is complete and your preparations are secure.”

Yi cast him a scathing look over his shoulder. “Very well. But don’t get too comfortable.” He headed toward the castle door, passing Zhong Hui as he did. The young officer had only just returned to him the day before, full of all kinds of interesting information about Cao Pi, most of which Sima Yi had not yet had the time to delve into. It looked like it would have to wait yet another day. “Shadow him,” he quietly ordered as he came abreast of Hui. “I don’t want him roaming the castle unattended.”

Zhong Hui made a face at the cadre of ninjas clustered behind the horses. “If you insist, my lord. But I won’t be surprised if the lot of them make that difficult.”

“From what I understand of ninjas…” Yi sighed angrily. It was very likely indeed that the Fuuma clan would head off or outright bar any of his men from sticking too close to their leader. “Just do whatever you can. I need someone reliable to keep tabs on him.”

Hui straightened up, preening a bit at being called reliable. “As you wish, my lord.”

Guo Huai descended into the depths of the castle to prepare the very cell that had held Zhao Yun months and months ago to receive a new prisoner, while Deng Ai personally escorted Nene and kept her under firm control. He was easily twice as big as she, there was no reason for her to even struggle. Once out of earshot of either Fuuma or Sima Yi, Nene’s attention went entirely on the alert, scoping out the old Sanada stronghold for herself as they walked. “My, I can just imagine what Nobuyuki would have to say about you guys making a mess of his family’s castle,” she chided her wardens. “But I guess he’s not the only one to have snakes overrunning his home.”

“Madam, I assure you,” Guo Huai said over his shoulder, “there are no snakes here. At least, not at the moment.”

“Oh? Well, that’s a nice spot of luck,” Nene said with a flirty smile. “I’ve really had enough of them, they’re so ugly. Don’t really brighten up anybody’s décor.”

“I don’t know that décor is something you should really be worrying about at a time like this,” Deng Ai muttered.

Nene glanced up at him with a dreadfully patronizing look. “You really have no sense of humor. You remind me of those guys from Wei who held my lord’s castle, all dour and no fun.”

Guo Huai coughed at that, and not from his illness. Never mind that he could tell her prattle was to disarm them, it was hilarious hearing her get the big warrior’s number like that. “I’m afraid you’ll have very little quality entertainment around here, my lady,” he said aloud to cover his chuckle and cough. “Our lord is an intense man with many responsibilities at the moment. The best we can offer you is our snake-free hospitality and probably a fair amount of peace and quiet.”

He busied himself for a bit taking care of the practicalities, and at long last, they were able to shut Nene away in her new prison. Just before pushing her inside, though, Fuuma Kotaro appeared as if out of nowhere. “No, do not unbind her,” he warned, startling the two Jin retainers. “Leaving her use of her hands will give her every opportunity to escape.”

Guo Huai blinked at him. “Er…what? Are you sure?”

“Quite.” Fuuma crossed the room to them, glaring down at Nene, who did her best to look totally innocent. “She is trained in ninjutsu as well. If you don’t wish to all be executed for failing Orochi, you will do as I say.”

“Spoilsport,” Nene pouted at him.

Deng Ai looked down and, realizing he was right, obeyed Fuuma’s orders and took his hand away from the ropes binding her arms behind her back. “Would you care to inspect our preparations, and verify that no ninja could escape them?” he wondered of the interloper.

“Perhaps I ought to.” Fuuma gloated over all three of them as he pushed past and double-checked the reinforced portcullis, the floor and walls, and everything else. Nothing was remiss, so he came back out and allowed them to put the prisoner inside. “It will do. For now.”

Guo Huai politely gave him a short bow. “Thank you for your assistance, Master Ninja. I assure you, Deng Ai is one of our most capable generals. He will choose the best men to guard her day and night, so that none of us have to fear disappointing Lord Orochi.”

Kotaro stared him down for a moment, and then left without a word. The two officers shared a wary look behind his back. “Don’t put all that on me,” Ai fretted.

“I speak only the truth, my friend.” Huai patted him on the arm and departed as well, leaving the ordering of the guard rotation to Deng Ai as promised.

Up in his office, Sima Yi was in fact actually busy about many things, mostly because the loss of Shi left him with all the work to do himself and no one else to pawn the insignificant tasks onto. It was to him the only safe place in the castle, as few servants would even look in on him there compared to his living quarters. The sun was sinking toward the hills beyond and gleaming straight into his windows when the door opened to permit Zhong Hui, who still had that wrinkled nose of disgust that he’d been wearing since being given the order to shadow Fuuma. Yi glanced up to see him, frowned at the thought he wasn’t bothering ninjas like he ought to, and then gave up on the idea of yelling at him. He had a headache, anyway. “Report.”

Hui closed the door firmly behind him and clasped his hands behind his back. “The ninja resists my efforts to keep an eye on him. He went to visit the prisoner once, earlier, but since then has pretty much been in the quarters we assigned to his men.”

“Figures.” Yi went back to jotting notes on maps. “At least this will give everyone something to do so they don’t laze about. Castles which become prisons for Lord Orochi’s conquests tend to become targets for the Resistance to try to nobly rescue the prisoners. We’ll have to increase security and take sentry patrols more seriously. I don’t much care who this lady is, but if she has connections to Oda, there is every chance we will be even more interesting to him.”

Zhong Hui crossed the room and gazed out the windows at the afternoon sun. “Do you think we have the manpower to repel the Oda? My lord,” he added respectfully. “I may not have been allowed to accompany Cao Pi when he fought the Oda Resistance, but I do know full well what they did to him and his men. The Wei army is going to need a while to clean themselves up.”

He had mentioned as much upon arrival, but hearing it again made Sima Yi perk up. “What, then, would you suggest I do if the Oda come knocking?” he wondered.

Hui lowered his eyes in a smug little smile. “I would not dare to offer advice to the great Sima Yi. You know far better than I what strategies to employ, my words would only muddy the waters.”

Yi narrowed his eyes. The young man certainly had learned how to play the game, after hanging around Cao Pi so long. “Far be it from me to contradict you,” he said coolly, sitting back in his chair. “You are quite right, Zhong Hui. Yet whatever scraps of information you picked up in Xuchang, I wouldn’t mind hearing. And I don’t just mean the gory details of Cao Pi’s failures,” he added, “although those do put me in much better spirits.”

Hui shared his gloating smirk. “I will do my best, my lord. I will gladly tell you all I can, as I recall it.” He sobered, then, his gaze shifting back to the windows. “At the very least, though, if there is any chance at all that the Oda could be on our doorstep next, it would not do to have any man idle or unprepared. We will need all of our strength and cunning to resist him. Strength, in particular, as it seems he has the manpower to waste on assaults.”

“I’m already ahead of you on that.” He had been working on plans as things came to mind, but having a more concrete reason to deploy any of them would redouble his efforts. “It wouldn’t hurt to attempt to recruit some more officers to our side, to replace the dead weight that has been cut off.”

Zhong Hui’s brow knit in actual worry. “Will you be requesting aid from the main army?”

“I don’t know how possible that is, right this moment,” Sima Yi replied with clear frustration. “If Lady Da Ji does not make her whereabouts known, how can any of the army rely on her? Imbecile. And after harassing me for months on end about the losses taken under my command, she goes and loses Guandu and Fan Castle and then just disappears into a hole! If she dares to sass me after this, she’ll find me in no mood to cooperate.”

Speaking of Da Ji reminded Zhong Hui yet again of the things he had seen at Xia Kou, but he decided to hold that information to himself for now. Clearly, his lord was no friend of Cao Pi’s at the moment, so a gem of news like that would be best hoarded until he really needed to put Sima Yi in a good mood. For now, he simply shrugged. “So if we cannot rely on Da Ji to provide reinforcements, I would agree, we should try to make some of our own. Is there anyone she abandoned in these recent defeats who would be agreeable to relocate to our position?”

“Hm.” Sima Yi reached across his desk to the notes he had made upon taking Zhong Hui’s report the day before. “From what you told me, Sun Quan has retreated far afield to lick his wounds, and if none of us have heard from the main army since, that could leave quite a few officers unattended. If they’re waiting for news at Bai Di or Xin Di and none comes, they may be curious enough to listen to anything we have to say.” He frowned, then. “But without knowing where that fool Date is, or Dong Zhuo for that matter, I am loathe to write a letter that could be intercepted. The last thing we need is either of them getting wind of our plans – nor do we need Da Ji reappearing just as our messengers pass through the gate. We’ll have to play it safe, and look much closer to our current position.” The idea had been planted, at least. Sima Yi had little faith in Sun Quan without his brother’s strength at his back, and figured it was only a matter of time before he defected as well. Whatever Wu officers remained with the main army were easier pickings than most. He decided to look into the last known locations of some of them, in the off chance it could turn to his advantage.

After a dinner taken in the main hall, so Yi himself could keep an eye on his guests, the dwindling handful of Jin officers went their own ways, most to a smattering of duties related to castle security that needed to be completed before nightfall. Kotaro, however, had only one thing he really wanted to do, and it didn’t involve hiding in his room with his clan-mates. Quickly and silently as a shadow, he made his way down to the dungeon level and appeared before Nene’s prison cell, as he had so often no matter where he was in charge of holding her. Nene sat in the center of the cell with her legs comfortably folded, showing no sign of being bothered by still being bound. She glanced up at the figure towering over her on the other side of the portcullis, clearly not surprised by his presence nor particularly concerned. “You must be bored,” she taunted him. “I only ever see you when you’re bored.”

“You keep putting on that act,” Fuuma said in a low, deadly purr. “False confidence, hiding your fears. You must think me a fool who can’t see past it.”

Nene didn’t justify his assessment with a direct response. “So this is the last time you’ll ever have to see me. Aw, what a pity. We’ve had such a good time together. You must have come to say goodbye.”

Her defiance annoyed him, but Fuuma knew better than to rise to the bait. He stared her down for a moment and then stretched an arm to the lever that controlled the portcullis. As the bars slid out of his way, he noticed a new tension in her shoulders and smirked vaguely to himself. Yes, good. She knew what was coming. One last time, indeed. Even with the open gate standing wide before her, Nene knew not to attempt to run, since Fuuma was easily as fast as her, plus his reach was longer. Still, she made him work for it, not moving so much as an eyelash until he hauled her to her feet in his iron grip. Only then did she lift her head, and gave him no expression to either provoke or encourage him, neither smirk nor glare. It wouldn’t stop him, but it would deprive him of the usual satisfaction he got from torturing his prisoners.

The sound of struggle coming from the prisons had Zhong Hui hurrying to make sure the prisoner hadn’t already escaped. As he rounded the last corner, though, he stopped short and melted back against the stone. The guards had been repositioned at someone’s order, leaving the corridor leading to the cell empty. Still, there was that sound, driving Hui to edge forward until he could peer around the corner. Thankfully, it looked like there was no escape, but the portcullis was up. Hui needed to watch longer to be sure that the tall ninja captain and the short woman were not actually fighting, that her hands were still bound, that this was entirely one-sided. Yet, the longer he stood there with his mouth shut, the more disturbed he became at what he saw. Fuuma still had his gauntlets on, the better to beat his captive with extra force. Not her face, though – he wouldn’t leave marks that the rest of the castle would see. He had Nene pinned against the wall with one hand closed on her throat while he struck her repeatedly with the clawed gauntlet, in the stomach and side mostly. From the twisted grimace on her face she was clearly in pain, but she made no sound at all, not even a grunt, no matter how many times he hit her. The dull thuds of Fuuma’s fist against her body were the only sounds in the entire dungeon. When he tired of that sport, the hand on her throat tightened, his fingers curling to press against her windpipe and slowly cut off her air. Nene wriggled a bit, but with her hands bound and her back firmly against the wall, there wasn’t much else she could do to fight him off. Fuuma’s lips curled in a savage smirk. “I could do it, you know,” he purred. “I could kill you, and Lord Orochi would not reprimand me for it. He’d pass it off as an unfortunate accident, bound to happen sooner or later. Prisoners are hard to control, sometimes they die in captivity.”

His fingers tightened even more, and Nene could feel the waves of dizziness starting to overtake her. She tipped her chin up as high as she could, trying to gulp even the tiniest breath despite his crushing grip. In desperation she attempted to raise a foot to kick him, but he moved his own to block and then stomped on her foot to hold her in place. “Pathetic,” he snarled, pressing his full weight against her to keep her trapped. “You have nothing left. _Nothing_. Your so-called sons are lost, your husband hasn’t bothered to come looking for you, and there is nothing of the Toyotomi strength left in this world. Even your castles belong to Orochi. I can’t imagine what you even have to live for.” A certain slyness came into his tone. “Perhaps you’d prefer death? I could make it quick, end your suffering for good so you don’t have to grieve your losses.”

He loosened his grip enough to let her speak if she wanted to meet his taunts with one of her own. Nene sucked in a short breath and coughed. “What happened to you?” she wondered. “You helped us defend Odawara…and now you’re like this…”

Fuuma gave her a disdainful frown. “Helped you,” he scoffed. “I was there to fulfill my vows to the Hojo, nothing more. When they folded like wet paper before Orochi’s might, I knew they were no longer worthy of my service.” He leaned in closer, putting his sneer inches from her face. “Did you feel his demon blade against your neck, Nene? Did you know, as I did, that there was no one who could defeat him?”

Nene peered at him, not liking where this was going. She had been in Orochi’s presence once since his appearance at Odawara – the movement of prisoners from place to place allowed her to see Koshi once, briefly, and she had faced the demon lord without flinching. “Is that why you turned on us?” she hissed. “You feared defeat?”

“Hardly.” Fuuma’s face went as cold as it had been smug a moment before. “When I faced him, I knew I had met the only one in all of existence who could actually, with his own power, kill me. I welcomed death at his hand. But he stayed it and asked me to serve him instead.” His dark eyes lit up with bloodthirst. “If you claim to know me, Nene, then you will know exactly why I turned to his side.”

Nene let all expression slide off her face. She did indeed understand. This wind of chaos, tamed only by Hojo Ujiyasu, was free to do as he pleased in a world where his lord didn’t seem to be. Of course he would hunger after the kind of chaos Orochi wrought. He had no respect for anyone who wasn’t by nature superior to him. She closed her eyes to shut out his presence. “Are you finished with me, or would you like to leave me a few more bruises to remember you by? If they fade too quickly, I might forget you.”

That jab got to him, enraging him enough to send Fuuma into another round of punching, this time using both fists and letting the power of his blows hold her against the wall. He beat her until she coughed up blood, and then let her slide to the floor and left her there. He was satisfied, at last. As he strode out of the cell and dropped the lever to bring the portcullis back down to trap her there, he noticed that he was not alone. His head turned to regard Zhong Hui standing at the corner of the wall, not hiding himself but not stepping out to either confront or congratulate. He simply stared back at the ninja captain, his face unreadable. It wasn’t as though he had never seen torture before, quite the opposite, but there was something unsettling about watching it play out before him here in this place, for apparently no reason. Fuuma completed locking and securing the cell and strode toward him, at which point Hui lifted his chin proudly, daring to face him head-on. “Is there anything you and your men need, Master Fuuma?” he asked snippily.

“Nothing at all,” Kotaro responded in his usual icy growl. “I am quite content.” He paused shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhong Hui. “Will you be running to tell your lord what you’ve seen?”

“He’ll find out sooner or later,” Hui replied. “When he sees the blood. If you really wanted it to be a secret, you would have been more careful about that.” He tossed his head, hiding his discomfort under indifference. “What, you think Lord Sima Yi will care about this woman? You assume far too much.”

“Good.” Fuuma deliberately banged into his armored shoulder as he passed, since Hui was so much shorter than he and could be easily elbowed out of the way. As much as the ninja would have enjoyed pissing Sima Yi off, it would make for a much quieter and more restful night if a confrontation could be avoided. At least his retainers knew their place, Fuuma thought as he headed up through the corridors of Ueda. For all the irritation the great strategist caused him, he sure did know how to keep his men in line. Perhaps he wouldn’t be so bad at guarding a prisoner after all.

  


The passage of autumn in the lands surrounding Guandu was slow and sleepy, but the wise knew well that the golden leaves and fading green hearkened to a winter coming, even while other parcels of land lay in gentle summer or the wakening of spring. While it was a good, stout fortress and any commander would be a fool to leave it, Oda was quite aware that if these lands obeyed their own laws of nature based on _when_ rather than _where_ they came from, he needed to take winter seriously. The larger his army grew, the more supplies they would need to remain fed, clothed, and healthy, ready to take the battle to Orochi’s forces wherever they reared their serpentine heads. His tenure in Guandu was filled mostly with daily reconnaissance, consultations with his most trusted generals about how to structure their forces, and the overseeing of preparations made against the changing seasons. The falling leaves here meant thawing at Xiapi and the nicest of nice days at summery Honnoji, and the rains which had lain over the central lands of Orochi’s realm for weeks had finally wandered off to the sea. The warlord paid distinct attention to the changing weather and seasons every bit as much as troop movements and scouting reports. One day after taking in the latest word of where his foes were, and what they were (or weren’t) doing, he called in all the officers still hanging around the fortress to consult on the need to resupply and remove from areas where winter could soon become an issue. “In this strange world,” he explained as he paced among them, “we do not have the luxury of waiting out a winter season in order to resume our battles in the spring. Every land is different. Therefore, war will still be waged unchecked in other areas near and far, and allowing even just one to go Orochi’s way is giving him more footholds against us. We did not sacrifice so much and push so hard just to allow another castle in a more hospitable land to be turned to his use behind our backs.”

“I have noticed one thing, however, my lord,” Mitsuhide murmured, leaning over the map table that had become such a fixture in Oda’s war room. “It’s subtle, but I don’t believe I’m wrong to have seen it. Lands adjacent to one another are starting to influence one another – the spring rains from further north were what passed down through Jing Province, for example. Autumn here has been coming along slowly, the leaves have remained red on the trees for far longer than they ought to.”

Takenaka Hanbei made a small noise of interest under his breath. “You think they’re starting to synchronize, maybe? I can see it.”

“Winter will still come, to all the lands in turn,” Mitsuhide went on, “but perhaps not as quickly as if things were normal.”

“Understandable,” Oda agreed, “yet I wish to make my contingency plans now and not later. Guandu is situated such that I doubt its roads will become wholly unpassable in the snows, but I see no point in wintering over here when there are other strongholds where crops are still growing and armies can be supplied on the march rather than waiting for supply deliveries.”

“Of course,” Ma Chao said from where he sat in his usual spot with his Shu compatriots. “As no doubt the Orochi army will do the same, particularly with minds such as Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi considering the same things.”

“Even without Da Ji, they’re rife with strategists,” Hideyoshi noted.

“As are we.” Oda nodded to where Hanbei and Kanbei sat beside one another, keenly observing everything. Lu Xun was currently attending Maeda Toshiie at Fan Castle. “With that in mind, I should like to take a closer look at all the lands around us, regardless of the changing seasons. We shall have no problem holding Honnoji as our true base of operations, as well as this fortress, but I should like to make inroads to other places now that we have the manpower.”

Mitsuhide edged up alongside him to point out information on the map. “To start, we ought to see if Orochi’s forces returned to Kawanakajima after we rousted them out.”

“I think that sounds like a good job for Zhang Jiao,” Nobunaga said wryly.

“What’s this big tract of land between here and Ueda?” Hanbei wondered, likewise bellying up to the map table. “The ‘Wuzhang Plains?’”

The Ma cousins straightened up, hearing that name. “Wuzhang sat between the lands of Shu and Wei,” Ma Dai explained. “It was a place for frontier battles, Sima Yi took it to us there more than once.” He raised a hand to grip the folded brim of his hat and pull it low over his eyes, not wanting to say the rest out loud without warding off bad luck for speaking of tragedy. “The Chancellor met his end there, in a different time and place.”

Oda looked keenly toward him. “Is there anything of interest there, to our army?”

Ma Chao shook his head. “In terms of holdings, no. Any forts there would be temporary, at least if it is unchanged from our time.”

“May be worth riding past, at least,” Toyotomi shrugged. “Just to have a look.”

“We are also within striking distance of Kanegasaki,” Mitsuhide noted. “It has something of the same problem.”

“Perhaps it would be worth investigating each one,” Kanbei muttered quietly. “Rule nothing out.”

Nobunaga gave him one slow, sage nod to accept his advice. “All places within range of our current strongholds will be put to the same test. We would do well to secure routes of advance and supply roads as much as fortresses. I would even go so far as to secure Tong Gate, so we have at least one path over the mountains to ourselves.”

“So you made nice with Takeda and Uesugi…” Hanbei had gotten caught up on the news, both good and bad, but showed no sign of his true feelings about it as he slouched back in his chair and put his feet up on another, lounging casually. “Ever thought of doing the same with the leader of the Shu Resistance? You know, just to be sure you’ve got someone at your back just in case.”

Oda studied him for a moment. He had never been able to crack Hanbei’s attitude, but the strategist was always at his call for some reason, and his advice was never unsound. “I have not, and for the same reason that I have not extended a hand directly to Sun Ce,” he replied after a bit. “Never mind that they do not wish to be found, even by those searching. They have their own paths to walk, which don’t seem to be intersecting my own. Which is fine,” he added airily. “Nobunaga’s way is not the only way to take down the serpent.”

“That’s fair. I was just wondering,” Hanbei said, smiling in such a way to suggest that he knew exactly what Oda preferred, in terms of who got to be the one to actually take down said serpent.

Talk wound down not long after, as it was generally agreed that the territories abutting their current possessions should be thoroughly explored for potential, that all roads and routes of travel for both armies and supply trains should be secured, and additional adjacent land investigated. To that end, Oda resolved to call back a few officers from Fan and Honnoji to assist and spread his resources as wide as he dared. There was no reason not to take advantage of Da Ji’s absence and the Orochi army’s recent defeats to grab a solid hold of as much as they could, but their commander was ever conscious of the fact she could reappear at any time, and as such, wanted to be sure that those resources could make it safely back to him if necessary. As the conference broke up, the officers lingered as they tended to do, making the most of the clear, sunny day to step out onto the parapet and look out at the landscape beyond the walls of Guandu, to the hints of stone and wood bulwarks peeking from among the gold and orange that now colored the entire region. The sight was of particular interest to Ma Chao, it seemed, as he stood with one hand leaning against the waist-high railing protecting the balcony, but his attention was mostly turned inward to his own thoughts. He knew that if Lord Oda should want to reach out to Zhao Yun and make an alliance, he would be the one sent, and truthfully he yearned to see his fellow general’s face again. Rumors made him out to be a more than capable leader, but Chao simply wanted to know if he was well, if he was holding up all right. He always did enjoy Zhao Yun’s company, they were alike in some ways but he found himself captivated by Zilong’s gentleness, and how his kind heart did not diminish his strength one bit. He sighed softly at the memories, and wondered to himself if he would ever see the rest of his fellows again. There was movement at his elbow, and before he could even glance to the side he heard Toyotomi’s bright, cheery tone. “I know what a sigh like that means,” he teased. “Someone’s on your mind.”

“Of co…wait, how do you mean?” Ma Chao retorted, giving him a wary look considering who he had been thinking of.

Hideyoshi laughed it off. “Any way you want it to mean. I’m just kidding around, Ma Chao…though you do look pretty lost in thought, there.”

Shaking his head, Chao turned his sight back toward the colored trees basking under an unusually warm sun. “I was thinking about my comrades from Shu. It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen most of them. For the longest time I was worried about Lady Yueying until Lord Kanetsugu was able to pass me the information that she had been rescued from capture. Since then, I think about them all the time. Where they are, what they might be doing…”

“Ah, yeah, that. I know there’s still a few of your friends under the old snake’s thumb, but you know where most of ‘em are. That’s always good.”

Chao nodded, but before he could say more he remembered the news that Hideyoshi’s son had brought when he had been welcomed into their army, and turned to him with eyes wide. “Forgive me! I didn’t mean to remind you of your wife. Has there been any news, at all?”

Toyotomi waved a hand. “It’s all right, no harm done. No, no news yet, but my Nene’s a tough girl. She’s probably got all her guards waiting on her hand and foot by now. It’s no fun not knowing exactly where she is, but you’ve got the same problem with your lord and his brothers. We’ve all got someone missing, someone we care about. Maybe lots of someones. It’s all on Orochi, he’s the one trying to tear us apart. It just means we gotta stay strong and not let him.”

“Such faith and loyalty,” Chao breathed in admiration. “You have a strong heart, Lord Hideyoshi.”

Hideyoshi grinned abashedly. If only Ma Chao knew. “Well thanks! So do you, Ma Chao. Here’s hoping both of us get some good news sooner or later.”

Chao turned and leaned his back against the railing instead. “To think, I have not seen my friend Zhao Yun at all since before we were brought to this world. I know _of_ him, but we haven’t come together yet. After the first cataclysm, Ma Dai and I found ourselves back in Xiliang, not in Chengdu where we should have been.”

“That so?” Toyotomi said in wonder. “Wow. At least I got to be with Nene a little while. We were holding Odawara together, up until Orochi decided he was gonna start his rampage with us. Ah,” he added with a wistful sigh of his own, “if only we had the time to re-take Odawara. I was hoping it’d be in the plan, but not yet.”

Ma Chao rubbed his chin. “I saw a location on the map by that name. It is still one of the Orochi army’s main strongholds.”

“Pretty much, meaning we’d need to be at least as lucky as we were here, in order to take it back,” Toyotomi complained. “We can’t pull that same trick twice. Guess I’ll just have to stare longingly from a distance for now.” His gaze wandered, and for a moment, a flicker of anger lit his usually bright eyes. “It all started there, you know. Orochi went for us first. It was Nene’s idea to split up, she saw him for what he was after he bested Keiji and said we needed to all get out of there alive. The castle wasn’t worth our deaths, we had to live on even if it meant being apart from each other. And, really, she was right. If we hadn’t split up, he’d have killed all of us – the Hojo clan, Kato and Fukushima, everybody. Thanks to her, I’ve been able to have some pretty good adventures and meet some amazing people.”

“And save many lives,” Ma Chao noted. “My own and Guan Ping’s included.”

Hideyoshi nodded wisely. “And that’s why I know Nene will be all right, wherever she is. It was all her idea, so she’d never quit no matter what.”

Chao smiled very faintly. “It was the same for us when the Orochi army attacked Mount Dingjun. I directed the others to scatter so they would not be captured, if things turned against us. As they did. I worried as much for young Ranmaru as I did for Lady Yueying – he wasn’t captured, but he ended up in Sun Ce’s clutches all the same.”

“Is that right?” Oda’s smooth, dark voice intruded on their conversation, making both men straighten up a bit and look to him as he approached from the archway leading back inside. “You fought with my Ran, Ma Chao? You never mentioned this before.”

“Oh…I did.” Since joining this army, Chao had learned from Akechi that Ranmaru was one of Oda’s dearest retainers, but he hadn’t been able to tell their leader about his time with the youngster. He placed a fist over his heart as he thought of those days. “I found him injured, Ma Dai tended his wounds while we traveled until we fell in with Jiang Wei and Lady Yueying. I was rather frustrated later to find out he was in the company of Sun Ce and fighting for Orochi after what we went through.”

Nobunaga shook his head. “Don’t be. Ranmaru is exactly that kind of boy. If you told him to leave you, he would not. He would rather die than flee a battlefield, as befitting the samurai he hopes to become. I feel it rather fitting that he should serve the Little Conqueror for now.”

“And, hey, now neither of them are fighting for Orochi,” Toyotomi put in, “so there’s that.”

“True.” Ma Chao bowed his blond head to Nobunaga. “Forgive me, my lord, for not telling you sooner. I haven’t yet had the chance until now.”

“Think nothing of it,” Oda assured. “I already knew he was alive and well, as of the time Mitsuhide ran into him. His moment to return to me is not yet. All in good time.”

“He is important to you, though,” Chao noticed. “He was brave and fought well, I came to like him.”

Oda’s dark eyes showed only the briefest hint of feeling, as he considered Ma Chao’s words. He tended to be fairly inscrutable around most of his underlings, for someone not already in the know to pick up on such a connection was rare. “There is no one fighting in this war,” he said quietly, “who is not now currently missing someone important to them. You yourself are thinking of your friends, I’m sure. Remember that, Ma Chao – no one is alone in that feeling.”

Because of his capability and tendency to show no fear whatsoever, Ma Chao had in fact not really thought it possible that Oda himself could worry about someone missing from his company. He glanced at Hideyoshi and understood completely. All of them really did have someone important elsewhere, living day to day without being able to be around their friends and family. He acknowledged it with a soft, “I will, my lord,” before giving them both a salute and excusing himself to head back inside the castle. He needed some time to think, and as he passed his cousin, he clapped him gently on the shoulder to assure him that he was all right. Ma Dai watched him go, curious, but left him to his own devices.

“We’ve got some good guys with us,” Hideyoshi said happily, turning to his lord. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, Lord Nobunaga.”

Oda simply gave a thoughtful hum under his breath and turned to busy himself elsewhere as well, clasping his hands behind his back. “I haven’t forgotten about Odawara, Monkey,” he said cryptically as he wandered away. Toyotomi blinked, and then really had to wonder just how long Oda had been eavesdropping on him.

  


The Resistance army under Zhao Yun had only gotten halfway back from Jieting when they were met by another company of their own heading out toward them, presumably responding to the messengers who brought the good news that they had conquered the mountain. The two troops met up along a rutted road connecting the territories, and a halt was called for both so that the commanders could gather together, trade information, and officially hand over control of Jieting to Wei Yan, who would be occupying it on Shu’s behalf for now. Xingcai was there now, but certainly would welcome his arrival and have everything prepared so that he would find it no troubling task to keep Orochi forces from retaking it. Yet, the masked barbarian was not the only officer among them, and even as they all drew their horses to a stop, Yukimura was rather concerned to see Nobuyuki again. He shouldn’t have been anywhere near here, there was no reason for him to leave Chengdu except to return to Takeda – for him to be out here in the wilderness accompanying Wei Yan, clearly something was wrong. He didn’t even need to see the ashen pallor of his brother’s face to guess that much. Before any word had been said about Jieting, Nobuyuki dismounted and strode up to the horses bearing the officers. “We must speak,” he said urgently, immediately turning and stalking off into a stand of trees just off to the side of the road.

Yukimura shared a worried glance with Zhao Yun, and the two of them likewise hopped down from their saddles. “One hour’s rest!” Yun commanded all those with him, and all those meeting up with them. “Stand down and take ease. Jiang Wei, will you handle things for me?”

“Of course, Lord Zhao Yun,” his young comrade affirmed. “I can debrief Wei Yan, it’s no problem.”

Golden afternoon sunlight slanted through the trees, dappling the ground with shadows as the two Sanadas and Zhao Yun withdrew into the serene setting to talk. Only when they got close did Yukimura finally see the great pain etched on his brother’s face, but he waited until they were securely at a distance from their armies before saying anything. “I wasn’t expecting you to come out with Wei Yan’s forces,” he began.

“I hadn’t meant to,” Nobuyuki sighed, turning to face them both. “Good, you’re here as well, Lord Zhao Yun. I have…I have terrible news. I couldn’t wait for you to get back, you need to know.” His eyes were mostly on his brother, who stared, his gloved hands clenching at his sides in fearful anticipation of this news. Nobuyuki closed his eyes and covered his face with a hand for a moment, composing himself. “Messengers reached us at Chengdu,” he finally said, letting his hand slide away. “The battle at Nagashino…Lord Takeda has been killed.”

The shock was enough to rob Yukimura of his voice. He gaped, but found he couldn’t even scream. He stared long and hard at his brother, trying to convince himself it couldn’t be true, but Nobuyuki’s solemn eyes did not lie. “No,” Zhao Yun said for him, wide-eyed as well. “That can’t be!”

“It is true,” Nobuyuki insisted, his voice flat. “We’ve had confirmation. Our lord is dead, the Takeda Cavalry…well, we don’t know what’s become of them.”

“What do you mean?” Yukimura demanded, finally coming to life with a spark of anger. “What happened?”

The elder Sanada grimaced as if the rest of the news he had to tell were a ten-ton sack of bricks he had to hoist up and hand over. “Lord Kanetsugu took command of the cavalry, and pursued the Orochi army toward Fan Castle, at last report. Yet…Lord Oda’s forces say he did not arrive there.”

Stricken a second time, Yukimura reeled on his feet and then staggered forward, grabbing his brother by the front of his cowl. “He is…he’s missing?”

“I’m afraid so.” Nobuyuki’s eyes saddened all over again as he watched his brother unravel right in front of him, heaving for breath as if he couldn’t find air. He didn’t even mind the fists bunched in his cowl, and returned the gesture with a hand to his shoulder to hold him up. “Yukimura…”

Yukimura trembled, struggling to stay upright, but it was no use. A single wail of pain escaped him, and after that it couldn’t be stopped. He broke down sobbing right there, burying his face in Nobuyuki’s cowl. Nobuyuki’s hand slid up into his hair and curled into a fist, holding him close. For a while Zhao Yun stood where he was, one hand over his mouth in shock, not wanting to interfere between them. Yet, as he shuffled his feet awkwardly, Yukimura heard him and lifted his head, giving him a glance out of the corner of his eye. He looked so lost and broken, Yun could not stay away from him a moment longer. He came to put his hands on his dear friend’s shoulders from behind, to let him know he was a part of this with them. As he did, Yukimura yanked on his brother’s cowl, shaking him furiously. “How did this happen?!” he blazed. “He can’t be dead, not again! Not again!”

“I don’t know!” Nobuyuki cried, not resisting the jostling. “I wasn’t there! Something went wrong, both he and Lord Kenshin are dead!”

“Yukimura, please!” Zhao Yun begged, circling his arms further around him to try to get him to let go and stop throttling Nobuyuki. He did, though his entire body remained rigid, tense, his hands grasping desperately at the air, until he took a breath and screamed to the sky in rage. Yun held him tightly, wincing at the raw pain and grief he could hear in that cry, until Yukimura wilted and threatened to collapse on the ground. He held him up, then, instead, making himself a rock against which Yukimura could prop himself. Nobuyuki closed in on them both, and for a moment all three men stood together clinging to one another, wordlessly mourning, heaving for breath as the tears wet their cheeks. It took a long time for the storm to subside, but none of the other officers waiting for them came to interrupt. They had the peace of the grove of trees to themselves, and in the end it seemed Zhao Yun had the most wits among them. Even his knees were weak, but he still managed to stay upright and be strong for the Sanada brothers. He pressed his forehead against Yukimura’s temple in a semblance of an embrace and then pulled himself away enough to address them both. “I will tell the others,” he vowed. “Everyone should know.”

“Yes,” Nobuyuki agreed, “please. Lord Zhao Yun…” He lifted his eyes and swallowed hard, trying to pull himself back together as well. “Without the alliance to lead, the Sanada are on their own. Our uncle Nobutada is missing with the cavalry, so that leaves me as the head of the clan.”

“I understand.” Yun gave him a patient half-smile. “Things of an official nature can wait. Take as long as you need, here, we can even make camp for the night if need be.”

“No.” Yukimura roused himself, digging the heel of his hand into his eyes to try to sober himself a little. “You gave them an hour. I will be ready to ride at the end of that hour, I promise.”

“Yukimura…”

“Zilong.” He didn’t need to say more than that name, Zhao Yun understood. Brushing a hand through his friend’s hair as he stepped back, Yun gave them both a nod of agreement and turned on his heel to go back to the army, to gather the other officers and share the grim news. Once he was gone, Yukimura pushed a hand against his brother’s chest to try to find the strength to stand on his own, and not keep leaning against him. “I don’t understand.”

“This _is_ a war, Yukimura,” Nobuyuki gently reminded him. “We’ve been extremely lucky until now, that more haven’t been killed in battle.”

“But…both our lord and his nemesis?” Yukimura bit his lip as more tears escaped from under his eyelashes and heated his face. “It’s hard. Too hard. And Kanetsugu…”

“Kanetsugu is missing but he may still be alive. With Nobutada, and the others,” Nobuyuki said firmly. “I must believe this. I cannot believe they would all be gone, and only Oda’s forces survived.”

Recalling what he had said to Zhao Yun, Yukimura finally met his brother’s eyes. “What will you do, Lord Sanada?”

Nobuyuki’s jaw clenched for a moment. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Ride back with you to Chengdu, that’s the only thing I know for sure. The rest can wait until we get there.” He placed his hands on either side of Yukimura’s head and pulled him in to rest their foreheads together in a gesture of unity. “But I will not ask you to leave Zhao Yun. Your place is with him, now, no matter what.”

Yukimura accepted that without a word. Only a very tiny part of him would have protested on the grounds of official ties of loyalty and family, but that part was easily silenced. It was as they said at the feast back at Chengdu – old bonds, both of country and of enmity, had to be set aside and new bonds forged if they all wanted to survive. Despite the loss of the heads of the Takeda-Uesugi alliance, the rest of their armies and all the resistance were still out there, forging on. He didn’t know what part Oda played in this or anything else relating to the battles, but that could come later. For now, there was nothing to do but mourn. “I will ask to have an altar raised at Chengdu,” he murmured to his brother. “For them…”

“I already did,” Nobuyuki whispered back. “We will lay more offerings on it when we get there.”

A faint sound, almost but not quite a laugh, escaped on a breath. “The people of Shu are kind and strong,” Yukimura mused.

“That they are.” Both heard muffled shouts, then, of outrage and disbelief from somewhere nearby. The news must have just been broken to the rest. Most of the Shu officers and their allies had no personal ties whatsoever to the Takeda, but they still took the news hard. Truly, they were all in this together. Nobuyuki remained there in the grove, supporting his brother, until Yukimura could wipe his face and gather himself to be able to put one foot in front of the other, to walk back to the troops with his head held high. The Sanadas missed out on all the regular army duties, the arrangements and the exchange of information, but they were ready to go as promised when it came time to separate the two units and continue on their respective ways. Wei Yan would take his men and head to Jieting to take command from Xingcai, and the rest would return to the capital to regroup. To their credit, most of the others gave the Sanadas their space, but Magoichi made a point to brush past the both of them and clap each one on the shoulder, one after the other, in a silent blessing. Last but not least, Zhao Yun came to look them both over and wordlessly pronounce them ready to go on. Yukimura nodded to him to confirm it, and turned to find his horse. From there, the ride back would feel like an eternity of darkness, even though in reality it was only another couple of days.

Yukimura spoke to no one and remained lost inside his own head as the army entered Chengdu and made their way to Luo Castle, which lay warm and sleepy under the summer sun. Yueying met them at the gate if only to confirm that Nobuyuki had met them and shared the news that all of Shu already knew, after which Jiang Wei volunteered to debrief her on everything that had happened, including the capture and then loss of Date Masamune. Yukimura had slipped away silently, and Zhao Yun knew exactly where to find him, so the instant Jiang Wei stepped forward he disappeared through the crowd as well and chased his friend through the castle corridors to their quarters. He had only been a few steps behind, apparently, since he reached their rooms to find Yukimura just standing at his door, leaning on the frame. He looked up, startled, upon hearing footsteps, but seeing that it was just Zhao Yun, Yukimura sagged again and just looked helplessly at him. Yun smiled softly to put him at ease and escorted him inside, so he could swiftly help his comrade out of his armor and get him settled. Hardly a word passed between them until after Yukimura had changed into clean clothing; before Yun could leave him, he grabbed a hold of his arms and pulled himself against him, even though he was still in armor. “I understand, now,” he murmured, laying his head against Zhao Yun’s shoulder. “How you must have felt when you were imprisoned. Thinking Lord Liu Bei was dead.”

Yun sighed sadly and gathered him in his arms, armor or no armor. “My heart is torn in two for you, Yukimura. I don’t even know what to say.”

“It’s all right. You don’t need to say anything.” He leaned even closer, as if trying to meld himself with Zhao Yun. “I just have to remember all those things I said to you, to encourage you not to lose hope.”

“Lose…hope?” That made Zhao Yun worry. He pried Yukimura off him enough to look at him, search his gaze and try to understand. “You mustn’t, Yukimura! I know this is awful, and there will be time taken to mourn. But we must keep going, Orochi _must_ be brought down. Their sacrifice must not be in vain.”

“I know,” Yukimura insisted powerfully, clutching at Yun’s arms, “I know! But right now all I can see is darkness around us. I can’t stop thinking that I’ve failed him, for joining a different cause and not being there when he needed me…”

“Then let me be your light.” Yun cupped his face in a hand to turn his eyes straight to him. “You have been my light for so long, Yukimura. Every nightmare, every time I thought of giving up, you always came through for me. You have protected my heart with yours, now it’s my turn.” He stepped back and raised one finger. “Wait for me. I will be out of this armor in no time at all, and then I will be back. All right?”

Yukimura nodded forlornly, sliding out of his grip. Zhao Yun gave him one adamant nod back and dashed out to go to his own quarters next door and shed his armor. An attendant had just arrived to see if he needed anything and relay a message from Yueying, but aside from help getting changed, he brushed everything else off and sent the attendant back to warn the other officers that he would be in his quarters the rest of the night and was not to be disturbed. It took mere minutes and then he was back in Yukimura’s room, finding him just sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting with his hands loosely draped in his lap. Yun rushed to him and practically fell into him, sweeping him up and holding him tightly. That was all they did, for a long time, but eventually he got them arranged lying in bed together, clinging to one another fully clothed and above the blankets. If Yukimura was tired, he was free to nap, but if not, Yun was content to wrap himself around his faithful companion and hold him the way he had been held while warding off nightmares. Whether it took one night or several days, he would be right there, protecting Yukimura against despair with his very warmth and life. Fortunately, it only took until dark before Yukimura genuinely relaxed against him, snuggling into his chest and finding voice to speak again. “I don’t deserve you, Zilong,” he murmured. “Not once have you complained, even though we still don’t have the information you went all the way to Jieting to get.”

“It doesn’t matter, right now,” Yun reassured, smoothing a hand over his back. “This is more important.”

“See? You are too kind, and generous and loving and selfless,” Yukimura rambled. “How can someone like you be real?”

Zhao Yun breathed a soft chuckle. “Believe me, I am. I am hardly a god or anything. I don’t know how to be anything else.” He glanced down, even as the younger Sanada tipped his head up to gaze at him. “I know the pain is still fresh,” he said hesitantly, “but until it ebbs, I will stay with you. If you must go to support your brother with your clan, I will not stand in your way…”

“No,” Yukimura sighed. “He’s already released me to you. I will stay by your side, Zilong.”

“I am glad.” There was a sadness in Yun’s smile, though, as he considered how Yukimura must feel, torn between loyalties, grieving his lord. “I heard you say… ‘again.’ Lord Takeda was…”

Yukimura ducked his head to avert his eyes, but his voice was steady as he explained. “He left us too soon, yes. He, and Lord Kenshin, and even Lord Oda. It was a miracle to find ourselves here and them all alive again. I took it for granted...I went on as though it had never happened in the past.”

“No wonder,” Yun mused. “The pain is doubled, then.”

“I’ve been thinking about it all the way back,” Yukimura admitted. “Even though I know he gave his blessing for me to remain in your service, and even though I know he sent Nobuyuki to us just when they really could have used his help more, I can’t help but feel responsible.”

“I know it’s useless to tell you not to,” Zhao Yun said gently, combing one hand through his hair, “so I will at least say this. We don’t know all the details yet. Your brother only said that it was a battle to draw some of the Orochi forces off so that the other battle would succeed, which it did. We can only wait to find out the full truth of it, and I know waiting will be hard.”

Yukimura breathed a long sigh that sent a warm draft of air between the folds of his tunic to tickle his neck. “How is it you know just what to say?”

“I just want to do right by you.” Yun hesitated, and then added even more softly, “Because I love you.”

There was a soft noise somewhere against his collar, and then Yukimura lifted his head. His brown eyes searched Zhao Yun's for a long time, long enough to make him smile bashfully in return. It was hard to find words to respond, so the young samurai gave up and laid his head back onto his companion's shoulder. They could have laid together like that all night, and perhaps would have, if both hadn't realized they hadn't eaten since returning to the castle. Only when their collective hunger became too strong to resist did they disentangle their limbs and reluctantly pry themselves off the bed, so Zhao Yun could peek out and find an attendant to bring them something to eat. It was a perk of leadership they could afford to indulge. Now that they were on their feet again and moving around, Yukimura wandered toward the window to look out upon the night and the moon, and he remembered laughing about the Jade Rabbit one time weeks and weeks ago. “You weren’t just saying that to lift my spirits…?” he questioned, steeling himself against the possibility that Yun didn’t mean it.

“I only wanted to tell you the truth,” Zhao Yun murmured as he joined him there to gaze out the window. “I thought you might like to know.” He smiled gently for his comrade. “It did lift your spirits, though. I’m glad.”

“It did,” Yukimura admittedly shyly, looking down at his hands fidgeting in the quiet space between the two of them. “It does. To speak of love between close friends such as us…”

It was more than just the flirtations and secret kisses. To admit to love was a step beyond, a new layer of the bond between them. Yun was certain of his feelings, though, it was no mere rush of infatuation with a powerful fellow spearman. Their time together had sealed it, as if they had already formed a vow of brotherhood like that of his lord’s brothers. “I don’t know what more to say of it, though,” he offered. “In a world such as this, can promises be made when they could be stolen from us tomorrow? Will this world even last once we’ve defeated Orochi?”

“I don’t need more than that,” Yukimura plainly assured. “Just to know is enough.” He didn’t dare wish for more beyond that, not when the death of his lord was proof that nothing lasted forever, with or without Orochi’s interference. As an untamed samurai, giving of his loyalty and devotion where it was deserved, he sought love where he could find it and felt, at long last, that he had found his equal. So many of his kind wandered the world seeking that ideal without ever lucking into it. He placed his hand into Yun’s in a silent pledge, never wanting to let go in his heart.

Zhao Yun gazed at him for a bit, admiring him in the moonlight, and then turned his eyes to the room, to the two spears leaning against the wall side-by-side where they had left them upon entering hours ago. He hadn’t even realized he’d left his Dragon Spear in here when he went to change. They kept one another company much as their masters did. “We will press on, my friend,” he whispered, squeezing that hand. “From this point, we may have to carry one another, but we will keep going.”

“That’s no burden,” Sanada said kindly. “Yes, you’re right. I let myself go for too long, it’s time I brushed myself off and continued on.”

“I don’t blame you,” Yun encouraged. “Darkness is heavy, it presses on you until you would swear you had never seen light before. But it doesn’t last forever. The day comes…it always comes.”

Yukimura looked at him and nodded, and squeezed his hand back. Perhaps from that night on, he could dry his eyes and soldier on as his lord would want. Orochi could wait, though, he was going to take one more night to shut out the greater cause and worry about himself. Himself, and Zhao Yun, and the two of them together, starting with the arrival of a late, overdue dinner.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Da Ji returns to an army in chaos; Sun Jian discovers something very interesting at Koshi Castle.

The grand fortress at Bai Di still served as one of the Orochi army’s main strongholds, and now that they had lost control of others, most of the commanding officers who had been scattered to the winds figured to withdraw there instead. The castle was a long and rough journey from Jieting, but that was where Date knew he needed to go, directly and with all due haste; after all, whenever there was a need to regroup or orders were delivered from Orochi himself, it took place at Bai Di. Even if he had to report the shame of losing another stronghold to the Resistance, it came with information on the movements of Zhao Yun, which Date knew Da Ji would want. Yet, he had been out on the frontier so long that he had not heard about Guandu, nor any of the other subsequent developments. Exhausted and trail-sore as their horses were, he pushed them hard the last mile or so until they came within the protected confines of the outermost garrisons that guarded the roads leading to the castle, where sentries could receive them and send word to the main castle. He had managed to collect all of his men with relatively little fuss, thanks to their desperate need to find him in turn, and still had Sun Shangxiang and Lady Ina with him, but they lagged behind the Date rifle corps and Katakura’s men. Masamune grumbled all the way up the path to the castle proper at the lack of reception – they had merely been waved through the sentry post and no one ran up to announce that the One-Eyed Dragon had arrived. Yet, someone was waiting at the gate for him, after all: leaning heavily on his pike, Maeda Keiji watched the army unit come up the hill toward the castle, an unimpressed frown on his painted face. Date reined in before him, matching that look. “Keiji. What are you doing here? I thought you had more important things to do elsewhere.”

“I did,” Keiji complained. “But something came up. You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

Slinging the massive pike over his shoulders, Keiji freed up an arm to gesture for them to follow him in. “Hey, where’s the stableboys? Come get these horses! We got important stuff to do, make it snappy!”

Pages and young soldiers scrambled to obey him, taking hold of the bridles as the officers dismounted. One look around the courtyard and Masamune could tell something was just slightly off. There were very few Wu soldiers around, hardly a splash of russet and gold to be seen, and despite the lackluster reception at the outer garrisons, the guard on the walls had been doubled. He waved off his retainers, sending them to go settle in on their own, while he followed Maeda through the courtyard. “What is it, what’s going on?”

“Tide’s turning,” Keiji grunted, a bit angrily. “Better you hear it from me than anyone else: Da Ji’s missing.”

“What?!” Date screeched to a halt right there on the flagstone path. “Keiji!”

The big warrior reached out with his free hand and grabbed part of Date’s cloak, dragging him along into the castle. “I’ll explain everything, c’mon. You ladies oughta come too,” he added a bit more loudly, aware that Shangxiang was a few steps behind.

By the time they reached the inner chambers of the castle, it was obvious that Keiji wasn’t kidding. There was a distinct lack of authority around the place that hadn’t been there before, and even though all the soldiers went about their duties as diligently as ever, Masamune noticed that they were all human – not a snake among them. There was a more subtle air of neglect here and there, as well as the noticeable absence of both the units who had defected and the ones currently afield pursuing them. Sun Quan had not been seen there since leaving for Nagashino. The only officers from Guandu who had managed to pull back to Bai Di safely were Diaochan, her retainers, and Daqiao and the small handful of Wu faithful with her. Maeda dragged the newcomers into an antechamber off the main throne room to debrief them on the fall of their other fortresses and the status of Da Ji. No one at Bai Di had heard from her, and any word sent to the nearby holdings at Odawara and Xin Di came back the same. Date listened to it with rising anger, but toward the end, he managed to one small glimmer of hope. If the demon strategist had failed so spectacularly, his mishap at Jieting would be easily overlooked in the overall scheme of things. Still, he faced Keiji with a magnificent scowl. “Idiot! She fell for Takeda’s ruse so easily! She should have known not to take her eye off Oda, we warned her!”

“Yeah, but we got ‘em anyway,” Keiji said with a shadow of a darker grin. “Takeda and Uesugi have been killed. Our guys managed to report that much.”

Masamune’s expression went still and grim. “Is that so?”

“Oh no,” Ina fretted, immediately thinking of Yukimura. Had he known, when they fought? “But that’s…that’s not possible.”

“It’s true. Not that it slowed down the Resistance any,” Keiji acknowledged, “but facts are facts. That’s as much as anybody here knows – there wasn’t anybody in charge at all when I got here. I was gonna carry out my own orders but then this happened, and now I’m stuck here until we hear anything.”

“That’s ridiculous. Where are the rest of our people?” Masamune demanded to know. “Sun Quan, and Dong Zhuo? That fat asshole better not have turned tail and found somewhere to hide like a coward.”

“Lord Sun Quan didn’t return from the battle,” Daqiao softly admitted. “But he sent word. He’s following rumors of a renegade army that passed secretly beyond here while the battles were going on.”

Shangxiang looked her way sharply. “What, does he think it’s our brother?”

Daqiao bit her lip shyly and nodded. “I believe so. Whether or not it is…”

None of them were able to say another word about any of their allies or foes, for at that very moment, magical energy swirled in the center of the room near where Date and Keiji were standing, and an instant later a familiar figure teleported directly into their midst. All the assembled officers startled and drew back, gaping, as the burst of light revealed the curvaceous Da Ji herself. She wore no smile at all, but her slitted eyes zoomed right in on the group of people, mildly surprised to find them gathered there. Masamune immediately squared his shoulders and bowed, but most of the others remained behind him, just gawking. Keiji quietly harrumphed under his breath. “Well, well,” the demon strategist remarked with none of her usual coyness, “this is interesting.”

Of all of them, Daqiao had the daring to speak up first. “You’ve returned, my lady,” she said with breathless surprise. “We were so worried…”

“Were you.” Da Ji’s eyes went to Date first, then Keiji, then swept around the room to count and make note of who was there and who wasn’t. “Yes, well, that took a little longer than I wanted. Masamune, darling, aren’t you supposed to be at Jieting?”

He instantly scowled at being addressed that way. “You’ll forgive me, my lady,” he said with sharp sarcasm underlying his choice of words, “but it sounds like you and I have had the same bad luck.”

Her lips twisted in pure displeasure. So they all knew. “Luck, nothing,” she spat. “Luck can change, and it’s going to, now that I’m back. At least you’re all here, so I don’t have to put out a summons to bring you in. Let’s get right down to it, shall we?”

“Hold on.” Keiji stepped up to her, towering over her and sneering down. “You can’t just pop back in here like nothing happened. This army went to pieces without anyone to order ‘em around, and you’re not gonna take responsibility for that?”

Da Ji met his gaze, folding her arms over her chest. “I suppose that’s why you’re here, Keiji. Hmm? Fine, I suppose you ought to know. I was consulting with Lord Orochi in person. I’ve come back with his next round of orders.”

Some of them backed down, hearing that, but both Date and Keiji remained firm, undaunted. They had, after all, been in the serpent-lord’s presence more than enough themselves that it wasn’t a big deal. If she meant to threaten them with that information, it didn’t work. “Yeah?” Maeda challenged. “And what’s he told you that he ain’t been tellin’ me?”

Da Ji glared up at him and then elbowed him out of the way so she could put herself at the center of their conclave, demanding their attention. “Lord Orochi has heard all of the news from this end of the map. He knows about the fate of the Takeda-Uesugi Alliance, he knows about Fan Castle, all of it. And he’s none too pleased, let me tell you. Our loose cannons have been loose long enough, he wants us all to put every effort into capturing or killing the rest of the Resistance leaders. _Right_ now. I see Dong Zhuo and Sun Quan haven’t regrouped with us, any sign from them?”

“Dunno about the fat man,” Keiji replied, still eyeing her but less like a spy and more like a piece of meat. “But Sun Quan’s hot on the trail of what he thinks is his brother. Might be, might not be.”

“Good!” Da Ji cast a frown toward Daqiao as if she was responsible for anything her husband did. “At least someone’s still doing their job! Any idea who’s still with him, did anybody die at Fan Castle?”

There was some shuffling and sidelong looks at her callousness, but at last someone hazarded a guess that he had Zhou Tai and Ding Feng at the very least. Sun Shangxiang stepped forward, then. “My lady, allow me to go to my brother’s aid,” she begged. “He’ll need every last man to take down our traitorous brother. I must be there, let me help him!”

The strategist gave her an appraising look and then tilted her head in an aloof shrug. “Fine, if that’s what you want. I need to send someone to him, either way. As long as you’re here, you might as well go. You _and_ you,” she added, pointing a finger sharply at Daqiao. “Bring your worthless husband in to be executed.”

Daqiao flushed as red as her coat, but lowered her head and shoulders in a demure bow. “Yes, my lady.”

“And just in case that’s not enough,” Da Ji went on, even as Ina gave Daqiao a sad, sympathetic look behind their leader’s back, “I’ll call in Cao Pi again. I know he’s lost several battles lately, but I’m not letting him off the hook so easily. He’s got the most men available, we need them more than he does.” She swished among them, pacing and tapping a painted nail against her arm as she thought. “I don’t suppose any of you morons know whether Mitsunari came to find me?”

They all shook their heads – no one had gotten word from him. “Is he still with Cao Pi?” Date wondered.

“He was supposed to rendezvous with me while Cao Pi went off to fight,” Da Ji replied, “but that was right about when things got out of hand.” She turned again and fixed her gaze on Keiji. “You want to go drag him back here for me?”

“Not particularly.” Keiji was one of few who could get away with sassing her back, since he enjoyed the benefits of Orochi’s direct trust. “If you’ve lost control of your guys, that’s on _you_ to fix, yanno. I’ve got my own orders.”

“Not anymore you don’t.” A cutting smile curved Da Ji’s glossy lips. “Lord Orochi is putting you under my direct command from this day forward. When I snap my fingers, you jump. Got it?”

“Oh yeah?” Maeda stared her down, but in truth, he hadn’t received any direct orders since before Guandu was lost, so it was entirely possible that she was telling the truth. He had no way of confirming it immediately, but he could do so later. “Koshi Castle’s a long way from here, little lady. What’s he gonna do if I tell you to go to hell?”

“If you want to risk it, then on your head be it.” She met his stare with one of her own. He wasn’t cowed, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “We need reinforcements, and I’m short on people to trust. I don’t have time right now to check in on Cao Pi personally, so you’re going to do it for me. He can’t refuse a direct request from our alliance for extra troops.”

Keiji drew himself up with a huff. “Fine. But if these reinforcements are riding to go and take down Sun Ce, then I’m going along.” His lip curled in a bloodthirsty snarl. “I owe the tiger cub a beating, and then I’m gonna take his head like I promised.”

“Good,” Da Ji agreed. “You do that. You’re less squeamish than all of his relatives. First Sun Ce, then all the rest – Zhao Yun, Tokugawa, and then Oda. All of them need to die like Takeda and Uesugi.” She rounded on the entire group with another accusing point. “No mercy!”

Most of them shrank back, acceding to orders with their silence. Date, however, was not entirely convinced that she had been let off the hook for her failure. “You’ll have a hard time getting to Zhao Yun,” he said acidly, crossing his arms over his chestplate. “His vanguard took Jieting. The Shu Resistance is growing in size and strength as quickly as the Oda. They have the Sanada, the Saika Renegades, the barbarians from the south, and then some.”

Da Ji growled under her breath, rounding on him. “Can no one stop that guy? He’s almost worse than Oda, slipping through our fingers every time! Even _yours_ , Date. What, was he too much for you?”

Masamune bristled right back at her. “Don’t even think of blaming me when you lost Guandu all by yourself! Even your precious pet Cao Pi has been defeated, you have nothing left! I have half a mind to ride to Koshi to see Lord Orochi in person and make sure he really does have all the correct information.”

Da Ji’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You go right ahead and do that. You and Keiji both! Why don’t you just go all that way and let Lord Orochi take your heads himself, I’m sure he’d love the personal delivery.”

“And why is _your_ head still on your shoulders, then?” Masamune shot back. “You let Oda have two of our fortresses and scatter our entire army, and then flitted off for who knows how many weeks and left your forces to wander aimlessly. You are the worst commander I’ve ever had the misfortune to serve under, I don’t know _how_ Lord Orochi can possibly let you live!”

A furious flush colored Da Ji’s rosy skin, and the more he railed at her, the more flustered and irate she grew. At last, she could take no more of his lecture and threw out a hand, the mystical orbs flashing into life over her shoulders and swinging instantly toward him. Date hopped back and drew his saber, deflecting them with a hard swing. Keiji was between them immediately, thrusting his pike in first and then pushing his bulk into the space to block. “Hey, hey! Easy now!”

“You shut your mouth, Date Masamune!” Da Ji snarled over Keiji’s arm, doing her best to shove through him and failing. “What happened between me and Lord Orochi is none of your business! I heard plenty from him, I don’t need to hear it from you!”

Date kept his saber bared, but lowered his head and glared from under the shadows of his helm. “Then step up and start doing your job,” he warned, “or someone more worthy will take your place. The Resistance is looking for any chance to capture or turn our officers to their side, you know! The more you fail, the more likely you’ll lose men left and right – more than just Sun Ce and Tokugawa.”

“Like you?” she challenged, baring her fox-fangs.

He tipped his head up to give her a smug sneer. “As a matter of fact, Saika Magoichi did try to sway my loyalty. You’ll notice I didn’t give in and go with him, because my oath is pledged to Lord Orochi and I _will not_ go back on it.”

Such news was enough to make the demon strategist back down, though she still fumed silently. A flick of her wrist banished the orbs, but Keiji didn’t stand down until Date had also put away his weapon. “All of you listen now, and listen good,” Da Ji said at that point. “Lord Orochi is furious with the way things have gone. Yes, maybe I did make a miscalculation, but I’m far from the only one. He has given us one last chance to make it right, and his orders are as follows.” She jabbed a finger into her palm as she laid out each point. “Sun Ce must be captured and executed, and anyone from Wu who followed him will share his fate. Continue to leave him roaming free, and Sun Jian will be executed in his place. Zhao Yun must be captured or killed, immediately. Oda Nobunaga will be taken down one way or another – he is _not_ to capture another of our fortresses, he is not to be allowed to hold any of our lands. We need to find out where he’s decided to make his headquarters, and go in and execute him. If that takes luring him out with bait, or mustering our forces and taking back some of our castles, then do it! Leave no opportunity wasted. Crush the Resistance! Lay waste to their armies and sack their strongholds! And if anyone is harboring even the slightest thoughts of joining any of the traitors, let me be the first to warn you that Lord Orochi really enjoys punishing people, and he’s ordered me to send anyone who fails him to him, at Koshi, to handle _in person_.”

A stony silence met her declaration. One or two officers fidgeted nervously, but most stood still, eyes averted. They could easily believe that those were exactly Orochi’s orders, and anyone who disobeyed would feel his wrath in an all new, visceral way. Only Keiji seemed unaffected, tossing his head carelessly. “You’re wasting your breath. This bunch ain’t the ones who’re having trouble with orders. Maybe you ought to save that speech for your snake-demons. ‘Cept, of course, none of ‘em are even here.”

Da Ji clenched her hands into fists at her sides, closing her eyes briefly. “I’m aware of that. I had to browbeat them all to get them marching in the right direction. They’re coming, they’ll be here shortly. And you can believe I’m sending missives to Dong Zhuo and Sima Yi as well, since they missed out on my grand entrance.” She looked among them one more time, and took a deep breath before completing her orders. She really didn’t want to have to do this, but she had no choice, given what she had available to work with. “I need to go to Odawara, next, to coordinate with Zhuge Liang. Keiji, you’ve got your orders. Date.” She gnashed her teeth at the irony of having to make this demand. “You’re in charge of Bai Di until I get back.”

He harrumphed right back at her. “Fine. But if you disappear like that again, I’m going to Lord Orochi for orders.”

“Whatever! I’ll wait around until the captains arrive, and then I need to be off to Odawara. The rest of you, if I haven’t given you an order yet, then get out of my sight!”

The assembly scattered. Shangxiang collected Ina and Daqiao and hurried out to prepare them, even if they had only just arrived. She was intent on meeting up with her brother’s unit before they had any chance to verify whether the prey they were tracking was actually Sun Ce or not. The reminder of their father’s fate had her moving double-fast and not even bothering to rest. Maeda had been idle in the castle too long, so he also strode right out to get ready to ride. As much as he didn’t really want to play errand boy, if it meant dragging Wei’s reinforcements on the same hunt for Sun Ce, he could accept it for now. As for Masamune, he was content that his mistake at Jieting would be forgotten in the rush to move forward with new orders and new plans. Even better, he was getting command of one of the largest Orochi army strongholds. Da Ji could take her time and hang about Odawara as long as she wanted, as far as he was concerned. If Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, or Sima Yi regrouped there, he would lord himself over them. He was one of the last to leave, not at all concerned about Da Ji’s anger, and headed down to find Katakura and his other retainers and give them the news. It was a much better outcome than he expected when they first spied the castle that day.

For all the threats being made against his life, Sun Jian was thankfully in no position to see any of them carried out anytime soon. It was still cold at Edo Castle, but there was at least no snow. Spring had barely set in and summer seemed a long way off, not that he really got to see much of it from where he was currently being held. It was a temporary prison, he was being moved yet again, but the entirety of the castle was overrun with snake demons, ensuring that none of the Resistance would have the strength to take it if they dared – if they even knew it was being used to house prisoners regularly, which they didn’t. Like Odawara and Bai Di, Edo remained unassailable for now, and far enough out of the way that word from there never reached the ears of anyone, Resistance or otherwise. The great lord of Wu got only the smallest glimpse of the barren landscape on the way in before being hustled into the massive keep at the center of the complex and hauled up several flights of stairs to an upper room eerily similar to his old prison at Osaka. The demon captains were far less gentle than anyone from Wei had ever been, and threw him in still bound, caring nothing for his comfort. Jian tumbled to the floor and decided he would enjoy a moment just lying there, catching his breath and regaining his wits, before rolling over and sitting up to have a look at the place. Only then did he notice he was not alone.

The upper level of the keep normally would be sectioned off with paper screens and sliding walls, but at the moment prison cells had been formed out of wood and iron portcullises, difficult for anyone to break without a weapon even if they were at full strength, which Sun Jian certainly was not. The last few weeks at Koshi Castle had been rather unpleasant. Unshaven and weak, he no longer looked the part of the noble lord he was, but as he cast a glance around and noticed someone in the cell next to his, he figured it didn’t much matter. The other guy looked about the same, really. He was sitting still against the wall, also with his arms bound behind him, and didn’t raise his head at the disturbance one cell over. The yellow lamplight showed him to be a fairly big guy, but older, perhaps the same age as Jian, similarly scruffy around the chin and sunken cheeks. There was life in him, at least, as he spoke first in a low, gravelly voice. “Damn. I asked the gods to send me beautiful women. Instead I get another old man. Great.” 

Jian tipped his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and smiling to himself. There, the room spun less when he had his eyes closed. “Let me guess. You’re in here for, hmm. Not paying your bill at the tavern.”

The other man let out a choking laugh, as if he hadn’t expected a joke right at that moment. “Yeah, that’s right,” he said, playing along. “You probably conned some old lady out of her last silver piece, didn’t you? Told her you could pray her husband out of the eighth hell for the right price.”

“Tenth, actually,” Jian responded. “But close enough.” He cracked his eyes open now that his head had stopped spinning and glanced over through the iron bars. “This inn is terrible, I want my money back.”

“I’m sure you’ll have to take that up with the proprietor.” The other man rolled his head to the side to look at him, finally, his lips twisting in the faintest of smirks. “Really, though. You must be someone of some importance, to have earned that kind of honor guard and that many bruises.”

“It’s more likely that my one escape attempt has made them overly cautious that I might try again.” He breathed a soft sigh and settled down, figuring this was going to be the best position he could get himself into, sitting against the wall. “Sun Jian, lord of Wu.”

The other man’s heavy eyes widened for a moment before going right back to their previous tired position. “Hojo Ujiyasu, head of the Hojo clan.”

“Nice to meet you, under the circumstances,” Jian said warmly. “Afraid I don’t know the Hojo, though.”

“Not surprised. I don’t even know if the rest of my clan is in this messed-up world.” Ujiyasu did not look away, though it was hard to tell whether he was scrutinizing his fellow prisoner or just content to have someone to talk to. “How long you been a guest of the serpent?”

Jian didn’t really want to think about it, but he hungered for any kind of conversation with another human being. “Since the beginning, or nearly so,” he answered. “They took me when the Orochi army destroyed Hefei. I’ve lost track of the months.”

“Damn,” Ujiyasu breathed. “And here I thought I had it bad.”

“Has it been long?”

“Couple of months. Blundered into the wrong place at the wrong time.” Hojo let his head rest back against the wall with a thunk. “Guess that means you know even less than I do about the state of things out there.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Jian rolled his shoulders, trying and failing to get more comfortable. The polished wood floor was meant for nicer quarters, not a prison. “I’ve been hauled all over the map in my time, they don’t seem to want to make it easy for my sons to launch another rescue.”

Ujiyasu hummed thoughtfully under his breath. Escape and rescue attempts, hmm? “So does the sun still shine in the sky, then?”

Sun Jian smiled again. “Yes, that much hasn’t changed. There’s a sun by day and a moon by night. Birds still sing in the trees, and the grass is mostly green. Sometimes brown.”

“Good.” Ujiyasu slumped back down, assuming much the same pose as his comrade in the next cell. “That’s better than nothing.”

It was hard to find things to talk about, but through the rest of the day until their captors finally brought them food at dusk, the two men chatted a bit about where they came from, comparing their homelands and a little of their own history, and tried to stay away from talk of Orochi and his doings. Hojo was interested to hear that Jian had seen Nene in similar circumstances, but didn’t press, seeing as anyone being held captive in Orochi’s clutches was in the same dire straits as they. The snakes standing guard made a fuss about them being so noisy and extinguished the lamps for the night, but it didn’t deter them from swapping a few more taunts and jokes before finally trying to sleep. There wasn’t much else they could do for their situation.

Sun Jian laid awake for longer than his new friend, he could tell when he heard Ujiyasu’s breathing even out as he passed into slumber. The lord of Wu had been through too much to be able to find easy rest, even if he wasn’t actively trying to avoid nightmares. Edo Castle was a decent place, though it clearly bore signs of having been damaged in past battles and overrun by demons for a long time. The fine paintings and tapestries were dull with dust and grime, and the wood floors creaked from the damp and cold. He had managed to position his hands just-so after they were finished eating so that when their captors bound them again, he had a little more range of movement and could shift them so that he could sit more comfortably against the wall. The darkness around them was thick and heavy, there were no windows for even the slightest sliver of light to sneak through. It reminded him uncomfortably of his last few weeks at Koshi Castle, and as he sat there alone, he clenched his jaw in anguish at what came to mind.

It wasn’t much of a surprise that the demons’ primary idea of torturing their captives was to cause them pain. For Jian, who had broken plenty of bones and pulled arrows from his flesh in the course of normal human-on-human battles, pain wasn’t much of a threat nor a teacher. He endured the beatings without a cry, but what bothered him was the pure senselessness of it. It wasn’t to extract information or punish him for misdeeds, it was simply out of malice. They hurt him because they could. Perhaps they were even a bit bored, and it was something to do. At least they only beat him, laying stripes on his broad back and occasionally burning or cutting him – his own superiors in the Han bureaucracy could devise far worse to punish criminals, disfiguring and maiming over the smallest things. Sun Jian endured, because he had to. Whether the low-ranked snake demons serving as his guards had any motive behind their actions, it didn’t matter, because it was Orochi’s word which gave them permission or denied them their sport, and _he_ certainly did have a reason. It meant that no matter what, he had to withstand it. No matter how prolonged the pain, how often they came and how savagely they beat him, Jian let them. He showed no fear and gave them no satisfaction. He could only assume the same had been done to his men when they were captive, and hoped against hope that Lady Nene would be spared the same treatment. And then came the day when he actually saw who was chained next to him.

He knew he wasn’t the only prisoner being held at Koshi, but the walls were solid stone and only guards passed in front of the heavy iron portcullis, so for a while he never knew who else was there. One day, however, it wasn’t the regular guards who came to torment him, it was Orochi himself. They hardly ever saw the demon lord down in these dungeons, this was a strange and terrifying change of routine. He stood there before the prison cells in the darkness, torchlight reflecting on the multitude of sharp edges on his armor, his mismatched eyes gleaming from under the fanged helm, an indistinct look of mingled hatred and amusement on his face as his underlings scrambled to obey him. They unlocked Sun Jian’s cell and unchained him, dragging him into the corridor to face his captor. It was hard not to be a little daunted by his presence, Jian had to admit. The aura of power surrounding him, the source of all the demonic energy in the entire world they occupied, could be felt even by mere humans such as he. The claws gripping his arms and body and keeping him subdued were nothing compared to Orochi’s cold, scaly hand closing on his throat and nearly picking him bodily up off his feet. “I grow tired of your children,” Orochi complained in his echoing, flanged voice. “Not even the threat of killing you is enough to motivate them to succeed.”

Jian did his best not to flinch at the thought. Not of his death, but of what his children must be enduring. “Does that mean you’re here to kill me?” he asked, half-closing his eyes in an expression of disinterest. What happened to him was of no consequence, as long as Ce, Quan, and Shangxiang were still alive.

Orochi regarded him and seemed to know what he was thinking. His thin lips turned down in an imperious frown. “No,” he replied, that single word containing all of his contempt for humanity and his true wish to say yes and actually kill him. “It would be impractical. But that day will come. Soon, if your pathetic son does not show some sign of strength.”

 _Pathetic…does he mean Quan?_ Jian clenched his jaw, trying to keep emotion out of his eyes as he faced the demon lord. “My sons are both strong,” he said defiantly. “If something’s wrong, it’s not with them. I raised them to show true strength of leadership.”

Orochi’s stare coldly conveyed just how little he esteemed such boasting. “If he continues to fail me, he will share your fate,” he warned. “On that day, you and your entire kingdom will know despair. You live, Sun Jian, so that I might take your life at my whim. That, and only that, is why you are still alive right now.”

Coming from anyone else, that might have simply been a challenge worth meeting. But coming from Orochi, toneless and devoid of passion, it sounded like he was simply stating a fact – and Jian knew it. His hands curled into fists, but weakly. The repeated tortures had sapped his strength, he couldn’t have even pulled free in order to punch the serpent if he tried. He would die on the spot, sure, but it would be worth it to land that hit. But no, he had nothing left in him to even attempt it. Orochi wasn’t even putting pressure on his throat, merely holding him in his clutches to keep his attention, and it was almost too much to stand. In the silence that followed, another voice intruded, soft and low, coming from the next cell over just out of sight. “You seem to believe that death is the worst thing that can happen to a person, Orochi. I think you’ll find that it’s simply not true.”

Jian’s eyes widened – he _knew_ that voice. Hearing it was a blow, however, as he realized the man was also being held like he was. Some part of him might have expected it, or suspected, but no one had ever spoken of it within earshot of Sun Jian. Orochi turned his head slightly to regard the intrusion with the same annoyed indifference he showed to his current victim. “You have no place to speak of such things, Liu Bei.”

There was a clink of chains, and then the serene face of the Lord of Shu emerged from the gloom, coming as close to the bars of his cell as he physically could. He locked eyes with Sun Jian for a moment before turning his attention to the serpent king. “I believe you have told my brothers the same lies you’ve told the Sun children, so I rather think I do know what I’m talking about. It’s been some time since I rubbed shoulders with the Tiger of the Jiangdong, but I think he and I might share the same point of view on this. We are both ready to die, at any time, for the sake of our children and our loved ones. It doesn’t scare us.”

Orochi stared blankly at him. “And yet these loved ones of yours are fighting to their last to prevent your deaths. Is that not the true desire of humanity?”

“Sure, they don’t want to let us go just yet,” Jian acknowledged. “But if it came to that, Liu Bei is right. I’d rather die than see you master any of my children, or this world. Our bodies are fragile and can be broken, but our spirits will not.”

That, more than anything, genuinely incensed Orochi. His underlings may not have understood it but he desired for the humans under his thrall to bend to his will, he longed to break their spirits and enslave their souls every bit as much as their bodies. Clearly, Sun Jian was not yet broken. Nor was Liu Bei. The demon lord’s face distorted in unrestrained hatred for these two men a second before he snapped, yanking Jian away from the scrawny snake demons holding him down and throwing him against the bars of Liu Bei’s cell. He slid down and caught himself on his knees, but before he could even make use of the fact that his hands were free, Orochi grabbed him again, hauled him to his feet, and slammed him face-first into the bars. It gave Liu Bei a front-row seat to watch what happened next. The great scythe materialized in the demon’s hand, and he whirled it around before thrusting the massive, gnarled head which held the blade against Jian’s back, right between his shoulder blades. The force of the blow was bad enough, smashing him against the iron, but what followed was far worse. Orochi’s powerful sorcery emanated from the scythe, he could use it in battle to send out shockwaves, lightning, even dark energy just by striking the ground with his weapon – which was exactly what he did, against Sun Jian’s back. The man screamed in agony as the dark wave thundered through his body, all through his chest, and held him trapped against the dungeon cell for untold minutes of torture. At first, Liu Bei stood paralyzed in shock, but he shook himself alert and tried to rush to help, if there was anything he could even do, but his chains reached their limit and he was forced to stop with arms outstretched, trying to reach Sun Jian. When at last the mystical energy dissipated, Orochi swung the scythe to crack Jian over the head. It did little more than drop him to the ground, unconscious, since his limbs had already gone numb. Orochi gestured to the snake-demon guards to drag him back into his cell, and then stepped over his limp form to glower at Liu Bei through the bars of his cell. “Remember this,” he said darkly, and then turned and strode away.

When Sun Jian finally came to, he noticed immediately that he was back in his cell, chained as before. But this time, as he laid there testing each arm and leg to see if they would work, he could hear the heavy breathing of the man he now knew occupied the dungeon beside him. He must have heard the tiny rattle of chains as Jian moved his foot, for Liu Bei’s hushed, worried voice suddenly cut through the silence. “Are you awake?”

“I wish I wasn’t,” Jian groaned. It seemed like his limbs were responding, albeit sluggishly, so he flopped around on the cold stone floor for a bit until he could get himself to a sitting position against the wall. His back ached where he had been struck, and threads of pain ran through his ribs and into his hips. “Did he get you, too?”

“No.” Liu Bei’s voice was close, he seemed to be sitting as close to the front of his cell as he could in order to listen and talk. “He made you an example and left me. Are you all right, Lord Sun Jian?”

Jian huffed and inched himself along the wall until he was occupying the same position on his side, so that they were as close as possible to one another. “I have my wits and all my limbs,” he reported. “Right about now, that’s all I can ask for.” He paused, and then added, “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Nor I you,” Liu Bei admitted. “I’ve heard the demons come to taunt and torment you, but you never said a word in response to them, so I didn’t know it was you.”

To think, all that stoicism worked against him. Had he only spoken out, he might have found himself conversing with Liu Bei before this moment. “They don’t come to smack you around, huh?”

There was a pause before the lord of Shu answered heavily. “They have. Just not in recent days.”

“Ah. Good timing, then.” Sun Jian dropped his head into his hands. So that was why Zhuge Liang had led the Orochi army against them. Why so much was in chaos, out there. “This explains a lot,” he murmured. “So. I hear you’ve become my son-in-law.”

Liu Bei gasped audibly. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of Lady Sun at all – quite the opposite – but they had married long after Sun Jian’s death in the natural order of the world. He hadn’t considered this twist. “Ah. Yes, that’s true,” he stammered when he could collect himself.

Despite all things, Sun Jian actually laughed. It rang from the stones and filled the darkness with a moment of light. “Don’t worry, I’m not in any position to give you hell for it. Actually, she sounded pretty happy about it, so as long as my little girl is happy, I’m happy.”

“You are too kind, my lord.”

“Please, let’s not with the formalities. We’re both prisoners of war in a dank dungeon, we can do without.”

Liu Bei wasn’t sure he could, but he’d try. “I expect these days, my lady isn’t very happy about much at all,” he said dourly. “With both of us held hostage…”

Jian sighed. “No, probably not. But she’s as strong as her brothers, she’ll endure. As we must.”

Liu Bei nodded to himself, though the man on the other side couldn’t see it. “He wants us broken, he wants for us to lose hope and remain miserable, so that even if we were to somehow taste freedom, it wouldn’t matter and we would still wallow in fear and despair,” he said solemnly. “He threatens our loved ones with our lives to keep them in line, but he threatens us in order to keep us downtrodden. The pain is only the beginning of it.”

Sun Jian listened and began to guess what the Lord of Shu must have gone through in his time as hostage. Far worse than a mystical energy burst to the spine, he imagined. “And I might guess, from the way you challenged him,” he said in a low tone, “that he hasn’t broken you yet, Xuande.”

Liu Bei smiled faintly, touched by the Wu lord’s use of his style name. So they could be equals, then. “I will not let him,” he said with conviction. “To bow to him would dishonor the sacrifice of my brothers. They fight so I can live, I must live for them. I won’t lie, it isn’t easy some days. I haven’t seen the sun in months. I haven’t heard a friendly voice in almost as long, until today. I know almost nothing of what is happening in the wider world, aside from snatches of conversation between the guards. There are people out there forming a resistance, but that’s all I know of it. I know far too many of our comrades are being forced to serve Orochi.”

Jian eased a little closer to the front of the cell, finding it better for his aching body to stretch out and lie with his head on one arm. “I’ve been moved from castle to castle, in order to keep anyone from finding out where I am,” he informed his comrade. “I haven’t heard much more than you, but I do know a few things. Would you like to hear?”

“Anything,” Liu Bei breathed desperately. “Even if it’s bad news, I don’t care. Anything to hear the names of our friends and families, so I can picture their faces and know they live.”

“They do.” Sun Jian told him first of Ce’s attempted rescue, his only real chance to look into the faces of the Resistance and understand. He explained what little he had heard about Oda, then, since some of Oda’s retainers had been held with him, and the scant snatches of information on what Wei was up to. Even if Cao Pi, as Orochi’s ally, was their enemy, it was interesting to Xuande to hear what his men had accomplished, even to the point of Pang De and Zhang Liao vouching for the safety of prisoners. That was about all he knew, though, so he couldn’t really tell the young lord what his own people were doing. “But every time they move me, I learn a little more,” he concluded. “If nothing else, it means Orochi and his strategist are concerned that someone is actively looking for me, and they can’t risk my children coming after me again. They’ve already lost Ce and the men with him, and from what the big snake said earlier, it sounds like Quan is having a rough time of it. They don’t want him to defect as well. I may not know exactly what’s going on, but that has a ring of hope to it. Maybe the Resistance is growing even more powerful than they were before.”

“That’s good,” Liu Bei acknowledged. “Sun Quan and I have had our differences, but he is every bit as strong as you say. For Orochi to make that threat against him, earlier, he must indeed be worried that Sun Quan might turn.”

Jian was worried, too, if that threat panned out. His own willingness to sacrifice so his children and country could live did not preclude one or all of them dying alongside him. He squashed down the thought for now. “You mentioned your brothers.”

Liu Bei did not respond immediately. He tipped his head back against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut in anguish. “What I know of them has come from Orochi repeatedly bringing me out of this cell only to taunt me face to face,” he finally answered after a bit. “When I was captured, they attempted to rescue me to atone for not being at Chengdu to protect me. Orochi beat them both down himself, and then demanded their service in payment for my life. I’ve not been allowed to see them, but I know it to be true – Orochi does not need lies in order to strike a blow against your heart, the truth is painful enough.”

Jian grunted in agreement. “Zhuge Liang, also.”

Another silence preceded and even more downhearted reply. “He has not come to see me, at all.”

“It’s possible none of them know where you are,” Jian suggested. “In all the fortresses I’ve seen, the only time I was allowed to rub shoulders with other captives was at Osaka. They’ve kept us apart, and kept you here for the same reason: so that those who would rescue us, can’t.”

Liu Bei gave a shuddering sigh, trying to hold his composure. “I want to believe you, Sun Jian,” he murmured. “Your son did try to save you, because you were out there where he could reach you.”

“Exactly.” Jian lifted his head, turning it toward the wall that separated him from the other lord. “If they ever dared to move you somewhere less secure, Guan Yu would be busting through the wall in the next minute. I know it’s not a pleasant thought, but if you’re here, it’s because Orochi fears your brothers, and your men. He knows they’ll take you back if he puts a single claw out of line.”

“That is a very small hope,” Liu Bei agreed wryly. “But…small hope is still hope.”

Unfortunately for both of them, that hope was not to last. Perhaps precisely because they had met, the very next day came the word that Orochi would be moving Sun Jian again, as soon as he was healed enough to move. The lords of Shu and Wu had very little time to talk, but at the end, mere minutes before the guards came to drag him away, Jian promised Liu Bei that he would find some way, any way, to let rumor fly that he was being held deep in Koshi Castle. It might not have been possible for most of Shu or any of the Resistance, at that time, to immediately come to his aid, but at least someone would know.

Sun Jian came awake with a small snort; he had drifted off into a drowse, remembering his meeting with Liu Bei as if it were a dream. But no, as he blinked in the blinding darkness and knew himself to be awake, listening to Ujiyasu’s grunting snores, he knew it wasn’t a dream. He had been to Koshi, he had been at Orochi’s mercy, and met Liu Bei there. Someone did have to know, he had to keep his promise. But who, and how? He could tell Hojo, but the man was a fellow prisoner and had not seen others, so it was likely there was no one else to whom he could in turn spread the information. The only other beings at the castle were snake demons and like creatures of Orochi’s dominion. Perhaps he wouldn’t be at Edo for long, and the next time they relocated his prison, he could find someone to tell. Jian had to content himself with that. Patience was wearing thin, but patience was all either of the captive lords had. Their jailor was in no rush to kill either of them, so long as they were still useful as bargaining pieces to keep their loved ones in line. All he could do was hope that Sun Quan remained strong, so that they could prolong this tenuous dance of loyalties. The longer his children held out, the longer he would live, and the longer he lived, the greater his chances of passing this secret to someone who could do something about it. He owed not just himself and his promise, he owed Liu Bei…and his own daughter. Sun Jian smiled to himself in the black night. His precious daughter was married to that man. She could really do much worse than the Lord of Shu, the champion of kindness and peace, even though his own last recollections were of him and his brothers serving Yuan Shao. So they got a kingdom of their own, and were making a go of it? Yes, he could approve of that, since it seemed in Shangxiang’s best interests as well. He rolled over and pressed his face to the cool wood floor, letting it catch his tears as he thought of his children and hoped they were well.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Xiahou clan reaches Yiling and gets a surprise; Sun Ce's forces press on and reach Sekigahara, barely in time...

Yiling looked much different in the present day than it had the night the serpent army and its cannons had decimated the Wei front lines. Daylight did it no favors, though, the warm sun only served to enhance the bleakness of the empty fields and the bleached bones of the dead who had fallen and received no burial. The scorched ground where the fires had raged through the enemy camp now sported fresh, green grass, but the garrisons still bore the soot marks, and the fortress across the river where the Xiahou clan had made their last stand lay in charred ruins where the cannon fire had struck. Yet, as they rode along the paths from the fortress to where Cao Cao had ordered their camp, the Xiahou brothers noticed no sign of fallen soldiers, as there had been closer to the river’s edge. Even the camp itself, though desolate, was empty of remains. Here was where Xiahou Dun finally dismounted, and his cousin let him search through the handful of tents still standing in defiance of wind and weather which had torn the rest down over time. They had nearly all of their relatives with them – not just Ba, but Shang, Hui, Wei, Mao, He, En, and De, as well as the ever-faithful Li Dian – but Yuan kept them all in a close knot as they explored the entire length and breadth of Yiling before finding themselves in the Wei main camp. Only he and Yuanrang had been there for that fateful battle, so the rest could only stare in shock and dismay at the evidence of the ferocity with which Orochi’s army had come against them and overwhelmed them. It still seemed impossible that the Hero of Chaos should meet his end in such a place, but now the others understood why the cousins had been driven off and failed to regroup to protect their lord. Even accounting for the woodland and meadows growing over the scars of battle in the intervening months, it was still very clearly a horrific scene. The old camp seemed as good a place as any to make their own camp, so they all dismounted and took a moment to just stand there and wonder, while Dun went from tent to tent hunting down any clues to Cao Cao’s fate that might possibly still be there to find. Yuan took his helm off and stood with it tucked under his arm, sweeping his gaze around the clearing. “It’s weird, though,” he mentioned to his son at his side. “Xu Zhu said there were bodies strewn across the camp, but there’s nothing now. No graves, no bones…nothing.”

Xiahou Ba gave him a worried look. “There’s no chance of ghosts lingering here, is there…?” The unmourned, unburied corpses of warriors were exactly the type to come back as ghosts, in their thoughts.

“Nah, probably not,” Yuan replied. “All the same, when Dun gets done rooting around, we might want to put up an altar to those who couldn’t find their way from here. Just in case.”

“But if he was right, where did those bodies go?” Li Dian pressed, overhearing their conversation.

“I can’t say. But I was just thinking the same thing,” Yuan said concernedly.

Xiahou Dun swished out of the last tent and trudged over, his omnipresent scowl as deep as ever. The others turned to him as he joined them. “Nothing,” he reported.

“Well, what did you expect, really?” Yuan retorted. “It’s been months, Dun. Anything the Orochi army didn’t plunder, the wild creatures made off with or the weather destroyed.”

“That’s not it,” Dun insisted. “I mean, there is absolutely nothing here that belonged to him. The enemy might have plundered supplies and horses, but his personal effects are gone. Dian Wei might have taken his sword, but his bags? His books?”

“Well…yeah, if he wanted to bury Lord Cao Cao with everything he would need in the afterlife,” Yuan reasoned. “You really think he’d want to walk into heaven without his books and some nicer clothes?”

“Is that it?” Ba interjected. “Lord Yuanrang, are you actually looking for proof that Lord Cao Cao isn’t dead?”

Dun turned a sour look on the young man. “I am only looking for the truth of what happened,” he corrected. “If Lord Mengde’s personal effects are missing, I want to know why that is. Perhaps they are buried with him. But there might be other reasons. Even something as abhorrent and unforgivable as Orochi stealing them.”

“You sure you’re not just looking for keepsakes?” Yuan snorted. Dun eyeballed him furiously.

“Lord Yuanrang,” Li Dian said, stepping in, “is there any reason why we shouldn’t use this camp for ourselves? We can set up our own tents and fires, and leave the old ones intact if you think it best.”

Xiahou Dun turned to him with a curt nod. “It should be fine. There is plenty of room and the space is already laid out for a camp. It is defensible, as well, as long as we barricade the gates that we can’t man.”

There were two palisade lines across the roads, one to the north and one facing east, while a third connecting the two blocked the camp from a dense wood containing a mazelike collection of paths that led back to the frontline fortress they had scouted earlier. In the thick of battle it could be both an advantage and a curse, as armies could be drawn in and left to wander, but at the same time, anyone who traversed the distance successfully would find themselves springing out onto the flank of the main camp. It was best to close that gate and securely bar it so they wouldn’t have to think about it. The north-facing gate was still in good repair, while the one through which they had entered had been breached in the battle and remained damaged to this day. As some of the others stripped the horses of gear and began setting up their tents, Li Dian and Xiahou Ba moved to close the other two gates and see about heaving some thick logs over them to block them completely. Xiahou Yuan explored the damaged gate to see if he could get up onto the palisade to have a good view from which to shoot, if they were approached by the enemy. There was no indication that anyone, friend or foe, had visited Yiling since that battle, but given the changing landscape, they had to be prepared for the possibility that they weren’t the only ones in the whole world wanting to travel to – or through – that territory.

As he strode up the hill to the palisade gate facing the woods, Xiahou Ba squinted into the darkness under the trees and suddenly gasped. “Someone’s in there!”

Li Dian came to his side, and Xiahou Dun started towards them. “Where?” he demanded.

“Just inside the trees,” Ba reported, pointing, his eyes locked on the spot. “I swear I saw something move!”

“It’s probably just a deer,” Dian scoffed.

“Then kill it and we can have venison for dinner!” Wei shouted from where he stood wrapped in tent lines.

Dun joined the two and peered past them into the trees, following Ba’s gaze. He saw nothing, but as they held their breath and waited for another sign, all three heard movement in the leaves. Dun’s heavy podao was out in an instant. “There!” Ba yelped. “See?”

“I’m on it.” Dun sprang from his place and dashed through the gate, with Li Dian right on his heels, wielding his halberd over his shoulder. The two of them plunged into the trees without thinking, and in an instant found themselves swallowed up by the forest. The wind in the leaves roared overhead, cutting off all other sound, and the thick limbs blotted out the sun. Xiahou Dun slowed to a stop and looked around warily, his comrade backing up against him. “That was no deer,” Dun said warily. “Ba is right.”

“Precisely why I followed you,” Li murmured. “I feel a presence, and I don’t like it.”

Dun glanced at him, trusting his instincts. “Guard yourself.” He then raised his voice in a shout. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

“Can’t fool you, Xiahou Dun,” a lazy voice intoned from the shadows, though neither of them could pinpoint exactly which direction it came from.

“Who are you?” Dun called out. “How do you know it is I?”

“You just told me so,” the voice said in amusement. “But really, I’ve been watching you since you rode along the river. You boys really need to work on your stealth, you know.”

Li Dian whispered over his shoulder. “Do you recognize the voice?”

“It’s no one of ours,” Dun hissed back. “I can’t say, but I feel I should know…”

“Do me a favor,” the voice requested in that same laid-back tone, “and put your weapons down. I want to be sure you’re not going to take my head off.”

Dun bristled and brandished the podao instead. “Show yourself first, and I will make the determination whether I ought to take your head off for myself!”

“Tch, touchy as ever. Very well.”

At the confluence of paths just to their side – Dun’s right, Dian’s left – a figure suddenly shimmered into view. Contrary to his warning, Xiahou Dun instantly whirled toward it with a roar and brought the great sword down toward the man’s head, only to find himself reeling into a tree as the figure disappeared like a phantom. Startled, Li Dian brought his halberd around across his body to defend himself, staring at the spot in the bushes where they had seen the man, starting to think Xiahou Ba was right about ghosts. He just about leaped out of his skin when the voice sounded right behind him instead. “I told you not to take my head off. Man, Xiahou Dun, you’re jumpy today.”

Dian flung himself on the ground, fearing ghosts, while Dun whipped around, this time restraining himself long enough to identify the intruder. He thought he had seen a great, flat straw hat the second before the phantom vanished, and sure enough, the figure now standing on the other side of the path wore one, tipped down so they couldn’t see his face at all. He leaned on a tall staff, his posture hunched, and was clad mostly in green and white. He chuckled at the way they reacted to him, and after a moment in which neither moved, he reached to tip the hat up just enough to be able to peer at them from under the shadows. “I know you,” Dun said as it slowly dawned on him. “The Fledgling Phoenix.”

Pang Tong’s eyes narrowed, though with the mask over the lower half of his face, it was hard to tell if it was suspicion or amusement. “My reputation precedes me, I guess.”

“What are you doing here?” Dun demanded, lowering the podao slightly. “What does a man who serves Liu Bei have to do with this place?”

“If you mean, do my ties to Shu mean there are others here with me, the answer’s no,” Pang Tong said casually, and as he turned those gleaming eyes on Li Dian getting up from the ground, it was obviously amusement shining in them. “It’s just me all by my lonesome. Which, as you can see, is a good reason for me to be hiding out in the forest maze where it’s safe.”

“Hiding or not, it doesn’t answer my question,” Xiahou Dun said gruffly, finally straightening up and sheathing his sword. “You have no business here.”

“Perhaps not,” Pang Tong acknowledged, “but when you’re on your own, one place is as good as the next to lay your head.”

“I think it’s all right, Lord Yuanrang,” Li Dian said patiently. “He’s nothing but a vagabond, right now. It has nothing to do with Lord Cao Cao.”

A keenness came into those shadowed eyes. “No, no, I really can’t say as I want anything to do with ol’ Cao Cao,” Pang Tong said dryly. “But from what I hear, that’s not much of a problem these days.”

Dun scowled; he hadn’t forgotten the treason at Chi’bi, and to hear this man speak so flippantly of his dead lord irked him to no end. “What of it, then?”

“Nothing! Nothing at all,” Tong assured. “But now that you’ve gone and disturbed my hiding place, it seems you’ve got no choice but to let me hang around.”

Dun’s hand went back to the hilt of his podao. “Or I could drive you off to go play moocher somewhere else,” he snarled. “We have work to do, and there’s no time to entertain any interference from the likes of you.”

Pang Tong held up his hands in a shrug, the staff still in one of them. “I don’t know what kind of work you still need to do. I’ve already done the hard part and buried your dead.”

Both men straightened up at that and were silent for a moment, staring at him. “You…did that for Wei?” Li Dian queried.

“I did it for their souls.” Pang Tong shook his head slowly. “In this crazy demon world, it’s just not right to leave anyone wandering. They should go where they need to go. The birds took care of most of them for me, but I at least gave their bones a home.”

Dian and Dun looked at each other, and then the former palmed his fist over his heart in gratitude. Dun stared at him a bit longer, and then turned away sharply. “I suppose the least we could do is invite you to eat with us, tonight. I make no promises after that, I may still drive you away to find better compatriots elsewhere.”

“Well! Now that’s more like it.” Pang Tong hefted his staff, slung it over his shoulder, and strode off right past Xiahou Dun toward the path that led directly out of the forest and through the palisade to the camp. The other two shared another glance and then followed, not wanting to be beaten to the punch.

The others were considerably surprised to see what came out of the woods, but seeing as Pang Tong was neither a threat nor a problem, they were content to let him hang around while they finished setting up their camp and preparing to cook. The evening meal was not ready until dusk, at which point all of them gathered around the largest fire to feast together, to give thanks for a safe journey and a good place to lay their heads, and to poke at their guest a little. Since he had been there for some weeks, possibly even months, he had explored every inch of the battlefield as well as much of the surrounding empty land, and knew more than they about a number of important things. The frequency of Orochi patrols, the likelihood of the river to flood, and the relative security of their chosen position were important, but Xiahou Dun was still focused on the one thing he valued more than tactics and military intelligence. “You didn’t ransack the tents at all?” he queried suspiciously, peering at the masked strategist across the fire with the utmost in suspicion.

“Depends on what you mean by ransack,” Tong answered airily. Dun’s gruff demeanor didn’t bother him in the slightest. “Did I poke my head into some of them to see if there was anything I could use to survive in the wilderness? Of course I did. I’m sure any of you would’ve done the same. Did I barge into the command tent and rip everything apart in search of treasure or fun? Come now, what would be the reason for that?”

It didn’t placate Dun much, but the rest of the Xiahous nodded and even chuckled, mostly at the way he disarmed their leader. “You gotta admit, though,” Yuan put in, “we have to ask. It isn’t every day you show up somewhere you think is deserted and it turns out not to be.”

“No, no, I understand,” Tong assured. “You want to make sure I didn’t touch anything belonging to Cao Cao. Don’t worry, it’s like I said earlier – he doesn’t interest me. It wasn’t hard to figure out which one was the command tent, and I didn’t touch it. I went for the supply tents, and there wasn’t much left for me to scavenge anyway.”

“A good enough answer for me,” Mao said with his mouth full of rice. “Don’t mind Yuanrang, he’s touchy about the subject of Lord Mengde.”

Pang Tong heaved a low, knowing chuckle before tugging down his scarf enough to allow him to eat, though a tilt of his head hid his face from view under the brim of his hat. “I suppose that begins to answer my own questions, as to why you brave fellows have come here.”

Yuan squinted at him. “How much do you know about what happened here, anyway?”

“No more and no less than I know about anything that’s happened in this crazy, mixed-up world,” Tong sighed in reply. “That is to say, I know Wei put up a fight here, to stand against Orochi, and it didn’t turn out so well. I know there’s a lot of battle going on out there, and a little of who’s fighting who. But I don’t know the whys and the hows. I’ve been on my own for a long while, and much of the news I have, I came by whenever I brushed up against refugees and peasants, not soldiers.”

“Weren’t you part of Shu?” Xiahou Ba wondered. “Why haven’t you gone to Chengdu to find them?”

Tong tipped his head up enough to regard the youngster, his eyes twinkling again. “What says I need to? Sure, Lord Liu Bei’s been good to me, but I’ve got enough of an ear to the ground to know that things aren’t as cut and dried as who’s loyal to which kingdom.” He gestured with a tilt of his rice bowl. “Take you fellows, for instance.”

Dun scowled darkly at that. “Of course we’re not a part of Wei. Wei is gone, and I do not consider the likes of Cao Pi a fitting heir. He joined with Orochi, even after the demon killed his father. As far as I’m concerned, that makes him a traitor and all who follow him fools.”

All of the Xiahous grunted in some form of agreement. Pang Tong glanced around the circle of them. “No idea why he’d do something like that, huh? Any of you boys even see him, since he made that choice?”

“I have,” Yuan growled. “He led an assault against us when we were still just trying to regroup, Xu Zhu was with us then. We had run into Huang Gai of Wu and were just barely situated, and then bam, he shows up with Orochi’s fox-demon and scatters us all to the wind.” He shook his head over his meal. “I tell ya, it’s like he didn’t even wait until the earth was dry on his father’s grave, and then it’s all ‘oooh, Orochi, I love you, Orochi, let me do your bidding.’ Dun’s not the only one here who wants no part of that. So yeah, you’re right on the money, there.”

Ba did his best not to laugh out loud at his father’s impression of a swooning Cao Pi, hiding a snort in his rice bowl. Pang Tong merely lowered his head to keep eating, though when he spoke there was definite amusement in his tone. “So it’s a mystery, then. I really shouldn’t be surprised, he seems the type to keep his motives unclear and his secrets close to him. Is that why you don’t trust him, Xiahou Dun?”

Dun peered at him right through the down-turned hat brim. “What reason is there to trust a traitor? Trust is earned, old man. He’s done nothing to earn it – instead, he’s willingly done everything the demon asks of him. Not long ago, he led an attack on Resistance forces holed up in Fan Castle.” He wisely left off the part where he didn’t actually meet Cao Pi but instead got himself captured fighting Oda himself. “They, like us, are trying to bring Orochi down. So if his actions run counter to that goal, he’s our enemy. Plain and simple.”

“Plain and simple, you say.” Tong’s musing implied that it wasn’t necessarily so, but he let it be.

Once everyone had finished dinner and the cleanup had been taken care of, all that was left was to set the watch and let everyone else bed down for the night. Much of what they had discussed had Xiahou Dun still rankled, too much on his mind and in his heart to sleep, so he agreed to take first watch. The others were still making noise, deciding who had to sleep in whose tent, so he started with a walk around the perimeter of the camp to make sure all routes of entrance from the forest or the fields were in sight and well-covered by their defenses. He had gotten about halfway around when he glanced to see Pang Tong hobbling his way, leaning on his staff. Dun paused where he was, wondering what the old weirdo was up to this time. “What’s the matter?” he called out in challenge. “Don’t you trust that I know how to manage a perimeter?”

“Not at all,” Tong said patiently as he approached. “Honestly, Xiahou Dun, for you to see doubt and distrust in everyone you meet. You need to have more pride.” He laughed at his own joke and tipped his hat up to see if it had any effect on Dun besides pissing him off. “What can I say? I’ve still got some things on my mind and you look like just the guy to help me with them.”

Dun gave him a sour look. “And why should I?”

“Well, you _are_ the leader of your clan, aren’t you?” Tong shrugged and turned slightly. “I’ve got too much energy tonight, I’ll walk with you. Hear me out, hm?” He started walking first, almost compelling Dun to keep up with him. They passed the barricaded palisade gate before he broached his intended topic. “So now that you’ve seen what’s left of Yiling, what do you intend to do? Or have you thought that far ahead?”

Xiahou Dun looked past him to the quiet camp below as he contemplated his answer. “No, I haven’t,” he admitted. “My goal was to reach here, and seek any sign of what’s become of my lord and those who were with him. Not all of them went slinking back to Cao Pi. But there’s nothing – nothing we didn’t already know. It seems…” He paused before actually saying the words he never wanted to speak, swallowing hard. “…Lord Mengde truly is dead.”

Pang Tong kindly refrained from looking at him, to allow him any moments of grief he needed. “I didn’t find anything to indicate one way or another, or I’d have already told you. If he has a nice grave, it’s probably far from here. Are you heading out again to look for it?”

Some small part of Dun still wanted to jump up and say yes, but he had learned to master it, and bit back the urge with a touch of sensibility. “We have been wandering a long time,” he said heavily, turning his gaze to the path ahead, which would take them around behind the old command tent and back around to where the rest of the Xiahous were settling into bed. “Even that short time living in a remote village, protecting peasants, wasn’t a home – it was no more than a stopover. I can’t speak for the others, but I am tired of being on the move. Seeking small purposes, fighting small battles. It’s pointless, a waste of our energy.”

“No arguments there,” Tong murmured. “But if the battles you’ve seen so far have been too small for you, the only way to find bigger ones is to go after Orochi directly. Which, if you ask me, is a little crazy for an army the size of your clan, but maybe there’s a more middle-ground solution.”

Dun gave him a sidelong look. “Like what?”

“There’s a lot more trouble in this world than just the big serpent hiding out somewhere out of reach,” Tong reasoned. “His army is vast and spread all across the land. There’s no need to settle for tiny raiding parties when you can handle whole battalions lead by famous warlords. And if you want those, why, you’re in one of the best positions for it.”

The way he described it certainly had Xiahou Dun’s attention. “Go on…”

Tong tipped his head in order to squint up from under his hat and give Dun a knowing look. “I told you, I’ve come across news in my travels. Yiling here isn’t some kind of remote outpost, it’s right in the thick of things. Armies pass by here often enough to whet any appetite.” He tapped his staff against his shoulder as he walked. “Not just armies. I’ve seen wayward soldiers and vagabonds out and about, too. If you want to have a chance against some of those armies, you’re gonna need more men than just this handful of stout hearts that share your family blood.”

Everything made complete and total sense to Yuanrang. He stopped again, and shifted to gaze at the tents where his kinsmen slept. Despite the fact that the mighty Wei army had been defeated here, it was still a defensible territory. Just a little hard work and it could be even stronger than it was when Orochi marched on it. In time, they could even have lasting fortifications, houses instead of tents, garrisons full of soldiers…he could see it all in his mind’s eye. Pang Tong paused beside him and simply watched him, waiting, as if he could see the gears turning in Dun’s head. After a long, contemplative silence, Dun looked his way again. “Those are some fairly grand ideas for a man who’s been alone and living like a beggar for this long.”

“What can I say?” Tong shrugged, palms up and open. “Once a strategist, always a strategist. You can’t turn minds like mine off, not even with time, loneliness, or good wine. Well…maybe enough wine would do it, but that’s besides the point.” He chuckled and looked across the camp to the newer, undamaged tents housing the Xiahou clan. “Maybe I’m tired of the status quo as well. These ideas are yours if you want ‘em. You can probably get pretty far with them, with the kind of strength at your command.”

Dun harrumphed at the sudden flattery. “The fortifications along the river will need to be repaired, or even rebuilt. The garrisons need to be cleared and raided of supplies, and the area where Orochi’s cannon units burned should be razed and left to the elements.” He cast a quick look toward Pang Tong. “You’ve already done half the work, burying the dead. We can honor their sacrifice by succeeding where they fell.”

“Ah yes. A lot of backbreaking work still remains to be done,” Tong admitted with a sigh. He’d done far too much of it alone, already. “You’re on the right track, though. Yiling would make a great base from which you can ride out to strike at Orochi’s army wherever it rears its ugly head.”

Dun could see where he was going with all of this. “We will need a strategist.”

“Good thing I know one who isn’t busy.” Tong cocked his head and fixed him with another one of those knowing looks. “It sure does beat picking mushrooms and fishing all by myself.”

“Are there even any decent-sized fish to be had in that river?”

“No, not particularly.” Taking up his staff once more, Pang Tong made to cross straight back to the tent which had been offered to him for the night. “You got yourself a deal, Xiahou Dun. I think you boys could really make something of this little camp, and I wouldn’t mind being around to watch it happen.”

Dun watched him go before turning back to finish his perimeter patrol. He hadn’t even really thought about it, but the more Tong talked, the more he could see it. Yes, they needed a base, they needed a strong fort to house growing armies, which would build their strength and then march to the front line just a few miles away. Orochi’s army would learn to fear this territory, and risk their lives in order to pass Yiling. The snakes would fall, and perhaps even Orochi servants like Cao Pi himself would find themselves beset and defeated at the hands of the Xiahou clan. It was perfect. Dun could put aside his mourning for his lord and settle here, and he truly believed Pang Tong was right. They were strong, they could do this, and make a difference in this war. Becoming strong enough to face Orochi himself had to be done a step at a time, and that journey began here and now.

  


The past few weeks had been something of a gift to Sun Ce and the men following him, though they never felt themselves truly able to relax, the peace of solitude tenuous at best and their sentries constantly on the alert for any sign of pursuit from any direction. Still, they were able to take their time, recover their strength as well as their supplies, compile every last crumb of information, and plan their route through uncertain lands toward Hefei. While battles raged elsewhere, the men of Wu and Mikawa regrouped and pressed on, hoping to take advantage of eyes being elsewhere to cover as much ground per day’s march as they could. It was up to Tokugawa to prepare them for what sort of terrain they might find at Sekigahara, and make the final call whether they should attempt to stall there and use the fortifications to their own advantage, or just keep going. Hattori led the scouts himself, with Kunoichi’s assistance, and for a while Sun Ce felt like he could take it just a little easier each day. He had more than enough retainers at his hand to take care of matters great and small, leaving him free to oversee it all, to get his hands dirty hunting or sparring if he liked, or otherwise simply sit in the saddle and watch the world go by. Zhou Yu was more concerned about what might lay behind rather than ahead, particularly one day when there were reports of a small cluster of soldiers on their trail, but it turned out to their delight to be Mori Ranmaru, leading the few men who hadn’t escaped Xia Kou with their lord. Cheng Pu and Han Dang were with him, looking none the worse for wear and bolstering the spirits of their men as they marched. They were overjoyed to find that the bigger army ahead of them wasn’t Orochi’s at all, but in fact Sun Ce himself, and the entire collection of troops stopped right there to make camp and have a big feast of welcome so that everyone could celebrate their reunion. There was still no sign of Lu Meng’s unit, but given that Cheng Pu had been diligently leading Ranmaru and the others toward Hefei just as predicted, they expected that wise Lu Meng was not only doing the same but might even make it there ahead of them. It was a fine, clear night, like an inviting evening in May when the moon was right for viewing and the grasses sang with the voices of amorous insects all in chorus, and even though they didn’t have any wine to share, there was enough relief and enthusiasm among the men to make up for it. Sun Ce led the party himself, putting Ranmaru in a headlock much to his consternation and challenging all his men to arm-wrestle. “It’s probably a good thing we don’t have any wine,” Zhou Yu observed as he came over and sat down next to his sworn brother. “You are already irrepressible, it would only make things worse.”

“Or better,” Ce retorted. “What can I say? We gotta make the most of it, who knows if there’ll be any reason to celebrate tomorrow or any other day to come.”

Yu looked at him, hearing the melancholy behind his flippant tone. He meant those words as pessimistically as they sounded, even if his fair voice was cheerful. “You have become far more grim in recent days,” he noted. “Should I worry that your optimism seems to be waning?”

“Nah. It’s just been a long few weeks.” Ce had lost all track of the time, it could have been months since he and Zhou Yu escaped from Hulao with their allies’ assistance for all he knew. “I still have hope, or I wouldn’t be marching across the land toward Hefei. If I didn’t have any hope, I’d already have lain down to die.”

“True,” his comrade mused, “yet you don’t usually talk like this. If it’s all the same to you, I want to worry a little bit.”

Ce clapped a hand to his shoulder, laughing under his breath, but it was a deceptive chuckle, hiding his true feelings. “I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you worrying over me,” he said as warmly as he could. “Come on, now, this is supposed to be a party. We’ll look forward to wine and song at Hefei – as long as the Orochi army didn’t plunder our stores, there.”

Kunoichi chose that moment to plop to a seat across from him and offer her arm. “Come on, I heard there was wrestling going on over here! Care to take me on?”

Ce looked at the willowy girl and snorted. “You wanna arm-wrestle me?”

“Yeah! Why not? Afraid you’re gonna get beat by a _girl_?”

He shook his head slowly, and then slammed his elbow down across from her so he could grip her tiny hand. “I like your spirit! Let’s do it!”

While they commenced the match, not far away, Tokugawa sat against a tent pole to relax and digest the big meal everyone had gotten to partake in, in the company of several of his officers as well as Lu Su and Cheng Pu. “Your lord is in rare form,” he complimented the latter two, smiling to himself at the sound of raucous laughter behind him. “He really does have the tiger’s fierce pride.”

“I’m just glad to hear him laughing again,” Cheng Pu sighed. “We’ve traveled and fought together a long time, Lord Ce and I, and those days when we were under Orochi’s rule were some of the worst I’ve ever seen. I never feared that he wouldn’t be able to endure, but there wasn’t much to smile about at the time.”

“It seems as though he feels everything more deeply,” Ieyasu said contemplatively. “Joy as well as sorrow, anger as well as courage. It is an enviable state of being.”

Lu Su regarded him sagely. “For those who must spend their entire lives hiding and guarding their feelings, showing the world an even temper, I suppose it must be.” He would know, as a strategist of some regard himself.

Tokugawa folded his hands comfortably on his round stomach. “It is an honor to follow him, and keep company with such fine men. When all was dark, I never thought it would come to this – holding a feast in the middle of nowhere, with no wine and not even tables to sit at, merely to give thanks for our freedom and having friends returning to our sides unlooked-for.”

“Things will be even better at Hefei,” Cheng Pu said hopefully. “There’ll be tables!”

They all laughed as well, adding to the good mood pervading the camp. Nearly everyone stayed awake late to talk and eat as much as they could, as if steeling both their hearts and their stomachs against leaner, harder times ahead. It was still some distance to Hefei, after all, and deep down none of them expected to reach it without at least one battle for their lives first. At last it was just Ce, Zhou Yu, and Ranmaru sitting together around the last fire, though they knew Hanzo was in the shadows nearby doing as ninjas do and securing their sentry lines for the night. Sun Ce had told everyone the grand story of his experiences at Hulao earlier, not skimping at all on the gory details of war, but only now had he been able to sit down and hear in turn where Ran and his other men had been, how they had gotten along. “It was all thanks to Cheng Pu,” Ran admitted. “He is a stout fellow, and never seemed dismayed even when we had to change our course to elude Orochi’s soldiers.”

“He’s one of our best,” Ce said proudly. “He served my father for a long time, and then me. I can always count on him – oh, not that I can’t count on anybody else,” he added quickly, “but you know what I mean.”

“I’m not surprised at all that he led you to us,” Zhou Yu murmured, his eyes abstractedly focused on the flames of the campfire. “His instincts led him to take the same path we did. Your company was small enough that it was able to catch up.”

“We gathered as many survivors as we could,” Ranmaru said earnestly. “I had my doubts, but now that I see the size of the army here, it’s clear the rest did make it with you as planned.”

“And now you’re here, too,” Ce said with some admiration. “Thanks for keeping your promise. Leaving you guys behind was almost as heart-wrenching as leaving my father at Osaka.”

Ran lowered his gaze to his clasped hands, resting in his lap. After being raised with the expectation to give up his life at any time when needed and asked for, to be asked to stay alive had been a strange twist. Now, he was glad he did so. There was still so much he didn’t understand about Sun Ce as a person, on top of his station as a commander. “I would have done anything so that you could escape,” he said softly.

“You did more than enough,” Zhou Yu encouraged, having heard the story in full the same day as that battle ended. “And you survived fighting both Lord Sun Quan and Cao Pi, that’s quite impressive. Zhou Tai did say he sensed a great potential when he tested you – for you to already be so powerful at your age, he thinks you will be nothing short of unstoppable in another five years.”

Ranmaru looked up sharply to him, surprised. “Master Zhou Tai said that?”

“Considering how few words anyone gets out of Zhou Tai, that’s a pretty big compliment,” Sun Ce said wryly. “I’d accept it if I were you.”

Ran squirmed and blushed a little under their approving gazes. “I can only hope to live up to his praise someday.”

“What, doesn’t your Lord Oda say such nice things about you?” Ce wondered.

“Oh, it’s not that,” Ran assured. “Lord Nobunaga is very free with his encouragement. But…it is harder to get noticed by his other retainers. Even after they’ve seen me fight, they still dismiss my age and say Lord Nobunaga only keeps me around for other purposes.”

Zhou Yu’s lips twitched as he tried to suppress a smile. He had suspected such things, given the way the boy fawned on Sun Ce. “Hopefully, then, being among Wu has given you a better chance to polish your skills so that no one can ignore them,” he said diplomatically. “Our lord doesn’t stand on ceremony as much as some, and a talented fighter will get noticed for his talent right away.”

“You have been kind and generous to me since the first day,” Ran acknowledged with a seated bow. “I have still been made to earn my place, and given no slack. That is all I could have ever asked for.”

“Good.” Ce pushed himself up from his seat and pressed a hand down on the boy’s head, ruffling his hair. “You’ve had a long, hard ride, you should get some sleep. I think I’ve finally lost my second wind, I’m gonna do the same.”

He waved and strode off toward his tent. Zhou Yu made to get up and follow, as usual, only flinching a little in surprise as Hanzo suddenly appeared from the shadows to take up his post at the campfire on watch. Ranmaru looked up to him. “Master Zhou Yu…may I ask you something?”

“Hm? What is it?” Yu paused, facing him across the fire.

“Lord Sun Ce has taken me as his esquire, and treats me as well as any of his men,” the boy noted. “Why does he not wish for me to fulfill other duties?”

“Other…duties?” Yu raised an eyebrow, though he gathered it meant the same as _other purposes_. “There is nothing more he needs, Ranmaru. You fight when he asks, you follow or stay at his whim, you even sometimes saddle his horse for him when he hasn’t asked for it. As I said, he doesn’t stand on ceremony – he wouldn’t expect a fellow warrior to demean himself with menial tasks. But if you want to clean his boots or polish his tonfa, he probably wouldn’t stop you.”

Ran’s head lowered again, so that his bangs covered his eyes. “That wasn’t exactly what I meant…”

“I think I know what you meant.” Zhou Yu gave a single shake of his head to shut down that line of thinking. “We have sworn a bond of brotherhood, which means that if he needs, he will come to me.”

“…oh!” Ranmaru met his gaze, curious all over again. “I didn’t know that was what it meant. Forgive me, my lord…”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Yu reassured. “We may do things a bit differently in our ancient time, but your heart at least is in the right place. You want to help him in any way possible. You can rest easy knowing that _that_ particular expectation is nothing you have to worry about.”

“I understand, now.” The boy gave him another bow. “Thank you for explaining. Sleep well, my lords.”

Zhou Yu nodded to excuse himself and crossed the camp to the command tents, slipping inside the one he shared with Sun Ce as silently as a shadow and prowling straight into the sleeping area. Ce was already curled up on his side, but from the way he shifted his head at the movement of the tent flap, he wasn’t asleep yet. Yu said nothing of his additional chat with Ranmaru and only set aside his extra layers in order to sleep comfortably. As he had pretty much every night since liaising with Tokugawa’s well-supplied army, he stretched out against his sworn brother’s muscled bulk and wrapped an arm around him. Ce finally stirred, rolling just enough to the side to be able to glance over his shoulder. “I was wondering if you were coming to bed.”

“Just had to take care of a couple last-minute details.” Yu pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder and then nestled against him. “Sleep, Ce. You have to be exhausted after all that excitement.”

Ce chuckled. It would have been better if he’d been drunk, but it was true, he was very tired. “Fine, but you have to sleep, too,” he mumbled, putting his head back down. “No more thinking for tonight.”

“I assure you, there isn’t a coherent thought in my head right now.” It was only the tiniest lie. Zhou Yu genuinely wanted to stop thinking and fall asleep. The warmth of Ce’s body pressed against his helped considerably.

From there, the reunited army continued forward on their northeast heading, making for Sekigahara with the intention of reevaluating their journey from there. Tokugawa remembered that during their time as Orochi’s minions a cache of supplies had been placed there, much like Changshan and Mikatagahara and a few other places deep within Orochi-held territory. The cannons which overlooked the open fields were part of that cache as well as its defense, so that if a skirmish broke out nearby, the Orochi army could withdraw to Sekigahara and shore up their defenses there until reinforcements could arrive. They never counted on the Resistance taking and holding so much of their territory that Sekigahara would actually be approachable by the enemy. The cannons were too large to take and even the ammunition and powder was too cumbersome to steal and transport even if they wanted to, but Tokugawa was intent on the rest of the supplies. As the days went by one by one and they got closer and closer to their mid-way goal, he began to plan in earnest for what they should actually do upon arrival. Once they were close enough that Hattori could slip away and investigate the current state of the cannons and the field, the shogun proposed an idea to his fellow commanders. He wanted to go first, just in case it was being held against them, so that the brunt of the first assault would fall on his men instead of the Wu soldiers. If all was well, he would gauge the moment and decide whether to keep going or to stop and lay over at Sekigahara so they could raid the supply cache. Zhou Yu wasn’t sure about the latter part of the plan, but if Tokugawa wanted to be the first to step onto the field and draw unfriendly attention, he was all right with that. The men of Mikawa were as stout-hearted as their lord, and painfully obedient as well. In the end they decided that he should indeed go first, splitting the army along kingdom lines, and if there was no trouble waiting, they would let the men of Wu catch up. Then and only then would they determine how to proceed. No sooner had Tokugawa ordered his ranks and moved out, taking Kunoichi and Ranmaru with him to serve as scout and messenger respectively, than the rear-flank sentries reported spotting scouts from a different and unrelated army behind them. Said scouts had vanished as quickly as they appeared, so they couldn’t tell who or what had sent them, but from that point on the Wu contingent had one eye over their collective shoulders, wondering if they were being followed and wary of any slight movement on the horizon. A day or two later and they knew for sure that there was, in fact, another army on their heels. Not another contingent of wayward officers loyal to Sun Ce, a full-size army. They closed in swiftly, and soon enough it was clear that they were not friendly. Allies would have sent someone to contact their leaders and set up a meeting. Foes only pursued, heedless of the terrain or situation. It had to be the Orochi army. Zhou Yu urged them to speed, and on his advice, they abandoned the plan in order to simply hurry to Sekigahara and attempt to use its defenses to protect themselves from the hunters behind them. The Orochi army would surely be surprised to have their cannons turned against them the moment they set foot on the field.

They barely rested by night and pressed on by day, as the weather remained fair and spring-like to aid them, but there was no way to know just how much further they had to go to get behind walls and inside garrisons to guard themselves – or whether the Orochi army would overtake them first. At last, on a day when the sun rose wan and gold through distant storm clouds, they were met by one of Tokugawa’s men who had ridden back to relay news. Ii Naomasa came on them unexpectedly, and looked stunned to hear the reason that they were this far afield. “It’s a good thing I came to find you,” he fretted. “Lord Tokugawa was concerned about assault from the front and went on ahead, but you’ve managed to aim straight for Sekigahara on this path. Let me guide you, we’ll be there in no time.”

“Lord Tokugawa will have to wait for the return message,” Zhou Yu said urgently. “We need to get there, and fast! At the rate they’re marching, they’ll be on us before the day is out if we don’t turn to defend ourselves.”

He already had some idea of the layout of the battlefield as it was in Tokugawa’s time, from all their conversations about it in camp up until that day, but without more information he was still leading the strategy somewhat blind. Sun Ce had every faith in him, though, and clapped him on the shoulder to silently say so as he went to his horse. “Mount up, and let’s move! Don’t let anyone fall behind, we all have to make it there so we can turn and teach these guys not to corner a tiger!”

The men of Wu cheered in agreement, and in no time they were moving as fast as an army their size could go. They followed Ii Naomasa with all due haste into a thick fir wood that muffled all sound and surrounded them with a heady pine scent made stronger by the warm, humid air. It was hard going particularly for the horses, but it effectively screened them from view until they came out rather abruptly to find a line of enormous canvas walls strung up between poles, looking weatherbeaten but solid. Zhou Yu recognized the configuration as something the men of Wa had talked about before, a method of encampment common in their time. “This is a camp,” he breathed to Ce as they held ground and looked around. “I don’t know who it would belong to, but…”

“It’s not Lord Tokugawa’s,” Naomasa explained. “It must be from the Western Army. He said we fought them here, or will fight them or something.”

“I don’t care whose it is as long as we can hole up in it,” Sun Ce said bluntly, dismounting and pulling his tonfa from where they had been strapped to the saddle.

“Bring everyone up and shelter them here,” Zhou Yu commanded. “I will have a look out and see if I can figure out exactly where we are.”

“I will help as I can,” Naomasa added, “but I must ride back to warn Lord Tokugawa and bring him back.”

“Yes,” Yu agreed, “we will need them. That may be to our advantage – if our pursuers don’t realize we have reinforcements coming, they may throw everything into a single attack which can be outflanked. Come, we must hurry.”

He leaped down and went on foot, tugging a flap of canvas aside to verify that there were no spies immediately in the area before dashing out and jogging along the line of jinmaku strung up between posts, Naomasa right behind him. It seemed like ages ago, but Tokugawa had in fact drawn out a crude map for him, indicating where he remembered the camps and cannons lying as well as the most likely storage depot for the supply cache. It was entirely possible the field was laid out differently, as other battles had also taken place on the same ground. At the far end of the barrier line was a gap, and through that gap Zhou Yu could peer and get a full picture of the terrain. They were in a valley, he could see other jinmaku barriers some distance away riding up the shoulder of a hill, and more solid wooden palisades even further up. Clouds were moving in, and the sun gleamed blearily through them as if through a pane of frosted glass, muting the more distant sights of trees and hills under a haze that spoke of rain to come. At his shoulder, Naomasa confidently used his spear to point out the cannon forts, two and two, facing each other across the wide plain dotted with clumps of grass and patches of sand. Marking those and comparing them to the position of the sun, Zhou Yu finally understood which direction they were facing and knew what he needed to do. Even if they hadn’t seen any enemy soldiers yet, he sprinted back to the camp, eager to put things into play and get Naomasa riding to secure their reinforcements. In his absence Sun Ce had taken it upon himself to separate their men into units and put an officer in charge of each, reserving one for himself and one for Zhou Yu. Lu Su glanced over as the two officers rejoined them. “What have you seen?”

“Some luck,” Yu replied, giving Naomasa a slap on the back of his crimson armor to encourage him to mount up and get moving. “There are two cannon forts within our reach, we should be able to get to them and man them before the enemy is upon us. The bad news is, there are two more artillery positions across the field, and I doubt we can reach them in time. We shall have to be on our guard, in case they are taken and used against us.”

“Two on two, huh?” Ce remarked. “Sounds good to me. If they want to fire on us, we'll fire back.” He set his fists on his hips, making the tonfa stick out from where he held them. “Assuming we've got anybody who can work the cannons, that is.”

“I studied the workings while we were still with the Orochi army,” Lu Su said. “I should be able to instruct our soldiers quickly enough.”

“Is there any sign of the enemy yet?” Cheng Pu asked.

Yu shook his head. “We've managed to buy ourselves enough time to dig in our defenses. Let's make the most of it.”

Their men bowed to acknowledge the orders and moved out, Lu Su leading his troops to the nearest cannon fort to begin explaining how to load and fire a cannon, Han Dang taking another unit to man the second and wait for instruction. The rest waited in formation while the commander and his strategist went to the edge of the canvas wall and stood watch together. “So,” Ce began, “is there a plan rumbling around in that head of yours, Zhou Yu?”

“I'm working on it,” Yu replied. “But I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves until we know who we're facing. They should catch up fairly quickly now that we've stopped.”

Ce glanced at him. “Does it matter who it is?”

“More than you'd expect.” Zhou Yu turned to meet his eyes. “If it's Cao Pi, I would proceed far differently than if it were, say, Da Ji herself. And if it happens to be your brother...well. That would be even more different.”

“If it's Quan,” Ce said heavily, “don't go easy on him. I won't.”

“I'm aware.” Yu set a hand on his sworn brother's shoulder and left it resting there for a while. “Besides, we must see first how they choose to array their troops. If they use the cannons or don't, if they move from the south or the east, if they assault us in full battle array or send smaller contingents to test our defenses.”

“All right, well, when you put it that way...” Sun Ce heaved a huge sigh and leaned into the touch. “I guess all we can do now is wait.”

“Patience, my friend,” Yu murmured. “It won't be long, and then you can finally strike back with all your might. Our time for fleeing and hiding is over.”

Ce nodded but said nothing more, tapping one tonfa against his far shoulder impatiently. Zhou Yu truly knew his heart; he'd been focused on keeping his men alive and staying hidden, on trying to make this journey to Hefei without being spotted. Now that they had an actual enemy at their heels, he wanted nothing more than to fight, and fight at his fullest. He was well-rested, uninjured, and ready to unleash all that pent-up tension on whoever dared to hunt them through the wilderness. He actually hadn't fought in a full-scale battle since striking down Sima Yi. It was time to change that.


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The full Battle of Sekigahara, featuring Sun Ce versus Sun Quan.

Within the hour they began to see scouts flitting about the edges of the trees at the far side of the field, and not long after, the palisade gate high on the hill swung open to permit a small cluster of armed men to pass through. Lu Su had just gotten done instructing Han Dang's unit when the enemy was spotted, meaning there was indeed no time to think of trying to take the other artillery forts across the field – he barely made it back to his own men in time. The distant cannons fired first, and Sun Ce and Zhou Yu jumped at the shot which thudded hard into the ground about twenty feet away from them. They scrambled to return to their waiting forces in the camp and get into the saddle, ready to take the field at their first opportunity. It was time for Zhou Yu to show why he was so highly regarded as a strategist. “Cannons, fire on the enemy!” he ordered, his clarion voice cutting through the still, hazy air. “Do not let them cross that field without paying for it!” He looked back at his commander, even as the nearby cannon let off its first shot and his horse pranced nervously at the noise. “We’re going to have to draw them out,” he said warily. “We know they’re after you, my lord. Can you manage to show yourself without getting captured or hurt?”

“Just watch me,” Ce said brashly, tightening the reins.

“I mean it,” Yu insisted. “Those cannons are no joke. If they keep firing on our position, we’ll be pounded to dust before we can even cross the field.”

“We? Oh, are you coming with me, Zhou Yu?” Sun Ce smirked, but there was a seriousness behind it. The thrill of battle hadn’t completely overtaken him yet, but it was swelling with each boom of the cannon-fire. His sworn brother just gave him a deadpan look, not needing to advise that his strategist needed to see things for himself so of _course_ he was coming. Both simply met each other’s eyes and then turned their horses to ride out into the field.

The enemy cannons seemed to be trained on theirs, and while some shots fell wide of their mark, there was a gap to the south where only the most errant hits would threaten. The two horses made for that gap, racing pell-mell across the field to simply outrun any projectiles soaring overhead, intending to pass through into the trees again before any cannon could be swiveled to aim at them instead. Where the trees thinned out near the edge of the field they hoped to strike a path of some sort that would take them closer to enemy lines, the better to search out any of the troops they had seen getting into position earlier, all the better to let themselves be glimpsed as bait to draw out the enemy commander. Sun Ce outpaced his comrade, one tonfa held out wide as he rode in case he ran into the enemy, but his eyes were on the hills screened by the trees and stockade walls. Whoever was after him had to be up there, if only they could find the right path to take them up there. He galloped along the tree line and came around the base of the ridge to find soldiers on the march, and then an arrow whizzed past his head so close that he reined in short on the spot. Ce looked for the archers, but there was only one, and his heart sank as he recognized her. The stormy look in Ina’s eyes as she fitted another arrow to her bowstring did not bode well for the identity of the pursuing commander. She seemed to forget about her men as she zeroed in on her target, heedless of the fact he was mounted and ready to fight. “You!” she seethed as soon as she was in earshot. “I will stop your treachery here and now!”

Ce frowned, but before he could leap down and join the fight, Zhou Yu rode up alongside him, shielding him from attack. “Don’t. We’ve done our part, we should retreat safely and prepare our next move.”

“Not yet,” Ce implored. “I need to know for sure, Zhou Yu.” His friend pursed his lips in doubt, but relented with a toss of his head, permitting Sun Ce to raise his voice. “Lady Ina! Does this mean my sister is with you?”

“Don’t you dare speak of your sister in front of me!” Ina said savagely, coming to a stop and drawing her bow on him. “She is shattered by your betrayal! I will not let you face her unless you can manage to go through me!”

Zhou Yu brandished his sword, ready to hack down any arrows that flew their way. “You misunderstand! All we want to do…”

“I do not want to hear it!” Ina paused to aim more true, giving Zhou Yu a chance to charge her. She spun and shot wildly at him instead, missing narrowly. Sun Ce closed from the other side and dropped from the saddle right in front of her, driving a tonfa down hard and forcing her to block with her bow. She held him off for a moment but he was clearly stronger, and as her arms gave way she darted back to avoid being struck by either of them. “Traitors!” she gasped at them. “Don’t bother giving me any excuses, I don’t want to hear them.”

“I don’t have any,” Ce said in a low tone, sliding into an attack stance. “Please, just tell me how my sister’s doing. That’s all I want to know!”

Ina glared at him, brandishing her bow like a club, ready to strike with the bladed ends. “What do you care?”

“I’m her big brother, of course I care!” Ce cried. “She’s mad at me, isn’t she?”

“What do you expect?” Ina shot back. “You left your father to die! She doesn’t understand – none of us do!”

For a moment, Sun Ce lowered his head and closed his eyes. “That’s not it at all. I wish you could see…”

“Enough!” Ina snatched three more arrows lightning-fast from her quiver and had them strung before he could even move, not that it stopped him from lunging at her. They streaked toward him, but Zhou Yu rode in at the right moment and a slash of his sword cut them all out of the air. It was clear with the both of them there, she would not be able to gain the upper hand, so she backed off, calling to her men. “Pull back for now! Inform Lord Sun Quan that we have met the enemy!”

The two men froze where they were. Confirmation of their suspicions punched them both in the gut, but as long as they faced a foe they had to keep their composure. “Wait!” Ce called after Ina before she could completely retreat. “Tell my sister…I don’t know what, but I wish I could talk to her. I want her to know the truth! Please, Ina!”

The Lady Ina glowered silently at him for daring to even attempt to pass such a message, and then drew on him once more. He got the hint and whistled for his horse, catching the saddle as it rode up and kicking hard to urge it to speed so that he wouldn’t get an arrow in the back. He had Zhou Yu to protect him, but it seemed she wasn’t interested in sniping him dishonorably from behind. The two men thundered back around the bend and away across the clearing, ducking up a side path to catch their breath before making their way back to their camp. The cannon fort held by Han Dang was closer, so they diverted through there and held ground for a bit. The enemy cannons had the field covered so well that they weren’t sure they could get back to the main camp, now. At least their reason for riding out so far had been fruitful, and now they knew for sure who they were facing. Zhou Yu remained in the saddle, glaring hard at the cannons opposite and the hazy sky above, growing even more bleary with the black powder smoke drifting through the air. “This is worse than I expected,” he said darkly. “Your brother and sister both…”

“We can’t give up,” Ce insisted. “I know what they want, but I can’t just let them have me. We have to fight them and defeat them.”

“I never said we wouldn’t,” Yu cut in quickly. “Just that it would be difficult. If your brother is even half as angry as Lady Ina, he will come at you with every ounce of his strength.”

“I hope he does. We’ll settle this through strength.”

“No, Ce.” Yu finally slid out of the saddle and went straight to him, pulling him aside so Han Dang wouldn’t overhear more than he already had. As it was, he stood there blinking like an owl at them. Yu dropped his voice to a secretive whisper. “This is not a time for the two of you to be posturing at each other. As you said, you need to get out of here alive. But we can no longer pull out and escape, we must see this battle through. That means we must be smart, not strong. At least for the larger part of the battle.” His lips twisted wryly. “If in the end it comes down to the two of you pounding on each other until one submits, then by all means. But allow me to get you there, first.”

Ce stared hard at him for a long moment and then gave in with a little sigh, looking away. “All right, fine. You’re right as always, Gongjin. Lead the way.”

Yu nodded and turned to gesture through a gap in the canvas wall forming the boundary of the artillery base. “Those cannons are trouble. Since we don’t know how long it will take for Lord Tokugawa and the reinforcements to get here, we might have to do something about them ourselves.”

“Have Cheng Pu bring his men up,” Ce suggested, “maybe we can skirt the edge of the field…”

He trailed off as at that very moment, the distant cannon-fire ceased. They all looked again to see if there was a reason why, even as Zhou Yu waved a hand to get their own men to cease fire temporarily as well. There didn’t seem to be any change on the other side of the field, but the sudden quiet was eerie and suspicious. “Do you think they ran out of ammo?” Han Dang wondered.

“No,” Sun Ce answered. “There.” He pointed to what he could now see. The enemy vanguard was entering the field on horseback, carrying flags that indicated a wish to conference. Soldiers hung back at the gate of the cannon fort, but four horses were more than enough show of strength for this purpose. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu knew the gesture well, and mounted up to meet it. There was no time to call any other officers in to join them, they had to go alone, but as they showed themselves on the field, riding slowly, Lu Su left the other base to meet them and ride with them so that they would have at least one bodyguard. There was no telling what might happen in the next few minutes, but swords remained sheathed and hands stayed on reins for now. This was a parley, or at least a meeting of the opposing commanders to hash out the terms of victory and defeat.

No one could tell from Sun Ce’s blank expression just how he felt, seeing those four faces across from him. He pulled his horse to a stop at the requisite distance, close enough to talk but far enough that none of their weapons would pose a threat. Sun Quan, on the other hand, wore the darkest glare his brother had ever seen. Beside him, Zhou Tai was as inscrutable as ever. Sun Shangxiang seemed every bit as angry as Ina had been, while Daqiao merely looked sad. Ce could not bring himself to meet his wife’s eyes, so he trained his gaze on his furious brother. It was the first time he had seen his siblings in ages – not since Xia Kou, in Quan’s case, but he hadn’t seen his sister since well before he marched on Odani Castle so long ago. “Quan. Shangxiang,” he greeted them in a soft tone. “I never thought the three of us would meet like this…”

Shangxiang instantly bristled at the sound of his voice. “You! You could have gotten all of us killed! Father could already be dead, how could you? How _could_ you?!”

“Hang on, I can explain!” Ce yelped, matching her energy. “I know what I’m doing, if you’d just…!”

“If you really knew what you were doing,” Quan cut in sharply, “you would have waited for your moment. You wouldn’t have risked the lives of those you supposedly love!”

It took Ce a moment to recover from that blow, biting back savage words that rose like bile in his mouth. Zhou Yu interjected on his behalf. “Will you not allow us to explain?”

“What is there to explain?” Quan challenged, glaring at him instead. “I don’t need you speaking on his behalf, Zhou Yu, let the traitor say it himself. He turned his back on his family for his own selfish desires, he just needs to admit it.”

Ce took a deep breath in order to control his voice. “It’s true that I couldn’t take working for that snake any longer…”

“You couldn’t _take it_ anymore?!” Shangxiang interrupted shrilly. “Do you think _we_ like this? We do it because we have to! If we don’t, Father will be dead and us with him, and for what? Because _you_ didn’t want to do it anymore?!”

“Let me finish!” Ce snapped back. “I also needed to rescue Father as soon as I possibly could! I had no choice, if I didn’t move when I did I would have lost that chance!” 

“But you didn’t!” Quan shouted. “You failed, brother! You left him there and ran like a coward, just when he needed you most!”

Ce shook his head furiously. “You weren’t there, Quan, you don’t know what happened…!”

“I know enough.” As angry as he was, Quan had just enough restraint not to draw his sword, so he settled for pointing rudely across the space between them. “Wu needs you, and you deserted us! You took half our men and left us stranded in our hour of need! Even now, Da Ji still holds our father’s life over us, while you continue to run and hide. It ends here, brother!”

Sun Ce fully understood his siblings’ anger, but he was mindful of his counsel taken with Zhou Yu. He couldn’t let them have him. But he wanted so desperately for them to understand, to maybe grasp just why he did what he did and why they didn’t have to rage at him. “There’s more to this than you can see from where you stand, Quan,” he insisted. “I didn’t make my decision lightly, and even now I won’t apologize for it. I made the right choice, whether you know it or not. And now, I can’t come back to you. I know there is no mercy for me. It can’t be like it was before.”

Quan’s face hardened like granite. “Then you know that you leave us no choice.”

“I know.” Ce lifted a hand off the reins and held an open palm up in a vow. “We will not retreat off this battlefield until it’s settled. If you want my head, you’ll have to take it by force.”

“Oh, I will,” Quan vowed in turn. “Better me than anyone else. Da Ji won’t have the satisfaction, because your head is mine.”

Ce’s expression tightened. “I love you both, which is why I’m going to give you both the beating of a lifetime. Consider this parley ended. I’ll see you on the battlefield.”

“Ce…” Daqiao’s soft plea fell into the tension and vanished like a whisper. He still didn’t look at her, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his authoritative composure if he did. The others turned their horses first and rode back to their side, ambling at first but then breaking into a gallop. He knew what that meant, and gestured for Yu and Lu Su to hurry and get out of there as fast as they could. No sooner had they run the length of the field and ducked into the cannon fort and the enemy cannons boomed again, the shots falling right on the path they had ridden just moments before.

Zhou Yu looked upon his lord with pained concern as they regrouped behind the jinmaku walls. “This is certainly not going as planned,” he murmured.

Ce’s eyes were still hard, but he had entered a state of determined resignation. “I’ve chosen my path, and they’ve chosen theirs,” he said with some finality. “That’s just the way it is. In the end we’re all aiming for the same goal, but we have very different ideas of how to get there.”

Yu acknowledged that with a tip of his head and turned to get back to the strategy at hand. “We’re closer to the main camp now, we can get word to Cheng Pu to bring everybody else up. We still need to silence those cannons, if we cannot take them and turn them against their own masters. Only then will it be safe for our reinforcements to join us, and we can all take the field together.”

They held there for a bit while they waited for Cheng Pu to come up with the rest of their forces, which didn’t take too long. The cannon fire was still falling just short of the base, but if anyone dared to advance, they would have been blown to pieces out there. When the men crowded into the base, the commanders were surprised to find Ii Naomasa among them yet again. “I just got back,” he explained. “Lord Tokugawa is on his way, but we have a small problem.”

“Oh, wonderful,” Zhou Yu said sarcastically. “More setbacks.”

Naomasa pointed his spear to the southeast, past their other artillery base. “Our reinforcements are coming from that direction, but there is a guardpost there being held by the enemy. They’re starting to move around us on all sides, cutting off access to any trail we could use to retreat. I know my lord is strong enough to defeat such a guard, but he has no way of knowing that they’re there. They could ambush him the moment he arrives.”

“Better for us to clear them out from the front,” Ce realized. “All right. We’ll get on that, as soon as we can get out from under this hail of cannon-fire.”

“Let me and Cheng Pu handle the cannons,” Zhou Yu broke in. “Go, my lord, with Ii, and open that gate for our reinforcements.”

Ce knew he really wanted to get him off the open field so that Quan, Shangxiang, and the other Wu officers wouldn’t target him, but it was for the best. The job did need to be done, and quickly, what better man for it? “If you insist. Stay strong, Zhou Yu, I want to come back here and find you still in one piece.”

“I promise not to die,” Yu said smartly, giving him the tiniest smirk before turning to work out the best plan for attacking the cannons with Cheng Pu.

By now his horse was probably weary, but Sun Ce had to push it to speed yet again, riding right behind Ii Naomasa as he led the way to the palisade where the gate was being held against them. They darted across to the other cannon fort, past Han Dang, and used the cover of cannon fire to make their way along the edge of the wood to the hills and then skirt along the foot of the ridge. Naomasa turned aside up along an embankment that finally screened them from sight of any fire, and for a blissful few moments all they heard was the thud of their horses' hooves on the turf as they gained the top of the hill and burst through a gap in the palisade wall. Tokugawa's advance information had not been wrong, it was practically a garrison or encampment, precisely the kind of spot he would want to bring his army so that they had the advantage of a safe place to regroup in secret before storming the field. Yet, Sun Quan's army seemed to grasp the same possibility, for just as Naomasa reported, there was a small contingent guarding the gate that opened out onto more pine woods. At the head of the column stood Ina, bow held low and ready with an arrow already nocked. As they rode, Sun Ce heard the man beside him give a little gasp. “What is her ladyship doing here?”

“They're all here,” Ce informed him grimly. “Sorry I didn't have a chance to tell you, but yeah. I already faced her earlier.”

“I cannot battle Lady Ina!” Naomasa fretted. “Lord Tokugawa and Lord Honda would never forgive me!”

Ce made a bit of a face at his hesitation, but understood. “Don't worry about it. She's mine. She'd rather fight me than you anyway.”

“Back again, Sun Ce?” Ina called out to them as they neared her position. “I heard that the negotiation broke down, as I expected. So it will be settled with weapons, not words.”

Pulling his horse to a stop, Ce leaped down and strode right toward her, brandishing his tonfa. “That's right. You're in our way, my lady. I don't intend to go easy on you, this time.”

“You had better not.” Ina's face darkened with a scowl as she pulled the bow up into position, aimed for his head. “I am no less powerful than your sister. Once was not enough, I will face you again!”

Ce showed no sign of remorse. “Whatever you have to do. Just know that I'll do what's necessary, as well.” That was all the warning he gave before breaking into a sprint, headed directly at her in defiance of her aim. She had no trouble hitting a moving target, but with his eyes fixed on her, his face set in determination, her arm wavered. She had to fire before he reached her, but the arrow skipped off his shoulder pauldron as he lunged and ducked, and then he was right in her face, punching forward with both tonfa one after the other. Ina wasn't fast enough to bring her bow down to slice at him before he hit her and reeled back from the sheer force of his hit. Maybe wanting him to go all-out wasn't such a good idea after all. Ce pressed the attack with a relentless barrage, never letting her get a hand free to even grab another arrow much less prepare it to fire at point-blank range. She had to grip the bow with both hands and slash it back and forth, desperately trying to deflect his punches and give herself an opening to use the bladed tips to strike back. Once or twice she managed to hit hard enough to knock a tonfa wide, but there was always a second one following it up, and she couldn't evade all the swings. Ce was much stronger, not to mention driven, and his momentum allowed him to spin and kick between punches while she did all she could just to keep from being pushed all the way back to the wall. Ina was a long-range fighter, and though her bow had been built with the sharp ends so that she could manage in close quarters in an emergency, it wasn't her preferred style and she had no chance against someone like Sun Ce. He jogged a step to her left and threw a backhanded punch, slamming the tonfa straight into her elbow. Ina let out a savage yell of pain as her bow-arm crumpled, and staggered back out of the way. Not to be outdone, she whipped the bow around with her other hand and slashed at him, but he raised the Conqueror so that it lay along his forearm, a secure and solid block. He could have pressed on from there, but she was injured and he had made his point. “Stand down, Ina,” he implored, arm flexed to keep the tonfa in place. “You won't have my head today. You know it, I know it...your men know it.”

Ina glanced to see that Naomasa had made short work of any soldiers who tried to rush to their lady's aid, though most of them merely shrank back at the sheer power of the Little Conqueror. Ii shot her a quick, concerned look as he circled back around to back up the commander, lowering his spear into position. “Would you have mine instead, then?” she challenged, staring them both down.

“No. You're free to go back to my sister's side. She needs you.”

Ina winced at being dismissed like that, but she knew full well she was in no shape to contest his claim on the garrison and the gate. She couldn't draw her bow at all now, and the bladed tips wouldn't be enough to fend him off if he attacked once more. Backing away, she called to her men. “Return to the main camp! We will rendezvous with Lord Sun Quan's forces.” She kept her eyes on Sun Ce, who likewise stood monitoring them until the entire troop had drawn off and fled up a back trail toward the main camp up on the highest hill. Ina brought up the rear, still watching them as if they would even consider attacking her from behind, and then she too was gone.

Ce let out a huge sigh as the last vestiges of the defense vanished behind the trees. “That's done. Now we wait.”

“Fine work, my lord.” Naomasa looked from the trail to the gate and back again, keeping an eye out for either friend or foe. “Should we hold here until they arrive?”

“Yeah. I don't want anyone sneaking back in here and giving Lord Ieyasu a nasty surprise.” Sun Ce nodded up to the young officer. “You got my back. I appreciate that.”

“You're facing a tough battle, Lord Sun Ce.” Naomasa brought his spear up and rested the butt in one stirrup, standing down temporarily. “And yet you go into it without flinching. I can only hope to be as courageous, whether serving my lord or anyone else.”

Ce glanced at him and nodded in acknowledgment. It was good to know that even their allies understood the nature of this fight. It left him free to deal with it as he best saw fit. Folding his arms as best he could with a tonfa in each fist, he placed himself before the gate as if to dare anyone to get past him.

When Lady Ina stumbled back into the main camp, Shangxiang met her right away, as it was clear she was injured. Ina did not answer demands to know who had done this to her, she only shrugged it off as part of battle and drew her aside to talk more privately while someone wrapped up her arm and checked for broken bones. At last, out of earshot of Sun Quan, she dared to speak of her encounter. “I don't think he was looking for me, but he found me,” she confessed. “Shangxiang, please...don't jump to conclusions.”

Shangxiang's eyes had gone hard and cold upon hearing her brother's name. “What else would you have me do? He attacked you, he _hurt_ you...”

“I am a warrior like my father,” Ina said sharply, “I can take a few hits. This is battle, I expect nothing less of him or anyone else we face.” She glanced at the soldier patching up her arm, silently willing him to leave them alone. He was finished, so he did, allowing her to turn a serious look on her friend. “I am starting to have my doubts that Sun Ce is a traitor, the way Da Ji says he is.”

“What do you mean?” Shangxiang's suspicion shifted to Ina herself. “He's betrayed his family, of course he...”

“I don't think so,” Ina interrupted. “That is, I don't think he actually intended betrayal. It is true that he did attempt to free Lord Sun Jian. If he failed, it couldn't have been because he wanted to.”

Shangxiang's expression tightened, though a bit of fear began to crease her brow. It was so much easier when she could just be angry at Ce for leaving them, but she heard every word he said on the field. And now he allowed Ina to retreat safely? “I can't just give him the benefit of the doubt. It's useless to even ask him anything, he’s just going to deny it.”

“Then fight him yourself, and look him in the eyes,” Ina suggested. “You never had a reason not to trust him before. Should Da Ji and her accusations cause you to doubt him now?”

Shangxiang still wasn't sure, but she and Ina had been close companions long enough that she trusted her completely, which made her wonder. What had she seen in Sun Ce that had assuaged her anger at his actions? He had to find out for herself, that much was true. If the only way to do so was to face her brother in a fight, so be it. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then turned to call some of her men over. “Send a messenger to Daqiao. We need to move out, and press the enemy in a pincer move before they can regroup. Sun Ce has moved out ahead of his men, we can get him while he's stranded without backup.”

She started away to collect her chakrams and her horse, and Ina got up to follow, her arm now bound well and slung at her side. Shangxiang swiftly turned and held up a hand to stop her. “Rest, you're in no shape to return to the battle.”

“But my lady...”

“It's okay.” She forced a little smile. “I promise, I'll be okay. You're right, I have to do this.”

“Then let me come with you.”

“I'd feel a lot better if you took care of that arm.”

Ina pouted but relented, at least temporarily. She waited until Shangxiang had collected her men, grouped them in formation, and led them out, before turning to another soldier and asking for a horse to be brought to her.

First through the gate was Hanzo, as usual, ranging out ahead of his lord and double-checking the arrangements before allowing the army behind him to join in. He melted out of the trees and straightened up upon seeing who was waiting for him behind the palisade wall. Sun Ce turned at the jingle of the chain of his weapon and breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Hattori! You have no idea how good it is to see you.”

Hanzo nodded to him and then Naomasa. “Everything is ready?”

“All clear. We really need you guys, the cannons have got us pinned down in the center.” Ce glanced as if he could see the entirety of the battlefield through the gap in the far wall. “It's my brother. His army is the one that caught up with us.”

“Understood.”

“We've got things in hand here, my lord, if you want to return to the main force,” Naomasa added.

It was the smart thing to do, so Ce gave them both a salute and whistled for his horse. He had taken care of one task, now to see how Zhou Yu was doing with the other. The cannons were still roaring, both theirs and Quan’s, he noticed as he rode back through, but the shots were fewer and far between, and it was easier to plot a course through the field to avoid being struck. Their men were swarming all over, and it looked like the battle had already been taken to the enemy artillery positions. Rather than return to the fort, Ce swerved and followed his men across the field, hunting down the bright red tunic of his strategist. It wasn’t hard to find him, particularly when the eastern cannon abruptly fell silent and the soldiers on their side raised their weapons in a victorious cheer. Sun Ce rode up to find Zhou Yu overseeing the wresting of the cannon from Orochi army hands and the binding of Pan Zhang, of all people. He had been in charge of this position, and just lost it to his countrymen. Ce stared at him and then huffed noisily. “So it’s Wu on Wu, is it?” he complained loudly. “Quan’s pulling out all the stops, I see. No matter, we have to keep going.” He looked around the fort and raised his voice so that all on both sides of the battle could hear. “I know it hurts to have to face your own comrades, but we must all be brave and forge ahead! If we want to live to fight another day, we have to win this one! Are you with me?”

His men cheered raucously again, much to the chagrin of their defeated foes. Zhou Yu came up to his horse, then, looking a bit winded but otherwise fine. “I take it all went well at your end?”

“Hanzo’s already here, the rest are right behind him,” Ce confirmed. “One down, one to go?”

“I believe Ding Feng is in charge of the last remaining cannon base,” Yu affirmed, bemused. “It will not go down easily, but if reinforcements have arrived, then we shall put our backs into it.”

Ce slid out of the saddle and left his horse with one of their men. “I’ll join you, then. I haven’t gotten my fill, yet.”

Cheng Pu regrouped their forces for one more charge, this time with the commander himself among them, and off they went, protected by a hail of cannon fire from their own positions. It was growing harder for the enemy to shoot back, with all attention focused on that one spot, and now the main part of their assault was on its way on foot, marching resolutely to take down this last obstacle. They were about halfway there when someone in the ranks gave a shout of warning, and Orochi troops suddenly flanked them out of the trees, coming down a path that had been hidden by a section of wall that seemed to otherwise not be there for any purpose. Out of instinct both Sun Ce and Zhou Yu turned to meet the onrush, though both faltered in their steps to see Lady Shangxiang leading the charge. She, in turn, picked her brother out from the mass of soldiers and diverted to attack him directly. Zhou Yu thrust a hand out to direct their troops. “Go! Keep going for the cannon base, it must be taken down. Leave this to us!”

Any other army would have felt the need to move in to protect their lord, seeing as his life was the end goal of the enemy attacking them, but the refugees of Wu knew that _their_ lord could handle himself just fine, even against his own sister. Some of them might have even privately wished they could stick around to watch the fight, but they had orders and a job to do, so they kept going. Sun Ce was already braced for impact, and Shangxiang was not slowing down at all. “Stand and fight me, brother!” she demanded. “We’ll see if you’re really a coward who deserts his family!”

Ce winced a bit but didn’t weaken his stance. “Ouch…”

“My lady, please reconsider!” Yu called to her. “We are simply trying…”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses!” she cried to cut him off. “Speak to me in the only language we tigers understand!”

That brought the grin back to Ce’s face, though there was a cold humorlessness to it. “Forgive me, sister,” he said mostly to himself before springing from his place to meet her attack with a counter rather than a defense. Growing up, they had sparred against one another more times than anyone could count, but this was no spar. It was Changban all over again, Ce couldn’t help but think, his strength against beloved friends and family with their lives actually on the line. At least this time he wasn’t fighting for the serpent, but for his father and, ironically, the very foes facing him. He and Shangxiang squared off fiercely, whaling on each other with their respective paired weapons, giving and taking blows in turn. He knew she wasn’t giving him any quarter, but he did manage to skillfully evade the blades of the chakrams themselves, letting only the solid bronze hoops themselves smack him in the arms and side as he circled to get the better position to punch back with his tonfa. They weren’t even aware of Zhou Yu watching them worriedly, serving as a block to keep the rest of their respective armies from interfering or lingering to watch. It was by no means an easy fight, nor a short one, and neither had an advantage of stamina or experience. It came down solely to Sun Ce’s determination to live, and his capability to take advantage of one single opening in his sister’s onslaught. She overreached just once, much as she had against Zhao Yun in past battles, and he closed in, punching forward with both tonfa held together, the blunt ends slamming into her chest hard enough to knock her several feet away. One chakram was jarred from her grip by the rough landing on the ground, but before she could bring the other one up, Zhou Yu was there in front of her, the tip of his sword beneath her chin. He shot Ce a look as if to declare that they didn’t have time for another round, and the Wu prince nodded, accepting his interference. He still had to ask, though. “Had enough, Shangxiang?”

Gritting her teeth, Shangxiang pushed herself up on her knees, and then swung the remaining chakram at Zhou Yu to get him to back off. “You think I’m just going to let you go?”

“Look, we can fight each other all day and all night until we both drop from exhaustion,” he reasoned, brandishing one tonfa in front him, “but it’s not gonna prove anything. If you want me to knock you down again, I will, but there’s no point!”

“There is if we can bring you in,” she countered. “Then Father will be safe!”

“And I’ll be dead. Do you really want that?”

His words were harsh and cold. Shangxiang stared up at him from where she crouched, as if it only just finally dawned on her what they were doing. Quan might have talked as though he would be willing to execute his own brother to pay the penalty for a crime, but Shangxiang could not, and had some doubts that anyone in their family could. To drive it home, Zhou Yu spoke softly from off to the side. “Do you really think Da Ji will keep her promises and spare Lord Sun Jian just because Lord Sun Ce is dead?”

Biting her lip, Shangxiang looked at him, then back at her brother, and finally pushed herself to her feet. “Even if I stop, Quan will still keep fighting,” she warned them.

“I expect him to,” Ce said proudly. “You two wouldn’t be my siblings if you just gave up when the going got tough. But I’ll face him later, he’s not here. It’s just me and you, right now. Shangxiang…come on.” His tone gentled briefly. “Da Ji is lying to you guys. Don’t you see? It’s not worth it, we’re not gonna save our father by kowtowing to her.”

Shangxiang held his gaze for a long moment, and then suddenly lunged at him, swinging her chakram around so that the blade swished right beneath his chin, a whisper away from his throat. She could have easily slit his jugular or cut his head off, but didn’t, and he likewise didn’t flinch or block. He let her, much to Zhou Yu’s startled chagrin. Another heartbeat or two passed in silence, and then she scowled. “I concede the fight, but I can’t follow you, Ce.”

His eyes remained locked on hers, his face impassive. It seemed for a moment that he would accept her declaration, but then another female voice intruded on the scene. “Wait, my lady. I think you should hear him out.”

They all glanced to find Ina melting out of the trees, on foot, having left her horse back a bit so as not to be spotted. Her arm was still bound up and her bow was slung over her back at rest, but she had still come out onto the battlefield to attend her friend. Shangxiang made a face at her for disobeying and then let it go. “What do you mean?”

“Shangxiang…” Ina looked around to be sure no one else from their side was near enough to witness any of this. “Your brother is a good man. I sense no malice in his actions, he fights for love, not hate.”

“But he turned his back on our father,” Shangxiang tried to protest.

“Then why does he worry so much about you?” Ina pointed out. “A man who thinks of his sister, and his brother, at a time like this would never abandon his father. Not the way Da Ji made it sound.”

Over their heads, Zhou Yu shot Sun Ce a curious look. What _had_ Da Ji told her troops about the failed attempt at rescue at Osaka? Perhaps it wasn’t merely misplaced anger that had the family at war. Though, at that, Shangxiang lowered her chakram from her brother’s throat and turned squarely to her friend. Her voice was soft and sad. “Ina…what should I do?”

“If you ask me…” Ina shifted her eyes coolly to Sun Ce, but then smiled faintly. “…now is the time for brothers and sisters to be united, not divided.”

“That’s right,” Ce finally broke in. “Come with us, Shangxiang. I don’t know if I can promise that everything will be all right, but we’ll do our damnedest to make it so. All I know is, I’d rather have you with me. That goes for all of you – Quan, and Daqiao, if they’ll listen to reason. Even you, Ina.” He nodded to the archer. “Lord Ieyasu is with us, you know.”

Ina’s eyes widened. She knew Tokugawa and his men had defected, but no one knew they were actually here at Sekigahara. “My lord is here?”

“And he’d be real happy to see you again. I know he would.”

“It’s not going to be so easy, Ce,” Shangxiang fretted. “You’re going to have to go through Quan, and he hits a lot harder than I do. I don’t know if we can work it out that way.”

“Then allow me to propose a strategy,” Zhou Yu interjected. “Let the Orochi army believe you have been captured. We will escort you back to our camp, as if it were true. That way, the blame is not on you for defecting. You’ll be our prisoner in appearance, surely Lord Sun Quan cannot hold that against you.”

Ina nodded. “That sounds reasonable and clever.”

“All right,” Shangxiang relented, turning her eyes on her brother. “Make me your prisoner, Brother.”

Ce tried rather valiantly not to smirk, as he raised a tonfa and pointed it at her, so that anyone watching from the hillsides would believe it to be a conquest rather than a reconciliation. “You got it, sis. And I’ve got you.”

Zhou Yu went as far as collecting their weapons, just to be sure, and then they marched off to the field to see if they could get across without being shelled. Fortunately, it seemed as though the cannon fire had completely stopped, and sure enough, the last artillery base being used by the Orochi army had been captured from Ding Feng. Their own side had called a cease fire temporarily until the commander could return and give them orders for the next step, since there didn’t seem to be much of an Orochi army presence in that wide-open field to shoot at anyway. With the two women riding Ina’s horse, the little party was able to make its way across the field in no time, and they passed through the canvas wall into the main camp to find the men of Mikawa arrived and assembled, ready for the next step. The constant cannon-fire had left a haze of black powder smoke hanging in the air in the depths of the valley, as thick as a bank of fog, making it feel later in the day than it really was. Tokugawa was urgent to continue until he saw the prisoners, and bit back a happy reaction at finding Ina in their midst. It would not do for a lord of his stature to gush. She, meanwhile, silently averted her gaze, preferring to keep up the ruse until it was right to declare her return to her lord’s side. As they took a moment to catch their collective breath and prepare to head out yet again, Sun Ce found Ranmaru at his elbow. “Why do you not stay at the main camp, my lord?” he wondered. “You know that the enemy commander wants your head. Why put yourself in a place where he can take it?” His lips twisted in a bit of a pout. “Is this that Wu thing again, where you say you enjoy fighting your brother and want to test him yourself?”

Ce barked a short, sardonic laugh at that. “Well, I won’t lie, fighting my countrymen is interesting,” he answered, “but that’s not the case, this time. It’s only out of necessity. We don’t have the luxury of just distracting Quan long enough for me to get away, like at Xia Kou. We’re going to have to actually win this battle, or he won’t stop.” He shook his head once. “Even if I’m their target, I’m not the only warrior on this field. If I stumble, Zhou Yu is only the first man in a long line of people who’ll keep fighting to protect me.”

“But…brother against brother…” Ran’s face showed how much that concept vexed him.

“Trust me, Ran. I’m not out to have fun, this time.” Ce clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ve got you guys, now, so we have enough reinforcements to turn the day to our side.”

Ranmaru heaved a sigh. “I do not wish to interfere in your family’s business, my lord. Reinforcements or not, this is come down to a fight between brothers, and between countrymen. I feel like I have no right to intrude.”

“Then you can hold the camp for us, while we put an end to this. All right?”

Someone did need to guard the main camp, and the prisoners, so Ranmaru gladly agreed. With that taken care of, Ce allowed Zhou Yu and Tokugawa to work together to find the best strategy for their combined forces, and shortly after they were on the move again.

Sun Quan was heatedly pacing his own camp, protected behind high earthwork walls, when a messenger burst in and ran to give him a report. “My lord! Your sister…she’s been captured by the Resistance!” he yelped.

“What?” Quan clenched a fist at his side. “Don’t tell me!”

The messenger fearfully clasped his fist before his heart and lowered his head contritely. “The Lady Shangxiang was captured in battle, and the Lady Ina with her.”

“Ina? She was injured,” Zhou Tai remarked, and then looked across the garrison to where he had last seen the two women wrapping up the latter’s injury. Had she snuck out to rejoin the battle?

“Dammit! And Ding Feng lost the cannons, so we’re running out of options,” Quan grumbled. “What about Lady Daqiao?”

“She advanced to the field on your sister’s orders,” Zhou Tai informed him.

“All right, good. That’s something, at least.” Quan gnashed his teeth a bit and then sighed. “We have no more reserves, all our men are committed to the battle. We have no choice but to ride to the front ourselves.” He turned to look at his bodyguard. “You will come with me, Zhou Tai? No matter where I have to go?”

Tai understood the implication. They could well be riding to someone’s death, either Sun Ce’s or Sun Quan’s. “I will follow you to Hell, if you so desire,” he affirmed, his quiet tone not disguising his determination.

Bolstered by his support, Sun Quan called for their horses and rounded up the remaining men of their vanguard. “My brother chose to turn his back on his family, which makes him a traitor to all of Wu,” he announced to try to work them up to excitement. “He must be brought to justice! Forward, now, and I will lead you to victory!”

The cheers which met him were enthusiastic enough, given the situation, but most of his army was still exhausted from the last two battles and the hard journey to chase after the rumor of Sun Ce’s movement. There had been some recovery time since Fan Castle, but most of that was done on the march, and with supplies lean and no leadership from Da Ji along the way, the stout men of Wu still conscripted to Orochi were in worse shape than the ones following Sun Ce to freedom. They were ready to fight, but knowing that Ding Feng and Pan Zhang had been defeated, and the two ladies captured, morale was once again starting to sink. Only those who knew the power of the Sun brothers dared to hope that the outcome of them facing one another would turn out well. To which side’s advantage, none could say; “well” might have meant simply that no one would have to die.

The defending army spread in three directions from the main camp, covering all routes from which their foe could advance on them and prepared to meet resistance on all sides. Tokugawa's men moved north, while Sun Ce took the main part up the middle, and Hanzo led the third around the back way which Ina had taken in order to retreat after losing the gate. Tokugawa met conflict first, as Daqiao and Sun Shao came down from the hills, and silently thanked whatever fate allowed him, not Sun Ce, to meet his wife in battle at such a tense time. Defeating his siblings was enough, the young Wu lord didn't need to also be forced to demolish the fair flower married to him. It left Ce and Zhou Yu free to lead their contingent straight up the center, past the cannons, to where they expected the fiercest onset of the enemy charge. Sure enough, as Sun Quan emptied the garrison and poured out every last man on them, he and Zhou Tai plowed straight into the main force and Sun Ce himself. It was frustrating, seeing his brother still so fresh and ready to fight after how many waves of soldiers had already been sent against him, but Quan had no choice but to put his head down and forge ahead with this plan. A head-to-head battle was exactly what he wanted, anyway, entrusting the battle to strategy and never crossing paths hadn't been part of it from the very start. With most of Tokugawa’s men either with him or with Hattori and Kunoichi, the main army in the center was all Wu, and more than a few hands on both sides faltered as they realized they would need to genuinely fight one another if either was to prevail. Fear of Orochi and Da Ji drove Quan’s men, but it wasn’t enough to beat back the intensely determined refugees. Even with Lu Su and Han Dang holding the cannons behind them, they had more than enough officers still in good shape to keep fighting, and before long the struggle had pushed back up the hill, through a gate to the side of the path between the trees and the garrison wall. Sun Quan was losing ground, bit by bit, and soon enough it came down to just himself and Zhou Tai still on their feet, pushing against the tide of free Wu soldiers gathered around their commander to ensure that his head stayed on his shoulders. A few good swings of Quan’s sword cleared enough space around him for him to see his brother clearly, just a few feet away in the middle of some fairly intense fighting, and he raised his voice to bellow a final challenge. “Face me, Brother! We will end this battle the way we agreed, here and now!”

Ce’s head whipped toward him, and he immediately shifted momentum to rush to meet him. “You want it, you got it! Show me if you’ve learned anything since Xia Kou, Brother!”

The reminder of his defeat made Quan snarl, but he found a fresh reserve of anger bubbling to the surface, lending him energy to really take it to his opponent. Even though they had declared an intent to fight one another alone, Zhou Tai swerved to join in, only to be headed off by Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu together. All of the officers threw themselves at one another, and the ring of steel on steel filled the glen with a fresh din that echoed off the trees and made the weakest men around them wince. The least experienced couldn’t even follow the movements of their commanders with their eyes as they circled around each other, hailing blows on one another without technique or finesse. Ce almost seemed to have been saving some of himself for this moment, for he sprang into roundhouse kicks and acrobatics, constantly moving around Quan and rolling out of the way of his bigger strikes. Though just as irate as he had been at Xia Kou, Quan had been waiting for this for days, ever since spotting the renegade Wu force ahead of him, and he was prepared to see it through without stumbling. For as long as the brothers fought, so did their retainers, and no one seemed able to get the upper hand. Quan was so focused on landing hits on Ce that he didn’t even notice Tokugawa’s late entrance onto the scene. Their armies allowed them to keep going as long as they could, for by now even the lowest private soldier knew that the battle’s end hinged on one brother beating the other. The sun had sank below the tops of the fir trees, its face still muted by the fog and haze, while the noise of battle began to quiet bit by bit as the focus drew to that last pocket of fighting on the hillside where the commanders and officers refused to bend. For at least the fifth time Ce and Quan hit at the same time and were left holding one another in a standoff, the great sword straining against the crossed tonfa as neither could get past the other. This time, as he looked across their weapons, Ce could see that the fight had not assuaged anything in his brother – he still looked as incensed as ever, roiling with hatred and suffering no doubts the way their sister had. There would be no getting through to him, not this time. It was what Sun Ce needed to know before he turned the last of his strength up a notch and threw Quan off with a powerful shove of both tonfa. He followed it up with another charge while Quan was trying to regain his balance, and then stood right inside his guard and pummeled him with both fists, his punches short but rapid-fire, each blow landing square in his brother’s gut. It was over before Quan even managed to find the ground, the breath was knocked out of him while still on his feet and he dropped his sword rather suddenly, unable to even move an arm to protect himself. Zhou Tai instantly disengaged from his own battle and swooped in like an eagle, catching his lord before he hit the ground and dragging him away. Panting hard, Sun Ce held his ground, still in battle-stance with tonfa raised. “Don’t you dare run from me!” he called out.

Zhou Tai shouldered his lord to keep him from falling. Sun Quan still found it hard to suck in a breath, he couldn’t even manage a retort in return, so his bodyguard had to do it for him. “Retreat!” Tai gruffly barked out to any of their men still able to respond. 

As much as Ce wanted a more definitive end to the fight, he knew there would be no more. Quan was not going to be able to continue, meaning the battle was his. He took a deep breath and finally eased out of his stance, straightening up to find his retainers on either side of him, guarding him resolutely to the end. “Our forces, pull back to the main camp!” he ordered, his voice cracking from exhaustion at the end. “Further orders will be there!”

He didn’t know how he made it back there, the rush of adrenaline ebbed and left him as hazy as the sky. Somehow he must have trudged all the way back down the hill and across the open field of Sekigahara to the canvas-walled camp, maybe Zhou Yu herded him the whole way or maybe even carried him. It was impossible to say. Sun Ce came to himself at last while sitting in a corner of the camp, catching his breath, as his men rushed every which way around him to group up, collect supplies and weapons, and prepare to move out. Despite their victory, this was no place to make camp for the night. Sun Quan’s army may have been decimated, but if they were allowed to send even one scout to track the rebel army’s retreat, they could have more of Orochi’s forces on them at any second. They needed to disappear, and fast; fortunately, Tokugawa knew what to do. There was a smaller garrison some miles away, a remote outpost belonging to Sekigahara but not in any spectacular fashion, a former supply depot they could use to hide away for a bit. At least, overnight. Rather than leave the cannons to be used or spirited away by their foes, the men of Wu set fire to them, and the glow still lit the twilight sky long after they had retreated from the field and found their way along narrow trails to the remote garrison. At long last the tents went up, and none too soon, for a light rain began to patter around the camp as everyone finally could say the battle was over and they had won. Considering they had liberated two very high-ranking officers from Orochi’s clutches, it was a true victory indeed.

Under cover of darkness, the so-called prisoners were given their freedom and escorted with great pride into the officers’ tent to meet up with long-lost friends, and Ina found herself being tackled by Kunoichi for a hug before she could even face her lord. Everyone was mindful of her arm, held to her side in a sling, but she waved off their concern. “If all I took from any battle was a broken elbow, I should consider myself as lucky as my father,” she said proudly. “I will be fine. I bear Sun Ce no grudge for this.”

“All the same,” he said tiredly from where he lounged in a corner, his sister sitting close enough to lean against his arm, “I’m sorry I had to do that. You’re right, though. That’s battle for ya.”

“You have come through the fire well, I agree,” Tokugawa said with a quiet, admiring rumble to his voice.

Ina turned to him at last and lowered her eyes abashedly before sinking into a bow. “It is good to see you again, my lord.”

“Come now, my lady. Is that all I’m going to get?” Ieyasu smiled very slightly. “Please forgive me for leaving you behind. But, I figured that the Lady Sun could use your assistance more.”

“It was the right choice,” Ina said gently, slowly rising but still not meeting his eyes. “She did need me, more than you know. Forgive me, my lord, for harboring any doubts against you.”

“It’s understandable. You couldn’t have known.” He stepped forward to place a heavy hand on her good shoulder, and she finally looked up with an appreciative smile. They were back together at long last, and needed no more words for it.

“There are a few things I’d like to ask you two about,” Zhou Yu interjected, “but it can wait until tomorrow. Everyone needs to get some rest, especially if we’re moving out again in the morning.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Ce sighed, and then glanced at his sister. “We’ll give you girls your own tent so you can have some privacy. It’s nothing fancy around here, but it’s dry.”

“That’s fine,” Shangxiang assured, patting his arm. “I want to look after Ina myself, anyway. We’ll talk tomorrow, I’ve got a lot I want to hear from you, too.”

“I’ll talk your ear off while we’re riding, I promise.”

The tent flap pulled aside to permit Hattori to enter, right then. He paused to bow in general before coming into their midst to make a report to Tokugawa. “It is done.”

“Good, good.” Lord Ieyasu turned to the others to explain, as Hanzo nodded his silent welcome to Ina. “While the battle was going on, Hanzo made it around to the Orochi army’s main camp and found the supply cache I mentioned earlier. They must have forgotten it was there, or didn’t care, but either way they left it when they retreated. I had Hanzo lead some men to raid it and add it to our supplies.”

Both Sun Ce and Zhou Yu breathed a relieved sigh. “That’s wonderful news,” the latter murmured, “and very unexpected. Thank you.”

“And the cannons?” Lu Su wondered of the ninja. “They were successfully destroyed?”

Hanzo nodded once. “The fire did its work. Even the powder was consumed.”

“And all before the rain came in,” Naomasa noted. “What good luck we’ve had today.”

Ce pushed himself to his feet. “And I’m about ready to call it a day. Tomorrow we resume the journey to Hefei, so everybody get some sleep. You’re gonna need it. I don’t want anyone too tired to fight, just in case we get ambushed again.”

None could argue, so with little fanfare, the officers broke up their gathering and all collapsed in their respective tents to pass out. Only the ninjas remained awake, guarding the garrison from the shadows atop the palisade walls protecting the army. They could still see the distant glow of the wildfire raging over Sekigahara, backlighting the low clouds and fog rolling in. The fire would help keep off pursuit for now, but if Sun Quan found them once, Hanzo was certain he would find them again. And if not him, perhaps Orochi himself. They needed to waste no time getting to Hefei from here.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Sekigahara; Cao Pi consults his strategists and makes plans with MItsunari.

Far on the other side of Sekigahara, the Orochi army under Sun Quan took all night to regroup, as the stragglers came in here and there reporting of the fire and the destruction of the artillery bases. It was only more bad news to heap on Sun Quan’s shoulders, as he sat in his tent allowing Zhou Tai to tend his wounds. He had not come through that battle unscathed, though most of it was just bruises which clothing would hide. He knew he would be stiff and sore in the morning and every day in the saddle afterward, yet he also knew he would have to pull his shattered army back together yet again and keep them on the march. He couldn’t let Sun Ce go, not now that he had their sister too, even though he gathered from the late reports that it would be next to impossible to pick up the rebel army’s trail after the fire burned it away. He still had to try. He sat with his head in his hands, silently mulling everything over. Rather than assume Shangxiang could be recovered, he knew he had lost her, and yet, the blame went to Ce rather than her or himself or Orochi. She had ridden out to assist him and now she was gone, lost to the Resistance side. Willingly or not, it didn’t matter. Ce had turned her against him, he told himself. Quan let himself believe that blame was due, it was the only way to accept that things were slipping out of his control again. _Why am I so weak?_ he wondered to himself. _This is the second time he’s beaten me, and he’s not the only one. I can’t seem to buy a win anymore, Da Ji is going to have my head just for that. When she finds out Shangxiang is gone…_

He heaved a huge sigh and straightened up, dislodging Zhou Tai’s hands from inspecting his shoulders and flanks for broken bones or bruises. “My lord?” his bodyguard queried.

“I’m fine, Zhou Tai. See that our remaining men are tended as well, and then get some sleep.”

The stoic swordsman faced him squarely. “What will you do now?”

Quan met his eyes and set his mouth in a thin, stern line. Of anyone still remaining in their command, only Zhou Tai had any right to ask that question. “We have to keep going,” he insisted as he pulled his tunic back up to cover himself. “Shangxiang said Da Ji had called for reinforcements, right? If Maeda shows up, with or without some of Cao Pi’s men, we’ll have enough strength to hit them again. This time we won’t fail.” His eyes wavered briefly. “We can’t fail.”

“This was not enough?” Zhou Tai made the same face back at him, the dourness enhanced by his scars. “Your father would not want to see the two of you fighting like this.”

“If Ce hadn’t abandoned him, he wouldn’t have to!” Quan snarled. “I’m all that’s left, Zhou Tai. I’m all that’s holding Wu together. I’m down to, what, you, Ding Feng, and Daqiao? That’s all we can lay our hope on. It’s sad, isn’t it? We’re the only ones left who care about keeping my father alive.”

Tai closed his eyes briefly, but said nothing more to argue. He was getting quite tired of this, the way Quan blamed everyone but himself. And he knew how badly the Lady Daqiao wanted to be with her husband, he harbored his own worries that she would desert them as well. It wasn’t about keeping Sun Jian alive anymore, it was just this petty grudge born of desperation. Sun Quan could tell himself it was for the good of Wu and Sun Jian all he wanted, that didn’t make it true. But what right did he have to gainsay his lord? Now was not the time, either way. It may come to that, sooner or later, but for now he closed his mouth and resolved to simply keep his battle-weary commander alive. “I will see that our officers are rested and tended,” he promised before ducking out of the tent, leaving Sun Quan to stew in his own rage all by himself.

  


Despite his insistence that the Wei army be left alone to rest for a bit, Cao Pi was working as hard as ever, handling the day-to-day maintenance of Xuchang and Jianye while collecting information at a fast pace. The officers and soldiers may have gotten some time off, but the scouts and spies did not, and they were ever going to and from the palace with orders and reports on the goings-on around the patchwork world. The news that Da Ji had resurfaced did not come as a surprise, though the urgency with which she already demanded reinforcements had Cao Pi rolling his eyes in smug bemusement. Rather than capitulate with the speed he used to, he let that order go ignored. She would have to come to him in person to get him to actually accede to the demand, he was in no mood to play nice. Letters were no longer enough, not when she could just disappear for as long as she wanted and pop back in like she did nothing wrong. Ishida warned him that it might be seen as suspicious if he didn’t respond, but didn’t otherwise try to convince him to change his mind. After all, he sort of wanted to see her come and make them do anything. He had at least sent letters to explain why he hadn’t been able to meet up with her, wording it very carefully so that she would find it very obvious that it was as much her fault as his, so she couldn’t get mad at him. He knew it worked when more letters arrived, full of quality information rather than more arguing or sniping. She seemed to finally understand that if she wanted her underlings to be able to pull off their strategies, they needed support rather than complaints. And so it was, shortly after receiving their own spies’ report that a battle of some kind had gone down at Sekigahara and Sun Ce had been spotted again, Ishida found himself striding briskly to the war room to meet with his lord and a select few retainers, carrying even more precious and vital information. They were waiting on him, and all eyes went to him as he breezed in with several scrolls in hand and one tucked under his arm. “Sorry about that,” he said crisply, meeting only Cao Pi’s gaze. “One more came in just after you called, I wanted to skim it before I brought it in, in case there were any surprises.”

It was supposed to be a strategy meeting, hence the presence of Guo Jia and Xu Shu, but along with them Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Zhang He were in attendance. At least it wasn’t the entirety of Wei officers and their hangers-on currently residing at Xuchang, but it was more than expected. By now, though, Mitsunari wasn’t exactly surprised when Cao Pi kept his most loyal retainers close at hand. They may not have had the heads for strategy and philosophy, but they knew war like an old friend, and had the right to opine on potential orders for their army if they chose to exercise it. Cao Pi gestured his head strategist closer and took some of the message scrolls from him so he could lay the rest out for all to see. “And from whom did this latest missive come?” he wondered, hiding his keen interest behind a tone of boredom.

“That’s…the odd part, actually,” Mitsunari confessed, spreading out the paper and turning it so his lord could see. “It came directly from Zhuge Liang.”

Xu Shu started in shock. “The chancellor…?”

Pi’s icy eyes narrowed even more keenly. “Is the Sleeping Dragon making a gambit, then? Or is this merely official Orochi army business?”

Ishida’s lips twisted uncertainly as he thought. “It isn’t as though I’ve never received messages from him before,” he began cautiously. “Mainly as regards the main army’s strategies and objectives. And that’s pretty much what this is about – new objectives, under Da Ji’s direct order, and how best to deploy our troops to carry them out, written like he used to before I was sent here. I have no personal ties with him, so if it’s a gambit, he’s barking up the wrong tree.” His serious gaze shifted directly to Cao Pi beside him. “But the information he’s sent us contains a few extra details I don’t think Da Ji would have wanted you to know directly.”

Pi and his other strategists all leaned in closely, eager to hear. “Like what?”

“The locations of some of Orochi’s prisoners.”

All the men of Wei frowned curiously, while Zhang Liao straightened up, setting his hands on the table between them eagerly. “Like Lord Sun Jian?”

Mitsunari shook his head. “Not him. There’s no way we’ll be allowed to know where he is, after what happened at Osaka. None of us are what I’d call a liability, but she lost a great deal of trust in Wei’s ability to hold prisoners after Cao Ren failed her twice.”

When the lord of Wei had asked for volunteers to remove to Jianye so that Zhenji would not be left there alone a moment longer, Cao Ren was the first to speak up. He seemed to still want to redeem himself from his multiple losses, but he also still had some healing to do before he would be allowed on a battlefield to do so. Cao Pi had sent Yue Jin with him, along with some of his lesser brothers and cousins who were too far up in his business at Xuchang. Together, they would be more than enough to staff and hold the other Wei stronghold, but that took them out of the picture at the moment. Cao Pi was more interested in the information being delivered to him, and what the men surrounding him could do about it. “Report, then,” he entreated. “What is this information being let slip to us?”

Ishida had barely skimmed the missive while he made his way through the corridors to the war room, so while he had the gist of the message, he hadn’t even found the details himself. He pulled the paper to him to find it and read it aloud for all of their benefit. “Let’s see. She’s made Sima Yi stay at Ueda Castle, for now, because they can hold prisoners there. Anyone they used to have at Odawara has been moved, following the loss of Guandu and the way the Oda Resistance is breathing down their necks there. Huh.” He reached the names, and blinked in surprise. “They’ve got Hojo? No way.”

“Who?” Guo Jia prompted.

“Hojo Ujiyasu, he’s the old man who leads the Hojo clan. I didn’t even know he was in this world, his sons are all scattered to the winds. But, no, apparently he’s a guest of Orochi at Edo Castle.”

“Edo,” Cao Pi mused, looking at the map in the center of the table. “That’s the one they took from the warlord known as Tokugawa, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes, that. It’s pretty far north of nearly everything, it…” Before he could ramble any further about the geographic positioning of castles, Mitsunari read a name that closed his throat for the briefest moment. Just when his lord was about to nag him to continue, he murmured, “…so that’s where they’ve got her.”

Guo Jia seemed to be drawn to the word _her_. “Hm? A lovely lady in the grip of the serpent?”

It took a moment for Mitsunari to successfully steel his reaction and respond aloofly. “The Lady Nene, Toyotomi’s wife. She’s a potential bargaining chip to use against the Oda Resistance.” He shifted his eyes to Cao Pi again, the only one among them allowed to see any genuine feeling in the depths of his eyes. “She’s in Sima Yi’s hands.”

“That is very interesting information,” Pi said as blandly as ever. “Come to think of it, wouldn’t your friends from Toyotomi’s service like to hear it? They may recognize the name.”

It was such an obvious ploy, but a welcome one. Kiyomasa and Masanori would indeed want to hear it, and would probably race out the door to find the nearest road to Ueda to do something about it when they did. Mitsunari would have to work something up to keep them from actually doing so, until they had real orders. “Maybe I’ll let them know, later,” he said darkly.

“It can wait,” Pi assured. “We have more important matters to attend to, first.”

Mitsunari understood the implied order and nodded, turning to the other messages in his possession. “The reports from Sekigahara are still thin on the ground, but whatever transpired there did not go well for the Orochi army. Whole cannon depots were lost.” He looked around the assembled officers. “I know a bit about Sekigahara, I know what cannons they’re talking about. It’s no small loss.”

“Goodness, and whose fault is it this time,” Zhang He wondered with more than a little sarcasm, “if Sima Yi is holed up in a castle somewhere guarding prisoners?”

“Probably the men under Sun Quan,” Ishida replied. “His name is the only one I’ve seen listed in connection so far.”

“He’s really not doing so well, is he?” Cao Pi idly remarked.

“A far cry from what he was like before his brother deserted,” Xu Huang agreed, thinking back to Dingjun.

Xu Shu circled around the table to be able to be closer to the spot on the map marking this battlefield they spoke of. He noticed what other territories lay around it. “And that’s where Sun Ce was spotted, you say? No doubt about it.” He planted a finger on a character written near the coastline. “They’re headed for Wu lands, probably Hefei.” 

“Oh, you might be right about that,” Guo Jia concurred, stroking his chin. “Leave it to the tiger to want to sniff out his ancestral hunting grounds when all else is in chaos.”

“What a shame,” Pi said wryly, “Hefei is so far from here. We would never make it there on time.” He tipped his head to share a knowing look with Zhang Liao, who only shook his head at the teasing.

“Jianye is much closer,” Xu Shu offered, not catching any of the sarcasm, “but even then it would take time to send a messenger from here to there.”

“The pursuit of Sun Ce is no longer one of my objectives,” Cao Pi said smoothly to put an end to the speculation. “Unless Da Ji were to appear here in person and request that I, personally, ride to capture him, there is no reason for me to dedicate manpower to such a fruitless endeavor. He’s done nothing to raise an army or attack the Orochi forces like other Resistance leaders, so her focus on him is nothing more than a grudge born of her inability to accept her own failures.”

Mitsunari’s lips twitched in an attempt to hide his smirk. He was the only one privy to the knowledge that Cao Pi had in fact received orders to join this hunt, or send men, either way, but since he was pretending it didn’t exist, so would the strategist. “It is listed as one of the main army’s overall objectives,” he noted, “but what the Orochi main army plans to do and what we’ve been ordered to do to help are two completely different matters.”

“You say ‘we.’ Are you then no longer taking orders from Lady Da Ji?” Guo Jia interjected with a cheery lilt to his tone that, as with many strategists, belied a more serious accusation.

Mitsunari shot Cao Pi a quick look as if asking for permission, and then heaved a small sigh. “She hasn’t given me any,” he explained. “Not since well before the battle at Guandu. Her last order to me was to report in person, and when that failed because she lost the fortress, well…nothing has come since. Not that it matters one way or another, because she was just using me as the go-between to deliver orders to Lord Cao Pi all along. It’s not like she’s giving me secret missions on the side or anything.”

“Interesting.” The fair-faced strategist tossed up his hands in a shrug. “If it matters to hear it, I think you’re better off with us anyway. You know people and places we don’t, your head is sharp enough.”

“There’s no need to charm him, Master Fengxiao,” Pi snorted. “Ishida has been my lead strategist for some time now, out of habit if nothing else. His connections to the Orochi main army are our advantage, really.”

Guo Jia smiled impishly. “Maybe I’m just angling for a promotion to second strategist, in Jia Xu’s absence.”

“You can have it,” Xu Shu laughed from the opposite side of the table, “I haven’t been here long enough to claim seniority.”

“Can you argue about titles later?” Xu Huang broke in. “What I want to know is whether any of your strategic minds have come up with a plan or anything.”

Cao Pi answered for all three of them. “The key right now is to know our own objectives, what should be placed in highest priority,” he said patiently. “Any plan, from which officer to send where down to whether or not we should even bother lifting a sword in battle, hinges upon what most benefits Wei in the present climate.”

“As Orochi’s allies we may still be called to assist in all sorts of ways,” Mitsunari added, “but what concerns me the most is the sheer number of officers Da Ji has managed to lose to defection or capture. The fewer she has to browbeat and order around, the more she’s going to need to use us. Add to that the knowledge that Orochi himself has begun to sit up and take notice of the goings-on this far from his fortress,” he said warily, “and we’d better be fully prepared for any possibility.”

“How many has she actually lost control of?” Xu Huang asked.

Ishida grabbed one of the messages and a pen and made some quick notations to count. “Without being exactly sure how many of Tokugawa’s officers are with him, at the bare minimum…a dozen? It could be upwards of fifteen, even.”

Everyone around the table recoiled a bit. “There are armies who would fall apart if they lost that many capable officers!” Huang exclaimed.

“Consider, too, that not all of Wu’s officers were conscripted in the first place,” Zhang Liao offered. “Gan Xingba and several of his comrades were considered part of the Resistance. I myself faced Huang Gai very early on and no one has seen him since.”

“That’s right,” Cao Pi purred as if just thinking of that fact himself. “Huang Gai, like many others, is roaming free in the land, serving no one at the moment. Wu and Shu both are torn to shreds, with very few of their men still under Orochi’s thumb. This interests me.” He turned to Mitsunari, then. “It may not be a high priority, but I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t attempt to secure some of these strays. After all, Da Ji would hardly want them joining the Resistance, would she?”

Mitsunari gave him a cool smile for the briefest moment, before tacking on an exasperated sigh. “ _Now_ you want to be proactive and do something to get on her good side?”

“If it keeps her nose out of my business otherwise.” Pi would have been all too eager to make the argument that it would be a good trade-off for ignoring other orders, if it came up. “However, that isn’t my main priority. What, my friends, is truly for the good of Wei?”

“Not being beholden to that snake?” Zhang He offered with a bit of a snipe.

Pi conceded the idea with a tip of his head. “The path to such a plan is not open to us.”

“Perhaps we should compare our situation to that of our ally,” Guo Jia suggested. “Orochi’s objectives, in no particular order, are to recapture their lost officers, execute the three Resistance leaders, and somehow quell the Resistance so that Orochi may remain loafing in his fortress wherever it may be.”

All things considered, Mitsunari was highly amused to hear the men of Wei openly abusing the demon warlord behind his back. “Tied in with those are specific missions,” he put in, “like retaking castles they’ve lost or scouting out as yet unclaimed ones.”

“Easy to say,” Xu Shu mused, “hard to actually accomplish with so few officers and a resistance army growing in size and strength by the day.”

“Don’t underestimate the odds,” Ishida warned. “We’ve spoken of the conscripted men of Wu, but the main army still has others. For one, they have Date, Dong Zhuo, and Maeda willingly serving Orochi, and they aren’t likely to defect anytime soon. For another, there are the demons themselves.”

Zhang Liao made a soft, worried noise deep in his throat. “The ones Orochi had with him from the beginning, the very army which rolled across this entire landscape and laid waste to every single stronghold it came across. The ones who killed Lord Cao Cao.”

“Exactly.” Mitsunari sent his stern gaze around the table. “Da Ji brought back a number of them, around the time of the assault on Osaka, but it wasn’t all of them by a longshot. I know for a fact that Orochi has reserve forces unnumbered at Koshi Castle, all demons and creatures of the underworld. We can’t say if he’s just using human officers to amuse himself or if he has other reasons, but even if all of them were to fail him to a man, he still has more than enough to cover the land in a second wave of nightmares and blood.”

A moment of chilled silence swept through them as they contemplated that scenario. None of them wanted to see it come to pass. “And yet, he remains in that castle,” Cao Pi said to break the grip of that cold vision. “Interested or not, he has yet to come among us. I wonder why that is.”

“Nobody knows,” Mitsunari admitted. “At least nobody I’ve talked to. I know Keiji’s been out there, he’s one of few allowed in Orochi’s presence, but if he knows anything he won’t spill it.”

“Curious,” Guo Jia said with far less flippancy than usual. His eyes were hard and focused on the map in front of him. “I also wonder about the Resistance. Yes, there are a lot of them, but that’s the point. There is no one single Resistance Army under a single leader. You have this Oda, who certainly has made quite a dent in Orochi’s strength lately. But there’s also Zhao Yun of Shu, who apparently vexes Da Ji so much that she’s ordered him killed on sight. And, of course, Sun Ce, though he hasn’t done much besides escape Orochi’s clutches. We have no intelligence suggesting any of them have even attempted to contact one another. They operate independently, and each continues to gather men to their sides.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Xu Huang questioned.

“That remains to be seen,” Fengxiao said, flashing him a shadow of his usual smile.

“The loss of Takeda and Uesugi, as a fourth resistance cell, hasn’t dampened their momentum at all,” Mitsunari muttered with a shake of his head. “I don’t know that it’ll stay the way it is forever. The separate armies might find they have to make an alliance if they want to have any hope of taking down Orochi. They just haven’t done it yet.” 

“So,” Cao Pi concluded, “the picture I’m getting of the current state of affairs is that the Orochi main army is busy attempting to nail down all the loose ropes before the wind blows their tent away, while the various resistance cells and individuals, under no cooperation with each other, run around cutting the ropes at will. Yet, both sides are so focused on this immediate, tangible goal that they forget all about the great hulking demon sitting on a throne in a castle somewhere with the ability to come in among us and smash us all to bits, tent or no tent. With the possible exception of Oda Nobunaga.” His eyes narrowed in mingled concern and contempt. “Unlike the others, he seems to know his end goal quite well. And, as Takeda and Uesugi showed us, he is not above moving others to act so that he might take advantage of the situation to advance himself.”

The others shared a look, and Guo Jia nodded. “I think you have it, my lord.”

“Then what is Wei’s place in all this chaos?” Zhang He sniffed. “Whether this Oda keeps plowing his way through Orochi’s forces or not, whether he brings in the others as allies or not, what should Wei’s response be?”

Pi glanced at him. “From your tone, Junyi, I assume you have an answer to your own question.”

“I know what I would prefer to see,” He said with a toss of his hair. “But whether or not you choose to walk that path, my lord, is up to you.”

“But it’s simple,” Xu Huang broke in. “Wei should…uh.” He scratched under the edge of his headband. It seemed so easy to just claim they would stand in Oda’s way, but why would they? What would that accomplish? “Why stop anyone from attempting to take down Orochi?” he wondered aloud.

“Why indeed.” Cao Pi leaned over the map to sweep the message scrolls aside so they could all see the point he had marked at the far west, the approximate location of Koshi Castle. “As it stands right now, Wei is Orochi’s ally. That is all you or I or anyone else needs to know. Yet the future is ever-changing. No one can say whether things will still be this way tomorrow, next week, or next month.”

“Speak plainly, and not in these riddles, Lord Zihuan,” Zhang He complained. “Do you intend to uphold this alliance until the bitter end or not? Will we be the last ones standing next to – ugh – Dong Zhuo when the Resistance comes?”

Pi looked around all of them again, and while he knew he could trust Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Zhang He to follow him anywhere, no questions asked, the fickle loyalties of strategists could be his downfall. He had intended to keep his true plans between himself and Mitsunari alone, and even now talked himself out of taking his trusted generals into his confidence. It was for the plan’s own good, and for theirs. He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I have said what I will say,” he finally replied. “I can’t see the future, so I can’t answer that.”

“Then in the meantime,” Ishida quietly said, “it is my advice that you take that low-priority objective and push it up the list a bit.”

“What, trying to secure the independent officers?” Cao Pi pretended to think hard and then nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. It would give us something to do besides sit on our hands and wait for Da Ji to come knocking. No matter what move we will eventually need to make, I will not make it from a position of desperation like the Orochi army. They chase after their ghosts because they have to, because they have no choice. I will not have my own strength stripped away man by man until I also have no choice but to beg help from my enemies.”

It was still a nebulous goal, but it was something. Even Zhang He had to concede that it would do for now, and he had best just accept his lord’s inscrutability for the time being. They talked it over a little while longer, brainstorming some ways to locate or identify stray officers capable of being recruited, and then broke it up with no firm plan as of yet. Cao Pi sent everyone out with the intention of retiring to his quarters, but asked Mitsunari to come with him so he could hand over some papers he had been working on. They drifted alone through the quiet corridors of the officers’ wing and beyond to the Wei lord’s rooms, looking all business, but as soon as they reached privacy, Pi set aside his swords and tossed off his cloak before throwing himself into a chair. A moment later he gestured to the man standing with his hands clasped behind him, waiting. “Take a seat. I have a feeling you won’t get the opportunity again for a while.”

“Really.” Mitsunari raised an eyebrow at him. “You dragged me all the way here to hang out?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Pi rested his head against the back of his chair and closed his eyes. “Of course I still have matters to discuss, but they’re for your ears only. I won’t be made a fool by spies in the common areas of the castle. Here in my private quarters is the only place I can be assured that no one will come sniffing for extra tidbits of information.”

Conceding the point with a small shrug, Ishida pulled another chair over and eased into it. “Zhang He’s getting a little too close to the heart of the matter.”

“I know, and it pains me to shut him out,” the young lord sighed, “but he wears his heart on his sleeve. If I were to even take him aside and whisper in his ear that he’s right and things will change, he wouldn’t be able to stop dancing, and then _everyone_ would know something was up.”

Mitsunari couldn’t help the tired laugh that bubbled up out of him, he attempted to bite it back but just ended up choking on it. The mental image alone was too much to bear. “You’re not just being poetic.”

“Not one bit.”

Wiping that reaction off his face rather literally, dragging a hand down it, Mitsunari regarded Cao Pi for a long moment – his exhausted posture, the moment’s peace on his face, the few strands of long, dark hair that had escaped his ponytail. He had shown none of this strain in front of the others. Such a thought made him wonder to himself. “So what do you need to discuss, then?”

“Master Fengxiao was also hitting close to home,” Pi said by way of reply, his eyes slowly opening. “You can’t keep it out of your voice anymore. You consider yourself part of Wei.”

“I consider myself part of _this_ army,” Ishida corrected. “My clan loyalties are still with Toyotomi, that won’t ever change. I’m not one of your countrymen, and I never will be. But you already know that you have my service.”

“And I value it highly,” Pi admitted. “I don’t say this to scold you. Quite the opposite. As today’s meeting has revealed, they’re already chafing at the bit to break away from Orochi. I know right now is not the time, but I feel that the momentum is already growing out of my control. Like an avalanche on a mountainside, pretty soon we won’t be able to stop it.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Mitsunari realized, “that the actual objective for Wei is to accomplish as much as we can before that happens.”

Cao Pi shook his head slowly, rolling it from side to side across the back of the chair. “We need to accomplish everything that we must, in the short time we have. There will be things taken out of our purvey once we turn on Orochi, opportunities lost forever. We can’t allow ourselves to be hamstrung by failure. A single prisoner executed is one less nail for Orochi’s coffin. A single officer remaining in his service is one more thorn in our sides for the duration of this war.”

Hearing it put like that, Ishida saw nothing with which to disagree. He sat back and took off his circlet so he could massage his temples with his fingers, trying to stave off a headache from all this thinking. “You can’t do it all at once, though. You’re good but you’re not _that_ good.”

Pi breathed a grunt that seemed to want to be a laugh but didn’t quite get there. He sat up a bit and then slouched with one arm propped on the arm of the chair. “Where would I be without you to bruise my ego at every turn?”

“Not having this much fun, that’s for sure.” Mitsunari shot him a sly smile and then combed his hands through his hair to brush it out of his face, completely missing the intent, hungry way Cao Pi watched him do so. “Your strategist advises you to pick one and stick with it, one at a time.”

Shaking himself out of his staring, Pi huffed. “Fine, then. Prisoners. You got that missive from Zhuge Liang with precious information on who and where. It may not have mentioned Sun Jian or Liu Bei, but they are still under Orochi’s control.”

“Yeah, they are. But that information is impossible to come by. The rescue attempt at Osaka happened because too many regular officers knew Sun Jian was there. I don’t think a single human is going to be allowed to know his position from now on – and nobody’s heard a peep about Liu Bei, not even me.”

Pi rested his chin on a fist, his eyes going unfocused as he looked away over Mitsunari’s shoulder. “It should not be so hard to figure this out, or at least narrow it down. We know which castles Orochi holds, and we know that Da Ji would never allow either lord to be held at a castle where any of their conscripted followers might, even on accident, visit. How is it we cannot use logic and the process of elimination to determine which ones are likely to be used as prisons for such critical assets?”

Such an idea hadn’t really occurred to Mitsunari, but it made sense. “It doesn’t help that we know they get moved around from time to time,” he pointed out. “Still. You’re right, there’s some castles she absolutely can’t use, because the Sun children or Zhuge Liang were always staying there. Odawara, Bai Di, Xin Di, Guandu.”

“Eliminate Guandu, now that it’s taken,” Pi intoned. “Also Fan, and Honnoji.”

“We can eliminate Edo and Ueda, since those are housing other prisoners instead,” Ishida went on. “Also Osaka, because I doubt she’ll use it again after its weaknesses were revealed.”

“What else does the Orochi army even control, now?” Cao Pi’s brow furrowed as he tried to think. “Besides this Koshi Castle, his own fortress to the west.”

“They also have a large fortress called He Fei,” Ishida remembered, “not to be confused with the Wu lands of the same name. I think this castle is supposed to be in that territory, but when Orochi fused everything together, it ended up somewhere else.”

Pi’s furrow turned into a full scowl. “He Fei Castle is _our_ fortress.”

“From what I hear, you can pry it from Lu Bu’s cold, dead hands.”

“My father did so once, I’ll do it again if I have to.”

“Ooooh…” Mitsunari grinned. “I like it when you talk rough.”

Pi blinked at him, at the sheer vulgarity of such a flirtatious statement, and decided he would let it slide. “I have heard little about this Odawara; what do you know of it? Besides old memories.”

Mitsunari scratched idly at his chin. “Zhuge Liang calls it his home base more often than not, so without a doubt they’ve never held Liu Bei there. Sun Jian, though…I don’t know, it’s a possibility. Moreso, with the number of people Da Ji actually trusts dwindling by the minute. She still has full faith in him, which is why he’s allowed to issue me orders – he’d make a good guard for the Lord of Wu.”

“A possibility, then,” Cao Pi concurred. “He Fei under Lu Bu, the same. And then, Koshi. That’s it.”

“If either or both are at Koshi, then we’re screwed,” Mitsunari said plainly. “Very few even among the Orochi army know about this fortress, and fewer yet have ever been there.”

“You?”

“No. I think Date has, and I know Maeda has. Lu Bu, maybe. But aside from them, nobody human within the main army is allowed to visit there, or would even know the way there.”

Pi scrunched up his face in a displeased look. “We know it’s to the west, where the lava flows freely. How much more difficult can it be to find?”

The young strategist tilted his head back against his chair. “Take this with a grain of salt, since it’s second-hand information,” he cautioned, “but I heard enough about it from Maeda to make some guesses. Like you say, the lava flows without ceasing there, huge rivers of it that sometimes overflow their banks and spread out across the land, completely obliterating any paths or landmarks that might have been there. The landscape changes every so often. You’d need someone intimately familiar with the land, or with some kind of ability to locate the castle without using landmarks, in order to find it.”

For a long moment, Pi said nothing. It was clear from his eyes, though, as they shifted around and then came into clear focus, that he was considering something and not sure if it was wisdom or madness. “Like Da Ji.”

Mitsunari’s eyes widened, and he took another long moment to study his lord and make sure he really meant what he just said. “What are you thinking?”

Cao Pi shook his head quickly to push the thought aside. “Nothing concrete, for now. It does stand to reason, however, that of anyone in the army, she would know how to get to Koshi Castle, should the need arise to go and visit our overlord in person.”

Mitsunari really didn’t like the way that sounded, but at the same time, he knew full well that the Wei army lacked the resources to assault Orochi’s stronghold directly. If that need did arise, it would be far in the future, so they need not talk of somehow involving Da Ji in this crazy plan just now. He let go of his worry and sat back again. “There’s one other variable to consider, and that’s whether the Orochi army currently holds any fortresses we haven’t yet discovered. Oda’s taken several, even Shu took Jieting, but there’s always a chance there’s another city somewhere in the wilderness, which not even I have heard about.”

Pi accepted this with a quiet hum under his breath. “We have not yet located Luoyang, or Chang’an, after all. Are there famed castles you’re missing from your recollection of Honshu?”

“Nothing I’d consider famous,” Ishida replied. “There are parts of Kyoto and Osaka that I’m surprised aren’t here – the castles are, but not the rest of the cities. Oh, and there are other islands like Kyuushuu…there’s a chance Shikoku might also be around, but there’s nothing of real importance there.”

“In that case, I won’t worry about some mysterious missing fortress until we’ve exhausted all other routes of action. And of those, I expect Koshi will be the last on the list. It would take an army four times the size of any currently in the field to even have a hope of approaching it.”

“Is that what you want, then?” Mitsunari prodded, one eyebrow still arched in curiosity. “To pick a castle to assail?”

“You’re getting far ahead of me.” Cao Pi sat up and laced his fingers together in his lap. “I only wish to puzzle out which Orochi stronghold may house the more valuable prisoners. If we are not in position to make use of that information, certainly someone else out there can do better.”

While not a bad idea on its face, Mitsunari noticed the flaw immediately. “Except that we don’t have that information, nothing for certain. We could suggest any number of targets to our wayward enemies, but that won’t do them a lot of good.”

“Yes, that is a problem.” There was a light of keen interest in Pi’s eyes, though, which did not dim for lack of a real plan. “From what you’ve told me, here, it sounds like it’s useless to consider Liu Bei’s fate, for if not even the Sleeping Dragon knows his whereabouts, then no one knows. Sun Jian, on the other hand, may be more to our use. What do you suppose Sun Ce would do if rumor were spread that we knew where he was being held?”

“That’d be a surefire way to lure him in,” Mitsunari admitted, “but why would you want to? Unless you really do want to hand him over to Da Ji for some unfathomable reason.”

“I don’t,” Pi confirmed. “But you were onto something in the meeting. Sun Ce has not been able to find his footing since deserting. He’s been a refugee on the run, nothing more. And, the information that came in overnight points to his brother pursuing him, so if both were to stumble on that rumor, things might get very interesting.”

“I see, now.” His strategist favored him with a smirk. “There’s no guarantee what either of them would do, but tossing a scrap like that into the middle of them would really shake things up. But, again – we don’t actually have that information.”

“That doesn’t matter. Nor would it matter if they knew the rumor came from Xuchang. In fact, I prefer they not know, so that it can’t be traced to me.” Pi tapped a finger forcefully on the arm of his chair. “Da Ji is letting an opportunity completely pass her by. She used false information on Liu Bei to try to lure Zhao Yun, and it worked, even if her army let him slip through their fingers.” Sooner or later news on all of the battles fought by or against the Orochi army, victories and defeats both, reached him through Ishida. He knew as much as anyone in the land, and possibly a bit more concerning Da Ji and her strategies. “Yet, she doesn’t try the same trick with Sun Ce even though any of us could tell her that it would work like a charm. If she won’t capitalize on it, then I will. I will lure the lost men of Wu to my side, rather than hers.”

Mitsunari tipped his head back and laughed loudly. It was an unusually cheery laugh, no sarcasm behind it at all. “I can’t believe you!” he gasped. “You right bastard. And you know what? It would work. You’d be harboring one of her most wanted criminals,” he added, “but by then it probably won’t matter anyway.” Something else occurred to him, sobering him quickly. “And once they find out you were behind it? I know there’s no love lost between Wei and Wu.”

“Depending on how long it takes for any of them to find the bait, they may have no choice,” Pi said airily. “They’re running out of resources and time. They may all have the same thick head as Huang Gai, but at some point they’ll know that it would be better to surrender to me and live than to run and die alone in the wilderness.” His eyes narrowed briefly. “That goes for Sun Quan as much as any of them.”

Mitsunari chuckled once more at the thought and then nodded. “Fine. It’s as good a plan as any, to get us started. I would suggest that you put out exactly what we said here – that Odawara, He Fei, and Koshi are the likely places where Sun Jian might be held. It’s up to them, then, to decide what to do about it. If even one of those idiots comes sniffing around, we’ll be able to scoop them up pretty easily.”

“In the meantime, we shall need to keep an eye on those locations ourselves,” Cao Pi noted. “Specifically the first two. Any movement of the Resistance which suggests they’ve smelled the bait is something we should know about immediately.”

“I’ll order the spies accordingly.” Mitsunari mulled over his other ideas, unsure whether to bring it up but certain that here, in privacy, he could weather his lord’s irritation much more easily than in front of others. “What about the Xiahou clan?”

Icy blue eyes turned cold. “What about them?”

“They’re men of Wei, right? I know you didn’t actually encounter them at Fan Castle, but they were there, and Oda turned them loose afterward. So, they’re still not part of the Resistance.”

“Neither am I,” Pi pointed out, leaving off the “yet” that so often itched to be appended to most of his declarations. “I don’t know where they could have wandered off to, after being whipped and then sent away by Oda.”

“Still. Oda isn’t in the habit of being so kind toward prisoners,” Mitsunari insisted, “especially ones who interfered in a battle they had no right to join. He set them free for a reason.”

“You think it was to send them to me?” Cao Pi quirked an eyebrow in pure doubt. Why would the Resistance leader do such a thing? Willingly allow him to augment his forces? Was it another message being sent via battle? “Don’t be absurd.”

“And if they came to you. Would you take them back? Hypothetically,” he tacked on to soften the idea.

Pi rolled his eyes to the ceiling as he thought of Xiahou Dun, knowing full well the man commanded his clan and where he went, they would follow. “I can’t see that ever happening, but hypothetically? I would be a hypocrite to claim I want to enfold even my worst enemy into my army so as to have all their strength, and then turn away Xiahou Dun just because he hates me.”

Ishida blinked at him. “Hates you? You think he does?”

“He is my father’s man. I’m absolutely certain that he loathes me for choosing alliance with my father’s murderer.”

“Point taken,” Mitsunari nodded.

“I don’t expect it to happen,” Pi continued, “but in the extremely unlikely event that I found myself in a position to speak to him seriously about rejoining Wei, I would not let the opportunity pass. Is that the answer you want?”

“It’s an answer that’ll do.” Mitsunari held his gaze, not backing down. “Like you say, you can’t exactly reach out to Sun Ce with one hand and push away Xiahou Dun with the other. But if he hates you that much then trying to recruit him and his men back will be almost as impossible as fighting Orochi himself.”

“Now you’re just making it into a challenge I can’t resist.” Cao Pi stared him down and then gave in with a sigh, closing his eyes again. “Instruct our scouts to keep an ear to the ground for news of the Xiahou clan’s movements. If we can locate them, I shall see what can be done.”

“So noted. Anything else?”

Pi simply shook his head once. They had only talked a little while and already he felt drained by all the thinking. “I am trying to keep your advice in mind, and rest now and then. Now seems as good a time as any for that.”

Mitsunari couldn’t help but agree, and pushed himself out of the chair to make that task easier for his lord. “Shame your wife is still stuck manning Jianye. It seems like you could use her company more than mine.”

Pi’s eyes snapped open, and he shifted them up to regard his strategist collecting himself to leave. “I don’t know that that’s true,” he murmured.

Mitsunari froze in the act of turning around and brought his head back around to stare and wonder if he heard that correctly. “…uh. What?”

The blue eyes closed again, and a cool, knowing smile passed across Cao Pi’s lips. “I spoke out of bounds. Forgive me.”

So he _did_ mean it like that. Mitsunari was beyond perplexed, but he waved off his lord’s request with ease. “No, don’t worry about it. I…”

There was a rush of heat through him, as his mind leaped ahead of him and painted a mental picture that he found incredibly hard to dislike. He turned away so that Cao Pi couldn’t see the flush rise to his face. Pi likewise rose from his chair, but walked past the young strategist, moving toward one of the inner chambers of his rooms. He reached up and unbound his long hair, letting it flow free over his back. “It’s been unusually hot here, lately. I think I might take a cool bath to calm down and relax.” He cast Mitsunari a quick look over his shoulder. “Have my attendants see to it I’m not disturbed for at least an hour. Maybe two.”

Clearing his throat, Mitsunari composed himself and lowered his shoulders in a curt bow. “Understood.” He beat his retreat as quickly as he could without looking like he was in a hurry, and then paused outside in the corridor, resting his back against the wall. It was entirely inappropriate to be having those kind of thoughts about the lord he served, even if he had come into Cao Pi’s service under unusual conditions and the usual propriety didn’t apply to a lot of their interactions. And, really, _he_ started it. Mitsunari dropped his face into his hands for a few moments, and then rubbed his temples again before replacing his circlet and straightening up his coat and kimono. Now really wasn’t the time for it, he would let himself think about it later. Consider the pros and cons carefully. Yes, approach it like the strategist he was, weigh the consequences and then ensure that the lord of Wei really wanted such a plan of action. Until then, he had to go think of a way to break some interesting news to Kiyomasa.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei gets a visit from Keiji; Liu Shan returns to Chengdu; Oda is up to something - again.

The sentries on the walls of Jianye reported the approach of someone or something, though it was far smaller than the usual armies which had darkened the castle’s doorstep since the remnants of Wei had claimed it. Despite the additional reinforcements, things remained tense around the fortress as they waited for something, anything, to happen, and now that it was, the soldiers fidgeted, wondering if they’d be called to act at last or if this was yet another retainer coming to visit. It wasn’t long before the small troop came up to the gates, one man riding with the rest on foot. No one currently in the castle had ever met him face to face, but the big man on a big, gray horse, carrying a pike of astonishing size, had a reputation among anyone even remotely connected to Orochi’s army. The men with him didn’t look like average soldiers from either the Han or Wa peoples, they were rough and rugged – brigands, possibly, hired or conscripted to back up a man who didn’t need their strength but allowed them to accompany him anyway. Maeda Keiji grinned darkly as the castle gate creaked open to permit a guard who could ask his business. “I’ve got a message from Da Ji,” he said brashly. “Better let me in to talk to your lord, I rode a long way and I could use a cup of wine.”

The guards ushered these visitors into Jianye and left them waiting in the courtyard while they ran to inform the officers of Wei that someone of some importance had arrived. Zhenji was still the lady of the castle while her husband ruled elsewhere, but she had Cao Ren at her right hand now, and several stout officers eager to join her in seeing to this duty. Rather than receive Keiji in a throne room or hall properly, they all went out to the courtyard to meet him. Even after he dismounted from his horse he was tall and imposing, but Zhenji was not the type to be intimidated by tall men. She wore a sour frown as she sashayed up to him, which only intensified as he gave her the kind of look she was sadly used to from most men. A wide grin broke out on his face. “Now that’s what I call a sight for sore eyes! Say…”

“Bite your tongue,” Yue Jin interrupted angrily. “This is the Lady Zhenji, wife of Lord Cao Pi, commander of this castle.”

“Hmph. Figures,” Keiji sniffed. Once again, all the gorgeous women were taken. He turned to the saddlebag hanging off his horse’s side and pulled out a sealed scroll containing the actual orders. “So you’re in charge here, huh? Then I’d better give this to you and let you see it for yourself.”

His authoritative bluster remained intact as he handed the scroll to Zhenji, and stood back to watch as she slit it with a pointed nail and read it. Her scowl deepened at the words inside, and Cao Ren glanced over her shoulder in order to catch the most important parts. “So it’s a direct order from Lady Da Ji,” Zhenji noted icily. “I shall have to get my lord husband’s approval for this request.”

“There’s no time,” Keiji argued, and he seemed to enjoy saying so. “This order is immediate. Send him a letter if ya want but you’re still coming with me. We got a tiger cub to hunt.”

Zhenji read it again and then handed it to Cao Ren to see it in full for himself. “Does Da Ji then have the authority to make such a demand?” she challenged, raising an eyebrow at their guest.

“You’re damn right she does.” Maeda reached as if to pat his horse, but patted the pike lashed to the saddle instead. “And I got orders to use force if necessary. Any of Orochi’s forces, including his allies, who refuse orders will be treated like Sun Ce – traitors. So it’s in your best interests to go along with it and if Cao Pi’s got a problem with that, he can take it up with Lady Da Ji himself.”

Cao Ren made a bit of a rumbly noise in his throat as he contemplated the missive and then passed it off to Yue Jin in turn. “It doesn’t mention anyone by name, just whoever’s available.” He turned his pensive frown on Keiji. “You should have gone to Xuchang, they have extra reserves there. Right now there’s only a handful of us holding Jianye.”

“Yeah, well, Jianye was closer,” Keiji explained. “When time is of the essence, you can’t go riding off to the bigger castle just because it might have more people. The strategy’s the key, so I hear – we gotta hit from the north while Sun Quan’s force comes up from the south, and pinch him in between. So even though I rode all this way, I’m ready to hit the trail again at dawn – with you guys, like it or not.”

“Like it or not,” Zhenji deliberately repeated, “we will need to consult about this, and decide what course to take. You’ll excuse us while we do.” She glanced at Yue Jin. “Have Cao Zhang find them quarters for the night, then join us.”

“Yes, my lady.” He hurried off to obey instantly.

Keiji gave them all the eager, manic grin that he tended to wear when he knew he had the upper hand. “Don’t keep me waiting too long. And don’t make the wrong choices. Things are gonna be different around here from now on. Me and Lu Bu have orders from Lord Orochi himself to keep anyone else from thinking they can just defy him anytime they want. That includes Cao Pi and the Wei Alliance, so don’t go gettin’ any bright ideas.”

With that information filed away under “important,” the Wei officers withdrew to the offices high in the castle to discuss, even though they knew their options to be limited. They had no strategist of their own at hand, so it was up to them to decide for themselves. Zhenji fumed where she stood, arms folded and fingernails tapping out an irritated tattoo. “I don’t believe this. Not enough time? He certainly had enough time to ride out here on his own instead of sending a messenger.”

“You should still send a letter to Lord Cao Pi,” Cao Ren insisted. “He may not receive it until after we’re underway, but he would still have the pull to do something about it while we’re traveling.”

“Are you well enough to fight again, Lord Cao Ren?” Yu Jin asked him.

Ren nodded sagely. “I have recovered. I can fight, and ride.”

Yue Jin rejoined them, then, in a hurry. “What do you think? Can he really order us around like that?”

“I don’t see that we have much choice,” the other Jin said sadly. “Unless you think it would be worth it for the lot of us to fight him?”

Yue pursed his lips, his expression tightening. “I was at Hefei when he fought Lord Zhang Liao and Master Gan Xingba,” he remembered. “Cao Zhen and the others would be able to attest to it, too. He’s incredibly powerful, I don’t think we would stand a chance if we just launched ourselves at him.”

“ _That’s_ the warrior who bested Wenyuan and Xingba?” Cao Ren breathed incredulously. “Then no, defying him in any way is not an option.”

“Then it seems we mostly need to discuss who to send with him and who should stay here,” Zhenji sighed. “And I’ll say this up front: I am _not_ staying. I’m tired of being left to hold ground while the rest of you go off and get your hides whipped by the Resistance. You need me on the battlefield and it’s high time I insisted on my right.”

“As you wish, my lady,” Cao Ren immediately agreed. “Just know that if anything happens to you, Lord Cao Pi will have our heads all lined up in a row.”

“Good,” she sniffed. “I take it you also wish to go along.”

“Given the mission, we should all join this force,” Yu Jin suggested. “Leave only one of his lordship’s brothers here or something.”

Much as Zhenji would have suggested Cao Zhang, considering how much he was moping around about being banished from his elder brother’s court for being a nuisance, they really did need the better part of their strength if this gambit was to be successful. “Most likely Hao Zhao,” Yue Jin offered, “since he’s barely gotten back on his feet as it is. He won’t be capable of battle for quite some time.”

“Allow him enough backup in case someone decides to target Jianye again while most of us are gone,” Cao Ren ordered, “but with this many officers answering the call, we need not take all our troops along.”

“What is there to target?” Zhenji sniffed. “We have no more prisoners, and nothing in reserve that we won’t use up ourselves. The only valuable resource here is ourselves, and we’ll be away.”

“I wouldn’t put it past the Resistance to want to take the castle itself, merely to keep fewer in their enemy’s possession,” Ren reasoned, “but if I am being too cautious, then I defer to my lady’s judgment.”

Zhenji shook her head slowly. “I’m not second-guessing your decision, Cao Ren, merely complaining. This place has been nothing but a cage to me since my lord husband left for Xuchang.”

He bowed his head slightly. “I understand.”

“All the more reason to get you out for a while to go crack some heads,” Yue Jin said with a small smile.

She accepted his attempt at encouragement with a faint smirk of approval. “I suppose that’s it, then. But let’s keep him fidgeting for a little while longer while I write that letter.” Zhenji had lost much of her entertainment when Zhang He had been pulled off to assist their lord and then returned with him to Xuchang. All she had to her right now was tormenting Keiji, and in her estimation he deserved a few extra minutes of pacing the courtyard. Once she had a letter drafted for Cao Pi and a messenger to deliver it, they would genuinely get their visitors settled and provided as much hospitality as the small fortress could offer. It would only be for the night, anyway, and then they all needed to pack provisions, muster the troops, and move out. It was hard to know what Cao Pi would do once he learned that Da Ji had pulled his officers into her strategy without his express permission, but all of them were certain he would not be pleased. Would he ride out to collect them himself? Zhenji certainly hoped so, she had gone far too long since seeing him, and while his letters were full of delicious poetry, it couldn’t compare to his presence. All she could do was send him the warning and then wait, and ride to enjoy a spot of fighting for herself. Maybe pursuing the wayward Sun Ce would be just the excitement she needed to spice up her life.

At the same time, Zhao Yun was making his own preparations to ride out yet again, having finally taken care of everything he needed to at Chengdu and eager to resume his desperate search. He had given Yukimura more than enough time to come to grips with the tragedy of his lord’s death, and though both Sanada brothers assured him more than once that they were good to go, he still let them have the extra time just in case. Nobuyuki had decided at last that he needed to attempt to locate any stragglers from the Takeda or Sanada cavalries, in the off chance his theory was correct and Naoe had simply taken them to hide somewhere rather than be slaughtered. The Hojo clan planned to go with him, for even though they were now free to choose loyalties with no one from the Takeda to answer to, they felt their old ties of friendship beckoning and wanted to do all they could to similarly regroup what was left of the alliance now that their lords were dead. They were all heading straight for Odani Castle, once again under the control of the Shimazu clan, and from there they hoped to strike a path to Nagashino to pick up any trail no matter how cold. Zhao Yun and Yukimura had their own plans, and with their army so large and well-cared-for now, they could leave most of it at Chengdu under Lady Yueying’s command so they could return to the life of wanderers, searching out any tiny clue from any source. All things considered, it was probably a foolish endeavor, and they were at the end of their rope – Yuan Shao was still no help whatsoever, and no new leads had come from any direction no matter how far their scouts had roamed, nor how deeply into the affairs of the Orochi army their spies had managed to pry. They had no choice but to take to the byways and back paths themselves, and exhaust every last opportunity. Yet, before they had the chance to gear up and do so, an unexpected party arrived at Chengdu and put their departure off for a very good reason.

The sentries racing in from the outward roads carried astonishing news with them. A troop had arrived from Nanzhong, but not to reinforce Meng Huo. Rather, they had someone of distinction with them, and even catching a whisper of the name made every officer of Shu come running to greet him. Zhao Yun was still a young man, all things considered, and his strongest memories were of a small baby squalling in his arms as he carried him to safety in the middle of a raging battle. He would not know the man his lord’s son had become, but he was about to see for himself. Jiang Wei ran beside him, crowing with excitement at the great, joyful news that the young lord was alive and safe, and as they intersected Xingcai’s path, she too exclaimed at the incredible revelation. “I didn’t even know he was in this world!” she said, mostly to Jiang Wei. “I had hoped he wasn’t, it’s not safe for him, but still…”

They chattered all the way to the gates of Luo, where the entirety of their army, guest officers included, had already gathered. Zhao Yun gently threaded his way through the crowd to get to the front, seeing as they had been holding him up as commander of this army for so long that he finally was starting to believe it, and his men melted aside to let him. He reached the fore just as the horses crested the hill and the men immediately at the gates cheered noisily to see an emperor of Shu returning home. At his side rode Guan Xing, eyes wide in astonishment at just how healthy and strong Chengdu appeared to be considering what it looked like when he fled Orochi’s terror. Someone came pelting out of the throng, then, and ran for Xing’s horse, and throwing aside all sense of decorum and propriety Guan Xing leaped down practically into Zhang Bao’s arms and tackled him to the ground, both of them laughing and shouting. Leaving them to wrestle each other into submission out of sheer joy, Liu Shan moved his horse a step or two forward and then halted to look down at all the familiar faces in wonder. So many of them were so much younger than he remembered. Xingcai came straight to him first, palming her fist before her heart in a deep and reverent bow, and then took his horse’s head so he could step down and greet them. “Oh my,” he breathed quietly. “I had heard good news about Chengdu, but this is more than I could have hoped for. Master Jiang Wei!”

Jiang Wei had been right behind Xingcai, and bowed as well. “Welcome home, my lord. You and your retainers.”

“This is all so overwhelming…” The young man, once and future emperor of Shu, looked past them and met the astonished eyes of the previous generation, and broke into a rare, genuine smile. “Is that…? It can’t be. Lord Zhao Yun?”

He started toward Zilong, who could only stare back. “A Dou?” he whispered in return, for that was the boy’s name when he was a mere infant.

Liu Shan pushed past the others to face him directly, and clasped his hands before him before sinking into a bow. “I was, once. My lord, to whom I owe my life, it is so good to see you again.”

Zhao Yun shook himself alert and gave the emperor’s coronet a quick glance, unsure whether he should be lowering his head in respect. “Lord Liu Shan, who led Shu after his father’s passing,” Jiang Wei introduced them properly, “I present to you Lord Zhao Zilong, currently the commander of the Shu Resistance until your lord father can be rescued from Orochi.”

As Yun’s fist came up before his heart, Liu Shan reached to stop him with hands on his brawny arms. “It’s true, then?” he asked with desperate hope in his soft voice. “My father is alive, and you’re building an army to save him?”

Yun gave him a single nod. “It’s true, young master.”

“Thank heaven.” As much as he enjoyed the perks of his station when he could get them, Liu Shan knew who deserved the respect and loyalty here and now. He ignored the gasps of some of the soldiers around them and leaned in to embrace Zhao Yun where he stood, clinging to his strong arms. It made some of the beads of the coronet clink against his armor, and Yun himself was a bit nonplussed to find himself suddenly hugged, but he really couldn’t deny his lord’s son anything. He patted Shan on the back and then held him at arm’s length to look at him, and see how much he had grown. The clearing of a throat behind them made the young lord snap back into a more dignified stance. “Ah, yes. Guan Xing and Guan Yinping have been with me this whole time, they have done well to keep me safe. I owe much to them.”

Xing stood with Zhang Bao’s arm slung over his shoulders, as the two best friends were so happy to find each other that they couldn’t let go. Yinping stood beside Xingcai, gaping in awe at the generals she remembered being so much older. Zhao Yun couldn’t help but laugh at the way everyone looked, beside themselves with relief and happiness. “Then come, all of you. What are we standing around here for? You must have had a long journey.”

“Yes, let’s get you settled into the castle,” Jiang Wei agreed. “There is much we have to talk about, but for now, everyone can rest and wash up. Are you hungry? I’m sure the kitchens would be glad to help…”

He and the others escorted their comrades up through the courtyard to the inner ward of the castle, while Zhao Yun lingered back a bit, just sort of taking it all in. Jinhuan Sanjie remained back to consult with his own lord, making his reports and eager to bring news back to the Nanman when he himself was ready to turn around and ride back. Yukimura came up alongside his friend, close enough to keep any conversation between them to a murmur. “Lord Liu Bei’s son?”

“Which would make him Lord of Shu in his father’s absence,” Zhao Yun affirmed. “Whatever time he came from, it is far in my future. I only remember him as a boy.”

“How strange that must feel.” Though, Yukimura understood to a point, thanks to being among people who had died but were alive again, and Chosokabe and his sons all the same age. It still had to have been weird for Zhao Yun to experience firsthand. He glanced at him. “Will this change things?”

Yun pondered it for a moment, his brow furrowing. “My mission, no,” he replied. “But other things…possibly. We shall have to see how ready he is to take up leadership of a resistance cell, if at all. Once we find out how he’s been keeping himself all this time.” He breathed a big sigh, then. “It is good to see Guan Xing well. He was here with us when Chengdu fell to Orochi. I feared the worst.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t set out this morning like you wanted to, after all,” Yukimura said with a wry smile. “We would have missed this.”

“Indeed…” Minor delays aside, Zhao Yun felt like not even this new development could keep him from his mission. But he did have to stay long enough to debrief the young lord on the situation, no matter what the outcome. Rousing himself from his thoughts, he gave a nod of his head to invite Yukimura to join him, back to the castle to see what they could do. His friend clapped him on the shoulder in encouragement and fell into step beside him as usual.

The newcomers were given plenty of time to rest, wash up, and even change and eat if they so desired. Word went through the city rather quickly, and a number of civilians had already started crowding the castle gate as if to catch a glimpse of the young lord or get in line to petition him for assistance as if he were already taking up Liu Bei’s mantle. The officers put no such pressure on him just yet, leaving him the space to get settled in before they pounced on him with official business. Those who were staying in Chengdu had no reason to hurry to it, anyway, but Zhao Yun certainly did, and though he wanted Liu Shan to get comfortable, he also needed to tackle the basics as soon as possible so he and Yukimura could resume their errand. In the meantime, they saw Nobuyuki and the Hojo on their way, returning to the gate to say their farewells and offer any last-minute advice or well-wishes. The elder Sanada planned to keep in much closer contact with his brother, now, seeing as he was lord of their scattered forces now and pledged the Sanada to the cause of the Shu Resistance. So, his departure was not at all painful, he reiterated his promises to write as soon as he had even the tiniest scrap of news as he waved and rode off. Once that was done, Zhao Yun turned his attention back to Liu Shan, and decided it could not wait any longer. A few hours were enough, and the sun was already sinking toward the west, implying dinner and then nightfall and bedtime afterward. When he had himself announced at the door to Liu Shan’s chambers – the ruling family’s private rooms, as was his right to occupy – he found the young man already changed into something far less opulent, and the emperor’s coronet no longer adorned his head. Instead, he had a small _zi_ hat perched atop his sleek hair, gold pins securing it to his topknot, which strangely seemed to suit him every bit as much as the regal clothing. His green and white tunics and trousers still bore the gold dragons of his station, but otherwise, he was practically dressed down compared to his grand entrance earlier. Liu Shan was all too happy to receive his favorite general, who he considered like a godfather to him after the legendary rescue at Changban, and was interested to meet the retainer who never left his side. He knew nothing of the peoples of the islands who had been brought to this world with their own clans and warlords, of them he had met only Ishida and Honda and was pleasantly curious about Yukimura and all the ties which bound those currently gathered to fight under the banner of Shu. With Guan Xing in the company of Zhang Bao somewhere else and Yinping indulging in a long bath, Liu Shan had no one else around at the moment, so he agreed to sit with the two officers and hear as much as he could stand about the state of Chengdu and the goals of the Resistance. In turn, they wanted to hear where he had been and how he had managed so long with only a couple of young companions to look after him, and were rather surprised and disturbed by the full tale of Cao Pi rousting him out of Xuchang. Many stories were told and much information was heaped upon Liu Shan’s thin shoulders, so that when he finally sat back to process it, he knew almost as much as anyone in Luo Castle. There was still quite a bit more to tell, but it didn’t all need to be said right in that moment. “Goodness. You certainly have been busy,” he remarked, favoring Zhao Yun with a faint smile. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

Yun had told him of his own captivity, of retaking Chengdu, and one or two of the more important battles in his search for Liu Bei, mainly as regarded how certain officers came to be in their service. He hadn’t even gotten to the point of telling him about the secret alliance with Sun Ce made at Hulao, or the securing of Pang De after capturing him. “I hardly wish to brag about our exploits,” he answered. “Considering they have not gotten us any closer to rescuing your father, it feels disingenuous to speak too much of our battles.”

“I’m sure I’ll hear them later, at the dinner table or at parties,” Shan assured, smiling even more strongly. He really was fond of this general, and lowered his guard in his presence more than he would around Xingcai, Jiang Wei, or any of the others. “For now, I’ll accept that you’ve been through a lot, and even though my father is still Orochi’s prisoner, our country is doing well and you’ve built an astonishingly large army to protect it.”

“You give me more credit than I deserve,” Yun said modestly. “Which brings me to my main reason for coming to you so soon, and interrupting your rest. I had planned to continue my search, we were to leave today. I hope you will not think too badly of me if we left tomorrow, instead.”

“Tomorrow. Already?” Shan’s gentle eyes saddened. “I would have liked more time to get to know you all over again, Lord Zhao Yun, but if that’s your intention, I suppose I can’t really argue. You are the commander, here, so the decision is yours.”

Zilong lowered his head and gave Yukimura a brief sidelong glance. “As commander, I do not outrank the lord of Shu.”

“I’m sure he will be glad to hear it.” Liu Shan’s expression eased back to something closer to that fixed, practiced smile that hid his true thoughts, but as he sat with his old friend and mentor, he felt like he could show more honesty. His head likewise bowed, and he clasped his hands in his lap. “While my father lives, I cannot and will not claim his place. This is my decision, I’ve already made it.”

The other two both looked keenly interested in this revelation. “Are you sure?” Zhao Yun wondered.

“Quite.” Shan breathed a soft sigh and looked away, toward the other rooms of his apartment in the castle, looking entirely unlike what he remembered since the castle itself appeared to be from an earlier time. His childhood, perhaps. “When everyone finally left me alone, earlier, I had plenty of time to sit and think. But it was mostly just to consider whether anything had changed now that we’ve arrived in Chengdu – I had already made this decision while riding here from Nanzhong. I said nothing to the others, but all those long hours in the saddle made for good thinking-time.” He shook his head slowly. “My father is still Lord of Shu, and he will rightfully take his throne when you can finally free him. Until then, I would rather simply make myself available to Lady Yueying and yourself as one of your army. I may not be as skilled as most of the officers here, but Lady Xingcai has seen to my training with the sword, so if need be, I could fight. I have fought, a little, when we were attacked on the road.” His dark eyes went straight to Zilong, almost pleading. “I want to be useful to you, Lord Zhao Yun. I don’t wish to simply sit here inside Luo like a pretty ornament, or a ceremonial leader. I understand that this world is not our own, and this is a real war where the true leaders are those who pick up a spear and march to the front line to fight with their own strength. You may not be Lord of Shu either, but you are commander of the resistance army based in Chengdu, and as such, I defer to you.”

Yun took a deep breath and let it out slowly. That was strangely easier than he had expected. “If that is your wish, I accept,” he said kindly. “I can’t say exactly what duties you’ll be given, or whether you’ll be asked to ride and fight with us, but knowing this will go a long way toward matching everyone with the tasks they’re best suited to take.” He put on a cheery smile of his own. “If you would like me to inform Lady Yueying of this, so you don’t have to explain it all over again, I can do so.”

“Would you? I would like that,” Liu Shan said, sagging in his chair in relief. “I find I don’t know what to say, to so many. Lady Xingcai was my champion and Master Jiang Wei my strategist, but here even they serve under you so I would rather be shoulder to shoulder with them, and not over anyone.”

“I understand. So be it.” Yun sat up as if to prepare to end their conference, but he hesitated. “I know this must be strange. It is for me, as well. We are closer in age than we should be.”

“Yet, you still have all the knowledge and experience to be a great leader,” Shan encouraged. “I mean it, Lord Zhao Yun, I wish for you to lead us all. Even if that means you need to go out on your own, I’m sure the others are just as capable of standing in for you.”

“You do me honor, young master,” Zhao Yun said. “May I not let you down. Then, if you don’t need to inspect the army or see to our preparations, I’ll leave you to your rest. Dinner will be held shortly, I expect there will be a large feast of welcome for your sake.”

Liu Shan gave him an impish smile. “I admit, I won’t turn that down. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had anything resembling a feast. We’ll use it as a chance to tell stories before I have to say goodbye to you again, how about that?”

“I would like that.” Yun rose and gave him a small bow, and then glanced to make sure Yukimura was shadowing him still as he drifted to the door. It wasn’t until they were far down the corridor before he felt it safe to turn to his silent comrade. “Is it odd for me to be surprised that we’re being allowed to go ahead with our plans?”

“I think it’s a sign that you’re still the same humble Zhao Yun everyone has always loved,” Yukimura reassured, “if you can still be surprised that people are treating you as the rightful commander, rather than simply assuming that everyone will let you have your way.”

“And what kind of general traipses off into the wilderness while leaving the bulk of his army behind to just hold the fort?” Yun snorted under his breath at the absurdity of it all, brought into relief by the complete acquiescence of the young lord of Shu. “Poor Liu Shan. I understand what he wants, but people will still treat him as the ruler here, whether he likes it or not. He’s so young, still, but given that Sun Ce and Cao Pi have taken up their fathers’ positions in their absence, some may assume Liu Shan will, too.”

“Then before we leave, we’ll have to impress upon everyone that it’s his wish to follow rather than lead,” Sanada affirmed. “I’ll help where I can. He respects you, and so does everyone else, so if you have to order them…”

“I don’t want to make this an order,” Yun complained, rubbing his face tiredly with one hand. “This army has stood on a casual footing up until now, and even though both Liu Shan and I want it to stay that way, I can’t stop some people from falling back on court habits with a personage of the Liu family around.”

“He said Jiang Wei and Xingcai were his retainers, in his time? Then let’s appeal to them first,” Yukimura suggested, “before going to Lady Yueying and the rest.”

Yun brightened up and looked at him. “Excellent idea. Thank you, Yukimura.”

His comrade grinned. “That’s why you keep me around, isn’t it?”

“Oh…” Zhao Yun’s smile gentled into an altogether different expression. “There are other and far more important reasons to keep you around.”

As they headed off through the castle corridors to find the named officers and explain the situation, in a different part of Luo entirely, Guan Xing and Zhang Bao were having a conference of their own, having already told each other vivid tales of what they’d been up to and what they had seen in their travels and now settling into that concluding portion of the chat where all they wanted to do was hang around in each other’s presence. The lengthening shadows of late afternoon streamed across the courtyard below them where they sat with their feet dangling over a parapet, keeping one another’s company in a secluded alcove near the roof, able to watch all the goings-on down below while not being seen themselves. Xing sat with his hands in his lap, fidgeting a bit and rubbing a finger over the calluses on one palm. “You really saw him fighting on Orochi’s side, with Lord Zhuge Liang?” he queried in a low tone, wanting confirmation. “What about Ping?”

“Better news on that front,” Bao replied, kicking his feet so that his boots bounced off the stone. “He’s been seen in the company of one of the other resistance leaders. It was confirmed by a bunch of people – he and Lord Ma Chao and Ma Dai are all under Oda Nobunaga, right now.”

“That’s good, I guess.” Xing lifted his head to the sky, which stretched out clear and blue over them, as even the fairest clouds had disappeared with the waning of the day. It was going to be a nice night and a better tomorrow. “This whole world is just… _weird_. And I don’t even mean the demons and stuff, just the whole…armies turning into messes of people from different time periods, people who were dead being alive again. I’m still getting used to it even after meeting Cao Pi face to face.”

“I know. It’s easier to just accept after you’ve been roaming around with these people for a while.” Bao nudged him playfully in the arm. “Now that you’re here, you can ride with me! We can battle together side by side, like old times. And you can get to know everybody – Lord Sanada is a nice guy, but really intense sometimes. Magoichi, on the other hand, is a lot of fun. He’s got some _great_ stories about all the girls he’s wooed.”

Xing glanced at him and laughed under his breath. “Oh really, now? Taking tips on women from a guy from the future?”

“I don’t know about tips…” Bao leaned over to whisper, even though no one could have heard them where they were. “I heard that when they were in the south, the queen of the Nanman punched him in the nose.”

“Really?” Xing blinked at him and his juicy gossip. “What did he to do earn that?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve seen him flirt with Lady Yueying, too, so it’s not like he’s put off by married women.” Bao grinned recklessly. “I told you, he’s cool. And he doesn’t stand on formality or anything.”

“Whoa…” The idea of _anybody_ flirting with Yueying was so bizarre, Xing couldn’t wrap his brain around it. He shook it off and leaned back so he could rest against the cool, shadowy stone behind them. “Sounds like you’ve had fun, at least. Even if it’s been rough.”

“I’ve seen a lot of battle,” Bao confirmed. “It’s been getting better. You can see the tide turning, we’re not so afraid of Orochi and his army anymore. You’ll see,” he added with another tap of his knuckles against Xing’s arm. “Once you’re out there with the army, you’ll understand.”

His friend nodded and then tipped his head back against the wall. Being in Chengdu again, he couldn’t help but be reminded of that day of fear, but all he had to do was look around and know that there was nothing to be afraid of. Even without Lord Liu Bei or his powerful brothers – their fathers – the army protecting the city now was definitely stronger, and well-prepared should the worst spring up and surprise them. He could relax, and enjoy the quiet, summery evening drawing on. To that end, he decided they were done talking about war and didn’t even ask whether anyone had heard from their fathers. Instead, he forced himself to stop fidgeting by sliding a hand over onto Bao’s and gripping it instead. Zhang Bao clasped it in turn and held on, reassuring Xing that he was there, real and alive, and wasn’t going anywhere. After a long silence, Xing murmured, “I’m glad to find you here. With you at my side, the rest seems easier to bear.”

Bao looked his way and grinned. “Just me, huh? Not anyone else?

“You know what I mean.” Xing’s eyes were cast down shyly, seemingly focused on their clasped hands. “You really don’t realize how much comfort a little familiarity is until you have absolutely none of it. I knew I missed the sound of your voice, but it wasn’t until just now that I really felt the pain of it, now that you’re here and I don’t have to put on a brave face anymore.”

Bao’s grin faded, and after a moment he leaned over, resting his head against Xing’s shoulder. “You can put on any face you want,” he promised, “it’s safe with me.”

That, more than anything, was what Guan Xing needed to hear. He had spent so long wearing a mask of control and authority so that Liu Shan wouldn’t worry, it had worn him thin. Here, with Lord Zhao Yun in such masterful command of a much larger army, of which Xing could be just a small part, he could relax and allow himself not just to feel but to show his feelings. It was such a relief to consider. He tipped his head to the side to let it rest against Zhang Bao’s, and the two sat together just like that until they heard the call for dinner.

A fair number of the officers still within Chengdu went to the trouble of dressing in their finery again in order to show their lord’s son the proper respect, but he hardly noticed or cared. There were so many notable names for him to meet, he didn’t know what to do around Yuan Shao and Meng Huo had him completely out of his element. Shan stood gazing up at the massive mountain of man from Nanzhong, gaping a little, and received a huge guffaw in reaction. Meng Huo clapped him so hard on the shoulder that his teeth rattled. “A son of Lord Liu Bei, eh?” the great king crowed. “Then I guess I’d better bow down to you like I do to him, huh?”

He was mostly kidding, but there was a shadow of respect behind it – he meant the words, even if he was in no mood to bow. Liu Shan forced himself out of his gawking and smiled back. “There’s no need, Great King,” he assured. “Your people have already done so much for me, and now I can see for myself that your wish to help my father is from a bond deep and strong. Thank you.”

The young lord was given the seat at the head of the table, and for most of the meal he was content to simply listen to the babble of talk and story-telling going on around him. Nights among the Nanman aside, he had not been treated to such hubbub and energy in so long, and all he wanted to do was listen to it, surround himself with it in case he woke up tomorrow to find it was all a dream. Zhao Yun, on the other hand, had stationed himself near the other end of the table and spent most of the night going over plans with Yukimura and Magoichi. The latter was staying back, he was still hurting quite a bit from his wound sustained at Jieting, but he could still give advice and talk tactics with the two officers who would be riding out in the morning. Their little conclave did not go unnoticed by the youngsters of Shu. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a larger vanguard, Lord Zhao Yun?” Bao asked him when he finally had the chance. “Some of us haven’t been out in a while.”

Yun looked past him to Guang Xing and then back to him. “Not right now,” he assured. “We have a lot of ground to cover, and must do it quickly. Too many men will weigh us down. Besides,” he added with a warm look for both of them, “you wouldn’t want to drag Guan Xing out into the field after he just got back? Let him rest a bit.”

The two young friends shared a look. “He’s right,” Xing smirked, “I really would like to sleep in a real bed for more than one night before I get back out there.”

“Oh, all right, I guess I can accept that,” Bao said with a huge, fake put-upon sigh. “But don’t forget about us, okay?”

“I won’t,” Yun promised.

“Don’t get ahead of yourselves,” Magoichi lazily advised. “There’ll be war enough for everybody soon enough, I’m sure. Sit back and enjoy the finer things in life while you’ve got a chance.” He brushed a hand over his jacket, which closed low enough that anyone sitting nearby could see the peep of bandages wrapped around his stomach. “The last thing you want is to be forced to sit around, yanno.”

Xing’s eyes widened a little to realize he was injured. “How did you come by that…?”

Saika grinned widely. “Oooh, now that’s a hell of a story and I don’t mind telling it. See, we’re at Jieting, right? And we find out…”

Yukimura leaned away from him, closer to Zhao Yun, while he told the story all over again. They didn’t need to hear it, they had been there. “You’re still resolved to leave in the morning?” he murmured quietly.

Yun nodded once, leaning towards him in turn so they could keep their discussion private. Xing and Bao were raptly listening to Magoichi, anyway. “Even now, I feel confident that everything here is taken care of. We can depart on schedule.” His gaze drifted down the table to the young lord at the far end. Liu Shan certainly appeared to be enjoying himself, though his eyes looked a little tired. “It makes me wonder,” he added, “what else might be out there undiscovered, yet. People and places both. All the more reason for us to make this jaunt – who knows what else we might find that we weren’t exactly looking for?”

Yukimura kept his eyes low; he was suddenly reminded of talking to his brother about the possibility that their father might be in this world, that sunny afternoon in the Takeda camp. His heart clenched briefly in his chest, thinking of Lord Takeda, but it passed. “When you put it like that,” he mused, “it makes that much more sense to me.” He tapped his fingertips gently on his comrade’s arm. “You shouldn’t stay up too late, though. We’ll need a good night’s rest before we set out.”

“That goes for you, too, my friend.” Yun reached across to brush the hand on his arm with his own, a subtle reassurance, and glanced up to find Magoichi just reaching the bloodiest part of his story, sitting up to gesture with a thumb across his body in demonstration of exactly how Lady Shangxiang had cut him. Xing and Bao were staring wide-eyed at him, even though Bao had likely heard the story at least three times already. Zhao Yun chuckled softly under his breath. It was exactly how a night at Luo should be, with friends all around.

  


Things seemed to settle down almost as quickly as they had blown up, but Oda Nobunaga was presently of the opinion that they needed to stay unsettled, so as to keep the Orochi main army from calculating any capable plans with legitimate chances of success. He still wanted to push his foes this way and that in his ever-present attempt to shake the disloyal free of their captor’s grip, but it was getting harder to come by the information necessary to do so. Then, one quiet day as he contemplated whether there was time to take a vacation to Honnoji, the daily scouting report brought him some rather unexpected news. A rumor was abroad that Sun Jian himself might be at Odawara. Such a blatant statement coming even from his own messengers had Nobunaga instantly suspicious; should such a fact be true, perhaps it wouldn’t be hidden in secrets and suggestions, but at the same time, he knew better than to trust anything said so openly. The only thing he could do was pull his collection of strategists into his war room at Guandu and lay it before them, to see what they thought. He was not surprised that Lu Xun rocketed to his feet in shock, but his respect for the young Wu tactician went up in magnitude when he didn’t follow his startled leap with a demand to rescue his lord. Instead, he collected himself and sat back down to wisely contemplate the facts while the others discussed it around him. “It’s fairly close by,” Hanbei noted. “It would take us almost no effort to raise enough of an army to poke around and see what comes of it.” 

“Odawara has been one of the Orochi army’s most secure strongholds, since they took it,” Mitsuhide stated. “Moreso than this fortress, perhaps because they could not always rely on Da Ji’s presence to protect it.”

“Who does reside there, if not her?” Oda wondered.

“Some of our intelligence suggests Zhuge Liang, the Sleeping Dragon,” Kanbei replied, “but that information is out of date.”

“That is a name I have not heard connected to battles anytime recently,” Oda said sagely, rubbing his beard. “Not since Tianshui, which was a long time ago now.”

“If he doesn’t command in battle, then it is entirely possible he may be at Odawara,” Mitsuhide speculated. “I don’t think we can say anything for certain without reconnaissance.”

“That much I can agree to.” Oda gestured for an attendant at the door to come closer. “Call Hideyoshi to me. I want him to set up scouts to find out what we need to know.”

The messenger ducked out immediately, allowing him to resume his conference. The strategists sat in a circle, looking over some of their notes and any written reports from the field laid out on the table among them. “I’m sure you had designs on retaking Odawara sooner or later,” Hanbei said flippantly, leaning back in his chair in order to look up from under his large hat, “so is it a huge problem if you go and do it now instead of later?”

“Whatever the reconnaissance might say, I don’t think we have the resources to take it and hold it, just yet,” Oda said seriously. “A smaller, less important territory maybe, but Odawara would require stretching our army thin in order to cover it as securely as here and Honnoji. Now that we have Kanegasaki as well, we are in danger of overreaching.”

Hanbei smiled knowingly. “There is an easy solution to that, then. Recruit more people.”

Nobunaga met that look with a dry, deadpan one of his own. “I’ll get right on that.”

“Regardless of who holds it,” Mitsuhide interjected, going back to the previous topic, “if Lord Sun Jian is in fact being held there, what reason would we have to leave him there? Hanbei is right, we’re within striking distance.”

“Just how soft do you think my heart has become, Mitsuhide?” Oda purred, subtly scolding him enough to make him look away. “I have said in the past that allowing Orochi to hold such prisoners is not in the best interest of anyone who wishes to destroy him. That still holds true. Yet, I am only one man leading one of several resistance cells. It may not be my duty or my right to rescue the man.”

“If you did…” Lu Xun spoke softly, but the others instantly silenced and looked to him for his opinion. He kept his eyes focused on the table as he ordered his thoughts and spoke them aloud. “Even though he’s being used as a hostage to keep the last of Wu still under thrall, simply liberating him might not actually be the best way to save them.”

Kanbei raised an eyebrow at him. “How so?”

Xun covered his lips with a hand for a moment, to help control his emotions bubbling near the surface. “If word got out…it may put an end to the rivalry between siblings, true. But I have this dread feeling that Da Ji and her army wouldn’t just let the remaining Wu officers and their troops go. I’m concerned that if she loses control of one hostage, she would simply exchange him for another. Perhaps Lord Sun Quan himself. It would be a terrible irony if she held _his_ life in exchange for his father and brother, instead, but I see it as a distinct possibility.”

“I think you have something there, Master Lu Xun,” Hanbei said with a slow nod. “There is also the matter of timing. In order to free the entirety of Wu from Orochi, Lord Sun Jian needs to be seen with his freedom at the right place and time. But if we lose control of the ability to keep rumors from spreading, it could turn to chaos.”

Mitsuhide cast Lu Xun a sympathetic look from where he stood at Oda’s shoulder. “I would imagine it can’t be easy to think of your lord so close within our reach and yet admit that we should not save him.”

Xun flicked his eyes up briefly to catch his gaze and then lowered them again. “Of course my heart wishes we could run right out there, right now, and free him,” he murmured. “But I am a scholar of the greatest strategists of Wu. I know not to let my heart run away with my head. I have not only the good of Wu to think about, but the good of every kingdom being held captive in this land. If we move at the wrong time, or to the wrong place, we could set back our efforts by months and leave Orochi the openings he needs to re-conquer all of us.”

Nobunaga gave a small hum of approval under his breath. He knew there was a reason he had enfolded this young man into his army. “My steps are mostly ordered, and must be taken one at a time,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean there is no room for a side-trip once in a while. I am curious to know what this rumor stems from, and why it so conveniently points to a nearby enemy stronghold. I will see what comes from reconnaissance, and make our choice accordingly.”

Hideyoshi showed up not long after, so that his lord could lay out his intentions and have his faithful retainer set up scouting parties to tell them as much as they could about Odawara. It took a few days, but in the end Nobunaga had what he needed in order to make a decision. Zhuge Liang was indeed in residence, there, and the scouts eagerly reported that Da Ji was known to be traveling back and forth between there and Bai Di so she could maintain personal, direct control of both fortresses. That, or she really had a lot of business at both places at once, but there was no denying that even with her sorcery, she was seen on the road rather often. It was suspicious, to be sure, but it didn’t answer the overarching question of why rumor spoke of Sun Jian being held there. Hanbei and Kanbei agreed that of all the castles still under Orochi control, it was rather secure and just the type of place that would be able to hold such a prisoner, in theory. Oda was still not convinced of the veracity of this rumor, so when it came time to decide whether to sit tight or make a move, he brushed it off with an aloof air. There was enough going on there to warrant doing something, even if that something was just a testing jab at the defenses, but not enough that he needed to be personally involved. Instead, he ordered Toyotomi and Guan Ping to head up a combined force, with Kanbei to lead their tactics, and sent a missive to Kanegasaki to ask Huang Zhong to bring up his troops as reinforcements. It lay to the other side of Odawara from where they were, it was perfect. They understood the mission well enough, but that rumor kept coming up to interfere with the true plan. “But what if we can get in and we find out that he _is_ there?” Ping pressed as he finished lashing his baggage and weapon to his saddle. “Do you want us to just leave him there or what?”

“That is not your concern,” Nobunaga insisted. “This excursion is not to launch a full-scale ground battle against Odawara Castle, it is to test the strength of the defenses and see what kind of response it brings. I can hardly authorize a rescue mission if the castle defenses are too strong,” he pointed out. “The only way for us to know is to poke the beehive, so to speak.”

“And be on your guard,” Mitsuhide warned for not the first time. “You may attract Da Ji’s attention to you. We want you coming back alive, don’t do anything foolish and heroic.” He gave Toyotomi a pointed look. “I mean it, Hideyoshi.”

“Relax, Mitsuhide, I’m not gonna do anything rash,” Hideyoshi assured as he leaped up into the saddle and gathered the reins. “I understand Lord Nobunaga’s orders perfectly. To the letter. We’ll get into position, contact our reinforcements from Kanegasaki to confirm their presence, and do exactly what Kanbei tells us to do. Not one thing more.”

“I’m trusting you on this, Monkey,” Oda said sternly, brooking no argument. “Kuroda will be able to alter the plans as he sees fit, but the end goal is only to draw out their strength and keep Da Ji’s eyes on you for a while.”

“You’re not planning to sacrifice me like you did Takeda and Uesugi, are you?” Toyotomi retorted, and immediately found himself placed under a withering glare. He raised his hands in surrender. “Kidding! It was a joke! I know, I know, whatever else you’ve got up your sleeve is all you, I’m doing my part. If we find out anything unusual, I’ll send a messenger right away.”

“Safe ride and safe return,” Mitsuhide wished them, stepping back so that the rest of the officers could mount up and prepare to move out. Guan Ping was the last to do so, as he gave the courtyard one last look around and spotted Lu Xun waiting to see them off. It was strange, thinking of the young strategist being forced to weigh in on the fate of his own lord, but since neither he nor Ling Tong were going along, Ping could only guess at what had happened behind closed doors. He trusted Oda, even if he didn’t understand him, so he gave his current lord a respectful nod and swung up into the saddle. Nobunaga returned that nod, his eyes keen as they followed the whole unit out the gate.


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Oda Resistance makes a gambit at Odawara. Afterward, Da Ji has new orders for Lu Bu.

Odawara was a few days’ ride from Guandu, and the territory which lay between them had gotten considerably more chaotic after the Oda Resistance conquests. Once, it was all held by the Orochi army, and their troops traveled through that land unmolested in order to get from one stronghold to another, but now it was a land in conflict, and neither army could claim to pass through it safely. Messengers ran fast and stealthily back and forth, bringing fresh reports and reconnoitering with the additional troops coming in from Kanegasaki, and the evening before their planned sortie brought them the good news that their reinforcements were on schedule and would be in place at the desired time. Toyotomi’s forces might have to make a hole in the defenses for them, but that was certainly well within the parameters of the mission. He had their little army make camp in the thick woods just a few miles from the castle so they could rest and prepare, and double- and triple-check that they had not been spotted yet. It was a fine night and the fir wood was alive with cricket song, soothing even the most nervous among the soldiers and reassuring the commander that they were in no danger. After all, the insects themselves could play sentry, for they would silence themselves if disturbed by unusual movement through their habitat. Hideyoshi sat with his helm off beside the fire placed just outside the officers’ tent, watching Guan Ping methodically ply a whetstone along the thick bevel of the Young Dragon’s cutting edge. “Keeping that thing sharp is a workout, isn’t it?” he noted with some amusement at the way Ping had to stretch to keep the motion consistent all the way down the length of the massive blade.

“A little,” Ping admitted, “but it’s worth a little sweat.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Hideyoshi turned his eyes away, to the deepening twilight above them where the stars continued to sneak out one by one. “Hey, sorry we couldn’t bring Ma Chao and Ma Dai along. Lord Nobunaga really needs them somewhere else right now.”

“It’s all right. We’ll meet up with Master Huang Zhong when we strike,” Ping remembered, “so I’ll get to see how he’s faring with his new command post. Besides.” He reached the end of another sweep of the stone and finally looked up with a small smile. “I don’t have to have my countrymen at my hand in order to enjoy a battle. I like all of you, and being given this position by Lord Nobunaga himself is pretty nice.”

“He likes you,” Toyotomi said, “which is really interesting, because Lord Nobunaga doesn’t show his fondness for people very easily. Giving them the lead in a battle is a pretty good sign, but I happen to know he actually does think highly of you.”

Ping modestly turned his gaze back to his sword as he worked to sharpen it stroke by slow, patient stroke. “I remember after the first few battles under his command, I wondered if it were even possible for him to be fond of anyone. I don’t think he’s warmed up at all, he’s still cold and dangerous, but I feel like…I don’t know, maybe I’m used to it now or something.”

Hideyoshi sat back and laughed. “That’s about all anyone can say about him, really!” He looked up at a slight movement to his right, and nodded in welcome as Hideyori came to sit by him. He would have both his own son and Oda’s assisting him in this battle, as their lord wished for some of the idle retainers to get out and stretch their legs, so to speak, including Nobutada. “Anything to report?”

“All is well,” his son replied, immediately fascinated by Guan Ping’s sword sharpening technique. He had the huge blade resting across his knees so he could reach from hilt to tip with each sweep of the whetstone, though he still had to stretch from end to end. It required balance and patience, to say nothing of the strength to simply bear the weight of the Young Dragon. “Wow. I’d ask if everyone was ready for tomorrow, but I think I already know the answer.”

“I’m almost done,” Ping assured. “Then yes, I’ll be more than ready. Especially if Lord Zhuge Liang is there.” His expression clouded. “If I was able to turn this sword against my own father, I can certainly let it fly against the likes of him.”

Hideyori tilted his head curiously. “Is he really as shrewd as the stories say?”

Ping nodded slowly in rhythm with his whetting. “He is every bit as wise and inscrutable as anyone has ever said. Kuroda is going to have a challenge waiting for him tomorrow, I’m sure. Even if our approach has been totally unseen, somehow Lord Zhuge Liang will know we were coming and have laid traps for us anyway.”

“That means we all need to be on our toes from start to finish,” Hideyoshi said smartly. “I may be in charge on the field but Kanbei’s in charge of the thinking, so if he pulls us back or changes his tactic, we have to be ready to roll with it.” He tapped his temple with one finger. “Lucky for us, I know Odawara like the back of my hand. I don’t care how long the guy’s been living here, there’s something to be said for being able to navigate around a castle compound by instinct. Kanbei and I have already talked about the places anyone would be most likely to lay an ambush if they were smart.”

Ping looked up from his work again. “Why do I get this feeling that you’re not out to actually avoid any of those places?”

Toyotomi grinned widely. “A trap is only a trap if you don’t see it coming. We’re going to have our way with this castle, no matter what that guy throws at us. Remember,” he added, “we’re here to test their defenses. There’s no real goal to gain aside from getting a first-hand look at what they’re doing to hold Odawara, we’ll call the retreat when Kanbei’s satisfied with what we’ve sniffed out. Who knows? We might not even get to see Zhuge Liang himself.”

One last sweep and Guan Ping pronounced his sword sharp enough, and set the stone aside before lifting the huge blade as if it weighed no more than a bamboo stick and turning it to catch the firelight, so he could inspect his work. It was a good way to keep from showing his feelings toward Zhuge Liang openly on his face, though he couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. “I hope we do. He needs to feel the bite of a dragon’s fangs for once. It won’t be enough to atone for what he’s done, but it’ll be a start.”

Hideyoshi heard his restrained anger and shook his head. “I know it’s rough, Ping, but you gotta put emotions aside so you’ve got a clear head in battle. I know you can handle yourself just fine, I saw you fight your father, but Lord Nobunaga’s orders were for all of us. No doing anything reckless, like chasing after the mastermind of the castle for personal reasons.”

“I know.” Ping stowed his sword and settled down, leaning forward with elbows on his knees so he could stare into the fire for a while. “If he truly has gone over, he wouldn’t be morally opposed to using our feelings against us. If I see him, I won’t let him draw me away from our intended plan.”

“Glad to hear it,” Hideyoshi said, “but I gotta trust you to keep your word when it comes time to fight. You’re my lead officer here, I can’t be watching you over my shoulder the whole time.”

“I promise, Lord Hideyoshi,” Ping said softly, lifting his head to meet the man’s gaze. He was sincere, there was nothing to suggest he would go back on his word even in the heat of battle. “I don’t want to let you down, or Lord Nobunaga. I don’t want to be the liability in the plan just because I’m a man of Shu who might face someone he used to trust.”

Toyotomi held his eyes for a long moment and then nodded in satisfaction. “All right, all right. You’re good to go. Show that sleepy dragon what you’re really made of, Guan Ping.”

Ping almost corrected him, and then decided to let the jibe stand. He wasn’t feeling very generous toward Zhuge Liang as it was, and figured what taunt he didn’t hear wouldn’t hurt him anyway. “I look forward to it. And to seeing Hideyori and Nobutada in battle, too,” he added with a smile toward Toyotomi’s son. “Watching you guys spar and drill inside the walls of castles doesn’t compare.”

“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of action to go around,” Hideyori smirked back. “Testing the defenses or not, I don’t plan to fake any fighting.”

“Then I guess we’d better wrap up the chatter and get some sleep,” Hideyoshi sighed. “It’s such a nice night, I’d rather sit out here and enjoy the stars all night long, but it won’t do to be asleep in the saddle in the morning.”

Despite his admonition they still sat around the fire a little while longer, talking of lighter things like which castle they’d most like to visit when they were allowed a break, and whether Okuni was annoying Huang Zhong or the other way around out at Kanegasaki. Oda had decided to send her out there to assist in the defense, whether because he genuinely understood her covert skills and knew they would be of use or because he didn’t want her at Honnoji if he would be there. They resolved to make time to ask the old warrior when he met up with them on the morrow, and at long last the officers retired to their tent to sleep. Guan Ping laid awake longer than he wanted to, though, staring at the canvas ceiling in the dark while his thoughts circled around Zhuge Liang’s very existence. Unlike some in Shu, he couldn’t really call the strategist a friend, though he did respect and admire the man greatly. Now, with him so firmly on the other side, Ping had no idea what to believe. Could he be in the same situation as his father and Zhang Fei, forced to fight for Orochi to protect Lord Liu Bei? Or had he actually gone over, and if so, how easy had it been to shed his loyalty? Did he look their lord in the eye when he turned, or was Liu Bei still in the dark about this development? There were too many questions and not enough answers, so after running them in a circle and coming back to his original point more than once, Ping had to force himself to drop it and just roll over and try to sleep. It wasn’t doing him any good to dwell.

The last few miles to Odawara’s outer ward seemed to go by slowly, but it was for the best, as the army wanted to be in the best position when they revealed themselves. Toyotomi rode at the fore with Kuroda immediately at his left to advise him, growing more and more wary as they approached. They were coming up on the western gate, where he himself had made his last stand before the might of Orochi on the day this very castle fell to the first assault of the demon lord. Things looked like they had been repaired since then, and the scars left on the land had healed, but he didn’t let his guard down at all. He knew exactly how sentries would be placed at this gate, and had agreed early in the planning stage that they should break in here, to give themselves the best chance at getting further inside the castle before being genuinely stopped. The longer they were allowed to linger inside the walls, the more information they could gather. Hideyoshi was still mindful of the rumor of Sun Jian, but he also knew his lord to be correct, that they couldn’t get distracted by such a tantalizing piece of bait. That side mission, along with some others, would be on a play-by-ear basis only. The main goal was to get inside Odawara and draw attention to themselves for as long as possible, and see just what Zhuge Liang had up his sleeve for repelling the incursion. Toyotomi staggered his units, putting himself in the middle with his tactician and letting Hideyori take point, and then called the attack at the precise desired time.

It was clear that this would be no ordinary raid when they found snake demons guarding the gate, and the front line slew them without hesitation. Breaching the gate was easy, then, and in no time at all they were spreading out through the outer ward, cutting down guards and putting themselves out in the open to attract attention. Toyotomi planned to go no further until they could be sure they had taken care of any traps or defenses at this end, first, and made sure the demon captains could see him and his sunburst helm, so they could mark him as an officer of the Oda. Surely that bait, in turn, would call down hordes of castle defenders on their heads. There were only a few, to start, and they were easy to drive off. The lead officers regrouped in the courtyard where Toyotomi knew it to be safe, where he could see any attempted ambushes coming, and consulted on the strange response. “We should be swimming in enemies by now,” he said warily, looking to Kanbei to confirm or deny. “Those captains we sent running with their snaky tails between their legs ought to have turned out the rest of the castle.”

“Maybe its defenses are a lot thinner than it looked on the outside,” Guan Ping speculated. “If Da Ji isn’t here…but then, that would mean there aren’t any prisoners being held here, either…”

Kanbei shook his head solemnly. “It is a ruse. They’re setting us up for something. I would not advise going further into the next ward.”

“Right. Bring everybody up, let’s watch each other’s backs, here.” Hideyoshi waved with his staff as he gave the order. There was room in the courtyard for the entirety of their army, even if they strayed all over the area rather than reform into their units. Some soldiers were trying to take the initiative to sniff into corners they could reach, but gave up and obeyed the order. Kuroda had scouts for that job, and sent some further into the castle while others ducked back out the gate to have a look around the paths they had taken in. He, too, was thinking about the rumored prisoner, and wondered if this might not be Da Ji’s opportunity to move him again, to slip him out under their noses while they were distracted. Those scouts were the first to come back with a report that someone was indeed moving out toward the remote garrisons which served the castle complex. There was another fortress nearby at the top of the hill, a guardpost which overlooked Odawara proper, both he and Toyotomi remembered it at the same time. Leaving Nobutada’s unit at the western gate to hold it for them, no matter what they decided to do with it later, the rest moved off in pursuit of these forces drawing off toward the guardpost. If they were retreating from a well-guarded and secure castle, there had to be a reason, and Toyotomi wanted to know it. As they closed in on the troops – and a large troop it was, no mere handful of wandering soldiers or civilians – they could see that it was still mostly snakes, under the command of their own serpent captains. All of them looked alike, so they couldn’t say just who was commanding them, but once they realized they were being pursued, one cried something about a plan and whipped his troops to speed. The swift, tireless demons managed to outpace the horses, but barely, mostly because the mounted officers were doing their best not to get out too far ahead of their own infantry. Guan Ping demonstrated their resolve viscerally, as he wished to ride down and destroy those demons but held himself in check and reined in so that he could stay with his unit. The retreating troops were clearly headed for the guardpost on the hill with all due haste, and though they checked at the bottom of the hill, Toyotomi’s men knew they had no choice but to follow. “You sure the trap’s not in there?” Hideyoshi asked Kanbei as they paused to get a good look at the back sides of their foes.

“It’s possible,” Kanbei admitted gruffly. “But there is only one way to know for certain.”

“True.” Hideyoshi looked around at his officers. “Reinforcements should be here shortly, too, so it may just be worth our time to spring this trap. Everybody with me?” All of them nodded. He asked only Kuroda to hang back and wait, in case the rest of them weren’t back by the time reinforcements arrived, and took the rest with him, up the hill and into the fortress.

The troop they had pursued this far seemed to have disappeared, if only into the garrison itself where troops would be housed. The open ground of the walled-in fort was empty of soldiers of any ilk, the only sign that anything was amiss seemed to be the shallow pit of congealed lava toward one corner. Someone had roped it off to make sure the usual troops didn’t blunder into it, as the crust still glowed like a patch of smoldering coals left from a recently-doused fire. It wasn’t until all three units led by Hideyoshi, Guan Ping, and Hideyori had entered the guardpost that the gates all suddenly slammed shut, and a screechy demon voice called out, “Now! Take them down!”

The officers looked at one another. “You were right,” Ping shrugged. “It was a trap.”

“I told myself so,” Hideyoshi said wryly, swinging down out of the saddle. “All right, men, let’s show ‘em what we came here for!”

The ambush did not bother a single one of them, as they were ready for it. The other officers dismounted as well, and everyone clustered together in their units, forming a triangle with their backs to one another to face assault from all directions. It was precise and stout, and as enemy troops flooded in from behind walls and canvas screens, they found a determined and prepared counter-attack waiting for them. Here, they finally saw humans, the officers leading the mingled ambush troops which had been waiting in this garrison, and though they came on hard and strong, one of them suddenly screeched to a halt on the flagstone path, causing several snake demons to blunder into him from behind. The young man froze as he locked eyes with Guan Ping, and then backed away a step or two. In contrast, Ping lowered his head and glared. “So this is where you’ve been all this time!”

Fist white-knuckled on his nunchuku, Guan Suo found himself unable to either advance or retreat. Seeing his elder brother standing there, ready to fight, robbed him of the will to take it to him. One of the snake captains came up and cuffed him across the back of the head. “What are you waiting for? Get in there and destroy them! The resistance must be stopped at all costs!”

Incensed, Ping found himself unable to resist the pull of emotion. It was a good time for it, there was no plan that would be derailed at the moment if he chose to attack. He leaped out from his position and charged, swinging the Young Dragon up hard and fast directly at the head of the demon. Both Cottonmouth and Guan Suo dodged out of the way of the hit, splitting to either side as Ping barreled between them and instantly circled around to press the attack. Leaving Suo alone for now, he kept after the demon instead, hacking at him and swinging the big blade around so fast the wind of its passage was enough to knock over the smaller snakes. Suo backed off and found himself dropping to a crouch, his knees too weak to hold him up as he watched the fierce onslaught of his brother overwhelm the Orochi captain. He clearly wanted to cleave Cottonmouth open from skull to feet, but when he went for the killing blow, the serpent evaded him and ran for his life. With that decided, Ping turned to his younger brother with the same dark look. “Get up, Suo!” he demanded. “Show me you are our father’s son!”

Gritting his teeth, Suo pushed himself up, though his legs still trembled and he fumbled his weapon. “Don’t say that!” he cried. “I have no right to call myself the son of Guan Yu, right now. To you I am just another Orochi captain, so do with me what you will!”

Ping shook his head firmly, angrily. “Fight me, brother. I don’t want to see you back down!”

They stared each other down for a moment, at the end of which Suo threw back his head to take a deep breath and swallow his fear. He had to do this, he knew he could not simply run away. Not in front of Ping. It wasn’t about obeying Orochi in that moment, it was only him and his brother on the battlefield. Finally finding the strength needed to carry this out, he straightened up and gave the nunchuku a flick to put it into position, ready to attack. He didn’t get the chance. Ping ran for him, and he had to slide to the side to avoid being beheaded. He was as different from his brother as Liu Bei and Guan Yu from one another, but he had other advantages; being taller and more slender, he was faster, lighter on his feet, and adept at hand-to-hand combat. No matter how much his stomach lurched at the thought of being under orders to destroy his own kin, Suo fought to his limit just to stay alive, circling and kicking and spinning to avoid the Young Dragon and try to get in a hit or two of his own. He even springboarded off the blade once, to gain some air and do a flip to bring his heel down on Ping’s head, but the strike glanced off his massive shoulder pauldron and sent Suo reeling into a canvas wall. He soldiered on valiantly, but Ping was simply too strong for him in the end. At least, as he spun out of a kick and saw the blow coming at him too late to dodge, he noticed his brother turn it at the last second so that he was struck with the flat of the blade. It still sent him crashing through the ranks of battling soldiers and skidding several yards through the dirt to land unconscious some distance away. Guan Ping turned to the rest of the ambush force, and several infantrymen of Shu dropped their weapons where they stood from the sheer force of his enraged glare. His anger wasn’t exactly for them, though. “Zhuge Liang!” he screamed above the battle-din. “Show yourself! Stop making the men of Shu fight for your whims and face me yourself!”

Hideyoshi heard him and looked sharply his way, but the challenge went unanswered. If Zhuge Liang was within earshot to even hear, he did not respond. But Toyotomi understood, now. These were conscripted men fighting them, he even knew one of the officers his son had defeated to be one of Mitsuhide’s own retainers. This was rather disgusting, as tactics went, but even he knew how effective it would be pitting the right people against one another – if it had been deliberate. There was no way to know without confronting the commander of this assault. With a couple of quick gestures he sent everybody else after the snake demons instead, and they quickly turned the ambush into a rout. When the dust cleared and the last of the snakes had fled back into the garrison, the gates of the guardpost burst open from outside and their reinforcements streamed in, led by Huang Zhong with his bow drawn and half his arrows already spent. He warily prowled up through the garrison to where Toyotomi leaned on his staff. “Are we too late?”

“Just in time, I’d say,” Hideyoshi said brightly. “Looks like we took care of the mess in here, but it won’t be the last one of the day, I’d guess.”

Kuroda waded in through the chaos, balancing his Demonstone in the palm of one hand. “Not likely. This was only a test. The mind behind this is still in the castle, biding his time.”

“Then let’s take it to him, shall we?” Huang looked around to make sure Guan Ping was okay, and found him crouched over someone’s limp form some feet away. “What the…?”

The Young Dragon stood jabbed into the soft earth just off the path while Ping knelt and rolled his brother over into his arms, looking him over and pressing a hand to his neck to feel his heartbeat. Suo was alive, and in fact, started to come around right there and then. His gentle eyes blinked slowly open and took a moment to focus on the face hovering over him, at which point his face crumpled in a desperate attempt to stop himself from bursting into tears. Ping knew that look, and smiled in relief. “I found you,” he breathed.

Suo’s hand groped for a hold on his sleeve. “Don’t,” he whimpered. “Don’t…make me go back. I don’t want this anymore.”

“You don’t have to.” Ping raised his head for a moment, looking around to confirm something. The demons had run off, but the humans among them were all seated, now, under the watchful gaze of the Toyotomis. “We’re taking prisoners,” he noted. “We’ll take you with us.”

Suo nodded and tried to sit up, but doing so sent fiery pain racing up his side, making him hiss and wince. “Leave me,” he begged. “Just tell them not to kill me…”

“Nobody’s going to kill you. Come on.” Ping bent further to shoulder him and get him to his feet, so he could escort him over to where the others sat bound and weaponless. He hadn’t realized the reinforcements had arrived, so he blinked in surprise at Huang Zhong, who was in turn staring open-mouthed at the identity of their attackers. “Here’s another prisoner for Lord Nobunaga,” Guan Ping said aloud, to make it official, and then lowered Suo to sit next to another officer of Shu he recognized.

“Got it,” Hideyoshi said with a smart nod. “Boy, what a haul, Lord Nobunaga’s gonna be real pleased. But there’s still the matter of the guy in the castle. What do you think, Kanbei?”

Kuroda made a face at him for the constant use of his given name, but there were more important matters at stake. “There is a reason he drew us away from the castle. I fear Nobutada may be in danger.”

“Oh, damn. Right, let’s turn around and get back there, on the double!”

Leaving Hideyori to guard the prisoners, now that they had their reinforcements from Kanegasaki, the rest of the army regrouped yet again and turned back toward the western gate of Odawara. Battle was already joined, they could hear it as they approached, and raced up the path to find Oda Nobutada’s unit beset by more snake demons. The lead officers broke away from their men and leaned low over their horses’ necks to urge them to speed, outpacing everyone in order to come to the rescue before it was too late. Toyotomi and Guan Ping burst right through the crowd of demons and fell to fighting right away, but behind them, Huang Zhong suddenly bent his bow and shot through the gate into the courtyard. He found a mark, apparently, as a strangled demon scream revealed more of them just inside the gate, but it was no mere foot soldier. The others looked to see one of the captains with that arrow in his shoulder, seething but still managing to stand ground by leaning on his spear; unlike the others, he didn’t flee, because he had one important reason for being there. Standing just beside him was Zhuge Liang, seemingly expecting these demons to protect him while he came to see to the battle himself. Several of their own men turned on him right away, but he raised his fan and lightning bolts danced around them, forcing them back. A field full of enemy soldiers prevented Guan Ping from venting further anger on him at the moment, but Huang Zhong was both closer and more capable. He hesitated, though, and when he let the next arrow fly, it soared just over the Sleeping Dragon’s head. Kongming flicked a curious glance in his direction and then chose to ignore him, his interest captured by Toyotomi and Guan Ping instead. He remained where he was just inside the ward, though, almost daring them to make their move while Mamushi beside him pulled the arrow from his arm and snarled at their forces to bring down these Resistance fools. It was a matter of who broke free of the melee and got to him first, and it happened to be Guan Ping. He dismounted and cut his way through infantry with great sweeps of his sword, making his way much easier than on horseback, and once he saw the opening he took it, charging across the ground with the Young Dragon held low. “Zhuge Liang!” he bellowed in demand.

Liang stood firm, not a single muscle twitching as he regarded the challenge steamrolling his way. Mamushi lunged to get between them, but Ping knocked him sprawling with one swing. He got within a sword's length of his target when Liang's hand came up to cast the spell barrier to block the strike which could have easily bifurcated him down the middle. Ping pushed against it, straining with all his might as if the metal could cleave magic. “Why?” he hissed, now that they were so close. “Why do you do this? Why do you fight for that serpent?”

Kongming's eyes remained inscrutable. “I cannot discuss that matter at this moment.”

Ping seethed at him and disengaged from the block with a growl. “I don't want to discuss it, I want you to tell me! If you won't...”

He launched himself again, but this time, Zhuge Liang was faster, and whipped the fan up in front of his heart. For a moment it hovered between his cupped hands, and in that instant, a beam of light burst from the jeweled hilt of the fan and hit Guan Ping squarely in the chest. He flew back almost all the way back to where he had started from, his armor leaving long scores in the dirt. For a heartbeat's pause, most of the resistance stared in shock at the power of the sorcery in the great strategist's hands, but then a great blue flame shot back at him, and Kongming found himself staggering backward from a blow his eyes hadn't been able to track. It was no arrow, not even a gunshot, but a small stone orb, the source of the flame. He drew back in guard position with the fan covering most of his face as he looked around and finally focused on the wielder. Kuroda Kanbei waded out of the fray, a scowling shadow in his dark robes with his left hand raised, ready to cast more spells as soon as his Demonstone rushed back to it. Zhuge Liang could not ignore his presence. “Are you the one who left me a decoy, then?” he murmured.

Kanbei remained equally impassive as he closed the distance, ignoring the screams and clashes around him. “I would not have expected the legendary Sleeping Dragon to have mistaken Nobutada for his father. They do not look that much alike.”

“True,” Liang admitted. “It was my men who brought me word that Oda Nobunaga was at my gate. I did not have time to confirm his identity, seeing as he was already inside the door.” His eyes narrowed. “Such forethought is impressive.”

Kanbei nodded once to accept the compliment. “It is a shame we will not be able to penetrate further into the castle to see what else you have thought up for us.” He raised the hand with the orb, and another burst of fiery blue energy began to build behind him.

“Leaving already? A wise choice.” Liang kept his fan in a defensive posture, but refrained from any more power displays himself. With the defenses breaking down, he had no choice but to rely on the castle itself to protect him. His eyes shifted to the side in thought, considering the relative strength of Oda's forces as Toyotomi rode to his strategist's protection, and then he waved a hand to bring the gates to close on them. It was a slow process, and through the shrinking gap he saw the arrow fly, faster than he could move his arm to stop it. Only the last-second intervention of a much larger flying stone orb saved him from taking the shot to the chest. He looked off to the side, and his foes followed his gaze to see Da Ji in all her glory, standing on top of the parapet with a hand raised to command her weapon.

So that was what he meant, Kanbei realized. It was wise for them to get out of there before she came among them, for even as strong as some of them were, it was not in their best interests to fight her again. At least, not right now. Fortunately, Toyotomi understood without needing to be told. “Retreat!” he called out. “Draw back and regroup!”

Their men were waiting for the signal, and immediately pulled back, re-forming into units and retreating with all due order. Both Da Ji and Zhuge Liang watched warily to make sure it wasn't a further trick, but the field cleared rather rapidly. Guan Ping had regained his feet enough to ride, and once he was mounted, Toyotomi and Kuroda made their retreat as well. They drew back to the path where it wound through a palisade wall and then turned aside to pick up their prisoners, doubling their speed in order to get clear of any attacks that might follow on their heels. They had kept their enemies distracted as long as possible, now they had to get out of there with prisoners safe and alive as fast as they could. It was easier for the entirety of their army to pull back in the direction Huang Zhong had come from, since he would eventually be returning to his post, but for now it was simply the best way to get out of range of Odawara's defenses.

When the battle died away and their invaders had withdrawn, Da Ji blinked herself down to Zhuge Liang's side, looking rather sour. “Just what was all that about, anyway?”

“Our intelligence was not so intelligent,” Liang murmured. “Oda Nobunaga was not here. It was only a vanguard of his army.” He shook his head slowly, finally lowering his fan to his side. “Yellowbelly also failed to bring the ambush unit back. I fear they may have been decimated.”

The fox demon shot him a withering look. “Is that so? Well, then. Looks like nobody's going to have a good time in the castle tonight. These kinds of repeated failures could have led to Odawara falling into Oda's hands, and I thought I said that is _not_ to happen again.” She glanced at the man beside her. “But you did manage to repel the resistance, so I guess there's that.”

Liang nodded once, slowly. “Today has been a success, my lady. Odawara is safe.” Yet, he couldn't help but wonder what the purpose of the attack was. They only entered the western gate of the castle, defeated one of his outlying ambushes, and then left. What could they have been after?

“I suppose I should just be glad you're still competent.” She banished her orbs to nothingness and turned to saunter away. “See to it our defenses are shored up in case they come back, and send out scouts to tail them. I want to know where they're headed next, they might lead us to Nobunaga after all.”

“It shall be done.” Liang waited until she had gone, and then turned to find the nearest troops capable of carrying out that order. Then, it hit him. The ambush. Their forces. Maybe they weren't decimated after all. He had ordered Guan Suo and Chen Shi to man that force, personally choosing the best men at hand at the castle at that time. He grabbed one of the few humans among the guards and sentries and drew him close for private orders. “Run to the fortress on the hill and report to me of the status of our troops stationed there.”

“Yes, my lord.”

 _If that was their aim..._ Zhuge Liang frowned to himself as he turned to go back inside and resume his work, which had been interrupted by reports of an army breaching their gate. _This Nobunaga...his vision is unparalleled. I would not have expected this_. He would be in a lot of trouble if he lost some of his own men to the Resistance, but then, there was clearly more to this excursion than he could see on the surface. He would have to look into it more closely, and hope that Da Ji was too busy with all her other troubles to bother him about the fate of their ambush troops.

The prisoners had been marched down out of the guardpost and away into the trees to a rendezvous point where, had anything gone awry, they would have all regrouped with Huang Zhong's reinforcements. Everyone was checked over, and fortunately it seemed that none were worse for wear, not even Guan Ping. Whatever sorcery had hit him had only dazed him for a moment, he was otherwise fine. Guan Suo was a little more beaten up, but it was easy enough to take care of. As they paused to collectively catch their breath and determine which way to depart, one of the sentries at the edge of the clearing cried out in warning – someone was approaching from the wilderness. Weapons were back out in a flash, but the two horsemen who appeared under the branches of the trees were no threat, and everyone hastily stood down. As he regarded their readiness, Oda Nobunaga smiled coolly. “No, you were right to prepare for attack,” he assured them as he came into their midst. “Letting down your guard now would be fatal.”

“This is a nice surprise, my lord,” Hideyoshi said, tipping back his helm. “I didn't expect you so soon.”

“Forgive my impatience, Monkey,” Oda murmured as he dismounted. “I had a vested interest in seeing how things turned out. I see there is something worth the trip, at least.”

The three captive officers had been separated from their men, since they were likely to have information and had the responsibility to decide the fates of the soldiers captured with them. Toyotomi had yet to sort things out, so the timing of Oda’s arrival worked perfectly in their favor. Guan Ping stood guard behind them, leaning on his sword. “What you see, my lord,” he explained, “are all the human officers we saw. We managed to take all of them prisoner.”

“This is all?” Oda repeated, raising an eyebrow as he came before them. His gaze settled on Ise Sadaoki at one end of the line and turned straight into a frown. “What is the meaning of this?”

Mitsuhide had accompanied him, and came to his side with a small gasp. “Ise! What are you doing here?”

Even with his arms bound behind him, the man managed to bow until his forehead touched the ground. “I have no excuses, my lords,” he said sadly. “I can but beg for my life, if you are willing to grant it. And if not mine, then at least the lives of my men. They followed me into captivity out of loyalty, please take my life in payment for theirs.”

“I will do so,” Nobunaga said sternly, “but not to end it. Are you willing to return to serving Akechi Mitsuhide, as before?”

Sadaoki looked up sharply, eyes pleading. “Yes! Of course! I had no intention of turning my back on Lord Akechi, that wasn’t why…”

“I don’t need lengthy explanations,” Oda interrupted him. “A yes or no will suffice.” And since he already had one, he nodded. “Then so be it. If Mitsuhide wishes to punish you further, that is on him to decide. As for me, I will take you into my army – you and your men.”

Ping moved to free him, allowing Sadaoki to plant his hands on the ground and bow deeply once more. “Thank you, Lord Oda! You have freed me from the serpent, I will follow you to the ends of the earth!”

Oda arched an eyebrow again at the man’s choice of words, but turned his attention to the others. “And these?”

“Men of Shu,” Guan Ping answered heavily. “Most likely working in the service of Zhuge Liang, who was in the castle as suspected. This is Chen Shi, and…my younger brother, Guan Suo.”

The older officer was of no interest to Oda, other than the fact that he was one of Zhuge Liang’s subordinates, but the other clearly drew his eyes. Suo was the only one of them left unbound, as an injury to his shoulder prevented it. He kept his gaze low and did not look up at the commander towering over him. Oda regarded him in silence for a long moment before speaking. “I see. Was this your doing, Guan Ping?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Nobunaga made an approving face and took a step back, letting his hand rest on the hilt of his sword. “Men of Shu, I offer you a choice. As you can see, I have some of your countrymen in my army, and they serve me well. But no doubt you’re aware that others are building their own resistance cell away to the west, in Chengdu.” They did know, but hearing the name of their chief city made both raise their heads in interest. “If you so desire, you’re free to ride all the way to Chengdu to join Zhao Yun. Or, you may remain in my hand, and serve the Tiger Generals who in turn serve me. The only thing I will not allow is for you to return to Zhuge Liang or the Orochi army. You are mine to do with as I please.”

Guan Suo finally met his gaze. “Who, besides Master Huang Zhong? If you please, lord…”

“Why, Lord Ma Chao,” Toyotomi answered for him.

Having the names of the three Tiger Generals laid out for him, Suo knew he was finally truly free. He knew of the remaining two, of course, but said nothing, seeing as following his father and the great strategist had earned him nothing but pain. Beside him, Chen Shi heaved a sigh. “The honorable thing to do would be to follow the man who spares my life. If you will, my lord, I would stay with Master Huang Zhong.”

“I will follow you, as well,” Guan Suo said softly.

“Good. I have only known the men of Shu to be honorable and intelligent,” Nobunaga sniffed, “I would hate to have to change my perception now.”

Huang Zhong stood nearby, leaning on his bow to watch the proceedings. “I will take Chen Shi back to Kanegasaki with me, my lord. We could use the extra manpower.”

“Approved. Guan Suo, is it?” Oda tipped his head in a gesture toward the young man standing behind them. “I see no reason not to allow you to serve your brother.”

Overwhelmed, Suo bit his lip and only silently bowed his head to accept. That meant that the soldiers captured with them would be divided up to go the way of their officers, some to Kanegasaki and some back with the rest of the army. With that taken care of, Nobunaga and Mitsuhide withdrew with the rest of the officers who had coordinated the sortie to find out what else they had learned. Some, Kanbei wished to save for when they were safe within a fortress and not within striking distance of their enemy, but at the very least he could tell them that certain rumors were true, while others likely false. “I see no reason to entertain the notion that Sun Jian is being held here,” he affirmed for his lord. “It was far too easy to get into a poorly-manned gate, and even Zhuge Liang’s ambush failed to land a blow against us. The defenses further inside were better, but not the high level of security needed to protect a crucial prisoner such as he.”

“As I suspected,” Oda murmured. “Excellent work, my friends. More officers were taken away from Orochi, and our casualties were almost nonexistent. All in all, not a bad way to spend a day.”

“And we learned quite a bit,” Hideyoshi added. “I expect once we get back, you can get even more out of the guys we captured. Zhuge Liang’s own retainers probably know quite a bit about his movements and habits.”

“I look forward to it.”

“We should be on the move, then,” Mitsuhide implored. “Our men appear to be in good shape and ready to go, so we should pull back to a safer place before making camp.” 

“I’ll take my guys and head back to Kanegasaki, then,” Zhong said. “It’ll be easier for us to slip away if we split up now rather than later.”

“You have my thanks for responding to the request, and for manning that outpost,” Oda said crisply.

“No need to thank me, Lord Oda. Just doing what I do best, taking care of business.”

“How’s things with Okuni?” Ping asked, remembering at the last minute that they had been talking about it the night before. 

The old warrior sighed. “She’s none too happy that all she has to look at is my grizzled face,” he admitted, “but it could be worse. Morale is way up, at least, the men like having her around.”

“I bet they do,” Hideyoshi grinned.

With all reports made and confirmed, the army split back into its original contingents, and Huang Zhong held his men at that spot as rearguard to allow Oda to lead his men away in a different direction, striking out for the open wilderness to encamp for the night. What he didn’t know, and none of the officers knew until told later that night, they weren’t returning to Guandu directly. Instead, Oda wished to retreat to Honnoji for a bit, and had already moved his forces around to cover for it. The entirety of the army with him was going to get to go along, which suited all of them just fine. It would be a good place for Guan Suo to recuperate, and to be fully debriefed on what he knew about the Orochi army. Once they had successfully disappeared into the trees, Huang Zhong’s unit turned to depart for Kanegasaki. Thanks to his delay, the only retreat noticed by Orochi scouts was his, and they were quick to report back to Odawara.

Upon learning that the officers who had been stationed in the hillside fortress to serve as an ambush had all been captured, Da Ji was furious. Yet, she couldn’t find direct fault in Zhuge Liang for it, and even if she railed at him he would just give her that blank look as always, so instead she took out her rage on the snake-demon captains who were supposed to have been in charge of the ambush and the lure. Seeing that Yellowbelly had blundered the latter part of the plan, and both Cottonmouth and Urutu had fled when the momentum turned against them, she had more than enough blame to go around. What few officers Liang had left to him were grateful to have him to hide behind, even if they played no part in the battle. There was a lot of castle to guard, after all, and most of them had been diligently maintaining their defensive duties in other wards and areas of the compound. It wasn’t until much later in the day that the scouts returned to deliver their observations of the retreat of the Oda vanguard, finding Da Ji in the upper part of the keep where she had retired to try to get her mind off her demon army’s failures. She sat lounging in a receiving room, hoarding all the comfy cushions to herself, while the human officers still faithful to her sat nearby or stood on the balcony just outside overlooking the gardens. She took the report with keen interest, resting her chin on a fist. “Kanegasaki, eh?” she mused. “Interesting. Figures he went and took it, but that’s not important. I wonder why he’s retreating there?”

“It is out of the way,” Zhuge Liang noted. “And would require only a small force the size of that vanguard to hold it. Perhaps he is using it as a secret base in which to hide and divert attention.”

Da Ji pondered this and then shot one of the scouts a suspicious look. “You’re sure you saw Oda himself, this time? Not his son, or whoever Mamushi mistook for him?”

“Yes, my lady,” the scout whimpered, keeping his head down. “I heard them clearly speak of Kanegasaki, and then he moved out, to be followed by his rearguard a half an hour later.”

“I see. Then, I know just who to send after them.” She cast a look toward the door open to the balcony, where a huge figure stood leaning on the frame to listen to the proceedings. “I know you just arrived, but this is Lord Orochi’s number one priority. Now that we know exactly where Oda Nobunaga is and where he’s going, it’s up to you to go and kill him. Got it?”

Lu Bu seemed to listen with mingled boredom and irritation, but he made no complaint at the order. “Fine,” he grunted. “Once I see to my reasons for coming here in the first place. I will prepare a unit and head out in pursuit.”

“Why _did_ you come here, anyway?” Da Ji rolled over in her cushion-pile to give him a good stare; she was about the only individual in the entire world who could be so flippant with the likes of Lu Bu and not get killed for it. “As far as I know, Lord Orochi hasn’t given you any orders that would interfere with mine.”

The mighty warrior had only just arrived about an hour prior to the conference, too late to join the battle in any sense even if he had wanted to. He stared her right back, eyes narrowed. “You have something of mine and I want it back.”

“Oh?” She had to think, what item of Lu Bu’s could she possibly have, but then it occurred to her. Upon returning to Odawara, she had brought a certain officer as her bodyguard. “Ohhhh, I get it. Fine, fine, do what you want. I’m going to be staying here for a while, so I have no use for her at the moment. She’s all yours.”

“Good.” Lu Bu was nothing if not curt and snarly. “I will not be separated from my Diaochan any longer, certainly not by the likes of you.”

“If there is nothing else, then, my lady,” Zhuge Liang cut in, “I have much to do. This attempt at a raid has exposed a few weaknesses in our defense, and I would like to work to repair it.”

“Oh, all right, fine.” Da Ji stretched out in her nest and made to relax, she was clearly serious about not leaving. “You’re all dismissed.”

The scouts beat the hastiest of retreats, while Zhuge Liang rose smoothly and bowed before letting himself out. Lu Bu followed, heavy footsteps right on his heels, though he had no regard for the strategist and turned to his own business as soon as they were out the door. For his part, Liang had secured permission to call in reinforcements as he saw fit, and he did still have Ma Su and Fa Zheng at his disposal elsewhere. First, though, he needed to work through the information gained today and determine how best to protect themselves against whatever might come after the men he lost to Oda were interrogated. He didn’t know the mind of the warlord well enough to know whether the prisoners would remain prisoners, or just how terrible and cruel the interrogation might be, but he had to prepare for the worst possible scenario: that every secret he might have let slip around Guan Suo and Chen Shi would sooner or later be known to the Resistance, and they would use that information to act. Perhaps if Lu Bu’s mission succeeded it wouldn’t be a problem, but in his position, Liang could not simply wait out other battles just in case they might change the scenario. He had to prepare now, for better to devise a strategy that simply had to be forgotten or thrown out than to not have something ready to handle the unexpected. He knew better than to trust fate.

Lu Bu made his way down through the keep to the garden, already knowing that Diaochan was there. Perhaps he had seen her from the balcony, or perhaps he simply knew that in a castle like this, she would want to be somewhere quiet and lovely. It was the only greensward within the confines of the castle, where tall trees bent their branches toward the many pools and ponds scattered among the flowers. He found her sitting with her knees drawn up in the middle of a patch of pink flowers, their petals matching her flowing skirts, gazing down into a pond where koi lazily circled looking for a bite. Whether or not she heard him coming, she didn’t look up until he had heaved himself down next to her. “Is Da Ji finished complaining, then?” she asked idly.

“For now.” The huge warrior looked entirely out of place sitting there, but he needed to talk to his wife and didn’t want the whole castle hearing it and gossiping behind his back. “We’re heading back out right away. This Nobunaga is nearby and we must hunt him down.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him with a frown. “We?”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “And you’re coming with me. I came to collect you, I’m done allowing Da Ji to take you away from me.”

“Collect me,” she repeated, turning her gaze back to the pond. “For what reason? To run all over the land at someone else’s call? To keep fighting pointless battles? To dance in the darkness?”

“Diaochan.” Lu Bu was stern but not angry. “I thought you would be glad to get away from Da Ji, and return to my side. Does it matter what missions I need to carry out?”

She was, in fact, tired of Da Ji in many ways, and Diaochan had missed his presence more often than not. But all he talked about now was Orochi, this place had taken his usual battle-lust and ramped it up by a factor of a hundred. She had always known him to be dedicated to his desire to fight, but this was even worse. “I have seen enough of missions,” she responded after a moment’s thought. “Is there even anything more to this world than battle?”

He didn’t seem to understand the question. “What more could I want? Except to have you fight at my side, that would be perfect.”

“And if I refused?”

Lu Bu blinked at her, his fierce eyes narrowing. “Are you refusing me?”

Diaochan got up and brushed bits of grass off her skirt, not meeting his eyes. “You know that I love you dearly, my darling,” she said, though her voice was curt and cold, “but in this world I feel like you love Orochi more than me.”

“Diaochan!” he gasped, outraged. “How could you say that?”

He leaped to his feet to follow her, even as she took a few slow paces away past the nearest tree and deeper into the gardens, away from the keep. “You take orders from him so easily,” she pointed out. “I remember the mighty Lu Bu who would not bend his head to anyone.”

Lu Bu moved in swiftly behind her so that he could speak as quietly as possible. His strident voice still carried. “He is the strongest being I have ever encountered,” he insisted, almost reverently. “He is like a god! I will become strong enough to defeat him, and then I will know that _I_ am the strongest in existence. Do you know what that means, Diaochan?”

She glanced at him, her eyes grim and her face set in what could only be called an unimpressed pout. “And the way to become stronger than him is to serve him? It doesn’t make sense.”

“It doesn’t have to make sense,” Lu Bu snapped. “Would you deny me my dream?”

“I am not strong enough to stand in your way, my lord,” Diaochan murmured. “I know that is your heart’s true desire, and I used to admire it. To be the lover of the strongest man who lives, I wanted it too. But Orochi has taken it and twisted it, until now you want it more than you want me.”

“That’s not true!” But his blazing denial was out of anger, not honesty. He barged through the flowers, crushing them under his boots, until he came around her and faced her directly. “This isn’t a competition, Diaochan, I can want both it and you at the same time. Can’t you understand that?”

“No more than you can see what all this war is doing to me!” she shot back, not afraid to get in his face even if it meant stretching on her tiptoes. “I’m tired of it, Fengxian! You may love battle but I do not, it does not have my heart the way it does yours. If you must go, then at least do me the courtesy of leaving me behind!”

Lu Bu actually growled at that, baring his teeth. “But I want you with me!”

“You will not even notice me the minute a battle begins!” she cried, and then backed off a bit, lowering her tone. “I no longer wish to play this game. If you must obey Orochi, then do so, but I will remain here. If all you want is for Da Ji to no longer have authority over me, then do as you must. I will not go with her, either.”

She turned away from him, folding her arms over her chest and sticking her nose in the air. Lu Bu’s fists clenched at his sides. “Is it not enough to tell you I love you?” he grumbled in a low, dangerous tone. “To say that I want you with me? What must I do, Diaochan? Tell me!”

Diaochan kept her back to him. “Do not ask me to ride to battle with you again. I am not you, my love. I am weak and fragile, and I doubt Orochi will even notice if I do not take the field in his name. Take Chen Gong with you instead, he at least enjoys wielding a weapon even if he isn’t very good at it.”

Lu Bu snarled at the suggestion, even though there were probably several good reasons to take his strategist on missions. “I wanted only one thing, and you deny me!”

She turned slowly, lifting her head to find his gaze even though hers was still drawn and sullen. “You said you’re being sent after Oda Nobunaga? Did you forget already, my lord, that I fought his forces at the fall of Guandu?”

He had, but wasn’t about to admit it. “What, are you afraid of facing him again?” he sneered.

“There is nothing I can fear in the darkness,” Diaochan sighed. “But I know his strength. I know that he is not so weak, or else Da Ji would have bested him a hundred times over already. You are surely strong enough, Fengxian, but would you risk my life in pursuit of him?” She closed her eyes, remembering the faces of the Oda forces in the flickering torchlight at Wuchao, and swayed a little as if hearing her own music deep inside. “His retainer showed me mercy once, but he is not so fair. He is a Demon King himself. Having me along would slow you down.”

Lu Bu hadn’t thought of that, and even if she was making a last-ditch, desperate ploy to get his attention, it was finally working. He forgot about his outrage the instant the idea of this upstart “Demon King” going after his Diaochan and using her against him flashed to mind. As much as he loved her, he wasn’t fooled into some fantasy vision of her being as strong as him – he knew her weaknesses, all too well. A low rumble in his chest was the only response he could give to those thoughts as he straightened up and unclenched his hands. “Very well,” he said after a long, tense hesitation. He still sounded angry, but not nearly so fired-up. “I don’t have time to argue. If you don’t want to come, then don’t. But I won’t have Da Ji ordering you around, so leave Odawara and go somewhere else. He Fei or Bai Di.”

Diaochan nodded demurely. “As you wish, my lord.”

It bothered him that she didn’t want to come with him, or even be close to him in this moment, putting a distance between them with formal words, but Lu Bu had been so consumed with Orochi for months that it was hard to place anything above the demon warlord in priority. Even now, it was incredibly easy to turn his thoughts to his mission of hunting Oda, and the only reason he was still angry had mostly to do with her rebellious attitude. Straightening all the way up to his full height, he harrumphed under his breath and turned on his heel to go, not even asking or hoping for the touch of her hand or her lips. Diaochan watched him go, her eyes saddening when she realized she didn’t want to give that touch to him, either. But she was a strong woman, and refused to let even the koi in the ponds see any tears on her cheeks.


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chencang receives a valuable visitor; Sun Ce reaches Hefei at last but his brother is right behind him.

It was hard to tell what season it was supposed to be in the rugged mountains surrounding Chencang, but at least there was no snow, so winter was right out. The lone man making his way down the Chencang Road had never actually been anywhere near this territory, back home, but he’d heard vaguely of it – just enough to know that the road led somewhere, and somewhere probably meant people. It would be just his luck to find the fortress held by Orochi forces, for he didn’t have the strength to beat them all single-handedly at this time. He was worn down and at the end of his patience for living alone on the road. Everywhere he turned in an attempt to find the Resistance, he came across Orochi soldiers instead. He had even gone to find the sea, and while it was a good place to recover from his injuries suffered at Odani, there was a whole lot of empty wilderness in that region and not much in the way of people, Resistance or otherwise. So he had turned his steps back to the interior, and wasted far too much of his strength in his desperate search. Once realizing that the rocky wilderness actually was leading him toward a stronghold of some kind, he resolved to go straight up and knock on the door and take his chances with who or whatever might be inside. The land around him was quiet, so much so that each step he took rang his bells so loudly he thought the noise might cause a rockslide. At last, with the afternoon drawing on, he came out from the trees onto a rocky slope before a great, stout iron gate. Chencang, finally! Gan Ning raised an arm to use the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his face before plucking up the last of his strength, shaking himself alert, and taking a deep breath in preface to striding up to the gate in full view of any sentries who might be on guard.

The cries came down from the top of the wall, and a small defense corps milling about just outside the door hustled to form themselves into a protective knot and rush the interloper. “Halt!” one of them called to him. “What business do you have here?”

Gan Ning held his hands up lazily to show that he hadn’t drawn a weapon. “C’mon, guys, do you really wanna do this? I don’t wanna kick your asses today.”

The guards brandished swords at him in response. “Who are you?” their captain demanded. “What are you doing wandering around out here like some sort of brigand?”

“I don’t gotta answer your questions,” Ning snarked back at them, losing what little good humor he still had left. “Maybe you wanna answer one for me, though. Who’s in charge, here? This an Orochi castle or what?”

All of the guards glared at him for even daring to insinuate that. “Orochi’s forces are not welcome here!” the captain snarled, raising his sword to point at Gan Ning’s face. “This is currently the sanctuary of Lord Azai, and only those dedicated to honor and justice are allowed past these gates!”

Ning couldn’t stop a relieved grin from breaking out on his face. “Azai! Well why didn’t you say so? I don’t need to hear all that honor and justice crap.” He dropped his hands, which only made the swords bristle more fiercely at him, as they feared he would go for his blade. “Me and Azai go way back, so you’d better let me in.”

The guards weren’t convinced in the least, and more than one eyed his tattoos and rude manner of dress. As in, he still hadn’t bothered to put on anything resembling a shirt. “Lord Azai would never consort with a ruffian!” another called out. “Be off with you!”

“Aw, you’re gonna make me do it, aren’t you?” Gan Ning tipped his head back, looking all casual and aloof for about two seconds, and then he lunged, slamming into the captain and wresting his sword from his hand with almost no effort, which he then turned on the other guards. Seeing a fight joined, the sentries high on the wall yelped for assistance and someone to inform the castle lord, and the huge iron doors swung open to permit more soldiers to stream out and surround the battling pirate. Ning deftly disarmed every single one of the guards from the defense corps, but turned to find himself beset by double and triple their number and just laughed loudly before shifting the plain sword to his left hand so he could draw River Master and really get down to it. If they were going to make this hard on him, he’d exact payment for his troubles from every single one of them. They would probably need to turn out even more soldiers in order to kill him, he wasn’t worried about his life, but he was tired and in a bad mood, and even his raucous laughter was cold and sardonic as he blocked and parried on all sides with both swords. He would not suffer the indignity of being dragged down by sheer numbers and thrown out of the castle, but being Gan Ning, would not bow to wisdom and reason either. Part of him heard Ling Tong in the back of his head telling him to just put down his weapons and ask again to see Azai, but he snarled at that voice and ignored it in favor of burning the last of his energy in a pointless fight.

The commotion had drawn attention to the southwest gate even before messengers could get up through the multiple walls to the center of the fortress, so Nagamasa was already on his way down to handle the troublemaker when they met him and told him some dirty ruffian was trying to break in. He came down the slope toward the gate to see that it was more than just a little scuffle, it was a full-on melee by now, and broke into a run with his lance held low. He hadn’t had time to grab his helm, but he was armed and armored and ready to go. “What is the meaning of this?” he called to his men as soon as he was in earshot.

Some of them looked his way, which allowed Gan Ning a moment to punch a couple in the face – even with a sword in his fist – and make himself an opening to dash through. The other guards saw his intent too late and leaped to try to tackle him, fearing he was going for their lord. Ning sprang over their arms and with an agile twist, kicked someone in the jaw before landing and racing through the gate. He saw Azai there, obvious in his bright blue surcoat, and watched him drop his shoulders into a defensive stance. Yet, Azai realized who it was about the same time as Gan Ning skidded to a halt and threw away the guard’s sword. The soldiers stumbled in shock to see their lord lower his weapon, jab it into the ground to wait for him, and stride forward with arms outstretched. Panting, sweaty, and dirty, Ning likewise dropped River Master into the dust and thrust out an empty hand to clasp. “There he is!” he crowed.

“Master Gan Ning!” Nagamasa greeted him brightly, clasping his whole forearm between both hands. “What are you doing here? Besides scrapping with my men, apparently.”

“Hey, they started it!” Ning retorted. “They told me to beat it, wouldn’t let me see you!”

Azai guessed that wasn’t the whole story, but let it go. It didn’t look like anyone was dead or even injured, aside from some bruised noses. All the soldiers who had partaken of the fight stood dumbstruck at this development, at the mere idea that their kind, noble, dignified lord was friends with this common thug. “My apologies. You are welcome here, please…” He raised his voice in a clarion order to his men. “Stand down! This man has the favor of Lord Takeda and Lord Sanada, and is a comrade!”

With a modicum of sheepish shuffling and the clatter of weapons, the guards stood down and scattered, back to their posts. The poor defense corps picked themselves up and dusted off, having to find their swords so they could go back to their duty, and only grumbled a little at being bested so easily. Azai placed a hand on the pirate’s shoulder, giving a quick once-over. “You’ve seen better days, my friend. Is Ling Tong with you?”

Ning’s face went stony in a heartbeat. “It’s just me out here. Don’t suppose you got a cup of water for a ‘comrade’ – or even a cup of wine?”

“Come. Let me see to your needs.” Nagamasa let him pick up his blade and sheath it, and guided him into the fortress with that gentle hand while his other yanked his lance free of the ground. Chencang was extremely tight on security, with multiple walls laying between the outer defenses on the side of a cliff and the innermost castle ward. It took a while to wind their way inside, through this courtyard and that gate and those doors, and to his credit Nagamasa did not ply him with a thousand questions along the way. He waited until they had gotten to the inner sanctum and the castle proper, and had water brought so the pirate could wash and slake his thirst, before calling for someone to bring food and wine. “Please, sit,” he implored. “There must be quite a story behind your presence here. It’s been a while since I saw you but a lot has happened since.”

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.” Xingba slouched into a chair and finally allowed the exhaustion to slam into him, now that he was safe inside a fortress with a friend. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face, and then let his arms just dangle over the arms of the chair. “I’ll admit it, I been lost for a while. Couldn’t find my way anywhere, kept running into Orochi’s snakes everywhere. Didn’t even know you were here when I came up the road, but man, am I glad it was you.”

Instead of an attendant, it was Oichi who came in with a tray full of dishes. The sight of her fair smile was enough to make Gan Ning sigh happily. “Master Gan Ning,” she greeted him. “I heard it was you making trouble at our gate. You look dreadful, here – there is a little wine, and I brought you something to eat.”

“You’re the best,” he said tiredly, sitting up to take it from her and immediately gulp down the wine. It burned his parched throat, but he felt like he needed it more than anything. “Is it just you guys here, or what?”

“We have some reinforcements at our command,” Nagamasa replied, “but basically, yes. We came here while Lord Takeda was still encamped, it looked like a good fortress to make use of, and then…” His eyes clouded and his face fell, but he looked sharply toward his guest. “What do you know of what’s been going on?”

“Not much,” Ning admitted. “The last battle I fought was at Odani, but we lost it to Sun Ce, and since then I been wandering alone…”

“Oh my…” Oichi placed a hand to her lips as if to hide her giggle. “You were at our castle?”

“Oh yeah…” Ning gestured vaguely as he took the bowl of rice to start eating. “Yukimura said it was yours. Man, sorry we didn’t take better care of it, but…eh. The story of how we ended up there is even longer, so let’s just leave it at that for now.”

Nagamasa nodded. “I don’t know how long ago that might have been, but I’m guessing since you fought Sun Ce for it, that was before he defected.”

Xingba sat up so sharply he almost hurt himself. “You kidding?! Sun Ce defected from Orochi? Hell yeah!” That outburst took a lot of his energy, so he sagged back down and forced himself to keep eating in order to replenish it. “I had no idea. Like I say, I’ve been…everywhere, almost. But I couldn’t find what I was lookin’ for.”

He had searched everywhere for Ling Tong. Even now, he didn’t know whether his comrade had been captured, or gone off with Sun Ce, or what. But if Azai had expected Ling Tong to be with him and was surprised that he wasn’t, Ning couldn’t assume they’d know what actually happened to him. Oichi sat beside her husband to help tell stories and catch him up on news. “Then you don’t know what happened at Nagashino, either,” she realized.

Nagamasa breathed a sad sigh. “Terrible things have happened alongside the good. Lord Oda has been extremely successful, routing the Orochi army and taking their strongholds, but at the same time…” He glanced to his wife to bolster his courage to come out and say it. “…Lord Takeda and Lord Uesugi were killed in battle.”

Ning’s ferocious eating came to an abrupt halt. His eyes flicked up to regard their faces, and he noticed their moods darkening. “You don’t say,” he mumbled, lowering the bowl and chopsticks.

“Because they helped us locate this fortress and set up here,” Nagamasa explained, “their troops knew where to find us to report. We’ve heard everything.” He told the pirate briefly of the ploy at Nagashino so that he would be clear on the whys and hows, as much as they knew. His hands remained folded in his lap as he spoke, but toward the end, thinking of the death of those great men, one curled into a fist. “And then the Hojo went missing, pursued by Orochi, we don’t know what’s become of them.”

“What about Sanada, and Naoe?”

“The lords of the Sanada are safe,” Oichi replied, “with the men of Shu. The last we heard from Lord Yukimura, he was still serving Lord Zhao Yun, that hasn’t changed.”

“Naoe is missing, however,” Nagamasa concluded for her. “The remnants of the cavalry disappeared south of Fan Castle, that’s all anybody knows.”

Gan Ning cursed softly under his breath. “Good things and bad things. You weren’t kidding, Azai.”

“At least, I’ve re-established contact with Lord Oda’s forces at Guandu,” the young lord went on. “We can get news from them, now, and reinforcements if necessary, but we haven’t committed ourselves to his army. We promised Lord Takeda that we would hold Chencang, and keep it as a refuge for anyone needing to flee the Orochi army. Of all the castles I’ve seen from your time, the defenses at this one are incredible. It would take a great effort for any army to sack it, it’s perfect.”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess there’s that.” Ning looked from one to the other. “Your guys, though. They couldn’t take me at the end of my strength, what’s gonna happen if a real army comes up here? Or Orochi himself, if he feels like it?”

The pair shared a glance themselves. “Perhaps our human defenses could use a little work,” Nagamasa admitted. “To be honest, my friend…I’m a bit out of my element now. With Lord Takeda suddenly gone, like that, the rest of us allied to his cause have been cut adrift and left to see to our own survival, without much help from any side. Lord Oda is headquartered at Guandu, which is a very long way off from here, so if we had desperate need for reinforcements, they might not make it here in time. We only have ourselves to rely on, and I’m not sure who else to trust.”

“Well, if Sun Ce’s gone over to the right side, you can probably trust him,” Ning offered. “And what about Zhao Yun? Huh?”

“We have no way of contacting them,” Oichi countered. “The Shu Resistance is also far away, and very little is known about Lord Zhao Yun’s movements. The last we heard from Sanada Nobuyuki was well before Nagashino, and all he mentioned was that their forces had stopped by Lord Takeda’s camp briefly. We’ve heard nothing about him since.”

“Believe me, if I had any way of getting in touch with any of them, I would do so,” Azai fretted. “Particularly your lord Sun Ce. He could be in dire straits, with all of the Orochi army looking for him.”

Gan Ning sat back with a sigh, and reluctantly went back to eating, nibbling at the last of the rice. That pretty much put an end to his half-formed dreams of being able to get safe passage back to civilization to meet up with Sun Ce, punch him in the face, and then join his army. “You guys are in a real bind,” he noticed. “I know how it feels – being left to your own devices, nobody to offer you a hand, everybody else busy about their own bullshit which is probably important bullshit but it still don’t leave ‘em time for you. Yeah…I get that.” Boy, did he. Azai’s forces were as lost and confused as he and Ling Tong had been after the fall of Changban when they had nowhere to turn. “Guess it wouldn’t be too bad if I stayed here to help you out for a while.”

“Oh!” Nagamasa sat up in interest, he hadn’t even gotten so far as to think about what Gan Ning would want to do once he was rested. “That would be wonderful. We could really use your strength, Master Gan Ning.”

“We don’t have a lot of comforts to offer,” Oichi added, “but my lord’s idea to use this as a sanctuary means we have supplies and weapons – enough to outlast a siege.”

“Not bad,” Ning nodded, “but you need more than that. Maybe I’m just the guy for you.”

“If you please,” Nagamasa said kindly. “I was going to let you rest and recover, but if you wish to fight alongside us, I would welcome that.”

Xingba waved a hand idly. “Rest will happen on its own, now that I’m in a castle again. And I ain’t hurt, so recovery don’t matter. If I had to hang around here I’d get bored being idle, so I might as well take up my sword for you. Drill your guys until they learn not to drop their swords.”

Nagamasa grunted a bit; that was rather embarrassing, and he was going to have to have a talk with his defense troops later. “Then, I thank you for your help,” he said, bowing his head. “Who knows? Perhaps we can get some fresh news from Lord Oda, and he’ll know how to contact the men of Wu.”

“No need to rush, there.” Gan Ning leaned over to set the empty bowl on the tray with the empty wine cup. “As long as Sun Ce is free from the snake, that’s all I need right now.” Yet, had he been clearer of mind, perhaps he would have thought to ask Oda if they’d seen Ling Tong. Things might have gone very differently if he did.

At the same time, far away in Xuchang, yet another strategy meeting had just let out and to unwind, Cao Pi was taking a walk along one of the high upper parapets of the fortress with Mitsunari in tow. Both needed to clear their heads, and for once a rather nice day lay upon the land, a clear sky and warm sun bathing Xuchang in comfort and cleaning the air of the haze occasionally brought on by the cracked, smoldering ground inside the courtyard. As they walked they didn’t even talk, preferring the silence and finding it comfortable. After so long together, they had grown to genuinely understand one another and even if they didn’t act on the additional thoughts and feelings simmering under the surface, they were at long last friendly with one another. They didn’t need to chat to know what the other was thinking, and once in a while it was simply nice to just not be talking about strategy, war, or Orochi for a little bit. Unfortunately, such quiet moments never lasted.

The messenger came to them in a hurry, delivered a scroll, and then left just as quickly. Much as he would have just tucked it away to wait until later, Cao Pi couldn’t resist unsealing it and opening it to read. There had to be a reason for the messenger to find him all the way out here, after all, and not just wait for him in the war room. Sure enough, the information contained inside was rather interesting, though all he did at first was raise an eyebrow. “Did they really…?”

“What?” Mitsunari pressed. “What is it?”

Cao Pi snorted and then handed him the message to see for himself. “Scouts have reported activity in the area of Yiling. The fortresses along the river have been rebuilt, it seems.”

“Yiling…” Since Mitsunari had been with the Orochi army at the last battle there, attending Da Ji’s every order, he knew exactly to what Cao Pi was referring. He skimmed over the entirety of the scout report, but no names were listed. “What do you think?” he wondered, raising his eyes to his lord’s face.

Pi wore a wry smirk. “When I sent the reconnaissance units out, I asked certain ones to take particular notice of certain locations, and to report to me directly if anyone was seen manning the forts or garrisons in those areas. It is ever the habit of men to return to where they find things familiar, or where something of significance happened to them. For example, I would not be surprised to hear that Sun Ce was anywhere near Jiangdong, or Lu Bu at Xiapi.”

“Or Xiahou Dun at Yiling,” Ishida said as if to finish the sentence for him. “I see. You think it’s them, then?”

“I would be almost certain of it.” Pi turned and eased up to one of the great stone merlons forming the battlement along the wall, leaning his folded arms on it in order to look out over the wall to the grassy field beyond. “The man has no sense of surprise. He is a true creature of habit, it’s what makes him so deeply loyal to my father even after death.”

“And here I just thought he was in love with the guy,” Mitsunari retorted, tucking the message inside his coat. “I guess that answers one question, but it opens up another.”

Cao Pi glanced at him as he came up alongside him. “What to do about it.”

“Time is of the essence. I know you’re a little short-handed, but it’s probably better that you hit them before Da Ji does.”

The Lord of Wei scowled to himself. He had gotten his wife’s letter, and though he was beyond annoyed that Da Ji decided to just take his officers as reinforcements rather than ask his permission, he decided not to act against it. After all, if Da Ji was anywhere near as suspicious of him as she had been after Xia Kou, he needed to placate her somehow. Allowing her to abuse the alliance in such a fashion would only temporarily reassure his loyalty, but right now all he needed was temporary stopgaps. Ishida was right, time was against them. That hadn’t stopped him from writing a letter in return, and though he knew it wouldn’t be the response Zhenji wanted, it would be something she could live with. He drew back from the battlement wall and turned slightly toward his head strategist. “Da Ji’s attention is elsewhere, thankfully. It sounds like she has her hands full with Sun Ce and Oda.”

“Which makes it the right time to take advantage of her blind spot,” Mitsunari reasoned. “Unless you’re not interested in fortifications at Yiling.”

There were many facets of his long-term strategy that Cao Pi needed to carefully think through. This was not one of them. He had made up his mind almost the same day as the last time Mitsunari had spoken to him on the subject. “They’re fools, going back there, seeking my father’s ghost. They’re just lucky that their names haven’t yet been linked to the Resistance, or Da Ji’s eye would already be on them.” He huffed and set his hands on his hips. “I suppose it would be a terrible idea to ignore them. I have no intention of getting down on my knees and begging the Xiahou clan to return to my side, though.”

“I never said you should.” Mitsunari folded his arms over his chest, facing him squarely. “This is the opportunity we spoke of, at least.”

“I’m aware. But if they do not wish to serve me, then I’ll have to crush them. It’s only fair.”

“That sounded way too excited, even for you.” Ishida smirked slyly; he had no doubts it would come to a battle rather than a parley, no matter what. But there was a certain cold logic behind that eager desire to trounce the arrogant Xiahou Dun. “My, my. Putting down a potential Resistance cell all on your own with no prompting from your ally? She’s going to actually think you’re still loyal.”

“It’ll just make the truth that much harder to swallow later,” Pi shrugged. “I am feeling a little reckless, Mitsunari. Raising my army and marching off to Yiling actually sounds enjoyable.”

“Don’t get too cocky. We’ve got to plan this right, and time it well.”

Cao Pi’s icy eyes narrowed in a cool, approving smirk. “There you go with ‘we’ again.”

“What, you think I want to be left out of this?”

“Merely noticing the trend.” Cao Pi stepped toward him and then passed him, heading back for the stairs off the parapet, and as he went he lifted a hand and brushed it against Mitsunari’s shoulder. “Come. If we are to work out a plan, I should like to start with a look at our troops.”

It wasn’t just the touch, the phrasing also caught Mitsunari’s attention. Our troops. He had been accepted as a trusted equal, or at least able to be counted among the faithful generals of Wei. For a moment he wondered what Sima Yi would say if he heard about this partnership, but then he figured that this path they were on together might bring them face to face with the former Wei strategist eventually, and he could find out for real. He turned on his heel and followed Cao Pi down from the parapet walk, interested in this development and eager to pursue all the possibilities he could see stretching out before him.

  


Sun Ce’s forces managed to retreat successfully from Sekigahara, not much the worse for wear and still on track to reach Hefei in due time. It had only delayed their journey a few days, which was reasonable all things considered. Now that they knew how close the pursuit was, however, they stepped up their pace and did not linger over-long at any camp or stopover. Haste was needed, if they were to outpace anyone attempting to pick up their trail and get to the safety of the villages and fortresses of Wu. The further north and west they went, the more the landscape gradually changed from summer to autumn, with a chilly night here and there to remind them of warm beds inside castle walls waiting for them at the end. Even Tokugawa was starting to look forward to having a real roof over his head again. The first day out Sun Ce talked himself hoarse, telling his sister everything that had happened, including the true story of what happened at Osaka, and in turn, learned that Da Ji had twisted even that event to serve her purposes. Apparently, she reported to Quan and Shangxiang that Ce had deliberately abandoned their father and left him to die in order to save his own skin. She had spun it to her advantage, and with no one to gainsay her version of events – tactfully devised well after receiving the real report in order to claim that she was looking into it – they had no choice but to believe her. Quan’s anger was genuine, though; even without the lies to grasp, he truly was enraged that his brother would abandon Wu when they needed him most. Hearing the tales of his narrow escape at Xia Kou and again at Hulao, backed up by Ranmaru and Zhou Yu here and there, Shangxiang understood the reality of it at last. Once everyone was caught up on the important things, they focused on pressing the army to speed and reaching Hefei without any further incidents. There was always the possibility they were being trailed, but unless they could actually see the spies and drive them out to be silenced, they would just have to put up with the consequences.

The red-gold painting the fields of Hefei now came from autumn leaves rather than the blood of its defenders, and much of the horror of that fateful day had been washed away by time and weather. Here and there along the paths stood broken weapons jabbed into the dirt, left where they had once pierced foes whose bodies had now vanished. As they rode cautiously inward toward the main fortress, Zhou Yu suddenly grabbed for Sun Ce’s arm and pulled him to a halt. “Look,” he breathed. “Xiaoshi Bridge is rebuilt.”

“Huh?” Ce looked past him, and there was no doubt that the bridge spanning the wide river that wound through Hefei was in its place. It was hard to tell at that distance how well it had been repaired, but it was there. “What, why is that important? You sound worried.”

“When Orochi beset us here,” Yu murmured, “Zhuge Liang got ahead of me and broke down the bridge so that Gan Ning and Zhang Liao could not cross through the center and attack his main camp. Instead, they were trapped in the center and defeated, just before you arrived.”

“Oh…” Ce had not known that, and blinked a bit at what it meant overall. “So…who fixed the bridge, then?”

“A very good question,” Tokugawa said warily. “We should proceed with caution.”

“There is another road, this way,” Yu implored, turning his horse. “I don’t know if it’s a trap or not but I don’t want to cross that bridge just yet. We’ll go the long way around.”

They pulled their soldiers into a tighter formation, grouping up so that they would be ready for almost anything, and continued on, taking the alternate path north past the farm fields. It was some distance out of the way to get to a ford where the river was much more narrow and easy to cross, and by then they could see the stone walls of the fortress ahead. Weapons out, they advanced on it as if preparing to capture it, and for not the first time wondered if the Orochi army had been holding it since the conquest and the start of Wu’s long nightmare. They had yet to see soldiers or sentries, though, and got within a stone’s throw of the walls when something finally happened. The iron door to their side of the wall was flung open from within, and even as the entirety of their force raised weapons, a single man strode into the gap, carrying only one of his pugil sticks over his shoulder. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?” he called out.

Ce’s heart nearly burst with joy. “Taishi Ci! But that means…no way!”

He leaped off his horse and ran to the fortress on foot, barely pausing to clasp arms with the burly officer before turning to look and see if his hope would come true. Walking casually across the courtyard were Lu Meng and Shima Sakon, both already beaming at the news their rather stealthy sentries had brought them. “We need to work on your sneaking, my lord,” Lu Meng teased him as he came. “We saw you coming a mile away.”

Sun Ce happily accepted the jibe and just threw himself at Meng, hooking an arm around his neck in a manly embrace. Sakon just gave him a wave. “I don’t believe it!” Ce cried. “How did you guys get here?”

“I remembered what you said before we split up,” Meng said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “About finding somewhere to regroup.”

“Yeah, but you managed to beat us here!” Ce exclaimed. “We’ve been striking out for Hefei for weeks!”

“We did get sidetracked a few times,” Zhou Yu noted as he rode in and dismounted.

“That’s quite an army you’ve got there with you,” Taishi Ci said as he followed them all in, walking with Tokugawa.

“Indeed, it looks like you…” Lu Meng’s proud compliment died on his lips as he watched Shangxiang hop down out of the saddle. “My lady! You’re all right!”

“It’s good to see you, Lu Meng!” she said brightly. “It’s a real reunion, isn’t it?”

Meng looked from her to the others with a wry smile. “There’s gotta be a hell of a story behind this.”

“We’ve got a lot of stories to tell,” Ce admitted. “Please tell me the Orochi army didn’t steal all the wine, this is exactly the kind of thing that deserves a party.”

“There’s not a lot left,” Sakon said in warning, “but I think we can make do. At least for now.”

Sun Ce moved to clasp his arm in greeting and gratitude, then, and he met the gesture willingly, though his eyes strayed to Tokugawa and his men dismounting. At the same time, another woman sashayed up behind Lu Meng, making more than one among the newcomers do a double-take. Taishi Ci blushed and sidled well out of her range as Meng cleared his throat. “Ah, right. Lord Sun Ce, meet the Lady No, wife of Oda Nobunaga. We rescued her from Wei’s clutches on our way here, hope you don’t mind.” 

Ce had to shake his head quickly to snap himself out of staring. “No, yeah, that’s fine. Good work, Lu Meng. Uh, welcome, your ladyship.”

No was all catlike smiles for him. “My, my. The Little Conqueror isn’t so little, now is he? I like that.”

Ce’s mouth fell open, and he was vaguely aware that his face was on fire. Zhou Yu beside him cleared his throat noisily. “Yes, well. Perhaps we should settle in so that we can tell each other the stories we’re all clearly dying to tell.”

“Good idea,” Sakon agreed with a grin that suggested he enjoyed watching Lady No fluster everyone.

The fortress which guarded the territory of Hefei might not have been as grand as the castle which had been interred somewhere else in Orochi’s world, but it was still large and strong and capable of housing their growing army with no trouble. It seemed so long ago, now, that Sun Jian had gathered the strongest of Wu there in order to turn and meet the threat flooding toward them on wings of darkness and evil, placing them as the last bastion to protect the civilians of Wu who were fleeing to other territories at the time. Unlike Chengdu, the civilians had not returned here, but their houses and farm fields lay idle all across the land, waiting for them to someday rebuild the villages when peace could be found. Until that day, the fortress was where the burgeoning Wu army concentrated their strength, and it was already back to the same state it had been in when Orochi came. It was in fact Lu Meng who had ordered the rebuilding of Xiaoshi Bridge, just in case, and he had gone so far as to shore up not just the fortress itself but other garrisons between them and the bridge. A large building had been dumped in the middle of the field just south of there, and rested in a pool of glowing coals, but it could still be safely accessed and would serve well as a place to hide reinforcements should battle come to Hefei again. Sun Ce didn’t want to talk about battle, but he did warn his comrades that the Orochi army had already overtaken them once, so they shouldn’t relax too much. It was likely battle would indeed find them again. Once that was out of the way, it was time to sit, eat, and drink, and fill each other’s heads with the mighty tales of their exploits. Hearing all about the daring raid on Jianye which netted them their newest guest filled Ce with pride in his men, they had done well. They were more solemn and startled upon hearing about Hulao and Sekigahara, but between Sun Shangxiang’s return to their company and the tentative alliance with Zhao Yun, there were still reasons to laud their lord’s brave stands against the Orochi army. Once everyone was caught up, Ce looked around the table and then rose to his feet, taking his cup to him. “When we split up outside Xia Kou, I didn’t know if I would ever see any of your faces again. I hoped, and maybe prayed a little, but all I could do was trust in all of you to do your best, and if fate was with us, maybe we’d meet again on Orochi’s doorstep. But look. Look around you, my friends. We’re all here. We all made it to Hefei alive, beyond my wildest imaginations. What’s more, we’ve grown in number and strength.” He smiled warmly to see them all looking back at him, joyful and content. “Zhao Yun said something to me, when we met. He said we need our friends more than we simply need each other’s spears and swords. He’s right. And I’m glad to have all my friends here with me again. There’s still a few more we need to rescue before everything can be set right, but now more than ever I really believe that we can do it.”

Sakon took up the toast Ce seemed to be rambling towards. “To friends.”

Ce raised his cup higher to agree. “To _all_ my friends!”

A cheer went around the table as they all lofted their wine and drank to it. The darkness of days past melted away in the light of their gathering, the fear in the Hulao Pass and the dread of facing Quan across the field of Sekigahara, the bullets pinging off their armor at Jianye and the crushing grief of fleeing Osaka without their lord, it all vanished and left them with only memories. The tide had taken a while to truly turn, but Sun Ce could see it clearly now. From a logical standpoint, they did have a new advantage, since the army now encamped at Hefei was easily double if not triple the size of the one which set out from Odani so long ago, but it was the strength, devotion, and dedication of his comrades that made the difference to their commander. No one had gotten lost or chosen to find other masters to serve, they had all carried out their missions as best they could and returned to his side. He almost welcomed the chance to face the Orochi army again, because they would be rather surprised to find this force waiting for them.

As the night drew on some of the officers started to trickle away from the feast, needing sleep or finding themselves too drunk to keep up with their lord. Even Tokugawa reached his limit and rose with a deep bow to excuse himself to his quarters. The important logistics of who would reside where and who got the unlucky draw of first-night’s sentry duty had already been taken care of, so those who lingered had no better place to be than in Sun Ce’s happy company. It came down to him, Zhou Yu, Sakon, and Lu Meng, as pretty much everyone else had gone to bed – or passed out at the table, like Ranmaru. The others had switched from wine to water, at least, mostly in order to save what little they had left in their stores. It was too soon to run completely dry of wine. Sakon had his cheek resting on one hand to prop his head up, he wasn’t about to admit defeat just yet. “So what if we didn’t actually find the Shu Resistance? You did it for us, so there,” he teased Ce. “We did other important things instead.”

“I know, I know, I’m just giving you a hard time,” Ce chuckled. “You guys really came through in the end. You got here, set things up, repaired the bridge and the fortress, all I did was drag everyone halfway across the world.”

“And didn’t let a single one die, so don’t count yourself out, my lord,” Meng pointed out with a literal point of his finger.

“That’s because somebody always came along right when we needed them.” Even as the words left his mouth, Ce thought about it and realized that was exactly how he had made it safely from Xia Kou. Whether unexpected help or his own allies catching up to him, either way, they had always come when he needed help. “Damn. I owe everybody a lot.”

“Debts can be repaid later,” Zhou Yu assured. “We still have a lot to do.”

“It can wait until the morning,” Lu Meng laughed, “when we’re all hung over.”

Yu shot him a sly look. “What do you mean, ‘we?’ I’ll have you know I’m quite sober.”

“Party pooper,” Sakon retorted. “Unless you enjoy watching the rest of us get sloshed.”

Yu smiled over the rim of his cup. “It is rather entertaining.”

Meng shook his head. “I needed this. Otherwise all the stuff we need to do would be racing around my head all night, all the names of people and places they might be, how to find them, and so on. I won’t forget,” he added with a weave toward Sakon, “but right now it’s nice not to think.”

“So this is what happens when you get strategists drunk,” Ce teased. “All of you, look at you.”

“Shut up, I feel _great_ ,” Sakon interjected. “It’s a good thing the lady went to bed, though, otherwise I might do something that’ll get me killed.”

“By her or her husband?” Meng wondered.

“Both. Hell, one would kill me, then they’d resurrect me so the other could get their chance.”

“Oh, you mean Lady No,” Ce realized with a relieved sigh. “’Cause if you meant my sister I was gonna say, I’d kill you just the same.”

“Oh, no no,” Sakon assured. “Lady Sun is cute but I know she’s off limits. Lady Ina, too. I’m good. Lady No, though…”

“She’s very flirtatious,” Meng informed the other two.

Zhou Yu gave him a deadpan look. “I noticed.”

Ce wrinkled his nose in a sneaky sort of grin. “Would she really, though? I mean, you know her better than I do, obviously.”

“What, like warlords are the only ones allowed to have harems?” Sakon shook his head slowly. “I dunno for sure but if there’s any woman I’ve ever met who would be completely capable of taking anything she wanted, it would be her. And if she came for me, I’d let her.” He burst into chuckles, then. “Man, you should’ve seen her taking the piss out of Taishi Ci the whole way here. After the first week I think she just kept doing it because it was hilarious, not because she actually wanted to flirt with him.”

Ce laughed loudly, and even Yu smirked. “So that’s why he was slinking around her trying not to make eye contact.”

“Yep,” Meng affirmed. “The poor man. I should make it up to him, he’s been so patient.”

“I think he honestly hoped that when we got here, we’d have the manpower to escort her back to her husband,” Sakon said ruefully.

“Something tells me,” Yu murmured, “that that decision is the lady’s to make, not ours.”

“You’re so right,” Sakon nodded. “Meantime, watch yourselves. With the lot of you here she’s got all new targets to torment. Or amuse, if you’re secure in your respective marriages.”

“Don’t worry about it, Sakon,” Ce said easily. “We got more important things to worry about, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

Shima Sakon held his gaze for a moment and then burst out laughing. He knew better.

Lu Meng sat back, his smile softening. Hearing the laughter around them, seeing Ranmaru snoozing away a few seats down with his cheek on the table, he couldn’t help but be a touch sentimental. “I missed you lot.”

Ce grinned at him. “I missed you too. All of you. No more, though; now that we’re here, we’re not splitting up again. We’re a real army now, Wu and Mikawa and a few extra friends. We’re gonna hold tight here at Hefei and this time, I’m not letting any snakes take it from me.” His eyes hardened for a moment behind his joy. “They won’t take _any_ thing else from me, ever.”

“You tell ‘em, my lord,” Zhou Yu said warmly.

“Oh, I know that look.” Lu Meng wagged a finger at the pair across the table. “Bedtime, my lord. Now.”

Ce sighed in aggravation and wilted, thunking his forehead down on the table. “Why do all my retainers haul me off to bed when I’m having a good time?”

“Because we know you, and we know when you’re done.” Zhou Yu set his hands on his lord’s shoulders, gently prying him off the table. “He’s right. Come now, I’ll get you there. Don’t make me carry you, you’re heavy.”

“I’m sober enough to walk.” Ce lifted his head and fixed the other two with a look that quickly dissolved into another relieved smile. He didn’t need to tell them yet again that he was glad to see them, they knew, and smiled back accordingly. With that done, he permitted Zhou Yu to shoulder him as he got up and only wobbled a tiny bit before turning and heading off to his quarters. Sakon and Lu Meng shared a look and a grin amongst themselves and likewise got up to head to their own rooms, pausing only to shake Ranmaru awake and guide him along so he wouldn’t get lost in the fortress while half asleep.

That same night, quite some distance away, Sun Quan’s forces had made camp in a nondescript valley within Orochi territory, mainly in order to take some time to recover, resupply, and reconnoiter. Their spies had in fact picked up Sun Ce’s trail, but with considerable difficulty, and following their prey had proven easier said than done. There was some debate among them whether the renegade Wu forces were aiming for Hefei or Xin Di, and as a result their commander ordered a complete halt so that supplies and messages could catch up to them from the main army. They had been out of touch long enough that Sun Quan figured he could stand to reconnoiter, in the off chance Da Ji had returned and had different orders for him. He wouldn’t turn aside from this pursuit, but he did have to make an effort to coordinate with her so that she would know he was still loyal and keen on keeping his father alive. As the sun set and the watch fires were lit, the ring of sentries around the camp called out that a force was approaching from the west. Most of the Orochi main army’s strongholds lay in that direction, so Zhou Tai waved the sentries down, expecting some sort of messenger with news for them. The sight of Maeda Keiji and his massive mane of hair emerging from the twilight, heading a rather large unit of the army, took even the stoic bodyguard by surprise. His keen eyes went to the officers behind Keiji, noted their names and faces, and narrowed in suspicion. This was not likely to be a pleasant development. Maeda pulled his gray horse to a halt and only sneered a little as he looked down on Zhou Tai. “Well, look who’s come to say hello. I don’t gotta tell you what needs to be done, do I?”

Zhou Tai gave him a single shake of his head in reply, and instantly turned on his heel to lead the way through the camp to the command tent. All of the officers dismounted, but only Cao Ren and Zhenji walked with Keiji to meet with the commander of this wayward force, saying nothing on their own but deciding it was their right to be part of the conference. Quan looked up sharply as his bodyguard swept the tent flap open rather suddenly. “Visitors,” he grunted before moving aside to let the three enter after him.

Sun Quan stared and then leaped to his feet as Keiji and Cao Ren ducked into the tent, with the Lady Zhenji last looking bored. “Where did you guys come from?” he wondered openly. “I was expecting a messenger, not…this.”

“Hey, thanks for sending a messenger out, by the way,” Keiji said boldly. “We followed his lead to backtrack to find you. I let him go all the way to Odawara to deliver his message, but you ain’t gonna need it. I’ve already got one for you.”

“Is that so?” Quan squashed his surprise and put on an authoritative mask, facing them with shoulders squared even as Keiji fished a scroll out of the folds of his kimono and handed it over. “Am I to take it that Da Ji is finally back, then?”

“She is, but she’s not the one who sent the message.” Keiji’s lip curled in an ominous grin. “That comes from Orochi himself.”

Zhenji made a soft, angry noise under her breath at that information being kept from them, but made no open outcry. She glared daggers at Maeda’s back, though, hoping it would be enough. Sun Quan’s eyes widened as he reached to take the scroll, which he read as hastily as he could. The contents of the letter furrowed his strong brow. “Hm. It seems he’s been well informed of what’s happening out here. But he doesn’t need to order me to keep pursuing my brother, I’m already on his trail.”

“Oh yeah? Where’s he headed?”

“Information on that is hard to come by,” Quan admitted. “Some of my scouts think he’s going to attempt to take Xin Di from us, but others say…”

“Your scouts are wrong,” Keiji said bluntly. “We picked up their movements too, they’re headed for Hefei.”

Quan glared at him. “How can you be so sure?”

“Come on, think about it!” Maeda retorted. “Take a castle being held securely, or waltz into a territory where no one’s living and take an empty castle? What would you do?”

Sun Quan might have had a different answer than he would have expected; the men of Wu had their pride, and even if it was being held against him he would rather claim Xin Di, since it was rightfully their land. But he could see the logic in moving to the unclaimed land instead. As if knowing what he was thinking, Cao Ren spoke up in his heavy voice. “The ghosts of the past haunt all of us. Who wouldn’t want to look on a battlefield and wish things had turned out differently?”

Quan conceded the point with a quiet sigh. “So. Hefei, then. And I’m guessing that the three of you being here is an indication of what Orochi wants done.”

“He doesn’t send me as a message boy,” Keiji confirmed with another curl of his lip. “I’m under orders to assist your army, such as it is, and I brought some reinforcements from the Wei alliance. These two are just the tip of the iceberg, we got more men waiting just outside your camp.”

Truthfully, Quan knew he needed the help. His army had been stripped of its greatest strength and worn down by the long journey, they were short on capable officers and even he knew that in another head-to-head battle like Sekigahara, he was more than likely to be defeated again. Come to think of it, Shangxiang had warned him that Maeda might bring reinforcements, and here they were just when he needed them. It irritated him to have to accept, all the same. He lowered himself back into his seat and pulled the scroll open as if to re-read it and familiarize himself with Orochi’s orders. “Fine. I’ll have Ding Feng set you up within the camp and re-draw our sentry lines to include Wei. We’ll consult on how to progress in the morning.” He flicked his gaze up and arched one eyebrow imperiously at his guests. “You must be tired, and it’s already late.”

Keiji knew he was being cold-shouldered, but didn’t care. It didn’t bother him if the younger tiger cub didn’t want them hanging around talking business right at the moment. “Sure, I could use a lie-down. We’ll get our forces settled, then.”

“Thank you, Lord Sun Quan,” Cao Ren added more respectfully, palming his fist. “It is my duty to see to the lady’s comfort and our army’s preparedness, I will handle that.”

Quan nodded to accept. It was curious, having this particular officer of Wei at his call yet again. Apparently Cao Pi hadn’t learned his lesson after Nagashino. “You do that. If you need anything, Ding Feng will see to it.”

Ren and Zhenji politely nodded before leaving, but Keiji merely gave him a cool, knowing look before turning to follow. Zhou Tai ducked out after them to find Ding Feng and deliver their lord’s orders, which didn’t take long, and he returned to find Quan still sitting there boring holes through the letter with his eyes. Assured that no one else was around, Tai secured the tent flap and crossed to him. “What does it say, then?”

The young Wu lord tossed the paper aside onto his camp table. “That I am to immediately set out in pursuit of my brother, and not stop until he has been met and conquered. No waiting around, no parley, and no mercy.”

“He cannot know what happened at Sekigahara.” Unless the demon warlord had actually left Koshi and come all the way out here, it would take time for that order in physical form to make it to Sun Quan’s hands, meaning Orochi drafted it well before the last meeting of the brothers.

“No, he likely doesn’t, but that doesn’t change things.” Quan took a deep breath. “And with Da Ji back in command, that means we can’t sit around no matter what. She’s the one who holds my father’s life in her hands. Maeda reports straight to her, so we absolutely cannot fail this time.”

“And you think yourself stronger than your brother, this time, when he has bested you twice already?” Tai challenged, his voice even lower and more growly than usual. “Or will you let Maeda or Cao Ren fight him?”

Quan shot him a hard glare for speaking out. “Why do you remind me of my failures? Cao Ren has also failed to stop him, he’s no use to me.”

Zhou Tai drew himself up to his full height, clasping his hands behind his back. “You asked me, my lord. You said that if I saw something you didn’t, I should speak up.”

It had been a while, but Quan did vaguely remember saying that. “And you choose now to do it?” he groused. “Dammit Zhou Tai, I need you more than ever right now. I need your support, you’re all I have left.”

Closing his eyes, Tai silently mustered himself to do what he needed to do. “I still support you, my lord,” he murmured, “but to support you I must tell you that I do not like this path you’re on.”

“What don’t you like about it?” Quan asked suspiciously.

“It will lead to your undoing.” Tai had no problem telling him so. His eyes snapped open and locked onto his lord’s face. “You are no longer fighting for the good of Wu. Wu is not here. Wu is with your brother. You have allowed Orochi to cow you into doing his dirty work, and chain you with your fears.”

Sun Quan shot out of his chair. “How dare you?! I thought you were my one true loyal retainer, Zhou Tai! What is this?”

“This is the truth, my lord!” Tai snarled back. “Look at what you’ve become! Put aside your men and your orders and look at yourself. You are weak, afraid, and unable to turn your back on your slave-master. You blame your brother for selfishness, but it is _you_ who are selfish, clinging to an ideal you do not even believe.”

“Have you forgotten?” Quan argued, getting right in his face, throwing aside any decorum of lord and retainer and going man-to-man with him. “If I turn on Orochi, he will kill my father without a second thought!”

“Perhaps that’s what your father would prefer, to seeing you like this!” Tai was not at all daunted by the quarrel, he held his ground. “I know that he would hate to see what you and Sun Ce have become. And I know that he would rather sacrifice himself for all of Wu than allow his children to be slaves.”

It cut too close to what others had said about Osaka; did Sun Ce really turn coward, as Da Ji said, or did Sun Jian sacrifice himself for his children and his people? Sun Quan shook his head hard to keep the doubts from creeping in. “I can’t back down now. He could really die – again! Do you really want that, Zhou Tai? We’ve already had to watch him die, I won’t do it again!”

“Instead, you will either watch your brother die, or die yourself.” Tai was adamant, his scarred face dark and grim. “If you continue to dance to Da Ji’s flute, someone will end up dead.”

“Then what would you have me do?” Quan brandished a fist at him and then turned away sharply before he could do something stupid with it. “My hands are tied! You’re right, one of us has to die, and I don’t know who deserves it more – Ce, or me.”

“No one has to die,” Tai insisted. “There is another way.”

“What way?” Quan tossed his hands in the air and began pacing in frustration. “There is no other way! If I defect, they’ll kill my father. If I capture Ce, he’ll die. If I lose to him, he could take my head instead.”

“Your brother would not do that,” Tai declared. “His love for you is stronger than this quarrel.” He moved in closer, trying to get into the path of his lord’s pacing in order to calm him down. “There is always another way. We will find it. But not while fighting these pointless battles. They prove nothing, they do nothing but weaken you and the army further. It must stop, Lord Zhongmou.”

Quan nearly blundered into him and turned away again, coming to a stop and placing his hands on the table to support himself. With his back to his bodyguard, he mumbled, “I can’t. I can’t see a way out. If I refuse to fight, Maeda will probably execute me on the spot…”

Tai frowned in concern. “He has no authority…”

“He does.” Quan gestured helplessly at the message laid on the table near his hand. “Orochi’s orders are an ultimatum. Either I succeed in bringing my brother down, or he’ll kill me instead.”

Disturbed, Zhou Tai snatched the paper and read it for himself, regardless of whether he had permission to do so. It was laid out plain as day, as Orochi himself would say in person. Unlike Da Ji or many other leaders and strategists, his missives were not couched in pompous, indirect language. Furious, Tai crumpled the parchment and threw it into the nearby brazier to burn to ashes. “I will not allow harm to come to my lord,” he breathed, low and threatening. “Whatever it may take, I will see to it that your life is not ended.”

“I can do it,” Quan insisted, though with less certainty than ever before. “I can beat Ce, if I can just get into position and separate him from his forces…”

“Stop.” Zhou Tai took him by the arm, turning him toward himself. “You are tired, my lord. You have taken a long, hard road and it has drained your strength. Orochi is driving you because he can, he is using your fear and anger to control you, and if it drives you to your own death, he does not care.”

It hit Quan all at once, then. Orochi, and Da Ji as his right hand, were not inconvenienced if their conscripts died in their service. They didn’t need them or want them, they only used them because they were there. There was no love for them, he was never under that delusion – unlike some – but a small part of him had believed that they were actually useful to the army, and deep down he had no choice but to believe that if he did as he was ordered, he would receive that which they promised. He understood the reality, now: they were never going to release Sun Jian. They were never _not_ going to execute him, they only used him in order to toy with the people of Wu. He and his retainers were nothing but amusement to Orochi, playthings he meant to bend until they broke. The realization took him aback and left him gasping in shock. He leaned heavily against Zhou Tai, one hand on his shoulder to help prop himself up. “No,” he murmured at last. “he doesn’t. You’re right, it’s…it’s all pointless.”

Without knowing what was going through his mind, Tai had no choice but to hold him up like the stoic wall he was. “You were never wrong about one thing. You always have cared about the future of Wu. But in this place, someone blinded you as to what that future should be.”

Quan nodded, and a moment later, his shoulders began to shake. He was so tired, and so defeated, he couldn’t help but let down his guard in front of his beloved bodyguard. Yet, he reined in his emotions before they became full-on sobbing. They were in a precarious position, a hostile camp as it were. He couldn’t break down just yet. “What do we do, Zhou Tai?” he whispered. “We can’t defect, not with Maeda here to watch. We can’t refuse orders.”

“Allow me to handle that, my lord.” His hand curled more protectively around Quan’s arm, clinging to him in turn. “If they are at Hefei, we will find them. When we find them…”

“There’ll be battle. There’s no other way, it’ll be Sekigahara all over again.”

“Yes,” Tai agreed. “Do as you must. Give your all. We shall see how the battle plays out.”

Quan breathed a shaky sigh. “I don’t think I can actually do it. You’re right, I’m tired…I’m too weak to best my brother, and that means I’m too weak to lead Wu.”

“Leave Wu out of it for now,” Tai implored. “If he manages to defeat you again…I will handle it. I will ensure that you survive.”

Quan wanted to ask how, to get details and make a plan, but as he lifted his head and stared straight at his bodyguard, the question died on his lips. He knew he could trust this man with his life, now as much as ever, so he nodded to accept the promise. “It’ll be hard,” he realized.

“Quite. But I will not let you down.”

“Promise me, Zhou Tai…” Quan took him by the shoulders and leaned back in so that their pact would be a secret no one could overhear. “If anything happens to me, take a message to my brother. Tell him about the order from Orochi, and everything else. Tell him…that I understand what it means to sacrifice for the good of Wu, now.”

Zhou Tai held his gaze and nodded once, slow and solemn. “I will do as you say, my lord.”

For a moment Sun Quan allowed himself to put down the burden of leading his country, and sagged against Zhou Tai, pressing his forehead against his bodyguard’s shoulder. He knew not to expect an embrace or anything soft from the man, but Tai gripped his arms rather gently and allowed him this moment, for which Quan would silently thank him for days and weeks after. There was still so much uncertainty, no guarantee exactly how any kind of battle would play out nor who would take the upper hand in the end, but already Quan was sinking into despair and beyond it, acceptance. He would no longer spout the bluster about Sun Ce’s selfishness and being the one with the right to take him down, now that his head had cleared and his eyes opened. If he did fall at Hefei, he felt like he would deserve it, and any consequences afterward. If, and only if, that happened, he would know that his brother was indeed the one to lead Wu – not in their world, not as he remembered, but here in this place where demons ruled and the old familiar ways meant nothing. Ce could lead Wu to destroy Orochi, if need be. The rest would be at the whim of fate.


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brother versus brother at the Battle of Hefei.

For Sun Ce’s side, the next few days were bliss. For Sun Quan’s, they were torture. The rebel army dug in firmly at Hefei, strengthening the fortress even more and diligently scouting all roads in and out of the village, looking for ways to make use of the terrain and their resources to give themselves every advantage and hamstring any attacking army. Zhou Yu and Lu Meng holed up in the keep to work on a strategy, since they were the most familiar with this territory and its garrisons, though once in a while they pulled Sakon and Lu Su over to run ideas past them. Tokugawa worked to order the fortress like a real castle, take stock of its stores, and organize the troops into a single army rather than separate men of Wu and Mikawa. Everyone pitched in where they could, and rather shortly they had an even more stout stronghold from which Sun Ce could not just defend himself, but put down roots and rule. Until the other lands belonging to Wu could be secured, he could be content leading his people from Hefei. Ina’s arm was still a bit weak, so she asked to be left out of battle plans until such a time as their healers could clear her to draw a bow again. Shangxiang remained her steadfast friend and companion, particularly since Lady No did not seem to have much in common with either of the strong princesses. To her credit, however, No kept herself busy in ways that did not involve bothering the easily-flustered; she sharpened her claws and spoke over dinner in the evenings of her desire to get some action, but refrained from teasing Taishi Ci for the time being. She and Ranmaru apparently had some closed-door discussion about their loyalties and Lord Nobunaga, but what came of it remained between them. Hattori and Kunoichi handled the sentry patrols, Han Dang and Jiang Qin did all the heavy lifting to repair stone walls and iron doors, and Zhu Ran hunted around for opportunities to use fire against their foes. All in all, they would be beyond prepared for when the Orochi army finally did catch up.

Conversely, Sun Quan descended into a grim silence while his army traveled the few days it took to get to Hefei from their last camp. Some of the rank and file were rather happy to finally have some powerful reinforcements sent from the main army, and those who had been conscripted since the very beginning and had seen Maeda Keiji fight before were almost excited to watch him battle again. They conveniently seemed to forget or ignore that he had demolished Wu’s strongest on the very field toward which they marched, once before. Keiji himself was in good spirits, eager to get in there and battle Sun Ce personally. The Wei reinforcements were much more subdued, but it was clear Cao Ren did not intend to allow himself to be defeated yet again. He commanded his men capably and prepared them to be used by their allies where and when necessary, but as the days passed and they grew closer to needing to set up an actual battle plan, full control of the troops seemed to subtly shift into Keiji’s hand. He was not necessarily the top-ranked officer among them, nor was he actually commander in title, but when he spoke, no one gainsaid him. Sun Quan was still technically commander, by Orochi’s order, but he had no genuine strategist among his ranks any longer, and the closest thing provided by Wei was Yu Jin, who had to insist more than once that he knew what he was doing despite the fact that he was not nearly so talented nor as well known as Sima Yi, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Xu Shu, or Xun Yu. Fortunately, all of the officers on all sides were able to sit down and put their heads together to come up with something workable, since Sun Quan and his men would be leading the attack on a territory they knew personally. They knew its back paths, choke points, and drawbacks, every bit as much as its assets, and even remembered the changes they had seen when first brought to Orochi’s world. Quan did not expect that even with a few days’ lead, his brother would have time to repair Xiaoshi Bridge, so he focused his plan on the two primary inroads that led to the fortress. The rest of the decisions would have to wait until they got to Hefei, which would come any day now.

Even without knowing for certain how quickly the Orochi army would sniff them out and descend upon them, Sun Ce was aware that battle was a foregone conclusion. He had everyone ready to go so that all they needed to do was wait and watch, and the day the scouts came running with the report of an advancing army took absolutely no one by surprise. Instead, they all got up and reached for weapons as if this had been precisely on schedule. Given that he had supervised most of the repairs and preliminary preparations, Lu Meng had been chosen to lead strategy in the case of a large-scale attack, but Zhou Yu was at his side to assist, and ordered their sentries to pull in tight to the fortress while the scouts were sent back out to verify the size of the enemy army, its commander, and the chief officers who may lead the attack. Tokugawa was in charge of holding the fortress, and requested only Kunoichi and Lady No to back up his regular retainers. That left Sun Ce free to take the field himself, which no one would deny him. “Good, because if anybody tried to hold me back,” he said brashly as he raised each tonfa in turn to check its stoutness, “they’d have a hard time picking themselves up off the ground. I don’t even need to wait for the scouts, I know it’s my brother. I have to face him one more time, and let this one time decide all.”

“It wasn’t enough to fight him at Sekigahara?” Ranmaru wondered. “You want to fight again?”

“Of course I do.” Ce turned to him, twirling the tonfa down into a resting position. “We’re making a stand here. This is our chance to rise up and show Orochi that we really are part of the Resistance, now that we have a real army. And, Quan needs to see it for himself. He won’t allow himself to join us, so his only choice is to get beaten down for real.”

Ran shook his head slowly. “I will never understand your eagerness, my lord. This is the third time you’ve faced your own brother and still you speak with optimism.”

“I’ve told you, Ran.” Ce strode past him, but with his hands full of weapon, all he could do was nod and wink to the boy. “This is how the men of Wu face the world. We tigers have to be brave and bold. No backing down.”

He continued on his way, out to meet the troops and give them a good pep talk before they went out onto the field. Ranmaru watched him over his shoulder and then sighed. “But is it true?” he worried. “Is he brave or is he only hiding how he feels?”

“You expect him to show sorrow or fear?” Zhou Yu queried. “After all this time, you still cannot tell my lord’s heart, can you, Ran? He hides nothing, what you see is what you get.”

Ran looked to him where he and Lu Meng stood together after finalizing their plan. “Then he really does want to defeat his own brother in battle.”

“Of course he does,” Meng replied. “The Sun brothers have always been prepared to test one another this way.”

“It is no test,” Ran argued, “this is a true war. Defeat can mean death. Is he not concerned that Lord Sun Quan has chosen to attack our stronghold, that they truly are on opposite sides?”

“He knows the consequences,” Zhou Yu said smoothly. “Perhaps more than anyone else in this army. This is his opportunity to finally judge for himself how his brother has grown, how he is dealing with the situation from his end. If they cannot work it out this way, then they have no hope of ever uniting against Orochi.”

Ran gave him a boggled look; the logic there didn’t make sense to him at all. “But there is so much at stake…”

“All the more reason for it,” Lu Meng affirmed. “Lord Sun Quan is the future of Wu; Lord Sun Ce needs to see it for himself and not just rely on the rest of us assuring him that his brother will do just fine.”

“It is a serious situation, to be sure,” Yu added, “but how they come out of this will determine whether both are prepared to take this battle to Orochi. We are strong, but we are not strong enough yet for that.”

Ran made a face at them and turned to go and get geared up for battle himself. “Strategists and their riddles. It doesn’t matter, I will still fight with him, no matter what the reason or the outcome.”

Lu Meng and Zhou Yu shared a look behind his back as he left them. “Poor kid,” the former chuckled. “He’s only just learning what the rest of us have had to deal with for half our lives.”

“It’s hard to explain, though,” Yu agreed, “one simply has to spend enough time around the brothers to be able to understand.” He sobered, then, and set a hand on the hilt of the sword at his side. “It could get ugly.”

“I’m sure it will,” Meng sighed. “After what you told me about Sekigahara…but he’s got the Lady with him, this time. Maybe the two of them together can convince Lord Quan.”

“Hopefully.” Throwing his shoulders back, Yu turned and led the way out to inspect the troops and get the latest reports, with Lu Meng immediately behind him.

The scouts were just returning as they joined the army outside in the courtyard, allowing everyone to hear the report at the same time. It was Sun Quan in command, all right, just as they suspected, but he had help. Unexpected help. No one quailed at the thought of Maeda Keiji facing them, but a few faces did grow serious. Sun Ce turned to his strategists. “Does this change anything?”

“Not really,” Lu Meng answered. “Our plan was made with the expectation that we would face a larger force from the Orochi main army, with or without your brother, so the mechanics are the same. But now, I would like to find out whether Maeda is coming out with the front line or being held back at the main camp for later. If we can catch him in our first trap, it will deal a blow to their forces early and put us on the right momentum toward victory.”

“We must keep him out of the center,” Zhou Yu agreed, a bit more darkly. “I will not have a repeat of our last battle here, particularly since we lack the strength of Gan Ning on our side today.”

“But we have plenty of guys to make up for him,” Ce said proudly. “All the same, I’m deferring to you guys. Everything in place, Lu Meng?”

Meng nodded. “Preparations are ready, my lord.”

“All right, then.” Ce raised a tonfa, which Meng tapped with his pike, and then turned to get ready. He had a particular role to play right at the start, and needed to slip into position.

It was tricky, sending out just enough men to serve as reconnaissance and bait without making it too obvious, but Lu Meng was on top of the new developments immediately and called Hattori to him to get that crucial piece of information he needed. He had not yet actually seen the ninja in action, but between Ce and Sakon, he had learned enough about Hattori’s skills to know that he was the man of the hour. Like a cool blue shadow, Hanzo glided from cover to cover across the fields of Hefei, making it all the way to the stone walls lining the river on the far end of Xiaoshi Bridge to find the Orochi army throwing up their camp south of the village and the first wave mustering to move out. He could hear Keiji clear across the encampment and slunk along the tiled eave atop the wall to get closer and try to uncover the enemy’s plans, but he had to stop at the point where the trees began to bend away from the wall lest he lose his cover. From there, he watched the Orochi forces split into different wings and reposition, one small group aiming north along the back path, one heading west to circle around by a different means, and one remaining in position like a human wall to protect the commander and his bodyguard in the camp. Hanzo guessed that these were the reserves, the last line to move out should it become necessary, but he had seen enough. There was an attempted pincer attack on the way, and Maeda was in the group going westward. The ninja slipped down the side of the wall and made his way back toward the center using the riverbank itself as cover, ducking under Xiaoshi Bridge just as Sun Quan’s scouts reached it and cried out in interest to see the bridge operable. Hanzo waited until they had gone back to report this to their commander, and then did as he had been commanded by Zhou Yu and Zhu Ran, setting a little surprise up for later.

When he heard the ninja’s report, Lu Meng huffed a bit of a laugh. “That’s exactly what I would have expected. Good thing we’re ready on all sides. Let’s go, men of Wu! Remember the plan!”

At his call, the only men who moved were with Sun Ce, a small knot of his strongest rank-and-file soldiers. Zhou Yu shadowed him at a distance, sword out, but let him get out ahead as per their secret strategy. They marched out from the fortress down as far as the strange building in the lava field where they had placed reserve troops, but a quick wave from the commander as he ducked into the shelter of the doorway held those troops at bay. They had to wait for the right moment, and he was sure it wouldn’t take long. Even on foot, Maeda would move quickly. From his spot against the doorway he waited until he could hear the tramp of feet and the distinct tones of Keiji’s voice as he ordered men this way and that, and at the right moment, breathed a command to his troops. “Ready to move in? Let’s go!”

He drifted through the door of the fortress and jogged straight out onto the road in plain view of the enemy forces heading his way. They had paused at a crossroads, debating whether to send troops into the village at the center, but the sight of Sun Ce appearing before them with only the smallest contingent clustered around him had exactly the intended effect. Maeda immediately swerved and began to stride toward him. “Oh, how nice! You’ve come out to greet us! Guess you just couldn’t wait to get your ass kicked, huh, Tiger Cub?”

Ce put himself in a defensive stance for a moment, but then began to back away. “You think you can take me, Keiji?”

With the big warrior were Zhenji and Cao Zhang, and the lady of Wei tapped her flute against her own shoulder, eyes narrowing. “What is that fool doing?”

Keiji only had eyes for his target, taking his huge pike down off his shoulders as he advanced. “I told you, didn’t I? I’d have no problem killing you if you turned traitor. And look, here you are, doing exactly that! Which means I get to hold up my end of the bargain.”

“You can try,” Ce challenged, holding ground for a moment even though his men behind him fidgeted. He waited until Maeda broke into a run and charged, swinging the pike down, and leaped back as the pronged blade slammed into the ground right where his feet had been a moment before. He backed away a bit more hastily, and then turned as if to retreat to the fortress. His men were a bit faster about it, and more than one was legitimately startled by the sudden onset of Keiji’s attack, but Ce hung back, always looking over his shoulder. 

The mere idea that he would retreat enraged Maeda, and he gave chase. “You wanna fight or what? Don’t go runnin’ on me now, Sun Ce! There’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from the big man, now!”

Every now and then Ce would stop and even crouch in defense, but as soon as Keiji swung at him he would resume the retreat. At one point Zhou Yu cut in from wherever he had been and attempted to divert attention to him, but he only got Zhenji chasing him. Together the two of them drew the enemy vanguard all the way back to the open gate of the fortress, and then stood their ground while the last of their men ducked inside behind them. This time, when Keiji charged, Ce stayed put, and raised his crossed tonfa to hold off the overhead strike that came down at him. His muscles bulged as he strained to keep Keiji’s power at bay and the pike from cleaving his head. “You really want me?” he breathed, breaking into a reckless grin. “Come and get me, Keiji!”

He disengaged with a powerful shove and pushed Zhou Yu ahead of him inside the wall of the fortress. The two of them dashed across the empty courtyard, making for the pillared arcade in the center as if to make their last stand there with their backs to some kind of wall. Growling at the mockery, Keiji tore after them, despite Zhenji behind him calling out. “Wait! There’s something terribly wrong about all this!”

The retainers with them stopped and looked at her. “What do you mean?” Cao Zhang pressed.

“Look at this place.” Zhenji gestured with her flute. “This is a massive fort and yet not a single man to be seen?”

Keiji came to a stop a few yards inside the courtyard, his eyes still on the two men he wanted to rip apart but cognizant of her warning. “Sweet!” he crowed. “This must be some kind of enemy trap!”

Zhenji bristled where she stood. “Don’t tell me you’re actually enjoying this, you big oaf!”

“Hey…” Keiji turned his bloodthirsty grin on her over his shoulder. “It doesn’t matter if they trap us. They’re still not gettin’ out of it alive.”

From an upper parapet, Lu Meng raised his hand in signal. “It worked! Time to spring the trap!”

The iron doors slammed shut behind the vanguard, and the entirety of the reserve forces waiting just inside the fortress, hiding behind battlements and in alcoves, poured out onto the officers they had managed to lure in. It was only a handful, compared to what Quan had waiting back at his main camp, but among them was Keiji and it was imperative that they take him down, even if it required every last man to do so. Ce turned around and finally ran right for him, free to attack now, and gave him the one-on-one he so desired. Not to be outdone, Shangxiang lit out for him at the same time, as Zhou Yu turned his sword on Cao Zhang and Zhenji found herself beset by Shima Sakon and Taishi Ci. Cheng Pu, Ranmaru, and everyone else not being held with Tokugawa’s reserves encircled the remaining soldiers of the vanguard and filled the entire courtyard with battleclash.

Finding himself with two Sun siblings to fight, one on each side, Keiji was beside himself with a dark glee. He was strong enough to take them both on at once, and barked a laugh as he threw Sun Ce aside only to have Shangxiang right in his face. He brought the pike up across his body to block her chakrams, leaning into it to press her back until she grunted with the strain. “It’s gonna take a lot more than this to beat me, yanno,” he dared.

“I’ve got a lot more to give,” she shot back, gritting her teeth and pushing herself back so she could leap and attempt to kick him. He blocked that, too, swinging the pike wide to throw her some distance. Her heels dug into the grass as she caught herself and dashed right back in, hitting him at the same time as Ce hit from the other side. He held them both at bay, looking from one to another across their weapons. “How does it feel?” Shangxiang said defiantly, shoulder to shoulder with her brother. “To be beaten by a woman? One who’s every bit as strong as you!”

“Well, well, look who’s sassy!” Maeda taunted her. “I see Sun Quan’s been holding out on me.”

If he meant to distract them, it didn’t work, though both stared hard at him over their stymied weapons. “What’s that, now?” Ce encouraged.

Keiji’s eyes were only on Shangxiang. “I know you ladies rode out to help him. Did you just use that as cover to wander off, or did he lose more than just a battle out there?” 

Shangxiang glared at him. “Don’t you dare blame my brother for my actions.”

“No, blame me instead.” Ce pulled one tonfa back and snuck it under the end of the blade, punching Keiji hard in the arm and sending him tottering sideways. “I was the one who captured them. It was all me.”

Maeda caught himself and lunged back towards them, sweeping the pike low to try to catch them. “Does that mean Ina’s gone over, too? Hah! Figures. You guys are just full of surprises today, aren’t ya?”

“There’s more where that came from!” Shangxiang cartwheeled out of the way of the pike and then sprang at him, bringing both chakrams down over her head toward his shoulder.

“Then show me what you got!” Keiji bellowed as he spun to try to deflect her. As he did, Ce plowed into him from the other side, jamming his shoulder right into the bigger man’s unprotected flank, and followed it up with a two-fisted punch right in the kidney. It was a hard enough blow to throw him off his stride for a moment, which gave Shangxiang the opening to bound up his knee and chest to get enough height to kick him in the jaw. He stumbled back even further, but as the other two regrouped for the next round, Keiji turned on them and swung the pike hard, knocking the lady back and coming up against her brother’s block with a loud clang. This would not be a short battle, it seemed.

Lu Meng waded into the fray from the edge, casually swinging his pike to clear a path and throw the Wei soldiers into the fences or each other. Near at hand he noticed Sakon with his huge blade up to block against Zhenji, and decided to go and interfere. She was doing her best, but the big man just wouldn’t budge, and twirled back out of the way of the pike as it joined the party. Her eyes narrowed in Meng’s direction. “You again,” she seethed. “I had enough of the both of you that night at Jianye.”

“A pleasure to see you again, too, my lady,” Lu Meng quipped. “Finally out of that stuffy fortress, I see.”

“No thanks to you.” She darted toward him, getting between the two men, and then abruptly spun to backhand Sakon when he lowered his guard. He cut back out of surprise more than anything, and then checked to find a spot of blood on his lip. “That’s for not killing Dong Zhuo for me,” she snapped at him.

Sakon’s brow twitched as he tried not to smirk. “You really are alluring when you’re angry,” he noted. “Your husband is a very lucky man.”

Zhenji wove easily between the two of them, forcing them to pull their hits so as not to strike each other when they aimed for her. “I hope you got rid of that tramp for me,” she teased them, dancing out of their reach. “I really should thank you for relieving me of that burden, but the end result was nothing but trouble.”

“Actually, she’s up in the keep, if you’d like me to go get her,” Lu Meng taunted back.

The look on Zhenji’s face turned quite ugly. “How dare you…”

She moved to kick at him, but Sakon came back just then and dealt her a hard blow from the other side. She skidded back and then grabbed one of her attending soldiers, throwing him into her path so that they would attack him instead while she recovered. Only then did she notice that Cao Zhang was down, and the Wu forces had spread out to cut away all the remaining enemy soldiers, keeping them apart so they couldn’t get into formation and strike back. Zhenji wasn’t far from where Keiji had his hands full, so she raised her voice to yell at him. “Stop playing around! If you want to stay in my good graces, help me out – right now!”

“Kinda busy here!” Keiji shot back, swinging his pike wide enough to clear a space around him, even though it didn’t last more than a second before he had the Sun siblings in his face again.

Annoyed that her inept brother-in-law couldn’t manage to even beat a few Wu retainers, Zhenji shifted back to keeping the two strategists off her, as they closed back in rather quickly. She ducked the Wrecking Blade and spun to put herself back to back with Sakon, daring Lu Meng to strike. “Such deviousness,” she remarked to both of them. “I would be impressed if I wasn’t so disgusted.”

“What, that you fell for it?” Lu Meng shot back. “Now!”

He jabbed with the butt of the pike as Sakon swiftly dodged to the side, so that he wouldn’t take the hit instead of their foe. Zhenji also dodged the opposite way, but found the Wrecking Blade there in her path and took its broad spine right in the stomach. It flung her back into that poor soldier again, and this time she wasn’t so quick to get up. Taishi Ci was finished with whoever else he had beaten down and moved in to hold her with one stick over her neck. The other two turned to see if they could help with Maeda, but quickly realized that they didn’t want to.

The fight had gotten fierce, and even Shangxiang had backed off, leaving it to her brother. Sun Ce stood toe to toe with Keiji, whaling on him as hard as he could, while Keiji fought back by sweeping the shaft of the pike back and forth in shorter movements, blocking half the time and hitting Ce just as hard the other half. It was breathtaking to watch, but most of Sun Ce’s men became aware that if they let him keep going, there was a good chance he wouldn’t come out of it in one piece, and right now they needed him on his feet to lead the battle. All at once Taishi, Sakon, Zhou Yu, and Cheng Pu all converged on Keiji, and for a moment he genuinely didn’t know who to strike at first. Aside from Yu they were all big, heavy men, and more than capable of taking a few hits should the pike find them first. All Ce needed was their distraction, and he saw the instant Keiji turned to bash Taishi Ci – it left his flank wide open. Ce charged himself up with a roar and crashed into him, pummeling him with both tonfa in an unending sequence of punches right in the same spot he had hit earlier. Keiji bellowed in pain, and tried to whirl back around to fend him off, but Taishi hit him from the other side, Cheng Pu swung his spear, and all at once the big warrior went down under a hail of ferocious blows.

Once all of the officers peeled themselves off their enemy to have a look, the rest of their forces realized that the impossible had been completed and raised their weapons with a gusty cheer. Maeda was not only down, he was knocked out. The entirety of the vanguard had been beaten. “Step one, complete,” Lu Meng declared. “No time to dawdle here, men, there’s still more where that came from. Get moving!”

Their forces pushed the doors open once more, and this time several units moved out, one to the south to prevent anyone else from coming the way Keiji’s vanguard did, one to meet the rumored reinforcements taking the back path. Though he was breathing hard, Sun Ce swore he only needed a moment to rest and then he’d be ready to go again. “Zhou Yu, Shangxiang – you’re with me. We need to secure the center.”

“Right,” Yu agreed. “By now they’ve discovered that the bridge is usable, and will be sending someone that way.”

“Head them off before they get too close,” Lu Meng directed. “Remember the backup strategy.”

“All your hard work, though,” Shangxiang lamented teasingly.

“It’s worth it if it cuts off their progress in the center.” Meng waved his pike. “Go on, get out there.”

Ce pronounced himself rested enough and followed the other two out, gesturing with his tonfa to call a unit of Wu soldiers to accompany them. Lu Meng had more than enough reinforcements in the form of Tokugawa’s command unit that he didn’t need to change a thing, he had everything well in hand and stood leaning on his pike, watching their own true commander head to the front. Taishi Ci remained with him to guard the officers they had defeated, keeping one wary eye on Maeda in case he so much as twitched an eyelid.

The force coming up the same northern path that Sun Ce’s army had used to approach Hefei in the first place ran headlong into defenders led by Cheng Pu and Lu Su, pitting countrymen against one another. Ding Feng checked before continuing his advance, wanting to do right by his lord by not backing down even though it was a grim and unlucky day to have to fight men he loved and trusted. It wasn’t until they started to falter that he looked around and realized Sun Shao was no longer with him. Where he had gone, and whether he had already been defeated and driven back, he didn’t know. No further enemies intruded from the south, allowing Ranmaru’s unit to keep going as far as they could, all the way to the main camp if nothing stood in their way. The central unit crossed a bridge and skirted more lava pits to make their way forward, wary and cautious, but passed all the way through to the abandoned village before they met the oncoming Wei forces. Cao Ren led his contingent, they had crossed Xiaoshi with impunity and marched up through the fallow fields with their sights on the main fortress in the distance. With Yu Jin and Cao Hong behind him, the stout shield of Wei drew up short and prepared for what was coming. Sun Ce might not have been fresh, but he was eager, and with his sister and sworn brother at his side he seemed unstoppable. It was not nearly so impressive a battle as the earlier one against Keiji, but Ce more than made up for nearly losing to this same officer in the pass of Hulao, beating him down while his comrades took care of the rest. Cao Hong slipped their grasp and went running back towards their main camp, while Ce held Ren down with a tonfa pressed on his throat. Ren squinted up at him, more frustrated than anything to find himself in this position yet again. “You really are intent on fighting your brother,” he noted, panting hard from the Wu prince’s weight on his chest.

“Course I am,” Ce affirmed. “He would have come after me even without you and Keiji along, you know.”

“I’m starting to see that.” Cao Ren’s eyes shifted to the side. “Maeda has been defeated?”

“We took him out first.”

“Damn.”

“There is no time, my lord,” Zhou Yu broke in, standing just over Ce’s shoulder. “That one, he’ll be bringing reinforcements from the main camp.

Ce looked up and then away to where Hong had retreated. “Bah, you’re right. I guess there’s nothing else for it, then.”

“Indeed.” Yu raised his voice in a clear call. “Now, Zhu Ran!”

The young officer had been lying in wait as ordered, and at the cry from Zhou Yu, he rose up from his hiding spot atop a house and bent his bow. The arrow fitted to the string was already aflame, and streaked like a meteor across the sky to find its mark at the foot of Xiaoshi Bridge. Despite Lu Meng having just repaired it, they needed it out of the way again, and this was the easiest method. The black powder charge laid by Hanzo earlier caught within seconds, and the explosion collapsed the rebuilt section as if it had never been there. Soldiers on all sides could hear it echo across the fields, and even Lu Meng allowed himself a little smirk to hear it. Cao Ren twisted to see the results and groaned. “You remade the bridge just to lure us to the center,” he said.

“Sure, why not,” Ce shrugged. That hadn’t been the original plan at all, but he would have believed his strategists if they came to the same conclusion in the end. He got up, releasing the Wei officer. “We can’t let you get around behind us, so you’re just gonna have to come with us.”

Huffing a sigh, Ren pushed himself to his feet and allowed his shield to be confiscated. “It seems I am at your mercy yet again, young lord.”

He and Yu Jin had no choice but to be driven before the Wu forces as they backtracked to take a different path toward the enemy camp. Seeing as Ranmaru’s unit had met no resistance, they decided to head that way, it would be quickest. Zhu Ran hopped down to join the party, his bow at the ready to back the others up. “I see your lord isn’t part of this, this time,” Ce said to Ren as they hiked southward.

“He has other matters to attend to, elsewhere,” Cao Ren confirmed.

“Good. Because I really need to settle this with my brother, first, before I turn my attention to the likes of him.”

Ren glanced back at him. “You would fight my lord, then?”

“Depends on whether or not he comes after me again,” Ce replied. “My real sight is set on the serpent.”

For a moment the Wei officer peered at him, and then he faced forward again. “As it should be,” he murmured so quietly even Yu Jin had to wonder if he heard him correctly.

With the vanguard disappearing into the fortress and never returning, those waiting in the main camp began to worry, but the explosion near the bridge sealed their fears. No sooner had Cao Hong come running into camp, shouting for reinforcements, when the crash and the flame announced that his way back to the center had been cut off. Sun Quan snarled to himself as he fought to rein his startled horse back in. “No! How did this happen…?”

Cao Hong looked back at how closely he might have escaped being blown up with the bridge. “But our allies! They need help, Sun Ce came through the middle…”

Quan turned dour at the name, and looked around as if expecting his brother to come charging through the camp right then and there. “We have no time to lose,” he said desperately. “Zhou Tai, advance! Don’t let them get through!”

With a silent nod, Zhou Tai swung into the saddle and clapped his heels to his horse’s flanks, racing off in the direction Maeda’s vanguard had taken. In his place, Yue Jin strode up alongside the commander’s steed. “You even send your bodyguard into battle,” he noted. “Not a good sign.”

“I don’t intend to just give up, we’ll fight to the last man,” Quan declared. “My impetuous brother has put all our lives in danger. If he gets through all the others, including you, he’ll have me to deal with.”

Jin glanced up at him. “If you say so, my lord. At least I can’t complain, if you sent your own retainers out before the last of ours.”

Breathing a short sigh through his nose, Sun Quan said nothing more, his eyes focused on the paths leading toward them. He didn’t want to expect that all his retainers would be defeated, that every line would be broken and sent running, but the lack of report from the vanguard, the bridge going up in flame, and Cao Hong’s flailing were enough bad news. He did want to face Ce himself, for slightly different reasons this time, and he feared that even the Wei officers could hear the lack of conviction in his tone every time he spoke of his brother’s treason. He had to keep spouting it around them, until this was completed. Cao Hong took up a new position near Pan Zhang, leading the last wave of troops, and they all stood waiting in silence.

Zhou Tai did not have far to ride to encounter the first wave of defenders. Ranmaru had already made it almost to the narrow bridge which signified the last place to safely cross the river south of Xiaoshi, with Han Dang and Jiang Qin at his back. The two swordsmen seemed to lock eyes on each other at the same instant, and Zhou Tai nearly flew out of the saddle so he could rush his intended opponent on foot, one hand on his sword in readiness. Ran pulled his long nodachi free and broke into a sprint, outpacing the rest of his men and angling directly to clash with the man he respected as one of Wu’s most powerful swordsmen. Both seemed to run through each other, and only a shower of sparks and the soft click of Tai resheathing his blade proved that they had struck each other as they passed. They turned and charged again, and this time the clash stopped both in their tracks, swords crossed and screaming against each other. Unlike the times they had sparred while in Orochi territory, this was a fight for blood. Small and lithe as he was, Ran held his ground masterfully, refusing to let Zhou Tai push him back. They were forced to disengage and back off, circling one another in search of an advantage. “I cannot let you advance,” Tai warned. “This ends here.”

Ran held his gaze, glowering from behind the long blade. “Master Han Dang, keep going! Don’t stop now. I will hold him off.”

“Are you sure?” Jiang Qin gasped. _This kid, against Zhou Tai? Madness!_

“There is no time to waste!” Ran demanded. “He came alone, I will handle him alone. The path behind is clear, you can reach Sun Quan.”

Han Dang took a step to do so, but Zhou Tai swerved and went after him with the fleetness of a thought. Ranmaru spun in place and pursued him, and again they were left clashing. Jiang Qin spurted past them, running as fast as his legs would carry him with his men following. Every time Zhou Tai tried to throw off his foe and attack them instead he found Ran right in his face or the nodachi sweeping at his head. He had no choice but to tangle with Ran directly, even as Han Dang shook himself out of his shock and beat a retreat on Jiang Qin’s heels. At last, the two were left alone to duel, and hurled themselves at each other with incredible speed and flawless sword tactics. No one witnessed one of the greatest swordfights in known history, for by the time Sun Ce’s unit caught up, it was mostly over. Brave and bold though he was, Ranmaru could not match the older man’s strength and experience, as evidenced by the way he sat crumpled on the ground, leaning on his sword in an attempt to get up and keep fighting. Zhou Tai was not undamaged himself, but he still had his feet. He sensed movement to his side almost too late and spun to block as Zhou Yu came at him, Ancients Sword bared. Ce swept in to yank Ran out of the way and give him the chance to recover, though it looked like the youngster was done for the day. Zhu Ran knelt to try to quickly render aid to his cuts, even as Zhou Tai looked past Zhou Yu and fixed his stare on the Wu commander. “I must protect my lord,” he grunted, though whether it was a declaration or a plea, none could say for sure.

Ce did not answer, nor did he leave his spot. He wanted to give his retainer a chance to take care of this final obstacle between them and Sun Quan. “Do as you must,” Zhou Yu said harshly, “but I will not let you touch my lord, either.”

Tai shifted to meet his eyes instead. “Must our loyalties lead to blood?”

Yu smiled coldly. “Only if we let them.”

“Zhou Tai…” Shangxiang’s voice was soft and worried, as she looked on at the renewed battle between swordsmen. “No matter what, he’ll defend our brother, right to the end.”

“Then why doesn’t he stop this insanity?” Ran cried, forcing himself to sit up. “It doesn’t have to be this way!”

“No,” Ce murmured. “This is exactly how it has to be.”

Ranmaru gave an exasperated cry and dropped his head into his hands. “I cannot understand this family!”

Zhou Tai might have been the better swordsman, but fighting Ran had sapped much of his strength, giving Zhou Yu the chance to beat him down. One sword faltered in a tired hand and the other came in to knock it wide, sending it sailing across the dry grass. Yu smashed the pommel of his sword into the other man’s jaw to knock him down, and immediately turned to wave to the others to continue. Sun Ce gestured to Zhu Ran. “Take care of Ranmaru, all right?” That was all he needed to say, and then he was running off with Shangxiang beside him. Zhu Ran noticed that they left the defeated Wei officers behind as well, but he wasn’t about to supersede orders at a time like this. The young boy was clearly in no shape to even walk himself back to the fortress, he really needed the help. They were close enough to Sun Quan that Cao Ren knew how this battle would end; even unrestrained, there was no point to him attempting to go alone all the way back along that road to the Wu fortress. He had no support, no reinforcements, and by the time he even got within a stone’s throw of the wall, Sun Ce would already have his victory in hand. Sighing, he flopped onto the ground next to Zhu Ran and sat staring at Zhou Tai on the other side of the field. He could have sworn he just saw the injured man move.

The main camp spotted the forces moving down from the north first, as the last of their pincer unit was routed and driven back and Cheng Pu led his men in a solid charge. Sun Quan brandished his sword with all authority. “All forces, advance!” he cried out. “We won’t go down without a fight!”

All the rest of their men moved to intercept Cheng Pu’s contingent, except for Yue Jin, who moved right up to Quan’s stirrup to serve as his final protector. He was the one who heard the commotion from the opposite end of the camp first, and turned with hooked blades out to find the other Sun siblings bashing their way through the tents with all determination. Cursing, he rapped at Quan’s leg with the back of one arm. “Lord Sun Quan, behind you!”

“What…?” Quan followed his prompting and saw it just in time. Jin was about to spring and take the fight to Sun Ce yet again, but was called back. “No, this is _my_ fight!” the commander barked. “Stand down and get out of my way!”

“But…” Yue Jin blinked, startled, as Quan wheeled his horse and charged to meet his brother. He could see, now, that the other Wu officers had gotten into their camp from behind and beaten the rearguard out of the way, so that their own commander could pass right through them and get at Sun Quan without anything to stop him. “No…” Jin breathed. “You fool, what are you doing?”

Whether it was due to rage or merely desperation, Quan seemed to find a new fire as he rode down the threat. “I will pour my entire soul into defeating you, brother!” he bellowed as he came on.

Ce halted in place and brought his tonfa up, ready to strike. “I would expect nothing less from you.”

Quan raised his sword and attempted to strike from the saddle, but Ce swung and clouted him out of his seat as the horse raced by. He managed to land more or less on his feet and charged straight in, seeming to only have eyes for Ce, who likewise ignored the retainers behind him in order to meet this attack. Even Shangxiang and Zhou Yu melted back to let them have this moment to themselves, though the latter spotted Yue Jin and pointed with his sword so that more of their men could go and prevent him from interfering. The young Wei officer understood, though, and spun his hooked blades once around his wrists before letting them drop into the dust. This was no longer Wei’s battle in any sense, and he conceded.

The jagged King Wolf met the Conqueror with a mighty ring, holding for a moment before Quan sprang back to clear space and came in again from the side. Ce blocked him easily, though he had already been through enough of a workout after fighting Keiji that he knew he would have to conserve his energy. He dug his heels in and simply whirled the tonfa around to block as needed, whether along his forearms or over his own back. He could tell what his brother’s strategy would be – a full-on assault with all speed and strength – and tightened his defense, letting Quan circle around him and vent his anger and fear on his steady, solid block all he wanted. The faster he exhausted his energy, the better chance Ce had at striking back. Quan seemed to guess at his tactic in turn, which only made him angrier as he shifted and twisted to try to force an opening in that wall of defense. “What are you doing?” he snarled after a few more hits were simply absorbed by the crossed tonfa. “Fight me! Are you too weak to battle me head-on, now?”

“I’m just standing my ground,” Ce insisted, crouching behind his block. “Fight me as long as you must, brother, if you think you can move me.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Quan shot back, taking a step to the side to put himself into a more wary stance of his own. “Your days of being able to order me around are long gone, brother.”

“If you don’t wanna take orders,” Ce smirked, “then show me you’re capable of leading.”

It was exactly what Quan didn’t need to hear. His face darkened with a desperate, frustrated glare as his innermost fears beat against him from within his heart. If he couldn’t defeat Ce here, his inability to command would be confirmed. His own defeat seemed secondary, even if he was the last officer standing from his army, and he didn’t seem to consider that Sun Ce still had several capable men behind him who could win the day even if their own commander fell. Shangxiang certainly would be first in line to take down her other brother, and Zhou Yu immediately after if Quan got at all lucky. Luck, however, did not appear to be at all on his side. It was Ce or nothing, and he hinged all of his hopes on it. He redoubled his attack, going in straight for his opponent without circling this time. He and Ce were each others’ match in pure power, so there was no point in dancing around when they could just push at one another and see which of them would topple first. He shortened his swings in order to hit harder with each one, heartened for the briefest moment when he could see Ce’s arms give a little on each impact. It didn’t last long, though. Now that his tactic had been exposed, Sun Ce went on the offensive, parrying each hit with the slightest punch and then following through, gradually ramping it up until he was hitting back just as hard. They fell into a rhythm, and for a while it looked like Sun Quan could actually keep up with his brother, swinging fast enough to match the one-two punches of the tonfa, but before long he began to flag, and could only parry half of them, blocking or dodging the rest. Ce had found a second wind and pressed forward, both feet still firmly on the ground but gaining on his brother step by step, until he managed to break past the sword and wing Quan on the right. It was all he needed to rattle him enough to make an opening; the younger Sun jogged to the side to try to get around the elder, but Ce shifted his arm to block and then moved with the momentum into a roundhouse kick which threw Quan into the side of a tent. Not a single sound came from those watching, they all seemed to be holding their breath as they waited to see how this duel would end. The King Wolf ripped through the canvas ahead of its master as Quan plunged out into the sunshine again and set upon his foe, but his confidence had already been shaken, his rhythm disrupted, and the exhaustion of the long march and multiple defeats allowed to creep in to sap him. He hadn’t fought nearly as long and hard as Ce, today, but Quan was already weakening, Ce could feel it in the change to the hits that rang off his Conquerors. They were less heavy, and easier to turn aside. Both brothers were gulping huge breaths of air, trying to find the stamina needed to continue, but some of those watching could tell that the advantage had already been claimed. The tonfa began to score hits, sliding past the blade and battering Quan about the shoulders, arms, and once or twice to the chest and flank. Quan wasn’t actively trying to retreat or reposition to avoid any hits, but he gave ground a step at a time and then wobbled as his foot got tangled in a tent line. He nearly went down but caught himself, bracing his forearm behind the flat of his sword to add power to his block, preventing the tonfa from crashing onto his head. Against nearly anyone else in this world, it would have been enough. But Sun Ce was on a mission, his focus narrowed to this single opponent, and he fought on despite a growing tremor in his fatigued muscles. One more round, a sequence of swings and then a two-handed punch straight forward, and Quan was flung backwards so hard his feet left the ground for a moment. He thudded hard onto his back and shuddered, gaping like a fish as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Ce held back, neither helping nor going in for the take-down, but it was clear their fight had finally reached an end.

Sun Quan rolled himself over and tried to push himself up with his blade, but his hand slipped on the hilt and he went crashing to the ground on his face. For a long moment Sun Ce stood over him, tonfa still poised, panting hard, waiting for him to move or speak. It took some time, but at last Quan managed to prop himself up on one elbow. “It seems I cannot…overcome you, brother,” he said quietly, heavily.

“Stay down,” Ce warned him. “You’re in no shape to take another hit.”

“Come, my lord…” Lu Meng’s sudden intrusion made them all glance toward the sound of his voice. He had caught up from the main camp somehow, and strode up now as if taking stock of how all of his plans had played out. He set a hand on Ce’s shoulder as he moved up alongside him and then past him. “Surely you’ve done enough,” he said gently. “The time has come to give in.”

Quan stared at him, wondering how it had come to this, being lectured by his own retainers. And siblings, for that matter, as Shangxiang fretted, “Brother, please!” 

“Shangxiang…” Quan lowered his head. “I’m sorry it came to this.”

“It’s not over,” she pleaded. “I see the truth, now. Fighting each other won’t get us anywhere, you have to come with us…!”

“I can’t!” He was able to say it with more energy, as he pushed himself up from wallowing in the dust and regained some dignity, kneeling before them as a defeated officer should. “This is bigger than you or me. You see it now, don’t you?” Sun Quan raised his eyes to meet those of his brother, who finally dropped his tonfa to his sides. “I am unworthy to be called the Lord of Wu. There is only one choice. You should end my life now.”

Several among them started and recoiled. “What are you saying?” Cheng Pu yelped.

“Lord Sun Ce would never!” Han Dang declared.

They all looked to Ce to agree with them, but he said nothing. His gaze was still on his brother, and he barely moved a muscle. The silence which followed was almost painful. “What are you waiting for?” Quan pressed. “If you don’t do something, I’ll return to Orochi, and this will keep happening. Over and over, until one of us is dead. You know this, brother.”

“I know,” Ce finally said, low and dark.

Before anyone could do more than drop their jaws in shock, a horse suddenly barreled into their midst and a dark-clad figure leaped off it with a gruff cry of “Now!”

“Zhou Tai!” Quan exclaimed.

“Go!” his bodyguard demanded. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and lunged toward it, reaching for his blade to meet the threat. Sun Quan didn’t need another order, he scrambled to his feet with his sword and grabbed for the pommel of the saddle, giving the horse a shout. It started away before he could even fully get into the saddle, half-dragging him for a few yards until he could haul himself up and ride away without looking back. 

All the Wu forces were so surprised that none of them managed to even speak, let alone try to stop him from escaping, all except for one. In place of the rampaging horse stood Hattori Hanzo, his sickle at Zhou Tai’s throat. The two crouched in striking position like statues, facing one another, even though Tai had not fully drawn and remained frozen in position. “It is futile,” the ninja warned.

Zhou Tai did not even flick an eye his way. “You shall not pass,” he vowed.

Hanzo’s eyes slid from where his own blade hovered down to the sword loosed from its sheath. He knew a proper _iai_ when he saw it, and though he was certain this man could have carried through the move and taken his arm off, he didn’t. “Why do you not fight?” he murmured.

“Because he trusts me,” Sun Ce broke in, taking a step or two towards them. “Stand down, Hanzo.”

The ninja eased back, lowering his weapon, but remained at Ce’s side as he came up. Zhou Tai, on the other hand, dropped onto his knees in place of his lord and pulled the sword away from his hip so he could hold it out before himself and show, in clear view of all witnesses, that he was standing down in surrender. The click of blade into sheath put the final end to the battle of Hefei. Ce nodded in acceptance. “Do you have a message for me, Zhou Tai?”

The dour bodyguard nodded once. Seeing that, Lu Meng turned immediately to the rest of their army, raising an arm high so they could see him. “The battle is over! Pull back to the fortress, we have a lot to clean up. Good work, everyone!”

Zhou Yu stepped forward and held a hand out in a wordless demand for Zhou Tai’s sword, which was given over without resistance. He took personal charge of bringing in their prisoner, while Sun Ce turned to take stock of things and see what needed to be done. He was, after all, still technically in command. “Did we get anyone else?”

“We left Cao Ren and his people back on the road,” Yu reminded him as he passed.

“Yeah…they might have beat it by now, though.” Ce looked for someone with nothing to do and waved them off to go and check. “Han Dang, see if they’re still there or they fled. The rest of us will withdraw to the castle and take stock when we get there.” He shrugged as he turned to join the rest of his men for the long march back across the fields and the village. “At least we got Keiji, that’s something.”

“Ah…” Lu Meng glanced back at him with a sheepish look. “Not exactly.”

Ce’s shoulders sagged. “Don’t tell me…!”

“The bastard chose his time well,” Meng sighed. “He waited until Sakon and I were distracted, and attacked Taishi Ci and escaped. There wasn’t anyone capable of stopping him.” He tossed his head in a helpless sort of shrug even as Ce clapped a hand to his face in exasperation. “Lady Zhenji gave him an earful for leaving her behind, too, it was a scene I’ll never forget as long as I live.”

“Oh, so we still have them? All right, then.” Truthfully, Ce knew he shouldn’t have been surprised. Those handful of people genuinely faithful to Orochi would let nothing stop them, not even a concussion or chains. Of course Keiji would force his way to freedom. He hoped Taishi wasn’t injured too badly.

A quick survey of their troops and resources found that the battle had cost Sun Ce very little, over all. Taishi and Ranmaru were hurt, the bridge was in ruins again, and they had not managed to keep most of their captives, but casualties were light otherwise and they had one crucial, valuable prisoner to keep. Zhenji was incredibly displeased to be placed in the same position as the woman to whom she had played warden for so long, but the men of Wu treated her well, at least, and Cao Zhang with her. Taking stock kept Ce busy for a while, so Lu Meng and Zhou Yu took charge of interrogating Zhou Tai to get the quick version of events, which they could in turn report to their lord when he was free. That wasn’t until sunset, while dinner was being prepared. Before he could attend to it, however, there came word that Cao Ren was at the gate and requested parley with the lord of Wu. He took Sakon with him, and was not surprised when a couple other retainers tagged along just to give him a show of force. The door to the fortress swung open to allow the Wei officers to enter, not just Ren but Yue Jin and Yu Jin. What forces of theirs they had been able to collect from the losing side were mustered in formation to march rather than fight. Ren bowed with fist over heart at Sun Ce’s approach. “I wish to negotiate for the release of our officers,” he said humbly. “I know you have them, still. On behalf of Lord Cao Pi…”

Ce held up a hand. “Say no more. I still owe him, and right now I have no tactical reason to keep prisoners.” He glanced to Sakon beside him and waited for the big man’s nod before progressing. “You can have Lady Zhenji and Cao Zhang back. In exchange, leave here and do not return. We are members of the Resistance, and anyone who continues to serve Orochi from this day forward will be considered our enemies and dealt with accordingly.”

“Understood,” Cao Ren grunted with another bow. They wasted no time; Zhenji and her retainer were brought to them, and she did not disguise her relief at being turned loose so quickly after the conclusion of battle. She didn’t even look back as she strode out of the fortress of Hefei and rejoined her troops, who lauded her return as if she had claimed some kind of victory. Ren assured himself that she was safe, and then turned to Ce once more. “May we never meet on opposite sides of the battlefield again, so long as Orochi exists,” he said, and then turned to lead the Wei army out of their territory.

Sun Ce folded his arms over his chest to watch them go. Beside him, Sakon made a small noise under his breath. “Interesting choice of words,” he noted before clapping a hand to Ce’s shoulder and encouraging him to go back inside and see to other matters.

The main force had been called to their regular mess, and the officers were just beginning to gather for their own meal, but Lu Meng was waiting in a chamber off to the side of the great hall with his lord’s next order of business. He and Zhou Yu had the last prisoner on hand, but he stood silently between them with hands clasped tightly and head down while the strategists served as go-betweens. Ce and Sakon strode in and met them there in private. “I want this taken care of before I eat,” the Wu prince affirmed for them. “What is it?”

Lu Meng took a step forward to face him. “My lord, Zhou Tai reports that your brother is in grave danger. Of course, he’s still being blackmailed by Orochi into fighting for him, with your father’s life at stake, but it’s even worse than that. An order was issued, stating that if he were to fail to bring you in, his life would be forfeit in your place.”

“What?!” Ce looked sharply to Zhou Tai, who still didn’t meet his eyes. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Tai took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Do you think, Lord Sun Ce, that he would have wanted you to go easy on him if you knew?”

Ce recoiled a step, but then dropped his arms to his sides and closed his eyes for a moment. “No, you’re right. It would have been an insult, it’s better that I didn’t know until now. Still…”

“It does explain why his heart was not in that fight,” Zhou Yu murmured.

“It means we must progress carefully from here, my lord,” Lu Meng continued. “It will take time for him to return to the Orochi strongholds west of here and find Da Ji, but when he does, things will take a turn for the worse.”

“I understand.” It all made sense, now. His brother’s desperation, his refusal to back down, his silence on the matter of which of them was the traitor, and his final words. _No wonder Quan asked for execution_ , Ce fretted. But he could not give it to him, any more than he could let him go back to Orochi and accept this fate. “And now he doesn’t even have Zhou Tai to support him. What do we do?”

“It sounds to me as though your brother has accepted his fate, and there is no way to dissuade him from it,” Yu said heavily. “But there is one small hope. We know from our dealings with her that Da Ji does not do anything in secret – she will want these executions to be public. She means to make an example out of both of them. That means she will have to move your father out into the open, and bring them together.”

Sun Ce’s eyes widened. “…you’re right!”

“Our chance will come,” Lu Meng assured. “What we need is someone keeping a near constant eye on Da Ji, wherever she’s holed up, so that we can move in when the time is ripe.”

“I think I know just the man.” Ce turned back to Zhou Tai, his eyes and his tone softening. “It must have been hard, to leave him behind.”

Tai finally raised his head and met his lord’s gaze. “No more difficult than you having to leave your father.”

Ce tipped his head to acknowledge that point, and wisely did not call attention to the fact that his perspective on that incident had changed. No reason to make him feel even worse than he likely already did. “You certainly are loyal…I’ve always been grateful for that, you know. The fact that you’re here means you know what has to be done.” He extended a hand, palm up in welcome. “Fight with me, Zhou Tai. We’ll save him together.”

Tai looked at the hand, and then placed his in it in consent. “I wish for nothing else.”

They clasped one another’s wrists in solidarity, and then Tai followed it up with a proper bow, as deep as he could with his back stiff from strain and injury. Sun Ce slapped a hand to one shoulder each of his two tacticians, and then turned to find Sakon still waiting in the doorway, silently watching with his arms folded. “Right, let’s get to the table before everyone starts wondering. I bet they’re hungry.”

He let the others go first, now that Zhou Tai was one of them and allowed to accompany them as a true officer, but Shima remained leaning where he was until the Wu prince came abreast of him. “Want me to call the ninja?” he murmured.

“If you could, please,” Ce replied. “And stop reading my mind, Sakon.”

Sakon let out a quick gust of a laugh and smacked him in the shoulder as he turned to go and find Hattori. His mission could wait, but as long as he was apprised of the fact that Sun Ce would want a word with him after the meal was over, that was all they needed. It wasn’t quite the feast that they had enjoyed when their army united less than a week before, but it was still a celebration of victory, and what was left of the wine in their stores was quickly drained. It wasn’t enough to get anyone drunk, but they had had a long, hard day and several were feeling the exhaustion and their minor hurts without needing wine to exacerbate it. Their lord barely imbibed, he let the rest of his men have the tiger’s share of the drink to reward them for a job well done defending their new stronghold. He had a lot on his mind, and didn’t feel at all like drinking now that he knew what his brother was suffering through. Things had certainly shifted; once he was the one in pain, lost and afraid, while Quan was the one with all the strength, the army, the assets, the confidence. Ce didn’t take joy that the tables had turned, not while his family lay under threat. He did his best to stay cheery enough through dinner, but at his first chance to safely slip away, he excused himself and went up to one of the top floors of the tower to look out over Hefei. Night had fallen, the moon was high, and the barren territory stretched out before him, quiet and serene. It was impossible to tell that a battle had taken place here earlier that day. He was not surprised to hear the soft step on the stone behind him, and turned to lean on the battlement. Hattori strode up smoothly, all business. “You asked for me, Lord Sun Ce?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a pretty tough mission, if you’re up for it.” Ce brought his arms up to cross over his chest, his posture strangely casual for the seriousness of the meeting. “It’ll be hard and lonely, you’d have to go by yourself, but it could mean the difference between life and death for my brother and father. What do you say?”

Hanzo needed no time at all to think. “Name it.”

Ce stared down at the flagstones of the parapet before explaining. “Orochi is threatening to execute them both, now that Quan has failed to capture me. Zhou Yu believes Da Ji would do it openly, and not somewhere behind closed doors, so we have a little time. I need you to infiltrate whichever castle she’s staying at now, and make sure she can’t do it. I don’t know what you’ll find, but my family needs to stay alive at any cost, and if I can’t get there in time, someone else has to protect them. Know what I mean?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that was easy.” Sun Ce’s face was as blank as the ninja’s tone of voice. “If you can find a way to report back, get it straight to me. Zhou Yu and Lu Meng came up with the idea, so they’re okay to know, but I prefer to handle this myself.”

“Understood.” There was the slightest change in Hanzo’s eyes glittering out of the space between his helm and mask. “I will leave it to you to explain to my lord.”

“Yeah, I’ll handle Tokugawa, don’t worry.” Ce straightened up and offered him a bow of respect, fist over heart. “Thanks, Hanzo. You have no idea how important this is to me.”

“I can guess.” Hattori bowed back, and with no further word he slipped off into the shadows. He would be on the trail within the hour, tracking down the retreating Orochi forces before they could get too far away. Sun Ce breathed a long, heavy sigh and rubbed the back of his neck before heading for the stairs himself. His bed was calling, if he could manage to put the hard news out of mind long enough to fall asleep.

The Wu Resistance was not entirely correct, there were perhaps three or four other officers still available to assist Sun Quan, but that number was about to change. Though she had accompanied her brother-in-law all the way from Sekigahara, Daqiao had been left in charge of their reserve camp some distance away from Hefei. It needed to be done, to give them a place to fall back to if necessary, but she couldn’t know Quan’s mind well enough to guess whether he gave her that charge to keep her from facing her husband or because her competence was necessary in that duty. Messengers kept her apprised of the status of the battle, but it didn’t take direct information for her to see which way the momentum was turning. The first officer to return to the camp was Sun Shao, who had fled the field in panic after falling to Cheng Pu and decided it was wiser to pull all the way back to the reserve camp rather than bolster their commander. None of them knew about the order from Orochi, they could only assume that if this attacked failed, even with Maeda’s help, Sun Quan would simply regroup to try again with more and different forces. Daqiao sat listening to the report from the front line from her adopted son from another time, and then took a deep breath. “It cannot keep going on like this,” she decided. “Lord Sun Quan has lost his way, all he wants to do is fight his brother to save their father. It’s senseless and cruel.”

“Do you think he would listen to you, if you told him so?” Shao wondered.

“No. I think he’s beyond reason. Something else will have to happen to change his path.” She smoothed down her skirt and then rose. “Saddle our horses, I will get our things.”

Shao blinked. “M-my lady…?”

“If we don’t escape now, we may never get the chance,” she reasoned. “Lady Sun and Lady Ina had the excuse of being captured by my husband. If I had gone to battle, I might have had the same opportunity, but I was ordered to remain here. Perhaps Lord Sun Quan feared that exact thing.” She picked up her massive war fan from where it rested, folded, against the back of her seat. “I feel sorry for him, and I don’t wish to simply abandon him, but we have no choice. If he keeps going like this, it will mean our deaths.”

“He and the rest of our forces are between us and Hefei,” Shao warned, “it will be difficult to make it back there without being stopped.”

It was a hard thought, but Daqiao considered it bravely. “Then we will have to set out in whatever direction we can, and hope that we can make our way to Hefei eventually. Once it’s discovered that we’ve left, Lord Sun Quan would assume we’ve tried to make it there, so we should avoid it for now and return later when we can.”

“Are you sure?” Sun Shao searched her placid gaze. “We’d be leaving our lord with only Zhou Tai and Ding Feng, and a few others.”

“We must,” Daqiao insisted. “I will not watch him destroy himself and all of Wu trying to obey Da Ji – and I will not go back to her, either.” She went to the tent flap and peered out at their reserves at rest, all of the wounded from Sekigahara who were in no shape to continue to another battle. They had no idea what was happening, either in battle or in private. “I hope they forgive us, but I can’t take this any longer. If I must go into hiding in order to keep them from pursuing us and dragging us back to Da Ji, then so be it. Will you come with me, Shao?”

He looked away, but then nodded. “I will. For my father’s sake, I’ll protect you, my lady.”

“That’s good. Thank you.” She set a hand on his arm. “Quickly, then. We must be away before anyone notices. Not even the men here in the camp.”

Sun Shao turned swiftly and went to secure their horses, while she saw to their meager belongings and some provisions. They didn’t have the luxury of being able to take a troop with them, it would have to be just them, fleeing secretly before Sun Quan could ever make it back to the reserve camp. Daqiao’s assessment was correct, they needed to set out in an unknown direction, for everyone, friend and foe alike, would assume she would attempt to reach her husband. She truly did want to see him again, but they needed to stay alive. It was better for them to disappear into the wilderness first, and backtrack to Hefei later when they had a better chance. For a moment, as they walked their horses slowly and patiently into the trees, she looked back at the tents with a heavy heart. In that moment, more than any before or since, she missed her sister the most. If the strange man with the sunburst helm at Guandu was right, she was safe with Oda, but Daqiao had not yet been able to verify it. All she could do was trust and hope, but closed her eyes and lifted up a silent plea for Xiaoqiao anyway. _I wish you were here with me_ , she thought, _I feel like I would have the strength to do this if I still had you, my dear sister. Please be strong until I can see you, whether I have to go through Oda’s army or Wu’s to get there_. Without her husband or her sister to rely on, she had only her adopted son, and so looked up and gave Sun Shao a delicate but warm smile as he waited for her to finish and move on. They had far to go before nightfall, it was best if they got started.


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun and Yukimura take a detour on their journey, and end up at Honnoji. This chapter MATURE: there is naked touching!

Zhao Yun had managed to return to the way of life he had conducted back when he and Yukimura first met and became friends, traipsing across the countryside without an entire army behind him with no firm destination ever in mind, but now that he had taken complete control of the Shu Resistance of his own free will, the two spearmen could no longer go about without some kind of vanguard. No more would they travel alone like a pair of vagabonds, they had a small cadre of soldiers surrounding them at all times. It meant they also had the luxury of supplies and tents, but in payment they had to be wary of the extra time and hassle involved with encamping and decamping – to say nothing of having less privacy. And just when they had begun to accept the strong feelings binding them together, too. The deserted trails and battlefields were no place to get romantic, but now that they were certain what they wanted from one another, it felt like they couldn’t even sit close at the fire’s side or speak too casually with one another while riding, lest someone notice. At least the command tent hid them from prying eyes and ears, but they were too tired from travel to do more than curl up against one another and sleep in the protection of one another’s arms. To that end, Zhao Yun realized at least a week into their new journey that he hadn’t had a single nightmare since leaving Chengdu. Before that, even, as he bent his energy toward supporting Yukimura in his grief. They were no closer to locating Lord Liu Bei than they had been before even launching their attack on Jieting, but the subtle changes in himself and in his army, to say nothing of his bond with Yukimura, had finally shut the nightmares out of Yun’s unconscious mind for good. He didn’t complain about that development, no matter how much he wished to have some actual privacy with his comrade.

They passed through Shizugatake to make sure that the snake demons hadn’t reclaimed any of that territory after being routed, and then made for Odani to see how it was doing in Shimazu’s hands. It looked almost as if Sun Ce had never taken it, aside from the large hole in the wall of Yamada garrison which had most of their engineers stumped in terms of repairing it. The forces which had been driven away had returned with extra hands, and the village below the castle bustled with defensive preparations. They would not be caught unawares again. From there, the commander and his tiny vanguard wove their way through known territories on the hunt for any kind of news, not just of Liu Bei. They crossed the rivers at Kawanakajima and wondered why it had been abandoned after the recent Resistance victories. They climbed the mountains to Tong Gate and found the way down the other side free of Orochi raiding units. As they neared the former location of the Takeda-Uesugi camp, Zhao Yun wondered something aloud one afternoon. “Would it be wise to seek a meeting with this Oda Nobunaga ourselves?”

Yukimura shot him a quick, startled look. That idea had come out of nowhere. “For what reason? Forming an alliance, like we have with Sun Ce?”

Yun pursed his lips in thought as he rode. “Hm, no, not really. But he has won the most victories against Orochi, he has taken major strongholds and commands a large army now. If anyone has heard even a rumor we could follow, it would be him.”

“That’s true,” Yukimura mused. “If it’s anything like it was back home, his successes here are due more to his shrewdness than mere army size or strength.”

“I don’t mind meeting him, in order to share information,” Yun admitted. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

They rode side by side on a narrow trail, with sentries ranging in front and the rest of the vanguard behind them. None of their other officers were along at the moment, so they could consult one another and move as they best saw fit. Yukimura’s face clouded for a moment as he thought about all the conflicts waged between Oda, Takeda, and Uesugi in their own time. Oda had been one of few with the might and capacity to unite the warring factions of Honshu, but he died before being able to fulfill it. Now, it was his own lord dead before his time, and Oda alive to keep bulldozing across the land. “I have my reasons not to trust him,” he said after a bit, “but they’re mostly personal. What we know from Kanetsugu’s reports, as well as Magoichi’s hard work, is that he is more or less doing the same as we are – building a force out of every man willing to fight against Orochi. To that end, I can’t say that he’s wrong. If there’s any chance at all his people have picked up information that hasn’t reached us, we’d be fools to avoid him.”

“It would give us somewhere to go,” Zhao Yun added. Since coming down out of Tong Gate they had been roaming rather aimlessly, criss-crossing back and forth now that the open lands were free of Orochi control. There were still small raiding parties here and there, but they no longer had sole possession of these territories and hurried furtively across them rather than stroll around looking for innocents to browbeat. It meant Resistance forces like theirs could take easy paths and fear little reprisal, but Yun needed a goal. It would be pointless to visit Nanzhong at the moment and places like Jieting were far out of the way from their current path, but he didn’t know where else they could stop in on and investigate. Oda was as good a choice as anything. “Do you have any guesses as to where he might be?”

“Of all the places he now occupies,” Yukimura replied, “my bet would still be on Honnoji. It was a favorite place of his, most people would go looking for him there first before trying another castle.”

“Remind me when we make camp, then,” Yun decided. “We will pull out the maps and see about turning toward Honnoji.”

That afternoon they followed the dusty, rutted road toward a watercourse, coming upon a lazy, shallow river that wound down from a rocky rise and spread out into the fields below, widening and becoming a marsh a few miles down. They could see the marshland, but decided that where they forded it, upstream, was a good place to make a camp. It was a bit early, but they had no pressing need to keep going until sunset and decided to give themselves the chance to rest and maybe wash up. Between the water and the patches of trees, mostly willows bending over the river to spy their own reflections, it was both beautiful and the perfect place to take care of a lot of camp duties. They could cut wood, fish or hunt, and clean their gear and themselves. After a little bit of exploring, someone even found a spot even further upstream where one of the many lava patches infesting Orochi’s realm intersected with the rocks to partially block the river, backing the water up into a little pool. They came back claiming it was the closest thing to a hot spring they had seen anywhere in this world, and the two officers immediately declared their intention to see for themselves and make use of it, if the rumor was true. It seemed too good to be believed, and awfully convenient, but they weren’t about to pass up the opportunity. The rest of their men had plenty to do in order to set up camp, so Zhao Yun assured them he would be well-protected with just Yukimura as his bodyguard and set out hiking upstream to find this magical spot. It wasn’t hard to locate, the lava field was fairly obvious. Fallen rocks and one toppled tree formed the partial dam to slow the water, which seemed the safest means by which to reach that dream spot – the other bank looked to be too close to the magma. Zhao Yun edged out onto the rocks and then knelt to dip his hand cautiously into the water, giving a small gasp at what he found. Yukimura was beside him instantly, afraid he had burned himself. “Is it bad?”

“No…it’s quite nice, actually,” Yun reported, drawing back his hand and flicking the water off, letting Yukimura reach down next to him to test it. “Not exactly a hot spring, more like a warm bath that’s been sitting in the sun all day.”

“Mm,” Sanada agreed, pushing himself to his feet. “Perfect.”

They made short work of stripping off armor and then folding their clothing neatly on top of it, so it wouldn’t fall in the river, but held onto their spears as they tested for good footing beneath the water. Zhao Yun stepped in first, humming contentedly at the warmth of the thigh-deep water, and propped the Dragon Spear in a cluster of rocks so he could grab it quickly if need be. While Yukimura worked his way in beside him, he reached up to untie his hair and then re-tie it higher up on his head, wrapping the length around into a haphazard bun. He felt his comrade’s eyes on him and glanced shyly at him to find him grinning. “What?”

“I will never not be amazed at the way your people can make all that long hair disappear into such a tiny knot,” Yukimura teased him. He jammed the Crimson Fang in next to its comrade and finally let go, now that he could tell the river had indeed backed up here and there was no current to pull them off their feet.

Zhao Yun laughed cutely. “It takes practice.”

He waded a little further in and then crouched to see how deep it would be if he tried to sit. The water was comfortably warm, exactly as if it had been sun-warmed, but all the way down to the bottom thanks to the nearby lava patch. The rocks under their feet were neither cold nor hot, but bare and sterile – nothing grew in the pool, not even grasses at the verge. It was a good place for a bath, indeed. Yukimura watched him, splashing his arms with the warm water. “Do you think the men will leave us be for a bit?”

“They’re good about following orders,” Yun noted. “Why?”

His friend tried not to grin and failed completely, and then rubbed at the back of his neck. “Because the only time we’ve had alone has been at night when we’re both fast asleep.”

“Ah…” Zhao Yun opened his mouth to reply as if it were a casual question about the weather and then realized what had been said, and closed it again with a shy smile. Only then did he notice that where he sat on the submerged rocks afforded him an eye-level view of Yukimura’s muscular, naked ass. He tore his gaze away quickly so as not to be caught staring, but now the thought was in his head and there was no way to banish it. As if to make matters worse, Yukimura turned straight toward him. “Hm. I suppose you’re right,” Yun said lamely, dropping his eyes to the river’s surface to keep from noticing rivulets of water tracing paths down firm muscles. “But then, those times are good, too.”

“They are…” For a moment Yukimura was rather confused by his shyness, it took a bit for him to catch on to just how much of himself showed above the waterline. Laughing sheepishly, he sank down into the water and swam lazily over to sit beside Zhao Yun, seeing that he’d found a good perch. “I’m sorry, I was being immodest.”

“No,” Yun assured him, smiling for him as they rested beside one another in the blissful waters, “I wouldn’t call it that. Immodest would have been if I didn’t want to see it.”

It was Yukimura’s turn to go shy and look away, laughing again. “It’s okay, then?”

“Yes, it’s fine.” Yun leaned over and nudged him with his shoulder, and when Yukimura looked his way, rewarded him with a brief kiss. “You’re right, though,” he said once his mission was accomplished and his comrade smiled genuinely for him. “We’ve been patient enough until now. You always remind me not to push away my own happiness, and right now you _are_ my happiness.”

“Zilong…” Such sweet words took Yukimura’s breath away. He searched his companion’s gentle eyes and then rushed in to kiss him much harder, abandoning any sense of restraint. Wet hands pressed against his stomach to brace him, keeping him from tackling them both over into the water, but aside from that Yun did not push him off or deny him this chance. In fact, he found the leverage to wrap an arm around Yukimura’s waist and still keep them sitting comfortably on that ledge in the shallow water, so they could ravage one another’s lips for as long as they could stand it. He felt the tickle of water running along his neck, and snuck a peek from beneath long eyelashes to see Yukimura lifting a hand out of the water to cup his cheek and draw him in closer. The warm trickle teased his skin and made him moan softly into the kiss without breaking it, and Yun pressed his eyes closed tightly to savor all the sensations: heat and sunlight, the soft splash of water as they writhed against each other, the delicious musk of Yukimura’s mouth and all the little yearning noises he was making. He wanted to remember everything about this moment, to carry him through the dark times likely to lay ahead in their journey. Everything was so good, it was easy to get carried away and simply sit there in the becalmed river making out for what seemed like hours. The hand on Yun’s face slid down his neck and over his chest, as if deliberately feeling out every muscle and plane of his body, and then dove back down beneath the water to wrap around him and pull him closer. In doing so, it missed its direct path and glanced across his groin and hip, and the touch made Zhao Yun gasp hard enough to break them apart. His eyes snapped open, startled, and found Yukimura likewise wide-eyed in embarrassment – he knew full well what he just touched. They held for a moment, and then Yun began to chuckle, his gaze softening. Yukimura followed him into laughter, and they both wilted against one another. “Sorry,” the young samurai breathed.

“It’s all right.” It wasn’t Yukimura’s fault that he’d gotten hard, after all, Zhao Yun wanted to assure him. He moved a hand up to curl around Yukimura’s neck and brushed wet fingertips along his flushed skin. “Really. I just…”

“I didn’t mean to,” Yukimura insisted, tipping his head down to avoid Yun’s eyes but getting a good long, lingering look at his throat and chest instead. The view made his heart race all over again, and he caught his breath in a stifled groan.

“Yukimura,” Yun laughed, “it’s fine. It’s fine,” he repeated more softly, and brushed his thumb along his comrade’s jawline. “I suppose I can’t hide from you, now, how you make me feel.”

The thought that he was responsible for such a thing made Yukimura blush rather fiercely himself, but also smile coyly. His tongue peeked out to test his lips, as if seeking the lingering taste of Yun’s mouth, and then he dared to let his hand drift back across Yun’s hip to his thigh. “What,” he murmured, “should we do about it…?”

Watching him lick his lips made Yun want to kiss him all over again. But that was an important question, he couldn’t let it go unanswered. He could not deny to himself that he wanted to go along with it, to throw caution to the wind and let come what may, but this was neither the time nor the place for it. He groaned in complaint and pressed his forehead against Yukimura’s. “I do want you,” he assured, “but we shouldn’t. Not right now.” He giggled shyly again, and added, “and if you keep kissing me like that it will only make it worse.”

Yukimura made a similar noise of protest. “But I don’t want to stop. I finally have you alone, and…” He huffed and leaned back just enough to look suggestively down at his own lap. “…and you aren’t the only one who feels that way.”

“I…oh.” Zhao Yun bit his lip, mainly to keep from bursting out into a foolish grin. They were both in quite the predicament of their own making, and he couldn’t deny the boost to his esteem to know that Yukimura wanted him just the same. Easing it without actually making love would involve letting go of one another, something he found incredibly difficult to do. “I don’t want to stop, either,” he admitted, “but this isn’t a good place. We’re in the open, unguarded…”

Yukimura lifted his head to look around, as if he had forgotten where they were. “You’re right,” he said in disappointment, “I know.”

For a long moment neither of them moved, though, except to run their hands down each other’s necks and chests, but when he knew he couldn’t stand it any longer, Zhao Yun forced himself to sit up and push back, though not without one last stolen kiss. Even though the water was warm, it felt cooler than his flushed face and neck, so he cupped his hands and splashed it over him, hoping to snap himself out of it. Yukimura had to pull away as well, disentangling his limbs and waving a hand to fan himself. At least he wasn’t so hard as to be painful, but it would probably take a while for it to ease itself down. Zhao Yun looking at him with water dripping from the fringe of hair that framed his elegant face really did not help at all. “You are amazing,” Yun murmured. “I promise, someday I will give you all of myself – I want to, I really do. Just…now is not a good time.”

Yukimura forced himself to look away, pretending to admire the landscape, and pushed both hands down under the water to grip at the rocks to keep them from wandering. “No, I understand,” he responded. “I want you, too. I want to show you how much I love you, and be with you.” A smile found its way back to his lips. “I know we won’t have a lot of chances even to simply be alone together, let alone…” He tipped his head shyly, letting his companion fill in the rest of that sentence himself. 

“I know,” Yun sighed, “but that is the way of things for us right now. We can keep each other’s company, but anything more will have to wait. Besides…” His voice dropped with that word, a change in tone which made Yukimura look back toward him. “You may scold me for this, but I feel like I don’t have the right to let myself get consumed with pleasure while my lord is still in danger. I wish to wait…for the mission, and for you.”

Yukimura shook his head slowly. “I won’t scold you. As much as I wish it would be otherwise, I understand. As long as I know how you feel about me, I can be patient. I should also not get so carried away…”

“It’s all right if you get a _little_ carried away,” Yun said cutely, picking up his head and giving his comrade a bashful smile, which was reflected back at him. He held Yukimura’s gaze for a moment and then leaned back over to give him a small kiss near the corner of his mouth. “I also want to give you my best,” he whispered. “Not some hasty fumbling in a tent all while we fear someone walking in on us. You deserve better.”

“I guess I can’t really say no to that idea.” Yukimura snatched another kiss for himself and settled back down, his shoulders finally relaxing. “It sounds almost romantic. I like that.”

Yun laughed under his breath. He never would have considered himself a romantic, but it did sound that way, now that he thought about it. He really did want to give himself under the best conditions, somewhere nice and quiet, private, with a soft bed and all the time in the world to indulge one another with no interruptions. A situation like that wasn’t likely to arise until they were back at Chengdu, but even then, Zilong accepted his own burden, genuinely denying himself that kind of pleasure until he had fulfilled his mission. Preserving his happiness and morale was one thing, but fooling around while his lord could be under dire circumstances, tortured, near death? He couldn’t. He took a few deep breaths, feeling the adrenaline starting to ebb though it would be a bit before his body completely followed. “Then, we’ll wait. Our time will come, I’m sure.”

Yukimura gave him a single nod to agree. They weren’t prepared to go back to camp just yet, both needed some time to calm down, and there was no reason to get out of the warm water just yet. It was a fine afternoon, the river on the other side of the logs which formed the dam burbled and chattered merrily over the stones, and waterfowl piped from the reeds on the farthest side. The sun was hot on their faces but a cool wind blew now and then, ruffling their hair and balancing everything into perfection. Until they could both reach a state where it was safe to get up and get dressed, they were content to sit together in the warm pool and enjoy what they had. If their men managed to get the camp fully set up and equipped before they got back, even better. Commanders needed to relax once in a while, after all, because tomorrow could mean riding at the head of the front line in a battle and risking certain death to protect those behind them. One day of letting someone else raise the camp wouldn’t hurt.

Upon consulting their maps and reconnaissance, they discovered that they were not far from Honnoji after all, making a change in course simple and fortuitous. It was still a few days away, but travel was easy and their small vanguard moved quickly. The temple compound was nestled neatly in the midst of thick forests rather than the city of Kyoto where it belonged, though a broad road led toward it, showing evidence that Oda’s forces had marched to and from the location often enough to pack down the dirt and widen the lane from their presence alone. Yukimura recognized it as soon as they came around a bend and saw the shingled rooftops through the bamboo trees, and gladly led the way through to the broad streets and neat, trimmed gardens of Honnoji. They expected to be noticed right away, and no sooner had the horsemen at the fore stepped through a gate into the compound when soldiers materialized from right and left to confront them and bar their access. One of them started, though, and lowered his sword immediately. “Lord Zhao Yun! Is it really you?”

Zhao Yun smiled; he might not have known the name of every rank-and-file soldier who had ever fought for the Shu army, past or present, but he knew the man’s clothing and the device on his blade. This was one of their own, far from home. “It is indeed. Forgive us for arriving unannounced, but I would like to know if the man known as Oda Nobunaga is here.”

Seeing their fellow guard stand down, the others followed suit, bowing in whatever fashion they were most used to from their own homelands. “As a matter of fact, he is, my lord,” the Shu warrior replied. “He arrived some days ago.”

“What luck,” Yukimura remarked with a smile.

“Indeed.” Zhao Yun nodded to the man. “Please inform him that Zhao Yun of Shu and Sanada Yukimura would request an audience with him, at his leisure. We will wait here.”

The formal request was brought immediately to Nobunaga where he lounged, taking his ease on the veranda just outside the main shoin. He raised an eyebrow in keen interest, but he wasn’t the first to move. Before he could even nod and return the message to permit the visitors into Honnoji, Ma Chao burst from his spot and leaped straight down the steps, running at top speed all the way across the compound. He and his cousin were there to relieve other officers of their duty maintaining the place, having been sent ahead of Nobunaga to make it secure for his arrival, but now that the commander was in residence there wasn’t much for the Ma men to do but try to relax as well. It meant they were there for this unexpected visit, and Ma Dai joined his cousin as soon as someone told him the reason Chao was running pell-mell through the side-streets toward the north gate. Chao was still ahead and skidded around a corner to see the waiting horsemen for himself, and let out a cry at the sight. “Zilong!”

Zhao Yun’s head turned sharply, hearing his style name shouted with such passion, and he broke into a delighted grin to see who it was. He swung down out of the saddle just in time to be tackled in a crushing embrace. “Mengqi!” he laughed into Ma Chao’s shoulder, clapping him on the back. “I had heard you might be here!”

“It’s really you!” Ma Dai crowed as he, too, came into the square and found this happy development. He trotted over to join them, though his cousin still hadn’t let go of their comrade, so all he could do was bow and then salute Yukimura as he watched in amusement. “And you brought friends!”

Ma Chao pulled back just enough to put his hands on Zhao Yun’s shoulders and give him a good, long, searching look. His face had lost all its usual sternness, he wore an expression of pure relief and astonishment to see his old friend alive and well – and maybe there were even tears in the corners of his eyes. “My friend,” he gasped, still out of breath, “I have longed to see you again, ever since Lord Kanetsugu told me you were alive…”

“And I you,” Yun beamed, patting a hand to Chao’s strong jaw. “I’m glad to see you. All is well, I hope?”

“Well enough,” Ma Chao acknowledged, trying to take deeper breaths to calm down.

“Easy, young master,” Ma Dai encouraged, stepping in and patting his shoulder, “don’t give yourself a heart attack out of joy.”

“Ma Dai,” Zhao Yun said cheerily. “It’s good to see you, too.”

He extracted himself enough to offer a hand for Dai to clasp in welcome. “You’re looking quite well yourself, Lord Zilong. Just decided to drop in on us, here, or did you know we were here?”

“I knew Lord Oda had you in his service,” Yun answered, “but no, we had no idea if he or anyone else in particular would be here. We were passing nearby and took a chance.”

“How fortunate,” Chao said with another sigh of relief. “Lord Oda is here, yes, and you are welcome. Please…”

“I expect that’s what the messengers are here to tell us,” Yukimura broke in with a small laugh, indicating the soldiers standing just off to the side, shuffling awkwardly.

“Oh my. Then, perhaps we should not keep them waiting,” Yun remarked.

Chao slapped a hand to his shoulder pauldron and used it to guide him. “Allow us to escort you, my friend. You,” he added to one of the guards, “see to it their men are quartered, per Lord Oda’s orders.”

The guards hustled to do so, while Yukimura dismounted and took up his spear to walk with the men of Shu. It was a bit of a walk back to the temple where the commander could be found, so the Ma cousins passed the time trading introductions and chattering about the bonds that laced the two factions of the Resistance together more tightly than they thought. They only touched briefly on the disappearance of Kanetsugu, so as not to bring the mood down too far, and spoke more of the current state of things in Chengdu. There was a lot to share, and they hadn’t even gotten to half of it by the time they reached Nobunaga’s quarters at the back of the complex. As they approached, more men of Shu tumbled out of an open doorway and ran to them, though Guan Ping managed to come to a stop and palm his fist over his heart before accepting an arm-clasp from Zhao Yun. “Why, everyone is here!” he exclaimed, his eyes going from Ping to Suo on the steps with his arm in a sling. “My dearest friends!”

“Not everyone,” Ping chuckled. “Master Huang Zhong is holding another of Lord Oda’s territories. We will be glad to send him word with all the news you can tell us of home, though.”

“There will be time enough for that later,” Chao assured. “Lord Zilong has requested audience with Lord Oda, we shouldn’t delay.”

The others stepped aside as Ma Chao brought their two visitors into the temple and through to where he knew Oda to be, and emerged into the shoin where the shoji screens had all been thrown wide open to catch the summer breeze. Nobunaga stood waiting with hands clasped behind his back, his back to the door while he gazed out on the sunlit courtyard beyond. He was out of armor, but still resplendent in sharp, black kimono, purple surcoat, and feathered cloak. He heard them coming, though he only glanced slightly over his shoulder until after Ma Chao had stopped, bowed, and presented his companions. “Lord Oda, I bring you Lord Zhao Yun, my countryman, and his comrade Sanada Yukimura.” He straightened up, throwing his shoulders back. “Forgive me if we kept you waiting. It is my fault.”

“Think nothing of it, Ma Chao,” Nobunaga said lazily, finally turning around to greet them. Yukimura immediately bowed out of instinct. “I assume you were merely glad to see your friend, I don’t begrudge you.”

“Yes, my lord…”

“Call an attendant to provide refreshments for our guests,” Oda went on. “I will turn them over to you when we’re finished.” He waited for Chao to depart before regarding them both, though his attention shifted to Yukumira. “I presume it was you who guessed where to find me, young Sanada?”

“Forgive our intrusion, Lord Nobunaga,” Yukimura said with uncommon restraint, lowering his head again. “Lord Zhao Yun is abroad searching for any news of his lord, and we were nearby.”

Oda raised a hand to assure him that it was no intrusion. “So I’ve heard. Perhaps it is time that we met.” His gaze shifted to Zhao Yun, then, who didn’t know whether or not to bow. “Sooner or later, it would have happened. We might as well take advantage of the opportunity while we have it. Unfortunately, I must be honest before we begin: I don’t have any information on Lord Liu Bei.”

Yun steeled his face not to react, though it was extremely difficult. His eyes dropped for only a moment before he raised them to meet the dark gaze across from him. “I thank you for your honesty, Lord Oda. Perhaps you’re right, though – as leaders of the Resistance, we should speak.”

Nobunaga inclined his head in acceptance and held out a hand to invite them to sit with him. There were no chairs, but zabuton cushions had been laid out near the open wall for anyone to lounge within view of the beauty of the gardens. “You may leave your spears at the door. Honnoji is, in my hands, a place of rest and refuge. No battle has been seen here since I drove Da Ji from hiding.”

Zhao Yun looked to Yukimura to take the lead on etiquette, resting his Dragon Spear against the door frame. Yukimura did the same with the Crimson Fang and then strode across, taking a position with his back to the temple alcove and sinking to his knees. Yun settled beside him, finding that they were now facing Nobunaga where he sat. The summoned attendant slipped in quietly to leave a tray with tea and sake and then wisely disappeared so the commanders of their respective armies could conference in private. Oda took it upon himself to pour three cups of sake, not bothering with the tea, and offered two to his guests. Once they had all taken a sip, he began the proceedings with a cool smile. “I have heard quite a bit about you, Zhao Yun. It seems you are quite the wanted man.”

Yun lowered his cup and cradled it in both hands. “If you mean by the Orochi army, then yes, I have heard the same. I am not sure what I’ve done to earn the serpent’s wrath, aside from protect my people. It’s not as though I’ve captured Orochi strongholds as you have done.”

“Except Jieting,” Yukimura reminded him.

Oda’s smile remained fixed in place as he sipped at his sake. “It is hardly a competition, how many castles of what size have been taken by whom. What’s important is that you’ve done your part to prevent Orochi from gaining ground. You are leader of your own resistance cell, and one of Da Ji’s hated enemies, alongside myself and the Little Conqueror. Clearly, whatever you’re doing is working, so do not dismiss it.”

“Maybe so.” Yun contemplated mentioning his alliance with Sun Ce, but decided against it. “Yet, my main goal is to find my lord, and even now I’ve left the bulk of our army at Chengdu in order to search for any information about him. I know you have none, but you clearly have had more success against Orochi than we have. I will gladly tell you of the doings of Shu if in turn you can give me any sort of advice on where else to search. Our journey has taken us all across this land, and yet there is nothing – nothing but the failing memory of a nobleman of the Han who is more concerned about his status than rumors of my lord’s whereabouts.”

Oda twitched an eyebrow in interest. The way that was phrased had him curious already. “Of course, Lord Zhao Yun,” he said smoothly. “My army has access to a lot of information. I would be pleased to trade you some. Certainly, my strategists will be quite interested to hear what’s been going on out in the direction of Chengdu.”

“We have been more places than just the west,” Yukimura informed him. “We have fought Sima Yi in Nanzhong and sailed with Chosokabe along the shores of the world where it meets the sea. We have climbed through Hulao Gate and briefly had Date Masamune as our prisoner. There is much we can tell you, but I warn you, Lord Oda – it comes at a price. If we cannot leave here with a new destination in mind, then even stopping to visit is for naught.”

Nobunaga regarded him for a long moment. “If you think I would withhold information, Yukimura,” he cautioned, “I would merely answer that this is not our world. The time for being coy and hoarding advantages is long past. We are all Resistance, even on our own, so we must stop treating one another with suspicion and turn our enmity to Orochi alone. There is no benefit to any of us in keeping our silence.” He sipped again and then set his cup down, almost compelling Yukimura to refill it for him out of politeness. “I will withhold nothing. In fact, if you wish, I will even tell you of the agreement between myself and your lord, something few people know about.”

Yukimura nearly dropped the sake bottle at that. His gloved hand tightened on it, and he forced himself to set it down and sit back to look squarely at the warlord. “What is this, now?”

“You know what happened at Nagashino, then.”

“Yes. Messengers reached my brother at Chengdu, and he told me.”

Oda nodded. “Good. Yet, only a few in my army were present when we made our agreement, so many outside it only know of the battle, not the reason.” He took up his cup again but refrained from drinking, gazing down into the clear sake. “Shingen and Kenshin agreed to wage that battle as decoys. They drew the Orochi army away from Guandu so that I could take it. When we prepared this strategy, they knew full well that the outcome would be uncertain, so the sacrifice was made willingly.”

The young samurai’s face went tight as he fought against grief, but he only bowed his head. “That is something my lord would do,” he acknowledged.

“I do not take pleasure in their deaths.” Nobunaga’s face went stony and harsh, as if he were facing a foe. “Their strength and wisdom is needed, and we will miss it if Orochi rises again and brings the battle to us before we’re ready. Yet, I swear to you, Sanada Yukimura, that they rode into that battle with heads held high, accepting whatever fate dealt them. You may ask Ma Chao about it, I sent him to their aid so he could make sure the alliance was not completely routed.”

As heavy as this news was, it was exactly what Yukimura had been yearning to hear – he wanted to know how it happened, and why. This explanation was a good start, and he would certainly be talking to Ma Chao later. “I understand, my lord,” he murmured. “Then, by all means. We will do what we can.”

“I am not greedy for information,” Oda went on, the breeziness returning to his tone. “As a token of faith, I will let you ask me and my people anything you want, and fill up on their wisdom to your heart’s content. Then, if you deem it worthy enough, you may share in turn.”

“That is generous of you,” Zhao Yun noted. “Perhaps it may not come to that, and we can come to a mutual agreement.”

Nobunaga gave him a slow nod. “Will you be interested in taking your countrymen back with you?”

That was a far more difficult question to answer. Yun stared at the cup in his hands and the half-drunk sake shimmering with sunlight from outside. “I have missed them greatly,” he admitted, “but I did not come here with the intention of taking anyone from you. I will leave the decision with them. As you say, we are all Resistance, so in a sense it makes no difference whether I command them or you do.”

“Fair enough.” Oda raised his cup to them. “In the meantime, you are welcome to take ease here for a few days. I am biding my time until I hear a few things, myself, while my army is mostly abroad. I even sent Hideyoshi back to Guandu, so right now there is only a handful of officers here with me – mostly your countrymen. I’m sure they would like to spend some time with you.”

“Thank you,” Yun said patiently with a bit of a bow. He was starting to get the hang of diplomacy, a little. “We will not overstay our welcome. I must continue my search, and any information you can impart toward that end will be more than we have right now.”

They didn’t have much else to speak about or agree to, so after finishing their drinks, the attendant was called back to settle them into a guest room, and then the pair had the freedom to explore and find the other men of Shu. As eager as Zhao Yun was to get business out of the way, he figured he wouldn’t be able to concentrate until he had his fill of his comrades’ presence. There was so much to tell them, and so much he wanted to know. They were not far away, all sitting together on the veranda of the same building which held the guest house. On all sides of the gardens and courtyards, shoji were pushed far aside to leave the rooms open to the wind to cool them naturally, extending the space to the edge of the veranda where the officers were sitting with their feet hanging over the side. They almost sprang up in excitement when Zhao Yun came among them, but he waved them all down and flopped right down in their midst, eager to just be with them. Yukimura sat just inside with his back against a pillar, smiling softly to himself to watch them all. One of the first things Yun wanted to know was why Guan Suo was sporting an obvious injury, meaning they had to first tell him about Suo’s unwilling servitude among the Orochi army at Zhuge Liang’s command. He didn’t want to say much about it when they were supposed to be sharing good news, but he did acknowledge that his brother dealt him the blow that led to his capture and subsequent liberation from Orochi. “It’s actually feeling a lot better,” he assured, “but I’m keeping it wrapped to rest it. It’ll be hard to fight if it’s still sore.”

“That’s true,” Yun said. “I am glad that you’re free, at least, and of all people you managed to fall in with your brother. Which reminds me – both of you. Guan Xing is safe.”

Both Guan brothers sat up sharply and almost tumbled over each other in their eagerness. “He is? That’s great!” Ping cried. “What happened, how do you know?”

“He apparently found his way to Lord Liu Shan, sometime after the fall of Chengdu,” Yun explained. “Him and your youngest sister, both. They remained holed up in secret for a long time, but they’ve made their way back to Chengdu at long last, they arrived just before we left.” He smiled at Ping. “I was able to tell him that I’d heard you were with Oda, but I’m sure he will be even happier to know that Suo is safe now, too. Zhang Bao fretted long about the lot of you, he’ll be so glad to know you’re all doing well.”

“Yes, please tell him we’re fine,” Ping said. “And Xingcai, too.”

“We missed you by just a few days, at Lord Takeda’s camp,” Ma Chao remembered. “Lord Kanetsugu told us so much about you – that Jiang Wei was with you, and Lady Yueying and the others were all fine. I was so relieved, but it’s even better to see you for myself.”

Yun gladly listed off all the officers that had returned to the Shu contingent, whether on their own or after capture, and even told them some of Yukimura and his brother, and the others who had joined them from other kingdoms and time periods. When he finally ran out of names, Ma Dai laughed a little. “Between you and Lord Oda, it seems our people are well cared for. This is such wonderful news.”

“There are only a few still left in Orochi’s control,” Suo said, his tone much more dark and pessimistic. “But it’s not about how many, it’s who.”

“We will deal with them when the time comes,” Yun vowed. “For now, let us speak of more pleasant things. I wish to know all about your travels and the things you’ve seen. Let us set aside grief and fear and talk about victory and strength.”

Between Ma Chao’s exploits at Kawanakajima, their army’s collective adventures in taking Guandu, and Ping’s rise to prominence through his feats at Tong Gate and Odawara, they had plenty of good things to tell him. In turn, Zhao Yun whiled away the afternoon simply mapping out his travels, though he went into as much detail as they demanded about Hulao and Jieting, which made for spectacular stories. Yukimura helped him with additional reminders here and there, so that by the time they were called for dinner, the men of Shu considered themselves sufficiently caught up with one another. They retired to the dining hall in one big, enthusiastic group, and enjoyed the benefit of a small feast alongside Lord Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, and Kanbei. For now, the leaders of the Oda Resistance did not press for those same tales or any other information, talk was cultured and small and only tangentially touched on the doings of war. True consultation, and the swapping of information, would happen on the morrow after everyone had a good long rest. Once the sun went down, the garden lanterns and lamps under the eaves of the temple buildings were lit, and many of the officers sat out on the veranda of the guest house indulging in even more war stories until one by one they trickled away to bed. Even Yukimura excused himself, after securing a promise from Ma Chao to take the time the next day to talk privately about Nagashino. His departure left Zhao Yun alone with Ma Chao to spend the rest of the evening as they wanted. There wasn’t much breeze now, but it was cooler and dry, and as the temperature dropped, even the cicadas stopped singing and went to bed. Mengqi glanced over his shoulder to be sure the other man was no longer in earshot before turning the topic to him. “He seems like a good man,” he remarked. “Honorable and kind. I like him.”

Yun breathed a contented sigh. “He is. Yukimura and I have become the closest of friends. I would not be able to do this without him.” His expression sobered a bit, as he dropped his gaze to his hands in his lap. “Whenever I feel like I can’t take another step, or I have nowhere else to turn, he is there, picking me up from the depths of despair. He supports me in my mission, but he also reminds me not to overwork myself and helps me to remember that there is a whole army at my back, looking to me to command them so they can support me as well.”

Chao glanced at him with a small smile. “Such high praise. I know you to be an excellent judge of character, my friend, so any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

Yun smiled back. “I hope that goes for Sun Ce as well, then.”

Chao scuffed a hand sheepishly through his spiky blond hair. He had been told of the secret alliance earlier, but they hadn’t touched further upon his past anger at the lord of Wu. “I suppose if he has vowed to help you free Lord Liu Bei, I cannot speak a single word against him. But I reserve my judgment for the next time we meet.”

“I don’t blame you,” Yun assured. “If our lord’s brothers are being forced to fight for Orochi the same as Sun Ce and his siblings were, we will come against the same situation. How much blame can we lay on them? What does it take to atone for such a thing?”

Ma Chao was only glad that he had not been at Tong Gate when the brothers appeared. “I can’t answer that right now,” he said heavily. “I want to believe that a man of honor would not stoop to being blackmailed into slavery, but I can’t know their hearts. This world has turned everything on its head, including the expectations of a man of justice. I can’t simply demand recompense and punishment for what they’ve done and continue to do, yet we are here and they are there – why can they not be here with us?”

Zhao Yun thought of the cryptic words spoken to him by Zhuge Liang at their last meeting and shook his head slowly. “I wish I understood. For now, all we can do is steel our hearts to endure. The day will come when we will know.”

“I only hope such confessions are not made on a dying breath,” Chao said worriedly. He shook it off, raising his head and taking a deep breath of the cool evening air. “No, we should not think like that. You’re right, Zilong, we must live on hope. Hope, and the faith in our friends.”

Being as Ma Chao was the senior officer among those in Shu currently at Honnoji with Oda, he had every right to make decisions for the others on a military matter. Zhao Yun figured now was as good a time as any to bring up such a matter while the two of them were alone. “What are your feelings on Lord Oda, my friend? Do you like serving under him?”

Chao shrugged. “It is what it is. He is not a monster, whatever his enemies say. Yet, he is also nothing at all like our lord – benevolence is something he likely has never thought about, and many of his good deeds come about as accidental benefits of other goals. I can say that I respect him, and so long as Orochi still sits in reign over us, I trust Lord Oda to find a way to topple him.” He looked straight at his comrade. “Why do you ask?”

Yun decided to be straightforward. “He asked if I had intentions of taking the lot of you with me when I continue on. I said I would leave it to you.”

“…ah.” Chao looked away as if thinking, and then back at him. “Do you want us to go with you?”

Yun’s lips twisted in an uncertain pout. “I wish for everyone to return home, sooner or later. But I also wish for us to have a safe home to return to. So long as Orochi remains, nothing is certain, and so we must keep fighting no matter which army we’re a part of.” He likewise looked back to Ma Chao, smiling warmly. It was so good to see him, that stern, strong jaw and those fierce eyes contrasted to his youthful, tousled blond hair. He looked so much younger and gentler without the dragon helm and his stout armor. “I miss you, both your company and your spear, but I wish for you to fight as you best see fit. If that is not at my side, I will gladly accept it, for I know you know your own strength best. It’s not as though you will never return to Chengdu, after all.”

Ma Chao pressed a hand to his chest as if to hold those wishes in his heart, and silently prayed that Yun’s words did not jinx his fate. Death was a surefire way never to return to Chengdu – real death, and not the kind feigned by their allies. After a moment he lowered his hand, and set both on his knees. “And I wish to help you find our lord,” he admitted, “but to that end I am nothing more than another spear in your formation, right now. I know nothing of value and have nothing to offer but my strength. I would be no more than an interchangeable officer in your army.”

“Such strength is not nothing,” Yun reminded.

“Thank you,” Mengqi smiled, “but such flattery isn’t necessary, Zilong. You know what I mean.”

“I do,” Zhao Yun nodded. “What about the others, do you think any of them would prefer to leave Lord Oda?”

“Doubtful. Ma Dai will never leave my side, you know that. Guan Ping mentioned that when our officers were captured at Odawara, Lord Oda gave them the option of riding to Chengdu to join your army – and they remained with us. Chen Shi is with Master Huang Zhong, and Guan Suo with us.” Chao offered him a sly smirk. “It isn’t that we don’t love you, Zilong.”

Yun laughed openly. “I wasn’t worried! By all means. If you feel you would be better use here, I will make no demands. We shall simply keep your quarters at Luo Castle ready for you for when the war is over.”

“Now that, I can agree to!” Chao was bright and bold for a moment, but then it faded. “No, I must stay. There are…certain secrets, which Lord Oda has entrusted to me and my cousin. As long as we are held to them, I will not depart. The man has placed his trust in me, and I will not erode it by chasing my own personal desires.”

Zhao Yun found that very interesting, but knew not to pry. The fact that the Ma cousins had been sent to secure Honnoji for the commander’s use spoke of his high degree of faith in them. They were no mere underlings, or interchangeable officers, he gave them important missions and command decisions. “I will consider the matter closed, then,” he decided, “but I will mention it to the others tomorrow, just so they know I’m thinking about them. Even if Yukimura and I ride away with no new companions, we should make sure none of the others think I’m deliberately abandoning them.”

“I understand,” Mengqi said with a nod. “You have much to consider, besides our friendships. At any rate, you seem to be doing quite well with the men you have, both our own and the ones from Wa.” His smile returned. “Are they as entertaining as the ones in Lord Oda’s service? It is a shame you’ve only met the quiet, stoic ones today. Lord Hideyoshi and Lord Toshiie are elsewhere right now.”

Zhao Yun had no problem with the quiet, stoic ones, he found them respectable, but the way Chao posed the query, he could only guess at just how entertaining these other lords could be. “They are all different, but no less worthy,” he replied. “Magoichi is as different from Yukimura as Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are from one another, yet I count them both as good friends and both are extremely powerful warriors in their own right. The same can be said for all of them – Lady Ginchiyo, Shimazu, Sanada Nobuyuki. And, I look forward to actually being able to fight alongside your kinsman.”

Ma Chao’s smile turned soft and wistful. Knowing that Pang De was among his fellow men of Shu was actually something of a relief. “Treat him as you would treat me, Zilong. Our differences are what they are, I don’t wish to let them poison a valuable alliance.”

Yun could not say he knew everything about the massacre at Xiliang and how Pang De ended up on the side of Wei in the end, but he accepted Chao’s wish with a demure nod. “He is every bit as honorable as you, Mengqi. I will do both him and you right.”

“I expect you will.” Ma Chao slid a hand over from his own knee to Yun’s and gripped it amiably, and received the same in kind. They remained sitting like that for a while, fingers occasionally squeezing or caressing the silk of their respective trousers; in the past they had looked upon one another, and perhaps flirted in the fumbling, uncertain way common to both, but never acted upon it. Their friendship had remained just that, but now, in the light of his feelings for Yukimura, Zhao Yun wondered if he had let a good thing slip through his fingers. He leaned against Ma Chao, shoulder to shoulder, and was not brushed off. Yet, for now, he pressed for no more than that, stroking fingers along his comrade’s knee as they both quieted and became distracted by the moths flitting about the garden lanterns. It was getting late, and they had a lot of business to conduct in the next day or two, but right now Zhao Yun wanted to let this moment linger as long as possible. If he was unable to bring Ma Chao or any of the others back to Chengdu until after Orochi was vanquished, he needed to cherish this time to the fullest. Everything else, even his bed laid out beside Yukimura, could wait.


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Pi makes some moves at Yiling, with the Xiahou clan in the way.

Considering he hadn’t ridden out as commander of his own army since Fan Castle, Cao Pi took a little extra time coordinating his forces and putting together the supplies and troops needed to travel and wage another campaign. He did send a short missive to Da Ji to inform her that he was moving to crush another Resistance cell that had popped up, keeping his words exact and concise so she could not read anything into them, and as a show of good faith sent her Zhang He and Guo Jia as reinforcements, though his orders to them were quite different. He gave no indication to the demon strategist that he knew of the rude way his people at Jianye had been commandeered, nor that he was also in contact with them, but he trusted the two handsome retainers to play their parts well. Fengxiao particularly, he had a lot of charming and acting to do. Once at whatever fortress Da Ji resided in, he was to make every attempt to gather their wayward officers back into their fold, and deliver letters to Zhenji. His plans were moving swiftly, and like the proverbial avalanche he had mentioned to Ishida, they were already cascading at a speed he could not outrun. A lot rode on the success of this venture; if he were unable to beat sense into the heads of the Xiahou clan, things would be very dangerous and difficult for him going forward. As such, he brought his strongest with him in the hopes they would make short work of the battle: Xu Zhu, Xu Huang, and Zhang Liao. He also had Xu Shu to back up Ishida, though he had no delusions that Mitsunari would not be up to the task. He had, after all, assisted Da Ji in the destruction of Wei on this same battleground. At last, they set out on the long journey, timing it so that Cao Pi would be far away from home if Da Ji decided to come sniffing around to see him in person.

The great trees overhanging the paths and roads in and around Yiling were in full leaf, green and robust like the first days of summer. The grass had come back to the burned fields rather quickly, thick and lush, and the reeds lined the banks of the river with whispering ranks of their tall spears. The stone sentinel maze had become even more impenetrable, though Pang Tong had taken it upon himself to maintain the paths just enough that if they needed to use it to lure hapless soldiers in, they could. It was passable, but the undergrowth so thick and heavy that anyone blundering into it in an attempt to flank the main camp would never be able to see which path was which or even get back to where they started. In the days since returning to this sorrowful land, the Xiahou clan had ridden into nearby territory looking for anyone lost or wandering, and had amassed themselves quite a renegade army. It seemed there were plenty of homeless soldiers from all kinds of armies and past alliances who liked the idea of an independent freedom force beholden to no warlord. Word was starting to get out about them, hence the reconnaissance which had fallen into Cao Pi’s hands in the first place. The fortifications on that side of the river had been rebuilt, reinforced, and prepared for anything. The original Wei camp had been stoutly reinforced, some of its access points securely closed off for good and the rest maintained under a strict watch. Xiahou Dun was rather content with their preparations, since Pang Tong had all the strategy well in hand, and kept any grumblings about certain Resistance leaders to himself. Yuan was a bit more cautious, and though Pang Tong assured him that it didn’t matter whether it was Orochi or another resistance cell who came at them first, he still wondered from time to time just who would be the first to notice a brand new army raised in this forsaken land. His assumption was Orochi, since it didn’t seem logical for the demon lord’s army to simply abandon strongholds once conquered, but that still left the question of whether it would be someone from the same army which took it the first time, or their least favorite Wei lord. Either way, despite all their preparations and all the new men at their command to serve as sentries, the report of an army moving in across the river still surprised them one afternoon. Their camp bristled for action, but it seemed their would-be foes were in no hurry. There was movement around the charred garrison buildings early on, but then even those men pulled back and instead, tents went up farther from the riverbank, beyond where the fires had raged before. It would take some skillful scout work to go all that way and investigate just who was intruding on Yiling, without being spotted or killed for getting too close. There was one spot where a bridge remained over the river, but the Xiahou forces had no way to block or destroy it, much as they would have liked to force their enemy to approach through a single bottleneck further upstream. The fort which Date had used to set up the cannons which had quickly torn through the original Wei defense was still up there, but now a mere burned-out husk with no workable artillery. The Xiahous had seen to it that anything the Orochi army had been able to use to their advantage the first time was no longer in play, while building up their own advantages in turn. Xiahou Dun stood at the edge of the main camp, just outside the palisade, waiting with arms folded sternly for the sentries to report to him. They came running just as Xiahou Yuan joined his cousin. “It is the Orochi army,” one affirmed.

“But under Lord Cao Pi,” another corrected.

The first man rounded on him. “But I recognized that man from the other battles! The one with the war fan, he was with Orochi when we were decimated here.”

Dun gave them both a curt gesture to silence them. He didn’t doubt the one, since he had actually been with the Wei army initially, but the report of Cao Pi had him already scowling. “Cao Pi is an ally of Orochi,” he reminded them, “so both of you are correct. And as such, he is our enemy. We must cut him down for doing the serpent’s bidding.”

Yuan waved him off so he could get in on the report as well. “What are they doing, are they mustering or what?”

The second sentry shook his head. “No, sir. They’re digging in, putting up an encampment. I can’t say what it means, only what it looks like.”

“That’s fine. That’s enough for now.” Yuan turned to his cousin and punched him in the arm. “Let’s round up the officers and Pang Tong, and see what we can do.”

Dun harrumphed magnificently and turned on his heel. His instinct was to order the attack immediately, but he knew they couldn’t just run out there without any idea what they were doing. Pang Tong was their strategist for a reason, so he had better at least hear the man out before picking up a sword.

Across the river, the Wei forces under Cao Pi had arranged a neat, small camp at the crossroad, exactly where the Orochi army had camped before, and looked to be making themselves rather comfortable. A few quick scouting runs of their own revealed the bridge to their south and the burn marks on the other viable path left to them. The commander took the reports in his own tent where he sat simply resting after their long journey, though he was more interested in Ishida’s take on them, since he had been a first-hand witness here so many months ago. “Yeah, that was where Date screwed up,” he sighed, double-checking his hastily-sketched ink map. “Orochi wasn’t too happy with him, but he was a hell of a lot more pissed at his own men for cowering inside the garrisons. They’re afraid of fire.”

“Are they, now?” Cao Pi’s silky tone made it all too clear how interesting and important that tidbit of information was. “Well, we don’t have to contend with any of them right now. My army is my own, and I trust the men in it to keep their heads.”

“Not that it matters, since the cannons were destroyed along with the powder,” Mitsunari sighed. “But we have to keep an eye on that bridge. If they pull it down before we launch the attack, that means our only way across is _that_ way. Unless you plan to hang about here long enough to build a new bridge?”

“There’s no need. We will progress as planned.” Cao Pi nodded to his strategist. “Your ideas are sound. There’s no need to alter the plan at all.”

“Even the part where you take the front line yourself?”

Pi’s lips curled slyly. “Naturally.”

It wasn’t that Ishida didn’t think him capable, or worried that he would be in danger, but there was just something smug and ostentatious about the lord of Wei leading the charge instead of waiting in the camp until the final blow needed to be struck. Still, he knew the reasons. They were there to challenge the Xiahou clan’s strength, and somehow absorb them into the Wei army if it were possible. At worst, they would make it their goal to beat down this renegade army and capture the leaders, so that if Da Ji were to come spying, she would find that they had done their duty as they had reported, and put down a resistance uprising. Turning prisoners into enlisted men was just as easy as convincing them straight out, and an equally viable end goal. Mitsunari double-checked his maps and then straightened up. “Fine. All is according to plan. We make our move at nightfall, as you requested.”

It was Cao Pi’s estimation that the enemy would have a harder time following their movements in the dark, especially with so much ground on either side of the river empty and wild. There would be no light to see by, and any forces daring to move with torches would become immediate targets. Night battles were more difficult on both sides, but he seemed to know exactly what he wanted, and Ishida could see that this wouldn’t be just a normal, regular battle in which two sides tore into each other with ordered ranks and standard formations. It was all mapped out thanks to Cao Pi’s intimate knowledge of the two commanders on the other side of the river. “See to it the men are rested and have something to eat before the battle,” the young lord ordered. “I want them at full strength and wide awake for this.”

“Understood.” Mitsunari bobbed his head and ducked out of the tent, finding Xu Shu and some of the others waiting for orders. He passed along the latest missive and assured them that everything was proceeding as intended. Xu Huang looked out past their tents, then, toward the river in the distance. “To think,” he murmured, “this is where our lord met his end. And I was not here to save him.”

“Nor I,” Zhang Liao said sadly. “No matter how much Lord Cao Pi tells me not to, I cannot help but regret that I was not here.”

“Do you really think you could have made a difference?” Ishida’s tone was hard, but not snide. “It wasn’t Keiji, Date, and Sun Ce who mowed down the ranks of Wei soldiers and got into the main camp, it was Orochi himself. If anything, the humans under his thumb were the only reason _anyone_ left this battlefield alive, whether they were captured or just driven off. If not for them,” he said darkly, “Orochi would’ve killed them all, including Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan.”

“Even me?” Xu Zhu wondered, his face falling. “Oh.”

Xu Huang looked straight at him, as if only just now remembering that Zhu had been here. “Who was it that sent you into retreat, my friend?”

Zhu waved his arms to describe the size and shape of his attacker. “He was a big guy with really crazy hair.”

“Maeda Keiji,” Mitsunari explained.

“I suppose it is telling, that even the likes of Xiahou Dun and Dian Wei could be driven into retreat but keep their lives at the whim of their foes,” Liao said with a shake of his head. “I would have at least liked to have had the chance to try, even if I failed alongside them.”

Mitsunari looked among them, these fabled generals of Wei he had gotten to know fairly well over the last couple of months. History spoke long and loud of the Hero of Chaos, but not much of his men save one or two. “Cao Cao still inspires men, even after he’s dead,” he noted. “What’s the difference between the contingent over across the river and the lot of you? Why are they so adamantly opposed to Cao Pi, while you follow him eagerly?”

The three main generals shared a curious look, while Xu Shu just beyond them shrugged; he hadn’t been so close to Cao Cao nor any of them and didn’t really care. “I don’t know that I can say,” Zhang Liao answered after a moment’s thought. “Lord Cao Pi was always a ranking general in his father’s army, we all fought alongside him and knew his strength and capability. It never occurred to me to doubt him when we learned of Lord Cao Cao’s demise.”

Mitsunari tipped his head in an aloof sort of shrug. “Fair enough, I was just wondering if there was some kind of family strife or bad blood that made the Xiahou clan want no part of him. Guess not, huh?”

“Nothing like that,” Gongming assured. “But from what we’ve heard of their movements here in Orochi’s world, the rest of the clan goes wherever Xiahou Dun goes, and he is through-and-through Lord Cao Cao’s man. His faith and loyalty is unshakable, something most men would admire.”

“But it seems to have hamstrung him, this time,” Xu Shu broke in, murmuring pensively. “Lord Cao Pi said he attacked Oda for no reason other than loyalty to the ghost of his lord. If he’s obsessing about it, then it’s no surprise he would still stand opposed.”

“Grief does strange things to a man,” Huang said ruefully.

Ishida looked to him, finding his statement rather interesting. “You think they’ll be expecting a battle, then?”

“I’m sure of it,” Huang nodded. “Regardless of what we do to start it, they will gladly meet us there.”

Zhang Liao looked from one strategist to the other, on opposite sides of himself. “What is our reason for starting battle, anyway? There will be no attempt at a parley at all?”

“There’s no point,” Mitsunari complained. “Whatever we’ve told the main army about this errand is a charade; we all know why we’re here. To put on a show, and send an envoy with any message, true or not, is an insult to both sides. That’s Lord Cao Pi’s take on the matter, and given what I know, I’d have to agree with him.”

“The battle will be real enough,” Shu agreed, “even if our reasons and their reasons for conducting it are far different from what Da Ji will hear of it.”

Liao turned an appraising look on Ishida beside him. “You speak openly of spinning falsehoods to be sent back to your mistress at the main army,” he realized. “It is as Master Fengxiao said. You’re not hers anymore, are you, Master Ishida?”

Mitsunari gave him a cool look back, but inwardly he decided now was a good time to close down and not be so open with them – not until after the battle was concluded. “What makes you think I ever was?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, but pushed through the center of their conclave, gesturing for Xu Shu to come with him as he went to see the status of the roads for himself. He remembered the decisions they had made for moving an army toward the center last time, and wanted to see if the changes he had made to such a strategy would be stymied by the lack of reinforcements or cannon fire. The remaining generals watched the strategists go, and wondered, but not openly – not when Wenyuan and Gongming assumed that their lord had heard every single word spoken just outside his tent.

The defending army laying claim to Yiling dug in their defenses and expected some kind of message, but none came. In fact, there was no word at all from the enemy camp until well after sundown, when their scouts reported movement both downstream and upstream. It seemed the attack was coming without a warning, without parley or anything, and it was coming from both sides. From where they stood in the main camp receiving reports, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan both flexed their fists and made to grab their weapons. “It looks like we’re fighting, just like you said,” Yuan huffed. “Devil didn’t even want to wait until daylight.”

“Arrogant fool,” Dun snarled. “I will test his mettle, and prove to him just how unworthy he is.”

“Ooh. So serious,” his cousin teased him as he hefted his bow and strung it with little effort. “I’m with you, I want to see what he’s really made of.”

“Strange, though,” Pang Tong mused as he stood between them leaning on his staff. “No word on what they’re attacking for. Are they doing Orochi’s bidding, or is this something Cao Pi wants?”

“Does it matter?” Dun retorted. “A battle is a battle.”

“Spoken like a true muscle-head who never had to lay out a strategy in his life,” Tong flippantly noted. “All right, then, since they’re already on the move, I guess it’s my job to point our guys in the right direction. Xiahou Dun, you should cover the east, and Yuan, the west. They’re advancing on both sides, so keep ‘em busy and don’t let them meet up in the center.”

“What about you?” Yuan asked.

“I’ve got some tricky tactical tasks to arrange,” Tong replied, waving a hand. “The ones we talked about earlier. Timing is everything, you know.”

The two commanders understood that much, and left him to it, each turning in a different direction and calling their respective contingents to back them up. They had enough men now to be able to guard the main camp, give Pang Tong his own reinforcements and guards, station Mao and Shang in the central fortification, and still allow each of the cousins to take a powerful force with them as they rode to meet the assault. Yuan had his son at his side, with Hui and Wei, while Dun brought Li Dian along with He and De. Xiahou En had command of the rearguard in the main camp. It was well-planned and evenly proportioned, though as yet they had no idea exactly who was under Cao Pi’s command and who they might meet on the battlefield. Unlike some, they had no qualms about battling countrymen. As far as the Xiahou clan was concerned, their loyalty to Wei ended with the death of Lord Mengde, so anyone they met would be as a stranger to them, not some precious friend and fellow countryman.

On the further side of the river, Cao Pi was giving the last orders to his men as they moved out. To his surprise, Ishida volunteered to hold the main camp while the rest of them went into battle. It did not change a single step of the plan, but he still had to wonder as he mounted up. “You’re sure you’d rather stay behind?” he asked the strategist warily.

“You don’t need me,” Mitsunari said bluntly. “You already know exactly what you want to do, and my experience here isn’t going to make a difference.”

“I suppose that much is true.” Pi gathered the reins into one hand so he had the other free to draw half of Pure Havoc. “I will ride to the south as planned. If there is any change, send word immediately. I will not be outflanked or out-thought by these imbeciles.”

Mitsunari snorted at the way he insulted the very men he intended to recruit, though he kept any smart-ass remarks to himself this time. “Don’t let me keep you, then. You’ll want to get moving if you don’t want your men to get there ahead of you.”

Without acknowledging that it was true, Cao Pi whirled his horse and galloped away, a large contingent of his men marching immediately after him. Zhang Liao would accompany him, while Xu Huang and Xu Zhu rode to the west to circle around through the burned-out garrisons and come up on the enemy’s upper flank. That left Mitsunari with Xu Shu for backup, but he didn’t expect to keep the other strategist at his side for long. If he wasn’t riding out alongside the lord of Wei, another strategist would do well to be out on the field rather than in camp with him. He glanced briefly to the side as he felt the other man come up at his shoulder. “I’ve seen pointless battles before,” Shu sighed, “but this is ridiculous. Well, then. What are your orders, Master Ishida?”

“Be ready to ride,” Mitsunari warned, “but I don’t know yet which way to send you. It’s only the start of things, there’s no reason to anticipate any particular move just yet.” His eyes remained trained on the path where Cao Pi’s magnificent white steed had melted into the shadows moments before. “Everyone wants to compare him to his father,” he noted in a soft murmur, “but he doesn’t care. I’ve never seen someone so diligently and successfully ignore the gossip around him and forge ahead with his own desires, except maybe Oda Nobunaga.”

“Is that so?” Shu wondered. “I’ve not met this mysterious resistance leader, only his retainers. Is he everything rumor makes him out to be?”

“Depends on what rumors you’ve heard.” Ishida tore his eyes away from that spot in the darkness and blinked in the torchlight bathing their camp. “Not that it matters, because like Lord Cao Pi, he’ll go and do whatever he wants. Either you follow or you get out of his way.”

“Quite like Lord Cao Pi, yes,” Xu Shu chuckled. “There seems to be a lot going on under the surface no matter which way you look. I might as well just put my head down and draw my sword.”

Mitsunari glanced at him, and then at the thin blade sheathed at his side with the long, coiled silk rope hanging on its hilt. It was a unique weapon, he was looking forward to actually seeing it in use. “In this world,” he said sourly, “we’re all needed for our fighting abilities as much as our minds. So yeah, get ready to bloody your blade.”

Cao Pi rode hard but cautiously, thundering over the bridge with Zhang Liao at his side and their men arrayed behind him, making for the distant gleam of torches in the darkness. Any moonlight overhead could not penetrate the deep shadows beneath the trees, they had to go on instinct and ride carefully until they could reach the sentry lines and outbuildings. There, the Xiahou forces guarding the roads and preparing for their own advance had already put up torches and braziers to light their own way, inadvertently giving their enemies beacons to hone in on and the same light by which to battle. Liao loomed up at his lord’s elbow, lowering the Blue Wyvern into position. “Look sharp, young master,” he warned. “There’s no telling who we might meet on this path.”

“It matters not,” Pi assured, flicking the single sword he carried into a lower position so it wouldn’t catch the light. “I’ll go through both of them, and all of their kin, as necessary.”

Liao regarded him for the briefest moment before grunting his assent to the plan. He didn’t know why their lord insisted on taking to the front line himself, but he could hazard a guess. His duty, then, was to protect him if needed and not interfere otherwise. To that end, he kept pace rather than get out in front as they emerged from the trees into a small clearing where the pale stucco walls of a garrison outbuilding loomed in the moonlight. Torches stationed at the corners and along the fringes of the path served as evidence that the garrison was manned, and no sooner had the Wei army showed their faces than their foes tumbled out of the gates to meet them. Cao Pi charged right through them, sweeping his sword in wide arcs to deflect any weapon thrust at him. He only had eyes for certain men – officers, but among them, two in particular. He made for the gate of the garrison, but before he could pass through it, Li Dian rode into the gap to block his progress, his halberd held low off the side of his horse. Even in the dim darkness, his foes could see the furrow in his brow as he realized who he would be facing. He took a quick breath and then bellowed, “Lord Yuanrang! It’s him!”

Cao Pi nearly drove straight toward him, but then another rider came around the far corner of the garrison, arresting his attention and diverting it exactly where it was meant to go. Xiahou Dun came on cautiously, but then slapped his heels to his horse as he saw that his faithful retainer was right and the man he most desired to cut down was coming right at him. Zhang Liao changed course to handle Li Dian, and both their horses shied at the power of their halberds slamming into each other. With an agile twist, Liao flung Dian’s aside, giving him a moment in which to jab forward, pointing the tip into his face. “I may not wish to harm an old friend,” he warned, “but for the sake of Lord Cao Pi, I will not back down.”

“I would not expect anything less of you, Lord Wenyuan,” Dian said seriously. “I’m glad I listened to my instincts and insisted on coming with Lord Yuanrang. I had so hoped to face you.”

“Show me, then.” Liao lowered his halberd and then dismounted, preferring to wage this battle on the ground. “Leave those other two hotheads to their own battle.”

Li Dian could not have agreed more. He likewise sprang down and dashed out of the garrison doorway to meet him, their halberds crossing and clashing. Whoever came out on top would have to earn his victory the hard way. Beyond them, Cao Pi dropped the reins as he rode and steered his horse with his knees so as to have both hands free to fight, drawing the other half of his weapon and swinging them hard to block the podao coming at his head. Neither he nor Xiahou Dun said a word as they fell to it, having no need for taunts and wishing only to conquer one another, yet Pi wore a cool smirk as he closed in, jabbing and slicing. His foe was fierce, and even the rage behind his sword was controlled, no longer wild and erratic. He would not let passion lead to his defeat this time, he needed to fight with precision and power or else he would be bested. As such, Dun pressed in hard and fast, using the momentum to drop himself out of the saddle at the right moment and fly at his opponent’s flank from the ground with both hands on the podao. Cao Pi met his strike easily and kicked out at him to give himself the space in which to hit the ground as well, the better for both to up their speed and strength. Pure Havoc clanged off the Qilin Blade again and again, it seemed as though neither would gain the upper hand, but the tables turned rather suddenly. Pi slid to the side, crossing his swords just-so to block and then pushing off to throw Xiahou Dun off-balance. He was inside the general’s guard, now, and brought one sword back hard to jam the pommel into his ribs. Barely had Dun staggered a step from the blow and Pi spun around him, putting their backs to one another for the briefest moment before he swirled out of it and jabbed the other sword’s pommel into his flank on the other side. He kept moving with the momentum, now crossing in front of his foe and swinging the left-hand sword up fast to block the podao coming at his head again. He had all the advantage, now, and Dun knew it, from the way his good eye widened to realize Cao Pi was right in his face. He expected to feel the sickening burn of a blade plunging between his ribs, but there was no killing blow. Instead, Pi drew back his free hand, sword still clenched in his fist, and punched the wayward general right in the nose.

Dun stumbled backwards, trying to keep from going to the ground from such a dirty move and needing to jam the tip of his blade in the turf to hold himself up. He could feel the blood running over his lips and chin, and swiped a hand across his face to dash some of it away. Cao Pi wasn’t done yet, he advanced as quickly as Xiahou Dun backed away, clicking Pure Havoc together into its singular form and slashing with each end in turn. Dun swung once to block, but he was on the wrong side for it and saw the podao knocked cleanly out of his hand. He was wide open yet again, but Pi only raised the tip of the blade to aim at his throat without following through. Incensed, Dun glared rather than escape. “What’s wrong with you?” he growled through the pain in his nose. “You dare take pity on me?”

“You think this is pity?” The smirk left Cao Pi’s face for a moment, his eyes turning icy cold with pent-up anger. He turned his shoulder so that his cowl hid much of his face, but for those glaring eyes, as he placed himself in a stance from which he could have easily beheaded the general if he so desired. He flicked Pure Havoc just enough to score a shallow cut along Dun’s jaw and slice the strap of his eyepatch. “If you would rather I killed you here and now,” he threatened, “I have no qualms about doing so.”

The eyepatch began to slide, forcing Xiahou Dun to clap a hand over it. He glowered at Cao Pi, seething at the unpleasant truth staring him in the face: the lord of Wei could and would kill him, and only left him embarrassed for now because Dun had no choice in the matter. His life was in this man’s hands, he lived or died at his whim. “So be it, then,” he muttered, not moving another muscle, either to escape or surrender. “I would rather die than be beholden to a snake.”

Cao Pi expected this, but it still angered him, to be finally face to face with this loyal retainer of his father’s after so many months and reach this outcome. “Don’t play at honor with me, Xiahou Dun,” he said coldly, twisting the blade in his hand as if to put it in a better position to cut. “You should have been strong enough to cut me down, it isn’t like you to give in.”

Dun stared him down, light from nearby torches fluttering over the angles of his face. “And what do you know of it, you slimy traitor?”

“More than you do, clearly.” Another flick of Pure Havoc made the blade shimmer in the firelight for the briefest moment before Pi lowered it. “If you are not satisfied with the outcome, I’ll give you another chance.”

Dun’s eye widened again, but before he could even look around to see where his Qilin Blade had fallen, let alone resume the fight, one of his kinsmen rode by with a hand extended to haul him up into the saddle. He caught De’s hand in mid-gallop and swung up behind him, and without further word they escaped the clearing, retreating down a side path. Huffing under his breath, Cao Pi glanced to realize that the sword was nowhere to be seen in the immediate vicinity and decided to leave it, in case Xiahou Dun wanted to take him up on the offer. Zhang Liao had only just bested Li Dian himself, and strode over still panting for breath, giving his lord a once-over to make sure he was unhurt. “You let him go?” he noted. “Hm. You’re full of surprises tonight, young master.”

“I have my reasons,” Pi said aloofly. “Leave it, for now. We need to clear our way through these rank-and-file and press on. Xiahou Dun will no doubt regroup at his main camp and strike again, we need to be ready for it.”

The splitting of their forces should have been a disadvantage for his Wei army, seeing as he brought fewer officers in the first place, but Cao Pi had chosen well. His men were stronger, better equipped, and better provisioned. Zhang Liao and Xu Huang alone could have likely taken the bulk of the Xiahou clan and left only the two cousins for their lord. On the western end of the field, upstream, Huang and Xu Zhu had a similar encounter against Xiahou Yuan, and likewise sent him scrambling to retreat to the main camp without killing him. It was Cao Pi’s order, should the commanders be encountered on the front line they were to be driven off but allowed to regroup. It was a strange order, to many, but so long as Ishida didn’t countermand it from a strategic standpoint, they had no choice but to obey. When first one, then the other fell back to the main camp and allowed their men to tend their wounds, Pang Tong also came to look them over and hear their reports from the front. “Released you, did they?” he noted to Yuan, who had been on the ground with the Destroyer at his throat when he was told to go. “He’s up to something, all right.”

“Beating me down doesn’t mean anything,” Yuan insisted. “I’m not hurt that bad, I can still fight.”

“You want another go at him,” Dun observed as he shoved aside a well-meaning soldier who wanted to see if his nose was still streaming blood. “So do I.”

“Hold on, now,” Tong implored them both. “You’ll get your chance, boys, but it’s time I stepped in. If Cao Pi is on the front lines, that means their camp is probably sparsely protected.”

Yuan looked up at him from where he sat on the ground, allowing their medics to tie bandages around his cuts so he could continue the battle. “What’s the point in taking their camp if he’s out there? He’s the one we want.”

“Cutting off their reinforcements, for one,” Tong reasoned. “You really think the guys you two fought are the only ones he has with him? There’s bound to be more in the main camp. Cut off their access, and you’ll have him exposed on the battlefield with no one to back him up.”

“Ah, yes. I see,” Dun said knowingly. “But he has a contingent covering both bridges, upstream and downstream. Which are we to plow through in order to get to their main camp?”

“Neither.” Pang Tong tipped his hat up enough to wink at them both. “I told you, I had something I was working on. It’s all ready to go, if you are.”

Without needing to hear what it was, Dun nodded. “Do it.”

Tong turned and raised his staff to wave at a cluster of men, some he had personally recruited out of the homeless soldiers hanging about in nearby lands. “Okay, time to go! Sneak through the central garrison and build me a bridge!”

The two commanders looked on, mystified, as the men picked up both weapons and tools and hustled off into the maze that guarded the main camp from the central garrison. Clearly, they knew their way through it, or else he would not have ordered them to go that way. “Build a bridge?” Yuan repeated in astonishment.

“That’s right.” Pang Tong gestured vaguely with his staff again. “There’s a spot along the riverbank right in the center, there, where it’s narrow enough that my guys can lay down a bridge right quick. It might not hold horses, but it’ll take all the infantry you can throw at it – and you’ll come out right next to the enemy camp, rather than a few miles above or below it.”

“That’s brilliant!” De exclaimed from where he stood near his kinsmen. “But…what if Cao Pi’s men get to them first?”

“Then you’d better get back on out there to make sure they don’t,” Tong warned.

“Xiahou He is still out there,” Dun realized, “go back him up. Make sure they don’t get anywhere near the center.”

“Mao and Shang are in the central garrison, too,” Tong noted, “they’ll go with my guys.”

Yuan looked up to his son, who had gotten him safely back to the main camp. “Ride back and tell Wei and Hui what the plan is, make sure they hold Xu Huang as best they can.”

“Right, father. Take care,” Ba implored before jogging off to catch a horse.

Pushing himself to his feet, Yuan looked at Dun, shaking his head a bit at the dried blood on his chin. “It’s not gonna be easy. Our guys will only be able to hold them off for so long, but they’re no match.”

“As long as they hold them back long enough,” Dun said sternly. “We only need a short window of time to complete the bridge. Then, nothing will stop us, not Xu Huang, not Zhang Liao – none of them.”

Xiahou Yuan shook his head again, but this time made no remark. This was going to be a tough battle no matter what, but as long as they still had their lives, they needed to keep fighting. It didn’t matter if Cao Pi’s forces had deliberately let them live – they lived, and were not captured. That left them free to fight until they dropped. But what could be the point of such a gambit?

Someone on the field, at least, saw the movement in the center and expected the strategy that was being launched. It wasn’t until he clearly understood what the engineers were doing at the river’s edge, pulling down fences and carrying stacks of freshly-felled lumber out of the central fortress, that he sent Xu Shu with a message for their lord at the front. Cao Pi was still being held at the crossroads just beyond the garrison, fighting his way through swarms of soldiers bearing no uniforms or tokens of loyalty to any kingdom, when the secondary strategist showed up at his side. “The enemy is putting a plan into motion,” he reported, repeating Mitsunari’s words exactly. “Engineers are at the river in the center.”

It was a strange report, but Cao Pi needed only one response. “Whatever they’re up to, put a stop to it,” he ordered. He was keen on remaining where he was, so he could have access to Xiahou Dun and Yuan if they reappeared, but Xu Shu rode on to carry out the order with Zhang Liao behind him, pushing past the resistance and ignoring De and He for now. Both were weak, and Cao Pi himself could make short work of them. Seeing as their comrades were temporarily stymied by a fairly solid defense by Hui and Wei on the upstream end, bolstered by Ba rejoining them, it was up to them to handle this development in the middle. No sooner had they set upon the engineers than they in turn were set upon by Mao and Shang, turning the field into a mire of chaos in which no one could really get much done. Cao Pi rode in at the last, having dispatched the others and wanting to see for himself how things were progressing, and only with his help did they finally put an end to the bridge-building. Xiahou Mao and Shang withdrew their men back through the central garrison to keep them from being slaughtered, at which point the Wei commander pulled his men up short. “No,” he advised, watching the stragglers attempt to force the fortification gate closed behind them. “They’re not our main target. Leave them.”

Xu Shu dropped his hood off his head to wipe his brow. “Hopefully, once they see their strategy has failed, it will draw out the enemy commanders. Unless they have other plans, of course.”

Cao Pi looked at the piles of lumber and supplies abandoned by the engineers. “This was prepared in advance,” he noticed. “There is someone intelligent at the helm, beyond the Xiahou clan themselves. I have no doubt there are more plans in place.”

“I may not be a match for Master Ishida,” Shu offered, “but I can try to suss out…what…”

He trailed off as he looked away, past the torches staked at the river’s edge to where movement could easily be spotted along the main road which paralleled the water. Troops were streaming their way, and after a moment they could see the armored figures at the head – Xiahou Ba and his kinsmen. They weren’t quite running to the attack, but rather, fleeing from whoever was at their heels. Like the other reinforcements led by Xiahou Shang, they made for the central garrison and poured inside before Xu Huang and Xu Zhu could catch them. Zhang Liao stepped forward to wave down their fellows, so they could all reconnoiter in the center and determine their next move. “Curious,” Cao Pi murmured.

Xu Shu wagged a finger as he thought over this development. “It seems to me there’s something about that fortress we ought to be mindful of. It’s probably a trap.” 

“Most likely.” Pi nodded to his men as they gathered around him. “Perhaps someone ought to go and set it off.”

“It should be no trouble to force our way in,” Xu Huang bragged. “If they’ve set an ambush there…”

“Too simple,” Shu said warily. “All we would have to do to put an end to it is barricade that gate. They wouldn’t be able to spring the ambush, nor would they be able to come out and get around behind us to reach our main camp.” He gestured with the tip of his thin sword to the same thing their lord had noticed. “Anyone with the forethought to prepare bridge-building supplies so that their men could erect one in the middle of a battle would also know this, and not risk it.” He looked to Xu Zhu. “Are there any other gates to that fortification?”

The stout warrior nodded briskly. “There’s a back door. It goes into the trees. And the maze!” He brightened up as if just remembering. “That was where Lord Cao Cao made us retreat, when Orochi fired the cannons at us. He said we should hide in the maze, so the Orochi army couldn’t find us.”

“A maze…” Xu Shu began to smirk. “Yes, that makes sense. My lord…” He lifted his head to regard Cao Pi seated above them on his horse. “There’s someone or something hiding in the maze. The enemy commanders, their strategist, an ambush, perhaps all three.”

Cao Pi had thought the same thing, he didn’t need to be told. A quick assessment of which troops retreated in which directions, and he knew what he wanted. “Xu Huang, take the others and follow the road south. There’s a place where the path turns, that was where the men I drove off fell back to. I expect they’re waiting for us to take the bait in the center garrison so they can circle around us from there. Do not let them. Cut them off, and if Xiahou Dun returns himself, drive him all the way back to his camp.” He gestured with the tip of Pure Havoc to the direction he meant, and then swept it down to his side with a flourish. “Zhang Liao, you’re with me.”

Liao studied him keenly. “You’re going to spring the trap yourself.”

“Naturally.” His cool smile returned at long last. “I trust you to protect me, my friend. They will not find me so easy to conquer.”

Anyone else would play it safe and conservative, sending other forces to test out possible traps and routes of escape. Not Cao Pi. He had a purpose behind every move, and it was crucial to that purpose that he take charge himself and place himself in danger. Seeing as his foes wanted his head more than anything, he needed to draw their attention to him no matter which path he took. The others sighed but did not protest, and moved out with troops mustered into formation. Cao Pi and Zhang Liao took only a cursory vanguard with them and advanced on the gate in the wooden palisade that faced them up the hill, ablaze with light from torches and braziers. Zhang Liao needed almost no effort to force the gate, further proof that there was no simple ambush waiting inside the garrison. It was brightly lit, but the one-time Wei encampment inside was nothing more than the skeletons of burned-out tents now, and tracks in the dust proved Xu Shu’s assessment correct: all those retreating Xiahou soldiers had drawn back through the rear gate into the forest beyond. Cao Pi did not wait for the vanguard to go ahead of him, he led the way himself, undaunted by the darkness which clapped down around him the instant he passed through the gate and left the torchlight behind him. His horse shied a bit and danced to the side, but he pulled on the reins until it calmed and obeyed his urging forward into the thick undergrowth. Not a single torch or lantern could be spied in the trees, and though they knew full well the better part of a large army had just tramped through, there wasn’t any noise of movement or the feel of a mass of men lurking along the tangled paths. It wasn’t long before the Wei lord realized Xu Zhu’s description was on point, this was indeed an actual maze, made all the more confusing by the utter darkness and the whir of insects singing in the bushes on all sides. Not even moonlight penetrated the foliage, and the troops behind him edged along carefully so as not to lose sight of one another or the two horses at the lead. It was instantly clear that the paths criss-crossed one another, doubling back on themselves, looping around, and some even led to dead ends. Cao Pi picked his way patiently through the mess until one of his men gave a loud yelp behind him, startling both him and his horse; the soldier had blundered into what he thought was a person, but turned out to be a stone statue hunkered down in the undergrowth, playing sentinel to the end of the path. The discovery made a couple of the others chuckle at their comrade’s panic, but Cao Pi scowled. “Stop playing around and get back here,” he commanded, keeping his voice low. “Our enemies have laid some kind of trap in these woods, you would do well to stay on your guard.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

The voice seemed to ring from the very trees, and for a moment a couple of the soldiers looked sharply at the stone guardian as if to accuse it of speaking. Cao Pi’s hand on the reins tightened, even as Zhang Liao whirled his horse around to guard his lord’s back. They sat looking around them on all sides for a moment, ready for the intrusion, so that they weren’t entirely startled when the bushes shook and mercenary soldiers burst out to surround them. Their vanguard tightened in around them but held back, waiting for the order to attack. At last, someone dropped down from an overhead tree branch and landed in a crouch in the only patch of moonlight streaming down through a gap in the trees. Pi’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the figure mostly hidden by the large, flat hat. “So. You’re the mastermind behind the attempt at bridging the river.”

“In the flesh,” Pang Tong responded, that light flippancy in his tone as usual. “Though it seems my best-laid plans weren’t good enough against the likes of you, Cao Pi.”

“So you tried an ambush instead.” Pi glanced to the side to inspect the soldiers. They seemed capable enough, no more and no less than the others he had routed to the south. “I’m not at all surprised.”

“No? Oh, damn,” Tong teased him, straightening up and leaning on his staff. “Ambushes work a lot better with a little surprise. Guess I’ll have to just grit my teeth and resist you as best as I can.”

He waved the staff, commanding his ambush unit to attack. Cao Pi gave it a moment to let his men move in to meet it and then slid gracefully from the saddle, dashing easily through the soldiers and seeking out Pang Tong himself. He pressed the attack without hesitation, his speed and determination whittling the man away from his troops and forcing him back down the path. It wasn’t anything like battling the Xiahou brothers, Pi needed to stay on guard and make short work of it before Tong could pull out any tricks or sorcery, and if he could finish the fight at a distance to prevent the rest of the ambush unit from backing him up, so much the better. His first order was to disarm the strategist, and as soon as the staff clattered to the ground, he moved in swiftly with swords disjoined, backing Pang Tong against a tree trunk with the crossed blades beneath his chin. Seeing as there was no one else around, Tong willingly raised his hands in surrender. Cao Pi huffed under his breath, but he was not at all disappointed to have made short work of that particular fight. “Is there anything else awaiting us in the trees?” he demanded to know. “A foolish pair of cousins, perhaps?”

“Right to the point, eh?” Pang Tong waggled his fingers to beg to have the swords pulled back from his throat. “It’s just me, this time. Couldn’t fool you, though. I didn’t expect you’d come in yourself.”

“Good.” Just as Pi wanted. He leaned back and lowered the swords, but kept one angled in front of him to defend himself just in case. “It was the same cunning plan as my father supposedly used. And, as such, met the same end. Fortunately for you, I am not the destroyer Orochi is.”

Tong raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued. “Is that so?”

“Are you satisfied with your lot, Master Pang Tong?” Cao Pi threw his shoulders back in a show of complete superiority and control. “Or would you rather fight for me?”

Tong tipped his head, and beneath the mask which covered his face his lips clearly twisted in a frown. “Well, I’ve got no mind to serve Orochi, if that’s what you mean.”

Pi closed his eyes briefly in annoyance. “You’re not listening. I _said_ , how would you like to work for me?”

The hat tipped all the way down to hide Pang Tong’s face entirely. “Heh, thought so. All right, you’ve got yourself a deal, young master. But, for the time being I’m still beholden to Xiahou Dun and his boys, so if you don’t mind, I’m not going to make it easy for you to sniff them out and beat them down.”

“I expect nothing less.” Pi twirled the blades out of the space between them and turned away before snapping them into a single weapon again. “But then, they never were the thinking types. They’re not likely to be hiding or planning anything grand. I expect they’re either waiting to charge, or they’ve already charged.”

Tong sighed hard. “Astute as ever. I guess the only way I can stay loyal to them is…to not tell you the way out of the maze.”

Glancing over his shoulder, Cao Pi only rolled his eyes at the petty show of resistance. “If that’s what you wish. I will find my way through regardless. My men have their orders, I don’t need to be there to meet the last charge of the Xiahou clan in person.”

“Ooh, you really are a cold one,” Tong smirked. “I think I’m going to have fun hanging around you, Master Cao Pi.”

He was permitted to pick up his staff, and then followed Cao Pi back to where the rest of the ambush had been beaten back, calling out an order to get the remainer of his men to stand down. He didn’t mention that he’d surrendered or anything else, but the battle looked to be going in Wei’s favor anyway, so the ambush troops didn’t mind dropping their weapons. Cao Pi put Pang Tong under Zhang Liao’s supervision and regrouped the rest of the vanguard to follow him on foot, pressing forward through the maze rather than backtrack. He had a hunch about the maze, and wanted to see where it came out. It was easier to find the end than the beginning, and he came around a bend in the path to find one lone torch standing at the mouth of another gate, marking the exit. There, he finally mounted back up and charged out to discover that they had come out right inside the main camp. Battle was joined nearby, they could hear the clash, but it was beyond the palisade that marked the perimeter of the camp. Finding himself at his enemy’s rear with only Xiahou En actually holding ground in the camp brought a smirk back to Cao Pi’s face – they hadn’t seen him coming, and even now, would not expect to be hit from behind. Ignoring En and his attempt to call an alarm, Pi galloped through the tents with Pure Havoc held behind him, meeting no resistance at all until he reached the palisade. There, he reined in and let his men catch up, and then whistled to signal to Xu Huang that he had arrived. Both friend and foe turned at the noise, and Xiahou Dun’s face twisted into the ugliest snarl as he realized he had been outflanked. Yuan yelped in surprise. “What are they doing there?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Dun barked. “Come, Yuan, let’s finish this!”

Pulling a handful of arrows from his quiver, Xiahou Yuan had no choice but to race to his cousin’s side and go with him, back into their own camp. “I’m right with you, Dun, I’ll cover you.”

Leaving the rest of their men to stave off the Wei assault, the pair charged Cao Pi, who obliged them by dismounting and standing his ground to wait for them, his joined blade held straight out in front of him as if to receive them both at once. The first two arrows to whistle past his shoulders were cut out of the air with short sweeps of the blades, and then he lunged to meet Xiahou Dun’s podao, which had been returned to him. They held each other at stalemate just long enough for Dun to gnash his teeth in challenge. “Do you think you can overcome us both?”

“Stop talking and fight,” Pi demanded, pushing him off and going on the offensive. With his hands close together on the joined hilts, he had all the leverage to swing back and forth to block and hit both of them, as they fought him on either side. Yuan needed distance to shoot, but he was already too close to the target, and so closed in to attack with his heavy bow, using it like a club. Cao Pi saw him coming and turned to him instead of Dun, cutting through the one-eyed man’s block and focusing his strength on the bowman instead. For all his solid bulk and strength and keen eye, Yuan could not last long against a swordsman of Cao Pi’s caliber in a one-on-one duel; he had barely managed against Xu Huang by keeping his distance until the last minute, and when the axe had closed in on him, that was when he had been knocked down and sent into retreat. Now, he could only turn his armored shoulders to take as many hits as he could while attempting to strike back with the bow, which had spiked ridges along the front so it could serve him as a club in close quarters. Most of his hits failed to find a mark, Cao Pi was too fast and dodged easily. He ducked under one wild swing to get in under Yuan’s guard and dove up from below, pulling the swords apart and using the pommel of the hilt yet again to simply deal him a hard rap right at the spot below his sternum where it would take his breath away. Yuan’s armor didn’t cover that spot well, and in seconds he was flat on his back, gasping like a fish out of water.

Cao Pi turned quickly even before he heard the roar of anger coming at him from behind. Xiahou Dun had been stymied for a moment or two by some ground troops, but he fought free of them in time to see his cousin go down and launched himself on the commander’s back. Pi met him in mid-swing again, his swords crossed this time. Dun practically hissed and spat like a wet cat. “While my strength remains,” he snarled, “you shall not be victorious here!”

Pi did not dignify his threats with a response this time, merely throwing him off and swinging with the same flurry of sword-strikes he had used in their previous encounter. Neither man was fresh, but it wasn’t about who was more winded, or stronger, or wanted it more. Xiahou Dun was a powerful fighter, and no one doubted either his strength or determination. The rest of his clan was busy with the rest of the Wei officers, so no one came to the aid of either of them. They fought long and hard in the open gate of the main camp, circling around each other and hitting one another even harder than before. Neither could even draw blood on the other, until one fateful moment when Dun moved left instead of right and one of Pure Havoc’s blades scored across his arm in the gap between his mail sleeve and bracer. He shouted in pain and turned to protect it, shifting his grip so his other arm could bear the weight of his sword, but the momentum had already turned against him. Cao Pi shortened his swings so he could deal more of them faster, pulling the blades apart and jabbing in with both of them in a move that seemed borrowed from the likes of Sun Ce. It was difficult to block, Dun could only swerve and dodge out of the way, putting himself in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Pi spun in place and made a plunging blow, striking hard against Dun’s chestplate; he knew it wouldn’t penetrate, he merely wanted the man off-balance again. It allowed him to drop and swing both swords in a parallel blow from the side, toward Dun’s legs. His greaves absorbed most of the damage but the hit itself knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground on his back. Cao Pi descended on him and jammed one sword into the earth next to his ear, on his right where he could see it. “Is that enough?” he panted, kneeling on his opponent’s chest. “Or do you need to see your own blood pooled on the ground to understand?”

Xiahou Dun gritted his teeth, his good eye shifting to stare at the man hovering over him. “You…you have your father’s strength,” he gasped, likewise heaving for breath.

For the first time, Cao Pi openly showed his annoyance at being compared to his father, baring his teeth in a scowl. “I don’t want to hear anything more about my father!” he said harshly, keeping his volume reined in and pouring the passion into his tone instead. “Right here, and right now, it is I who have bested you: Cao Pi Zihuan is greater than you, Yuanrang. Stand down, and call your men off before we actually have to slaughter them.”

It was a strange request, but Dun had no room to disagree. He closed his eye briefly and nodded, waiting until the swords were drawn back before calling out the order for the Xiahou clan and their associates to lay down arms and surrender. It was already done by the time he managed to push himself to a seat on the ground, and he looked around to realize that control of the battle had never been in their hands. Even with such a small contingent at his command, Cao Pi had them before he even left his camp. Dun hung his head and leaned on his podao. “There is no need to show us mercy,” he complained, aware that Cao Pi was still standing over him, guarding him. Nearby, Yuan had managed to catch his breath but still lay on his back like a turtle. “What is it you have come to do, anyway? If Orochi has asked you to wipe us out, then why haven’t you done so?”

“Do you really think so little of me?” Pi said coldly. “Do you understand _nothing_ of what’s happened here? If I wanted you dead, you would already be dead, Xiahou Dun. You, and every man with you, kinsman or not.”

Dun squinted up at him, standing silhouetted against the starry sky and flickering torchlight. “This is no foolish sentiment, is it?”

“Sentiment,” Pi scoffed. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“Then out with it. What did you come here to do?”

Cao Pi shifted his gaze from Dun’s one eye to Yuan watching intently from where he sprawled. “You would both be of great value to me. Look at the size of the army you’ve raised on your own. But it isn’t enough. It would be better served under me.”

Yuan frowned at him. “Are you capturing us, then?”

“I shouldn’t have to,” Pi grunted angrily.

“I will not bend my knee to the serpent,” Dun declared.

“Are all of you hard of hearing?” Pi scrutinized them both as if second-guessing whether he really wanted these idiots in his army. “I am offering you the chance to work for me.”

As Yuan rolled over and pushed himself up to a seat, they both seemed to finally catch on. Dun, however, did not take it as good news. He lowered his head into his hands, silently lamenting. “Orochi has crushed Wei,” he pointed out. “There is nothing to come back for.”

“Wei can be revived,” Pi said proudly. “Do you really think I would waste my time and resources if it were not possible to claw our way back out of the darkness?”

Xiahou Dun lifted his head at that, cocking his head to give the young lord a wary look. Yuan slapped a hand to his own knee and heaved a dry chuckle. “You know, you’d get a much better reaction if you just told us plainly what you wanted. I think I get it. You really do want us back, huh?”

Cao Pi raised one of his blades and turned it so the flat caught the firelight, inspecting it for damage or blood. “I would have been much better served sitting comfortably at Xuchang rather than riding all this way to tire myself out in such a manner, if there wasn’t a reason.”

The cousins consulted one another with a silent look and then a mutual nod. “Very well,” Dun said. “We will hear you out.”

“Oh good,” Pang Tong broke in from where he stood just inside the palisade gate. “I didn’t know how I was gonna tell you I decided to follow the young master.”

“You too, Pang Tong? Come on…” Xiahou Yuan heaved himself to his feet and dusted himself off before looking for his weapon. “Guess that seals that.”

“Your men may rest here, since you already have a decent camp,” Pi said, sheathing his swords and straightening out his cloak. “Touch base with them if you must, but I will leave Zhang Liao here to escort the two of you to my camp to settle this matter as soon as you’re ready. I will be waiting.”

He strode away without a second look at them, going to his horse and mounting up. It was late, but he had no intention of sleeping until he had completed his mission in its entirety. Xu Shu remained with Zhang Liao to play escort, but the rest of their officers pulled their men together and marched them back to the camp along the direct route taken by their lord. He got there ahead of them, left his horse in the care of the soldiers who had been held back as reserves, and went to the command tent to find Mitsunari likewise awake and not going anywhere. The young strategist looked him over, gauged his mood, and then smirked. “Success, I take it?”

“I beat them down enough to get them to listen to me,” Pi answered, taking a moment to tiredly rub his face to keep himself alert. “What comes of it, we shall see.” He tipped his head in a slight nod, then. “Xu Shu reached us in time.”

“I gathered as much, after no one was able to breach the riverbank,” Mitsunari said coolly. “So long as I wasn’t knee-deep in Xiahous, I figured he did his job and so did you.” He got up and crossed to the Wei lord to look him over for injuries, but he didn’t seem to have so much as a tear in his tunic. “What now?”

“The enemy commanders are on their way to our camp to negotiate their surrender,” Pi informed him. “I want you in on it, to observe if nothing else. And I have another strategist for you.”

Mitsunari was about to ask for more information, but Xu Huang entered abruptly to let them know that Xu Shu was on his way with their guests. In no time at all they were all settled in the command tent, foregoing the tending of minor injuries so they could conduct this meeting before the sun came up. There was still a certain tension pressing on all of them, but it had lessened considerably since the first clash of Pure Havoc against the Qilin Blade. Cao Pi allowed Zhang Liao to stand guard outside the tent, but preferred to handle this affair with only Mitsunari attending him, having no need for an audience or any more displays of power. The cousins kept their heads low, while Pang Tong lurked behind them, observing more than participating himself. “So,” Xiahou Dun began, “it seems there was a reason Nobunaga said what he did at Fan Castle.”

That came as news to Cao Pi, making him raise an eyebrow. “Nobunaga?”

“It seems he already has your measure, young master.” The hint given before was enough, Dun gathered what was being carefully guarded and unsaid as the real reason they were being strongarmed into serving Cao Pi. “You take a risk, here. I am not fit to serve you…not after all I’ve done.”

“You seem to be under the delusion that I require anything of my people other than the ability to hold a sword when the time comes for it,” Pi murmured. “I have no reason to reject capable officers, particularly when I go to such an effort to secure them before anyone else can.”

“And you have a plan, right?” Yuan put in, looking up to him. “I mean, I think you do, but it’s always kinda hard to tell with you…”

Pi huffed softly. “If I do, I’m not at liberty to speak of it here and now. Suffice it to say…” He waved a hand toward Mitsunari. “My lead strategist and I are working on things.”

“That’s enough for me.” Yuan looked to his kinsman beside him, then. “But we spent so long swearing up and down that we’d never join you. Even tonight before the first wave was set to march, I was busy cursing your name and the horse you rode in on. I can’t believe it’s come to this.”

“Much was said we can’t take back,” Dun muttered, “but it’s all in the past now, it has no bearing on this moment. We tested him and found ourselves to be the ones who are lacking, Miaocai. There is no shame in accepting the chance laid out to us.” He lifted his eye in a glare for the men standing over them. “That is, if you are true to your word that we are not servants of Orochi.”

“I can promise you only one thing,” Cao Pi said loftily. “From here, we will march back to Xuchang, and I will see what news has come in while I’ve been away on this errand. That is all. I have nothing to say about what may or may not happen after that.”

“Always speaking in riddles and hiding what you really want to say,” Yuan sighed. “Oh well, I guess sometimes you just gotta have faith. It’s not like we’ve got much choice.” He glanced over his shoulder to where the Shu strategist was hanging out. “You’ve already made up your mind, I take it.”

Tong tipped his head sideways in a sort of shrug. “I’m no Xiahou, you and I both know that. I go where the wind takes me, and right now I can feel it blowing me into Wei. Something interesting is about to happen, and I don’t mind having a front row seat when it does.”

It was left implied that if the Xiahou clan chose to abandon Cao Pi again, they would do so minus one wayward strategist. But there was nothing at Yiling or anywhere else calling them to take their clan to the wild and remain independent. It was fun while it lasted, but Pang Tong had a point. Pi folded his arms over his chest and smirked without humor. “Whether you follow me out of loyalty to my father, or out of curiosity, I don’t care, as long as you follow. It may be difficult for you to accept, but I have no underlying reasons for asking you to join me – neither pity, nor fear, nor a secret plan to use you. I simply have need of your strength, and do not want it in anyone else’s hands.”

Not all of Dun’s pride had been laid low, a shred of it sparked in him yet. “We served no man, we belonged only to ourselves.”

“For now,” Mitsunari sniffed. “Sooner or later someone would have come along to beat you down. If not us, then probably the Orochi main army, and right now they’re not fooling around. They would rather see you dead, and if not dead then captured and scattered. At least with Lord Cao Pi, you’re all alive and intact.”

“I noticed that you let them go, early on,” Pang Tong said with a slow nod. “And not a single one of those boys got more than a few scratches. Ba, Shang, all of ‘em are just fine.”

Dun and Yuan looked at one another, realizing it was true. All of their men had come through alive, no one was seriously injured to the point of being no longer able to battle. “Why you dirty snake,” Yuan chuckled, looking up at them again. “You had that idea all along!”

“You mind keeping the insults to a minimum?” Ishida snarked at him. “This _is_ your lord, after all.”

Yuan sat back, chastened. Dun dropped his gaze again. “My lord is Mengde,” he repeated for the millionth time. “Yet…his blood is in you. Whether or not you can match him…I suppose it matters not, if you’re able to stand where he fell.”

Pi nodded once in acceptance. That was the highest compliment he could have ever expected out of Xiahou Dun. “I am not asking you to love me, Yuanrang,” he said smoothly, “only to follow me. Victory is not yet in anyone’s grasp, and that includes Orochi. For now, all we can do is remove to Xuchang and number our strength, and see what comes of it.”

The less he said about the plans building between himself and Mitsunari, and the more he danced around the subject with oblique words and vague suggestions, the more those listening were sure he meant what he said: Wei would be revived. Possibly sooner than they imagined. That made it easier for the Xiahous to accept the offer, and Yuan even palmed his fist before his heart in respect. “We’ll leave our men camped where they are for tonight, but when you move out, we’ll be with you,” he vowed.

“Good.” Pi tossed his head toward the door. “Zhang Liao will find you quarters here. It’s late, and we all need sleep.”

The pair rose to depart, though Dun hung back a moment while his kinsman went to the door to mutter sheepish apologies to Wenyuan. He stepped up close to Cao Pi, holding his gaze for a long moment. There was still blood dried along the edges of his beard from when he had been punched in the face. “You are not him,” he said heavily. “Yet you seem to have your own sense of honor. I have always wondered how you would turn out, young master.”

“I don’t need your flattery,” Pi assured him, meeting his gaze without flinching. “Wait until you arrive at Xuchang, and see what I have behind me already, and then tell me if you think it is enough.”

While they spoke, Mitsunari edged past to catch Pang Tong before he could likewise duck out. “So you’re the one they call the Fledgling Phoenix, huh?” he wondered. “Didn’t know we’d be meeting you here.”

“Eh, I’ve been called lots of things,” Tong said flippantly. “Some more complimentary than others. You’re one of the folks from Wa, aren’t you? I heard Cao Pi call you his lead strategist.”

“That’s right. Ishida Mitsunari,” he introduced himself. “We may have a use for you, although I’ve got more than a few strategists under my lead already.”

“If it means a stout castle that doesn’t leak in the rain, a nice bed to lay my head, and a sip of wine now and then, I would gladly be your sandal-carrier,” Tong joked. “Strategy’s nice and all, but I’ll take anything that gets me a roof over my head.”

“Very well, then.” Ishida nodded to dismiss him, even as Xiahou Dun came alongside them and led the way out. Once they were gone, he glanced to Cao Pi to see that the late night and the long battle had finally caught up to him. He looked about ready to collapse on the spot, so Mitsunari came to his side to herd him off to bed at long last. 

As they walked behind Zhang Liao through the darkened camp to an officers’ tent, Dun breathed a quiet sigh. “He knows that if he were to order us to do Orochi’s bidding, we would turn on him without hesitation,” he murmured. “And yet he gathers us in anyway. That, more than anything, is rather telling.”

“Much as I want to tell you not to get your hopes up,” Pang Tong mused, “I think you’re onto something there, Dun. If anyone has the ability to stand against Orochi, Master Cao Pi might be it.” Zhang Liao’s eye peered over his shoulder at them, but the mighty warrior did not offer his own opinion on such daring words.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei prepares for its next big move; Date and Lu Bu run into unexpected roadblocks at Kanegasaki; Sun Quan returns to face the music.

The one consolation Lady Zhenji could take in their present position was, at least Maeda Keiji had not regrouped with them. Whether he had returned to the Orochi army strongholds on his own or found Sun Quan, it didn’t matter to her so long as he wasn’t around them. She had quite enough of his boorish behavior on the ride out, and now that they were returning unsupervised to Jianye, she could breathe a sigh of relief. No Maeda meant no more orders from Da Ji. The Wei reinforcements plotted their route back carefully so as not to veer too close to Orochi-held lands, but the lady was mindful of not pressing too deeply into the wilderness. After all, she was still expecting letters from Xuchang. They were too late in coming prior to the attack on Hefei, but shortly after, around the time the Wei soldiers breathed a sigh of relief that Keiji had not and would not catch up to them, the messengers found them where they were camped. Zhenji had not wanted to return to Jianye until receiving them, for leaving the messengers wandering for extra days trying to catch up would only delay whatever important news her husband was trying to send to them. To her surprise, the seal on the outside was that of Guo Jia, and inside Zhang He had added a little postscript of his own to the strategist’s missive. Guo Jia had brought Cao Pi’s own letter as far as Bai Di, and sent it out under his own power from there so as to divert Da Ji’s suspicions entirely. Had any of her people intercepted it, they would have thought it a military dispatch regarding the movement of their troops, not a personal letter. Finding Cao Pi’s additional letter sealed inside, Zhenji departed to the command tent to read it in private.

Cao Ren allowed her some time to read and savor, just in case there was more of their lord’s excessive poetry contained inside, but eventually he ducked in to see if there was any official news. Zhenji was already finished with it, the papers lay open on her small camp table while she inspected her flute for battle damage. “My lady?” Ren wondered. “What did he have to say?”

“Ah…” She cocked him a sidelong look and set the flute aside. “Good timing, Cao Ren. I have orders for you and the others. We will be striking camp today, the sooner the better.”

“Before sunset?” It wasn’t that armies didn’t move at night rather than day, but it usually implied haste or stealth. Cao Ren was immediately all business, clasping his hands behind his back. “As you wish, my lady. To where are we removing?”

“The army is splitting up,” she replied, rising gracefully and smoothing down her dress. “You and Yue Jin will be remaining with me, for now. Yu Jin is to take the rest of our officers, and an equal part of the soldiers, and return to Jianye.”

Ren’s heavy brow creased. “Something is up.”

“Indeed it is. But I don’t have much to say on that matter.” Zhenji turned and picked up one of the sheaf of papers contained within the missive. “The directions on who to send where came from my lord husband directly. He wishes that I do not return to Jianye, nor apparently to Xuchang either. In fact, he mostly told me what _not_ to do, leaving me a very small window of options to choose from.”

“I see.” Even without being able to know Cao Pi’s mind, they could only go on what they did have. Secret letters within letters, sent surreptitiously through Guo Jia, and a litany of prohibitions served to steer them in a direction they could guess, but not know for sure. Cao Ren nodded his understanding. “Our lord has some kind of plan in motion. I assume he means me to protect you, wherever you do travel?”

“That’s what I gathered,” Zhenji sniffed. “It is annoying that he isn’t asking me to rush to his side, but I expect there is a very good reason. I will do as he asks, for now.” She turned to a map that had also been contained in the missive, unfolding it so he could see. “It seems to me that if we are to disappear, the safest route is between here and here, bypassing Bai Di the same way we came and then turning south. There seems to be a lot of uncharted territory that way, but it does mean no Orochi strongholds that anyone knows of.”

Ren grunted in affirmation. “Too far south and we’ll be in Nanzhong. We’ll have to play it by ear, but it seems like we can circle around without touching land belonging to any of our foes – the Resistance, Oda, or otherwise.”

“So be it, then.” Zhenji collected the papers and stacked them together. “Muster the troops and prepare to break camp. Divide them up as you see fit, I’ll leave you in command of such things.”

Bowing, Ren turned and hastened out of the tent. He couldn’t even begin to guess what Lord Cao Pi had in mind for them, but there was a reason he was asking his faithful retainers to protect his wife and disappear into the unknown lands. Her life was now in his hands, and he would not let his lord down in this matter. It was better to lose battles and forfeit his own life if it meant she could someday return to her husband.

As for Guo Jia, his arrival at Bai Di sometime earlier had been fortuitous, as word came in at the same time from the demon lord himself. Before the Wei strategist could even ask after Da Ji’s current whereabouts, intending to go and ingratiate himself to her service to distract her from noticing that Cao Pi had gone to Yiling, Date Masamune came striding out of the war room with Orochi’s message in hand, looking determined and a little bit concerned. “Don’t get comfortable,” he warned the new arrivals. “We’re heading out immediately. Lord Orochi has received word that Oda Nobunaga is within our grasp, and has dispatched me personally to attack his hidden camp at Kanegasaki. I’ll need all the manpower I can muster, that includes you guys.”

Fengxiao had noticed the current state of deployment, who was at the castle and who wasn’t. “Will there be time to call in anyone else?”

“Not like you’re thinking,” Date huffed. “I’m sending word on to Odawara to see if Da Ji can spare anyone else, but that’s as good as we’ve got. The good news is, Kanegasaki is a small fortress with almost nothing in the way of defenses, and scouting reports have said that Oda only took a small vanguard with him there, not his whole army. If we move quickly, we can cut him off from his reinforcements at Guandu and Honnoji and wipe him out before he can even mount a defense.”

“Understood.” Jia smiled patiently to put the commanding officer at ease and waited until he was out of earshot to turn to Zhang He behind him. “Our lord’s orders will have to wait, but this works out well. We’ll see what comes of it.”

“I suppose I have no choice but to trust your lead, Master Fengxiao,” Zhang He sighed dramatically. “I am no friend of Date Masamune, though, so I hope you’ll keep us in the rearguard.”

Jia laughed under his breath. “I’ll see what I can do.”

And that was how they found themselves moving in to besiege and conquer the small wilderness territory of Kanegasaki. Date was not as intimiately familiar with it as some of the lands from his home country, but he knew enough from the tales of Oda’s one-time retreat through the tangled forest paths to know how best to approach it. There was only one fortress, a stockade wall which protected a fair-sized camp, but there were several pathways by which anyone attempting to pass through or flee the area could duck out of sight of their attackers. When they approached, they found that Da Ji had already sent a powerful unit to attend to this mission, and though he didn’t really want to work with anyone else, Lu Bu had no choice but to grudgingly allow Date to take command. A direct order from Orochi was not to be disobeyed even if he thought he already had things well in hand. Masamune’s first order of business was to split their combined troops into several units to surround the fortress, so as to lay siege to it, but also to comb through the many paths to make sure no one had already gotten out and was trying to escape, bring reinforcements, or prepare a strategy. They found only one messenger, and cut him down before he could get away to find more of Oda’s forces to rescue them. Guo Jia agreed that the siege was a good idea, but he suggested to Date that they give it only a few days – too long, he reasoned, and the rest of Oda’s army might become suspicious that they hadn’t heard any word at all from their lord and would come sniffing around to find out the reason. They would not succeed in a battle with additional forces at their rear. Lu Bu rather heartily agreed with his assessment, mostly because he hated waiting and wanted to get in there and smash Oda’s head in himself.

The rumor of Oda’s withdrawal to Kanegasaki had spread further and wider than even he expected. Da Ji was not the only one to hear of it, others had as well. It seemed like the height of idiocy to follow that rumor and attempt to reach him, at least for anyone not sporting a large army with which to either attack the position or defend it. Yet, there were three lone officers riding far in search of anything Resistance, and this was the first word they had gotten to lead them to their goal. The agreement had been to fall in with whichever leader they came across first, and it seemed they would reach Oda before ever even hearing about Zhao Yun or Sun Ce. So be it, then. What they, and the Orochi army as a whole, did not know was that Oda himself was actually several hundred miles away at that very moment, comfortably enjoying his respite at Honnoji after bidding farewell to Zhao Yun’s forces and sending them on their merry way. Huang Zhong was still the one in sole command of Kanegasaki, securing it as an outpost and route of travel between Xiapi and some of Oda’s other holdings, and aside from Okuni he had only lower-ranked officers to assist him. All had been quiet on this frontier until the day first Lu Bu, then Date showed up, and once their attempts at getting messengers out to request help had been thoroughly shut down, it truly looked dire. Yet, Huang Zhong was of the opinion that they needed to stay quiet, and not let on who exactly was holed up in the fortress. It had never been in his plans or his orders to play decoy for their lord, but as long as they had Lu Bu’s attention, it was probably best for the Resistance overall. That is, until their supplies began to run low and the troops started to fidget in desperation. The only one among them who didn’t seem terribly ruffled by the situation was Okuni. She occasionally strolled along the top of the walls where the sentries watched their foes, idly twirling her umbrella over her shoulder. What she saw among them she did not find fit to report, except for the fact that there was a handsome fellow with an eyepatch who seemed to be in command, and the besieging troops came and went at his order. They didn’t camp within arrow-shot of the walls, but rather further away, and sent units in shifts to watch the two gates of the fortress day and night. At last, Date Masamune decided they had waited long enough. There was no sign of Oda reinforcements, so now was the time to break in and take them all down. Without waiting for actual orders, Lu Bu charged the main gate with a roar, and the entirety of the Oda forces inside shook down to their toes to hear his voice and the slam of his halberd against the barricaded door. He only got a couple of good hacks in before Date bellowed for him to get out of the way – his men had cut down a tree and honed it into a battering ram, that would be far more effective than letting the mighty warrior attempt to cut the door down. Still, they had to marvel at the huge, raking splinters he had managed to put into the door before stepping aside to let the peons do the grunt work.

There were three pockets of Orochi forces bellied up to the edge of the clearing that surrounded the fortress, waiting for their chance to get in. Two rams had been prepared in the dark of night, and both gates were being battered, but only one had a bloodthirsty Lu Bu in front of it. To the other side, Guo Jia and Zhang He sat astride their horses watching idly, while below them a third cadre formed by Chen Gong and a mingling of Han troops loyal to both Dong Zhuo and earlier lords of Wei restlessly waited for their chance to prove themselves. Date rifle troops were stationed at both gates as well, though Masamune had reserved the bulk of their strength, and Katakura Kojuro, for himself at the main gate. Had Oda been inside, the outcome still could have been in serious doubt, but given the small, weak vanguard actually trembling behind their barricades, it would be nothing short of a massacre. Huang Zhong took to the top of the walls only briefly, to have a look for himself and shoot down among the ram-carriers, but no matter how many he wounded, more rushed to take their place, and at last Lu Bu spotted him and ran to hit the wall below his position. The sheer force of impact nearly toppled the old archer off the parapet, and then Katakura’s rifle corps was shooting back at him, forcing him to abandon that idea. He hopped down among his troops and checked to see how many arrows he had left. “We are heavily outnumbered,” he said worriedly to Okuni and Chen Shi. “If we fight, defeat will be inevitable.”

“If we do not fight, our deaths will be certain,” Chen Shi insisted. “That is nothing short of Lu Bu out there, and he won’t stop if we surrender. He’ll obliterate every last man whether we’ve dropped our weapons or not!”

“Ooh, how terrible,” Okuni cooed. “It really is a rock and a hard place, isn’t it?”

“I suppose,” Huang Zhong sighed, “we can at least find some honor in fighting, and defeat may not necessarily mean death. If only those messengers had been able to get out, just one unit from the main army would turn the tide in no time.”

“Why do you worry about defeat, if we can spare the lives of the men?” Okuni asked, a bit more seriously. “Sure, Lord Oda might not be too happy if we lose this territory, but there are far worse things. He’ll get over it.”

Zhong eyed her; he never could tell when she was teasing and when she really meant it. “All the same, my lady,” he said respectfully, “let’s see how long we can hold out. Arrange the men in two groups, facing each of the gates. Archers among them, hidden, not in formation. Whichever gate breaches first, all forces pull to that gate and attempt to break through. We’re going to make the Orochi army work for it, but as soon as you see daylight, the order is to retreat as fast as your legs can carry you.”

“Sounds good to me,” the young miko agreed, twirling her umbrella once more before spinning on her heel and going to carry this order to the enlisted men. She knew how to exhort them, they always took her orders without complaining and would probably agree to die for her if she asked them nicely. It was up to her to raise their morale so they might forget for a few moments that Lu Bu was out there, because those moments would spell the difference between successfully retreating or being cut down where they stood.

The three horses coming in from the west took it slowly, concerned by the hubbub and unable to tell who was attacking who just yet. They stole up a path as far as they dared before dismounting and tying up their steeds, going the rest of the way on foot. Of them, Wang Yuanji had the best sight, she didn’t need to do more than brush some leaves aside in order to peer through and get a good read on the tableau facing them. “I don’t recognize the majority of them,” she reported in a soft murmur, “but that is undoubtedly Lu Bu by the gate. I believe that makes it the Orochi army on the attack.”

Both Sima brothers recoiled a bit at the mere thought. “Lu Bu!” Zhao repeated. “Oh man. I don’t think we can take him.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” his wife warned him. “You may not have to. There is a side gate, they’re attempting to breach both at the same time but at the other…” She made a small noise of interest. “I know those men. Officers of Wei. Lord Zhang He in particular.”

“Well, well,” Sima Shi murmured in interest. “So they have reinforcements from Cao Pi. This is quite an assault, worthy of an attempt to destroy the leader of the resistance.”

Zhao looked at him over his shoulder. “Do you think they’d consider us reinforcements if we showed our faces, or has Father reported his sons’ betrayal yet?”

Shi shook his head. “I don’t think he will, but that doesn’t mean we should show ourselves to Wei. They’ll know as soon as we turn our swords on the Orochi army, which side we belong to. I would prefer to keep them in the dark a bit longer, if we can.”

“It will be difficult,” Yuanji said, straightening up and turning to them. “But if we concentrate on this unit closest to us, we should be able to at least make a dent in the Orochi forces.”

“Will it be enough?” Zhao fretted.

“It will have to be.” Shi’s face was tight and grim, paler than usual. “We saw no reinforcements of theirs at all, as we rode up the paths. They have no hope but the three of us.”

 _And against Lu Bu, no less_ , Zhao thought to himself. He drew his broadsword and held it low. “Well, if we’re gonna go out, we might as well make it a heroic blaze of glory. Let’s go.”

Shi tutted at him as he drew his slender rapier. “Show me what you’ve got, brother, and I’ll know whether I made the right choice to follow you.”

Zhao opened his mouth to make a smart remark back, but Yuanji shoved him to shut him up and then pulled a handful of throwing knives from inside her coat. “Not now. Save it for if we live.”

Chen Gong had been enjoying a modicum of his lord’s trust and vicarious authority, after being requested by name to join him on this mission, but right now his attention was entirely on the progress of the battering ram beating on the side gate of the fortress and not at all on the troops behind him – or the path beyond them. The officer with him, Zhang Lu, heard something and glanced to find several of his men suddenly collapsing in the middle of the path and the others around them erupting with startled shouts. They had heard no rifle shots, and no arrow feathers could be seen among them, so for a moment they all stood mystified as to the nature of the hits and what to protect themselves from. By then it was too late, for two men were coming up through their ranks, each sweeping a sword through the men as they plowed their way toward the officers. His strategies had not factored in a surprise attack from the rear by nonexistent reinforcements, so when his men scattered in all directions, Chen was left flailing and trying to find a weapon with which to defend himself. His war fan was nowhere near the likes of others, it was genuinely just for show, but he grabbed for it anyway and came up throwing it out, only to realize he had grabbed a scroll in his belt instead. The book rolled inside flopped uselessly into the grass, and Chen Gong stared in horror at his mistake before raising his head to find Sima Shi already in his face. Rolling his shoulders to let his armor absorb the first blow, he only lasted a few extra seconds before Shi was able to knock him down. There were enough men at his command that Zhang Lu could regroup them with a shout and surround these interlopers, but the Sima brothers put their backs to one another and stoutly fought the entirely of their unit alone. Or not alone; Yuanji’s first volley of knives was not her last, and she enjoyed the thrill of standing just inside the trees flinging them into the fray and picking off stray soldiers who still had no idea where the sneak attack was coming from.

Just uphill, Zhang He was the first to notice something was off. An idle glance down at the neighboring unit found them bumbling around in chaos, running this way and that while the lead officer in charge was already down on the ground with blood pouring from a wound in his shoulder. Junyi startled and made to run to their aid, but he wisely checked before actually doing so, reaching to grab Guo Jia’s arm instead. “What do you make of that, Master Fengxiao?”

Guo Jia turned to follow his gaze. “Hmm? Oh, my. Something’s not right, there.” He, too, remained in his place, preferring to gauge the situation before acting. It took a few moments before he could spot the source of the mayhem, waiting until enough of Chen Gong’s men had been knocked aside to reveal the two men in shades of blue and black masterfully cutting with rapier and broadsword. Jia hummed under his breath. “Now that’s unexpected. If I’m not mistaken, those are Sima Yi’s sons.”

“What?” Zhang He stared at him, and then down at the pair fighting their way through the ranks of an entire unit of Han soldiers. He had fought alongside Shi in Nanzhong, he knew that coat, that stance, that lightning rapier well. “Impossible! If that’s true, what are they doing attacking our side? Sima Yi belongs to Orochi!”

Jia could not keep a smirk off his face. “He does, indeed. Which makes that a _very_ good question, Master Junyi. What on earth could possibly compel Sima Yi’s children to assault the Orochi army?”

“Well, I know what it looks like,” He said with a bit of a frown at being needled by the strategist, “so the more important question is, what ought we to do about it?”

“They certainly are making short work of Chen Gong’s men,” Guo Jia said wryly. “Truthfully, though, we can’t help them.” He knew He would lookat him, so he turned to meet that gaze even before it swung his way, chin lifted haughtily. “The moment our ram breaches that gate, we must move in. We can’t be hampered by trying to run to the rescue of the other unit. Leave them – they’re no use to us now, not if we intend to charge straight for Oda when our chance comes.”

Figuring he had meant something entirely different, He accepted this intelligent strategic explanation with a toss of his hair. “Very well. You heard him,” he added to their men, “hold your ground. Our target is Oda, and anyone else behind that ugly gate. Let nothing distract you from your purpose.”

“If they advance on us, we’ll have no choice but to defend ourselves,” Guo Jia added for all to hear. “Until then, focus your strength on the enemy ahead. It won’t be long now.”

Chen Gong’s unit was positioned close to the corner of the fortress, so both of the other units had a clear view of what was happening. Date was concentrated on knocking down the main gate, so when someone called out a report that someone was attacking from the rear, he could hardly spare a glance let alone an order. Only when the reports became frantic did he come up with a counter-move. Sighing angrily, he gestured with his saber. “Lu Bu! Go and see what all the fuss is about.”

“And let you take Oda’s head before I do? Never,” Lu Bu growled at him. “ _You_ go and see to it.”

“I gave you an order!” Date blazed at him. “It’s your own men who are failing, so if you don’t want to share their disgrace, go and avenge them or something!”

Hearing that, Lu Bu turned to look out across the field and see for himself. Sure enough, it was Chen Gong’s unit under attack. Vengeance wasn’t important to him, not for such retainers, but he knew he couldn’t just let them crumble or else it would reflect badly on him. Snarling under his breath, he shoved a few of the rank-and-file soldiers out of his way and stomped off across the battlefield to take care of it. Troops scattered out of his way as he came, while Zhao and Shi, still shoulder to shoulder, stood transfixed as soon as they realized he was coming straight for them. Their eyes widened as he loomed up over his own men, and they had only seconds to snap out of it and move when the halberd came at their heads. They threw themselves to either side and rolled away, coming up with swords held across themselves to defend. “Who are you maggots?” Lu Bu bellowed at them, swinging the Sky Piercer so hard and fast that even ducking wasn’t enough. He could have struck aimlessly, wildly, and still hit them. Zhao braced his forearm behind the back side of his broadsword to desperately block, only to be thrown back several feet from the impact. Seeing that he had the balls to try to stand against him, Lu Bu went for him first, lip curled in a sneer of superiority. “No matter, you seem to want to die first. I’ll be glad to grant your wish!”

Zhao swore softly and dodged the next hit, sure he’d probably break his arm if he tried to block it again. He found his brother at his shoulder again, grabbing the sash hanging from his armor and dragging him out of the way. “We can’t take him one on one,” Shi hissed in his ear. “Both of us, together.”

“You got it,” Zhao breathed back, steeling himself to go in again. They didn’t even have to move, Lu Bu had them in his sights and came at them again. Both brothers blocked simultaneously, Zhao moving in high with the advantage of his height and arm strength, Shi ducking under to brace his thin rapier and take the added momentum away. The might behind the blow was almost too much for them, still, but they held it off and were able to disengage and put distance between them and their giant foe. He hacked at them, and each in turn swung his sword to deflect each strike, first one then the other in rapid sequence. Even as close as they were standing by one another, the brothers did not even come close to accidentally hitting each other, they wove and ducked around each other to be in the right place to defend one another. The longer it went on, though, the more Shi became concerned that they didn’t have a way out of this. Perhaps they were fresh enough to hold ground against Lu Bu all day, but they had no way of going on the attack or actually overcoming him. The elder brother’s strategic mind gauged their options while he fended off the halberd: something had to change around them, a distraction to take Lu Bu away from them, or they would have to take a dangerous risk. Or retreat, but when they had no troops to back them up and no idea whether anyone barricaded inside the fortress had even seen them let alone considered coming to their aid, even retreat was dangerous. But then, so was hoping for the first option to pan out. It seemed he would need to do something risky to change the momentum. They needed an opening in which to either counterattack or retreat without having their heads separated from their shoulders, and it seemed up to Shi to make one.

His Lightning blade was not strong enough to penetrate Lu Bu’s armor, but the thin rapier blade could find the holes between the scales much easier than Zhao’s broadsword. When his brother moved to block the next swing of the halberd, Shi gave way and ducked low, shifting his sword to jab straight forward as rapidly as he could. The first couple of blows pinged off the scale armor, but then one found a gap and speared through. He barely scratched through the silk tunics beneath, but it was enough to send Lu Bu into a fiery rage. He roared at the flicker of pain along his ribs and pulled the polearm back so he could hit with the butt end, jamming it downward toward whatever fly had bitten him. Shi failed to evade it, taking the pommel against his shoulder, and felt himself falling backwards even as he watched the blade of the Sky Piercer sailing down toward his head, bright against the blue sky. For a moment time seemed to slow to a crawl, taking a gasping breath seemed to take forever and the blade above him seemed stuck at the apex of its swing, but then there was a cry to his left and Zhao slammed his Cloudburst onto the shaft of the halberd with a mighty two-handed overhead swing. It was enough to knock it wide, and time sped back up to normal as Shi’s back hit the dirt, his life spared by his brother’s interference. It didn’t last long, though, as Lu Bu recoiled and hit him back, grasping the shaft of his halberd in both hands and heaving it straight into Zhao’s gut. The shaft hit him like a log across his middle and flung him clear across the grassy field. Shi tried to scramble to his feet to get clear, but Lu Bu’s bulk descended on him and a fist closed on his coat, picking him up and hauling him clear off the ground. Wang Yuanji dashed out of the trees in the hope she could help, but as she came to a stop within range she realized she couldn’t throw a knife without hitting her brother-in-law. He tried lifting his rapier to stab again, but the halberd was there to prevent him, sending the blade spinning away into the air. There was no need for taunts, both knew Sima Shi’s life was forefeit, all Lu Bu had to do was actually hit him with the blade. Shi closed his eyes and willed it to be quick, but his luck had not yet run out. A voice rang across the battlefield: “Soldiers of Orochi! Are you brave enough to face me?!”

Whether or not he knew that voice, Lu Bu could not ignore it. He turned to glare over his shoulder, and then threw Sima Shi down like a rag doll in order to turn and meet it. “You!” he bellowed back.

Shi hit the ground again, this time with enough force to injure him – he felt his arm twinge as he landed hard on it and his jaw scraped the dirt. He looked up enough to find the source of the interruption and breathe a sigh of incredulous relief that his first option actually worked. Thundering up the open field from the south was a small pack of horsemen, and at the lead rode a man at least as huge as Lu Bu himself with massive deer antlers sprouting from his helm. The pike he carried was easily the match of the Sky Piercer, poised low off the side of his horse in a ready attack stance. The look on his face darkened like thunder upon spotting Lu Bu where he was, and whatever else this warrior had planned fell by the wayside as he found his true target. Before they could be trampled by the new arrivals, Yuanji slipped in and pulled Shi up off the ground, half-dragging him over to where Zhao had been thrown and was just now getting up onto his knees and shaking the ringing out of his head. “Quickly!” she urged them. “I will bandage you up later, right now we need to get clear!”

Masamune heard the shout as well and spun so fast his cape got tangled around him for a moment. His good eye widened to see that his hunch was correct, and his heart plummeted into his boots. “Honda!” he gasped.

Lu Bu ignored everything else, even the orders to seek and destroy Oda, and took off running straight toward the Honda clan. He had clashed with this man before, he knew what he was in for and could not have been more excited. Likewise, Honda Tadakatsu snapped some quick orders at his sons to send them up to attack Date’s forces from the rear before sliding out of his saddle and hitting the ground running as well. The two polearms crashed into each other with a deafening ring that echoed across the field and in the trees. At that, everyone with a whit of good sense in their heads drew back, leaving those two to their battle and conducting the rest around them. From behind the crossed shafts, Lu Bu grimaced with a furious snarl. “What, are you following me everywhere I go?” he taunted his opponent. “That’s some ego you have!”

“I could say the same to you,” Honda grumbled back. “Let’s see this legendary skill I’ve heard so much about.”

“You didn’t get enough at Nanzhong?” Lu Bu disengaged with a powerful swing and cleared a space between them no more than the length of his halberd’s shaft. “Then allow me to show you what I can really do!”

Most of the encroaching army was so distracted by the sight of the two massive men colliding that they didn’t notice the crash of the battering ram finally breaching the main gate. As a result, Huang Zhong was able to lead the surprise counter-assault successfully, driving forward into the gap and raising his bow to send a hail of arrows into the faces of the foremost soldiers. One pinged off Date’s helm as he shielded himself with his arm and then raised his saber. “Orochi soldiers, advance! Cut down Oda Nobunaga!”

Even the Wei contingent around the other side heard his order and rode to intercept, though they came across the Sima brothers first and found themselves unwillingly drawn to fight them instead. Battered and bruised though they were, Shi and Zhao had regained their wits enough to keep going, and even though Shi’s left arm was useless to him he darted in masterfully against Guo Jia while his brother and Yuanji took on Zhang He. The rest of the Oda forces poured out of the open gate as planned, but with the unexpected arrival of more than one small but apparently powerful rescue unit, they no longer advanced with the grim intent to simply flee and scatter. A fair portion of the men under Huang Zhong’s command knew full well who Honda Tadakatsu was, and the sight of his burly sons rampaging across the field filled them with new hope. The men of Shu with them took heart from their comrades, and together they pushed back the Orochi assault. Okuni danced among them, swirling and bouncing so agilely that anyone who dared to take a swing at her missed entirely. She was the ultimate distraction, drawing eyes to her and flustering a portion of the Date rifle corps just by winking at them, though she did manage a few good smacks with her parasol against the baffled enemy troops.

Masamune drew a bead on the old man standing in the gate and fired at him, clipping his arm but not enough to make him drop his bow. If anything, Huang Zhong fought harder, ignoring the graze wound and snatching spent arrows right out of the fallen bodies of his foes in order to shoot again. When he ran out, he finally jogged forward and used the bow like a club, beating on whoever tried to pull him down. Date powered through the melee to him and brought a pistol up fast, but Zhong ducked around it and used the bow to deflect that arm so that the shot went wide, leaving a splintered hole in the wood lintel of the palisade. Masamune still had his saber, though, and brought it around to block a follow-up hit. “Is this it?” he complained into Zhong’s face before throwing him off. “A dusty old relic from the ancient past, and that girl? Where is Oda?!”

“You came looking for Lord Nobunaga,” Huang Zhong realized with a gust of a laugh. “You’re barking up the wrong tree, young whelp. Our lord is nowhere near here.”

“What?!” Date raged at him, glaring, and then looked around wildly. All this mess for nothing, and yet the defending troops were fighting with all their strength. “You idiots! You’re going to die for that man, and for what? He’s nothing! He’s already dead where I come from, and he will be again soon enough once Orochi comes to conquer you all!”

“Oh? Is he, now?” Zhong turned the bow to get a better grip, angling it to defend himself. “You’re one of those, then? Taken in by the serpent.”

“And why not?” Masamune said brashly. “He’s the only one who can end all this fighting. If you must know, yes, I am one of his most trusted officers!”

“Tch,” Zhong snorted, “the naïve dreams of youth. Snap out of it, boy! This will never end so long as Orochi lives.”

“That’s your opinion!” Date swiftly traded hands, putting the saber in his right so he could use it to full effect while drawing his other pistol with the left. He charged Huang Zhong with the sword in order to get in close, and when he had an opening, raised the pistol to fire point-blank at the old man’s throat. Before he could, something flew from his left and hit the pistol, jostling it aside and forcing his finger to squeeze the trigger at the wrong moment. Again, the shot went wide, and he turned to find a woman at the corner of the stockade wall, shoulder turned to present the tiniest target to her foes and two more small knives between her fingers. Incensed, he flew at her instead, but a much larger man came between him and her – one of Honda’s sons, swinging his polearm to bash the enemy commander if he could. Masamune had no choice but to pull back from this sudden onslaught of capable officers, and looked around to see how things were going with Lu Bu. Unfortunately, it looked like Honda had the day, or at the very least it must have come to a draw. The big samurai in the antlered helm stood leaning on his pike, breathing heavily, while the magnificent Red Hare carried its master away downfield. What few of Lu Bu’s retainers were still capable of walking were fleeing after him, while the rest of the Orochi army blundered around the field in confusion. Shooting Huang Zhong one more glare, Masamune raised his strident voice. “Orochi army, pull back! We’ve been tricked! Oda Nobunaga is not here! Retreat to our fallback position!”

The remaining men of the Orochi forces turned tail instantly and streamed away, heading for the paths and the camp where they all were supposed to regroup after the battle. Guo Jia and Zhang He rounded the corner of the fortress, towing loose horses with them, and left one for Date to grab and mount up on the fly. As they went, the various defenders drew back toward the breached gate of the fortress, watching warily to make sure the retreat was completed before finally turning to one another. Honda Tadakatsu was the last to stride up the hill toward them, using his pike to assist. “What a remarkable warrior,” Huang Zhong murmured under his breath before the man reached them. “He reminds me of myself, in my younger days.”

Okuni made a disbelieving face behind his back. “I somehow doubt that.”

“My friends,” Tadakatsu said boldly, resting the butt of his pike on the ground and bowing low. “It seems we were just in time. My sons, Tadatomo and Tadamasa, and my cousin Masanobu. I am Honda Tadakatsu.”

“Just in time is right,” Huang Zhong said with some relief. “I don’t know who you are, Master Honda, but your assistance is welcome.”

“Consider me Orochi’s foe, that is all,” Tadakatsu said proudly. “I have been tracking that beast for some time, I know he belongs to the serpent and wherever he goes, bloodshed follows.”

“You mean Lu Bu? Yes, that’s what we’ve heard. This is the first time I’ve faced him, though.” The old warrior looked to the side as three more officers limped up. “You fellows, though. I’m not seeing things, am I? Sima Yi’s sons fighting to rescue us?”

Sima Zhao palmed his fist, since he was still standing stably enough to do so. His brother was leaning on Wang Yuanji, having taken the worst of Lu Bu’s hits and finally feeling them. “If it’s all the same to you, just Sima Zhao and Sima Shi will do. I see Lord Ma Chao isn’t the only general of Shu serving Oda Nobunaga.”

Honda blinked at the lot of them. “Oda, you say? Such strange twists of fate in this world.”

Zhong looked from one group of saviors to the other. “It seems we have a lot to talk about. Come, the fort here isn’t damaged too badly after all that. We have a nice clean camp inside, let’s see to those wounds and let everyone get settled before we talk each other’s ears off.”

Sima Shi attempted to bring up his arm to bow in gratitude, but it pained him so much that he winced and nearly doubled over. That was sign enough to the others that they should indeed go inside, sit down, and tend all injuries sustained. The fortress had been built to protect a former temple, though all that remained of it was the shoin, which Huang Zhong had been using as a meeting place and war room while the entirety of his forces ate and slept in a regular military camp just below. While everyone was looked over and taken care of, the soldiers worked to repair the stockade door and rebuild the barricade behind it to keep out potential future incursions, though as the day began to wane and preparations turned to the night watch, the side gate was unbarred to let sentries roam afield looking for the remanants of their foes – and for a messenger to head for the Oda main army at all speed to call in reinforcements just in case. By that time, everyone had been wrapped up and treated to such food and water as the camp could provide, and all drew into the temple shoin to sit in a cluster and talk over the battle which had brought them all together. Tadakatsu knelt across from Zhong while the Simas sat between them, and Okuni flirted with Honda’s sons. “That’s all it is, really,” Sima Zhao said to conclude his explanation. “It didn’t matter who we fell in with, as long as they were Resistance. But I’ve felt the bite of Lord Ma Chao’s spear myself, so if you don’t mind, I wouldn’t be opposed to working alongside him.”

“I suppose that’s up to Lord Nobunaga,” Zhong mused, rubbing his beard, “but there is sort of a long-term understanding that the Resistance is open for recruiting at any time. If you wish to join us, so be it. What of yourself, Master Honda?”

Tadakatsu shook his head slowly. “I am not prepared to serve any lord at this moment. In truth, I am loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and someday I will return to his side, but that time is not yet. Not as long as the beast Lu Bu roams freely across this land.”

Zhong frowned in concern. “There are few who can stand up to him, and most of them are in Orochi’s service at the moment right alongside him. I suppose if we are to have any relief from his tyranny, someone of your strength needs to be free to chase him down.”

“All the same,” Tadakatsu acknowledged, “if there is any chance of them returning to try again, my sons and I will remain with you for a few days. At least, until your messengers reach Lord Oda wherever he is.”

“I can’t really turn down such an offer,” Huang Zhong admitted. “Even with these three here for the time being, but if what the youngster says is right, I may need to send them along to Lord Nobunaga instead of keeping them.”

Zhao glanced at his brother, and both shared a raised eyebrow. Youngsters, was it? “Your hospitality is appreciated,” Shi murmured. “I regret that we have only ourselves to offer, and no troops with us.”

“Such strength is not to be turned down,” Tadakatsu said proudly. “I saw the two of you staving off Lu Bu yourselves as I rode up. Masterful work. Even without orders, without a personal reason to fight, you fought your hardest. I salute you for that.”

Shi lowered his gaze modestly, since he knew how close he had come to being killed, but Zhao smiled for both of them. “Thanks. We hadn’t really expected to walk into a battle, but you take what you can get, these days.”

“Who was the man leading the army?” Yuanji interjected. “Do you know him, Master Honda?”

“In a sense,” Tadakatsu sighed. “Date Masamune. I had heard rumor that he was indeed serving Orochi, so to see it is merely a sad confirmation. He is a proud man, and capable, with control of a large rifle corps.”

“Even if I had more archers with me, we would have been no match for those guns,” Huang Zhong said with a sad shake of his head. “I heard what he said, though. They expected Lord Nobunaga to be here, and he’s not. So I’m not too worried they’ll come back, if they were looking for him – but all the same, Master Honda, take a few days if you like.”

“I shall,” Tadakatsu nodded, glancing over his shoulder to his sons and shooting them a warning look against getting too friendly with Okuni. “Yet, when the messengers return and can escort these fine fellows to Lord Oda, make sure to warn him that Lu Bu himself is on a mission to seek him. I trust that a warlord of his stature has more than enough troop strength to protect himself, but word must still be sent.”

Shi tipped his head. “We will be sure to tell him.”

A full meal was served late, and with the stars out and crickets singing in the wood outside the stockade walls, the officers retired to their tents to get some rest. Even Honda, though his son Tadatomo stood first watch with the regular sentries as a symbol of solidarity. As certain as they were that Date had pulled the Orochi army away from Kanegasaki, they could not let down their guard for even a minute, especially if they were to have any hope of their messengers getting through safely this time. The Sima brothers and Wang Yuanji were given a tent to themselves, and after Zhao had thoroughly reassured his wife that he was only a little bruised, he went to sit with his brother to check on him. Shi had broken his arm and nearly been knocked out, but after food and a little quiet, he was already looking more alert. With his armor off, he sat in shirt and surcoat with his arm bound tightly against his side to keep it immobile. Zhao flopped down on his other side and gave him a good, long, searching look before breaking into a soft smile. “How do you feel?”

Shi looked away from his warm expression, a bit embarrassed. “Better than anyone who went toe-to-toe with Lu Bu ought to feel.”

“That was a crazy, dumb move, you know,” Zhao noted. “Almost like something I would’ve done. But it was worth it. I saw it – you scored a hit on him.”

“There was no blood,” Shi sniffed. “I’ll be lucky if it passed through his clothes.” He rubbed his sore arm, and then moved his hand over to rest on his brother’s knee. “Thank you. For not running, and deciding to hit him instead.”

“So, two dumb moves one after the other.” Zhao shrugged. “Sounds like the Sima boys, all right.”

“Speak for yourself,” Shi retorted. It was just like Zishang to turn a solemn moment of gratitude for saving his life into a joke, but he understood. It was the best way to keep them from getting too sappy all over each other. Both knew full well how close they came today, and didn’t need to speak of it. He withdrew his hand and flopped it in his own lap instead. “So. It seems we’ve fallen in with Oda, after all. It remains to be seen whether this is better or worse than locating Sun Ce or Zhao Yun.”

Zhao nodded tiredly. “It’s good enough for now. I meant what I said…I really do want to prove myself alongside Lord Ma Chao. He…” For a moment, he considered admitting to his private betrayals at Kawanakajima, but caught himself and changed his mind. He could explain without going that far. “…he was herding peasants across the battlefield at Kawanakajima. I kinda felt bad that we had to attack him, but he showed us in the end. I remember how hard he hit.”

Shi hummed under his breath, remembering that day. Oda had conquered them, and here they were surrendering to his lead. “It seems only fitting that we should be counted among his allies, I suppose.”

“Yeah.” Zhao looked him over again. “You sure you’re okay? Need anything before I throw myself on my bedroll and pass out?”

“I’m fine,” his brother insisted. “Go. I’m sure your wife hasn’t taken your word for anything and wants to inspect your bruises for herself before she’ll allow herself to sleep.”

“Yikes…yeah, probably.” Not that Zhao had any problem whatsoever with letting Yuanji peel off his tunics and have a close look at his body. He gave his brother another warm smile and got up to get it over with, feeling Shi’s eyes on his back until he ducked through the canvas flap separating the chambers of the tent. Only when he was gone did Sima Shi smile to himself at the turn of events, and silently thank whatever fates led them there that they were still alive – and welcome. He hadn’t expected it to go so well. Compared to the fear of being turned out by an unwilling Resistance army, fighting Lu Bu wasn’t so bad after all.

  


Tensions ran high at both Odawara Castle and Bai Di, even though Da Ji was only present at the former while the latter fortress had changed hands yet again. Date Masamune being sent to Kanegasaki left the Orochi stronghold in Diaochan’s hands temporarily, as she had returned there from Odawara in time to be asked to take command. All things considered, such a duty was still in line with what she promised Lu Bu, and sitting in the proud chair in the main hall to preside over the daily minutae of running a castle was hardly stressful. Yet, she longed for someone to come and take over for her, mostly so she could have nothing to do but amuse herself in more normal ways, like dancing. Just when she was starting to think she would be stuck there until Date himself returned, with or without her husband in tow, a small contingent arrived from Odawara under the lead of Zhuge Liang. He had quite a bit of news from the other castle, and Diaochan received it in amazement.

Not two days prior, Zhuge Liang had been preparing to remove from Odawara anyway, seeing as Da Ji was in residence there and not likely to leave anytime soon, and he had important strategies to prepare at other locations. He had already ordered Odawara’s defenses in such a way that any fool could carry them out without messing them up too badly, so his personal presence there was no longer necessary. He was not of a mind to wait to find out if Lu Bu and Date were successful, some part of him anticipated that Oda would slip through their fingers yet again and that meant all of their remaining strongholds were vulnerable, particularly the ones without anything resembling a permanent commander or strategist. Word came to him while he was packing the last of his books that the remnants of Sun Quan’s army had arrived, and “remnants” was the only appropriate word to use. They were thin on the ground, and had even lost horses so that the Wu prince himself was the only one riding. Hearing how few officers and soldiers were in his company, Liang expected the worst and felt he needed to be there to see it for himself. He adjusted his robes and picked up his fan, and came down through the keep to emerge into the receiving hall at the same time as Sun Quan entered from the courtyard to face Da Ji. He held his chin up and walked sure-footedly, but Zhuge Liang had a practiced eye and could tell he was hiding considerable exhaustion and pain – and barely, at that. His fists were clenched at his sides as if to will himself to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Da Ji stood in the center of the hall with her arms folded, tapping one pointed nail against her arm in irritation. Zhuge Liang decided it wise to remain lurking behind a pillar rather than interrupt. The fox demon wasted no words, having no need to taunt her underling about his clear lack of captives in custody. “You failed me again, didn’t you?” she said sharply.

Sun Quan went through the motions anyway, coming to a stop before her and slowly, stiffly palming his fist before his heart. He kept his eyes lowered as he spoke. “I have no excuses, my lady. We did not capture Sun Ce. We followed him as far as Hefei, but were unsuccessful in our battles.”

Da Ji’s eyes flicked over his shoulder, even as Ding Feng tried to edge into the door without being noticed. He was too big to hide, though, she spotted him immediately no matter how hard he tried to just silently slink inside and lean on the wall. “You’re missing someone,” she realized. “Where’s your sour-faced bodyguard?”

“Captured.”

“Your sister?”

“Also captured.”

Da Ji’s eyes narrowed into angry slits. “Daqiao?”

“She disappeared from the reinforcement camp, after the battle at Hefei.” Quan sucked in a deep breath and plowed on before she could unleash a tirade on him. “I take full responsibility for everything that has happened to my army. I am commander of the men of Wu in your control, whatever has happened is my fault and I am the only one who deserves to be punished.”

“You’re damn right you do!” Da Ji snapped. “You mean to tell me you were gone all that time, tracking Sun Ce, and all you have to show for it is _half_ the army you started with? There’s no excuse you could possibly give me to make up for that, and you _know_ what fate awaits you now.” She stared him down, marginally perplexed underneath the rage. “You knew coming back would mean your head. You could have just disappeared into the wildnerness like your worthless brother.”

Quan shook his head slowly. No excuses, no explanations. “As I said. I must take responsibility for what has happened. Do you want my report, or not?”

Da Ji set her hands on her hips with a huff. “Fine. Spill it. I want to know just how badly you failed.”

Sun Quan lowered himself onto one knee like a messenger delivering a report, though it was more out of exhaustion than respect, and told her everything. How they had met up with the reinforcements sent from Bai Di prior to reaching Sekigahara. How they were unable to capture the traitors there thanks to the interference of Tokugawa’s army. How they met up with Keiji and the backup from Wei, and their subsequent drubbing at Hefei. “I don’t know what’s become of them,” he added at the end. “Wei drew back on their own, I would assume they’ve returned to Jianye. Maeda never returned to us, the last I’d heard he’d been captured.”

“Your information is out of date.” Keiji strode in from another door right then, having spied out the first part of the encounter and choosing his dramatic entrance well. He carried his pike over his shoulder, but the look on his face was grim. “No thanks to you and your guys, Sun Quan, but I got outta there just fine.”

Quan glanced up at the sound of his gruff voice but managed to steel his expression to hide his surprise. “That doesn’t change the fact that you were beaten – by Sun Ce himself, so I heard.”

Keiji’s frown deepened to a scowl. “He got lucky,” he grunted. “It wasn’t just him, I’d say there were three or four of his retainers who hit me all at the same time. Even so, they couldn’t hold me. As soon as their backs were turned, I beat down their guards and got away.” He tipped his head toward Da Ji. “I’ve already reported that much. Not surprised to hear you lost the battle, though, tiger cub.”

Quan grimaced a bit. “If you mean to imply that I might have let them win, I assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. My bruises may have faded but any of my men or the officers of Wei could confirm how it ended. I was beaten fairly, by my own brother, after his forces took out first Maeda, then Cao Ren, and then Zhou Tai.”

Keiji looked toward the main door and only then noticed Ding Feng looking sad, no sign of Zhou Tai shadowing his lord as usual. Da Ji tapped her foot irritably. “I thought they were running scared,” she noted. “Where did he get that kind of power?”

“His army is easily three times the size it was when you last saw him,” Quan explained, remembering the ragtag bunch who had tried to stop them at Xia Kou. “Every officer of Wu who defected with him, all of Tokugawa’s army, and several additional officers I don’t know – I didn’t recognize them.” His eyes drifted closed, and he lowered his head again, resting a fist against the floor in contrition. “They are the Wu Resistance, now.”

For a moment the demon strategist seethed in place, and then she snapped, striding forward and kicking Quan squarely in the jaw as he knelt on her level. He tumbled backwards and lay sprawling on the stone floor, but hastily raised a hand to stop Ding Feng from coming to his aid. “Do you have any idea what this means?” she blazed at him. “Lord Orochi does not want the Resistance growing any stronger! You were supposed to kill Sun Ce and scatter his men, not let them form an actual army! You’ve failed for the last time, Sun Quan!”

Keiji stepped between them. “Allow me,” he grunted, raising his pike. “Lord Orochi’s orders to me were to take his head in place of his brother’s.”

“No,” Da Ji countered, lifting a hand to brush the pike aside. “Not here. His life is forefeit either way, but we will do it on _my_ terms.”

“If I may, my lady…” Zhuge Liang chose that moment to reveal himself, stepping out from behind the pillar. “Lord Sun Quan’s failure means you will also be preparing to execute Lord Sun Jian, is that not true?”

Da Ji glanced toward him, not terribly surprised to find him eavesdropping. “That’s right,” she said with a bit of her usual lilt returning. “Those were the terms of the deal. If you weren’t able to bring your brother in, both you _and_ your father would take his place on the execution block.”

Quan had managed to pick himself back up by now, crouching on his knees before her again. “I know,” he said heavily. “I understand.”

Da Ji stared him down, not expecting that response. Begging, cajoling, a new request for one last chance, anything, considering how the Sun children had reacted all along every time she brought up the plan to execute their father. This resignation was new, and she wasn’t sure if it was a trick. “So you want to die, is that it? Don’t worry, I’ll give you that chance. But not here and now. You’ll be placed under arrest pending that execution.” Her lips curled in a savage smirk. “We’ll do both at once. Strike a massive blow against the Resistance by killing both of you at the same time.”

Zhuge Liang expected that idea. “You would move Lord Sun Jian across the entirety of the land to bring him here to execute? There is a lot of open land, he would be vulnerable to escape or liberation.”

She turned on him to accuse him of ruining her fun, but he did have a point. Da Ji pursed her lips to think of a solution. “It’ll have to be at another of our castles, then,” she decided. “Ueda? No, there are other prisoners being held there. Osaka, perhaps. At least now we know its security faults. It’s a decent halfway point between here and the fortress currently holding Sun Jian.”

“You will not want to keep Lord Sun Quan here for long,” Liang warned. “I have analyzed the battle which took place here when the Oda Resistance tested us. I believe they were looking for prisoners to set free.”

Da Ji gave him a dark look. “Oh, really now? Hm, and I suppose you’re telling me it’s not wise to have an actual prisoner here in case they want to try again. Well, you’re not wrong about that.” She heaved a put-upon sigh. “Very well. You were planning to head to Bai Di, so when you do, you’ll be taking him along. Have him transported to Osaka as soon as the manpower to hold him can be found – I won’t have the escort troops attacked by the Resistance en route.”

Liang bowed his head in acceptance. “As you wish, my lady.”

“Keiji. Do the honors.”

Maeda only needed to bend down from where he was standing and grab a hold of Sun Quan’s coat to haul him up to his feet. Quan knew it was time, everything was coming to an end right here, so he reached to the scabbard at his side, unlaced it from his belt, and held it out across his forearms in surrender. Keiji gladly took the sword and then rested the bladed edge of his pike against Quan’s throat. “You’re not the tiger I wanted,” he grumbled, “but I’ll take it just the same.”

“I ask only one thing,” Quan muttered, lifting his eyes to Da Ji at last. “Ding Feng, Pan Zhang, and the other men of Wu still under your command. Let my failure fall on my head alone, don’t take it out on them.”

Da Ji swished up to him, fixing him with a deadly smirk. “Oh, don’t worry. I plan to use them to the best of their ability. Anyone who doesn’t betray me is welcome to stay on as long as they can. In fact, they might make good bodyguards for Zhuge Liang.” She stopped less than a foot from him and leaned up to put her taunting leer right in his face. “Just think. You’ll get to see your father’s face again! For a short time, at least. You’ll get to tell him all about how much you failed him, and he’ll get to know that his death is your fault. What a splendid reunion that will be!”

Behind them, Ding Feng tried to repress a noise of pain at that thought. Quan had accepted his fate, though, and his eyes didn’t even waver. Keiji nudged him with his arm. “C’mon, you. It’s off to the prisons for you, until Zhuge Liang is ready to go.”

He steered Sun Quan toward the door with just the pike, carrying his surrendered sword in the other hand. As he passed his last remaining retainer, Quan looked up to find tears running down the big man’s face. For such a huge and stoic-looking man, Ding Feng had the softest heart of anyone in Wu and no shame at showing his emotions. Quan placed a hand on his arm as he passed. “Be strong, my friend,” he murmured. “Wu needs you, now. There are a number of our men abroad…take care of them for me.”

Ding Feng bit his lip and nodded bravely, turning his eyes away so as not to give Da Ji the spectacle she wanted. Sun Quan was no longer a lord but a captive, and had to be treated as such. Keiji gave him another shove, and they were gone.

Da Ji turned instantly to Zhuge Liang. “Your orders are understood, right?”

“Yes, my lady,” he answered. “I’ll see to it he reaches Bai Di, and as soon as someone can be found to move him to Osaka, it will be done. It may mean waiting for Date to return.”

“Whatever, as long as it’s done,” she snapped. “Sooner rather than later. It’ll take time to send messengers all the way to where we’ve got Sun Jian, anyway, so we can’t carry out the execution until they’re both together. I won’t tolerate any delays, it must be done to strike a decisive blow to the Resistance morale.” She glared at him, though behind her eyes was an evil glee at what she was getting to do. “They fought so hard for so long in order to prevent this from happening, and it’s going to happen anyway. And far from Hefei, so if Sun Ce had any notions of trying to _rescue_ them, well…” The cruel grin erupted on her face. “He’ll just be too late, won’t he?”

Liang faced her gloating with his usual emotionless deadpan. “Very true, so long as word of the execution does not reach him too soon. Mind your messengers, my lady.”

“You don’t need to tell me that, I’m fully aware,” she said with some annoyance. “By the way, did we get any new messages this morning? I was going to take a final report before you left, but since you’re here, no time like the present.”

“As a matter of fact…” The Sleeping Dragon reached into his robe to find a letter delivered to him that morning. “Some additional reinforcements from Wei were sent to Bai Di, but Date took them with him when he marched on Kanegasaki. I don’t think it was the same as those brought by Maeda from Jianye, they were new.”

“Really?” That was extremely interesting to Da Ji. She held out a hand to demand the letter. “I suppose I don’t really have a right to be angry at Date for snapping them up, since his orders came from Lord Orochi directly, but I really want to know why Cao Pi was sending us more reinforcements.”

“I believe it is all contained in the letter,” Liang said patiently. “One of them had the presence of mind to send it from Bai Di before they left, but the original missive inside comes from Ishida.”

“Oho…” Getting direct word from Ishida was always a good sign, it might have even been a spy report. She took the letter from him and unrolled it to read through Mitsunari’s brief report that they were moving to quell a rebellion in Yiling and would thus be out of contact for a week or two. Even though he didn’t say so directly, Da Ji gathered from the location that they were going looking for soldiers to hire or recruit. “Cao Pi must be gathering followers, again,” she realized, her eyes narrowing. “His army has gotten fairly large, if he can afford to send reinforcements before they’re even requested.”

“It seems so,” Zhuge Liang murmured. “Ishida’s reports to me have indicated as much.”

“Hmm, yes. But I have this, oh, I don’t know, _nagging_ feeling that this army is not being built to preserve the glory of Lord Orochi…” Da Ji thought quickly and then rolled up the letter to hand back to him. “I’ll handle that myself. First thing’s first. Send a messenger to Jianye to verify Sun Quan’s report, that the Wei reinforcements returned there directly instead of regrouping with him in the field. If Cao Ren gave up like a coward and beat a hasty retreat, he’ll have to answer to me before his lord even hears of it. In fact,” she added, tapping a finger to her cheek, “make it a whole unit of soldiers, not just a messenger. I want to move in and demand their cooperation. Didn’t Keiji say that Cao Pi’s wife was among their number?”

“I believe he did.”

“Good. We should take her hostage. Cao Pi won’t be able to throw his weight around if I’ve got her under my control.” Da Ji raised that finger and wagged it. “Of course, we won’t _say_ she’s our hostage, it’ll simply be a matter of wanting the most capable Wei officers assisting me in this crucial time, when prisoners are being moved and executions prepared. After all, Sun Quan lost me one of my favorite ladies to attend me, I need a replacement. Cao Pi’s wife will do.”

Zhuge Liang bowed his head to accept this plan. It was shrewd, after all, and would definitely put a roadblock up for anything Cao Pi was planning. “Such a unit should be sent from here, with enough manpower to back up the request. Anything short of a show of force will be ignored.”

“Good point. I’ll find someone to send before the day is out,” she declared. “Finish your preparations, and I’ll make sure Keiji gets the prisoner ready to transport. Come to think of it,” she went on, turning away, “I’d rather trust Sun Quan in his hands than anyone else’s. I’ll send Keiji as an escort, but I’ll want him back after you get to Bai Di.”

“Understood.”

Thus, when Zhuge Liang reached Bai Di and debriefed Diaochan on the state of affairs, she was prepared for the sight of Maeda Keiji leading Sun Quan before them in shackles. He still looked every bit a prince of Wu in his brocades and tiger skins, but his face was ashen and no matter how determined he was to keep his head up and show no fear before his foes, there was something in his eyes to suggest just how broken his spirit had become. Diaochan regarded him, and the Wu officers behind him who were serving as a rearguard for the escort, and then turned a haughty look on Zhuge Liang. “So it is true, then, that even Daqiao has betrayed Orochi and deserted the army?”

“It appears so,” Liang replied. “We have few Wu officers remaining under conscription, the highest ranked among them is Ding Feng.”

“I see. Such a shame.” Diaochan stepped down off the dais and cast him a look over her shoulder, with no bow or gesture of respect. “Then, if you are to take control of Bai Di until Date Masamune returns, it is yours. I have much better things to be doing with my time.”

Without further word, and only one annoyed glance at Keiji, she passed through them and went on toward her quarters, glad to finally be quit of her responsibility. The news of Daqiao’s desertion hidden inside all the other major developments stuck with her, and as she closed herself away in private and went to her table and mirror, she was already wondering. She had not befriended anyone else among the Orochi army, let alone the other women forced to fight, but she and Daqiao had been deployed to several battles together and had spent a fair amount of time around one another off the battlefield. Diaochan respected the young Wu officer, particularly since she didn’t seem to shy away from fighting even though she knew most of her foes would have all the advantages of strength, size, and weapon ability. Clearly, her marriage to Sun Ce wasn’t just one of appearances. But now she was gone, and Diaochan mulled over the way Zhuge Liang explained it. It sounded like she had been in the thick of battle and then deserted on her own, without anyone being able to stop her. _Such courage_ , Diaochan mused. _But I suppose perhaps she did have enough of being forced to fight her husband. Anyone in that position would seek to escape it at their first chance._

Resting her chin on a fist, Diaochan looked over the scattered implements on her dressing table – hairpins, combs, some parchment for writing letters – and wondered how long it would take her to pack them. It wasn’t as though she had a lot of possessions on hand; even if her mighty husband did like to shower her with material gifts when he could, there weren’t many to be had in this land and he hadn’t been around her long enough to go completely overboard. Everyone traveled light, since they were often transferred from one castle to the next on Da Ji’s whim and had to be ready to shift to a new military camp or command structure at a moment’s notice. Indeed, the more she looked around her chamber, the easier it seemed. One bag would do, if she folded her fluttery dress neatly. Perhaps there would even be room for a few trinkets which did not exactly belong to her but would comfort her well in a time of need. Provision, though, that could be a problem. Before she could even tackle that issue, she drew one of the papers to her and located ink and brush. There was no doubt in her mind that Lu Bu would completely explode once he read it, but if she wanted any chance at getting through his thick skull, he needed to know. He would find it when he returned, _if_ he returned. If not, well, that was his problem.

Darkness made it hard for the sentries manning the outer garrisons and lookout posts to identify someone until they came within the small pools of light thrown off by their torches, but they could tell some things by instinct and move accordingly. A lone horse riding at full speed down from the fortress on the hill, bearing a small rider clothed in tight-fitting, dark garb, looked very much like any number of messengers who they saw come and go through their gates on a daily and nightly basis. After witnessing the arrival of Maeda with a highly valuable prisoner, it was no surprise that messengers were on the move, racing to find more of their allies and bring them the news. As such, the lead sentry on guard stood out of the way and simply waved the messenger through. The rider raised a hand in thanks and streaked off into the night like a shot. No one, not even the commanding officers inside, knew that beneath that indigo blue tunic and scarf, Diaochan hid as much of her skirts as she could stuff into the pants. Her maces were lashed to the saddle beneath the long rolled-up cloth that held her belongings, she hoped she wouldn’t need to draw and use them until she was well away from the castle and could drop her charade. The only real worry she had was what this would do to her beloved husband, but that was something she could deal with later. For now, she simply had to get clear of Orochi-held territory. Everything after that was up to fate.


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oda gets some curious new information; Cao Pi and Ishida Mitsunari prepare to make their move at Odawara Castle.

Upon returning to Xuchang, Cao Pi did not seem to sit down for days on end. Settling the entire Xiahou clan and all their associates was actually a rather difficult proposition, for the fortress was at capacity again and most of the soldiers had to camp in the garrisons outside the walls. But what had the lord of Wei moving so swiftly and constantly was everything else – his preparations, his strategies, every string he had wound around his fingers to tug and move his interests. Messengers had reached him from Guo Jia, informing him that his letters had been delivered and, barring any unforeseen delays on the part of Date Masamune, they would return soon. He had to trust that some of his orders were being carried out elsewhere, but for now, Cao Pi felt like he had things more or less in hand, and the army at his command would be ready for anything. That was, at least, until the summons came.

The lord of Wei was busy ruling over his war room, analyzing the most recent reports on the movements of the various armies around the map, when Mitsunari swished in with a swirl of rosy coats. His eyes were hard and stormy with barely-managed anger and fear, and he had the message scroll in his fist. “Trouble,” he said shortly.

Cao Pi held his tongue rather than needle him about rude interruptions, seeing how flustered he was. “What is it?”

Mitsunari screeched to a stop and held out the scroll. “We’ve been summoned. Both of us.”

“Is that so?” Pi took the scroll and read it, figuring it wasn’t nearly as urgent as his strategist made it out to be, but soon his brow was also furrowing in concern. This wasn’t a part of his long-range goals, but he resolved to roll with it. “It looks like the timetable for our plans has been moved up,” he murmured irritably. “To right now.”

Mitsunari studied him carefully. “Is that going to set anything back?”

“No.” Pi took a deep breath and shook it off, tossing the message onto the map table. “As a matter of fact, I had been wondering how to set it in motion. This gives us an unexpected opportunity. Instead of preparing a means of storming whatever fortress she calls home, we’re being invited in.”

“The real trouble is going to be getting out again, you know.” Mitsunari threaded a hand through his hair, brushing it back from his face in frustration. “She’ll notice if we bring too many men.”

“Hm. Then I suppose we’ll need to plan for strength rather than numbers.” Cao Pi looked over the map, then swept aside everything he had been working on and pulled out some empty papers. “Call everyone to me, right now. Including your friends from the Toyotomi.”

Ishida looked at him again, but figured he would not say so if he wasn’t ready, and turned to go and summon every officer in the castle to them. While he waited, Pi hurriedly wrote a message for Guo Jia, and even had the time to pull a soldier aside and charge him with the mission of taking the sealed letter to a messenger to deliver. He could not wait for his officers to return to Xuchang, they needed to meet him elsewhere. By that time nearly everyone had arrived, and their lord returned to stand before them. Mitsunari counted to be sure they were all there and then pulled the ink and paper to him to take notes or write missives as necessary. Cao Pi swept a look along the line of officers and began without preface. “The time has come,” he informed his men. “I have already set certain plots in motion, but the final catalyst has just fallen into our laps. Da Ji has requested that I and Ishida travel to Odawara Castle to meet with her, presumably to discuss the ordering of my troops to her needs going forward. Sun Quan has been arrested for losing one battle too many and nearly all the officers once in his command, and will be executed alongside Sun Jian in the days to come.”

Zhang Liao sucked in a breath sharply. “No…”

Pi tilted his head to acknowledge his retainer’s alarm. “…which leaves her army in sore need of reinforcements, hence the request. It is my intention to answer this summons, but not for the reason our dear overlord thinks. Her days of ordering Wei around are over.”

Though most of the generals in his army had some inkling that it was building to this, the suddenness of the announcement startled every last one. “Does that mean,” Xu Huang breathed as if fearful he might take it back, “we are defecting from the alliance?”

“The alliance ends here, right now,” Cao Pi affirmed. “But that is only the start of what could be a long and dangerous road. My true intention is to capture Da Ji and force her to lead us to Koshi Castle, so that we may assault Orochi himself.”

The assembled officers took a collective step back in astonishment – only Mitsunari, who had been in on this from the start, did not flinch. “But can you really?” Xu Shu gasped. “My lord, that’s going to be next to impossible…!”

“No doubt it will, especially if we must carry out a stealth mission rather than a full frontal assault,” Pi acknowledged. “Yet, I cannot allow this opportunity to pass us by, we may never have another chance like it. If I want this particular piece under my control, I must seize it now, while I can. Of course, Da Ji will be immediately suspicious if I bring an entire army as my escort. I will choose two or three capable officers, and that will be it. The rest of you, listen well, because there is much we must also accomplish while this is going on.” He leaned on the table, splaying out his fingers to support him. “You – Kato, was it?”

Kiyomasa blinked at him. “Yes, Lord Cao Pi…”

“How well do you know Ueda Castle?”

The stare intensified. “Well enough…”

“Good. Take your comrade and at least one other officer, maybe two. You will be traveling to Ueda to launch a rescue mission. There is a prisoner being held there who needs to be freed, and since we have the information and the capability, she may as well be brought to join our army.”

Kiyomasa knew exactly what he meant, he had been tipped off by Mitsunari some time ago. Only the location had been withheld from him, and now he understood why. His face turned stony in a desperate attempt to hold back his excitement, and he began to bow before correcting his habit and palming his fist instead in a proper Han salute. “It shall be done, my lord.”

Pi smiled coolly at his response. These officers of Toyotomi’s had been integrated well into his army, and it showed. “Sima Yi is in charge at that castle, but word has it his forces are a little thin. Do not assault the castle, sneak in and get out with your prisoner. You must all survive for this gambit to be worth it. Do not waste lives and do not fail.”

“Understood.”

The Wei lord turned his attention to the others. “The defenses here at Xuchang need to be strengthened. I know we’re full up, but we don’t have the luxury of seeking yet another stronghold just now. Ishida, take note,” he added, “I need a messenger sent to Jianye to warn the remaining forces there. My lady and those with her should be fine, but the rest need to vacate or prepare to be assaulted. I would rather abandon that castle than waste lives defending it against Orochi,” he explained as Mitsunari began writing.

“Is there any chance of moving against this execution?” Zhang Liao asked heavily.

Cao Pi slowly turned his gaze in his direction. “Still feeling obligated to our enemies, Wenyuan? Unfortunately,” he sighed, “if we are to keep ourselves protected from retaliation from the Orochi army, there won’t be anyone to spare. But, if we find Sun Quan in the dungeons of Odawara, I will remember your feelings on the matter. In fact…” He nodded to his retainer. “You will be one of my bodyguards. Xiahou Dun, I request your assistance as well.”

Dun raised an eyebrow. “No sooner do you drag me into this mess and I’m to accompany you into hell?”

“Would you prefer to sit here on a comfy cushion and wait it out?” Pi’s eyes were as cutting as his smirk. Xiahou Dun looked away with a huff. “I thought not. If I feel I need a third, I will make that decision before we ride. The rest of you are in charge of defending Xuchang against any potential incursion from any side. The Resistance will not know what I have just told you here, so there is ever a possibility that they may take advantage of my absence to, ironically, make a dent in Orochi’s forces. You are authorized to defend and protect, but do not provoke or antagonize anyone from the Resistance armies. That’s it – dismissed.”

It wasn’t nearly enough information for most of them, but they heard the one thing they needed to, so every last officer departed the war room with an extra spring in their steps. Only Mitsunari remained, putting the finishing touches on his message and collecting anything he might need. “Do you even know how you’re going to capture Da Ji, and keep her from teleporting away?” he murmured with his head still down and eyes on his letter.

“I was hoping you might have some thoughts on that.” Cao Pi came up alongside him as if to read over his shoulder, but his attention was entirely on the strategist himself. “You spent considerable time with the Orochi army before being sent to me. I know several of the scholars and strategists close to Orochi at the beginning were given education in sorcery.”

Mitsunari hummed softly. “That’s true. But I didn’t learn nearly as much as, say, Sima Yi or Zhuge Liang.” He put the last flourish on his letter and set it aside for the ink to dry, and looked up to find Cao Pi well inside his personal space. “She’s a fox demon, right? Maybe something that works on kitsune spirits will hold her.”

“Fox spirits…” Something occurred to Cao Pi, then, something he had read and once thought no more than a fanciful fairytale. It gave him an idea, though where he would find a peach tree between there and Odawara, he couldn’t be sure. He looked away as he pondered it. “I’m not sure how one is supposed to repel or capture a fox-woman, the old stories only speak of exorcising them.”

“Which is the opposite of what we need done,” Mitsunari acknowledged. “I’ll see what I can do. Or you could just beat her into submission, there’s always that.”

“How crude.” Pi eased away from him, then, going to fetch a seal to place his personal signature on the prepared letter. “Alas, that is the one problem with having everything moved up so soon: we lack the time to properly research how to imprison a demon. We shall simply have to deal with it as it comes. If she eludes us…” He frowned to himself. “It isn’t my best-case scenario, but I feel as though it will not make things any worse than they already will be, once our betrayal comes to light.”

“Makes sense to me.” Mitsunari straightened up and allowed himself the slightest chuckle. “I almost want to believe I’m seeing your true colors, at last. But I’ve been around you long enough to know that there might still be another layer to all this.”

“Really.” Cao Pi came back with the seal, finished the letter and rolled it to be given to a courier to deliver. “Honestly, Ishida. Sometimes I _can_ be sincere.” He handed the message over with a smirk. “But I suppose you may need another hundred years in my service before you can easily tell the difference.”

Shaking his head, Mitsunari turned to go and get that message on its way to Jianye. “Keep thinking that. I told you once that it all had an equal chance of succeeding or blowing up in your face. Looks like we’re about to go and find out which one it is.”

Pi turned to his own preparations, gathering up all the correspondence and reconnaissance and taking it with him to his study in his quarters. There was a lot under his purvey that didn’t need to be seen by any of his retainers, even the ones he trusted, though he would leave them everything they needed in order to defend his stronghold. Precision was everything in this monumental plan, though the one variable he could not prepare for was waiting at Odawara itself. What would she do when they turned on her? It deserved more thought, most of which would be done silently on the long ride to the fortress. Neither he nor Mitsunari had forgotten about the false rumor they had spread about prisoners being held at Odawara, though there was now a good chance the rumor would turn out to be true in some fashion. Something Guo Jia had mentioned in his report suggested that someone had already come around sniffing after the bait, but it wasn’t the eager Wu prince that Cao Pi had hoped for. Given the short time since receiving the summons, he assumed that Da Ji was not about to let anyone in a position to rescue Sun Quan hear word that they ought to, but that information would not stay quiet forever. In fact, he didn’t mind if it came from his hand before the demon strategist ever got her chance. She had shared it with him, not knowing that she was about to lose control of him. Yet, he also felt like it was a warning to him. Everyone and everything outside of his direct grasp needed to be viewed with suspicion, no matter how excessive it was to read threats between the lines of every message or heap suspicion on every timely coincidence. On top of that, Cao Pi needed to prepare his strategy based on a complete lack of reinforcements. Whether Zhang He made it in time, or whether anyone from the Resistance came looking for hypothetical prisoners, he couldn’t count on them. It would be him, Ishida, Zhang Liao, and Xiahou Dun. Everyone else was needed elsewhere, including their infantry. He would simply have to make it work.

While they packed baggage for travel and official audience and rode out from Xuchang, others were already on the move elsewhere. Those with every intention of deserting Orochi in order to find their own people, or some refuge among the Resistance, made their way stealthily across the land by night. Messengers and envoys still loyal to the Orochi army traveled by day, though many of their best routes were slowly being closed off one by one. Zhao Yun and Yukimura departed from Honnoji as valued guests with enough new information in their heads and their message scrolls meant for the others back at Chengdu, and made their way in a new direction. Sanada Nobuyuki was picking up other trails and wondering. Date had a bit of a row with Lu Bu about who needed to return where, but couldn’t stop him from heading to He Fei while he himself turned back for Bai Di. Even Nobunaga decided it was time to cut his vacation short and return to Guandu to pick up the latest threads of information weaving across the land. The missive meant for Yu Jin and Hao Zhao at Jianye reached them just in time, as the armed unit sent by Da Ji arrived mere hours after the warning from Cao Pi; they had already silently vacated the castle, leaving the Orochi envoy perplexed at the lack of sentries and the cold welcome from a tightly-closed fortress. Had they been able to immediately report this back to their commander, she might have reconsidered her own plans, since they all hinged on taking Cao Pi by surprise. That advantage had already been lost on at least two fronts; within days they would find out if it extended to one more.

There was plenty of new information waiting at Guandu for the most powerful of the Resistance commanders to collect and peruse when he arrived. Having left Guan Ping and Kanbei at Honnoji, Nobunaga still enjoyed the company of his closest retainers as well as the camaraderie of other new favorites, such as the Ma cousins. He planned to move everyone around yet again, but not right this instant – news was more important. He read through everything while Hanbei leaned on his precious map table, chin in hands, waiting for any kind of reaction. “So that whole recruiting idea,” he said when Oda proved as inscrutable as ever. “How’s that coming along?”

“In its own time,” Nobunaga lazily replied as he skimmed another report. “We captured three officers at Odawara, that isn’t enough?”

“Considering you didn’t bring any of them back with you, I’d say no,” Hanbei teased. “That was a pretty good move, though. I was so looking forward to having a nice chat with one of Zhuge Liang’s own retainers. Just think what they might be able to tell me about the Sleeping Dragon!”

Nobunaga harrumphed under his breath, more a chuckle than not. “You’re welcome to take your own vacation to Honnoji. Guan Suo is there with his brother, recovering from his injuries. He should have quite a bit of information to sate your curiosity.”

“See? You could have just brought him back with you.” Hanbei straightened up and stretched, and then began to pace around the war room to amuse himself. “But if you did, I suppose I’d have to grovel and thank you for bringing me a treat, so it’s a fair tradeoff.” He heard Oda make a small, interested hum at that moment, and glanced back toward him with a knowing grin. He had already read all of these reports and knew which ones were the best. “What’s caught your eye?”

“The report about Chosokabe.” For a moment Oda glanced aside, but Mitsuhide was busy about routine castle business and nowhere nearby to overhear. “I had not realized he was in this world, but now I understand those past rumors of pirates on the sea coast. It must have been his clan.” He perused the parchment one more time and then set it aside to look at the map. “Aha. Yes, I suppose with the Orochi army hemorrhaging officers left and right, they would have had to pull troops away from that fortress. Not to dismiss his strength, but I know nothing of what men he might have with him to take a place like Xin Di, well-guarded or not.”

“That’s a Wu stronghold, isn’t it?” Hanbei prodded.

“So history would tell us. But I doubt anyone from Wu has been in residence there in some time.” Nobunaga studied that dot on the map for so long it seemed he would melt it right off the paper with his eyes. “Loathe as I am to leave any independent forces to be targeted by Orochi, it seems they may have actually done us a great service. See, how that coastal land is bordered, with the Jiangdong running alongside it.”

“Has anyone mapped the source of that river? It looks to me almost like it has fingers stretching into a number of pretty important territories.”

“We haven’t,” Oda admitted, “but for now its source is of no interest to me. Its fingers, as you say, are more intriguing. In some way this mighty river touches all the others in Orochi’s dominion, whether it was meant to or not. Even the streams which flow through Nagashino eventually make their way to connect to it, here at the bay known as Chi’bi.”

Hanbei zoomed in on that particular location with a historian’s interest. “You’ll want to keep an eye on that, then. From what I’ve learned about everything and everyone in this land, where a battle was fought before, a battle will be fought again.”

Nobunaga smirked slyly at him, knowing precisely what he meant. “That was one of Cao Cao’s famous defeats, was it not?”

“If only he were around to show us how it’s done,” Hanbei said with all sarcasm. “Really, though, someone else may be inclined to notice that if they launched boats there, they could slip all the way down the Jiangdong to the sea. And when you can access the sea with impunity, there’s no telling what else you can accomplish.”

“If anyone were so foolish as to force an inland naval battle there,” Oda snorted, “they would deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Cao Cao. Yet, it is not a fortress, so there isn’t really much to control. No reason to waste our men on it.” Still, he did consider perhaps having Chi’bi placed on his list for scouting patrols to routinely pass by, as he did with a number of other battlefields which seemed to lay open to either side. “That said, I’m inclined to leave Chosokabe alone for now. I would rather he held Xin Di instead of Orochi, he can be persuaded to join the Resistance cause when it becomes necessary. We have far more crucial and close-by thorns in our side which must be plucked out before we go picking up strays.” He shot Hanbei a look, at that, so as to prevent him from needling about recruitment.

The diminutive strategist shrugged, silently conceding, and then resumed his casual pacing. “Was that the only thing of interest you found in that pile of papers?”

“Everything is of interest,” Nobunaga replied, “but most of it is nothing I need to act on. I am glad to hear that Sun Ce has finally risen out of the grass and with great strength. I’m also pleased to note that Cao Pi was recently seen moving near Yiling. The seeds planted long ago are beginning to flower, and the poison is seeping into Orochi’s veins.”

Hanbei laughed brightly. “I wish I had caught up to you in time to see you planting seeds, my lord. No matter, I’m here to reap the harvest at least.” He tipped his head to the side to give his commander a coy look. “Leave it to you to plant hemlock. Or was it wisteria?”

Nobunaga deadpanned him right back, and then one-upped him. “I’m not sure, perhaps you could get out your bonsai shears and trim it and find out?”

Hanbei raised both hands in surrender. “No way, I’m not touching any poison seeds you’ve planted!”

Pleased with himself for the banter, Oda shuffled through the written reports prepared by his strategists while he was away, sorting them into degrees of curiosity. One in particular had him mystified, though. “Was it you or Lu Xun who took this report? Your handwriting is terrible, Hanbei, I can never tell.”

“Which one?” Hanbei came around the table to see for himself, as the other strategist mentioned happened to walk into the room right then. “Oh, no, that one’s mine, sorry.”

“What is it, Lord Oda?” Lu Xun wondered.

“The scouts who spotted a wagon laden with boxes leaving Bai Di. How did they verify that the boxes contained gold rather than supplies?”

Since Hanbei had taken the report from the scouts who delivered it orally, he had asked them the same questions. “The size of the boxes made them suspicious,” he replied, “so they actually shadowed the convoy all the way to the mountain pass. I went back through some old reports and found places where our spies noticed similar boxes being transported to and from Orochi castles, and this new one confirmed everything for me. Dong Zhuo was the one they delivered it to, and he opened one right there to make sure it was gold.”

“So that’s how they’re keeping him in line,” Lu Xun murmured. “I would have thought he was merely afraid of Orochi, I know there’s no real way to blackmail him like Lord Sun Ce…”

“And what good is gold in this land, anyway?” Oda moved the report to the “very interesting” pile and turned to his two tiny strategists, his expression souring. “There are no grand cities full of shops and brothels in which to spend it. Gold will not even buy rice and millet wine from the peasants desperately farming it in the blood-soaked fields, we’ve all experienced that for ourselves. We trade protection and weapons for food, we offer service for service. Taxes are of no use to anyone here, and even if they were, they would be paid in bushels of grain rather than gold. None of us has so much as seen a silver piece in months and haven’t needed to.”

“That doesn’t matter to him,” Lu Xun sighed. “I may not have ever faced him myself, he was well before my time, but I heard plenty in learning strategy from my betters. Dong Zhuo loves only two things: women and gold. He doesn’t intend to spend it, he simply wants to hoard it.”

“It would be my guess that he’s under some kind of delusion that sitting on crates of gold makes him the richest man in Orochi’s realm,” Hanbei put in, “even though he can’t do anything with either the gold or that title. The Han emperor isn’t around to be impressed by rich men with bags of gold, what’s the point?”

“Surely he doesn’t think Orochi is impressed, either,” Oda complained.

“Of course not, but Orochi knows enough to still give it to him.” Lu Xun’s expression darkened. “Gold is of no use to a serpent demon either, but if he can waste it on Dong Zhuo, why wouldn’t he? His loyalty is bought and paid for, and Orochi doesn’t have to fear losing him to the Resistance so long as his price remains so high.”

“Ah.” Nobunaga was seeing the ugly picture, now. “Since we can’t afford to pay him what he wants, there is no way to turn him from Orochi.”

“Not as long as he can still close his hands on gold.” Xun paused and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Of course, if we were to somehow stop these shipments of gold from reaching Dong Zhuo, then there might be a chance. I wouldn’t want him anywhere within twenty feet of me, but if he simply leaves Orochi because he’s no longer being paid to be loyal…”

“Aha!” Hanbei said brightly. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Oda frowned keenly at the two of them. “Those past reports you referenced, Hanbei. Has a pattern emerged, to know how often he’s being paid or which path these gold convoys take?”

“I’d have to do more work on that,” Hanbei groaned, clearly not wanting more work. “But I can probably find it out eventually. If we can predict both the where and when for a shipment, we can probably ambush it and start eroding that well-paid confidence.”

“See that you do that,” Oda officially ordered. “Use whatever scouts you need to receive updated information. This kind of project isn’t as urgent as some, but you know how much I enjoy turning advantages to my favor.”

“I wonder where the gold is coming from,” Lu Xun mused, mostly to himself. “How does Orochi have so much of it? Is it just lying around in his dungeons or something?”

“What if it’s the same wagon of gold,” Hanbei suggested with a grin, “and one of his guys is just stealing it every time Dong Zhuo’s back is turned and re-delivering it on the next schedule?”

That made Lu Xun laugh. “That sounds like it could become some kind of parable about futility.”

Nobunaga resolved to keep that report with his most interesting papers, it sounded like it could come about with time and do what countless battles and lives of men could not. “As long as it continues to whittle away at Orochi’s strength, one man at a time, I will be content. He still has too many within his grasp, whether willing servants or prisoners. Those that are left to him will be the most difficult to pry from his claws.”

Xun and Hanbei shared a look and a nod. They understood all too well. There were some they definitely wanted to rescue from the enemy’s control, particularly with the grim news of Sun Quan’s arrest filtering to them through spy reports, but others they might not have such an easy time wooing away from the serpent demon. The only thing anyone in Oda’s army – and the Resistance as a whole – could say for sure was that their work was not yet done. They had to exert all effort, and take things one step at a time. One prisoner, one conscript, one castle at a time. It was easy to say while holed up in warm, snug, well-defended castles, but out there on the front lines things were far less certain, and the vantage point of those still fighting hard differed greatly from the view behind a strategist’s desk. While they were busy about their own plans, what they didn’t know was that the avalanche spoken of among the restless leaders of Wei was about to rumble down the mountainside and obliterate everything in its path.

There were no more than twenty men in the vanguard when Cao Pi and Ishida Mitsunari rode over the last bridges spanning the moats and presented themselves at the main gate of Odawara Castle to be admitted, a respectable number for a lord of his status when traveling, certainly not excessive. Another unit of fifty waited outside a side gate, making their way there by stealth and holding in secret to wait until they received a particular signal. It was all they could risk directly, though other strategies had been deployed behind the scenes. Cao Pi sat astride his white horse without a single hair out of place, looking regal and calm with only his strategist and two bodyguards at his side, and smiled coolly to the gate guards as they waved him in. The castle lay sleepy and quiet under a warm, summery sun, and things looked to be relatively normal around the grounds, sentries in all the right positions and guardposts properly manned. There seemed to be an even mix of humans and snake demons among the grunts, doing their jobs without a word. No famed officers met them at the gate, only an underling who kept his head low and escorted them to the central keep. Something about him made Mitsunari narrow his eyes, but he remained silent for the time being. They left their horses in the courtyard, with Zhang Liao and Xiahou Dun to stand guard, and agreed to be seen to the audience room near the top of the keep. Every floor they passed was serene and undisturbed as they climbed to the room in question and strode in to find it empty. Their escort explained that Da Ji was inspecting the defenses laid down by Zhuge Liang and would be with them shortly. “Make yourselves at home,” the unknown samurai implored, bowing deeply. “It is an honor to receive you, Lord Cao Pi. If there is anything you require, my lady has left me with orders to provide.”

Cao Pi walked slowly around the audience chamber, hands clasped behind his back. It was clean and austere, with a smooth wooden floor and delicate shoji panels half-open to show the beauty of the gardens below. “I expect refreshments will be served when the lady of the castle arrives, so no. We will wait.”

“Will anyone else be present at this meeting?” Ishida queried.

The officer hemmed a bit. “I can’t say, Lord Ishida. I can’t imagine who, but…it is the lady’s decision, not ours.” Bowing again, he let himself out.

While Cao Pi went to the screens to look out at the balcony and the gardens alive with greenery, Mitsunari folded his arms over his chest. “Well, if this isn’t just one giant red flag.”

Pi glanced over his shoulder. “Who was that man, anyway? I saw the way you looked at him.”

Mitsunari took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “One of the daimyo from our time, who never really could pick a side without being paid for it,” he murmured. “I’m pretty sure he leaned toward Tokugawa’s side, but all of Tokugawa’s loyal men went with him when he defected.” He turned to speak more directly to his lord, who likewise turned a shoulder toward him. “He confirmed what I suspected. No one of any importance is here – not even Zhuge Liang.”

“It’s possible they’ve all been sent to wage battle,” Cao Pi said dryly. “Her summons did say she was short-handed.”

“Oh, sure,” Mitsunari said airily. “And when she shows up, she’s going to fall at our feet begging for help, load us down with casks of wine and chests of gold, and crown us Orochi’s new favorites because we actually came when she called.”

The sarcasm was so thick it made Pi snort a laugh before he could control it. “So we’ve walked into a trap. But then, I anticpated as much.”

“The only thing I wonder is whether it was her intention all along.”

“To betray us before we could betray her?” Pi considered it with a quirk of his eyebrow. “It’s possible. She is cunning; if I had any doubts about her shrewdness, I would not have had to wait so long to make my move.”

“Hers,” Mitsunari said with a cool look in his direction, “or mine?”

Cao Pi smiled demurely, but before he could come up with a snappy retort, the entire keep shook with the force of a massive explosion. Flames instantly shot through the rafters above their heads, and a hot gust of air ruffled their coats and hair. “Ah. There it is,” the Wei lord noted.

Mitsunari pulled his fan from his obi and flicked it open. “Time to roll up my sleeves.”

“Oh, you’re actually going to fight?” Pi teased him as he drew the two halves of Pure Havoc. “This should be interesting.”

“What, like I’m going to give you the satisfaction of saving me from a burning castle?” He turned swiftly and swept the fan out before him, sending a cutting slash of air toward the door. It split neatly in half and clattered to the floor, leaving a gap through which they could escape. “I’ve never been one for sitting on the sidelines,” Ishida added, gesturing for his lord to follow.

“As you wish,” Pi acknowledged, falling in right behind him.

The fire had started in another section of the upper floor of the keep, but raced through the wooden structure as if fanned by wind and had engulfed the entire level in seconds. Mitsunari, fortunately, knew this castle quite well and led the way through the corridors to the stairs without missing a beat, taking the lead to guide Cao Pi to safety. They met the first soldiers on the next floor, all humans rather than snakes but with fear gleaming in their eyes. They had been ordered into the castle to make sure the pair was dead, but saw now that they were being offered up as a sacrifice to the flames as well. Mitsunari flew at them and knocked a couple aside before pulling back and lowering the fan into a defensive stance. “No,” he said abruptly, throwing out his other arm to keep Pi from attacking them. “I know these men. They should be Toyotomi’s.” He rounded on some of the soldiers. “Have you been defending Odawara since it fell into Orochi hands?”

The men wilted back and lowered their weapons. “Lord Ishida, have mercy on us,” one pleaded. “It is as you say. We heard you had chosen to follow Orochi, and there was no word from Lord Toyotomi or Lady Nene at the time, so…”

“Say no more.” Mitsunari flicked the fan back out. “You’re following me, now. Let’s go.”

The men around them were all too glad to switch sides, if it meant getting out of the castle before being burned to death. Mitsunari plowed through them and continued on the straightest path to the stairs and the exit, trusting both his lord and his new recruits to keep up. A couple more flights and they emerged into the main hall to find it free of flame but rife with battle, as Zhang Liao and Xiahou Dun fought their way into the keep to rescue their lord. Seeing him fly out of a stairwell drew a cry of relief from Wenyuan. “My lord! You’re safe!”

“Stand down, Lord Akaza!” one of the soldiers begged the man fighting Xiahou Dun. “It’s Lord Ishida, please listen to him!”

The samurai who had led his men to this ambush was having a hard time as it was, but when he saw the famed strategist wading through their midst, he immediately lowered his pike and dropped to a knee. “Lord Ishida, she…”

“I don’t need to hear it,” Mitsunari cut him off, waving the fan to accompany his words. “Are there other Toyotomi officers here?”

Akaza Naoyasu nodded firmly. “At least five. She’s had us stationed here since you’ve been away…”

“All right.” Mitsunari turned swiftly to Cao Pi. “We’d better not hang around, she probably counted on burning us to death in the keep. We’ll pick up these officers along the way, if I can count on Akaza to spread the word.”

“I won’t say no to extra hands,” Pi admitted.

“Troops are moving in from both the north and the south,” Zhang Liao reported. “We tried to get in to warn you, but then the fire started, and we knew the truth. It was a trap, she called you here to kill you.”

Xiahou Dun made a grim face in complete agreement with his comrade. “We’ll have to fight our way out of this.”

“Sounds like fun,” Mitsunari said wryly, turning back to their lord. “You have anything in mind?”

“There is only one thing I need to do,” Pi replied, his eyes going cold. “Hunt down Da Ji, and take her hostage.”

The soldiers recoiled in surprise, and the two officers frowned uncertainly. “My lord, is that wise?” Liao exclaimed. “I know it’s what you want but we must first get ourselves out of here.”

“Escaping this castle alive is a given,” Cao Pi retorted. “She’ll expect that, and probably has all of those defenses of Zhuge Liang’s set to stop us. Even if we turn some of her officers to our side, there will be more.”

Mitsunari nodded. “The snake demons. There are some here, I know it. They can’t be turned.” He closed the fan and gestured with it. “If they’re moving in from north and south, we need to split up and meet them head on. That gate over there will take you north.”

“Our reserves were stationed outside the northern gate,” Xiahou Dun reminded.

“Things will go more smoothly for us if we can open the path for them,” Cao Pi put in. “Yuanrang, you’re with me. Let’s intercept the attack and make a hole for our men to break through.”

“I’ll head south, then,” Mitsunari decided. “Mind if I take Zhang Liao?”

Pi gestured with one blade to permit it. At the same time, Mitsunari pointed with his fan to order Akaza to go with Cao Pi, in order to sway any Toyotomi troops they encountered to their side. Above their heads, they heard the fire roar and the creak of timbers about to give way as the destruction began to reach their position. “Let’s go,” Pi ordered, “before this whole place caves in on our heads.”

Nodding to one another, the two commanders split up and left the keep by different doors, Cao Pi to the yard to the north and Mitsunari west and south through the gardens. Their vanguard likewise split in half to support them, while the Toyotomi conscripts scattered, some to assist in the fight and some to find the other officers elsewhere in the castle and deliver them the news that they ought to defect to Ishida’s side. There was nothing keeping them enlisted to Orochi’s cause, they simply had not conceived of breaking away and joining the Resistance themselves so long as one of Toyotomi’s most trusted and faithful retainers was still doing the serpent’s bidding. Now that he was not, everything changed. The Wei horses were still tied in the northern courtyard, so Cao Pi and Xiahou Dun mounted up and brought the rest with them, following the corridors between wards along a mostly northward path in search of the gate. Pi had looked over a plat of Odawara provided by his strategist before leaving for this jaunt, but it looked a lot different on the ground. He knew it was the right path when a door far ahead slammed and a cadre of soldiers poured out in front of them. “Ambush,” Dun remarked under his breath.

“Tch. A pathetic attempt at one,” Pi corrected him. “Not a decent warrior in sight.” He glanced at their new recruit, who was currently on Mitsunari’s horse. “One of yours?”

“No,” Akaza grunted. “Feel free to destroy him.”

“With pleasure.” Xiahou Dun shouted to urge his horse to speed, and charged right into the ambush with the Qilin Blade singing. His lord’s assessment had been correct, the entire ambush force collapsed under his might without the rest of them needing to lift a blade. They forced the doors beyond and found an open courtyard below, thick with snake demons under the lead of a captain standing guard at their destination: the north gate. The horses hesitated at the top of the stairs, so they dismounted and dashed down to meet their foes on foot, Cao Pi right out in front. Cottonmouth braced himself with his spear held across his thick reptilian body, but turned to shout an order to someone around the corner from where he held ground, presumably a stronger officer of unknown loyalty. The demons parted to let this man through, and as he came to the fore, every last man of the Wei contingent slid to a stumbling halt. Before them in all his glory, indigo cape rippling in the breeze, majestic sword bared, stood their lord Cao Cao. Dun gasped at the sight. “What…?!”

Cao Pi thrust out an arm to hold him back, just in case. He straightened up proudly, keeping his blade low and in front of him. “What manner of foolishness is this?”

Behind the squared shoulders of the lord of Wei, Cottonmouth cackled in glee. “He’s on our side now! You can’t win!”

Both Pi and Dun immediately dropped into attack stances, bringing their respective swords to bear. “I will cut down any imposter who dares to use my lord’s face!” the latter bellowed at them.

Cao Cao’s face darkened with a grim glare. “You dare raise your weapon against your own lord?”

“You are not him,” Dun growled. “You are not worthy of even pretending to be him!”

Cao Cao did not seem bothered by the accusation, turning his glare on Pi instead. “And you. You would turn your blade on your own father?”

Cao Pi sniffed haughtily. “My father,” he said with deliberate restraint, “would not be bothered with words if he found me turning on him. Whoever you are, you haven’t done your research.”

The sight of the Hero of Chaos fooled neither of them. Though startled for a moment, both had their wits about them and knew without even needing to hem and haw and guess that this personage was not actually Cao Cao. There was just something about the timing of the appearance, to say nothing of the purpose, that looked and felt all wrong. They might have known exactly what it was, but it wasn’t Cao Cao. “With your permission, my lord,” Dun seethed as if unable to hold himself back, “allow me to wipe this imposter from the face of the earth!”

Pi considered it for a moment, privately respecting Xiahou Dun for asking. It was his right to cut down a fake Cao Cao, son to father, but considering how deeply Dun felt and what he had done in the name of this lord of his, perhaps _right_ wasn’t the important factor. Cao Pi tipped his head down, the barest of nods to permit his retainer to take his place. He stood aside as Dun sprang with a roar and swung his podao with killing intent, only to be powerfully blocked by Cao Cao’s imperial sword. Perhaps the demon army did expect him to be cowed by the sight of his dead father alive and on their side, he guessed, as he circled around them and swept in toward Cottonmouth with Pure Havoc already screaming for blood. They didn’t count on him being unaffected and eager to cut them down, judging by the way they broke and ran. The demon captain had to stand his ground, he was in charge after all, but Cao Pi made exceptionally short work of him and then put his underlings to rout with a savage sort of iciness underlying his every move. Once he had cleared the way almost to the gate, he glanced back to see Xiahou Dun actually struggling. Who or whatever was wearing Cao Cao’s face, they were powerful, and didn’t seem to show sign of wounds even when hits were dealt. Pi knew they wouldn’t be able to secure passage for their reinforcements unless this farce of a foe was down, so he changed course and came back in, sliding up alongside Dun on his blind side and adding his paired blades to the podao for a little extra power. “Fine work,” he murmured to his retainer, “but I wouldn’t mind a piece of the action as well.”

“By all means,” Dun grunted, using the additional momentum to find space to disengage his blade and swing it around for a lower hit.

While they fought, to the south side of the burning keep, Mitsunari had pressed through the gardens, securing another of Toyotomi’s faithful officers who attempted to ambush them there, and was now charging down the back passageway in search of whatever troops were advancing from this side. He needed to keep them off Cao Pi, long enough for the both of them to sweep the outer wards clean of resistance so they could reunite and hunt Da Ji. _If she’s not in the keep_ , he reasoned, _she’s got to be in one of the outer garrisons, or the cannon fort near the main gate_. If they merely wanted to escape, any of the sentry gates in the outer wall would do, but no, he was of the same mind as his lord. If they wanted a real chance against Orochi, they had to secure every advantage, including taking down the demon strategist. Even if she decided to keep her mouth shut and refused to aid them in locating Koshi Castle, she would at least be off the battlefield and incapable of issuing commands, and that alone was reason enough to make this daring attempt to capture her. First, though, he had to make his way through the outer ward, and as he went, he came abreast of a position he knew well. “The storehouses,” he noticed, speaking his thoughts aloud to Zhang Liao. “Maybe we ought to knock them down, just for fun.”

“The enemy’s storehouses…?” Liao pulled up short and looked through the door Ishida indicated, down a flight of steps to several small walled-in buildings. “Do we have time for that?”

“It could bring our enemies straight to us,” Mitsunari suggested. “That would save us some time looking for them.”

“Hm. Good point, Master Ishida.”

As he jogged down the steps, leading the newly-recruited Toyotomi troops, Mitsunari smirked to himself. There was more to it than that. They didn’t have time to raid these storehouses and carry off the supplies for their own army, so the next best strategy was to destroy them, so that the Orochi army couldn’t use them either. Of course, he wasn’t about to let Zhang Liao have all the fun, so he brandished his fan and darted down into the storehouses, startling the guards who had been distracted watching the keep burn. It was over far too quickly, and then they were off, leaving the thatch-roofed outbuildings burning behind them.

The only soldiers left to witness the astonishing battle between Cao Pi, Xiahou Dun, and Cao Cao were the Wei and Toyotomi troops who came with them, who wisely stayed out of the way. Swords were flying everywhere, and it was difficult to say who had the upper hand. The false Cao Cao didn’t seem to tire the way the two men did, which, added to the lack of blood from his wounds, filled them with cold dread. Yet it also fired their determination to beat this imposter down: whatever it was, it could not be allowed to exist, let alone take that form. Cao Pi masterfully matched the rhythm of his paired swords to Dun’s podao, so that they were hitting in triplicate with every attack, though he kept his eyes trained on their foe’s movements for the opening he needed. It came rather suddenly, as Dun managed a powerful two-handed swing to deflect the sword up and out of the way, so that Cao Pi could split his swords and dive in. He swept to the side and found the spot where the solid chestplate ended, curving beneath the enemy’s right arm, and sank one blade deep into his armpit. It was a mortal blow to any human, the sword plunged all the way into his chest from the side and should have carved through lung and heart. Cao Cao threw his head back and screamed a rather harsh, demonic screech to the sky, and then vanished on the spot, leaving no trace – no blood, no clothing, not even the sword. Both men pulled back, panting, and then looked at one another. “What was it?” Xiahou Dun whispered, horrified more by the scream and vanishing act than by the sight of Cao Pi’s sword almost hilt-deep in his own father’s flesh.

Pi’s ice-blue eyes were grim as he straightened up and lifted the deadly blade up to inspect it. There was no sign it had hit anything, even though his aching arms told him he was definitely beating against a skilled sword and hard armor. “Sorcery,” he answered bluntly. “Clearly.” He looked sharply away, toward the walls blocking him from wherever Da Ji was hiding. “What a fool! Did she really think I would fall quaking before a phantom version of my father?”

Xiahou Dun shivered at the thought of phantoms – ghosts made flesh – but pushed past it and straightened up, collecting himself manfully. “There’s no time to waste. Let’s get that gate breached and continue on.”

He dashed to the gate to throw the doors open wide and invite their reinforcements into the castle, while Cao Pi waved the rest of their soldiers down with the horses. Those, they would need to leave at the gate in case things turned extremely sour and he would need to escape. From here, they would be storming through the paved castle wards, it was better to go on foot anyway. Their forces took the signal and marched in, fresh and ready to go, and fell in behind them as Cao Pi raised his sword to call them to his side and strode on through the ward gate into which Cottonmouth had run when he fled.

The burning storehouses south of the keep had the intended effect, the Orochi forces mustered in that part of the castle swarmed toward the alarm and found themselves instantly beset by Ishida and Zhang Liao. One officer spotted his fellows aiding rather than attacking the Wei rebels, and didn’t even need the explanation before turning his sword on the other officer with him. Once that mess was clear, Mitsunari turned to keep going, but found a strange figure standing in the center of the bridge over the canal which fed water to the castle. He was only sort of looking in their direction, an expression on his young face neither happy nor angry. Mitsunari gestured to his fellows. “You mean to tell me Master Hideyori was in this castle with you all along?” he demanded to know.

“What?” The officer who had just defected to them turned to follow his gaze and started in shock. “Lord Hideyori! Where did he come from?! No, no, he wasn’t…he hasn’t been here! There was no one behind us, besides some of the serpent-soldiers…”

For those who owed their loyalty to the Toyotomi, their lord’s son Hideyori would have been someone against whom they had better not raise a weapon. Even though he didn’t know exactly where the young man had ended up, Mitsunari was sure he should not have been here, now. Particularly if the other officers hadn’t seen him until just this moment. Something unsettling was afoot, and he had a pretty good guess as to what. Spreading his fan, he brought it up to cover himself for a moment. “Hold here,” he muttered to his men. “I’ll handle this.”

“What is it?” Zhang Liao pressed, not liking the looks on any of their faces.

“Lord Hideyoshi’s son, if the face is to be believed,” Ishida replied coldly. “But I don’t believe it for a second. Da Ji is up to something, she means to block our progress by pitting us against…whatever that is.”

“Then you will not face it alone.” Liao brandished his Blue Wyvern, bringing it low to point at the man guarding the bridge. “From the way you speak, that is likely a monster rather than a man.”

Mitsunari glanced at him and finally raised his arm to bring the fan into an attack posture. “I’m not so full of myself as to demand the duel alone. If you want to help, by all means.”

He moved first, and marveled at how swiftly and smoothly Liao followed at his elbow as they charged toward the bridge and the waiting figure. Toyotomi Hideyori showed no sign of recognizing the loyal strategist who had supported his every effort to end the wars in Honshu, but gave them both a cool smirk before swinging his weapon at them both. Zhang Liao blocked first, with the long reach of the Blue Wyvern, but Mitsunari struck immediately after him, knowing the limited weaknesses of samurai armor and aiming straight for them. Hideyori disengaged and attempted to slam a blow straight down onto Mitsunari’s head, which was blocked – barely. Ishida grunted with the force of it and seethed behind clenched teeth. “Now I _know_ this isn’t Lord Hideyori,” he hissed at Zhang Liao. “He was never this strong!”

Liao flew back at their foe, driving him away and attempting to force him off the bridge to the paved yard beyond, where they would have more room to fight. Hideyori said nothing and continued to just smirk vaguely at their efforts, showing no sign of intelligence or cunning as he allowed them to drive him back. Once in the open, free to go all-out, Liao redoubled his strength and went hard on the attack, allowing Ishida to swoop around him, first to one side then the other, and use every trick in his arsenal in addition to the bladed war fan to inflict additional cuts and wounds. Hideyori shrugged off even the explosions of the small bombs laid around him like land mines, though each time Mitsunari played that trick, he fell for it, and eventually began to stagger. Giving a great battle cry, Zhang Liao spread his hands along the shaft of his halberd and swung in huge, mighty arcs, putting all of his strength behind each blow. The first broke their enemy’s block, and the rest landed exactly where they were meant to, splitting the armor and battering him this way and that. Mitsunari darted in for the finishing blow, slicing with the fan up along his now-exposed neck and ruing the blood which would stain his weapon’s beautiful silk. Except, there was no blood. He was sure he had sliced the jugular, but there was nothing. It was unnervingly unnatural, prompting Zhang Liao to make extra-sure by plunging his blade straight into the man’s chest through the gaps he had made in the armor. At last, the creature wearing Hideyori’s figure shuddered and then screeched like a wounded bird of prey before disappearing. The two men stopped and looked at each other, but didn’t know what to say.


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of Cao Pi's fateful battle at Odawara, and the aftermath.

The enemy forces stationed at the north and south gates had been positioned to prevent Cao Pi from escaping through either passage, should he escape the explosion in the keep. None of them were even capable of suspecting that he wouldn’t want to escape, nor that their real problem was more enemy soldiers entering through both gates behind them. To the north it was Wei’s own reserve troops, prepared ahead of time, but to the south, an unexpected interloper had taken care of Yellowbelly’s contingent holding the gate. He had come after hearing the rumor that his lord might be found in the prisons of Odawara, and though his arrival there at that moment of that day was completely coincidental, it had the effect of playing right into Cao Pi’s hands all the same. Sun Ce might never have heard the rumor, but Huang Gai had. He came to poke at the castle defenses and try to find a way to sneak in, but the explosion atop the keep could be seen and heard for miles, and it alarmed him to think that it might mean someone was attacking and his lord’s life was in danger. The small band of men he had rounded up, who lived like bandits with him in the wilderness up until now, joined him in breaking through the doors of the southern gate and quickly throwing down Yellowbelly’s unit of snake demons, clearing a gap for them to press onward into the castle and find out the source of the fire. Before they could come around to the gate to the inner ward, more snake demons poured out on them from two sides, and in their midst strode a man whose presence filled Huang Gai with mingled joy and fear. He had wanted to see him so badly, but the sight of him leading the demons rather than fleeing from them struck him dumbfounded. “M-my lord…?” he managed to stammer after a moment or two of open-mouthed astonishment.

Sun Jian marched proudly at the head of the ambush unit, shoulders thrown back and sword bared. “Listen to me!” he crowed. “Da Ji is on _our_ side! Strike Cao Pi!”

“What?” Huang Gai shook his head, but it didn’t dislodge the confusion. “What are you talking about? What does Cao Pi have to do with this?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Without waiting for an answer, Sun Jian swung his sword in a huge sweep toward Huang Gai, who hurriedly backed out of the way. “Destroy Cao Pi!”

“My lord, what are you doing?” Huang Gai yelped. “It’s me! Don’t you recognize me? Stop this madness!”

His men drew back and clustered around him, even as the serpents massed around Sun Jian and began to attack. They might not have known what these intruders had to do with Cao Pi and his army, but anyone who wouldn’t fight with them had to be against them, and cut down all the same. In no time Huang Gai found himself beset by the horde and had to turn his club and buckler to defending himself and his ragtag collection of vagabonds from certain death.

To the north, Cao Pi and his men were on a straight and confident march when the samurai Akaza darted out to block him from advancing. “Wait, my lord!” he warned. “Not through there.”

Pi turned an imperious look in him for interfering. “What? Why?”

“It’s one of Zhuge Liang’s traps,” the officer explained. “There is a cannon fort behind the main gate of Odawara, he has turned it so that if anyone breaches the gates, the cannons will turn on them. I know the cannoneers have already been called into position, they were set before you even entered the castle.”

“Figures,” Xiahou Dun grunted.

“Is there a different route, then?” Pi asked impatiently.

Akaza shook his head. “The only doors lead back into the inner ward, toward the keep and the fire. But if I go in, I can circle around and give the cannoneers an order to stand down. They should think I’m still defending the castle at Da Ji’s orders.”

Cao Pi considered him briefly, weighing his options. “And how do I know this isn’t a ploy to escape me and order the cannons to fire on me instead?”

Akaza bowed his head briefly. He knew it would be difficult to get this strange lord of a strange country to up and trust him, even in the middle of a fierce battle. “Allow me to demonstrate, my lord.”

He waved down his own men to get them to stay back while he strode alone into the corridor ahead. High walls separated the wards from one another with alleys and courtyards between, and this one was no different. As he went, the others held ground and very nearly held their breath, silent and waiting. There were shouts ahead, and then the shriek of a projectile. Akaza must have known the exact nature of the defenses and how long it took to aim, light, and shoot a cannon, because he scrambled out of the way just in time as the dirt where he had stood a moment before erupted with the impact of a cannon shot, while the low _boom_ concussed the very air around them. He hustled back around to where the others watched, sweating a bit at just how close that had come. Xiahou Dun growled warily. “It’s true, then.”

“Very well,” Cao Pi relented, “we need to get past there, it’s the quickest route. If you can stop them, then go and do so – but I’m sending Xiahou Dun with you as a guarantee. If you betray us, he will cut you down where you stand.”

Dun nodded once in acceptance of the order, and to their surprise, so did Akaza. “I expect nothing less, my lord,” he agreed, and turned to lead the way back along the corridor to a small door they had passed. If it had been the only way, the rest of the army could have probably squeezed through that door one by one and slowly made their way back through the inner wards, but it was not an ideal path. The wide corridor between wards was faster and more direct, and had the added benefit of not routing back through the burning keep. As Akaza led the way, he noticed some of his men who had been left behind or poorly deployed desperately attempting to keep the flames from spreading, though it seemed beyond hopeless to even consider that they might put out the fire. He put his head down and charged right through them, passing through a stone-walled section of the keep and out to the cannon fort where the experts in charge of explosives were keeping a keen watch on the corridor and the main gate. Anyone who set foot in their view was to be fired upon, but Akaza came up on them and gave them a rousing earful about attacking their own men who were trying to capture Cao Pi. As he watched the charade, Xiahou Dun was certain that a fair amount of the man’s anger was sincere, even if he had walked into the cannon corridor of his own volition. The cannoneers sheepishly stood down, and the samurai officer demanded that they go and help try to put the fire out before it spread past the keep into the fort and ignited the gunpowder – the last thing they wanted was to all be blown sky-high if their ammunition and powder were compromised. He waited until they hustled off to obey before shooting Dun a relieved grin. Xiahou Dun undertook the signal himself, climbing up until he could be seen clearly between cannon hatches and waving his Qilin Blade high in the air. Moments later, he watched in relief as their forces safely dashed through the corridor. “Come,” Akaza encouraged, “we’ll meet up with them if we go back through the main door. Watch your head, I wasn’t kidding about the fire coming too close.”

Dun harrumphed at him as he followed. “My lord may not have a problem with the cannon fort exploding, you know.”

“I’m sure it would work in our favor, but…” The samurai looked over his shoulder at the walls of the lowest floor of the keep, hearing the chaos and the roar of flame beyond them. “It’s hard enough having to watch such a famed and impenetrable castle burn down.”

Xiahou Dun could understand that much, and nodded silently. They would meet back up with Cao Pi just outside and keep moving, and all would be back on track.

In her hiding place, Da Ji reeled rather suddenly and went to one knee as Toyotomi Hideyori vanished from his task. “Ah! That hurts!” she cried, wrapping both arms tightly around herself. “Why aren’t my phantoms working?”

The snake demons around her, guarding her, heard her exclaim and glanced back. “Hey,” one noticed, “Lady Da Ji is in trouble somehow…”

Urutu heard the warning and came to her side, abandoning his lookout post for the moment. He was supposed to be watching the movements inside the castle wards so they could deploy their tricks and defenses appropriately. “Lady Da Ji?” he wondered, leaning over her.

Da Ji gritted her teeth at being worried-over by these morons and fought her way back to her feet, throwing off their concern and pushing Urutu back. “I’m fine!” she insisted. “Get back to your post! I want to know what’s happening, give me every report!” She punched more than one of them, sending them scurrying back to their positions guarding her in her hiding spot. Once they were out of earshot, she allowed herself a quick shiver and shudder at the jolt which had knocked her down. “Ugh, if only I didn’t have to feel their pain,” she murmured to herself. It was the one drawback of using this particular brand of sorcery, which she usually didn’t have to account for since most of the time, the phantom soldiers did all the hurting, beating back their foes with their inhuman strength and taking no hits, or scaring their enemies into submission. She hadn’t expected two of them to be destroyed, nor the backlash it caused her. She still had one more in play, but if all went well, they wouldn’t be taking that one down. He was special. She had poured her literal heart and soul into these creations, after all, and that one in particular. He was exactly what she needed to browbeat all of her would-be rebels and foes into surrendering. Brushing herself off, she turned her attention to the final phantom, pouring all of her magic and might into him.

Ishida and Zhang Liao led their growing army through more gates and wards, a little surprised to find that the troops said to be moving in from the south were no longer there, but discarded weapons and a splash or two of blood showed that something had, in fact, been here while they took the time to ruin the storehouses and then fight the phantom on the bridge. Mitsunari knew where he was in relation to the other half of their forces and guided everyone back toward the center of the castle, hoping that all had gone well for Cao Pi and they would be meeting up shortly. He did not expect the courtyard beyond to be full of snake demons, but the real surprise was seeing someone already fighting them – and the last someone he would have expected. It was as if all his strategy talks with Cao Pi had thrown out his name enough to somehow summon this man. Yet, it was clear Huang Gai was in trouble. He was on the defensive, his massive mace held up to block a determined assault from…

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Zhang Liao burst out beside him as they ran.

“Remember what we just faced,” Mitsunari warned. “It’s probably not him.”

“Not if he’s attacking someone who probably came to rescue him,” Liao shot back. “I’m aware of the irony, Master Ishida.”

They led the way for their men and tore into the flank of the demon soldiers, who had not anticipated that Cao Pi would have split his forces and attacked on two sides. All of their attention had been on Huang Gai’s invasion of the castle, they knew nothing of the additional force until it was already upon them. Together Zhang Liao and Mitsunari cut their way through to the center, and with a mighty roar Wenyuan threw himself on the false Sun Jian. The force of his blow was enough to send the phantom reeling back, away from Huang Gai, but he didn’t stop there, following up with an onslaught to keep Sun Jian from recovering and counter-attacking. As he did, Mitsunari shot the newcomer an uncertain look. He had seen this man beaten down multiple times, early in the first stages of the resistance, and always at the hand of Cao Pi. To think, now they were technically on the same side. “What’s the matter?” he said as he passed Gai. “Can’t you even tell your own lord from an imposter?”

Huang Gai eyed him back as he took a step away, lowering his club to give himself a moment’s rest. “It’s you,” he noted. “Aren’t you one of that fox-woman’s servants?”

Mitsunari let his answer be the scream of a snake demon, as he cut one down for getting too close to him. “You’re even dumber than I remember,” he complained. “Fine, just stay out of our way while we take care of this.”

He moved in to back Zhang Liao up, but even the two of them combined were no match for this final, powerful phantom. They were beaten back handily no matter how many times they charged, and then Sun Jian went on the attack, slamming blows into them powerful enough to cleave armor if they had let them land. Liao blocked most of them, but even he had to dodge a few to prevent himself from being knocked out. They did not have to handle it alone for long. Rather unexpectedly, Cao Pi’s forces emerged from the gate beyond, pouring out as if from the interior of the castle itself and spreading out across the field to engage the rest of the demon soldiers. Pi and Dun could see the ongoing battle as they came, and guessed rightly that the Sun Jian currently hacking at Zhang Liao was not the real one any more than Cao Pi had seen his own father. Xiahou Dun charged straight in to back up his comrade, and Cao Pi circled around them in search of a chance to land a hit or two of his own. He noticed Huang Gai, then, and his brow flickered with a momentary eyebrow-raise of interest. There were more important things to do, though, and he put his head down and went to it, reaching Mitsunari’s side and joining him as the secondary tag-team behind the other two. Four officers at once seemed to be the level of power needed to overcome this phantom, and none of them seemed to care about Huang Gai standing just beyond them, staring in horror at the way they lit into his lord. He was still shaken by the mere idea of Lord Sun Jian turning on him, and the way he had stared smugly at him across their crossed weapons, though now he could see why the order to destroy Cao Pi had been issued. He couldn’t raise his club, though, he could only stand there as battle raged around them and watch as the men of Wei and their strategist of Wa combined to finally bring down the last phantom officer. The inhuman cry let out by the false Sun Jian reverberated off the walls, making more than one human wince, and then it was gone. As soon as it disappeared, the remaining demon infantry broke ranks and fled; they were only there so long as they had Da Ji’s creation to give them courage, and without it, they knew they had no chance. If those four humans could overcome the great phantom, what would they do to a weaker soldier? They streamed away through any door they could find, though Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao gave chase in order to prevent them from barring the gate against them.

Though the battle itself was not over, Cao Pi considered this a good time to take a break. He straightened up, lowered his blades, and then strode over to where Huang Gai leaned on his mace. “Have you become so senile that you cannot tell the difference between a phantom and reality?” he scolded the old warrior. “It would have just as soon killed you as look at you, surely you knew that.”

Gai lowered his eyes in shame. “Is that what it was?” he murmured. “No, I had some idea something was wrong. But…phantom or not, I cannot raise a weapon against my lord.”

“So you’d rather let a phantom kill you,” Mitsunari said harshly. “Fools and their misguided honor.”

Gai bristled at him, but before he could do more than glare, Cao Pi smoothly changed the subject. “It’s been some time. I had not expected to see the likes of you here.”

The old Wu warrior regarded him for a moment before breathing a heavy sigh. “And I wouldn’t have expected to see the likes of you come to my rescue. But you did, and I’d mark that as the third time.”

“It wasn’t my intention,” Cao Pi coolly assured. “We have more important tasks at hand right now. If you’re here to look for the lords of Wu, I believe you might be out of luck, but if you know anything of where Da Ji might be hiding, then we might have something to talk about.”

“I don’t,” Gai said with a shake of his head, “but if you’re fighting that fox-woman, I’d be more than glad to join you. She’s holding my lord and I will not rest until I find her and beat that information out of her.”

More unexpected reinforcements made Cao Pi smile to himself. “We are indeed, and that will be acceptable.” He turned to Mitsunari, then. “What do you suppose?”

“We found nothing along the outer ward,” Ishida replied. “The men I picked up don’t know where she’s stationed herself, she seems to have only issued orders and then withdrew to a hiding spot. But it has to be nearby, with a good view of the castle grounds – her magic only works when she’s close to her target, and she has to be able to see us in order to know where to send them.” He folded his fan and used it to point to a stand of trees some way off, where the roofs of more garrison buildings could be seen. “If I had to take a guess, it’d be over there. There’s a good, stout fortress beyond the main gate of the castle, she’d be safe there.”

“Then that’s the way we’ll go.” Cao Pi knew that this was not the end, there were likely more defenses waiting between them and the chance to break into whatever garrison she was using to hide. But he had more resources at his fingertips than he started with, and all the fire of determination behind him now. They had to move swiftly if they wanted to catch up to her before she could run. He knew enough of her mind to know that if she felt like she had already lost, she would not wait around or fight to the last like the stubborn, honorable men at his sides. She would rather flee to get under his skin another day, and today, he could not allow that. He called the orders to move out, letting Mitsunari show the way.

It was highly unusual for any army to find themselves attempting to break out of the main gate of a castle rather than in, but with the cannon fort commandeered and the complex in chaos, there was no one actually manning the gate itself, and no lock which couldn’t be unbarred easily from inside. As their newly-allied Toyotomi retainers heaved the main gate open, there was a sudden attack cry from outside and out from the bushes leaped three units of fresh serpent soldiers, each led by a captain who had been ordered in as reinforcements. However, they had been locked out, naturally, and had to wait until Cao Pi’s army came out into their waiting ambush. All told, their collected troops were outnumbered by a hair, now that the rebels had gathered some of Odawara’s defenses and Huang Gai’s additional force into their own. The captains had no idea where so many men had come from, they were sure Cao Pi had no more than twenty when he arrived and _surely_ the fire or the fighting had taken away some of them? It was not so, and their attempted ambush turned sour within moments, leaving them thoroughly trounced and sent scattering in all directions. The grassy field immediately outside Odawara’s wall was an inviting sight, even after snakes spoiled the fresh, verdant lawn with their trampling feet and spilled blood. It had only been maybe an hour or two earlier that the small party had rode in from this direction, and now they barged back out with all due haste. More waves of reinforcements were being sent out to bolster the last, giving the Wei army a clear trail to follow back to wherever Da Ji waited. Striking aside the lowly demon troops, the officers hurried to breach her hiding place before she could escape, finding the door to the stockade unwisely left open to permit the Orochi army to move out. They saw the attack coming too late and were unable to pull the door closed before it was upon them, with Cao Pi himself leading the charge on foot. His face was grim and dark, his eyes icy, as he pushed his way through and looked around immediately for the Orochi commander. He spotted her at the same time as Mitsunari beside him cried, “There!”

Da Ji had fallen again after her third phantom perished, and this time the recoil of the magic rebounding back to its caster had weakened her severely. Her enemies could not have known, but she lacked any energy to even cast a teleportation spell if she wanted to escape. She managed to get to her feet in the same instant the doors slammed back open, so that they wouldn’t see her in her weakness, and glared hard at the two men who had turned everything upside-down. With what little energy she had left, she summoned the pair of orbs which floated over her shoulders, but stood her ground and waited for them. “You two have gotten ideas far above your stations!” she spat at them as they came. “It’s time I gave you a reality check, so you know who’s really in charge, here!”

“Defiant to the end,” Mitsunari noted as he came on. “She must not know she’s already been beaten.”

“It’s not over until we’ve achieved our goal,” Cao Pi cautioned, bringing the pair of swords to the fore and clicking them together into one. The orbs finally came at them as they neared her range, whirling fast enough to force them to skid to a stop and advance the rest of the way one foot at a time, circling her like hunting hounds. There were still more than a few snake demons clustered inside the garrison as her vanguard and last wave of defense, so the rest of their officers spread out to put themselves between the enemy and their lords’ backs, standing as a wall to allow them to fight their duel without interference. Above the din of battle, Cao Pi made sure his threats to her were clearly heard. “For a strategist,” he coldly taunted, “you made more than a few miscalculations today. Not the least of which was thinking me a simpering fool who could not face my father.”

Da Ji scowled at him, but quickly erased that look from her face and put on her usual mocking lilt instead, to try to keep him at a distance. “So you’re the one who fought him. Did you like my little tribute?”

“Hardly,” he snapped. “I ran him through just the same.”

“Ooh, ouch,” she teased. “I should have guessed you were dead inside. How else could you fight your own father without a problem?”

“As I said. You were a fool, and miscalculated.” Pi brought Pure Havoc around into attack position, one blade held low. “I’ll make sure you never bewitch anyone like that again.”

Da Ji’s eyes flicked from his face down to his weapon and back again. “Gonna put your sword where your mouth is?”

He was tired of her needling, and didn’t want to give her a chance to start in on Mitsunari and prolong this any more, so Cao Pi charged, doing exactly that. His joined sword whistled through the air as he swept it in great arcs toward her, forcing her to hop back and whip the orbs around her in wide circles to fend off the blades. Mitsunari gave him a couple of moments to get into a rhythm and then fell in alongside him, attempting to deflect the orbs enough to leave him an opening to hit her. Most of her focus was on Cao Pi and the long reach of his blades, but in doing so, she managed to lose track of the other man until the fan whiffed a bit too close to her ear. Da Ji jerked back and had an orb between them an instant later, blocking a follow-up swing. She strained against him for a moment and then chanced a smirk, assuming that his choice of weapon and slighter build made him the lesser threat. “I don’t think you really want to be fighting me, now do you?”

Mitsunari held her gaze, his face impassive. “You know, I think do,” he retorted, and then lunged out of the way as the sword blade swooshed over his head and got in between her and the orb. Da Ji had to duck to avoid being decapitated and whirled around them, trying to circle back and get her footing again. As she did, Mitsunari was in her face all over again, cutting back from the opposite side with the fan leading. The three of them danced around one another like this for a time, weaving in and out, fan and sword slashing and orbs whizzing between to disrupt their paths, deceptively giving the impression that they could all keep going at it for as long as they wanted. But Da Ji was lacking energy from all her sorcery while Cao Pi and Mitsunari had been fighting for some time against formidable foes, they were almost no match for each other. The rest of the Wei officers were still busy battling the remaining Orochi troops, there was no one to come to their lord’s assistance, save one. The rhythm of their battle was interrupted by the massive club of Huang Gai soaring in over Mitsunari’s shoulder to forcefully smash the two orbs clear out of the way. Rather than lose them, Da Ji vanished them and then darted aside with a swirl of her gauzy skirts to regroup and find a space in which to newly summon them. As she looked sharply around, hoping against hope that some of her soldiers were available to help her, Mitsunari wagged his fan at Huang Gai. “Thanks, but too many arms and legs in here and we could have a bad scene.”

“What can I say?” the old man grunted. “I saw an opening and I look it. Watch yourselves.”

Cao Pi still kept his eyes on Da Ji as she stood with the orbs in each hand, bracing them as a shield in case her enemies regained their feet faster. He lifted a hand to both thank and and warn off Huang Gai as he took to stalking his prey again, spinning Pure Havoc fast on its joined hilt. “There’s no need to prolong this foolishness,” he dared her. “You know you have no chance.”

“On the contrary,” Da Ji snarked back at him. “As long as I still have two hands, they’re capable of killing you. Both of you,” she added with a low growl towards Mitsunari. “So by all means, keep fighting. I’m just waiting for my chance.”

It was such a transparent bluff, but in truth, Cao Pi knew that she could easily outlast them if they didn’t get some relief. Fortunately, the stroke of luck fell exactly then and there. Over the din of the battleclash they heard the slam of something beating on the wooden palisade, and then the gate at the northern corner of the garrison crashed open, the doors banging against the inside walls. Two horses thundered through the gap, leading a large contingent of troops in Wei blue. A few on their side raised their weapons and cheered to see Zhang He and Guo Jia appear as if out of nowhere, though Cao Pi’s face didn’t change at all. Reinforcements were timely and necessary, but he couldn’t show his relief while in the midst of combat. He took advantage of the moment’s distraction to charge again, with his strategist at his left hand, and the two of them nearly had Da Ji in that second. She whirled to meet them just in time, pushing the orbs out ahead of her to stop them. Mitsunari nudged ahead and flung out his free hand to bash away one of the orbs with nothing but his bracer-clad arm, making a space for his lord to charge past him and get inside their enemy’s guard. Pi came in swinging, chasing Da Ji no matter how quickly she evaded him, zig-zagging this way and that through the garrison. She wasn’t giving up so easily, and with a grimace at the effort it took, she began to whirl the orbs rapidly in an orbit around herself, the perimeter gradually tightening. One stone slammed into Cao Pi’s shoulder, the other grazed across Mitsunari’s back, and seconds later they came around again, and again and again, necessitating that the two fighters block or get out of the way. They no longer had the strength to knock the orbs away, they could only do their best to avoid being struck or deal with the blows. Pi took three in a row, the orbs scraping past his sword blades and glancing against his arm and chest even as he tried to pivot out of the way. His weapon served him better separated, but even with that extra burst of speed he couldn’t make a gap in the tightly-spinning choreography. The orbs moveds so quickly that they became a near-solid blur, and Da Ji faced them from behind the ring, grinning darkly – she felt like she had finally stopped them. The merest wave of her hand raised or lowered the orbiting weapons to protect her head or feet; it seemed perfect, except of course for the fact that she could not attack them so long as she kept up this defense. She cackled from behind her orbs. “You really thought you could defeat me!” she taunted them. “What’re you going to do now, hmm?”

Cao Pi had no answer, but he didn’t need to say a thing. The club was suddenly there again, from behind her, slamming downward through the plane of the orbit and managing to catch one of the two stone globes, completely jarring it free and sending it rolling across the ground. Before Mitsunari or Cao Pi could move, Zhang He came in from the side and flew at Da Ji, swiping with his massive claws to sweep the other orb away, sending it careening into the logs at the top of the palisade wall. The necessary gap had been made, and the two commanders took their chance, splitting and each going to one side of their foe. She wore no armor to protect herself, and the other officers were closing in on the other sides to cut off retreat. For a moment she cowered, and then swiftly countered them, throwing out one hand to grab Cao Pi’s wrist and arrest it before the sword could skewer her, reaching with the other to catch Mitsunari’s hand. The latter missed, however, and the fan’s metal blades cut across her arm instead of her side. He quickly brought it back again in a fast slice and then snapped it closed so he could hit her across the side of the head. As she started to fall, Pi brought his second blade around to make up for the first being stymied and bashed the pommel into her shoulder. She staggered and caught herself, stumbling up from one knee and twisting to try to run, and ran smack into Huang Gai and his club. One hit, and Da Ji was lying several feet away: finally, truthfully, down.

The Orochi commander lay crumpled for a moment as Cao Pi and Zhang He advanced swiftly to cover her with their weapons. Ishida stumbled a bit but was right behind them, fishing something out of the satchel tucked beneath his coat. As their shadows loomed over her, she pushed herself up on her hands, darting an angry and panicked look at them as she panted for breath, truly a trapped fox. “What are you doing?” she demanded. “Leave me alone!”

“You’re in no position to be giving us orders any longer,” Pi said darkly, lowering the single blade next to her fuzzy ear. “Be silent, for once, and you’ll have an answer.” He studied her for the briefest moment, as he shifted the sword to his left hand and reached behind himself, beneath his cloak, with the other. “You seem to be a bit tired. Is that why you’re not pulling your usual vanishing act? You don’t have the strength?”

She bared her fangs at him. “What do you know of it?”

“I believe that means you’re right, my lord,” Guo Jia murmured as he moved in to join the party.

Pi barely glanced his way to acknowledge him, and then pulled something he had kept concealed behind his back for the entirety of the visit and the battle. At a distance it was clear it was nothing more than a crude wooden sword, shaped in the fashion of a short-bladed weapon but without the time and care taken to sand and hone the edges for appearance and function. But up close, at least to Da Ji, it was worse than the steel blade near her neck; as he brandished it and then pointed it toward her, her eyes widened in shock. “You know what this is, then?” he murmured in threat.

“How…?” she breathed in mingled fear and outrage – more the former than the latter.

“I am a student and a scholar, and a poet above those,” Cao Pi said regally in reply. “I am well-read. The stories say that in the time of the Shang Dynasty, immortals, gods, and spirits still walked among us and interfered directly in the battles of men. Emperor Zhou was a petty tyrant of the kind Dong Zhuo aims to be, and had to him a wife said to be a fox-woman. He kept her in line with something rather like this.” He raised the wooden blade as if to inspect it, even though he knew full well the work on it wasn’t complete. It had been done in haste while traveling, it was the best they could manage – and yet it still seemed to work as intended. “A sword made of peach wood, made holy by magic. One of few things a fox-spirit is vulnerable to, short of being bludgeoned to death.”

“And just where did you…” Da Ji trailed off as she realized the answer to her question before it could be asked, her eyes shifting to Mitsunari, standing proudly at the side of the Lord of Wei. “…you! You…you _traitor!_ ”

“Surprise,” Mitsunari said lazily, drawing his hand from the inside folds of his coat to reveal a handful of ofuda inked with very particular spells. “I may have had to improvise on a binding spell, but I _do_ know how to consecrate items.” He gestured with the paper talismans. “Bind her while she’s still weak. Once I attach these, she shouldn’t be able to vanish from among us.”

“With pleasure,” Guo Jia said with actual pleasure, setting aside his polearm and moving in quickly to tie her. Da Ji was too weak from the sorcery and the subsequent fight to even struggle against him, and if she even looked at him wrong, the peach sword waved in her face and somehow managed to subdue her. It was quite the sight, the powerful demon strategist reduced to this, huddled on the ground with ropes encasing her arms and lashing her wrists together. It wasn’t until she was clearly their prisoner that some of their men broke into cheers, and the Toyotomi conscripts even cried and trembled with joy that they were finally free. Jia noted this, but kept it to himself as he straightened up and decided to take the opportunity to ogle their captive. “That’s quite a prize you have there, Lord Cao Pi.”

Pi gazed imperiously down at her, but behind his cold mask, he was privately relieved and even a little joyful himself, that all of that mess resolved exactly the way he wanted. It was almost too good to be true, had he not been there and taken the blows himself to prove that it was real. After a moment’s silent contemplation, he turned away sharply to issue orders. “All forces, return to Odawara Castle proper. We will take control of this fortress for the time being. See to our casualties, remove any enemy corpses, and then quarters will be found. Those officers who have decided that we, as the victors, are the better choice to serve, will be allowed to do so. Anyone not of that persuasion had better run for their lives now, before I begin to deal out the executions.”

He was under no delusions that he would be executing anyone, that day, but he had to be firm just in case. All of the snake demons had been driven off, anyway, all that was left were humans and if any were not wise enough to defect to his side, they would likely escape as well. As the infantry formed up into ranks and marched back to the welcoming main gate, Pi’s officers gathered around him and his prize to see if there was anything in particular he needed from them at the moment. “You should get those injuries looked at,” Zhang He said worriedly. “Both you and Master Ishida look a bit scuffed up.”

“I’ll be fine,” Pi assured, “at least until we get into the castle. Mitsunari knows this place well, he can suggest the best quarters now that the keep is in ruins.” He sheathed Pure Havoc and then twirled the peach-wood blade in his fingers so he could hold it up hilt-first. “Whoever is to stand watch over our prisoner will carry this. The talismans should be enough but this is extra reassurance.”

Xiahou Dun reached to take it from him. “I will stand first watch. It is the least I can do to repay her for putting Lord Mengde’s face on that…that _thing_.”

Cao Pi seemed satisfied with this arrangement. Huang Gai, however, was not prepared to let things go just yet. He pushed past Zhang Liao and advanced on Da Ji, brandishing his mace. “Where have you hidden him?!” he demanded intensely. “And don’t lie to me, I saw your damn phantom, I know it wasn’t him! Where are you keeping my lord?”

Da Ji was not at all in the mood to cooperate, and even being flippant seemed to be a bit of a strain on her at the moment. She merely tipped her head toward him and gave him a narrow-eyed look of contempt. “Hm, you know,” she said without the usual lilt, “it’s _so_ hard to remember all these insignificant details of my job.”

Gai growled tiger-like and raised the mace. “Maybe a good smack on the head will jog your memory!”

Zhang Liao tilted the Blue Wyvern to the side enough to block him from actually doing so. “Careful, old man. She belongs to our lord, now, so if you want a piece of her you’ll have to get his permission.”

Cao Pi glanced slightly over his shoulder at that. “What about Sun Quan?”

Huang Gai frowned at him. “What about him?”

“He’s not here, is he?”

His question was entirely for Da Ji, who gave him a sullen pout in answer. “You’re too late, I already sent him away to be executed.”

“Executed!” Gai repeated.

Pi turned at last and gave her a long, searching look. “Correction,” he said, “you sent him away. That much, at least, is true. However, I expect that execution might be a bit delayed. They’re waiting on your direct orders, I assume. Pity, you won’t be in a position to give them.”

She hadn’t thought about it, but hearing that, Da Ji realized he was right and bared her teeth at him again. “Just what is it you want from me, anyway? Why capture me, and risk bringing Lord Orochi’s wrath directly onto your head?”

Now that his betrayal had been exposed and his move made, Cao Pi had no more secrets. He was content answering her in the full hearing of his retainers. “You are a cunning woman, surely you can see no less than six benefits of having you as a prisoner of one of the Resistance armies. Some of them are as plain as day, others may take some thinking. Even if I were unable to carry out my true intention, at the very least we will send Orochi’s army into chaos, delay the executions of Sun Jian and Sun Quan, prevent you from giving orders to Orochi’s loyal officers, and interrogate you to the best of our abilities. You have plenty of secrets which would be extremely useful to those attempting to bring down the serpent lord, and if you think me too soft to actually get them out of you, then you haven’t learned a damned thing about me.”

It was less the idea of being tortured for information and more the realization that this cold, sour man could and would carry out his threat that made Da Ji shudder in spite of herself. She shook it off and lifted her chin stubbornly. “Is that what you mean to do, Cao Pi? You want to go up against Lord Orochi himself? You must be insane,” she said dryly. “Orochi is powerful beyond your wildest dreams, you don’t want to make him any angrier than he already is. He _will_ sweep across this land, again, and lay waste to everything you’ve built.”

“I hope he does,” Zhang Liao interrupted, speaking over his shoulder as he relaxed his halberd to let Huang Gai move again. “It is the proudest achievement for any warrior to face someone of his might. I do not fear it – I welcome it!”

Cao Pi breathed a hint of a smug laugh under his breath; he expected as much, but it was still entertaining to hear. “I believe any of my retainers would say the same,” he said to answer her. “War with Orochi would certainly be a challenge, but it’s one I desire. This world will never settle unless he is removed from it, and I for one am not planning to sit back and allow someone else to do it.”

Da Ji held his gaze, and then glared at him as it all came together. “You were planning this from the very first day! I _knew_ it! You may think you had me fooled, Cao Pi, but I always suspected you. It may have come a little sooner than I imagined, but I always knew you would turn.”

“Is that why you laid us such a _warm_ welcome?” Puns did not become him, but he couldn’t resist that one. “Unfortunately for you, I anticipated it. That is why we stand here, while you sit there, bound hand and foot. And you’ll remain that way until I have your cooperation, whether it takes a heavy hand or not.” He made a curt gesture. “Take her to the castle, find where she kept her prisons and lock her up. Xiahou Dun, you have first watch as requested. If you find anyone in there, let them out and tell them they now serve Wei under Lord Cao Pi.”

They had taken no chances with binding her and sealing her with the ofuda, so Da Ji was actually quite useless for anything but sitting there. Xiahou Dun gave no thought to her dignity – if anything, he was content to humiliate her further – and bent to sling her over his shoulder like a sack of rice. She spluttered a bit and protested shrilly, but he ignored her, and only brandished the peach-wood sword when she got to be too noisy. Guo Jia and Zhang He went along, leading their horses and preparing to begin the long task of ordering their mingled troops and seeing to everyone’s needs. That left Zhang Liao with his lord and Ishida, and Huang Gai and his men. Gai had calmed down, and now faced up to the Lord of Wei on his own. Twice before, he had endured this man’s humiliations while forced to his knees. This third time, he was on his feet and free, so the choice to bend to one knee was his own. “You have now spared my life on three occasions,” he said heavily. “Without your mercy, I would be dead. Without you, I would be nothing in this mixed-up world, so I now pledge to you my service. Please, allow me to serve in your army.”

Now this was how would-be officers were supposed to behave. For as much as he teased his own retainers about their overdeveloped senses of honor, Cao Pi could see that it still existed in Wu as well. Gai might have needed to have it beaten into his head at least twice, but he still got there in the end, and knew how to do things properly. Pi nodded once, slowly. “You are a man of honor, and I will be glad to have your service.”

“I look forward to fighting at your side, Master Huang Gai,” Zhang Liao added.

Gai pushed himself to his feet a little stiffly and left his mace resting against his thigh so he could palm his fist in salute. “If you don’t mind, then, I’ll go on ahead and make sure my men are remembered when it comes time to dole out food and beds.”

He moved off, concluding whatever post-battle consultations needed to be made. Zhang Liao whistled to call over the horses left at the other side of the garrison fortress, so that the two commanders at his side didn’t have to move very far to catch them. He could tell both were exhausted and hiding injuries behind their competent, superior facades. “Your turn, now, my lord,” he murmured as the fine white horse jogged up and lowered its head to be patted. “I know you just left this castle, but it’s time to go back inside as its conqueror.”

“What’s left of it, anyway.” Cao Pi looked squarely at Mitsunari as he took his horse’s bridle. “I’m sorry, that we weren’t able to stop the destruction. I know some of the soldiers were trying to put it out, but I can’t imagine they had much success.”

Mitsunari had been quiet for a bit, mostly observing, but the day’s exertion had clearly caught up to him. He lifted his head slowly and then shook it side to side, making his long, auburn hair sway around his face. “Don’t count the Toyotomi out yet. I don’t think the keep will be habitable, but it might not be as bad as it looks. It can be repaired.” He heaved a short, wry chuckle, then. “That was a little tougher than you’d planned, wasn’t it?”

Cao Pi tossed his head with a matching chuckle. “Immaterial. A victory is a victory.”

They returned to the gates of Odawara to find their men already working hard to secure it, putting temporary repairs on the gates to hold them stoutly against invasion and moving the cannons from the fort to defend the main entrance properly. A series of moats lay around the outermost walls, excellent for keeping out invaders but not so useful when the attack had come from the inside. At least now they could serve their real purpose. The Toyotomi officers who had been defending Odawara for months under Zhuge Liang’s command knew what other traps he had laid around the grounds and helped to identify and disarm them, though not without help and nosy observance from Guo Jia. He was keen to know what the Sleeping Dragon had been up to all this time, to possibly learn from him and turn it to his advantage. Only a few messengers were sent out so soon after the battle’s end, primarily to head straight for Xuchang to inform them of the good news – the rest could wait until after everyone had rested and then consulted on their next move. The Toyotomi soldiers had, in fact, managed to put out the fire before it could completely raze the keep to the ground, but its top two levels at least were uninhabitable and the smell of smoke and charcoal lingered even as far as the main floor. Ishida directed their forces to other places within the compound that were set up to house both soldiers and dignitaries; the barracks were obvious, placed out along the outer and inner walls, but there was also a fine guest house just on the other side of the gardens from the keep, where visitors who had traveled weeks from their holdings in other provinces would stay when the castle lord called them. They were not too richly decorated but still very nice, appropriate for Cao Pi and his officers. He settled in to have his wounds tended, and decided to remain there and rest; if they needed him to sign off on any decisions, the other officers knew where to find him. The sun was sinking almost to the tops of the trees beyond the walls, it was a good time to accept that he needed rest and some privacy. Mostly – Ishida remained at his side, even in private quarters. Their sleeping arrangements were in separate rooms on either side of the parlor, but the shared room was a good place to be tended by the medics. As each slowly and stiffly removed their armor piece by piece, Mitsunari gave his lord the briefest smirk. “By the way,” he said as if finishing a conversation started earlier, “I’m not upset about the state of the castle. It didn’t belong to me or even to Lord Hideyoshi. He took it, sure, but his home castle is at Osaka.”

Cao Pi looked his way as he let one of the soldiers serving as medics peel away his scale mail. “Interesting. To whom does it rightly belong, then?”

“Originally, the Hojo clan.” Mitsunari winced as the medic assisting him freed his left hand from the bronze-plated glove to reveal his swollen, bruised fingers. Perhaps bashing Da Ji’s orb with his arm wasn’t such a good idea after all. “Back when Orochi started his conquest, here, Lord Hideyoshi and a number of his people were assisting the Hojo in defending it.” He sniffed and then added, “War does make for strange bedfellows.”

Pi knew that to be true. He looked through the window toward the smoldering keep, blackened on this side all the way down to the second floor. “I hope the Hojo, wherever they are, don’t mind if we hold onto it for a bit.”

“Well, considering their lord is currently a prisoner of the Orochi army, I doubt he has room to complain,” Mitsunari remembered. “Are you going to change headquarters again, and make this one your castle?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Pi’s attention returned to the medic, looking down at himself as his clothing was respectfully undone and removed to locate his injuries. He had taken a few cuts from the phantom’s sword, but the worst of it seemed to be the bruises from Da Ji’s orbs. He took a seat and held himself still to allow them to clean and dress the cuts and tend the rest, wrapping his ribs tightly. “If it takes too long to repair the keep, there won’t be enough room for the entirety of our army. However, I do think it in everyone’s best interests to keep it out of the Orochi army’s hands. We’ve secured several officers and additional troops today, and if your comrades are successful, there will be another officer joining us. Perhaps I will claim it for our use until the end of the war, but station someone else to hold it while I remain in Xuchang.”

Ishida’s eyes were on him entirely, even with a medic at his own side bending and prodding his hand to test for broken bones or sprained muscles. He hadn’t seen this much of Cao Pi laid bare to him since that day at Xia Kou, and the rain-soaked clothing change in the officers’ tent. More remarkable was the fact that Pi didn’t seem to care that he was there, witnessing what would normally be an extremely private affair for a warlord. Most did not allow their retainers to see them injured – or exposed, for that matter. He found himself unable to take his eyes off the chiseled planes of his chest and abdomen, appropriately muscled for a fighter rather than a scholar. Mitsunari caught himself staring and tried to snap out of it. “No need to make plans right now,” he assured. “We basically just got here and spent most of the day overthrowing Orochi’s head strategist and field commander. We’ve basically bought ourselves all the time we want to put things in order and make further decisions.”

Cao Pi raised his eyes toward his strategist, and something in them suggested he knew full well he was being ogled – and did not protest. “Perhaps you’re right. I find it difficult to stop thinking, but I can at least stop talking about plans and ideas.”

That made Mitsunari smile to himself. “If we stop talking about plans, then what the hell else are we going to talk about?”

They met each other’s gaze across the room, and both smirked. True, since Xia Kou that had been more or less the only thing they ever consulted about, the only topic brought up when both were in the room. But then, technically, they were lord and strategist, not close friends, so was it all that unusual? Still, Pi could remember a quiet evening in Xuchang and the rich heat of an expertly-made tea on his tongue. He was distracted for a moment by the medic, who finished wrapping him and pronounced him well enough, but wanted to give him advice in case he found any of his strained muscles cramping or the pain in general to be too much. He knew his own limits, though, and waved off the advice with a dismissive hand before going to the bags which had been brought in from their horses and collecting a fresh change of clothing. “I suppose we’ll have to think of something,” he finally answered Ishida, “although I confess that simply enjoying the silence is a viable alternative.”

Mitsunari watched the way the muscles of his back moved as he slipped into a fresh shirt, silvery-gray instead of blue, and then hissed as his own attendant found a cut from one of the phantom swords buried beneath layers of kimono, where blood had soaked through and clotted already. The medic delicately peeled away the fabric to let it bleed freely again, demanding that he sit back down to let them clean it. It was on his left side, where the coat and extra layers had hidden it for the duration of the battle. Mitsunari sank onto the chair and leaned away from them, glancing up to find Cao Pi immediately beside him, lacing up the ties on his tunic. The look on his lord’s face was too easy to read. “Don’t,” Ishida pre-emptively warned. “I’m fine.”

“Is that so…” Pi looked over the wound for himself and shook his head. “Where did you get that?”

“I can’t recall,” Mitsunari admitted. “Though it might have been against the phantom. Not the fake Sun Jian, the other one.”

“So you faced another as well.” Cao Pi’s expressioned tightened almost imperceptibly. “Who was it? Your lord?”

Mitsunari glanced up at him again, and found himself biting back the instinct to remind him that _he_ was his lord now. He meant Toyotomi, and Mitsunari should not have forgotten it. “No,” he answered instead, “it took the form of Toyotomi Hideyori…his son.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “She couldn’t use Lord Hideyoshi against me, we all know full well he’s riding with Oda these days. She had to go for someone I doubted was around.”

“Ah. I see now.” Pi folded his arms over his chest. “She chose to make them look like people we might not want to fight. She was wrong about the other two, but I didn’t understand the third until now.”

“So it’s true what she said, then?” Mitsunari’s eyes snapped open and straight back over to him warily. “You fought your father?”

“A phantom of my father, yes.” Pi eyed him right back, not sure what that look was for. “And I knew it for what it was and had no problem cutting it down.”

“Cool as you like,” Mitsunari teased, his smirk slowly returning. “Pretty impressive…”

“What, like I’m supposed to quail at the idea of fighting my own father? Please.” Cao Pi snorted magnificently, looking away. “She seems to persist under the delusion that I’m as soft-hearted as other men, that I would be reduced to weeping on my knees to even see him again. Clearly, she seems to believe that all humans behave the same in the same situation.”

“Consider who she had around her to use for research,” his strategist offered. “The Sun siblings behaved exactly like that. Who else did she have to compare to?”

Pi frowned a bit, his lips twisting. The mention of their name sent his mind down a different path. “And yet, Sun Quan surrendered himself rather than flee. A wise strategist would learn from that, but I suppose she was more excited about being able to execute him and failed to understand the importance of his decision.”

Mitsunari let out a small noise as the medic pushed his arm out of the way, straining the cut in his side. It distracted him from the conversation for a moment. “The execution. Right,” he recalled. “That should be on hold, now. But I’m going to have to dig through all her information to see if I can find out where she sent him off to.” 

“No rush,” Cao Pi assured. “As you say, we’ve bought ourselves time.”

Mitsunari wanted to taunt him for refusing to hurry and be helpful to Wei’s former enemies, but the medic patching him up had gone beyond distracting to actually painful. He seethed and ground his teeth to keep from shouting at the rough hands closing his wound, but then there was a hand in his hair, completely diverting his attention away from the pain. It was there and then gone as Cao Pi brushed past him to leave the room. “Make sure my strategist is comfortable and able to come to dinner,” the lord of Wei ordered the medics on his way out. Mitsunari tipped his head back to try to catch his eye, but it was useless.

When the officers gathered for a sunset dinner, Ishida was there with them, showing no sign of the bandages hiding beneath his kimono. He had a fresh set, solid black with black hakama, looking strangely serene out of armor and without the bright rose and gold head to toe. Among the rest of the officers still in armor and dusty tunics, he and their lord stood out, resplendent in clean garments and little in the way of extra ornaments. It was enough for their small, intimate dinner with just the retainers of Wei – the true victory feast could wait until later. At least Mitsunari’s attack on the storehouses hadn’t turned out to their detriment. The fire had only damaged the roof and the outer walls, but someone had found the time to return and put it out before it could consume the goods inside. They got lucky, and were able to actually raid the storehouses and claim all of the Orochi army’s supplies for their own use as a successful conquering army should. Cao Pi reigned over them with his calm, collected mask back in place, showing no sign of pain or exhaustion, taking smug pride in sitting in the place of honor while the demon strategist who had expected to occupy that spot languished in the castle prisons in an outer garrison. He said nothing of plans the whole night, and aside from listening to Guo Jia’s account of what they had witnessed at Kanegasaki, conducted no business whatsoever. Zhang He was beside himself with joy and had there been anyone with an instrument to play music for him, he would have danced the entire night away in celebration that Wei had finally come into its own and they were truly free of the serpent. His enthusiasm spoke for all of them in some way. It was their time to revel in this unexpected twist of events and gloat amongst themselves about the massive blow they had just dealt to Orochi. He would find out soon enough, and perhaps Da Ji was right and he would move, but until then, they could enjoy the luxuries the fox-woman had hoarded to herself at Odawara and wait for word to get out about what they achieved. It was important that Xuchang be the first to know, but even Cao Pi was aware that he would not be able to keep it secret for long. His lips curled slyly against the rim of his cup as he considered it. No, he wanted everyone to know. And soon.

As the twilight faded from the sky and the stars began to gleam, a lone rider came to an abrupt stop below one of the canals at the fringe of Odawara. It was not too dark yet, he could see even from that distance that the tiered roofs of the castle keep rising above the walls had been damaged by fire. He could smell it on the air, yet. But the thing which caused him genuine alarm, and a sinking feeling in his chest, was the sight of men in the indigo of Wei standing guard at the nearest gates. Maeda Keiji had been ordered back to Odawara as soon as he was free from guarding and escorting Sun Quan, and he had not delayed at all, yet it seemed to have still been too little too late. He rode as close as he dared in order to see the fire-ravaged keep clearly and assess the sentry positions, so as to know for sure before drawing conclusions. Something had happened while he was away, and he couldn’t be sure that the castle was still in Orochi’s hands anymore. He sat silently in the saddle, calculating, and then wheeled his horse and rode back the way he had come. Whatever had befallen Odawara, it was too late for him to do anything about it. Alone, no troops at all at his back, he was not as formidable against an entire army as some might have thought. The only thing he could think as he disappeared into the night was that Da Ji had better have pulled her usual disappearing act, so he could regroup with her and plan retaliation. If she fled far away and left the army again, like last time, he couldn’t be responsible for what might happen. Bai Di was too far to reach in one night, but Keiji rode for it, certain that the strategist would return there if ousted. Yet, some part of him almost hoped that she had slunk off into some other hole to hide and not have to face his wrath and mockery. He had said all sorts of things last time about her failure, he wouldn’t mind the chance to put those words into action.


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Idiot Duo pulls off a rescue, the Sima brothers reach Oda in time for some major news, and Zhao Yun is on the move again.

The far-flung territories still occupied by the Orochi army and its faithful officers were still receiving orders from Da Ji which had been sent out days before, wending their way over mountains and across enemy-held lands to make it safely to their recipients with only minor delay. Despite the speed of most couriers, messages still did not seem to make it to this castle or that any faster than armies did, and in some cases, those minor delays could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Nothing had gotten to Ueda at all for some time, neither warnings nor summons, leaving Sima Yi in the dark about a great many things and subsequently frustrated. It didn’t make him more diligent about his own holding’s security, but less. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely his fault; after all, the only people who knew that a prisoner was being held at Ueda were high-ranking Orochi officers and their allies. How was anyone to know that Cao Pi would choose that moment to turn, just when he had the information needed to send his forces to liberate and protect?

Kato and Fukushima had taken only one additional officer with them, deciding on Xiahou Ba even though they had only just met him when the Xiahou clan arrived at Xuchang. He was young but enthustiastic, and even in that heavy armor he would make a better addition to their stealth unit than Xu Huang or Xu Zhu, especially since he had been at this castle before. Kiyomasa had in fact gotten to like Gongming, finding him a handy sparring partner and honorable man, but he and Masanori were large and heavy enough, they needed someone small and quick along to assist with the break-in, and Xu Shu was not allowed to leave Xuchang while the rest of Wei’s strategists were elsewhere. There wasn’t much strategy needed as it was, at least to get into Ueda. Getting out, on the other hand, would be as crazy as getting out of Osaka. At least they had some help on that front.

The three men with their massive weapons pelted down a wood-floored corridor as fast as they could, but the woman they had liberated outpaced them easily, even as weak as she was. Nene had not been maltreated by the Sima forces once Fuuma was no longer around, but prisoners were not afforded luxury so recovery had not been as simple as getting sleep and food. Still, she had enough strength left to dash through the castle, leading them out via the best path. “The Orochi forces here are thin,” she advised them as they ran. “I’ve seen perhaps three capable officers, total. Even if Sima Yi himself joins the pursuit, I think you guys can handle them.”

“Do you know their names?” Xiahou Ba asked worriedly. “Or describe them to me. I know them all.”

“Let’s see…” Nene drew them all to a stop at the intersection of hallways so they could listen for pursuit. It was the middle of the night, but they could not guarantee that they could just slip out like ninjas after the ruckus made in the prisons. “The big quiet one, I think his name is Deng Ai. Then there’s an older man who coughs a lot and a really snippy one.”

Xiahou Ba instantly knew who she meant. “Guo Huai and Zhong Hui,” he explained. “There’s been no word of Lord Sima Yi’s sons, then?”

Nene shook her head. “I’ve been gossiping with Master Ai, he doesn’t talk much but he listens well. I would have heard if the master of the castle had any sons about.”

Ba breathed a short sigh of relief. Granted, he knew where Sima Zhao should have been, but if there was no sign of Shi as well, it meant his lord’s plan was moving along as it should. Good. He turned to Kato. “Two carry heavy weapons like mine, but Zhong Hui fights with light swords.”

Kiyomasa nodded firmly. “Understood. Let’s get out of here and hope we don’t have to face them, but if we do, I think we can handle it.”

“It’s clear,” Nene said, smacking Kiyomasa in the arm to keep his attention. “This way.”

The guards they had knocked out at the prison cells had already gotten back up to wake up the sleeping castle, so they knew they’d be in trouble shortly, but if they could make it out of the castle proper before being set upon, they had every chance at getting away in one piece. Between the four of them they knew Ueda just well enough to be able to find the exits least likely to be guarded, and plowed their way through the castle to get to the door which opened out onto the eastern road. They didn’t have the luxury of a guide like Zuo Ci for this rescue, but the canals to the west and the walls to the south were far more impenetrable, and Kato was of the opinion that if they had to break down a human wall to escape, he would prefer that to slogging through the canals or attempting to follow a ninja over walls and rooftops. As they reached the door, he shouldered his way out in front with his scythe held across his chest so as to put Nene in the middle of their group and defend her – he would rather they took the blows for her, and if any of them had to sacrifice their freedom or life for her, it would be him first. He smashed his way through the door, startling the guards stationed on the opposite side, and did not hesitate for a second. Down the steps and along the road toward the outer walls, it looked like there wasn’t much in the way of defenses to this side of the fortress. His senses were alert for attack or pursuit, so he missed the stumbling steps behind him until Masanori yelped, “Lady Nene!”

Kiyomasa screeched to a halt and turned to find their lady on the ground, holding one leg. “I’m fine!” she insisted. “Just tripped, is all.” She grabbed her blades and started to get up, but immediately crumpled again on the ankle which she’d turned as they ran.

“Quickly.” Kato knelt beside her and then gestured to his comrades. “Masanori, carry her on your back. We need to keep moving.”

“Right. C’mere, Lady Nene…” Fukushima dropped down beside her, presenting her with his broad, armored back to hang onto. She did not complain, she knew she was injured and would not be the reason they were all recaptured. Still clinging to the pair of blades, she hooked an arm around his thick neck and climbed right on, wrapping her slim legs around his waist. Fukushima only blushed a little as he held his polearm in both hands, behind his back, so she could use it as a seat if she wanted. They started off in a knot again, Kato leading the way and Xiahou Ba guarding the rear. Freedom was only a gate away, now.

Despite the late hour, the officers of the castle were easy to turn out and send after their escaped prisoner, Deng Ai and Zhong Hui raced to intercept and got to the east gate mere moments ahead of their prey. As they positioned themselves and braced for the battle, Xiahou Ba slid out in front and angled so that he would meet Deng Ai, lance to lance. That left Kato to slam his scythe into the crossed swords of Zhong Hui, who startled at the sight of the particular warriors who materialized out of the darkness in front of them. He had spent just enough time bossing the two Toyotomi retainers around Xuchang during his time there to know which army they had come from. Kiyomasa wasted no words with him, beating him back and knocking aside the light swords every time they came at him. He had never seen Hui fight, let alone faced him, so the agile, tasseled swords which seemed to fly at him from each side were a bit of a surprise, but Ba’s warning earlier had been enough. He charged in hard, using his weight to his advantage and sweeping in wide passes around Hui, this way and that. Zhong Hui was irritated at being woken up for this, and hadn’t gotten half of his armor on, so he played it much more safe than he usually would and dodged where he would have blocked on a normal battlefield in the light of day. He seethed at Kato, and when two of his swords were bashed right out of the air by the scythe’s wide arc, he pulled the rest close to him and threw up a hasty block. “What is the meaning of this?” he hissed between them as Kiyomasa crashed into him again and held firm. “Did Cao Pi put you up to this?”

“As a matter of fact he did,” Kiyomasa said boldly, “but Lady Nene is ours to rescue from your clutches. She will be Orochi’s hostage no more!”

Such news only ramped up Hui’s irritation to pure ire, putting a scowl on his handsome face as he disengaged, swirled around to snatch his dropped swords up from the dirt, and hurled himself into the fray again. They could not allow this rescue party to succeed, not just out of fear of the wrath of Orochi but out of a flat refusal to let Cao Pi’s men ever have the upper hand. But Kiyomasa was far stronger between the two of them, and Xiahou Ba had already gotten control of his own battle, overpowering Deng Ai through a relentless assault and pushing him back as far as the wall. Ai strained to keep from being completely knocked out, their lances crossed, but the young man facing him was at the peak of his strength and full of fire, not at all bothered by having to fight his comrades from Jin. He was finally making a difference, fighting back against Orochi, and would not be deterred even by the strength of Deng Ai. While they were occupied, Masanori obeyed his Lady’s tugging at his ear and slipped around to the side, inching along the shadowed wall to get past them and then breaking into a dash. Castle guards tried to get in his way, but his hands were full, so he twisted to one side and let Nene reach down from where she clung to his shoulders and slash at them with her blade. He was, essentially, her mighty steed, and after a few good hits cleared a path through the soldiers, Masanori laughed loudly at their teamwork and put his head down to keep going. Nene clutched a handful of his kimono collar sticking out from under his armor and leaned down and out as far as she could in order to slash and parry, so they could do their part to secure the retreat. The gusty laugh made both Sima retainers glance back, and they realized too late that they had been tricked. The distraction allowed Xiahou Ba to raise his lance and clout Deng Ai across the shoulder, knocking him sprawling, and Kiyomasa likewise took his chance and spiraled around Zhong Hui, coming to a stop back to back with the blade of his scythe held back-handed over his shoulder, poised right over his enemy’s throat. He heard the sharp intake of breath as Hui realized he would be decapitated if he so much as twitched a muscle, and grinned to himself as he whipped the scythe around so he could jab the pommel into Hui’s kidney from behind. As he crumpled to the ground with a scream of agony, Kato fled on the heels of his comrades, taking up the rearguard this time as they shot through the final gate and disappeared into the trees east of Ueda.

They ran until all three men were heaving for breath, weighed down by armor and weapons and Nene, at which point she pinched Masanori’s ear to get his attention and halt him. She might not have been intimately familiar with the woodland, but she knew enough to know which way they needed to go in order to disappear into the wilderness. She allowed them a minute or two to catch their breath so they wouldn’t make so much noise, and then guided them from her perch on Fukushima’s shoulders, using gestures and whispers to keep them on the right path while erasing evidence of their passage behind them. They had very little time before the rest of the castle would be on their trail, they had to get far enough ahead while obscuring that trail to buy themselves time. Their escape would not be complete until they had shaken off pursuit. Behind them, only Deng Ai could manage to walk after all of that, but he was reeling from the hits, and only made it to the castle’s inner ward to meet Guo Huai coming out and explain what had happened. It would be up to Huai to arrange their scouts for tracking duty and continue pursuit, a venture which grew more and more difficult the more time passed. Sighing, Huai gathered himself and moved to do so, though he and the other officers did not have the opportunity to join them in the hunt. It was the middle of the night, and the rest of the castle would be woefully short-handed if they personally set out after the escapees. Zhong Hui would not be going anywhere, regardless.

Whether they slept at all or not, all of them were up at dawn to receive reports from the scouts and reconnoiter. By that time Sima Yi was not only awake but in the main hall ready to hear from them, his face dark and stormy with rage. He didn’t even cut Hui slack for being injured, he was called to report alongside the others. The scouts were having trouble picking up the exact trail, but they had some idea which direction the group had gone. Sima Yi stared them all down, and then dismissed the scouts before turning his fury on his officers. “You had one job!” he blazed at them. “You were to keep hold of her, how did anyone get into the castle?! Who were they? How did they know we had a prisoner?”

Zhong Hui manfully pulled himself up to his full height, leaning only one hand on Guo Huai’s shoulder to do so. “They came from Wei, my lord,” he reported, his face just as irate as Sima Yi’s. “Two of them were second-hand retainers of Cao Pi, I remember them well from my time among them. Cao Pi sent them.”

Yi’s face darkened even more, his eyes flashing. Deng Ai sighed. “Then that means the Xiahou clan, or at least certain of their men, are working for Wei as well.”

Guo Huai said absolutely nothing, though he had been told in the middle of the night that Xiahou Ba had found a new lord to serve, and knew then that it meant that all the plans to strip away Sima Yi’s family and support were working perfectly. He lowered his gaze contritely as Hui continued. “Yes, that was Xiahou Ba with them. He’s betrayed us, and Cao Pi has clearly betrayed Orochi!”

“That imbecile!” Yi snarled, unable to stop himself from flinging his fan clear across the hall. Fortunately, it missed all three officers. “I _knew_ he would! I knew he was nothing but a snake in the grass, waiting for his chance!” He roared with anger and stomped off, but stopped himself at the door to turn and issue orders. “Turn out the entire castle! We must recapture that prisoner before she can make it back to Cao Pi at Xuchang! If we lose her, Orochi will destroy us all!”

The three of them were still in the process of putting together search parties and preparing a plan so as to cover the most ground when a messenger from Bai Di galloped through the main gate, a bit perplexed as to why everything was in a state of fluster. He had a letter from Da Ji, orders no less, sent at least a week prior. Already ruing the fact that he needed to stay back so that the castle still had someone in command, Sima Yi came down to read these orders right there in the courtyard so that he would not be the last to know. He ripped the scroll open and devoured the news hungrily, though the orders contained within made him glare at the paper as if to set fire to it with his eyes. “My lord?” Guo Huai wondered as soon as he figured it was safe to ask.

“There is a change of plans,” Yi said curtly, folding the letter and tucking it into his robes. “Is Zhong Hui still injured?”

“He’s improved,” Deng Ai answered, “but if I had my way I would not put him in a saddle right now.”

“Very well. He will stay here, then, and maintain control of Ueda. I have orders to move out with such men as can be spared.” Sima Yi brushed down his robes and lifted his chin, putting on his authoritative air in order to prove to them that he was still wise and powerful and in command. “There is word that the Lady Daqiao of Wu has deserted and taken officers with her, and Da Ji needs anyone available to set out after her.”

“But what about the escaped prisoner?” Guo Huai fretted. “This is a hard spot for us to be put in.”

“I’m aware of that,” Yi snapped at him. “Orders directly from Da Ji supersede our own plans. I suppose there is small consolation in that we know where they’re headed – we know they’ll be returning to Xuchang. If Cao Pi has turned on his allies, then the main army will be on his doorstep in no time, and the matter will be taken care of.” He gestured to Deng Ai, pointing. “Saddle my horse and prepare the men for a longer excursion. We must hunt down the lady of Wu as per these orders.”

Ai palmed his fist and bowed obediently before turning on his heel to do so. Guo Huai stifled a small cough behind his hand. “Yes, my lord. It shall be done,” he said for the both of them. “I’ll inform Zhong Hui that he will be given the chance to recover.”

“And he’s to stay out of my study!” Yi shot after him as he left. Once alone, he stood there in the yard silently seething for a bit. This was not at all what he had in mind, but he had no choice. Let a prisoner escape in one direction in order to scoop up a deserter in the other? It was far from ideal, but at least he would not be reprimanded for disobeying orders. He stood there in the shade of the castle wall until he had calmed down enough to act and then went back into the castle himself, to go and prepare his weapon and supplies and lock away important Orochi army documents in his study just in case. He no longer had complete trust in his retainers, even though they were nothing but faithful and obedient; they did everything he asked of them, but he doubted their strength and competence. If Xiahou Ba, that filthy traitor, had decided to join Wei after being exiled at Hulao, that was his choice, but he would pay for it. They would all pay, Sima Yi decided for himself. If they could get this errand taken care of quickly, he would like nothing better than to turn his forces toward Xuchang instead. He might not have had the manpower to overthrow Cao Pi, but he certainly would like the chance to try. It would have to wait, though. Da Ji’s imperative came first.

Meanwhile, Resistance messengers passing back and forth between Guandu and Kanegasaki delivered news along with additional reinforcements under Zhang Jiao – Lord Oda had since returned from his rest at Honnoji, so anything that needed to reach his ear directly had to be sent to Guandu. This meant the new recruits as well, so they saddled up and returned with the messenger guiding them, so that they wouldn’t find themselves wandering lost through the countryside again. Sima Shi’s arm was still bound up, but he and Zhao had recovered enough to travel and were eager to officially be made part of the army. Honda and his sons had moved on as well, once it was certain Kanegasaki would be secure and no one would be massacred, they had to keep hunting down their savage prey and, aside from a rumor regarding the fortress of He Fei, they needed to work to pick up his trail again. The Sima brothers and Wang Yuanji were glad to move on, as her ladyship did not get on well with Okuni and while the fortress was a step up from trying to survive in the wild, it still lacked security and comfort of a kind. Moreover, Shi was particularly keen to meet this warlord of Wa for himself, and Zhao looked forward to hopefully making amends with other officers. Their journey would take a few days, but there was nothing in their way to slow them down.

Autumn was finally hitting the territory around Wuchao and Guandu with force, many of the trees had already shed their leaves and the rest were a riot of color. The main fortress with its dark stone walls loomed up out of the trees, in good repair and with catapults still visible set up on the outer wall, though Oda’s forces were wise to put lookouts and archers up there to serve as the first line of defense rather than the last. It looked like a good castle to call headquarters, and the three new recruits kept their heads high and their hopes up as they passed through the main gate and were met by soldiers to take their horses. As they dismounted, they turned to find a tall, slender, elegant-looking man descending the castle steps to greet them, and both Zhao and Yuanji remembered him well from the lecture delivered at Kawanakajima. Seeing as their presence there was mostly his fault, Sima Zhao stepped forward first and proffered a deep bow with fist to palm. Mitsuhide recognized them as well, and a keen look came over his features to see them before him. Word had not exactly gotten to Guandu of the acquisition before they themselves arrived. “Well. This is rather unexpected,” he said smoothly, coming before them with a hand resting on the hilt of his katana. “I assume there is a reason why one of our own men is escorting three Orochi officers into Guandu.” 

The messenger bowed and prepared to speak, but Zhao beat him to it. “Former officers, if you please,” he said with a small smile. “We’ve come to join Lord Oda’s cause.”

Mitsuhide’s eyes widened. That certainly didn’t happen every day. The messenger offered him a rolled scroll, then, which he took and skimmed over before raising his eyes to regard them again. There was a moment’s pause where none of them could be sure what exactly was in the letter, but then he lowered it and gestured for them to follow him. “I will present you to Lord Oda. He’s quite busy, but he will want to hear this for himself. Come.”

Rather than the grand throne room, Oda Nobunaga was hard at work in the war room, looking over all the reports that had come in the last couple of days and filling his other strategists in on what he had learned from Zhao Yun. He had called Lu Xun in and pulled Hanbei from his afternoon nap so they could go over all of it together, but interruptions were bound to happen, so the door was open to permit his other officers if necessary. Mitsuhide bade the visitors wait behind him while he went inside first to preface the meeting. Nobunaga looked up when he swept through the door. “Mitsuhide. What can I do for you?”

“A message has returned to us from Kanegasaki,” Akechi replied, holding it out for his lord to take. “And with it come some personnel I think you need to see.”

“Personnel…?” Oda paused before reading the letter. “Send them in, then.”

Mitsuhide turned to wave them in. As before, Zhao came first and made sure to kowtow, with his brother and wife following immediately behind him and mirroring his actions more or less. It was hard for Shi to raise his left arm, so he simply curled his right over his heart and bowed over it. Oda studied them briefly, recalling the tall young man from Kawanakajima, but let his retainer explain. “They have requested your permission to join the Resistance army, my lord.”

“Is that so…?” Oda kept the letter rolled in his fist as he came around the table and paced in front of them, impressed that they stood proudly before him. He stopped in front of Zhao and made sure to catch his eyes. “I don’t believe I got your names, the last time we met.”

The younger brother finally lowered his eyes in respect. “Sima Zhao, at your service,” he said warmly. “My elder brother, Sima Shi, and my wife, Wang Yuanji. We have deserted the Orochi army and seek guidance, my lord.”

“It seems Master Huang Zhong would vouch for them,” Mitsuhide added, nodding toward the letter.

Nobunaga’s eyebrows raised a bit, and without further word he turned to the side to unroll the message and read what Huang Zhong had to say. In the interim, a tense silence pressed down on the room, and the strategists on the other side of the table watched warily without interrupting or even so much as shuffling a foot. Lu Xun looked keenly interested in these faces, while Hanbei remained as hard to judge as ever. At last, Oda made a soft noise of interest and lowered the letter. “Actions often speak louder than words, in this world,” he said philosophically, “but all I have to rely on are the words of another, regarding your actions.” His head turned back toward them, and he favored the two brothers with eyes narrowed in a sly smirk. “Did you really engage the mighty Lu Bu, and only come out of it with a broken arm?”

Shi’s head remained high, but a bit of a flush crept into his pale cheeks. “Only my broken arm can be seen, my lord,” he murmured. “If Huang Zhong has chosen to tell you of that, I can hardly deny it.”

Nobunaga’s lips began to curve with a more genuine smile of appreciation, and he turned again only to hand the letter to Hanbei to read for himself. It would make the rounds of the strategists, who were privy to all information. “While I’m sure it makes a great tale, that is hardly the most interesting thing I read. More important to me is his report that you three, unbidden and unlooked-for, charged the battlefield and began attacking the Orochi army without even knowing who it was you were going to rescue. I’m not sure that I would call it the wisest thing in the world to do, but it does show clearly to me which side you would be on.” He spun back to face them, his cloak swishing around his legs. “I accept. I know not why you’ve chosen to desert Orochi, nor what makes you think I would make the better general under whom to serve, but I will not question it. We need every last hand that can hold a weapon, if we are to ever have a chance at overcoming Orochi. That includes you.” He tilted his head to the side. “Mitsuhide, find them quarters for now. I will decide later whether to deploy them to another of our holdings, or to keep them here with me.”

“Yes, my lord,” Akechi said with a nod and a bow. The three new recruits likewise bowed, and all four left together to allow Oda to get back to work. The brothers shared a glance as they followed; they hadn’t expected Huang Zhong to tell the warlord everything. But, better to have someone vouch for them, particularly the trustworthy old warrior of Shu.

Guandu was spacious enough that there were quarters for every officer great and small, mainly because Oda had multiple fortresses under his control where some could be housed, but also because their soldiers stayed in the barracks at Wuchao or in the smaller fort of Bai Ma. Once Mitsuhide had them settled in a small suite they could share, as family, Sima Zhao turned to him. “Can you tell me, where is Lord Ma Chao currently stationed?”

“Actually,” Mitsuhide replied, “he and Ma Dai came back with Lord Nobunaga from Honnoji. Do you know them?”

“We’ve met,” Zhao acknowledged. “I wanted to speak with him if I could.”

“He should be around somewhere. Perhaps looking after the horses,” Mitsuhide suggested.

He left them to settle in, at which point Yuanji faced her husband. “Go. I will look after Ziyuan.”

“I’m fine,” Shi insisted. “I’m not even tired.”

Zhao wagged a finger at him. “You know better than that. She’s going to look you over whether you want it or not, so you might as well just sit down and get it over with.” He laughed at his brother’s nonplussed look and waved to them as he left, still chuckling at the scene he could imagine was happening behind his back. As he headed back down the corridor, though, the smile faded and he started to get a little nervous. Would the Tiger General even want to see him? Sure, it was better to find him right away and get it over with rather than wait for a random encounter at mealtime or a strategy meeting, but even so. Zhao was unsure, and had to keep reminding himself of the words Ma Chao had spoken to him the last time they crossed paths. _If you are not your father, then I hope to see it for myself someday_. Despite whatever exploits were written in Huang Zhong’s letter, Zhao wasn’t sure it was proof enough that he wasn’t his father just yet. He knew that none of the officers currently staying in the castle were in their quarters, the whole wing was quiet, so he had a walk around to figure out the layout and guessed at where the stables were. He trusted that the attendants had already taken care of their horses, but there was nothing wrong with checking on them. In the end, he followed his nose to the stables and the small paddock just outside one of the retaining walls, and saw for himself that the limited cavalry of the Oda Resistance was indeed well cared for. The man he was looking for was in the paddock walking among the horses, armored but with his helm off, inspecting them for stones in hooves or bramble scratches from their recent journey. He knew three more had just been brought in, and was paying particular attention to them, idly patting the stocky little bay steed which had carried Sima Shi into and out of battle. Zhao watched him for a moment before clearing his throat. Maybe it was a touch too subtle, so he added, “Uh…hey.”

Ma Chao had heard someone behind him, but it wasn’t until the voice broke the quiet that he turned swiftly, eyes widening. “What? You!” he realized.

“Hi.” Zhao raised a hand, trying to keep things casual. “Am I, uh, interrupting anything?”

Chao hesitated for a moment, and then strode directly across the paddock to the fence where he stood. “What are you doing here?” he wondered incredulously. “Is it you who just arrived, then?”

“Yeah.” Zhao set his hands on the top rail of the fence, breathing a quick huff. “My brother, my wife, and I. We’ve left my father’s service.”

That, more than Zhao’s mere presence, made Ma Chao really stare. He searched the young man’s face for a moment before deciding to believe him. “Incredible,” he murmured. “But…why here? Why…”

“It’s nothing big,” Zhao assured quickly. “We just fell in with whoever we found first. We ran into Master Huang Zhong and his forces and gave them a hand, so he sent us here to meet with Lord Oda.” Now that he had found his target, he didn’t know what else to say, and dropped his gaze to where his hands rested.

Chao took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then stepped up on the opposite side of the fence from him. “I am glad to see you well,” he said, kindly but still with that ever-present note of sternness he never could really lose.

“The peasants…” Zhao lifted his head to search the eyes immediately across from him. “Did you get them out of there safely?”

Ma Chao allowed himself a small smile. “Yes. They spent the night at the temple but they were able to leave there, just fine. We did not lose a single one.”

“That’s good. I’m so glad. We ended up at Ueda and I never heard…”

Mengqi could see his awkwardness, and held up a hand for a moment to ask him to wait while he went to the gate and came out of the paddock. Now, they could talk without a fence between them. He continued on toward the castle wall and the stable, where his Silver Stallion and his helm rested in the shade. “I had heard word of you, since that time,” he mentioned over his shoulder as the other man followed him. “My friend Zhao Yun told me that something happened at Hulao Gate, that he captured you and then sent you off to find your own way. But that was the last even he knew of you.”

“Oh…you’ve seen Lord Zhao Yun, then.” That helped a lot, Sima Zhao didn’t have to tell the whole story. Then again, much of it wasn’t relevant. What mattered was that he was there, now, being offered a seat on a stone abutment against the wall next to Ma Chao. “Yeah, that…that happened,” he admitted as he eased himself down.

“It must have been difficult,” Chao acknowledged. “At least as difficult as coming to me in secret to give me information. Your advice saved those people, Lord Oda agreed that it was clever to shelter them at the temple until the battle had cleared away.”

Zhao shook his head slowly. “I don’t feel clever. Mostly I just feel like I’m fumbling my way through this world, and the difference between living and dying is up to sheer luck.”

“Isn’t that the way it is every day we wake up and step out into the world?” Chao shrugged stiffly. “This one more than our right one, at least.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Have you been to see Lord Oda, then? Will you be joining our army?”

Zhao nodded. “That’s the plan. So, I guess you’re gonna be stuck with me for a while.”

“What, do you fear that I would be upset by that?” Ma Chao softened a bit, looking more directly at him. “I assure you, Sima Zhao, it would be no trouble.”

“Are you sure? Because…” Zhao looked down to where he had his hands clasped in his lap. “I mean, it’s not like we were ever friends before, I was just some guy who came out to give you a warning and then went back and participated in the battle as your enemy. You have every right to hold that against me. I was on the wrong side, and I’ve got no excuses.”

Chao studied him for a moment, thinking back to that sultry afternoon and the man now beside him astride his horse under the gloom of the trees at the river’s edge. “It was fear, was it not?” he said astutely, his tone quiet. “Fear kept you from leaving your father’s side then and there – fear of Orochi, perhaps, or even fear of him.”

Zhao didn’t need to say a word, he knew it was true. “I still don’t expect anyone to cut me any slack for that, especially not anyone I actually turned my sword against. It’s…” He breathed a deep sigh, not sure what else he wanted to get off his chest, or how to find the words to do so. “I don’t even know why I wanted so badly to see you, I just did. I remember what you told me, that night, and I guess…I just wanted you to know that it stuck with me. I don’t know who I’m trying to do right by, but I am trying to do right somehow.”

“That is all anyone can do, in this place,” Chao assured, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands before him. “I have had so many of my own expectations turned on their heads simply by trying to survive. I have friends who are still Orochi’s servants, and my honor cannot understand it, but there is nothing I can do to change their fortune yet. There can be no justice while Orochi exists, he is at the root of all suffering.”

“Still.” Zhao sighed softly. “People make their own choices. Even when you tell yourself it’s to protect someone you care about, or for the good of your family or your people, it can still be the wrong choice. And you know it, but you can’t change it.”

“If you wish to atone for anything done while under Orochi’s thumb, then I can hardly dissuade you,” Chao said smartly. “Yet know that I bear no grudge. I cannot, knowing what people are being put through, forced and conscripted, beholden to ties of faith and family. If it is evil to do your filial duty, or protect your kingdom, or even to maintain honor, then how can anything be called good or evil?” He shook his head, mostly to himself at the absurdity of it all. “No, there are no hard feelings, Sima Zhao. If that is what you need to hear to move on, so be it.”

Sima Zhao nodded and sat back with his back against the cool, shadowy wall. “I didn’t come seeking it, but I guess it _is_ what I needed. I still second-guess myself at least once a day.”

“You said your brother deserted along with you?” Ma Chao glanced at him, his brow furrowed in curiosity. “That is not nothing. I look forward to fighting alongside both of you.”

“For Shi’s part, that’ll have to wait until he has use of his arm again,” Zhao said with a small laugh. “We haven’t exactly gotten here without incident.”

“Oh?”

Before the story could be told, someone blundered around the corner and crowed happily at finding them sitting there. “There you are!” Ma Dai said loudly. “I’ve been sent to summon you, apparently an important message has come in and Lord Oda needs us all.” He did a quick double-take at seeing the newcomer, but there was no time to get that story in full just now. “He’s called all officers, right away.”

“Very well, thank you Dai.” Ma Chao rose and scooped up his helm and spear, toting them along with him as all three men returned to the castle proper and joined the rest of the officers gathering in the throne room. They had learned from past summons that if their lord wanted them all in one place, there was likely to be incredibly big news for all to hear. No one knew what it was, but one or two pointed out that the strategists were still holed up with Oda, so it had to be important. As they waited, more than one noticed the new arrivals, permitting Ma Chao a moment to introduce some to others. “They’re here to fight for the Resistance,” the Tiger General assured some of the lower-ranked Oda officers. “Remember what Lord Oda has said – no one will be turned away so long as they desire to fight against Orochi.”

Shi could see for himself that his younger brother had already earned the respect of some of these other officers, and privately marveled. He didn’t know how they knew each other, but that didn’t matter. He nodded in agreement with the sentiment, and even dared to offer Ma Dai and Ling Tong a shadow of a smile in greeting. It seemed to be generally understood among the warriors of both time periods that anyone sporting an injury clearly received it in some mighty battle, so Shi noticed that most glances which turned his way held a shade of interest and respect merely for his broken arm. It left him torn over whether to tell them where he earned his injury or whether to be modest. It was a hard choice. Fortunately, before gossiping knots of officers could start asking for tales, Nobunaga swept out from the war room with the pair of strategists on his heels, his face impassive as usual. It was typically impossible to tell what he was thinking unless he was truly, terrifyingly angry at something, but there was a certain urgency in his need to call the entire castle to him for whatever he needed to say. He came before his men and waved once to gather them closer. “We’ve just received an important message, from the kingdom of Wei,” he announced as they gathered around him.

Most of his own retainers didn’t grasp why that was important, but the men of Shu and Wu certainly did. Until now, anything regarding the allies of Orochi was attributed to Cao Pi himself, not his kingdom. Oda noted the looks of surprise on the faces of everyone from Ma Chao to the Sima brothers and nodded in their direction. “The third kingdom has risen again,” he affirmed for them. “Lord Cao Pi has broken his alliance with Orochi, and informs us that he has captured Da Ji.”

That news was enough to stun the entire room, several officers recoiled in shock and everyone gasped at least a little. It was such an incredible, audacious thing to even think, no one knew what to say in response for a long time, and several merely repeated those words to one another in incredulous whispers. Mitsuhide was the first to snap out of it and move forward. “What is our response, then, my lord?”

Nobunaga glanced briefly to note that Hanbei and Lu Xun were right behind him. “Nothing has changed for us,” he replied smoothly, “except that for the immediate time being, our enemy targets have been reduced in number and nature. We are henceforth no longer enemies of the kingdom of Wei, for they have declared their independence as well as their desire to make Orochi their one and only enemy. We also no longer have need to consider plans to take Odawara Castle, as it has been taken. But these things do not change the fact that we must continue to strengthen our own forces and continue wresting control of territories from the Orochi army.”

His men collectively accepted this read on the situation. “I can’t believe it,” Ma Chao breathed, and the silence around him called attention to him. “How did they manage to capture that demon woman?”

“The real question you should be asking yourself is whether they can manage to keep control of her.” Oda stepped down from the dais and walked among his retainers, clasping his hands behind his back. “The missive only contained the bare facts: that the Wei army was breaking away from Orochi, that they sacked Odawara, and captured Da Ji. We don’t know how they managed it, nor what they’re doing to keep her imprisoned. But I would not personally feel safe counting on them to hold her indefinitely, or even for the duration of the war with Orochi.”

“Is there any chance this could bring the old snake himself down on us?” Hideyoshi wondered.

“That may be a good question for our newest acquisitions.” Nobunaga’s gaze turned to where the Sima brothers stood. “For those who hadn’t heard, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, and the Lady Wang Yuanji have defected from the Orochi army and choose to fight under my banner instead.”

All eyes went to them, and Zhao visibly squirmed under the attention. Shi, however, was in his element when put on the spot with a strategy question. “The answer to that, my lord,” he said with a practiced calm, “is questionable. Many among the Orochi army speak in terror of the possibility of Orochi coming among us again, those who follow him willingly are concerned that such a thing might happen at any time. Our own father is considered a high-ranking officer with his trust, and even he has expressed the same concerns. But as yet, there has been no sign of it happening, nor can anyone say what will actually move him to act. Everything is a guess, nothing is certain.”

Oda regarded him keenly and then tipped his head to indicate the men hanging around on the dais behind him. “Sima Shi. It sounds as though you were closer to the inner workings of your famed father than I first expected. Would you consent to joining my strategists and telling them as much as you know?”

Shi glanced at the others and then bowed very slightly. “I would be honored, Lord Oda.”

“Good.” Nobunaga said nothing about forcing his new recruits to betray their father by spilling all of his Orochi-army secrets, but all of them knew full well that when joining themselves to a new army, such a thing was not only possible, but likely. Shi had been prepared to work hard to prove himself, but if this was all the opening he needed, he would take it. The warlord paced back up toward the dais and raised a hand to wave over his shoulder. “That is all that needs be said for now. Dismissed.”

He had other work to attend to and vanished to it, leaving his officers to disperse on their own. Sima Shi strode over to meet the other strategists, particularly Hanbei, while his brother hung back by the Ma cousins. “This is a hell of an army,” he remarked under his breath.

“Indeed.” Chao gave him a sage nod. “And welcome to it.”

Zhao chuckled at that. “Guess so! Well. I’m not surprised my brother wants to get right down to work, so I guess I’ll take advantage of the moment and go find a nice place for a nap. Boy, it feels good to be able to say that again!”

He grinned at his wife as he turned to wander out, though whether he would actually curl up somewhere and sleep was something only he knew for sure. Yuanji rolled her eyes a bit, and then turned to the Ma cousins. “I suppose there is little else for me to do at the moment. In a castle like this I expect I won’t have any particular duties.”

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be idle,” Ma Dai assured her. “Lord Oda is really good about making sure everyone is useful. He has five territories under his control, and he shifts people around so they’re not stuck in a drudge. Lady Xiaoqiao is commanding at Xiapi, our own Guan Ping is overseeing Honnoji, and I think Lord Toshiie is due to switch with someone for control of Fan Castle pretty soon.”

“I see,” she murmured. “Still, I would feel better with some structure.”

“Speak with Lord Mitsuhide, then,” Ma Chao advised. “He usually handles the routine duties.”

“The fair young man with the long sword? I can do that.” Yuanji glanced at the sense of movement alongside them, and they all looked to find Ling Tong silently sidling up to them to have someone to talk to. “This is quite the strange mix of kingdoms represented. Is there truly no bad blood between everyone?”

“You heard Lord Oda,” Ling Tong airily reasoned. “Orochi is our common enemy, we don’t have time to make faces at each other across a war room. Besides.” He gave Ma Dai a light rap on the arm. “You get to know people and find out they’re not so bad after all.”

“Right back at you, Ling Tong,” Dai grinned. “Maybe we’ll get more than a couple days to hang out this time, before we get sent this way and that.”

Tong raised a sly eyebrow. “Drinking game tonight?”

Dai practically sparkled at him. “Drinking game tonight!”

Yuanji looked at the two of them beaming at one another and sighed. “I have a feeling my husband will get along just fine, here.”

Her husband was, at the moment, sprawled sideways across the bed in their quarters, staring at the ceiling. He had taken off his leather armor and bracers and flopped down, but he wasn’t really tired enough to sleep. His excuse had at least fooled anyone who knew him, since he did have a habit of sneaking off for a snooze, but today, not so much. There was a lot on his mind, and finding himself safe within the walls of Guandu did not actually alleviate it the way he expected. Sure, it was nice to be inside a stout fortress again, with a roof over his head and a warm bed to look forward to, meals they didn’t have to hunt and cook themselves, and the possibility of a few days not in a saddle. But comforts weren’t his main concern. Zhao wondered how their father was doing, how the handful of retainers still in his service were faring, and what would become of them and their hold on Ueda Castle now that Cao Pi had joined the ranks of the defectors. He pondered whether the Wei officers they saw in battle knew their lord would be switching sides so soon afterward. And, he couldn’t help but worry a little about what awaited them within the ranks of the Resistance. Stern and scary though he was, Oda had accepted them, and that boded well. Ma Chao was not holding a grudge against him. His brother was content with their choices and their luck, and had already taken a step toward showing these men of Wa and other mingled forces just how intelligent and capable he was when given the chance. Everything was going so well, but so long as Sima Yi still belonged to the Orochi army, and willingly at that, there were still things for Zhao to worry about. He laced his fingers together beneath his head and absently stared at the ceiling, keeping all of this silently to himself. As long as the others thought he might be sleeping, he had the afternoon to himself to let these thoughts circle around his head. When the officers were called back for dinner, Sima Zhao had a smile for everyone that successfully prevented them from ever suspecting just how deeply he thought and felt.

  


When they left Honnoji to continue their journey, Zhao Yun and Yukimura had gotten more or less what they needed and headed across the open countryside with a bit more sense of purpose. In exchange for their cooperation, Kuroda Kanbei had offered his army’s collective strategic knowledge about nearby territories, including where small pockets of unaffiliated warriors were holding ground or protecting villages. He also reminded them that Azai Nagamasa was currently holding a fortress at Chencang, which they had known since the last time they saw Lord Takeda but had forgotten. Not even Oda’s army had shared information with them in some time, but it was known that they were still diligently holding on to the fortress while chaos reigned elsewhere. Chencang was a considerable distance away, though, so they considered making it an eventual destination while passing through other lands first. Kuroda had come to some of the same conclusions as Ishida regarding the whereabouts of Liu Bei, and advised them that he wasn’t likely to be anywhere that could be easily reached by the current crop of human conscripts; they were positive Odawara was not housing prisoners, and at the time they had been correct, but when ruminating on the alternatives, it was Oda’s assertion that they needed to prepare for the likelihood that the Lord of Shu was being held somewhere far out of sight and contact, perhaps a fortress either undiscovered or one so distant that no one currently serving Orochi had ever been there. Either way, it was not likely to be Bai Di or Osaka, nowhere within easy reach. So if they were going to search, it was going to be for information that none of the known Resistance cells or their leaders had. In order to do so, they had to expand their horizons and travel where few had been yet. They had messages sent to their other holdings to request additional troops, mostly to assist in resupplying but also to provide them with backup should some of these far-flung territories be held by unfriendly forces. While monumental changes were unfolding in other regions, Zhao Yun withdrew his forces to a safe rendezvous point below the mountains to await fresh troops. It was surprisingly quiet, little did he know just how much of his enemy’s attention was diverted elsewhere.

Their tents were clustered at the edge of a wood that was easy to patrol, and the weather remained fair for the duration of their layover, so even standing sentry duty was no real burden. Zhao Yun liked to spend the evenings sitting beside the campfire long after dusk, where he could be approached by any of his men if they needed or simply enjoy the quiet if not. Despite how long they had kept one another’s company, he and Yukimura never lacked for things to talk about, particularly after their visit to Honnoji. They had learned so much about the complex doings of the other resistance armies, and the exploits of their friends, that even when they had a chance to just sit and watch the stars in silence, they were usually still chatting about things instead. If only they had some wine, it would have been the perfect time for a moon viewing, Yukimura mentioned, which just started them off on another tangent talking about customs, celebrations, and festivals in their respective homelands. It wasn’t until their men came to change watch shifts and bid them good night that they realized they should probably retire as well. Only when the tent flap closed behind them and they knew no one was nearby did they shift from the modest conduct expected between a pair of friends to something a little more thrilling. As far as they knew, none of their attendant soldiers knew anything was going on between them, and though such relationships were not unheard of, it was rare and still a matter best saved for personal, private moments. The two spearmen were not exactly leaping onto one another the minute no one was looking and pawing each other for the entirety of the night, but they still allowed themselves certain affections while the camp was asleep around them. This particular night, Zhao Yun was content to stretch out on his bedroll after shedding armor and wait for Yukimura to join him. “It shouldn’t be too much longer,” he said to continue a conversation from earlier. “As nice as it is here, I admit I’m anxious to press on. As soon as they catch up to us, we can get back to work.”

“Of course,” Yukimura agreed as he propped his armor on a supply crate. “There must be something out there, and we won’t find it sitting here.” He rubbed his neck, stretched, and then swiftly turned and dropped on top of Yun, settling astride his hips. They had their agreement but there was still plenty they could do with one another. “Tomorrow, maybe. Right now I have other things in mind.”

Yun snickered and then took a hold of his comrade’s tunic, yanking gently to get him to come down closer. “I believe I know exactly what you mean.”

They fell into each other with ease, like they had every night since leaving Honnoji, and indulged one another with gleeful abandon for as long as they could handle it. In order to keep Zhao Yun’s self-imposed restraint they had to stop at some point, but the soft tread of sentries patrolling the camp passing just outside the tent now and then was enough to keep them aware of that stopping place. They kissed for a while and then spent the rest of the time letting hands gently roam, threading through loose hair and peeling away folds of silk tunics to find bare skin to caress, until both were finally tired enough to sleep. Yun’s eyes fluttered closed first, so Yukimura stretched out alongside him and laid his head on his companion’s naked chest, holding him close until he, too, felt sleep crawling along the edge of his senses. At least on nights like this, neither of them found themselves victims of their past nightmares. With solid security outside and the sanctuary inside, nothing could distrupt their peaceful slumber. Almost nothing.

It was rare that they got a sentry call in the middle of the night, warning of the approach of an unknown visitor or army; in fact, the last time had probably been that evening Sanada Nobuyuki appeared out of the darkness with the urgent call to rescue the Hojo. Zhao Yun extracted himself from his comrade’s embrace and rolled over to find his tunic, so as to at least be fully-dressed when the camp guard requested entrance to give his report. Both were alert and standing as their sentry ducked in and bobbed his head in a hasty bow. “It may be our reinforcements,” he offered them, “but just in case…”

“No, that is the right call.” Yun had determined long ago that if they were going to travel in a small group, they needed to treat every alert as if it were an enemy and be prepared for anything at any hour. Neither commander went for their armor, but they did take up their spears and follow the sentry back out to the edge of camp.

The warning had been sounded at the approach of a horseman, but as they made their way to the perimeter where torchlight revealed the source of concern, they found far more than a single rider waiting to be approved. At least it was their reinforcements, thankfully, but they were surprised and interested to see Pang De sitting at the head of the column of troops. He looked tired in the firelight but at the same time happy to see that he had reached the correct camp. “Forgive me for the late hour,” he said gruffly as soon as Yukimura and Yun came into view. “We suspected we were close and decided to press on rather than make camp again tonight.”

“It’s quite all right,” Yun assured. “Welcome. Please, stand down, everyone, it’s all right.”

No one needed direct orders to bivouac the new arrivals, they fell to their tasks immediately so as to strip the horses and themselves of gear, throw up tents or at least toss down their bedrolls, and re-draw the sentry lines to include the entirety of their new forces. The sooner they got it done, the sooner they could all sleep. Alongside Pang De were Wang Ping, Zhang Bao, and Guan Xing, more than they needed but all welcome nonetheless. With suppressed chagrin, Zhao Yun encouraged the officers to join them in the command tent for tonight, rather than try to find open ground for yet another officer’s tent. It was wise, even if it meant that he and Yukimura would have to keep their hands to themselves for the rest of the night. They decided to forego any kind of briefing until morning, so everyone could rest now and the soldiers could sleep in a bit while their commanders talked over their needs and purposes.

A light fog wrapped the camp in a shroud of damp stillness when they awoke, muffling sounds and giving the morning watch shift a little something extra to contend with. The sun was no more than a pearly disc when it crept up over the shoulder of the hills, gleaming blearily through the mist, and even their fellow men were no more than ghostly shadows as they walked around camp securing gear and lighting cooking fires. It was the perfect kind of morning for a cup of hot tea while discussing paths and plans, so the officers waited until some was ready before sitting together in their tent to touch base. Wang Ping had all the latest updates in news, but was extremely intrigued to hear that their commander had gone to see Oda himself and made a valuable connection with the warlord. More than that, the two youngest retainers were delighted to hear that Guan Suo had been forcefully rescued and now served his brother under Oda. It was only mildly frustrating to continue passing messages back and forth rather than seeing each other in person, but they were content knowing Zhao Yun had seen them in person and could vouch for their health and happiness. “Little by little, we are gaining ground against our enemy,” Yun reassured. “Every time an officer is freed, it cuts into Orochi’s strength.”

“This is a war to be won by small steps, not one grand, flashy battle,” Pang De agreed.

“What is your intention, then, Lord Zhao Yun?” Wang Ping asked to get them back on track.

Yun sat up and reached for a map prepared for them by Kuroda Kanbei. “We have more detailed information courtesy of Lord Oda’s strategists, now. In time, I would like to work my way down to Chencang to visit Lord Azai, in the off chance they have heard or seen something that others haven’t, but in the meantime, there are several territories along that path which have been mapped, but it is unknown who or what may reside in or control them. We do need to meet back up with Lord Sanada to find out what he has learned, as well.”

He handed the map to Wang Ping, who perused it briefly and then passed it to Pang De. “How are we doing on supplies?” the former wondered.

“Lord Oda gave us some,” Yukimura answered, “but knowing you were on your way, we didn’t ration anything. What you brought should serve us for some time, at least until we can locate a village or fortress at which to resupply.”

Pang De made a sudden noise of interest. “They’ve located Xiliang?”

His eyes were glued to the map. Zhao Yun smiled faintly. “Yes, I noticed that as well. It isn’t exactly on our way, but since we’re not on a schedule, it may be possible to stop there and investigate it.”

De lifted his head, and though he tried to school his expression into something neutral, there was no mistaking the light in his eyes. “If it could be possible…I would like to. Does Lord Ma Chao know of this?”

“He knows,” Yun affirmed, “but he has many responsibilities and hasn’t been back there himself. Apparently, when this world of Orochi’s was first created, he and Ma Dai found themselves there, but at that time nothing had been mapped so he was unable to find his way back after they set out in search of Chengdu. I have it on good authority,” he added with that same small smile as before, “that he wouldn’t mind visiting but if others make it there ahead of him, he sends his blessings.”

“Then, I am glad I was able to be assigned to this duty,” Pang De said, handing the map back. “Like the youngsters here, I was chafing at the opportunity to get out and see some action. So, whether or not there is battle to be had, at least we’re at your side, ready to assist.”

Xing and Bao looked away sheepishly rather than admit that they had begged to be taken along so they could get out and do things. Yun chuckled under his breath. “I welcome all of you, regardless of what we find out there. First, we must make our way to the next rendezvous to meet Lord Sanada, and after that, who knows what we may find.”

“Sounds good to me,” Wang Ping said with a slap of his hand to his knee. “Let’s break camp and see if we can get out of this fog.”


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date tries to take charge of the fumbling Orochi army, Sun Ce's forces prepare their next move, and Cao Pi makes a very different kind of move.

The small Shu vanguard with Zhao Yun was about the only Resistance contingent to not know of the stunning news of the capture of Da Ji within days of it happening. The Orochi army knew something was up as soon as Keiji returned to Bai Di empty-handed, but it took a gloating missive from Cao Pi for them to have all the actual details. The Lord of Wei made no demands of the Orochi army, merely thought it prudent to inform them that he was taking control of Odawara, custody of Da Ji, and oh by the way the alliance was over. The message fell into Date Masamune’s hands directly, as he was back at Bai Di by that time, but it was nothing to be proud of. On the contrary, reading those words filled him with cold dread – not for any threat Cao Pi could make, but because of what it would mean to Orochi himself. Was this finally the last straw that would move him from Koshi? To make matters even more difficult, their own forces were scattered right at that moment: Lu Bu had refused to listen to him and returned to He Fei instead, to see if Diaochan had gone there ahead of him, Zhuge Liang had just left the day before to escort Sun Quan to Osaka himself, and both Dong Zhuo and Sima Yi were abroad, most likely on the same pursuit whether ordered to or not. Was that truly all they had? Diaochan had gone missing from Bai Di sometime before Masamune had returned, but he could easily believe Lu Bu’s assertion that she would be at the castle they were holding instead. A great number of the snake demon captains should have been around, so if it came to battle they had those reinforcements, but it was as Date was taking stock of who needed to hear this message that he realized just how few of the conscripted officers of Wu and Shu still remained a part of their army. Only he and Keiji were at Bai Di, with their own retainers, he had no one else with whom to consult. All things considered, Keiji was the best he could ask for.

They withdrew into an antechamber of the throne room with Katakura Kojuro to maintain some privacy, in the hopes that word would not get out to the snake demons so quickly. They knew nothing of prudence and strategy, they would only think of warning Lord Orochi that his most faithful servant was in trouble. The human officers couldn’t have that, right now. Even if neither man really _liked_ Da Ji, they knew what she meant to the army and to Orochi. “What do we do?” Masamune fretted, slumping into a chair and dropping his head into his hand. “Short of assailing the Wei army directly to free her, what _can_ we do?”

“This is gonna sound treasonous,” Keiji warned, “but first thing’s first – we can’t tell Lord Orochi. He’ll kill you, me, and every last person still within arm’s reach of this castle for being a failure, even if we weren’t there and had nothing to do with her cracked plan to ambush Cao Pi.”

“I know,” Date grumbled at him. “But that means making sure that no one else tells him either. If we can at least slow down the spread of information, we might still come out of this alive.”

“Then tell ‘em that,” Keiji insisted. “Remind those fools that if they go cryin’ to Orochi about this, they’ll be dead too. Considering how fast they run when there’s even a hint they might shed a little blood on the battlefield, the fear of death oughta keep ‘em quiet.”

“For now.” Date shifted his gaze to Katakura. “We’ll need to send word after Zhuge Liang, he’ll keep his mouth shut. Maybe we can convince him to turn around, since Da Ji won’t be prepared to carry out that execution now.”

“I’ll prepare a message,” Kojuro said quietly. “What about Sima Yi?”

“Ugh.” Masamune sighed hard. “Yeah, him too. I don’t know if she issued any orders to him lately, but he should be at Ueda either way. I’m not sure about Edo, though – there’s a lot of demon troops there, they could be loose-lipped.”

“Don’t get too caught up in messages,” Keiji implored. “Worry less about whose lips are loose and more about what we’re gonna do to rectify it. I know it’s not our responsibility to clean up her messes, but Lord Orochi won’t see it that way. If we can’t protect her, we gotta get her out of trouble one way or another.”

Masamune shot him a glare. “What do you mean, _we_? I’m going to have my hands full just maintaining control of Bai Di; once the other resistance factions find out about this they’re all going to be targeting us, trying to take advantage of Da Ji’s absence. I know _I_ can hold a castle without her help just fine, but that means not turning around and running out to attack someone else. If I hold Bai Di, the Sleeping Dragon holds Osaka, and Lu Bu sits tight at He Fei, that’s all we can do – we can’t leave these places unmanned in order to all gather together to attack Cao Pi.”

Keiji scowled right back at him, but it made sense. Edo and Ueda were in the same strait, there was no way to call troops from either castle without leaving them vulnerable. “Where’s Dong Zhuo, anyway?” he wondered. “That useless bastard is never where he needs to be.”

“He was ordered to quell some rebellions on our rear flank,” Date complained, “but then the Lady Daqiao went missing, so I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he changed course. Pursuing traitors is technically one of the things Lord Orochi demands that we do, so it’s not like I can really tell him not to do it.”

Keiji folded his arms over his chest. “I shoulda stayed around Hefei after all. I could’ve gotten to her before she got ten steps.”

“You had no idea she’d run out,” Masamune countered, scoffing. “If you’d been capable of that kind of foresight, you would have stuck with the Wei forces and prevented them from disappearing. But if Zhuge Liang couldn’t even predict Cao Pi’s rebellion,” he added before Keiji could get pissed at him, “then what hope do the rest of us have?”

Slightly mollified, Keiji turned away from him. “So, he actually took Odawara. Damn it. We don’t even have the men to turn around and hit him back before he gets reinforcements there.”

“His army’s at least as big as Oda’s,” Date muttered quietly, and he sounded worried. “Regardless of what he does with Odawara, he has the manpower to hold us off – even you and Lu Bu.”

“Now you’re just talking crazy,” Maeda retorted. “If you want it done right, you’ll put me and Lu Bu together on the front line and let us do our thing. We’ll take it back – all of it.”

“No. You won’t.” Masamune’s tone was cold and curt with certainty. It wasn’t a reflection on the skills of the two famed warriors, merely a fact. “Don’t you get it, Keiji? We’re in this mess because Cao Pi had enough strength at hand to take down Da Ji herself. You can’t expect that just going in there swinging your polearms around is going to be enough to stop him. It’ll take cunning, and maybe stealth instead of a frontal assault.”

“Cunning,” Keiji repeated, glancing over at Katakura lurking near at hand. “Guess that means you’d rather talk it out with the Sleeping Dragon before you plan any attacks.”

“If you can convince him to return,” Kojuro said with a touch of disdain at being cast aside for the more famous strategist. “But I am of the opinion that it’s more important that he hold Osaka and guard the valuable hostage. If we lose one or both, it could be the final nail in our coffin.”

“We’re in deep enough as it is,” Masamune agreed bitterly. “I want his advice if he has any, but in the meantime, we’ll have to make do with what we have. And I don’t mean her serpents,” he added, pointing at Keiji as if he were about to suggest it. “They’re simple-minded, they know only how to fight and not how to think, and even then they’re only confident in their fighting if Lord Orochi is around.”

“Like Dong Zhuo’s any better,” Keiji complained. “At least he still has a lot of guys under his command. We’re not out of options yet.”

Date looked sharply at him, and then sat up, tapping his gloved fingers on the arm of the chair. “Right. Then this is what we need to do, immediately: send word to Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. Try to locate the rest of our forces and draw them back. Send out spies to find out whether Cao Pi is digging in at Odawara. Then, and only then, if he’s got her there, we can start planning a raid to liberate Da Ji. It’s not going to happen unless we sneak in and steal her away – take a lesson from the Resistance, since that’s how they got Zhao Yun, Lady No, and almost got Sun Jian. But we have to move fast, before he takes her somewhere else.”

Katakura moved to a table to grab ink and a brush and start writing down all these messages that needed to go out. Keiji still stood there with arms folded, looking away toward the windows. “Suppose that’s all we can do,” he grumbled. “That bastard outfoxed us, all right. Built himself a huge army before turning traitor. He’s got all the resources, even moved his guys out of Jianye before we could go in and take ‘em for ourselves. Did it right after we lost Sun Quan, too.” He looked down at where Date sat with a heavy frown. “Say what you will, but the guy’s no idiot.”

“He’s an idiot for thinking he can go against Lord Orochi,” Masamune shot back. “They’re all idiots, every one of them! Acting like these petty little skirmishes are the whole war, like Lord Orochi actually cares who controls which castle. If they want to provoke him to come out here again, then on their heads be it. No one will even be left alive to bury them once he’s through.” He caught Keiji’s eye, and both shared a wary look. “They’re bold because they’ve never seen him, you know,” he reasoned. “Cao Pi has never faced him. Most of the Resistance, they talk big but they’ve never actually been face to face with Lord Orochi. They don’t know how powerful he is, they’ve never felt it rolling off him like waves driven in a typhoon. You and I, Keiji, we know. We’ve been there. We’ve had his foot on our necks and his blade at our throats.”

Maeda was strangely quiet and solemn, given his usual bluster. “You think that’s all it is? That they fight back because they haven’t experienced it for themselves?”

“What else could it be?” Masamune shrugged. “I know he can’t be overcome. No one has defeated him, the best they’ve done is escape him before he could kill them. It’s not just having faith in his strength, it’s knowing, truthfully, that you _can’t_ defeat him no matter how ambitious or powerful or intelligent you are.”

Keiji nodded distractedly; he knew that was why Date chose to follow Orochi, but he himself had other reasons, none of which he had shared with anyone. They wouldn’t understand, since they seldom understood Maeda Keiji in the first place. As such, he doubted Masamune’s assessment of the motives of the Resistance. He didn’t know much about the Han kingdoms and the men leading them, but at least for Oda’s part, he could fully believe that he wanted to overthrow Orochi just to take his place as the Demon King. Altruism and honor were for the Han, not him. Then again, the crafty way Cao Pi managed to ply an alliance into a rebellion meant that he might vie for the same title. “Right, then,” he grunted to break the brief silence between them, “I’ll hold off making battle plans until you can figure out how to rescue Da Ji. But you’d better hurry up about it, before word really gets out and the snake demons run to Lord Orochi for help. If he comes back here and now, we’re screwed.”

“I know that,” Date snapped, “you don’t have to remind me.” He heaved himself up out of the chair and went to assist Kojuro with the messages, to get them out quickly. He wished he had access to Da Ji’s own notes and information on the movements of her army, but there wasn’t much of anything left at Bai Di. It was all at Odawara, and now currently in Cao Pi’s hands. The thought made Date growl to himself under his breath while he dashed off letters to his fellow Orochi officers. Perhaps Keiji was right, and the Lord of Wei had outdone himself preparing for this treason. All the more reason not to let him get away with it and live to see the opportunity to battle Orochi someday. For Keiji’s part, he had nothing else to contribute, so he left them to go storm down to the castle courtyard and swing his pike around. Maybe a few of those useless snake-demon captains would be around for him to threaten, that always felt good.

The second rendezvous point for the Shu vanguard was a few days away from their last camp, but it was crucial that they make their meeting with Nobuyuki; it was easier to debrief him on what they had gained from Oda in person, and now that additional reinforcements had joined, they could cover everything all at once. They might not have known why the lands were strangely empty of Orochi forces as they traveled, but they took advantage of it and moved with haste. The rendezvous was set for an area some miles from Saika Village, an area which had been quiet since the Takeda-Uesugi alliance departed for their fateful battle. It was as good a place as any to meet up, and as Zhao Yun’s forces moved into the valley, they could see that their allies had made it ahead of them. A small camp had already been set up at the edge of a nondescript farm field; the peasants in this unnamed land were doing well enough, but it appeared that they had gladly permitted the Resistance to camp nearby in exchange for temporary protection. At least supplies would not be an issue. Sanada Yukimura rode at the fore with his best friend so as to be one of the first to spot his brother when they approached, and sure enough, Nobuyuki was right there to greet them as soon as sentries espied them advancing from the path through the hills. He was pleased to see them and welcomed them in, waiting until their forces had all entered and stood down before bringing the officers to his command tent to have their conference. “I know we have much to go over,” the elder Sanada began as he lowered himself to a seat on the tatami floor, “but before we start, I must inform you of something important that we may need to move on, and quickly.” He glanced to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “Dong Zhuo has been seen in the area, and there is rumor abroad that he’s been sent to quell what the Orochi army considers resistance cells, but really amounts to peasant villages with no one to protect them.”

“Oh, no,” Zhao Yun fretted as he settled on his knees across from Nobuyuki. “You’re right, we can’t let that stand. We must move against him.”

“Good, I’m glad you agree, Lord Zhao Yun,” Nobuyuki smiled. “I am fairly certain that ours are the only actual Resistance armies anywhere nearby, so it falls to us to make sure anyone from Orochi’s side cannot destroy or oppress the innocent.”

“Quite right,” Yun nodded. It was exactly as his lord would want, were he with them. “Consider it done. We have reinforcements from Chengdu, so we have more than enough manpower.”

Nobuyuki looked to Pang De and the youngsters also sitting down to conference. “I have a feeling we’ll need it. Good to see all of you again.”

“How’s things been, Lord Nobuyuki?” Zhang Bao asked cheerfully.

“Challenging,” Nobuyuki replied with a small sigh. “I’ve been all over the land, this way and that, and while I know any small success is worth celebrating, I wish I had more to offer.” He laced his fingers together in his lap, pausing a moment to order his thoughts. “I have managed to gather in a few scattered men of the Alliance, who were hiding and surviving in the wilds between Saika and Nagashino. Not a large contingent, by far, but they’re better off with an army than on their own, lost and afraid. They’ve told me that the last time they saw Naoe Kanetsugu and the rest of the cavalry, they were still alive, but they know nothing of their fate.”

“That’s better than any of us expected,” Yukimura admitted. Even his brother had been concerned that the venture would be for naught and they wouldn’t find a single soul, let alone enough to report on Naoe’s last known whereabouts. “Was there no evidence of the camp?”

Nobuyuki shook his head. “The men reported that part of Lord Takeda’s plan had been to ambush the Wei army there and set fire to the village, to hem them in there. All that’s left of Saika is the burned palisade, all trace of the camp is completely gone. They did their duty well.”

“It seems we chose our rendezvous well, then,” Yun mused. “No matter. We certainly have a lot to tell, Yukimura led me to Honnoji in time to meet with Lord Oda Nobunaga.”

Sanada’s eyes widened a bit. “I see. That’s the big news you had for me, I take it? Very well, let’s hear all about it.”

There was a lot to tell, so the two spearmen took turns, relating as much as they could about their visit with the other resistance leader. From there, Wang Ping also shared everything he had in the way of news from Chengdu, concluding with Nobuyuki’s tale of what else he had observed in his travels. He didn’t have as much, since he had mainly been going from one location to the next searching for hints of the fate of the Takeda and Sanada cavalries, and while he had come up empty for the most part, he did notice some small things. The change in the frequency of Orochi patrols through those lands, the relative size of them, and the lack of human soldiers among the raiding parties might not have seemed important to some, but he grasped that it hinted at something going on beyond the scope of their own efforts. It brought them back around to his information on Dong Zhuo, which had come to him very recently through the scouts he had roving wide from their position. Zhao Yun brought out their newest maps in the hopes of being able to determine exactly where this trouble might be rising, so they could prepare a direct assault and not keep roaming aimlessly across the countryside. “A village of sorts near here?” he asked to verify. “It could be any of these lands.” His finger grazed along the map in a circle around their current position. “On the one hand, I can’t imagine what the Orochi army would have to gain by attacking any of them, but on the other, I can see how they might assume that these seldom-traveled, hidden territories could hold a secret Resistance cell biding their time and building an army. After all, our brave allies did exactly that over here in Saika.”

“Even if it is merely an excuse,” Nobuyuki said sagely, “so they can wipe out peasants whose farms are supplying the larger armies, I can see that line of thought working. Ah!” He moved a hand over the map to one name in particular. “Xiliang, that was it. I remember it was not one of our lands, but one of yours from your time, Lord Zhao Yun.” 

Pang De drew himself up importantly. “How serendipitous that I came along, then. Xiliang is my homeland. If its people are in danger, I must go to them.”

“Is that so? Then you can lead us there,” Nobuyuki realized with some relief. “I would be honored to assist you in rescuing your people, Master Pang De.”

“How urgently do you think we need to move?” Yukimura asked.

“The threat was laid against Xiliang, but I can’t be sure until the scouts return whether Dong Zhuo has already reached there.” Nobuyuki looked from his brother to Zhao Yun. “We should break camp at dawn, at least, and move together in that direction. But I know from our journey that there are also pockets of civilians here, here, and here.” He gestured to some of the spots between known, named territories, following the marks of rivers and valleys, between Xiliang, Liang, and Mikatagahara further west. “They’ve raised small villages wherever they can, heedless of battlefields or cities and far from castles which see so much battle. The nearest is Wan Castle, here, but we passed it and found it burned out and deserted.”

“Any one of those villages could be at risk, if the likes of Dong Zhuo turns his might against them,” Zhao Yun said seriously. “It wouldn’t do to rush to the aid of one, en masse, and leave the others unguarded.”

“Then perhaps we should wait until your scouts return with a report,” Pang De suggested. “How soon do you expect them?”

“Oh, today, certainly,” Nobuyuki replied. “Possibly not until after dusk, but today. They’re under orders to follow as needed – I told them that if you arrived, first, we would be joining forces and moving out and they were to follow.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Wang Ping said with a firm nod. “I’ll go and settle the men in for the night, let them rest so we can resume the trek in the morning.”

All in all, they didn’t have to wait long for the information they needed. The scouts came riding back before anyone had even started the evening cooking fires, galloping at all speed along the valley floor in order to make their report to their lord in a timely manner. They were pleasantly surprised to find Zhao Yun and his unit already there, so the report was delivered to all commanders at once. They had seen troop movements in a couple of different places, but they could confirm that the bulk of the Orochi forces were moving into Xiliang. The villagers there were not yet beset, but they would be soon. Zhao Yun and Nobuyuki shared a nod of agreement: they would decamp and move in with all haste, letting Pang De escort them into his home territory and go along to serve as a point of contact to anyone living there. The rumor of Orochi troops elsewhere, though, meant that they might have to split their force into two again. The real plan would be made once they reached Xiliang, within the next day or so.

Reports were flying fast and furious around Hefei as well. Two crucial ones reached Sun Ce the same day, both informing him of the same incident but from two different perspectives. He was extremely interested to find the official seal of Cao Pi on one, it made him genuinely pause and try to decide which of the two messages to open and read first. Cao Pi sending him something by his own hand, under his own name, was pretty important, but so was anything Hattori Hanzo had for him from his secret mission. Then again, anything from Cao Pi would likely require consultation with his cadre of strategists, so Hanzo would have to wait. It was a good thing he did, because the shout he let out at the big news was impossible for anyone within earshot to ignore.

By the time the missive from Cao Pi had been passed from Zhou Yu to Lu Meng to Tokugawa to Sakon to Shangxiang to Lu Su, every last one of the officers of the Wu Resistance had heard and reacted to the incredible turn of events. Sun Ce laced his hands behind his neck and turned away from the knot of them, still exulting in the news. “Never in my wildest dreams,” he said, trying to hold back a grin, “did I ever think it was even possible to do what they did! I’m almost disappointed I didn’t think of it myself.”

“This is incredible,” Zhou Yu breathed in disbelief, pressing a hand to his forehead as if to calm himself. “That the woman who made our life a living hell for so long is suddenly in captivity…”

All of them had been tortured by Da Ji in some way or another, whether literal in the case of the officers who had been hostages or figurative such as Sun Ce and Shangxiang being forced to do the demon’s dirty work up and down the breadth of the land. Of them, only Sakon had really escaped being affected directly by her, but he had witnessed the scars left on the men around him and understood without needing to ever feel the sting of her verbal barbs nor the bruise of her floating orbs. There was a certain restraint to their collective celebration, as if some weren’t sure whether it could be true and others didn’t want to openly laud the man who had beaten their lord at Xia Kou unless he did so first. Zhou Tai, in particular, seemed torn and tense, while near him Cheng Pu happily clapped Zhu Ran so hard on the shoulder that he almost knocked the willowy young archer over. Tokugawa, at least, had the presence of mind to think forward. “What does this mean to our army?” he wondered openly of all the strategists in the room.

“That’s a good question,” Lu Meng said diplomatically, folding his arms. “It’s a bit sudden for us to really know what can come of this. On the one hand, the Orochi army should be in complete disarray, lost without their real leaders. On the other, there’s every possibility this could be the push Orochi needed to come down out of his fortress and take command in person. All we can really do is wait and see, in that regard.”

“It would be wise to take advantage of the situation while we can,” Lu Su offered. “If there are any territories they can no longer hold because of their dwindling manpower, or prisoners we can secure.”

Zhou Yu moved in before someone could mention Sun Jian or Sun Quan. “Rest assured, we will sit down and investigate as much as we can, and decide our move accordingly,” he said sagely. “Sooner rather than later. I will see to the day’s scouting reports, and if there is anything we can do, we certainly shall.”

He looked to Sun Ce for confirmation and received a single nod. “I’ve got a lot of good heads on strong shoulders, all around me,” he said confidently. “I trust you guys can figure out where we go from here. The important thing is, something really big just happened and I wanted all of you to know.”

They were all grateful for it, but after a bit of chatter, parted to go back to their duties all around Hefei and leave the thinking to the strategists. And even they didn’t feel the need to all sit down right then and there to discuss it, though they lingered for a while, loitering while Zhou Yu went to collect the scouting reports. Sun Ce managed to get most of them to disperse by the time his head strategist returned, so that only Lu Meng and Shima Sakon were there to assist with the rest – just as Ce wanted, for they were the only ones authorized to know of the special mission he had given to Hattori. The four of them withdrew to an inner chamber near Ce’s quarters where he could read the letter from the ninja in private, in case there was anything he needed to tell them. “Just how is Hattori getting messages passed?” Sakon wondered, folding his arms over his brawny chest and leaning on the wall near the window. “If we’re the only ones who know where he is…”

“Two of his clanmates of the Iga,” Yu explained. “He chose two he could trust the most, but even they don’t know the nature of his mission. Arrangements are made to meet in a certain place every few days. Honestly,” he added with a wry little smirk, “I didn’t know either until this morning. I asked the Iga who delivered the message, and he related as much.”

“Makes sense. No wonder the messages reached us as the same time, even though I’m sure he wrote everything down the minute he saw it happen, if he’s really staking out Odawara,” Sakon mused.

“He is.” Sun Ce responded with his eyes still on the letter. “You’re right, the bulk of this is the same news that came from Cao Pi, but from our man’s point of view.”

Seeing that he was getting to a point where he could share information, Zhou Yu turned toward him. “But not all of it,” he noted.

“No, there’s more.” Ce read the rest to himself, and then sat back with a deep sigh, an expression of mingled relief and astonishment flickering across his face. “Right. The big story, first. He saw what happened at Odawara and can confirm it. Cao Pi wasn’t just bragging, he really did sack the castle and capture Da Ji. Hanzo snuck in as far as he could to put out a couple fires, but didn’t interfere otherwise. He saw an officer of Wu there – from the description, I’m guessing it’s Huang Gai, which is good. He might have joined up with Cao Pi afterward. That’s not the important part, though.” He reached to hand Zhou Yu the missive so he could read it for himself, while Lu Meng dropped into one of the chairs facing him to listen. “He had only just returned to Odawara himself, he’d trailed Zhuge Liang to Bai Di because that’s where they took Quan. But he heard that Cao Pi was heading for Odawara and had some kind of hunch that something was up, so he went back. Quan’s not at Bai Di anymore, Zhuge Liang escorted him somewhere else and he didn’t get to find out where.”

“If she wasn’t going to execute him there…” Lu Meng rubbed at his scruffy chin, deep in thought. “That means she intended to execute him somewhere else, someplace special. The only reason she would do so is to combine it with the execution of her other hostage. Which leads me to believe Lord Sun Jian isn’t anywhere close by…”

“So he might be on the move,” Yu finished for him.

“You know what,” Sakon interjected. “We owe Cao Pi a debt of gratitude for capturing Da Ji. I mean on top of all of the usual reasons – I’m just saying that with her out of commission, she can’t order the execution anymore. He’s bought us the time we need to locate both father and son and rescue them.”

The way Ce looked at him suggested he had been just on the verge of realizing that himself. Yu and Meng already had, they went on without reacting. “Exactly,” the former murmured as his eyes traveled over the page. “But we will still have to move quickly. Those of us with extensive experience under her thumb are already wary of just how long he can possibly keep her chained.”

“We’ve already got Hanzo deployed, that’s step one,” Ce said with a nod toward the letter in his hands. “I don’t even need to send him orders, he’s already on top of things. He’s moving back to try to pick up their trail and find out where they’ve taken Quan.”

“Good,” Sakon said approvingly. “Hopefully that means the next time we get a letter, it’s got a location for us to move.”

“We should have the army ready to move, then,” Lu Meng decided. “Even if the rescue itself is another stealth mission, I want the full army on backup. We’re not leaving without them, this time.”

Ce smiled proudly at him, for saying what he was already thinking. “You’re right, Lu Meng,” he said, “but there’s other reasons to get our guys up and moving.” He heard Yu over his shoulder make a soft noise of interest, and assumed he had found the other bit of important information. “Hanzo also reports that my wife has gone missing from the Orochi army, she didn’t return to Bai Di from their attack here. Before everything else went down, Da Ji called out Dong Zhuo to hunt her down.”

Lu Meng’s face fell with pure disgust and disbelief. “Oh no…”

“Yes, we’ll need to move against him, and fast,” Zhou Yu confirmed, lowering the letter from his face. “It will be difficult, because we’ve gotten no word from Lady Daqiao and don’t know where she is, but trailing Dong Zhuo might take us to her. It is our only choice.”

“I’m not letting that slimy beast get his hands on her, or anywhere near her,” Ce said with sudden anger as the thought crossed his mind. “She’s in trouble no matter which way you look at it, I need to find her and bring her back.”

“No wonder the Orochi army’s in complete disarray,” Sakon said with some curiosity. “Sun Quan gets arrested, the rest of your guys desert, and Cao Pi takes advantage of Odawara being thinned out on troops to spring his rebellion. It’s a perfect storm for the Resistance.”

“One we need to join,” Ce agreed. “I made my declaration, now I’m ready to live up to it. Until we get word from Hanzo on where and when to move to rescue my father and brother, I’m going to go after my wife, and then see what else we can do to keep making life hell for the serpent king. And figure out how we’re ever going to repay my debt to Cao Pi,” he added ruefully. “He probably didn’t do it for my sake, but what he did helps us out considerably. Adding that to him sparing my life, I’m going to owe him forever at this rate.”

“I suppose there are worse things,” Lu Meng smirked. “It can wait, though. First thing’s first, we’ll need to organize a force to pursue Dong Zhuo and rescue Lady Daqiao.”

“We should also send correspondence back to Lord Cao Pi,” Zhou Yun said elegantly, finally using honorifics as the lord of Wei deserved, “to let him know we received his news and…” His head turned to Sun Ce. “And what else should we say?”

“If he considers himself Resistance, as we do,” Sakon suggested, “it couldn’t hurt to open up a dialogue. I don’t know if any of our forces have either the desire or the plans to join together in one big army, but if Orochi launches another campaign against us, we might end up needing one whether we want to or not. It’s a lot easier to pull something like that together if we’ve already got the groundwork laid.”

“I agree,” Yu said firmly. “It should not be like it was the last time. He attacked when all our armies were scattered and no one had even conceived of working together. He divided us in order to conquer, and rightly so. We cannot make the same mistake twice.”

“It’ll be more than just Cao Cao sending a handful of Wei officers to back us up,” Ce added.

Lu Meng glanced over to Sakon. “What are the chances of getting you to write something up to send to Oda Nobunaga, as well?”

Sakon heaved his shoulders in a shrug against the wall. “I suppose it’s gotta happen sooner or later, huh? Yeah, I think now that Sun Ce has his own army, it’s a good time. I can put you in touch with him.”

“Thanks, Sakon,” Ce murmured. “And I’ve already got my agreement with Zhao Yun, so that would unite all of us together. You’re right, it’s something we should prepare for, in case it comes down to us against Orochi.”

“I know that’s Lord Nobunaga’s end goal,” Sakon reminded them, “and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Cao Pi’s as well. You want to rescue your family…”

“To be honest, I’ve hardly looked past that goal,” Ce said, sitting back in his chair with his hands draped in his lap. “Much like Zhao Yun and his intention to rescue Liu Bei. But we talked for a long time that night in the pass of Hulao, and I think we both agreed that rescuing people was only the first step, not our end goals. Beyond that, once our people are all safe, then yeah – we do need to take down Orochi. I don’t think either of us ever _didn’t_ know that we would have to, we just weren’t thinking about it in the long term.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Shima acknowledged. “Keeps you from trying to do too much at once, put too many irons in the fire. Not a good way to run an army when it’s small. But now you’ve got the manpower you need, things can start shifting toward that bigger goal.”

Zhou Yu nodded curtly. “Then, I think we know what we need to do. If you will write to Oda Nobunaga, Sakon, I will handle the letter to Cao Pi. Lu Meng, will you prepare a contingent to ride to rescue Lady Daqiao?”

“With pleasure,” Meng said, with a nod and a tug of a smile at his lips. “I already know you want to go along, my lord. Wouldn’t even dream of stopping you.”

“I love it when you already know what I’m thinking,” Ce grinned back. “I’m anxious to hear what else Hanzo might be finding out wherever he is, but I can’t just sit around here and wait. Going out to find her and make sure she’s safe will keep me busy for a while.”

“True,” Sakon said, straightening up, “and by the time you get back, we might actually have some information for you. Sure beats sitting around here on your hands.”

“Let’s do it.” Ce got up and clapped each of them on the shoulder in encouragement before following Lu Meng out to assist with the battle preparations. He really couldn’t just sit in Hefei no matter what; even if there hadn’t been anyone immediately needing help or an alliance, he was already chafing to get back into the saddle and ride against Orochi.

As the other two departed, Zhou Yu stepped over to hand the letter from Hattori to Sakon for him to read in full. “I still can hardly believe it,” he said quietly. “I hope to hear the tale someday, of exactly _how_ he managed to capture Da Ji.”

“I know,” Sakon breathed in turn. “You know what, though? This is good news on another level, one even the lowest-ranked private will benefit from without even knowing it.” Yu peered curiously at him, prompting him to smile slyly. “Until now, the top demons have seemed untouchable. Orochi himself, well, I don’t need to explain, but Da Ji was right there with him. Sure, Oda’s forces defeated her once, but she escaped and just came back to continue her work. But now, she’s in human hands, in a human-guarded prison. I know there’s every chance she could escape, but just knowing that she _can_ be captured takes her down a peg. She’s not invincible, and that means Orochi isn’t, either. Our people all across this messed-up land can take a bit of encouragement from that, so that when we really do start talking about fighting the big snake head-on, they won’t be afraid to do it.”

Yu pondered this and nodded slowly. “That is an interesting perspective. Perhaps even I have been thinking the same, if I’m still reeling from the shock of finding out she can and has been captured. But she can transport herself through magic in and out of any place – I want to know how he’s stopping her from doing so!”

Shima had heard of this ability but never seen it in practice the way Zhou Yu and Sun Ce had. He rubbed his chin and then shrugged again. “I’m sure the Lord of Wei isn’t going to be too quick to part with his secrets, but if that information becomes important, we can work on getting it out of him. For now I’m sure merely welcoming him to the Resistance will be enough of an olive branch.”

“All the same, I will not be terribly surprised if he has to report that she got away from him,” Yu said darkly. “As long as he can hold her long enough for Hattori to get that information, or even break them out of the Orochi army’s grasp. I will be more than content with ‘long enough.’”

At that very moment, at Odawara castle, Cao Pi was working just as hard as he would have at Xuchang. His injuries had not been severe at all and he was already suited to travel, and as long as Ishida continued to insist that his health was also fair enough to be riding and fighting again, he would take his strategist back to headquarters with him. In the intervening days the decision had been made to hold Odawara as a secondary fortress, much like Jianye, which they had given up in a stealthy ploy to prevent the Orochi army from attacking first. In time their forces could return there, most likely, but for now the lord of Wei sent messages out to his wayward officers to instruct them to draw back to Odawara. He would leave Zhang He in charge there until the others arrived, at which point it would be placed under control of the Lady Nene, seeing as she had extensive knowledge of the castle’s secrets and had both sacked and protected it herself in times past. The brief, terse message from Kiyomasa informing them of their success had come as additional good news on top of everything else Cao Pi was learning about the current state of both the Resistance and the Orochi army. He wasn’t surprised at all to hear that Date Masamune was nearby at Bai Di and the castle defenses had been tightened tenfold, but at the same time, he was wary of the possibility that they could decide to attack and free his precious prisoner while they were still within range. It was his intention to secure Da Ji and remove her farther away from easy access, and the prison holdings at Xuchang were far more secure. So long as the sorcery and the holy sword could be maintained, she did not seem capable of teleporting herself out of his dungeons, at least. Regardless of the size and current organization of the Orochi army, he expected retaliation in some form, and decided he would move the target of their potential assaults sooner rather than later. Hence, his hard work preparing the plans to move out within the next day.

His letters to the other Resistance leaders had all gone out, and additional communication was constantly coming and going as he worked to secure their route of travel, prepare which forces would be deployed to which fortress, and send out scouts in search of Lady Zhenji’s unit. Cao Pi trusted that his wife had understood his orders and disappeared into the wilderness where it was safe, but now he could bring her back, and needed to search to be able to even deliver that information to her. Yet, even while he thought of her and made his plans to have her escorted back to his side, there was someone else in his immediate vicinity arresting the lion’s share of his attention. It didn’t help that Mitsunari sashayed around the castle in far less armor and fewer layers than usual, claiming it was to allow his side to heal but more than likely it had everything to do with being in a familiar castle in friendly hands. He was the one who undertook all the orders and preparations for repairing the keep, and the former Toyotomi officers who had been forced to obey Orochi all this time happily listened to him instead, putting their backs into the hard labor of cleaning up the burned timbers and flooring and overseeing the harvest of fresh bamboo to start the repairs. Things could not be better, and Mitsunari seemed to be in an incredibly good mood everywhere he went, whether overseeing, giving advice, or conducting official business with his lord and the other high-ranking officers. Zhang Liao noticed and remarked on it as he and the strategist passed through the door into Cao Pi’s war room, both carrying fresh reports. “I suppose now that you’re no longer under that fox’s thumb in any capacity, it takes some of the weight off your shoulders,” he said astutely.

Mitsunari’s response was more of a smile than a smirk for once. “Yeah, we’ll go with that. Thanks, Zhang Liao, I’ll take it from here.”

Liao nodded and paused to offer his lord a proper bow before depositing the message scrolls and leaving them to their plotting. Cao Pi looked up only long enough to acknowledge the salute from his retainer and then went right back to reading maps and reports. “I see you’re getting along with the men unusually well these days,” he remarked dryly.

“Unusually well, huh?” Mitsunari checked a couple of the messages, found them uninteresting, and reached for his ink and brush instead. “I don’t know. Maybe Zhang Liao’s right.”

Both of them knew full well that the real reason either of them felt considerably less tense than before the battle had everything to do with no longer having to hide everything from everyone around them. The fact that they had only confided in one another for so long – and even that, only since Xia Kou, when Cao Pi was certain he could trust Ishida – had strained their working relationships with the other officers while bonding the two of them closer far quicker than mere camaraderie. They were free to be themselves, now, and while for both that still meant a considerable helping of iciness, snark, and smug superiority, the truth was, both had relaxed, and sometimes it was obvious even to the others. Cao Pi chanced a sidelong glance at his strategist, finding him dressed down again, completely free of armor and coat, his auburn hair tied back at the nape of his neck to keep it out of his way while he was inspecting the construction efforts around the keep. Loose tendrils of it teased his cheekbones and jaw, framing his face while he leaned over the table to write. It wasn’t until Mitsunari looked up at him in turn and smirked that Pi even realized he had been staring so long that it had arrested him from his actual work. Shaking himself out of it, he turned back to try to find what he had been reading. “Will you be ready to ride if we depart tomorrow for Xuchang?” he asked to try to keep things balanced.

“I’m ready to ride now,” Ishida assured. “If you mean, am I done meddling in everything going on around the castle, then yes, that can be wrapped up by tomorrow.”

“Good. Because you are crucial to keeping our prisoner well in hand, I can’t let you out of my sight.”

“Oh, is that all.”

Pi gathered up the papers and maps scattered on his desk and stacked them as if to set them aside. “I thought the rest was given and need not be said.”

“That part was pretty much a given, too.” Mitsunari set down his brush and looked over to try and catch his lord’s eye. “Is there anything actually important that I don’t already know?”

Cao Pi sighed softly through his nose and took a step back from the desk. “No. Everything is prepared, not a single item is out of place. I suppose I am merely keeping busy to keep busy.” He nodded at the pile he had just made. “That is all I need to take with me, that hasn’t already been secured.”

“All right, then.” Mitsunari glanced through the newest reports, but they were all mere confirmations that orders had been carried out or were in the process of being done, nothing that would change any of their plans or alert them to new developments either inside or beyond the castle walls. When he looked back up, he found Cao Pi gazing out the window toward the gardens instead. “You know,” he mentioned, “you _are_ allowed to take time off now and again. You barely stopped for a night once the battle was done, you were right back to work the next morning like it was any old regular day at Xuchang.”

“Does that mean you’re going to hold another tea ceremony for me?” Cao Pi’s head turned slowly to regard him, but his expression was quiet, not at all annoyed or icy. “I don’t mean that as criticism.”

“If I have to,” Mitsunari teased back. “I mean it – call it a day. Sit down, write some poetry or something.”

“I need to be inspired in order to write.” Even as the words left his lips, Pi’s gaze turned back toward the view out the windows. A lazy sun bathed the gardens and the pools of water in radiant warmth, and a soft green haze appeared to lay over the courtyard. After a long moment of silent contemplation, he rather suddenly turned away and brushed past the desk and the curious strategist. “Walk with me.”

Unsure whether it was a request or an order, Mitsunari turned to follow, taking a moment to first lay a clean inkstone over the stack of papers to keep them from blowing away in the light breeze coming through the unshuttered windows. He caught up to Cao Pi a few paces down the hall, but when no further information came on their purpose or destination, he decided not to ask. He would find out soon enough, as long as he went along with it. They didn’t go far, as Pi traced a familiar path through the guest quarters to a room they weren’t using, a sort of parlor that sat along the far edge of the gardens. At this time of day it was completely in shadow, nice and cool, but with a splendid view. Pi went to the shoji and tried to find how to slide them open, but Mitsunari caught on quickly and came to do it for him, opening the screens wide to a very private but lovely view of the garden dotted with ponds. No one clearing fire-damaged debris from the keep could see them unless they sat on the very edge of the veranda, which Cao Pi didn’t seem interested in doing. He stood for a moment or two leaning on one of the pillars, taking in the sight, until Mitsunari could stand it no more and broke the long silence between them. He was pottering around behind Pi, looking for where the zabuton cushions were being stored and whether there was anything else useful in the room, such as tables or teacups. “Well. Do you need me for anything else?”

“Do you have something you need to be doing?” Cao Pi glanced back and waited for him to turn and meet his gaze before speaking again. “I wish to have your company.”

That made Mitsunari openly react, eyes going wide and head dropping as if to question his lord’s sanity without saying a word. “I…you do?” he finally blurted out.

Pi nearly made a snide retort, but instead, crossed back to him and stood looming over him, eyes strangely solemn in the shadows of the parlor. He did not miss the slight blush that stole into Mitsunari’s cheeks before he mastered himself and pushed down whatever he was thinking or feeling about the shrinking distance between them. “I’ve seen the way you look at me,” Pi murmured after a moment. “And you should know, by now, that if I had a problem with it, I would have put an end to it long ago.”

Ishida lifted his chin proudly. “And what about you?” he challenged. “You’re not exactly innocent of the subtle glances and remarks, you know.”

Pi smiled vaguely, lowering his eyes. “Then, if you’ve noticed, why are you so surprised?”

That required a moment’s thought; Mitsunari looked away slightly as he considered the question. “Maybe…that you actually want to act on it,” he finally answered. “Or that you said it so openly, no guile, no veiled words…”

“When I want something,” Pi said boldly, “I don’t waste words dancing around it.”

“Is that really true?” Mitsunari raised a hand, and then brushed it against Cao Pi’s arm as he pushed past, not wanting to be trapped against the nearby wall. He paced across the open room, turning his gaze toward the gardens. “I can’t pretend that I’ve even begun to know the real Cao Pi, even after what we’ve been through. How do I know those looks or flirtations aren’t just another façade you put up in order to win people over?”

Pi gave him a reproachful look, though it mostly fell on Mitsunari’s back as he was still turned away. “Guile is for the weak,” he said warily, “for those I do not trust. I have never lied to you, Ishida Mitsunari. Not even when you were still Da Ji’s lap dog.”

Mitsunari turned back as if to call him on that statement, but then again, he wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t true. He was sure that there had been times when the full truth had been withheld from him, but that wasn’t the same as an open lie. He leaned on the pillar in the center of the room and cast his lord a skeptical look. “Wouldn’t it interest you to know that I didn’t go tattling on you to Da Ji every single time?” he said flippantly. Strangely, this sort of back-and-forth was every bit as alluring as making eyes at each other across the room. “Sure, at the time you probably believed as fully as she did that I was her loyal spy, but I didn’t feel the need to tell her everything.”

This sort of challenge was just as enticing to Cao Pi. He paced back toward his strategist, his eyes keen. “Are you presuming to take some of the credit for my success?” he purred. “Suggesting, perhaps, that I wouldn’t have been so victorious if you had in fact told her every secret you learned?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Mitsunari said dryly. “But all along, since the day she introduced us at Jianye, things haven’t always been as they appeared. Not for me, and I know for sure, not for you either. So you’ll understand if I’m not too quick to take things at face value.”

Pi inclined his head to acknowledge the point. “I’m not going to beg, though. Either you’re interested in my offer, or you’re not. I will not press the matter.”

“So what’s the offer?” Mitsunari’s smirk faded. “You said you wanted my company. Is that all?”

Cao Pi gazed silently at him for a long moment, and then lifted a hand to brush some of the hair out of Mitsunari’s eyes to see him properly. He could feel the heat rush to the man’s cheek as his palm glanced across it. “I suppose that depends on what I can get away with,” he murmured.

Mitsunari lowered his eyes in genuine shyness. “Don’t you have a wife?” he had to wonder. After all, they had just been making arrangements for her protection mere hours ago.

Pi made a small, amused noise. “I do, and I love her very much,” he admitted. “But there is more to it than that. Few noblemen of the Han are so…limited.”

Ishida was enough of a student of history to know of the harems of concubines that were common to that ancient time, a practice that had never truly gone out of fashion. But that wasn’t what Pi was proposing, standing here in a private parlor with his fingers teasing at strands of auburn hair. Ishida reached to brush that wandering hand aside. “I had to ask,” he said coolly, tipping his chin up in a pretense of indifference. “Just in case there are customs I’m not aware of.”

“Only the same as, I assume, might occasionally take place among your own people.” Given information that came to him from time to time, mostly from this very man, he was certain that things really hadn’t changed much in some regards in a thousand years. Cao Pi stepped even closer, and took heart when Mitsunari straightened up from leaning on the pillar rather than edge away from him. The light from the open shoji glowed on his face as he turned to meet his eyes, something challenging remaining in his expression right up until Pi’s lips grazed along his cheek. Mitsunari let out a breath in a quick, surprised gust, as if he had been expecting it all to be a game, a tease which would be denied him at the last moment. His eyes drifted closed for a moment, but he snapped himself alert before it could go any farther and placed a hand on Pi’s arm, squeezing tightly. Pi’s brow twitched, and he glanced down at the grip on his biceps. “Something the matter?”

“Don’t,” Mitsunari begged. “It’s too fast…”

“I thought you wanted me to.”

“I do…” Another impatient gust of breath. Mitsunari slid his hand into the crook of Pi’s arm and held there. “You have no idea how much I do. But…I can’t. I shouldn’t.”

“Why?” Pi grunted a humorless chuckle. “Because I’m your lord?”

“No…” It was hard for Mitsunari to even understand his own reactions, let alone explain them. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted, only that the time they had spent around each other, first antagonizing one another and then slowly learning to trust, had built a tension between them that yearned to be released. It grew and tightened whenever they argued or merely snarked at each other, and only increased the desire to do something about it. That, however, wasn’t as easy to do as it sounded. Mitsunari turned away slightly, but left his hand where it was in the bend of Pi’s arm. “Is it right to waste time with things like this, when there are more important matters going on around us?” he murmured, grasping for anything that made sense. “We’re in the middle of a war, should we really be carrying on…some kind of dalliance?”

Cao Pi stood where he was, dipping his head slightly to bring his face close enough to feel Mitsunari’s warmth and a tickle of of his loose hair. “If not now, then when?” he reasoned. “Do you know what will happen when we finally topple Orochi?”

“No…” Mitsunari warily looked back at him. “Why, do you?”

“No, I do not.” Pi lowered his arm, letting Mitsunari’s hand fall away from him. “Nobody does, but there are possibilities. What if, when we destroy him, it unmakes this world of his and returns us to our proper times? We will never see one another again. If so, we might as well make the most of what time we have.”

“And what time do we have?” Mitsunari retorted. “It’s taken us months just to get to where we are. It will probably take months more to have any hope of challenging Orochi.”

“Days, weeks, months…who cares?” Pi leaned over him again but this time, refrained from making contact, his presence alone full of heat and that same tension. “Living is not put on hold for the sake of a war. We live and we fight at the same time, there is no putting one aside in order to focus on the other.” He bent his head to place his lips precisely beside Mitsunari’s ear, in order to whisper the rest: “If I want to pursue pleasure in those moments when I’m not standing on a battlefield with a sword in my hand, who will say it’s wrong?”

The dangerous and yet desirious undertone sent a shiver rippling down Ishida’s back, and he felt the flush of heat creep up his neck again. He could not deny that part of what drew him to Cao Pi was that bold confidence, the way he showed no doubt or hesitation. He had complete control over every part of himself and his kingdom, and it was clear that when he wanted something, he pursued it until it was in his hands. That something, right now, was Ishida Mitsunari, and the strategist was beyond flattered that he should rate so high on the Wei lord’s priority list. Before, he could only guess at what those smug glances and teasing words were leading to, but now he knew, and he could kick himself for hesitating at all. He did want it, no lie. But he had a certain pride of his own, and refused to let Cao Pi do all the taking. He waited until he could feel Pi leaning back, straightening up, and then turned swiftly into him and dove in to kiss him hard before he could completely withdraw. Pi’s fingers tangled in the queue at the nape of his neck as if to pull him back, but instead he responded with just as much fervor, determined not to let Mitsunari dominate him. There was a bit of shoving, a growl or two, and teeth scraping lips before they parted, and then they simply held there gazing at one another, breathing a bit faster, until Cao Pi let his hand slide down from the back of Mitsunari’s neck, down his chest, to the overlap of his kimono. He grasped at the edge of the collar but only tugged it once before relenting. “That’s more like it,” he murmured.

“Don’t go thinking you talked me into it or anything,” Mitsunari huffed. “I did what _I_ wanted to do.”

“Yes…I could tell.” Pi smirked at the glare he got for that remark, and then soothed it with another brush of his hand along the collar of the black kimono edged in white. “Sit with me a while. If you want so badly to see me take time off and relax, then stay, and make sure I do.”

One eyebrow raised. “Just a request?”

“Nothing more.”

Mitsunari held his eyes a moment longer and then turned away with a sniff, so he could go and fetch a couple of zabuton and lay them out so the two of them could sit and look out at the beauty of the gardens. “Do you want me to call someone to bring us tea or sake, while I’m at it?”

“It won’t be necessary.” Pi moved past him to have a seat, reaching to unpin his cloak as he went. It fell into a soft pool behind him as he settled onto the cushion and took a deep breath. The electric tension between them had not fully dissipated, but that moment had calmed it enough for him to truly relax, and he knew that it would not be the last time they indulged in such a way. The passion with which Mitsunari attacked him was unmistakable. He glanced briefly to the side as the strategist dropped down beside him, close enough for their shoulders to touch. There wasn’t anything more that needed to be said between them, allowing them the chance to do exactly as the young lord had once threatened and simply enjoy the peaceful silence for a while. They could watch the shadows in the garden grow longer and the light turn from soft yellow to deep gold and then red as the sun set behind them, and immerse themselves in one another’s company until someone finally came looking for them to call them to dinner. Private discussions between the two of them were nothing new, so no one thought anything of it when they were found sequestered away where no one could bother them. The rest of the officers assumed it was just more crucial strategy work for their upcoming ventures, leaving them completely unaware that anything else was percolating between lord and retainer. Whether or not anyone noticed or knew didn’t matter, for the affairs of a man of Cao Pi’s stature were his business alone and there was no one in any position to complain, but he tended to prefer that private things remain private, and so he was in no hurry to crow about it. He only gave Mitsunari another of those cool, knowing glances across the table as they joined the cadre of retainers for the evening meal, and smirked briefly when it was returned with smoldering brown eyes. Taking time for himself today was totally worth it.


	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pang De and the Sanadas face some challenges and new discoveries as they fight to protect Xiliang.

The pastures of Xiliang were slowly turning from green to brown as a delayed autumn began to creep up on it, influenced by the finer summer-lands around it to keep the displaced territory from losing good grass and farmland too quickly. The great herds of horses famous to the area had been scattered in the cataclysm, but Xiliang had remained unclaimed for a long time by either Orochi or Resistance forces, leaving it quiet and free for the most part, a perfect place for peasant farmers to settle in and get at least one good growing season under their belts before anything resembling war began to encroach. As they rode into increasingly familiar lands, Pang De was able to discern where the traditional Ma family homestead and fortress should be and turned aside toward it, leading his small unit to see if anyone was ruling Xiliang in Ma Chao’s stead. The army following him wasn’t as grand as it had been the day before, but it was necessary; on their way toward Xiliang, the Shu Resistance army learned that Dong Zhuo himself was not with his retainers, but had turned aside on another mission, and thus might be terrorizing other villages nearby. Zhao Yun volunteered to hold the main camp, with the Hojo as his backup, so he could move in against Dong Zhuo if he raised his head elsewhere, while Yukimura agreed to ride with his brother to accompany Pang De to liberate Xiliang from threat. It spread their contingent a bit thin, but at the same time it ensured that the entirety of the Shu forces were arrayed across the open countryside to protect the innocent, exactly as their mission and their hearts required. It was the first time since joining forces that Yukimura and Zhao Yun had not ridden into battle together, but it was no great burden. Each knew the other had a job to do in order to see that Dong Zhuo and the Orochi army did not succeed here, and they crossed spears in a gesture of trust before going their separate ways. In his best friend’s place, Yukimura had his brother, a worthy tradeoff. The Sanadas kept pace just behind Pang De, and eventually sighted the fortress toward which his path aimed. “What do you think we’ll find there?” Nobuyuki wondered as they galloped across the fields and over a bridge.

“There’s no way to say for sure,” Pang De replied, reining his horse back to slow down. “Lord Zhao Yun spoke with Lord Ma Chao not too long ago, so we know that the Ma cousins had been in Xiliang before the war began. But they had nothing to report, so there’s no way to know if any of our kinsmen have taken charge here, or if the peasants are ruling themselves as they best see fit.” He nodded toward the hilltop fortress. “Either way, we’ll find out when we get there. It won’t be long now.”

He slackened his pace even more as they passed between fenced fields, and they all looked around to see that no one was working the fields or tending the remains of their herds. For all the talk of peasants, there weren’t many to be seen. De noticed a flicker of movement near one house, and pulled up short at the end of the lane to have a closer look. As the army slowed behind him, an aged farmer peeked back out of the door he had tried to shut on them and then startled and came out to greet them, hobbling to his fence line. “It can’t be!” he exclaimed. “Master Pang De, is that really you? You’ve come home!”

De might not have known every civilian who had ever lived in Xiliang, but surely they knew him on sight, since he belonged to them. He stood down his halberd and rested the reins. “It is indeed. I come bringing the resistance army under Zhao Yun of Shu, we heard there might be some trouble in these parts.”

“So it’s said,” the old man affirmed. “We’ve been told to gather our things and prepare to evacuate. Our lords have heard rumor that Orochi is coming for us.”

“Your lords?” Nobuyuki repeated. “Someone rules you, then.”

“Oh, yes.” The farmer pointed toward the fortress on the hill. “If you’ve come to aid us, you’ll find them there. Your timing is a miracle, my lords! We were afraid we would have to pick up and run tonight, if no one could be found to turn aside the Orochi army.”

“Fear not,” Pang De proudly assured. “We are in fact here to fight against Orochi. Take heart, but your lords were right to prepare you to flee. We don’t know the size of the force on its way, it might be safer to withdraw than to have the battle spill across your fields.”

“A battle here would destroy everything they’ve grown and built,” Yukimura noted after looking around. “They haven’t even had time to harvest yet.”

“We’ll do what we can,” Nobuyuki said, gathering the reins. “Come, my friends, let’s meet the lords of Xiliang and help them prepare a defense.”

They rode off again, with the farmer waving behind them, bringing a small smile to some of the soldiers’ faces as they passed him. They were an even mix of Shu and Sanada forces, but all of them understood the cause of benevolence and protection and were heartened to see that they were in fact making a difference. Pang De led them up the paths which wound up the hill, though they left the bulk of the soldiers arrayed to keep watch at the top of each path while the three officers rode to the fortress itself and presented themselves to be allowed inside. There were no sentries at the gate, but when Yukimura knocked with his spear, guards popped out of their positions and came to see them. Like the farmer in the fields below, they gave a start to recognize Pang De and willingly opened the way for him and his comrades. Upon hearing that they had come to assist, one guard agreed to escort them to see their lords immediately. As yet no one had said the name of the man or men who had claimed charge and protection over Xiliang, but they would find out very soon just walking in. Leaving the horses in the capable hands of the other sentries, the three officers strode through the main gate to the interior courtyard, only to find the castle lords already on their way out to meet them. As soon as the two men came into the sunlight, Pang De and the Sanada brothers all recoiled in shock, for completely separate reasons. The pair approaching were older, and should not have known each other, but the way they walked suggested they had grown rather familiar with one another thanks to their diligent duty. De palmed his fist before his heart and bowed deeply to one, while the brothers struggled to restrain themselves to a mere bow for the other. That second man broke into a wry grin to see them. “Is that any way to say hello, my boys?” he called out to them.

That constituted the permission they needed to break decorum and honor and rush for him, throwing themselves on him at the same time in a group embrace. Pang De was a bit taken aback, but he gathered they knew each other and waited for introductions, while the other lord of Xiliang strode forward to welcome him. “Master Pang De,” he said in a deep, gruff tone. “It has been a while.”

“Lord Ma Teng.” De dropped his head low in respect. “I didn’t even know you were here in this world.”

“Nor I you, but I would call this a pleasant surprise.” The thickset man, father of Ma Chao and one-time actual lord of Xiliang, reached him and clapped him on the arm. “Am I to assume that your appearance here with rumors of an Orochi invasion coming is to our advantage?”

“As a matter of fact, we’ve come to defend Xiliang against the Orochi army,” De explained. “If you will have us, that is.”

“I would be a fool to turn away an entire army that shows up on my doorstep ready to protect my people.” Ma Teng bowed to him in turn, and then turned to see if the Sanadas had peeled themselves off his comrade yet. “I take it they know each other.”

Yukimura and Nobuyuki were collectively trying to pull themselves together and let go of the man who stood between them chuckling. “Boys, come now! Reunions can wait, there are important matters afoot.”

“Father,” Nobuyuki said with a small whimper as he straightened up. “You’re alive! We were so worried!”

“I can’t believe we found you, Father!” Yukimura exclaimed, clasping him one more time before letting go. “Uncle Nobutada didn’t think you were here…”

“I confess I’ve been unable to find any of our clan,” Sanada Masayuki said with a bit of a regretful frown for his sons. “But I came into this land not long after Orochi overran everything, and Lord Teng was kind enough to take me in. In honor of his hospitality, I decided to help him protect this land and his people. I’ve been here ever since.” He looked from one brother to the other. “Your uncle Nobutsuna is with me, as well, but that is all we have. The three of us, and few soldiers.”

“Then, you actually do need our help,” Yukimura realized.

“I don’t know what stroke of good luck has brought you to us on the eve of battle, but yes.” Masayuki set his hands heavily on one shoulder of each of his sons and turned them so he could introduce them to Ma Teng. In turn, Teng presented Pang De as one of his trusted generals and friend to his own son, which De did not correct. If he didn’t remember the woes of Xiliang, De would not bring it up. Masayuki was all smiles for everyone. “If only you had come to visit under better circumstances,” he said with a sigh. “I would have liked the time to get to know everyone, first.”

“What do you know of the army heading this way?” Pang De asked both older men.

Teng shook his head. “Only that it comes from Orochi, and their aim is to suppress what they call a rebellion in this land,” he said heavily. “We have only guesses as to its size, since we have few scouts available to send out to get information. But there is no rebellion here. Lord Masayuki and I have been guarding the peasants here so they could live in peace and tend their crops, we have so few soldiers that we could not possibly be viewed as a threat to Orochi.”

“It’s an excuse,” Yukimura said darkly. “The Orochi army has suffered a lot of setbacks, they’re looking for any victory they can claim, even if it’s against unarmed peasants.”

“We’ve prepared the people to evacuate if necessary,” his father informed them, “but I’m afraid it’s only a stopgap measure. If the Orochi army is that determined to attack, they will likely pursue anyone fleeing. It would mean these poor folks have to choose between dying in their homes or dying on the road, in the wilderness.”

“And we have nowhere to lead them,” Teng added. “Xiliang is the most fortified territory for miles, everything else is wide open and inhospitable.”

“So we noticed, as we rode through,” Pang De said with a nod. “Fear not, the people do not have to flee now that we’re here. But if they’re ready to move, it would be wise to bring them inside this fortress to protect them. Battle will be joined whether we like it or not, but I would rather take it to the Orochi army, away from the fields ready for harvest, and without fear of burning down homes that have people inside them.”

“That sounds wise, Master Pang De,” Masayuki agreed. “Let us put that in motion, then, so that we’re ready when this Orochi army arrives.” He patted Nobuyuki on the shoulder again. “Catching up will also have to wait, until after we can put this invasion to rout.”

The sentry who had escorted the visitors was still standing nearby. “You said you came with the Shu army and Lord Zhao Yun,” he reminded them. “Are they nearby? Will they come to our rescue as well?”

Ma Teng looked to Pang De, impressed. “Is that true?”

De nodded once. “Lord Zhao Yun is the commander of the Shu army, for now. I will explain later when there’s time,” he said sternly. “He is holding our main camp just outside Xiliang, with reinforcements. If need be, we can send a messenger to call them in.”

“Luck beyond luck,” Teng breathed, a bit astonished. “We appreciate everything you can give us, my old friend.” He turned a faint smile on his comrade. “It looks like I will in fact be able to see these mighty sons of yours in action after all.”

“I’m sure it will be a sight,” Masayuki chuckled. “Come, then! Let us get the peasants evacuated to the fortress, and see what more we can do to prepare for battle.”

Even with the prior preparations, it would still take considerable time to withdraw all the civilians living in the shadow of the fortress of Xiliang into safety, but they had enough manpower now to manage it much more quickly than the the two lords would have otherwise. The Sanada sons eagerly rode to help, while Pang De worked with Ma Teng to send out actual messengers and sentries to locate their foes, count their numbers, and bring them the information they needed to form a strategy. By sunset they were ready enough, and word came that the approaching enemy would not make it into range until the next day. It allowed them the time they wished for, to sit down together and catch up, to share the wealth of information about the doings of various armies and the progress of the war to resist Orochi. Ma Teng and Masayuki knew nearly nothing, but by the time they were all too tired to sit up any more, they had been filled in on enough to grasp not only the magnitude of the assault breathing down their necks but the overall shape of the world they came to be in. There was great joy, as Teng learned of the successes of his son and other countrymen of Xiliang, and great sorrow as Masayuki heard of the tragedy at Nagashino and the loss of nearly all of the Sanada cavalry. At least he had his sons to reassure him, and as long as they were alive and well, they could see him through the rest of the grief. With their men deployed all across Xiliang to guard the fortress, locate any civilian stragglers, and keep watch for the Orochi army’s ingress, the three Shu officers were able to spend the night with a roof over their heads and warmer, drier quarters in which to get a good night’s sleep. If the momentum of this mission stayed true, they would need their strength for the battle on the morrow.

The reconnaissance Zhao Yun had received on the possible location of Dong Zhuo himself was not entirely in error. He was, in fact, separated from his retainers at the moment. He had sent Hua Xiong, Li Ru, and Guo Si ahead of him to Xiliang to handle this mission, with additional officers as backup, while he turned aside to something else. Had he been intent on crushing every last peasant in his path, he would indeed have run into the mighty Tiger General and his reinforcements, but to their fortune, he had other prey to pursue and his path took him far away from them and any refugees they were protecting. They might not have known it for certain, but as another day dawned and they found themselves still clear of attack or threat, the messenger who reached the main camp from Xiliang was glad to find that his request for reinforcements could be filled easily. Zhao Yun was certain he could hold off any trouble with just the Hojo at this point, so he authorized reinforcements and encouraged them to go and give Orochi hell for him. He was intensely curious about the developments within Xiliang, but he would have to sit tight and wait for it all to be brought to him later. Meanwhile, the Sanadas and the men of Xiliang spent the morning rearranging their forces, preparing to move out to take the battle into the open fields rather than let it erupt at the gates of the fortress. They found some of the able-bodied farmers eager to take up weapons as volunteer soldiers, but Ma Teng assured them that they didn’t need to spend their lives, not now that the Shu Resistance had come to save them. He let them volunteer as guardians of their home fortress, then, so that their allies could bring all of their men onto the field rather than reserve some to guard the refugees. They felt completely capable of winning the day as they rode out to intercept the enemy, streaming down from the hills into the barren meadows below and diverting away from the ripe farm fields. The terrain wouldn’t allow them to ambush the oncoming army, but Pang De was pretty sure that the Orochi forces would have no idea that so many men would be there to stop them. He had been given command of the infantry, while the Sanadas led what little cavalry they had, augmented with fresh horses and a few good men who had been residing in Xiliang all this time. Their elders held the secondary unit behind them, guarding the pathways so that the reinforcements from the main camp could pass through safely as soon as they got there. Now, it was only a matter of waiting to see who would meet who first.

The combined forces of Dong Zhuo’s various retainers had moved through the outlying territory without running into too many obstacles, either of the armed or the unarmed kind, but as they went the rumor of their coming sent a handful of peasants fleeing before them toward Xiliang and civilization. A few had chosen to make the most of whatever they could find, so they lived too far from any fortress or army outpost to be protected and had no choice but to run when the Orochi forces steamrolled across their fields, pillaging as they went. More than a few snake demons were assisting in this venture, deployed before their foxy commander had even entertained her would-be prey and out of touch with the main army. Had they only known what had gone on at Odawara behind their backs, they might not have been so eager to send a full five captains with their contingents to bully peasants. They came on toward Xiliang through a narrow valley, driving the fleeing peasants ahead of them. As soon as it became clear which direction they were coming from, Pang De moved his unit in swiftly – the Orochi army had no idea that they were approaching by the least logical path, that there were several means of slowing them down as they marched through that valley, since most of them had never been to Xiliang whether in this world or its proper one. He became aware of Yukimura riding just behind him as the trees closed in around them, shadowing the path, and glanced toward him. “Keep your eyes open,” he warned. “We could come upon them rather suddenly.”

“All the more reason for you not to be in this vale alone,” Yukimura said smartly. “What’s your idea?”

“Several small streams cut down from the hills through here,” De replied. “Each is bridged to permit cavalry to pass through without fording the streams in dangerous spots. If we can get ahead of the Orochi army and pull down those bridges, we can hamstring them right here.”

“You can count on me,” Yukimura crowed proudly. That sounded like a good idea overall, and while he was yearning to see battle, they did need to give themselves every advantage. Having Pang De and Ma Teng and their intimate knowledge of this land already put them ahead of their enemy. The two horsemen rode ahead of their troops to reach the first bridge in time, and checked as they found a small cluster of ordinary people stumbling their way toward them. Yukimura lowered his spear and stared in concern. “What is this, now, what’s going on?”

“My lords!” A man at the head of the group rushed toward them, arms out in plea. “Please save us! The Orochi army is right behind us!”

“Already,” Pang De said gruffly. He pulled one of his halberds off his back and used it to gesture. “Quickly, back the way we just came from! Lord Ma Teng is there, he can see you safely to the fortress at Xiliang. Do not stop for a moment or the battle will sweep you away.” The peasants obeyed without hesitation, clutching their children and what few meager possessions they carried as they swiftly darted between the two horses and continued up the path. De turned his imperious frown on Yukimura. “There won’t be time to get to the farther bridge. We’ll have to take this bridge down and hope it will be enough to slow them down.”

“It will have to do.” Yukimura slid out of the saddle and waved to his men to bring them up, and together with Pang De and his troops, they hacked at the ropes and timbers of the bridge with their weapons, ripping up the planks and sending chunks of it crashing into the water below to be carried away on the rapid current. They had to work quickly, backing their way back to shore lest any of their men accidentally topple into the water as well. They were just yanking the last of the bridgeworks off one of the pilings so it could be washed away when the front line of the advancing Orochi troops reached the embankment on the other side. Yukimura vaulted back into the saddle and brandished the Crimson Fang in taunt. “You will go no further!” he yelled to the mingled demon and human army goggling at them from across the wide river. “Orochi’s foul hand will never triumph so long as we live!”

One of the snake captains snarled back at him. “Then we’ll just have to kill you, won’t we?”

“Come, then,” Pang De said boldly. “I have always wondered whether snakes can swim.”

The men with them eyed the water warily. The river was clearly at its fastest and widest here in the valley, hence the bridge. “Call Lord Guo Si,” one recommended, “we will need a bridge built if we’re to continue.”

The demon bristled a bit but stood down and waved his spear to direct someone to go and do so. Backtracking and trying another route would take far longer than bringing up their forces and laying a temporary bridge. “Hurry it up,” he added as the messengers hustled away. “I’m not letting the other contingent have all the fun without us.”

The two Resistance officers shared a glance and then turned to ride back, urging their horses to speed and overtaking both their soldiers and the knot of peasants they were guarding. “Hurry to Xiliang!” Yukimura encouraged the refugees before turning a glance on Pang De. “Another contingent, they said.”

“Lord Ma Teng was right to station his unit in the fields,” De muttered back. “They’ll come up that way instead. At least we’ve managed to prevent an ambush or flanking maneuver here.”

“Unless they can get a bridge up,” Yukimura noted. “We have to hurry, and make sure the rest of the Orochi army is routed before they can do so.”

As they rode out from the trees and cut across into more open land, they could see that their forces were ready and waiting, and the reinforcements from the main camp had just arrived as well. Wang Ping, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao were sitting astride their horses, eager to see some action, and had already been placed between the remaining Sanadas and the two elder lords of Xiliang. Ping raised his short spear to welcome the others back, and after a hurried report of what they found in the valley, they conferenced together on what to do. “If half the army tried that valley path, and the other half is coming this way,” Ma Teng suggested, “that is still more than enough work for all of us. Hopefully they aren’t driving even more peasants ahead of them.”

“It’s better if we go to meet them, then, just in case,” Nobuyuki reasoned. “If they _are_ attacking the innocent, we need to intervene before it’s too late.”

“I find that better than just sitting here waiting for them to show their faces,” Pang De grunted.

“Together, then,” Yukimura implored. “All of us.”

Leaving it to the rearguard to direct the latest batch of fleeing peasants to the safe fortress, the rest of the army massed behind their officers and charged off downfield, letting Pang De lead once again as he guessed at where an army attempting a pincer move would appear. They came around a knoll to find their target wending an uncertain path through the valley, spreading out as if organization didn’t really matter. Only as the Resistance drew closer did they see the real reason for the chaos – more civilians, running rather literally for their lives. They weren’t staying together, either, they had scattered and thus the Orochi forces split in order to pursue all of them. No one needed orders upon seeing that; hands tightened on weapons, heels kicked at their horses’ flanks to urge them to speed, and all at once the mounted officers spread out to engage their foe. Bao and Xing were almost gleeful as they rode down one snake captain together, their first chance to truly fight together in this war. Yukimura on the other hand was grim and dangerous, burning with anger at the sight of snake demons chasing farmers with nowhere to run. He, Nobuyuki, and Nobutsuna were all that was left of the Sanada Cavalry in that place, and together they criss-crossed the valley, cutting between the peasants and their pursuers in order to put the latter to rout. A demon captain knocked Wang Ping out of the saddle as he passed, but that only gave him the opportunity to fight even harder on foot, planting his feet and swinging his polearm to clear a path around him. The terrified peasants had just enough presence of mind to notice who was fighting against the Orochi army, and ran towards them in the hopes they could be saved. Wang Ping waved them past him and then launched himself at a cadre of snake-spearmen. “I will hold them off!” he promised the civilians. “Escape while you can!”

He had the Sanada brothers at his side immediately, and Yukimura powered through ranks and ranks of snake demons with the Crimson Fang a whirling blur of red and silver as it cut this way and that. His fiery spirit burned in his heart from the sight of the people just running, flailing, unable to find safety or shelter anywhere but the middle of a battlefield. His brother rode within a spear’s length of him no matter where he went, accompanying him in his rampage while keeping an eye to Yukimura to make sure he didn’t lose sight of the greater battle around them. The pair of them became the terror of the battlefield in no time, and even though the Orochi forces still pressed them here and there, their determined charge cleaved deep into the front line and through to the secondary, opening a path for anyone unarmed and showing absolutely no mercy to the gray-skinned demon soldiers. Considering how much of Dong Zhuo’s own arny was massed in that valley, his retainers barking out orders to throw down this petty resistance and resume pursuit of the _traitors_ to Orochi’s cause, they had their work cut out for them. The two forces were united as one, snakes and men intermingling with no regard as to who ought to obey whom. And then, without warning, an inarticulate roar echoed across the field and even the enemy soldiers still ahead of the Resistance scattered. A horse plowed right through them at an incredible pace, and the hulking warrior spurring it on wore a look of pure loathing as he focused on the enemy officers who had pressed too far beyond their own front line. Both Sanadas pulled up short, and Yukimura’s eyes widened as he realized who it was. He might not have yet beheld this famous warrior with his own eyes, but Zhao Yun’s descriptions were beyond apt. He breathed a startled gasp. “W-what? Oh no…Lu Bu!”

His brother halted beside him. “Are you serious?”

“It’s him,” Yukimura affirmed. “This is not good! These people…”

He looked around to see whether or not any stragglers were still caught in the middle of the clashing armies. Fortunately, it looked like they were mostly clear, but still fleeing past the rearmost ranks of their saviors. There was more than enough infantry on the ground to form a wall to block the refugees from any further attacks by snakes or Dong Zhuo’s men, but this new twist threw everything off. Nobuyuki tightened the reins and turned his horse. “They’re not the only ones in danger,” he warned. “Yukimura, don’t! The combined might of hundreds were no match for this man a thousand years ago, you can’t possibly…”

“Someone has to,” Yukimura cut him off, the fear melting away and a fierce determination replacing it. His grip on the Crimson Fang tightened, making his leather glove creak from the pressure. “Stay with me, brother. I cannot possibly do this alone and I don’t have Zilong at my side to help.”

“You’ve got us!” Guan Xing rode in from the other side, with Bao right alongside. The two youngsters had never faced the man their fathers had conquered together, but they were full of battle lust and didn’t have the good sense to stand down. “We’ll ride with you, Lord Yukimura!”

Nobuyuki cursed softly under his breath and spun his horse back around, brandishing his sword. “If you fools are going in, you’ll need at least one clear head with you. Very well! Let’s see if this man is everything they say.”

Dong Zhuo’s men hadn’t expected the champion to join them in Xiliang, though there had been some talk from their lord before he split off from them that he had called on Lu Bu to participate in these battles. What kept him, and why he was in such a towering rage as he intruded on the battlefield, none of them knew. Actually, Lu Bu had gone to He Fei as planned, but did not find Diaochan there as he expected. No one could tell him anything, the last word from Bai Di had put her as “missing.” Not knowing whether she had been kidnapped or had, in fact, deserted, put him in such a temper that he immediately turned to answer Dong Zhuo’s demand with every intention to knock any and all heads in his way regardless of who they belonged to. What did he care if these were Orochi’s soldiers? They were a nuisance, and clearly too weak to quell any peasant rebellions judging by the scope of the battle before him. He would change the tempo, and single-handedly slay every last Resistance officer within his sights if need be. He called out no challenge to them, no taunt and no claim of what he was there to do – the Sky Piercer poised off to his right side spoke volumes for him. He came in so hard and fast that Yukimura stood no chance at keeping his seat, one swing and he was on the ground. He rolled out of it, though, and came up in an attack stance. Lu Bu yanked his horse to a stop and whirled to see that he had a challenger. “So you want more, do you?” he snarled. “Insolent fool!”

“I will not allow anyone to destroy innocent lives,” Yukimura blazed, “even if it means facing the likes of you!”

Lu Bu charged him again, but Yukimura was ready, dodging the halberd and then swinging in hard to tangle the blades of their weapons. It forced the great warrior to stop short and have to decide whether to disengage entirely or dismount. Before he could do either, he had two more men piling onto him, blades flashing in the sun as they flew at him on foot and leaped to attack. Neither Guan Xing nor Zhang Bao had the bulk of their famous fathers, but they were quick and agile, and both fought with blades held along their arms to make the most of their style of fighting. They still weren’t strong enough to pull Lu Bu from his saddle, but they provided enough of a distraction so that Yukimura could give a mighty twist of his arms and the spear held in both hands to disarm their foe. Almost. He didn’t have enough power to completely wrest the Sky Piercer away, but the movement alerted Lu Bu to the attack and had him down out of the saddle in a flash to meet this pesky opponent head-on. The other three could hardly close in once battle was joined and the two great polearms smashed and clashed. As quick and skilled as Yukimura was, he could feel it in his arms each time they hit – he would not be able to single-handedly master this monster. Still, he held him off for a lot longer than he thought before he stumbled and Nobuyuki dashed in to protect him. His sword clanged off the halberd, deflected too easily, and then the wingblades and arm blade of the younger warriors followed, pressing the attack to keep Lu Bu from focusing on any one single target. He threw them all off and then whirled to face the pair who had closed last, glowering at them for interfering. “Who dares stand in my way? I’ll rip all of you to shreds!”

The young warriors caught themselves before being knocked completely over, crouching behind their blades. “Zhang Bao, son of Zhang Fei!”

“Guan Xing, son of Guan Yu!”

Lu Bu sneered at them both for their bold declarations. Trotting out those names before him, such audacity! “Your fathers must be devastated that they sired such useless and weak sons,” he mocked. “I will kill you both right here so they no longer have to be shamed by your existence!”

The taunting worked too well, both Xing and Bao launched themselves at him again with mingled roars of rage. Yukimura lunged to stop them a second too late, and winced as both got flung back a second time by a powerful swing of the halberd. In that moment, he could hear Zhao Yun’s voice in the back of his mind, a memory from Hulao Gate: _I won’t have anyone lost to Lu Bu, not now. Not ever!_ But Zhao Yun wasn’t here to protect them, so it fell to Yukimura, so long as he didn’t also lose himself in the venture. He threw himself into Lu Bu’s path before he could descend to kill the two he had just knocked over, swinging the Crimson Fang to block him. The shafts of their polearms screeched against one another, and Yukimura held ground this time, eyes dark and savage as he fixed them on his foe from behind his weapon. This time when Nobuyuki joined him, he was in time to slash right at Lu Bu’s face, making him yank back in order to avoid being cut. The Sanada brothers together were a better match for him, though they knew they wouldn’t be able to keep up the assault for long. All the taunt drained from their massive enemy’s face as he beat on them and failed to deal so much as a glancing blow to either of them, they held him off in tandem and kept him stymied right there on the field while the rest of their men fanned out to divert the remaining Orochi soldiers from either interfering or pursuing stragglers. The rearguard of the Orochi forces finally came up on them, Diamondback and Coachwhip, and Xing and Bao turned to take them instead seeing as they weren’t much help against Lu Bu. The battle between the three stretched on until Lu Bu was boiling with rage, and both Sanadas were bleeding from superficial wounds, and still no one had the upper hand. Nobuyuki, however, was starting to wilt from fatigue, and the next time he moved to block, it gave way and the Sky Piercer ripped through his cowl and scored up his shoulder. Yukimura was already moving to counter, swinging his spear wide to deflect the halberd and push it back up out of the way, but he heard his brother’s cry as he stumbled back. It was up to him alone, now, and all of Lu Bu’s fury was turned onto him. He shifted and planted his feet, taking the Crimson Fang into his hands so that the cross blade was aimed straight at Lu Bu, but his darting eyes could not find a weak point in the armor fast enough. He had to twist to block another swing, his boots sliding across the turf, teeth gritted at the sheer force. And then, to his surprise and his enemy’s frustration, yet another invader leaped into the fray. The blade of the pike which clanged off the halberd’s shaft was bigger than Yukimura’s head, and he recognized its configuration with a start of joy. “What…!”

“Forgive my tardiness,” Honda Tadakatsu grunted, even as Lu Bu recoiled and bellowed in rage at the mere sight of his face. “Do you mind if I take over here, Yukimura?”

“Lord Tadakatsu…” Where he came from, all of a sudden, Yukimura neither knew nor cared. He was too tired to continue, and yanked back out of range. “He’s all yours! I must see to my brother…”

Nobuyuki was a few steps away by now, crouched on the ground with his free hand clutched over his shoulder. He looked up at the shout and gasped at the sight of his immense father-in-law standing between him and Lu Bu. It was nothing short of a miracle, but for Lu Bu, it was a nightmare. How did this bastard find him yet again? “Must you stick your nose in where you’re not wanted?” he snarled as Honda whirled his pike around from defense to attack.

“As long as Orochi’s beast is on the prowl, the hunter must stay on his trail,” Tadakatsu replied.

Lu Bu sneered at his metaphor. “Then it’s time for the beast to go on the hunt!”

This was no longer about obeying Dong Zhuo’s orders – or Da Ji’s, or Orochi’s – or suppressing rebellions. It was all Lu Bu against Honda, and the sun began to sink behind the hills while they clashed. The rest of the Orochi army retreated to a point well behind this duel, as if hoping that the mere aura of Lu Bu was enough to protect them from retaliation by the Resistance. Yukimura shouldered his brother and helped him back beyond the front line before taking the tatters of his cowl and using them to wrap the laceration in his shoulder for now. “I don’t believe it,” Nobuyuki murmured between panting breaths, steeling himself against the pain of the first aid. “Where did he come from?”

“We can ask later,” Yukimura assured. “The rest of the assault looks like it’s been routed. Let’s pull back and regroup with the others.”

The main conflict had indeed resolved, and the Resistance forces stood as a firm line blocking their enemies from advancing further into Xiliang. Guan Xing helped the two Sanadas get to safety, to a place where they could all stop and watch the duel between the two mighty warriors. It didn’t seem possible that either of them could actually defeat the other, no matter how powerful their hits and how often they got past one another and dealt blows to unyielding armor. Since his side was the aggressor, Lu Bu needed to either go down or be driven into retreat, the Resistance could not simply call off the fight and let it be, and the Orochi forces seemed to know that their champion was their last hope of salvaging this mission. If he were able to defeat Honda, he could get past him and tear into the exhausted Resistance army just beyond. Both seemed oblivious to the audience watching from both sides, they simply smashed into each other over and over again, circling around each other every time their polearms tangled and backing off no more than a step in order to reposition and attack again. It might have gone on all evening and all night if the Resistance side hadn’t suddenly received even more reinforcements, as Ma Teng and Sanada Masayuki joined their men on the front line. The thunder of hooves was only a distraction for the briefest moment, and as his eyes shifted to take stock of them, Lu Bu scowled to himself. He shoved Honda back one more time and then backed away, whistling for his horse. “Fools,” he spat at his opponent and all those behind him. “You’ve signed your death warrants. This rebellion will be crushed like all the others!” He grabbed the saddle as his horse charged by and swung up in one fluid movement, yanking on the reins to bring himself back around to wave his halberd in threat before spurring it on and galloping off through the waiting lines of Dong Zhuo’s men. None of them wanted to chance another surge forward against their enemies if Lu Bu was calling it a day, so they took the opportunity to officially call a retreat.

The protectors of Xiliang held ground until the last snake soldier had cleared the field, and then they massed to return to the fortress and see to all the new refugees that had escaped the battle. Several were injured during their flight, and most were too tired to walk another step, so more than one soldier could be seen carrying a child or older person on their back as they hiked back through the verdant fields. To their relief Honda joined them, riding up alongside Yukimura as he in turn towed Nobuyuki’s horse so he wouldn’t have to handle the reins with his injured shoulder. Both of them looked to their savior with delighted smiles. “Lord Tadakatsu, am I happy to see you!” Yukimura said.

“At last, young Yukimura,” Honda said with a brash grin of his own. “I have heard you were abroad protecting innocents and supporting the Resistance. I’m glad to find you well – and you, Nobuyuki,” he added with a nod to his future son-in-law.

“Not as well as I was before you arrived,” Nobuyuki said wryly. He was in considerable pain, but in good spirits all things considered. “What are you doing here? I had no idea you were even in the area.”

“And what of your sons?” Yukimura added. “The Nanman told us you were all in Nanzhong, helping them out, though that was some time ago.”

“Ah, the brave barbarians. Good people, I like them,” Tadakatsu said proudly. “Yes, my sons are not far – in fact, I left them with Lord Zhao Yun at your camp. He was the one who told me you were here, defending Xiliang. I had information that my prey would be at Xiliang as well, so I asked my sons and cousin to remain with the army in case the brunt of the attack fell on them instead, and came to your aid myself.”

Yukimura brightened even more. “Thank you, my lord! I’m sure Lord Zilong appreciates the help as much as we do.”

Honda nodded, and then faced forward as they came around a ridge and into view of the fortress on the hill. “We can catch up later, when everyone is safe inside and the young master has his wound tended.” He glanced at the brothers one more brief time, though, his eyes keen. “I saw you fight. To take on the likes of Lu Bu without flinching, you were both the pride of the Sanada today with your brave hearts.”

“It simply needed to be done,” Yukimura said modestly, likewise turning his gaze on the fortress of Xiliang ahead. He would certainly have a story to tell Zhao Yun later.

The peasants were rounded up and brought inside with all the others, and the Resistance forces were allowed to stand down and rest while the handful of soldiers and the volunteer guards worked to find quarters and food for everyone, looked after injuries great and small, and got their fellow citizens settled. The officers retired to the inner building, not so much a keep as a garrison within the fortress, where they could decompress in private and officially meet and greet the reinforcements. Ma Teng made sure everyone was comfortable and called in one of his personal medics from his own army to take care of Nobuyuki’s shoulder, and any small cuts and bruises suffered by the other officers. As twilight came on over the fortress, the officers gathered at a simple table laid out with an unsophisticated meal and caught up on the exploits of the battlefield. It seemed that Ma Teng and Masayuki had their hands full at the rear after all, as the force which Pang De had stymied at the fallen bridge finally got enough of a temporary crossing built so they could proceed; their peasant prey had eluded them, but they could still use the path to come out on the flank of the defending army. Fortunately, the elder commanders had been well-warned by Pang De and were more than ready, and routed this additional force before turning to see if they could do anything about Lu Bu. Everyone could claim feats of bravery and honor on the field that day, including the Shu officers and Honda himself. The big warrior seemed rather pleased to be able to sit beside the real Lord Sanada like family, and brushed off any mention of his timely arrival and the way he beat down such a formidable enemy. “But how did you know?” Masayuki pressed. “To simply appear exactly where he is, and in time to stop him…”

“It is no great mystery, my lord,” Tadakatsu assured. “I have been tracking him, I make it my business to know where he is and where he goes. As of late, he’s been on a rampage across this land, and I have yet to find another warrior capable of besting him.” He nodded to the young man at an adjacent corner of the table. “Though Yukimura did come close.”

Yukimura shook his head slowly. “I could not have done it alone. I was fortunate to have my brother and these two young men from Shu to help me, otherwise he would have easily beaten me.”

“Perhaps you and Lord Zhao Yun, if you worked together, would have a better chance,” Zhang Bao offered.

“Maybe. But he isn’t here.” Yukimura smiled faintly in Bao’s direction. “I couldn’t bring him bad news, so I wasn’t about to let Lu Bu harm either of you, or anyone else.”

“Then, if you’re tracking him, does that mean you have news from other parts of this land?” Nobuyuki asked of Honda. “Where he’s been, what he’s doing, what his orders might be?”

Honda made a bit of a face. “I can never get close enough to know such information, I can only trail him like a hunter after prey. I do know that the last time we clashed, he had been sent to destroy Lord Oda, but ended up in the wrong place to do so. Lord Oda was not at the fortress where I met him. I picked up his scent again as he left He Fei Castle, and on the way here we heard of this Han officer being sent to wipe out peasants in this part of the land.”

“Dong Zhuo,” Pang De grunted. “He is a tyrant, and Orochi’s willing servant. Yet, he himself was not here – he sent his men instead.”

“As Lord Zhao Yun explained to me,” Honda nodded. “That was when I chose to give him my sons to provide backup, while I came here.”

“We are all grateful, Lord Honda,” Ma Teng said sagely. “Thanks to you, the Orochi army was driven to retreat.”

“It was not I, but the rest of you, who were the true heroes of the day,” Tadakatsu said, raising his cup to them. “You all worked to save those people. Thanks to you, none of them were killed by the Orochi army. I find that far more important than anything I did against Lu Bu.” They all agreed to drink to that, sipping at the thin millet wine that had been broken out of storage just for this victory celebration. As cups were drained, Tadakatsu turned to Masayuki on one side and Nobuyuki on the other. “What, then, is your plan going forward?”

Lord Sanada lowered his head. “My sons have brought me the news of Lord Takeda’s fate, and they serve the commander of Shu. I don’t plan to take them from that duty, they are doing what needs to be done.”

“For us, we will send messengers to Lord Zhao Yun,” Pang De answered, “and assure him it’s safe to bring the rest of our army here. Perhaps it would be wise to camp here for a few days to make sure that Lu Bu’s threat does not come to fruition.”

Honda scowled. “To that end, I and my sons will stay in Xiliang as long as it takes to ensure that he doesn’t come back. If the Shu army must continue on with their mission, we will be here.”

“You are more than welcome,” Ma Teng agreed.

They sat at table a long time, swapping stories and speculating on the current movements of the Orochi army, until some began to excuse themselves to go get some sleep. Even though he knew they might have a few days to catch up and visit, Yukimura yearned to know things that only Honda could tell him. He and Nobuyuki both were tired but neither wanted to leave the table until they had pried at Honda’s more personal knowledge. They had learned from Oda that it was confirmed that Tokugawa had defected from Orochi after all, but that was all they knew. Yukimura didn’t want to tell Tadakatsu of facing Ina at Jieting, if only because he didn’t know what had become of her since then. As yet Honda had not asked after his daughter, so the topic remained untouched. Yet, as the others trickled away, Yukimura found his chance and took it. “How long will you keep pursuing Lu Bu?” he wondered. “Until you can capture or kill him?”

Tadakatsu sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “As long as it takes,” he replied, “but I can’t say what that means. I do not know.”

“Even now that Lord Tokugawa has joined the Resistance?” Nobuyuki asked, catching on to his brother’s line of thinking.

If he was surprised by this news, Honda did not show it. “You yourselves know that in this world, in the situation we find ourselves in,” he said heavily, “we must leave old ties of loyalty and spend our strength when and where we are needed. Clinging to our old alliances can hamper the cause of the Resistance.”

Yukimura nodded, since he would not be Zhao Yun’s right hand if he had not done the same. “There are men of Shu who have chosen to remain with Oda for the same reasons. We spoke to them when we last crossed paths, and it seems that sentiment is widespread.”

“Make no mistake,” Honda cautioned, “I still owe Lord Tokugawa my undying devotion. And I’m sure someday, I will return to his side.” He looked away briefly; among the Han-era officers at Kanegasaki, he hadn’t thought any of them would understand, but his intimate ties to the Sanada clan allowed him the chance to explain himself a bit better. “My lord spent a lot of time serving Orochi, and even if it was against his will, he had to perform acts which I’m sure wounded him to the heart. If I claim to know him well, then I know this much: he would want time to atone for what he did while under Orochi’s command. I wish to give him as much time as he needs. He is with the Wu kingdom right now, yes? So I’ve heard. At the moment, he needs me at his side far less than the people of this land need my Tonbo-giri.”

“I think I understand,” Yukimura murmured.

Tadakatsu’s eyes shifted to Nobuyuki. “I’m sure you worry as much as I do, about her. I have no recent news, do you by any chance?”

The elder brother lifted his gaze to meet his. “No, nothing. There are vague rumors afoot that Sun Ce has reached a fortress and dug in, but I don’t know more than that, whether Lord Tokugawa is with him or what retainers he has.”

Honda grunted his affirmation. “If in your travels you happen to hear any news, could I trouble you to pass word to me? Even if it is sent to wherever you last saw me.”

“Of course, my lord,” Nobuyuki said quickly. “It’s the least I can do. If she were still a part of the Orochi army…”

Yukimura laid a hand on his brother’s arm to reassure him. “If she were, we would run into her sooner or later, and be able to take her out of that hell. Orochi’s army is dwindling with all these defections, she might have been one of them and we simply haven’t heard.”

“The smaller Orochi’s army becomes,” Honda reasoned, “the more likely it is any one of us will meet whoever is left. Lu Bu being abroad is evidence of that – he has been more active of late, perhaps because Orochi has no one else to rely on.”

“Then I will hold out hope, if you will, Lord Tadakatsu,” Nobuyuki said firmly.

Messengers were quick to be dispatched in the morning, and by the following evening Zhao Yun had brought his half of the army into Xiliang to bolster their defenses and regroup with his men. By that time, the others had more than caught up on both business and pleasure, and Nobuyuki’s shoulder was no longer so painful that he felt the need to stay reclined and resting. Their commander was interested to hear everything about the battle, but even more than that, he was intrigued by Honda Tadakatsu and even though he hadn’t gotten to see the man fight, was glad to have the chance to spend time with this samurai of reknown. This was twice, now, that his interference was to the benefit of Shu and its allies, and he found it of the utmost importance that he thank Honda in person. Since they had not been attacked by any rearguard of the Orochi army nor interlopers loyal to Dong Zhuo, Yun turned Honda’s sons back over to him with his gratitude for their presence, and enjoyed an evening at table with everyone to get to know them as friends and comrades. The following day, he took time for an audience with the lords of Xiliang to consult on what to do next, including nearly every notable officer from every contingent in the meeting so they could make decisions together. “I know we’ve only just found one another again, but this is what my heart tells me to do,” Sanada Masayuki explained to his sons, after telling them he had already decided to stay in Xiliang. “Lord Ma Teng can use my assistance, as can the people of these outlands. You know where to find me, now, so it isn’t a farewell forever.”

“I suppose not,” Nobuyuki said, diplomatically covering any disappointment with his usual calm, even tone. “If that is your wish, Father, we can hardly argue.”

“From what I hear from Lord Zhao Yun, both of you have done me proud in my absence,” Masayuki assured. “When you thought you were the only ones left, you led our men capably and made the right choices. I trust the Sanada in your hands, Nobuyuki, and Yukimura – I approve of your service to this great general. Please, continue on for me. I will do my part and protect the commoners here.”

Both sons bowed deeply to respect their father; anything regarding who could call themselves Lord Sanada and control the remaining men of their infantry and cavalry could wait until after the conference concluded. Zhao Yun nodded firmly. “I thank you for your trust, my lord. Then, my other thought was, since we have already come to the aid of Xiliang without even knowing of the ties between us, would it be prudent to take one step further, and consider this territory an ally of Shu?”

“In a broad sense, I have no problem with that,” Ma Teng replied, “but I have some questions of my own, first. We have been left alone by the Orochi army for quite some time, but this incursion by Dong Zhuo worries me. Do you think he will give up after being repelled, or can we look forward to additional attempts at conquering or subjugating these people?”

“At this point, we can no longer assume that any given officer in Orochi’s service will either give up or continue a campaign,” Nobuyuki said seriously. “They are under orders to secure anything that even hints at the Resistance, we know that much. It doesn’t matter why they’ve decided that Xiliang is the headquarters of a rebellion, they’ve painted you as resistance on their own, which means they aren’t likely to simply let things be.”

“In addition,” Zhao Yun put in, “you should know that we’ve reached a point where loyalty to clans, kingdoms, or lords is no longer important in any sense. While I am but one leader among many, I ask not out of need to claim a territory under my own name, nor do I wish to assert Shu as superior or in control. Lands with their own armies and protectors are free to stay as they are, but all of us who call ourselves Resistance must at the very least join hands and look after one another. I have met with Lord Oda, and he is already employing this same strategy. It means that even if you don’t wish to be called a member of the Shu army, we will still share men, arms, and supplies with you, and pass word to the other resistance leaders so that should you find yourself beset again, anyone could come to assist.”

Ma Teng nodded slowly, ponderously. “That is what I needed to know. In that case, I would be honored to be made allies of the kingdom of Shu. I would be glad to be under your protection, and also offer our aid to you as needed.” He smiled, then, a gruff but proud look behind his bristling beard. “You have become a fine officer, Zhao Yun. I would expect nothing less if you have been serving Lord Liu Bei for so long.”

Yun ducked his head modestly for a moment. “Yes, well. Don’t worry, Lord Ma Teng. There are other lands in the same situation, and after this part of our journey I’m willing to believe there are even more out there yet undiscovered, trying to keep to themselves the same way.”

“That’s true,” Yukimura realized. “We’re not far from Chencang, which isn’t under any one Resistance leader’s control, but Lord Azai holds it on behalf of anyone willing to resist Orochi. The same can be said for Nanzhong, really.”

“Yes,” Pang De agreed, “the Nanman consider themselves allies of Shu, but not vassals.”

“So shall it be with Xiliang, then,” Teng vowed. “We will watch over these lands and allow anyone from the Resistance safe passage, regardless of which lord can claim their loyalty.”

“To that end,” Nobuyuki offered, “would it be imposing to ask you to house the Hojo clan for the time being? I have errands I need to continue, searching out the remnants of the Takeda-Uesugi Alliance, but they are likely to be of more use to you than to me.”

Hojo Ujimasu straightened up, hearing his clan mentioned. “We would be glad to offer our services to bolster your army, if needed.”

“Granted,” Teng agreed.

Nobuyuki looked from him to Tadakatsu. “That should free you and your sons to continue harrying Lu Bu, Lord Honda,” he noted.

“Ah, clever,” Tadakatsu grunted. “I would have gladly stayed for a time but if reinforcements are already on hand, then we will do so. I have no intention of letting that beast have his way with anyone in this land.”

“Then it all works out for the best,” Zhao Yun said. “I feel confident leaving to continue our journey, knowing that Xiliang and all of our allies are in the best hands.”

Once business was concluded, it was up to Zhao Yun whether to actually move on or to hang about a few more days. Most of his men had spent too long cooling their heels guarding their main camp, so many were itching to press on. As concerned as he was about the injuries suffered by the Sanada brothers, they assured him they were capable of riding, so they wasted no more time lounging about Xiliang. Since he and his clan were moving on as well, Honda Tadakatsu agreed to ride with them for a while, so as to pick up Lu Bu’s trail and start out after him before he could make trouble anywhere else. They lingered long enough for Yukimura and Nobuyuki to say their fond farewells to their father without anyone else from the army peering curiously over their shoulders, and then they were off, intending to get as far as they could before sunset. As they rode, Zhao Yun kept glancing at the brothers to reassure himself that they weren’t hiding just how severely they might have been injured. Nobuyuki seemed to be holding his arm stiffly to his side, grasping the reins with that hand to leave his healthy arm free to fight, but Yukimura truly did look none the worse for wear. He caught the look being directed his way and smiled. “You can stop fretting, Zilong, I’m fine,” he insisted.

“I can’t help it,” Yun said sheepishly. “You went up against Lu Bu himself! The fact that you came out of it with only a few small cuts is nothing short of a miracle.”

Yukimura glanced back at his brother just behind and to the side of him, who met his concern with a small smile of his own, and then turned back to Zhao Yun. “I understand, now, why you and Sun Ce spoke of him the way you did. Even with Nobuyuki beside me, I could not have taken him. Lord Honda came just in time.”

“I’m glad he did.” Yun’s gaze strayed to the big man riding point for them. “It’s strange, how much of our success is due to luck and chance. And the kindness and bravery of our allies, sure, but timely arrivals seem to be a large part of it.”

“It’s almost as if the gods really are watching out for us,” Yukimura mused, “even if we can’t see them.”

“I wonder.” Nobuyuki had overheard some of their conversation and offered a thought of his own. “Perhaps in this world, they are every bit as real as the demons. If they can reach us, that is.”

Zhao Yun lifted his eyes to the sky, turning brassy with the waning of the day. “Whether they can or not, we must keep going, regardless. Maybe they’ll catch up to us just when we need them.”

“And if not, we have each other,” Yukimura said proudly. The other two beamed at him in full agreement. As long as they had each other, even Orochi would not be able to stop them.


	50. Chapter 50

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many little events take place all across the land to solidify the Resistance armies and further weaken Orochi's grip.

In the days following the dissemination of news from Wei’s rebellion, the four primary armies comprising the resistance coalition knew they needed to make the most of a lack of leadership among the Orochi army and hurry to secure as much as they could, whether unaffiliated officers, unsecured territories, or poorly-held fortresses. At least, as long as they had the resources to launch an attack, which meant taking stock of what they did have independent of one another. The Oda Resistance held the most ground, as they had control of Guandu, Honnoji, Fan Castle, and Xiapi in addition to outposts like Kanegasaki to facilitate travel between their holdings. Nobunaga had the manpower and the opportunity to go after more if he wanted, but he chose to bide his time and focus his energy on support, ensuring that all of his strongholds were well-stocked with supplies, wintering preparations were enacted at Guandu, and all of his newest recruits had plenty to do. Cao Pi may have only just declared his independence, but Wei already had almost as much manpower, both officers and soldiers, and even though they only held Xuchang and Odawara, he dispatched a force to reclaim Jianye even while he moved his precious prisoner to his main headquarters. There was much more to be done, but he wasn’t as concerned about territory as personnel. Likewise, the Shu Resistance had secure control of their own land of Chengdu as well as Odani and Jieting, but with Zhao Yun far afield searching for information and alliances, the leadership back at headquarters began to wonder if it would be prudent to reach for any more without his input. At least Nanzhong was safe, and free, so long as Meng Huo lived. In contrast, the fledgling Wu army only had Hefei, but they had a considerable force, and some of the nearby lands were beginning to look vulnerable. While Sun Ce rode out on his own personal errand, Shima Sakon pointed the others toward the hidden peasant village at Changban, suggesting that they could use Wu protection and guidance. All four armies knew that they had a limited time in which to decide what to do and make their moves, before their advantage disappeared. More than one commander privately worried that Orochi would be making an appearance sooner rather than later, whether to rescue his strategist or simply to succeed where she failed, but they also knew not to underestimate the remainder of the Orochi main army. They still had Date’s solid leadership and Zhuge Liang’s intelligence driving Lu Bu and Maeda’s brawn, regardless of whether they plied it toward setting Da Ji free from her captors or simply pressed on with Orochi’s orders to subdue his enemies. Of course, they didn’t have much more than that, what with Dong Zhuo on the prowl for women and snake demons who didn’t like to take orders from humans, so they couldn’t overreach and attempt too many counter-assaults all at the same time. At best, they could plan one excursion, until they could haul everyone back from Xiliang and pull Sima Yi from his other missions, but they had to take care not to choose the wrong target. It wouldn’t do to plan an attack on a contingent much stronger and find themselves losing even more to defeat.

Date Masamune was, in fact, working on a rescue plan, but the more reconnaissance he received on the state of defenses at Odawara and the movements of the Wei army, the more difficult it looked. Even assailing them while in transit seemed impossible, as Cao Pi had prepared a considerable bodyguard to escort his prisoner and was already riding for Xuchang by the time the Orochi army even found out about it. They would have needed the combined power of Lu Bu and Keiji to catch up and attack, and right now Lu Bu was well out of communication range. Queries sent to Zhuge Liang bore little fruit, as his advice was not to attack Wei at all but to bide their time and look for a better opportunity. Seeing as he was the only one left truly in charge of this entire army, barring their demon overlord himself, it was up to Masamune to pull the shattered remains of it together and mass it to actually accomplish something – anything. He rounded on Urutu for daring to question him, grabbing the snake captain by the baldric across his chest and hauling him up. “Don’t even _think_ of running away, you coward!” he spat in the demon’s face. “Da Ji isn’t here, and that’s partly _your_ fault, so if you didn’t want to take orders from me, maybe you should’ve fought harder to protect her!” He shook Urutu a few times and then flung him away. “I said we’re not marching on Xuchang, and that’s that! We don’t have the manpower, we don’t have a strategy, and the only tactician even responding to me says it’s a bad idea, so stop whining about it!”

Urutu propped himself up on an elbow, cowering in Date’s presence. “But then how are we supposed to get her back?”

“We’ll get her back,” Masamune blazed, “when we have the strength for it and not a minute sooner! Leave that to me and Zhuge Liang, you just do what we say and don’t complain about it! If you refuse to listen, I’ll turn you over to Lord Orochi for insubordination in a heartbeat.”

Fear of Orochi was still a valuable motivational tool, because it worked like a charm. Urutu groveled on the floor for a bit and then picked himself up and fled from the war room. Keiji had watched the whole thing with grim glee from the corner where he stood as Date’s bodyguard. Since losing their field commander, he had come to enjoy the additional perks of being Date’s right hand, privy to all the reconnaissance and allowed to assist in devising plans rather than simply following orders when and if they were handed down. As soon as the snake-demon captain had left, he stepped forward. “Still no idea what to do, huh?”

Masamune turned his head just enough to address him. “Haven’t you been paying attention, Keiji?” he snapped. “There’s nothing we _can_ do, right now. Messengers are out to all our forces, trying to convince them to come back so we can regroup. But Dong Zhuo has only one thing on his mind, and nothing short of Orochi himself will get Lu Bu to listen. I made a point to tell Sima Yi how useless and cautious Zhuge Liang is playing it, so maybe we’ll get him, but that’s all I can count on.”

Keiji scowled and looked away. He had gathered as much just by observing, but it was frustrating all the same. “Damn snakes. All right, I’ll go make sure none of ‘em lose their heads or go running off. We need all hands on deck, here.”

Date nodded sharply. “Exactly. That’ll do for now.”

It didn’t matter if there were standing orders for the Orochi army to pursue traitors or attack Resistance forces wherever there might be, Dong Zhuo was clearly using that excuse for his own purposes, and Date and Maeda weren’t the only ones in the Orochi main army who knew it. The man was nothing more than a hired thug as it was, but he still obeyed orders from the top out of fear for his own life. As soon as he heard that Lady Daqiao had not returned to any Orochi strongholds, he made it his personal goal to recapture her, but anyone who had spent more than five minutes around him – ally and foe alike – knew full well what he really wanted. For him to dispatch his retainers to take Xiliang without him, and to avoid meeting up with Lu Bu in any capacity, meant that his loyalty to Orochi had taken a back seat to his personal interests, and he shamelessly left the main army without his assistance so he could pursue his desires. Unfortunately, most of the Han-era warriors knew full well what he was up to, exposing his plans and his travels as if they were transparent as glass. It wasn’t hard to get ahead of him, and to his anger and dismay, both his own allies and his enemies did so. He knew almost nothing about the river valley of Anegawa, so by the time he even glimpsed the russet uniforms of Wu soldiers, it was already too late for him: they belonged to rescuers, not prey. Sun Ce’s unit had spied his movements and reached the destination ahead of him, and the main camp on the far side of the river bristled with defenders. Dong Zhuo lacked the additional strength of all the men he had sent away to be routed at Xiliang, so he could do nothing besides launch a testing jab at the Wu camp before withdrawing to where Sima Yi’s pursuit force had made their own camp.

It had been close, from Sima Yi’s point of view. He had in fact gotten Guo Huai and Deng Ai across the wide river and within an arrow’s shot of Daqiao’s small vanguard, but the Wu forces led by Sun Ce himself caught up just in time and interfered, whisking her away to safety. His strategic instincts demanded he turn the tables on them, outflank their camp and destroy this most-wanted foe of Orochi’s right here and now, but the more he calculated the risks, the less simple such a move appeared. They had the advantage of the river’s current, his men were positioned at a spot close to the Wu camp across a very easy ford, but Sun Ce had not come alone and Dong Zhuo’s forces were running amok on both sides of the wide, branched river. Incensed at his incompetence, Sima Yi stormed to the garrison gate with every intention of going and hauling the tyrant in himself, only to find him trudging up the riverbank just outside, grumbling about his prize getting away. “Fool,” the strategist snarled. “Get in here if you want to have any chance at wiping out that Wu army before they escape!”

Dong Zhuo shot him a scowl. “In there? But they’re out there! It’s too late anyway, they already got…”

“I don’t care about that infernal girl!” Yi blazed at him. “Put aside your obsession for half a second and listen to me! That is _Sun Ce_ out there, and you know full well what Da Ji wants with him!”

Neither of them had heard the news, as of yet, so the name of Da Ji still carried weight. Dong Zhuo eyed him and and then gave in, shoving past him to enter the safety of the garrison. “Fine, but if we crush their army, I want her as my prize.”

“You can take any prize you want, just make sure you actually crush that army before you even try to lay hold of it,” Yi demanded. “I have a plan, bring your idiot men in here so you can get in on it.”

Far on the other end of the river delta, Lu Meng and Sun Ce jogged into their camp to meet up with Ranmaru and the others who had come along to assist, out of breath and a bit scuffed up but beaming triumphantly. At the Wu prince’s side ran his delicate wife, and Sun Shao tagged along on Lu Meng’s heels, tangible proof to the others that their errand had succeeded. “Strike camp!” Ce ordered immediately, before anyone could even ask how the fight went. “We’re getting out of here while the getting’s good!”

“My lord?” Ranmaru queried.

Lu Meng waved his pike in a sweeping gesture to back up the order. “We’ve succeeded, there’s no reason to linger here. Let’s get moving before Dong Zhuo can regroup!”

The men who had remained behind in the camp while a small troop went out with Ce on the errand sprang to obey, rushing this way and that to take down any tents they had started to put up and lash supplies onto horses. It gave Ce a moment to actually stop and look at Daqiao, and say more than just “Let’s go!” He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it, tucking herself against his side and squeezing him tightly. “You made it,” she whispered into his chest. “I almost can’t believe it…”

“Daqiao…I’m so sorry,” he murmured, hugging her back. “I never meant for you to be caught in the middle like that. You’re safe, now, I’m taking you back with me.”

“And I am never letting you out of my sight after this,” she vowed, picking up her head to smile at him.

“Come on.” Ce swept her around with just one arm and guided her with him. “I’ve got a bunch of stories for you, but it can wait. First, we’ve gotta put some distance between us and that Orochi army.”

“Wait, Ce – you should know,” she warned, “it isn’t just Dong Zhuo. Sima Yi is here as well.”

“Oh, is he, now?” Sun Ce drew to a halt and waved to call Lu Meng over – he needed to hear this. “Well, now. Much as I want to punch him again, we really don’t have time to get caught up in a large-scale battle. But maybe…”

When Meng joined them, Daqiao related everything she had seen on the battlefield while trying to hold her ground. She and Shao had been cornered by the enemy in a small garrison with no way out, but the Wu scouts had caught up to them before Deng Ai could charge in, bringing with them the wonderful news that Sun Ce was right behind them and about to turn the tide. While waiting, she had the time to collect information on their pursuers, which now proved valuable to the venerable strategist and his lord. “I still think it wiser for us to decamp and move out,” Meng cautioned, “but if you want to put yourself in the rearguard to keep either of those two from launching an attack on our retreat, I’m not the man to stop you.”

“Sounds good to me.” Ce faced Lu Meng directly. “I’m putting her in your protection. Don’t let anything happen to her.”

“Wouldn’t dare.”

As much as Daqiao literally did not want to leave his side, he needed to ensure that everyone escaped and had some unfinished business with Sima Yi to attend to, so Sun Ce mounted up and prepared to hold the rear with Ranmaru’s assistance. The rest of their army took off first, with their precious cargo protected deep within the main column, so that by the time Sima Yi’s plan took effect and he and Dong Zhuo neared the Wu camp, it was already gone and only a small rearguard waited to intercept them. If it came to battle, it looked unfortunate for Ce’s men, but he wasn’t going to let any of them get close enough to raise a weapon. The lead officers hung back while their men pushed forward, perplexed and annoyed to find that things were not at all as they expected. Sima Yi had planned for a full assault against a camp full of a standing army, where had they all gone? On top of that, Dong Zhuo’s desired prize was also clearly long gone. Ran’s long sword made quick work of the first few men to reach them, warning the rest to hold back, which they did, shooting looks back to their commanders for revised orders. Sun Ce did not give them a chance. He stood up in the stirrups to raise himself a bit higher and called out, “Sima Yi! It’s been a while, how’re you healing up?”

Yi’s eyes narrowed. What was that idiot up to? He decided not to dignify his taunt with a response, gesturing to Dong Zhuo instead. “He’s left himself exposed with little defense. Surely even you can take him down, now.”

Dong Zhuo’s interest in waging battle had evaporated with the disappearance of his real target. “What’s the matter, little man? Is he right, are you too injured to fight yourself?”

Sima Yi turned his glare on the heavyset tyrant instead, but then Sun Ce called out again. “Come on, aren’t you going to bring me to Da Ji? Although that’d be kind of hard, seeing as she’s Cao Pi’s prisoner right now. What, didn’t you know?” he continued, seeing some of the Orochi officers look at one another in confusion. “Oh, man! You’re out here doing her job and she’s not even in command of your army anymore! That’s too funny.”

Dong Zhuo shot a glare right back at Sima Yi. “Is this true? Are we wasting our time for this?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Yi retorted. “I’ve been riding for days, I’ve had no reports!”

“Well, I’m not being paid to hang around if she’s not even in charge anymore,” Zhuo grunted, turning his horse. “My men and I are out of here, there’s other treasures I can go after instead.”

Yi rounded on him, ready to read him the riot act for deserting, when Sun Ce had one more shot in his quiver. “Hey, how are your sons doing, these days? I don’t see them in your army.”

A supremely low blow like that ripped down any shred of composure Yi still had left. He turned back to his enemies with an ugly snarl. “How _dare_ you?! You insolent child!”

Ce laughed, seeing that he had struck a nerve. He raised a tonfa to give a wordless signal to his men, who immediately broke ranks and retreated. He himself spun his horse. “If you want me, you’ll have to come and get me!”

He slapped his heels to his mount’s flanks and raced off with Ranmaru right beside him, driving their men through a gap in the trees. Deng Ai gathered himself to give chase, but Sima Yi thrust out his hand with the fan to block him. “No,” he growled. “It’s a trick. He used himself as bait. There’s probably an ambush on the other side of that ridge.”

Guo Huai managed to keep his expression neutral, though he saw through everything including his own lord’s bluster. True, Sun Ce’s taunt was engineered precisely to tempt Sima Yi into chasing him, it served no other purpose, but he had a feeling that there was no ambush, that it was a taunt within a taunt. But he said nothing to gainsay the orders, he was in no position to tell Sima Yi he was wrong about anything. Yet, it was good to hear that the young lord of Wu was still thinking about Sima Zhao. He turned to his comrades quickly, before any of them could break ranks and pursue anyway. “Do you think there’s any truth to his words, my lord? About Da Ji, I mean. If she’s been taken prisoner by Cao Pi of Wei…”

His question arrested Yi’s attention and sent him into deep, angry contemplation. If it was true, there would be a multitude of unpleasant consequences. “It could be a ruse,” he said gruffly, “but if there is any chance he knows something we don’t know…argh. We must reconnoiter. I will not be left in the dark while others are privilege to information and support! All forces,” he called out, raising his voice, “retreat to the garrison! Raise the scouts, I must send someone to Bai Di immediately!”

Sun Ce’s gambit had worked, they got away free without a single Orochi soldier coming after them. They rode to catch up with the rest of their men and blended back in with the army, pressing on across the landscape and out of the river valley to safer territory. They needed to make a new camp by nightfall, but they had to be as far from their enemy as possible before doing so. Once they caught up, Ce left the rearguard in Ran’s command and rode up alongside Daqiao to let her know he was fine, and bask in her smile for a bit. “You came for me,” she said after a bit, still sort of reeling over that fact. When all hope was lost, her husband himself materialized out of the trees to rescue her – it still seemed impossible. “I’m so glad.”

“I wish I could’ve taken you with me at Sekigahara, but it doesn’t matter now,” Ce murmured. “All that matters is that I’ve found you, and I’m not letting you go. We’ve settled at Hefei, it’s safe and strong and everyone there is ready to fight for Wu.”

“Does that include your sister? And Lady Ina…”

“Yeah…” Ce’s face fell briefly, reminded of sisters. “I’m so sorry, Daqiao, but we haven’t heard from Xiaoqiao since she went missing…”

Daqiao raised her head, her expression far less doom and gloom than his. “When I was at Guandu,” she remembered, “a man with a funny helm told me she was with the Oda army. Have you heard anything like that?”

“With Oda…” Ce blinked as something came to mind. “Yeah, now that you mention it, Sakon said something about that. He had her in his command for a little bit and then turned her over to Oda, but that was so long ago. If she’s still there, that means she’s safe, and with the Resistance. I haven’t come into contact with his army at all, yet.” Perhaps, he thought to himself, it was getting to be time that he did so. After all, they still had Lady No in their ranks, she might like to let her own husband know she was doing well, or even return to him.

“I haven’t, either,” Daqiao admitted, “but ever since that man spoke to me, I haven’t worried as much about my sister. I want to trust him, that he was right.” She looked up at him again, eyes soft. “What about your brother?”

His face tightened again, and Ce faced forward so as not to gaze into those wide, worried eyes. “It’s not good. He’s still alive, for now, and will be so long as Da Ji is a prisoner of the Resistance…”

She gasped at that. “She is? What – how?”

“Cao Pi turned on her and caught her,” Ce reported. “I got that news right before I left to find you. So, for now she can’t do anything to Father or Quan, but I don’t know how long that’ll last. I’m working on finding them, too.” He looked back to her with his determined face on. “I’m taking back everything Orochi tried to steal from me, bit by bit, don’t you worry.”

“Like me,” Daqiao gushed, her smile returning.

“Like you.” Ce reached out with his free hand and found her reaching back, so they could clasp hands briefly. It was a hard thing to keep up while riding, but a little touch would do for now.

Cao Pi might have been a popular topic of conversation among the other Resistance armies, mainly because of what he had pulled off, but he was hardly one to rest on his laurels. Before Sun Ce had even reached Anegawa, or Zhao Yun had left Xiliang, he was already making his next move. His prisoner had been spirited away to Xuchang and securely imprisoned, his forces had been carefully divided between Wei’s three primary holdings so that all of them would be strong enough to resist any Orochi incursions, and his newest officer had been bestowed with control of Odawara on his behalf. Even then, Pi wasn’t finished. He had word of another fortress being independently held the way the Xiahou clan had occupied Yiling, and wanted to see if he could bring it under Wei’s umbrella while he had the chance. He had no problem with the idea of remaining independent, but he was extremely curious why any leader or lord would choose it when there were several Resistance armies already well-established with capable commanders. Taking Da Ji away from her army would have lasting repercussions, but it didn’t mean that the war with Orochi was over. Far from it, in fact. He was still of the opinion that every last warrior capable of lifting a weapon needed to choose an army to ally with, lest any of them remain sequestered in some private corner of the world when Orochi began to move. That isolation was what cost them all so much in the first wave, Cao Pi was resolved not to sit back and let it happen again. So, as soon as he had all his other tasks completed or put in motion, he called Mitsunari, Zhang Liao, and the Xiahou cousins to him to prepare to ride again.

Meanwhile, the officers and soldiers selected to remove to Odawara served as a magnificent escort for the castle’s new commander, bringing her right to the main gate in triumph. Nene’s injuries and fatigue had been tended well on her way to Xuchang, and now, she sat astride the fresh horse gifted her by Cao Pi like the powerful warrior she was. When he asked her to shoulder this duty, she had no trouble agreeing; even if it hadn’t been Odawara, a familiar castle, she knew she owed him directly for rescuing her and willingly accepted this duty as a means of paying him back. She could stand to maintain loyalty to the Lord of Wei in exchange for getting to oversee a little piece of home and have her precious retainers returned to her service. Kato and Fukushima would be her primary officers, and both looked upon the walls of Odawara with relief and joy as they rode at her right and left. They had been able to see the damage to the keep from a distance, but now that they were passing through the gates and being welcomed by the skeleton force left to guard it, they could see just how badly the fire had razed the top floors. “This poor castle,” Nene sighed, looking up to where scaffolds already surrounded the walls so workers could begin restoring it. “It’s seen so much battle. Well, we’re here now, so it’s up to us to make sure it doesn’t see another one. Right, boys?”

“Right, Lady Nene!” Masanori said brashly. “We’re with you, now, and we won’t let you down ever again!”

Kiyomasa was much cooler about it, but he couldn’t quiet his own smile. Their reunion had been crazy, and even after getting back to Xuchang, he never expected that they’d be sent to Odawara together. They might have lost at Ji and had to go through a long, dark journey to get here, but it was worth it in the end. Being here, trusted to serve their lady and protect the castle they failed to protect once before, was something he felt they hardly deserved. He didn’t need to crow about making up for past failures like his comrade, but he agreed with the promise wholeheartedly. “It looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us,” he murmured, lifting his head to take in the entirety of the keep. “I see now, what Ishida meant.”

“Oh?” Nene glanced back at him. “What’s Mitsunari up to now?”

“Ah – nothing like that,” Kato assured. “But he told me we’d be sleeping in the guest quarters for a while, and said I’d understand when we got here.”

“Well, that’s no trouble at all,” Nene said brightly. “Lord Cao Pi did say that the place had taken some damage from the battle, but he didn’t go into details. No matter. Our men are already working on the repairs, and I’m sure both of you would have no trouble lending them a hand.”

The two retainers shared a glance behind her back. Leave it to Nene to put them to work hauling timbers and doing the heavy lifting before they even got there. “So long as there are no battles to ride to,” Kiyomasa reminded. “I have a feeling that we’re not going to have the luxury of sitting around, even at Odawara.”

They had reached the inner ward, and as their horses drew to a stop, they found the collected Toyotomi faithful waiting for them on the steps of the keep, all of whom struggled to merely bow and not jump and cheer to see Lady Nene again. They had taken good care of the castle in the few days between the Wei army’s departure and her arrival, so that Cao Pi could take all of his officers with him, and now they would get to serve their lady like they were back home and everything was normal. Among them stood Zhang He, who had been left in command temporarily, but he only waited and watched, one hand resting on a hip as he appraised the officers riding up to them. She dismounted and stepped up to greet them, bowing back very slightly. “I’m here to take control of this castle. Everyone…it’s so good to see you all again.”

The collected officers’ composure broke, and more than one shouted, “Lady Nene!” as they rushed to kneel at her feet, take her horse, unload her baggage, and show her inside. She waved them down with a laugh and asked to be shown the important matters, first, like the state of the keep and storehouses and then their quarters. Zhang He sashayed forward, then, wading through the throng to meet her directly. “You _must_ be the Lady Nene,” he said with all sarcasm, considering the shouts of the others. “Command of this castle is now yours, I leave it to you.”

She tipped her head back to look up at him, he was that much taller, and grinned widely. “I do love the manners of the Han,” she teased. “And you are…?”

“Zhang He, my lady.” He bowed magnificently, preening under her attention. “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay through until tomorrow before I return to my lord’s side. If there’s anything you need from me, in the meantime, say the word.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine with all of my boys around me,” Nene said sweetly, “but I’ll remember that, Master Zhang He. Please, stay as long as you need.”

Behind her, Kato and Fukushima likewise dismounted and stood for a moment having a look around. “See?” Masanori bragged with an elbow to Kiyomasa’s ribs. “I told you things would work out.”

Kiyomasa huffed under his breath. True, agreeing to work for Cao Pi had brought them everything they desired in the end, and they hadn’t even had to fight for an Orochi-backed cause in the meantime. “Don’t act like it was all your idea,” he scoffed. It had been the Wei lord’s, and perhaps Mitsunari’s, and he wasn’t so quick to give Mitsunari credit. “Besides, it’s not over yet. We’re still vassals of Wei, and Osaka is still in Orochi control.”

“One thing at a time!” Masanori said with a casual wave of his hand. “There’s no need to keep counting up the bad things, you pessimist. Focus on the good! Lady Nene is safe, she’s in charge, and we’re gonna serve her directly. How can you possibly find anything to complain about?”

Kato figured he could find a lot to complain about, as he glanced at the burnt-out upper floors of the keep above their heads, but he shrugged it off. Maybe his comrade was right. “Come on, let’s get settled in. If we’re going to be used as pack mules, I want at least five minutes to sit, first.”

They reached the guest quarters on the far side of the courtyard in time to see the attendants and other officers just leaving, meaning their lady was already ahead of them. Kiyomasa peeked in to find her standing with fists on hips, looking out the window at the gardens. She heard them and glanced back to favor them with a warm, devoted smile. Her boys had saved her, and now they were with her. Could she get any more lucky? “What do you think?” she asked them as they edged into her parlor. “Will it do, for now?”

“It could be worse,” Kiyomasa offered.

Nene crossed to them and hooked an arm around each of them, drawing them in close. She rested her head against Kato’s burly shoulder and smiled to herself. “Thank you, both of you. You’ve been through so much, haven’t you? You didn’t say anything but I just know, it’s been hard for you.”

“Us?” Kiyomasa breathed. “You were Orochi’s prisoner, my lady. Whatever we went through couldn’t have been nearly as bad as that.”

She hadn’t told them a thing about her captivity, she was determined not to let them even consider that she might have been tortured or seen the serpent demon himself. She simply kept her smile in place and tugged on their arms to keep them at her sides. “You’ve suffered, I know. It’ll be okay from here on out. We’ve got each other, and a whole army at our backs. I’m not letting either of you out of my sight until this whole war is over.”

It was embarrassing, but Fukushima and Kato could hardly pretend they didn’t want to be hugged and reassured after everything they went through. Nene loved them like sons, and they were allowed to have a real reunion with her now that everyone was safe and healed. No more running across the entire landscape, they were here to stay until the full army needed them, and then they would all go together. Perhaps they could even find the chance to send a letter to Oda’s army and let Hideyoshi know the good news. They, like so many others, knew that things weren’t as simple as contacting their old allies and friends and leaving one army to join another. It didn’t matter the reason to remain where they were – owing their lives, as Nene did to Cao Pi, or holding deep secrets like Ma Chao for Nobunaga – it still wasn’t time to simply abandon their posts and head off for more familiar pastures. Rejoining her husband could wait, Nene knew well that waging and winning the long fight against Orochi was more crucial than reforming the Toyotomi.

Far to the west, Lady Yueying stood at the top of the throne dais in Luo Castle, waiting to hold audience with a particular guest. Liu Bei’s seat behind her remained vacant as usual, but Liu Shan sat just to the side, with Xingcai and Jiang Wei standing at the base of the short steps. It was quite the show of Shu’s grace and power, at least as much as they could muster while their commander was elsewhere. The guards ushered their guest in to behold this tableau before he dropped wisely to one knee. Yueying regarded him solemnly, head tipped up and shoulders back in a stance of assuredness and wisdom. “Jia Xu of Wei,” she addressed him. “You are being released to return to your lord, effective immediately. We of Shu do not regret that we had to hold you for so long, but we now wish you well and will offer you an escort to Lord Cao Pi’s stronghold.”

Jia Xu had not been at all mistreated while a prisoner of Shu, but this rather sudden change in fortune had him peering up at her suspiciously. “To what do I owe this…favor, my lady?” he wondered.

Yueying saw no reason to keep information from him. “We have received a missive from Lord Cao Pi. He is no longer an ally of Orochi, he has declared Wei’s independence and claims to have captured Da Ji, Orochi’s head strategist.” Naturally, his eyes widened at that, but he said nothing, letting her finish. “This means that we no longer view him as our enemy, and the Wei army is to be treated as fellow Resistance. Therefore, you are no longer an enemy combatant, but an ally.”

“And so, I am being freed on the spot,” Jia Xu concluded for himself. “It is much appreciated, my lady, although it’s hardly been a hardship. Curious, though, that you aren’t asking me to join you the way Master Pang De did.”

“If you have that desire, we would hardly say no,” Jiang Wei broke in from where he stood, his arms loosely wrapped around the shaft of his trident. “But we’re certain Cao Pi never received word that you had been captured. It is our wish to send you back to him as a peace offering, to welcome him to the Resistance.”

Jia Xu tipped his head to one side, silently accepting the assessment. It made sense from a strategic standpoint. “To be honest, I don’t really have much desire to become a part of Shu, no,” he answered them. “So I suppose you’re right, and I wouldn’t mind returning to my lord’s service. What’s this about an escort, now?”

From behind him, Saika Magoichi stepped out into the open, rifle resting over his shoulders. “That’d be me,” he drawled, smirking at the look he got in return. “Nice to see you again.”

“Master Saika is due to set out on an unrelated errand,” Yueying explained. “It will take him toward Xuchang, though, so he can escort you safely across open territory to the Wei headquarters.”

Jia Xu heaved a sigh and bowed his head in deference to her mandate. “Beggars can’t be choosers, not even in matters like this. So be it.” It would probably be better than riding with Jiang Wei and listening to him pontificate about benevolence the whole way, he thought to himself.

Magoichi stepped up beside him, pulling something from beneath his coat that rattled like chains. Xu looked up to find his weapon being handed back to him. “I’ll be riding within the hour,” the rifleman informed him. “You probably don’t need any time to prepare, but if there’s anything you need, ask the lady now while you’ve got the chance.”

Taking his weapon and lashing it to his belt where it belonged, Jia Xu finally rose to his feet a free man and palmed his fist before Yueying and Liu Shan. “My thanks to my gracious hosts,” he said with the slightest touch of sarcasm. “All things considered, it could have been worse. Is there anything you wish me to take back to my lord, while I’m at it?”

Yueying nodded. “I have a letter prepared for him. Our commander, Lord Zhao Yun, is abroad on his search for Lord Liu Bei, so he hasn’t received the news yet. I am holding Chengdu in his place, and anything that needs to be coordinated with the Shu Resistance can go through me, for now.”

Jia Xu’s gaze subtly slid from her to Liu Shan in his place of honor. So the young son of their true lord wasn’t leading them? Interesting. “I will make sure to tell him,” he vowed.

Magoichi was true to his word, in less than an hour they were already riding out through the gates of Luo with a rather small escort troop. The Saika Renegades were heading off to do some scouting and bring the big story of Cao Pi’s defection to Zhao Yun’s attention, so they didn’t need a full battalion of the army. The small cluster of riflemen would be more than enough, particularly for scouting. They could travel light and fast this way, and made good time. Only Magoichi rode, along with his guest, and at times the renegades on foot nearly outpaced the horses. As much as he didn’t really want to get too friendly, Jia Xu was rather fascinated by their weapons, having only been able to see gunmen in action in a limited capacity before being captured. He watched the foremost of the point men shoot down some waterfowl for their dinner and then plied Magoichi with a bunch of queries about the advantages and disadvantages of firearms compared to archers in a battle situation. He was well aware that there was a large rifle corps working for Orochi, but aside from a small bodyguard detachment on loan, he hadn’t been able to make use of any of them himself during his short time assisting those particular allies. “And this unit of yours,” he noted, “that’s all Shu has for its use?”

“Yes and no,” Magoichi replied breezily. He was content to answer most of the questions, though one or two had to be skillfully evaded so as not to spill all his secrets. “Unofficially, we managed to secure some older-model large-bore rifles in a raid and gave them to the Nanman. They’ve got marksmen in their ranks who took to guns like they were made for ‘em, had no trouble picking up the gist of it. So, somewhere out there, maybe with Meng Huo, maybe not, there’s a whole bunch.”

“Given the presence of such weaponry among the enemy,” Xu said thoughtfully, “it really would be to everyone’s advantage to make sure all the Resistance armies have some. No?”

Saika grinned widely. “If you’re asking me to part with a few for Cao Pi’s sake, no can do. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that we don’t have any to spare. One of the downsides like we were talking, a damaged rifle is a dead rifle. If they stay wet too long, the rifle bore can rust or crack, and there’s no safe way to repair ‘em most of the time. A cracked barrel means you might as well just throw it away, and let me tell you, this crazy world has wreaked havoc on our rifle stores. Now, find me a smith who can craft more, and then we’ll all be in business.”

Jia Xu peered at him. “Is there such a smith in this world?”

“I sure hope so.” Magoichi allowed himself a fleeting moment of honest expression, his mouth turning down in a pensive frown. “Even my Marksman’s Pride could get damaged in a real heated fight, and then where would I be? We need a good smith every bit as much as you guys need ‘em to fix up your swords and spears.” He cast his eyes toward Xu and let the seriousness fade away. “Of course, if you stumbled into that kind of asset, I’d probably have to owe you real big in order to get access.”

Xu smirked back. “Naturally, but my lord is always on the lookout for assets to be plied into useful alliances and such. You probably wouldn’t have to beg too hard but you might owe your firstborn to him.”

Magoichi barked a laugh. “Yeah, that would require settling down and getting married, and Saika Magoichi doesn’t roll that way.”

“For all we know you’ve already got a firstborn somewhere,” one of his men teased, “and a second and third for that matter.”

“Hey now!”

The mercenaries all laughed good-naturedly, and their leader conceded the point after a moment with a chuckle of his own. Even an outsider like Jia Xu could see how tightly-knit their cadre was. Probably just as formidable in battle, with the same propensity to read each other’s minds and pick up for one another when one stumbled. Xu studied their leader for a moment, sure that he had seen things right and not missed an important hint. “So after you drop me off, you’re on your way to Lord Zhao Yun,” he said to lead up to it. “From the pace you’re setting, either he could be in trouble or you’re overly eager to get out and find some action.”

Magoichi whistled as if impressed. “You’re a strategist, all right. Figured that out all by yourself. It’s no secret – I’ve been stuck at Chengdu way too long, I wanna get out there and get back to work. I’ve got a lot to do.”

“Not trying to get on Lady Yueying’s good side, I hope.”

“Man, that trail is so cold,” Magoichi said wryly. “You have no idea. No, it’s taken me this long to heal up enough to ride again.” He glanced Xu’s way with a suave little smirk. “Got a hell of a cut from a tiger cub on our way out of Jieting. I swear I could’ve rode when the others did, last time reinforcements went out to join Zhao Yun, but they made me promise not to over-exert myself.”

“And being as I haven’t seen his handsome face around my cell door lately,” Jia Xu snorted with heavy sarcasm, “that’s where Master Pang De has found himself.”

“Yep. He took some of the kids with him and went out last round. It’s my turn to catch up with ‘em, and see if they need to send anyone back or what.” Saika shrugged. “So I guess when we get to Xuchang, you’ll have to tell Cao Pi sorry, but we’re keeping that one. He’s been a huge help right when we needed him, and something tells me you’d have a hard time prying him off the battlefield anyway.”

“No matter,” Xu shrugged back. “That’s my lord’s problem, not mine. I’m sure the sheer amount of information I have for him will be worth trading one pair of halberds to the Shu army. Though,” he added after a moment’s thought, “that would be a much fairer trade if you felt like telling me any more about recent events.”

Sakia turned the sly look back on him. “C’mon,” he drawled, “you’re a strategist. You know full well that sometimes guys just aren’t at liberty to spill all their guts around itchy ears. Cao Pi probably knows more than we do anyway, if he’s got Orochi’s own strategist in his dungeon. Unless he’s squeamish about extracting information.”

Jia Xu huffed a low, dangerous laugh. “Lord Cao Pi, squeamish? Not likely. I am extremely interested to see Da Ji behind bars, myself, so I really don’t mind the hurried pace. The faster we get to Xuchang, the more interesting and entertaining things I’m likely to see with my own eyes.” He nodded to the mercenaries keeping up with them. “So don’t dawdle on my account, please.”

“The Saika Renegades don’t know how to dawdle,” one of them shot back with a smirk. “We even party at a hearty pace.”

“You think Cao Pi would let me in just long enough to have a peek at Da Ji in prison, too?” Magoichi wondered. “I spent some time behind enemy lines, I feel like the sight of her in such a position would really brighten my day.”

Xu gave him an imperious look, tempered with a spark of mischief deep in his dark eyes. “I might be persuaded to vouch for you, Master Saika. That is, for the right price.”

“Ooh,” Magoichi purred, “a mercenary after my own heart.” He looked away, pretending to keep his eyes on the trail ahead and any potential danger he could spot at a distance. “We’ll talk.”


	51. Chapter 51

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Pi and Azai Nagamasa unfortunately butt heads at Chencang.

Far off in Chencang, Nagamasa was woefully behind on the current news. With Gan Ning’s help, his men patrolled the mountain paths to make sure Orochi forces weren’t freely crossing through that territory to go and harass the resistance cells or innocent peasants, but in doing so they never came across anyone who might be privy to the workings of the greater armies to the north and west. Despite their connections to Oda, it had been a very long time since word had come from his army about anything. Oichi was certain there was a good reason, perhaps her brother was extremely busy or had no news to share, but the longer time went on, the less certain Nagamasa was about anything. The loss of Takeda and Uesugi had been the last major news received; as far as he knew the alliance had been completely destroyed, the Hojo lost, and the Sanada absorbed by Shu, so the only conclusion he could make was that he was on his own. The Azai, such as it was without the support of the Asakura, had no one to turn to. Oda was too far away, and it was clear just where Azai ranked on his priority list if he couldn’t be bothered to send messengers to keep him in the loop. Nagamasa’s brave optimism flagged in the face of the long silence, and his forces had enough to do keeping the mountain passes free of snakes, there was no one available to send to seek information from Oda or anyone else. They didn’t need reinforcements, and were good on supplies, so as much as he told his men that communication was a frivolous mission and he wouldn’t risk valuable lives for it, Nagamasa still privately fretted over his options. What could he do, aside from keep Chencang safe as Takeda had asked? What choice did he have? He didn’t even know that other resistance forces had been told of his whereabouts and mission, so as far as he knew, he was truly alone in his purpose. If Naoe was dead like his lord, and the Sanadas were in Shu with no knowledge that Nagamasa still lived and fought, he couldn’t count on anything but himself and the brave men with him. At least they had Gan Ning, and though the pirate didn’t seem to enjoy the company of so many stodgy, honor-bound samurai, he was strong and capable and got along rather well with Azai and Oichi. He hadn’t been kidding about whipping the Azai army into shape, it was thanks to him alone that they had improved to the point of being able to send out patrols to protect the roads rather than sit tight inside the many-walled fortress. It was one of those patrols who spotted an army moving toward their position, the one thing they and their commander alike dreaded. What would happen if Orochi beset them there, with no reinforcements close at hand? Gan Ning took their report and galloped at full speed up through the gates and wards of the castle to inform Nagamasa. He slid out of the saddle before his horse had even come to a full stop, as Azai and his wife ran up to meet him. “I know those uniforms, all right,” he said gruffly. “Wei. That means Cao Pi.”

Nagamasa frowned deeply. “He works for Orochi, does he not?”

“Far as I know.” Gan Ning set his hands on his hips. “Sounds like that day you were worrying about has finally come around. Orochi army finally sniffed us out and now they’re here.”

“Then it’s a good thing we planned for this contingency.” Nagamasa turned to give one of his men a signal, a silent command to pull their forces in behind the walls and prepare for attack. “You know the forces of Wei well enough, then, Master Gan Ning. I will be relying on your knowledge.”

Ning tipped his head in a manly nod. “Damn right I do. That means we gotta get a good look at what they’ve brought, see who’s on the field. They’re all pretty tough but I can give you some hints on what to do depending on who’s with ‘em.”

“I’ll send scouts to the walls, then,” Azai encouraged, “and have a look. We’ll compare notes on anything we can find out.”

“I’ll go fetch my hoops,” Oichi murmured, turning away and dashing into the fortress keep.

Ning stared after her. “You’re gonna make your wife fight, too?”

Nagamasa gave him a wry little smile. “You should know by now that I would have a hard time stopping her even if I wanted to,” he sighed. “My lady is quite skilled, you haven’t seen her fight. Besides, we really do need every single fighter on hand – we have no way to contact any of our allies, reinforcements are a world away. It’s just us against whatever Cao Pi has brought.”

Gan Ning shrugged his acceptance. He could hardly raise an eyebrow at a woman fighting, since Wu was rife with them, but the Azai were noble and fair compared to the rough-and-tumble sisters of Wu. He had no idea the Lady Oichi was trained, but he also couldn’t deny the truth that there wasn’t a single man in that fortress who could say no to her. If she was willing, she was a comrade in arms right there with the rest of them. “Right. I’ll go see what the scouts can see, then.”

Unlike its defenders, Cao Pi knew Chencang well. He knew from which direction to approach, where to lay their base camp, and how to arrange his forces. Yet, despite the strength at his back, he was not so quick to launch an assault. After all, this was not the same as Yiling – he was not still beholden to the serpent, he was on his own and here to ask the defending force to join his army. He truly did intend to investigate first and save battle as a last resort, but as they drew within sight of the high walls atop the cliff and their advance scouts reported the state of the sentries and defense positions, Cao Pi had a feeling that negotiations might break down sooner rather than later. They reached the edge of the pine forest below the cliffs and came out into the open to find a strange temple plopped down in the middle of a patch of glowing coals, an unexpected addition to the landscape that actually worked in their favor. Cao Pi drew the bulk of his army behind the temple to use it to screen them from view of the rampart walls of Chencang before ordering them to stand down at ease, so he could consult with Mitsunari and make plans. He stood in a ring with his officers while their soldiers held their horses just beyond. “I still intend to parley,” he informed them, “but I’m beginning to think it may not be so easy. Ishida, what can you tell me of this force?”

“Well,” Mitsunari sighed, “Nagamasa’s one of those ‘love and honor’ types. He won’t do anything he considers dishonorable, trust me. But I don’t know who he has with him, or whether he’s prepared to dig in and fight for some cause.”

“Then, surely he would listen to fellow men of honor with a request,” Zhang Liao offered.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Mitsunari’s eyes went straight to their lord. “It depends on whether your reputation has gone ahead of you, or not.”

Pi smirked to himself. “I suppose we can but try. All of you.” He looked around the circle. “You will ride with me as a vanguard. Whether or not Azai intends to fight or is willing to listen to reason, I prefer him to see a show of our true force. Any strategy can be discussed after, when we know what his answer is.”

He and Mitsunari already more or less knew exactly how they wanted to approach a battle, if they were challenged, but this needed to be done first. It would also give them a glimpse into the army holding Chencang, crucial reconnaissance should it come to fighting. Cao Pi was frankly tired of the idea of proving his worth by beating down competitors, but if it came to that, he preferred it to allowing talented fighters to remain vulnerable to an attack by Orochi himself. He mounted up, and a short time later the knot of horsemen approached the high cliff that served as a natural barrier to protect the fortress, where they could see a number of archers lined up in position and at least two officers in stout armor overseeing them. Bows were held low, but arrows nocked to fire at the first command. With Ishida beside him and Zhang Liao, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan clustered behind him, Cao Pi rode within the range of fire and reined in, keeping his hands in his lap but his shoulders squared as if prepared to fight or run if necessary. He lifted his head to try to spot someone to address, to call out his request, but before he could speak a word, Azai Nagamasa himself stepped into a gap between the archery lines, sporting helm and lance, ready for war. “Your presence is not welcome here,” he called down to them. “Chencang is a refuge to protect the innocent from Orochi, it will not fall to the likes of you.”

Cao Pi shut his mouth immediately and gave Mitsunari an exasperated glance out of the corner of his eye. “You were right. My reputation precedes me, it seems.”

“I had a feeling.” Mitsunari took a deep breath and then raised his voice to call back. “Lord Nagamasa! Will you not listen to what we have to say?”

“I do not wish to hear it!” Nagamasa declared. “Ishida Mitsunari, you are a known traitor and servant of Orochi, I don’t need to hear a single word from you! Whatever you have come to do, know that we will not bow to you or anyone else! If I must hold Chencang by myself, then so be it!”

“Ooh, ouch,” Xiahou Yuan muttered under his breath. Mitsunari showed no sign of being bothered by that accusation, though.

Zhang Liao could not resist adding his voice to the fray. “I have heard that you are a man of honor, Lord Azai. A man of honor who can tell the difference between lies and the truth.”

“I told you,” Nagamasa said sternly. “I do not wish to discuss it. Honor demands that I spend my life to protect that which I have vowed to protect. Chencang is a formidable fortress – I hope you have brought what you need to take it.”

Without further word, he turned away and strode off the wall, and the archers in turn drew their bows all at once. There was no mistaking the gesture, so Cao Pi turned his horse and led his men away. “I suppose I am not trustworthy enough to be believed,” he murmured to Ishida alongside him. “So be it. If he wants a battle, he’ll get one.”

“He’s right, though.” Mitsunari tugged the fan from his belt as he rode. “You told me as much: Chencang is a secure fortress. And we didn’t bring battering rams.”

“The rest of the plan should still work. Let’s go.”

Inside the fortress, Nagamasa strode back through the first gate and found his two strongest officers waiting for a report. Gan Ning had not wanted to let the Wei forces see him there, he was to be their secret weapon, so he practically vibrated with eagerness. “Who’d you see? Who was it?”

“It was indeed Cao Pi,” Nagamasa replied, “with Ishida Mitsunari. Beside them were stout men – one with an eyepatch, one with a thick helm and bow, one with a polearm.”

Ning’s face darkened with a scowl at “eyepatch.” “Xiahou Dun and his cousin,” he noted. “Polearm could be any number of guys but eh, that’s enough to know for now. They’re strong,” he added in warning. “If they breach the gates, it’ll be a hard fight.”

“I expect nothing less of Orochi’s servants,” Nagamasa said with a huff. “With no promise of reinforcements, we must hold every entry point with everything we have. Oichi, I need you to keep the western gate secure. I’ll send Endo and Isono to man the eastern gate, in case they come up that path on the flank of the mountain. Gan Ning, remain within this ward and if the walls are breached from any direction, move to intercept.”

“Got it,” Ning grunted. “They ain’t gonna get past me.”

“Please be safe, my lord,” Oichi wished her husband, leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“And you, my precious Oichi.” It was Nagamasa’s duty to command, and he would have to do so from the innermost wall of the fort. He clasped his hands around hers before letting her go, standing back to watch as she raised a hoop to signal a unit of soldiers to follow her. Gan Ning clapped him powerfully on the shoulder before turning to take up his own position, waiting just inside the wall for his moment. There were more orders to issue, so Nagamasa turned to send his retainers in all directions before moving to the defense himself.

The Wei army was moving at the same time, splitting into separate arms to hit both the eastern and western gate to see which had the weaker defense. Zhang Liao led the charge up the path to the east to see if it had been neglected at all, while Cao Pi aimed his own strength at the main gate to the west. The Xiahous remained in the center, drawing the attention of the officers on the rampart wall and giving Yuan the chance to shoot back at the archery units. All of them had one overarching order: to leave as many alive as possible, and subdue rather than kill any officers. They had come to recruit, after all, not to destroy. The lack of rams or other siege equipment did not deter them from attacking, but Cao Pi was also not interested in laying siege. He had come with the intent of making it a short errand, not stretching it out for months. He already had some inkling that this poor independent castle could not hope for assistance from the Resistance, so dragging out the assault served no benefit to either side. As he and Mitsunari rode to the main gate, they found the defending side already arrayed to meet them, a contingent of soldiers holding ground outside the gate itself with more atop the wall. Mitsunari checked at the sight of the diminutive girl at the center of their formation, but there were at least two other Azai officers with her leading the way, she stood as the last line of defense. He said nothing about it, though, and drew up in order to dismount and start the battle properly. The defenders charged even as Cao Pi halted and his own men streamed past them to meet them, his attention drawn to Oichi as well, and then up above them to the men on the walls. No archers, it seemed, no one was shooting down at them. A good sign. He swung down out of the saddle and drew Pure Havoc, slashing lazily at the first soldier to launch himself at him as he strode toward his goal. Clearly, the woman behind the front line was in charge, so if he went straight for her and took her down, they could make quick work of this. Leaving Mitsunari behind him to smack the other officers around with his fan, Pi dodged and darted around swords and spears, his icy gaze focused on the woman where she stood; she in turn noticed him coming and braced herself to meet him, dropping into a stance with one of the hoops held before her like a shield. As his swords came at her, she entangled one in the hoop and swirled to the side to throw his arm wide, cutting inward with the other hoop. He brought the second blade to block it, and instantly knew he could not take her lightly any more than he would his own wife. He was taller, though, and just as fast as she was graceful. Pi disengaged and clicked the blades together into the single form and then came back swinging it like a staff, hitting with one side and then the other in rapid sequence as she sprang and danced around him to block each strike. His strength was balanced by her agility, and Pi was rather surprised to find himself at a lengthy stalemate, though to be fair he did have to occasionally shift to one side to turn and block or parry a hit from another soldier, using Pure Havoc’s length to jab out at anyone trying to rush him from behind. Still, Oichi held her ground, not budging from that spot. The only break came when a swirl of red and white flew between them and sliced through Oichi’s sleeve, distracting her long enough to allow Cao Pi to lunge and strike hard enough to knock one of the hoops from her hand. He did his best not to flinch and look to the side, he knew it was the Open Valor thrown from Mitsunari’s hand but stopping to acknowledge the assistance would cost him his chance. Oichi flipped out of his way, but away from her dropped weapon rather than towards it in order to put some space between them. Her eyes flicked to it and then back to Pi’s face as he came in quickly again, splitting Pure Havoc apart and thrusting with each blade in turn. She managed to deflect them both and then spun the hoop around to cut in under his reach, only to have both coming at her head again. She brought the hoop up to catch them both, breathing hard in exertion. Pi frowned at her from across the block. “Such determination,” he murmured, partly in compliment and partly in disbelief. “But you know you are outmatched, my lady.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Oichi said boldly, facing him down. “I must keep this gate safe, for my lord.”

“And I must breach it, for the good of more than just one man,” Pi countered, shoving her off. She stumbled and barely got the hoop back up in time to block him again. Another round of hits drove her even further back until she was up against the gate itself, and when a blade came swiftly at her stomach, she caught it with the hoop and yanked it aside. But the second blade followed, and she gasped sharply as it stopped an inch from her throat. Her entire body went rigid, and for the first time she actually looked afraid. Cao Pi held still for a long moment, letting her see that he was not going to kill her before he spoke again, his tone cold and cutting. “You seem like a perceptive woman,” he noted. “You understand my true intent, don’t you?”

Oichi couldn’t look away from his icy gaze, his eyes had her trapped every bit as much as his sword. “Yes. I see, now.”

“And yet you still resist.”

“I simply follow the orders of my lord Nagamasa.” She tipped her chin up bravely. “Do not spare me mercy, Lord Cao Pi. If I let you through this gate, I would rather die than see the worry in his eyes.”

“Is it mercy to refuse to destroy a thing of beauty?” He moved rather quickly, taking back his threat and thrusting with the other sword to pin her last hoop to the wall behind her. “Suicidal fatalism does not become you either, my lady. I cannot give you what you desire, I can only take what I need.”

She dropped her gaze sadly even as Mitsunari suddenly appeared at his lord’s shoulder, fan up to keep her covered. “You have bested me already,” she said flatly, “and now you deny me the honorable death. I suppose there is no point in lamenting this fate…”

“Instead of moaning about fate,” Ishida said curtly, “you could do something to change it, you know.”

Oichi shook her head. “Lord Nagamasa will not stop to listen. You’ll have to win his loyalty.”

Pi sighed in frustration. “Fools, always needing to be hit upside the head before they’ll listen,” he complained. “I have no quarrel with your lord, but if he needs to be put through this exercise to snap him out of his dire thoughts, then fine.” He joined Pure Havoc together to free up one hand and pulled her away from the gate, handling her a little roughly. “Open the gate, and then surrender yourself. My men will hold you prisoner until this is concluded.”

Her shoulders wilted as she gave in, but she said nothing more. Mitsunari had her under control with his fan alone, and followed her with it aimed right between her shoulder blades as she stepped over to the center of the road and rapped a signal on the iron door. The soldiers watching from the parapet above called out in warning, but she raised her voice to them. “This is an order! Open the gate immediately!”

The soldiers held a rushed conference amongst themselves, and those below could hear snatches of it, guessing that they were worried the enemy would kill Lady Oichi if they didn’t do as she said. At last they gave in and called down, and with a great shudder the iron doors scraped against each other and swung open. Mitsunari waited until some of their men came to take her into custody and then lowered his fan. “It didn’t have to be like this, Lady Oichi,” he said sternly. “You realize that, now.”

She lifted mournful eyes to him, searching his face. “I can’t be sure of anything anymore,” she admitted. “What is it to me if your intention isn’t to conquer Chencang? I won’t go against my lord’s command.”

He shook his head and turned away, deciding to forget about her and press on. “Worse than the Xiahous,” he groused under his breath. “All forces, advance!”

At the top of the long slope before them stood their first real obstacle, a row of riflemen waiting to fire on them. Cao Pi saw them a second before he heard the first shots and darted behind one of the outbuildings in the courtyard just in time. He looked to find whether Mitsunari was following so he could suggest a plan, but the strategist was already racing past him, dashing from one building to the next to use them as cover until he got close enough to throw his fan. Yelps of pain indicated just how many he hit in the first sweep, while they were hastily reloading. He caught the fan on its return trajectory and ducked back behind a shed just as another round of bullets thundered into the wood. Cao Pi could see his strategy, now, and called up their men behind him. While Mitsunari was distracting the rifle squad, the rest of the Wei unit charged up along the opposing wall and then fell on the riflemen from the rear. Pi himself reached Mitsunari’s side as he breathed a sigh of relief. “Took you long enough,” he taunted. “Which way, now?”

“Around the corner, and then to the left,” Pi remembered. “We should come out inside the first ward, behind the ramparts.”

“The ramparts?” Ishida knew full well of the assault below those very walls. “If we can come up behind them, we can take out that contingent pinning Xiahou Dun down.”

“We could,” Cao Pi agreed. “If Zhang Liao hasn’t broken through from the other side, that is. If we get distracted by side missions, Azai could successfully barricade the rest of the inner walls against us.” He paused and then peered straight at Ishida. “That was his wife we captured, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right.” Mitsunari pursed his lips, concerned by that fact. “This is going to be a slaughter if we’re not careful. If all he has is his wife and his usual retainers, none of them are going to be able to stand up to our army. Nagamasa himself is fairly powerful, but that’s it.”

“Then, let’s keep moving,” Pi decided. “End this quickly.”

He stepped out and raised an arm to call their men to him, and led the charge through the next gate. A handful of soldiers around the corner yelled in warning before being plowed over, and then Wei was inside their castle, truly behind enemy lines. A quick look through the open gate near at hand was all they needed to know that Zhang Liao’s unit had not yet broken through the eastern gate, so the defenders on the rampart wall were completely vulnerable to attack from the rear. As much as he wanted to just keep going and get this over with, Cao Pi knew the value of making use of this advantage, and stood his ground while Mitsunari led their men to the attack. In no time at all they had mowed down the archery units and sent everyone fleeing, but when the defenders turned to try to get inside the next ward, they found it already occupied by Cao Pi himself and the rest of his men. They had nowhere to run, turning the courtyard above the rampart into a scene of total chaos. The officers guarding the eastern gate didn’t know whether to hold position or turn and try to repel this surprise attack. Ishida patiently drew back to where Cao Pi stood, almost daring the Azai officers to come at them – but with Zhang Liao knocking on the gate, doing so would leave their flank open. It was an impossible choice to make.

Below, the sight of a scuffle on the edge of the rampart wall and the end to the hail of arrows could not be missed. Xiahou Dun turned his horse, brandishing his podao. “The wall defense has been routed. Now is our chance to join the attack!”

Yuan lowered his bow. “Would you look at that? Cao Pi really seems to know what he’s doing.” He plucked up the reins and rode up alongside his cousin. “He’s a smart kid, after all.”

“If he is to succeed Lord Mengde,” Dun grunted, “then he will need every bit of that cunning.”

“Still not ready to give him a real compliment.” Yuan jabbed his heels into his horse’s flank. “Come on, let’s catch up with them before they take all the best fights!”

They rode hard, unaware that Cao Pi was already pressing even further inward, pointing his men toward the next gate they needed to break down in order to progress. Chencang really was a maze of walls and courtyards, and if it had been fully manned by a larger army, it would have cost them far more in lives and time just to get as far as they had. Pi and Mitsunari held back, keeping a watch on the doorway behind them in case the officers out in the courtyard decided to come after them, which meant they had a front row seat when a figure suddenly came leaping down from the inner wall, landing on a pavilion roof with a crash and a jingle of bells. Cao Pi heard it right away and spun with his double-bladed weapon held across himself in defense, even as Gan Ning sprang down to the stone floor of the inner ward and came running straight at him, scimitar held out before him. Mitsunari turned a moment later. “What the hell…?”

“Gan Ning of Wu,” Cao Pi said curtly. “Stand back.”

“Look at that!” Gan Ning shouted as he came on hard and fast. “I was gonna even it up and go after your main camp, but here you are already, right in front of me! Just the prize I wanted!”

His first hit threw Pure Havoc aside with a ring and a shower of sparks, making Pi stagger back until he caught himself. Before the pirate could lunge to the side and tear into Mitsunari, Cao Pi slid between them. “I didn’t know the stray dogs of Wu were into lost causes,” he said coldly, dropping his shoulder to put more power behind his defense.

Ning sneered at him. “This stray dog is more than you can handle, Cao Pi!” He threw his shoulders back and pounded a fist against his bare, tattooed chest. “You see these dragons? You want past here, you gotta go through ‘em!”

“If that’s what it takes,” Mitsunari sniffed from behind the protection of his lord’s blades.

Gan Ning barked a short laugh at his remark. “Not you, pretty boy, I don’t care about you. But this guy…” He zeroed in on Cao Pi, bringing River Master up to point straight at his heart. “Come on, let’s get this started!”

Tales of the exploits of the great pirate of the Jiangdong were not entirely exaggerated, Pi knew full well this was the man who routed his father’s army at Ruxukou with only a hundred men. Even having fought Sun Ce, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to take down Gan Ning, with or without backup. But he was certain Mitsunari’s fan would be useless in this fight, so he took it to Ning himself, rushing him and swinging to start the duel. The scimitar slashed down, deflecting Pure Havoc, and then Ning turned it back on him in an instant, hacking at him and forcing him back into defense. They had barely gotten started when the Xiahou cousins rode in, leading another column of men, and Gan Ning snarled another sardonic laugh to see them without pausing his attacks for a second. Xiahou Yuan pulled another arrow and fitted it to the string, but Dun reached to stay his arm. “Don’t. You’ll hit the young master.”

“C’mon, Dun, I’m better than that,” Yuan claimed, though as he looked again with an eye for his aim, he realized his cousin was right. Gan Ning and Cao Pi were darting from side to side to meet and clash with such speed that he might have accidentally struck the wrong man. He gave in with a growl and lowered the bow.

There wasn’t a single falter or misstep in Gan Ning’s powerful onslaught, he pressed Cao Pi hard and forced him to use the swords separately in order to keep up with his pace. His eyes flicked to the waiting Xiahous and then back to his foe. “Reinforcements, huh?” he mocked. “You ain’t gettin’ my head that easily!”

Cao Pi gritted his teeth as he intercepted another heavy hit. “I have no interest in your head,” he shot back. “What I want is your skill.”

“Flattery won’t get you nowhere with me,” Ning snapped, swinging to throw Pi’s arm wide and then slamming a shoulder into him, knocking him backward several feet. Mitsunari came in from the side to divert his attention, but Ning only ducked his fan and then kicked him in the gut. Cao Pi regained his balance and prepared to charge back in, but Xiahou Dun suddenly swept past him to join the fight as well, and he had more than enough spare strength to meet the River Master head-on. The two broad swords smashed and crashed over and over, Gan Ning was not slowing down at all and gave Xiahou Dun more than enough to contend with. It gave Cao Pi a moment to step back and catch his breath, and he realized from the ache in his arms that he could not handle this duel himself if he wanted to face Azai as well. He stepped back and drew Ishida with him so that they were well out of the way and let Dun have his place for now. The pirate laughed darkly as he fought, wielding his River Master expertly with just one hand versus Dun’s steely two-handed grip on the Qilin Blade, allowing him to move much more quickly and punctuate his strikes with a punch here and a kick there, following up a sequence of swings with a charge to plow his shoulder into Dun’s unprotected flank. Xiahou Dun was not one to be knocked over so easily, though, his feet slid on the stone until he could catch himself and then he sprang right back into it. While they fought, Cao Pi laid a hand on Mitsunari’s arm and subtly signaled to him to continue on, around the corner to the next gate they needed to pass. As long as Dun could keep Gan Ning busy, they had a chance. They didn’t make it far, however, Ning spotted them out of the corner of his eye and hit Dun hard enough to throw him off so he could spin on his heel and give chase. “Oh no you don’t!” he bellowed as he came on. “Nobody’s gettin’ past me – nobody!”

It was quite the sight, Cao Pi and Ishida pelting toward the gate with Gan Ning right behind them and Xiahou Dun racing after him in turn. Ning reached and nearly had a handful of Cao Pi’s cloak, but then arrows whistled past his face and thunked into the wall near his shoulder, forcing him to stop short and turn to defend himself. Xiahou Yuan had caught up and shot at him, and had another arrow ready, but Dun took advantage of the distraction to catch up and rejoin their sword fight. “Yuan!” he shouted over his shoulder as his podao met the scimitar yet again, his arms straining to try to cut through the block. “Go with the young master, I’ll handle this!”

“You sure?” Yuan shot Cao Pi’s back a look and then glanced back at his cousin. He couldn’t say whether Dun could actually defeat the pirate, but at the same time, their lord had only his strategist to back him up as he worked to force his way into the next ward of the castle. “All right,” he relented, turning his horse to go after Pi. “Can’t let you have all the fun, right?”

Gan Ning snarled under his breath as he saw the others escape his watch, but he did have his hands full. He turned all of his fury on Xiahou Dun, beating him back and then plowing into him, shoving him all the way back to the nearest outbuilding and smashing him up against the wall. The edge of River Master’s blade came to rest right against Dun’s throat, and when he tried to swing the podao around for another hit, Ning flung out his other arm and batted it away. Not to be outdone, he drew back that fist and punched Dun right in the face. “I don’t got time to play around,” he spat as Yuanrang slid down the wall, splaying a hand over his cut cheek and cursing savagely. “Stay down or I’m gonna bash your head in!”

“Ugh, you hot-headed buffoon!” Dun growled back, trying to keep his feet and his wits. “This isn’t some back-street brawl!”

“Fight how you gotta fight, Xiahou Dun!” Ning crowed at him, turning and dashing to try to catch Cao Pi before he got too far. They appeared to still be clashing with the guards at the gate, stymied for now, so he zeroed in on their position and ran with such speed as to send his bells jangling shrilly. He almost didn’t hear the horse coming up behind him over the sound of the bells, but he turned in time to duck and throw himself to the side to avoid the halberd blade which sailed right toward his neck. He came up gasping hard for breath, scraped up the length of both arms, and let out a roar of frustration to recognize both the weapon and its wielder. Zhang Liao, meanwhile, merely gave him an imperious look from the saddle. “Screw you, Wenyuan!” the pirate yelled at him. “Get outta my way!”

“I can’t let you lay a hand on my lord, Master Xingba,” Liao said patiently. “If you must fight, then I shall be your opponent.”

“With pleasure!” Ning dashed straight for his horse, zig-zagging to the side as the Blue Wyvern came for him again and grabbing the shaft of the polearm, suddenly planting his feet and yanking hard on it. It pulled Liao right off his horse, but he hit the ground running, pushing forward with the halberd until he could wrest it free. The two famed foes were able to face one another again after so long, and both were so focused on taking the other down that neither saw Xiahou Dun pick himself up and run past, leading the remainder of their troops to bolster Lord Cao Pi in his mission.

By the time Zhang Liao had caught up to the rest of them, Pi and Mitsunari had just managed to force the gate, and their forces streamed into the next yard to find a huge contingent of the Azai laying in wait for them. Nagamasa had pulled most of his remaining men back while Gan Ning was hard at work, and the army which met Cao Pi’s charge was filled with riflemen and several officers, but there was yet one more gate between them and Nagamasa himself. The fight to get through was much more fierce and bloody than anything yet, but they had no choice. Behind them lay a pirate who could very well best the Wei champion and set upon them from the rear, they could not waste time dallying with the lesser retainers of the Azai. Fortunately, none of them were particularly strong, so the four remaining Wei officers methodically worked their way through the ranks to reach the gate and captured one to open it for them. They were finally in the last courtyard which surrounded the keep of the fortress, and waiting for them at the top of the steps stood Azai Nagamasa. He didn’t look particularly surprised to see them, but then, he had received all the scouting reports at each phase of the battle and already knew how it had come to this. The only thing he didn’t know for sure was whether they had defeated Gan Ning; the battle was still going on at last word, but anything was possible. They had gotten past him, though, and that did not bode well. His face was set in a grim mask, his eyes glittering with determination beneath his helm. He still had one retainer left, standing with the soldiers of their vanguard in formation in the yard, but the Xiahous moved in as the forward line while Mitsunari walked at Cao Pi’s side just behind them. For now, neither side issued an order to attack, though the long silence allowed Pi to get into position and take a few moments to rest. He was not fresh by any means, and as he regarded the man with the long, heavy lance, he was sure he could not take him. Fortunately, he had a couple of hot-heads of his own ready to go, but for now he merely paced behind them, keeping his swords held low. “There is no reason to prolong this foolishness,” he said coolly, lifting his gaze to Nagamasa. “What more is there to prove, Lord Azai? We’ve reached the inner grounds, we’ve routed your men and captured your most powerful officers. Must you continue to fight?”

Nagamasa watched him, his eyes flicking briefly to Mitsunari and then back. “I know nothing more than the battlefield,” he said solemnly. “Surrender is not an option.”

“Show some wisdom, man!” Mitsunari complained at him. “We’re not here to destroy you, we _need_ you. We need your lance in our fight against Orochi!”

_Against Orochi?_ This was news to Nagamasa. He blinked in uncertainty. That went against everything he knew of this man and his army, and if it were true, it meant that this whole battle had been a huge mistake. He had spent so long dwelling on their isolation, fretting and thinking of the worst case scenarios, he didn’t know how to grasp this glimmer of hope. It was almost too late, he had pushed for this battle expecting the worst and now, he wasn’t sure he could get out of it gracefully. He frowned to himself, lowering his eyes briefly. “You expect me to trust you, after all this? How can I trust anyone? I don’t even know who’s on what side, anymore.”

“My lord,” Xiahou Dun broke in, speaking over his shoulder to Cao Pi without taking his good eye off the shining lance. “Allow me to give this man what he seeks. I know his heart, for it is the same as mine.”

Pi’s brow twitched in curiosity, but he understood what Dun meant. The Xiahou clan had resisted him for the same reasons, not knowing whether to trust and believing only in that which they could see – that which they could hit with a weapon. He nodded once to permit it. “It seems we cannot settle this any other way.”

Nagamasa looked squarely at the Xiahou cousins facing him. “Masazumi,” he ordered his relative controlling the vanguard, “step aside. My lance will take this challenge.” 

“Hey, I want a fair share of this, too,” Yuan grunted. “We both know what this guy’s thinking, don’t we, Dun?” He knew full well his cousin wasn’t completely uninjured, the blood on his cheek wasn’t the only wound suffered against Gan Ning, but he let Dun have his pride by trying to shoulder his way into the fight.

Nagamasa regarded him coldly. “Do not claim to know me, men of Wei. But if you both wish to fight me, I’ll take you both on. You will need every ounce of strength you have in order to bring me down!”

“Sounds good to me!” Yuan shot back.

Azai Masazumi hustled out of the way, drawing the soldiers with him, so that the paved walk leading down from the fortress steps was clear of any obstructions. Dun and Yuan held their ground until Nagamasa stepped down from his place guarding the door, and after a mere moment’s pause to gauge one another, all three leaped into the fray at the same time. The first round clearly went to Nagamasa, as the pair assumed that such a big, heavy weapon would move slowly and take time to bring to bear, but it was exactly the opposite. He swung it with as much speed as Yukimura’s spear, and wove between and around them with stunning agility. Xiahou Yuan did not even bother trying to shoot, he went straight to using his bow in close quarters like a club, but no matter how hard he swung it, he never landed a hit on the blue and silver blur. Azai barely needed to shift or lunge to block both of them if they came at him at the same time, the long lance served him well and he bore it as if it weighed no more than a reed. Yuan could hardly stand being so overmatched, he threw his full weight into the attack and pushed against the lance holding him back, trying to bowl Azai back with sheer power. At this close range he could hardly refrain from smack-talking his opponent, grinning over their crossed weapons. “Think your wife will haul me over the coals if I damage that pretty face of yours?” he laughed.

Nagamasa’s deadly gaze turned even colder. “Don’t patronize me!” he cried, shoving his lance forward and successfully throwing Yuan backwards. He followed it with a quick attack of his own, thrusting straight at Yuan’s chest and striking him on the right side where the plate covered his vitals. Dun flew at him from the side in retaliation, but Azai pulled the lance back enough to block in the nick of time. Those watching were sure that this fight would not be over quickly, and could not even guess at who might be the victor.

Cao Pi leaned over to murmur to his strategist. “Call up the men holding the lady we captured. And see if Zhang Liao has had any success with his fight, as well.”

Mitsunari’s eyes remained fixed on the fight going on in front of them. “You’re sending me off at a time like this?” he muttered back. “If he gets past them, you’re next.”

“I’m aware of that.” Pi nudged him with an elbow. “If you hurry you might make it back in time.”

Mitsunari sighed and rolled his eyes, but obeyed, slipping around behind Cao Pi and dashing off to find a scout to dispatch to the main camp. It did seem that the outcome of this incursion was already decided, and the clash in the courtyard a mere formality, but he knew Pi wasn’t asking to have their prisoner brought up for gloating purposes. Oichi might be useful in another sense, so he went at all speed and urged the scout to do the same. A quick glance through the gate found that Gan Ning still had not been brought down, but neither had Zhang Liao, so Ishida left them to keep whaling on each other as long as they wanted and hurried back to his lord.

By now it was clear that there was only one Xiahou capable of keeping up with Azai, and Yuan stumbled back to concede before his armor took any more dents from the piercing lance. Dun redoubled his effort now that he was alone, no longer under the delusion that he had already fought this castle’s toughest protector in the outer ward. Every swing of the Qilin Blade was met and matched, but still he persisted, circling around to keep Nagamasa always in front of him no matter how quickly the man plunged past him with each jab of the lance. If not for the constant ring of metal clashing, onlookers might have thought they were hardly landing a hit on each other as they jousted. Anyone unfamiliar with Xiahou Dun might have thought his podao no match for a weapon nearly four times its length and far heavier, but he knew just how to counter it, and his solid two-handed swings deflected it as easily as Azai swung it in the first place. His goal was to get inside its reach and finally close in on Nagamasa, but every time he tried he found himself parried by the lower end of the lance, as Nagamasa simply yanked it to the side like a spear-shaft. His masterful handling of the weapon impressed even Dun, as he tried once more and found his podao screaming up the length of the lance to be caught at the wide bell near the hilt. He leaned in before Azai could throw him off. “Such talent,” he remarked. “You might be of use to us after all.”

“I am not here to be used,” Nagamasa countered, slowly raising an elbow to prepare for his next move. “Yet your might is beyond my wildest imaginings. And you are but one of your lord’s retainers.”

“Should you somehow best me,” Dun grunted with the implication that such a thing could never happen, “you will have to face the young master. You can see for yourself, then, but only if you can beat me.”

Nagamasa suddenly jabbed out with that arm, taking advantage of the close quarters to tip the lance and use its pommel to strike instead of the massive length. It very nearly caught Dun in the chin, but he moved at the same time to push off the lance and swing the podao up to block. He was in closer than before, now, and went on the offensive, but Azai braced a forearm behind the lance’s weight and used it like the shaft of a spear to successfully prevent him from getting through and making good on his threat. They launched into yet another round of strikes, back and forth, and could have gone on all afternoon had Cao Pi not employed his final strategy. The scout had reached the Wei camp, and Cao Zhang responded by personally escorting the prisoner through the broken defenses all the way to the inner sanctum of Chencang. As she came up alongside her captors, Cao Pi turned a serious look upon her. “It’s time to put a stop to this,” he said sternly. “Your husband is brave and honorable, I’ll give him that, but you know the nature of our mission here. Will you not ask him to stand down, for his sake as well as yours?”

Oichi watched the clash of titans for a moment and then slowly shook her head. “It is not my place. My lord is doing what he believes is right.”

“He’ll lose,” Mitsunari said bluntly. “If he beats Xiahou Dun, he has to go through me, and then Cao Pi.”

Pi glanced his way. “What of Zhang Liao?”

“He’s still having fun. But he might cut it short if he’s needed here.”

The Wei lord snorted softly. _Fun. Right._ He thought it curious that his strategist was willing to place himself in the roster, but let it be for now. Oichi needed to work with him, here. “This isn’t for show,” he insisted. “I don’t care about his damned honor, or the battle. Even if he were to defeat us all, our army has already won the day and the weakness in your defense is exposed. Fighting one another is pointless when Orochi is our true enemy, can his honor not accept that?”

Oichi refused to meet his eyes, she could only watch her beloved husband parry and then turn the momentum back to his own advantage, sweeping and bashing at Xiahou Dun. “You’ve made yourself quite clear, Lord Cao Pi, but there’s nothing I can do.”

“Damn his ridiculous samurai honor!” Mitsunari abruptly sprang from his place, flicking the fan open wide and charging toward Azai from just behind him where he would be blind to the assault. Unfortunately, Xiahou Dun did see him coming and glanced his way, unconsciously telegraphing a warning. Nagamasa stopped and pulled back in time to prepare, but Ishida wasn’t going for a direct hit. He ducked as the lance whirled over his head, raising his arm and the fan to protect his face as he darted right under the weapon and finally did what Dun could not, getting inside Nagamasa’s reach. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t as heavy or strong as some of Wei’s warriors, he still plowed his arm and shoulder into Azai’s chestplate, bouncing right off him and diverting off to the side. Both Azai and Xiahou Dun were taken aback by such an ineffectual attack, though Nagamasa felt a sting and had to touch his chin to find the source. His fingers came away with a spot of blood; the fan had cut him as Mitsunari disengaged. He was ready to treat it as an attempted distraction and turned to make sure Dun couldn’t take advantage of it and successfully hit him, but even as the one-eyed officer closed in again, the whole courtyard rang with a blast. Smoke and chips of stone billowed up from behind Azai, and the shockwave of the small explosion threw him off balance. Dun overcame his surprise faster, and charged him while he was still recovering. One hit and his bright helm flew off, and one more finished the fight. At long last Nagamasa was on the ground, and both podao and war fan swished in toward his throat to hold him down. “Yield, dammit!” Ishida demanded.

Though he still had plenty of strength and breath left, Nagamasa squinted up through the smoke and dust to see that he had genuinely lost the fight. Ishida had thrown a couple of his small bombs as he performed his feint, just what they needed to shake up the momentum and allow Xiahou Dun to get just one hit in the right spot to knock him down. To try to get up again meant a dishonorable beheading on the spot. He let go of his lance and let his head thunk onto the stone, closing his eyes in a wince. “I am the unworthy one,” he admitted. “It’s over. You have the day, men of Wei.”

“Don’t sound so ashamed,” Cao Pi sniffed as he came closer, still carrying both halves of Pure Havoc bared. “You fought well.”

“Not well enough.” He couldn’t defeat one retainer, let alone two more plus the commander. Azai felt as though this was merely confirmation of all his innermost fears. Of course Lord Oda wouldn’t want him, if he couldn’t even hold off an assault by this tiny vanguard of Wei. No wonder he didn’t bother to call on him or warn him or anything. The blade left his throat, while Xiahou Yuan moved in to pick up the lance; disarmed and dismayed, Nagamasa sat up and then pushed himself onto his knees before the enemy commander. “A defeated soldier deserves nothing but death. If you deny me everything else, at least have mercy and allow me to die with dignity.”

“You, too?” Cao Pi frowned angrily at him, and then turned that same look on the woman at his side, who had expressed the same thing earlier.

“Please,” Oichi said softly. “I wish to share the same fate as my lord. Whatever you do…”

“As the defeated side, you have no say in your fate,” Pi snapped at them. There was one piece of unfinished business, though, so while his retainers circled their prisoners and kept them under control, he turned to Xiahou Dun. “Come with me. There’s someone missing from this party.”

They went out to the spot where they had last left Zhang Liao and Gan Ning to find them still clashing, at that very moment butted up against one another like two walls pushing against each other, neither able to retreat or to gain the upper hand. Both bore a number of cuts but it didn’t seem to have slowed them down at all. Cao Pi still had his swords drawn, so he strode to a point where both of them could clearly see him and clicked the two together rather obviously. Dun stood just behind his shoulder, Qilin Blade ready. Both Liao and Ning froze where they were, seeing the two of them and hearing the loud snap of Pure Havoc, and though he didn’t move a muscle to back off, Wenyuan asked, “Is the battle over, then?”

“Lord Azai has been defeated,” Cao Pi confirmed.

“You bastard!” Gan Ning abruptly pushed back from Liao, staggered a couple of steps, and then rushed at Cao Pi instead. “Don’t come lookin’ for trouble if you don’t want any!”

Dun nearly leaped to meet him, but Pi shoved him back this time and met the charge with one of his own, eyes clouded with fury. He swept in fast with unusual strength, and whether it was because he had rested long enough or because Ning was exhausted from battling his rival, Pure Havoc threw the River Master wide and allowed Cao Pi to shoulder-check the pirate into the wall. An flick of his wrist put the edge of the blade against Ning’s throat, demanding his cooperation. “Yuanrang, bind him and bring him in with the others,” he demanded over his shoulder. “This is finished.”

Most of the Azai army had already gathered as much, fighting had more or less stopped and the lesser retainers gathered to surrender to their conquerors. Yet, none of them could do more than mill about the inner courtyard as they waited to hear their lord’s fate. The Wei army moved into Chencang like occupiers, but the true outcome of the battle had to wait until after Cao Pi concluded things with Azai properly. He left his prisoners to stew a bit while he looked after himself and his men, seeing to their injuries and doling out orders for the encampment first. When he finally came around to the war room where they had been sequestered, he found Nagamasa and Oichi silently brooding and Gan Ning still bristling in rage. The instant Cao Pi showed his face in the room, all that pent-up ire was unleashed straight at him. “What the hell is this? What do you want with us now? You toying with us?”

“Shut up.” Pi’s voice was cool and even, he didn’t need to raise it. It was just as effective as the alternative. He strode over with Mitsunari shadowing him as usual and took up position standing before his captives, hands clasped before him. “So the mighty Gan Xingba is hiding out here, reduced to playing lackey for a couple of ineffective, wayward officers. I never would have expected it.”

Ning still dripped with sweat and blood, his wounds had not yet been tended. He looked up from under the shadow of his headband with lips curled in a snarl. “What’s it to you? I go where I’m needed! If there’s snakes to be exterminated, I’m there! Not that you’d know,” he added with a sneer. “I heard you’ve been his bitch for a while now.”

Pi’s eyes narrowed in irritation. Dealing with the pirate was really going to test his patience. “Your information is out of date,” he said simply.

“So, what then?” Ning tipped his head up brashly, still sneering. “You gonna kill me, then? Huh? What’d you take this castle for if you’re too squeamish to do it? C’mon!” He strained against the ropes holding him, which creaked dangerously. “You shoulda taken my head when you had the chance! Or let Wenyuan do it, he’s got the honor for it!”

Pi waited a moment before responding, letting the demand hang in the air around them, echoing from the stone walls. “Are you truly so quick to seek death? All of you.” His eyes shifted from Ning to the couple silently awaiting their doom next to him. “Is that what you truly desire?”

Gan Ning likewise looked to the others, genuinely unsure what they might say. Oichi held her tongue, but Nagamasa answered for them both. He raised his head and fixed his conquerors with a solemn gaze. “I vowed to keep this land safe from Orochi, and I have failed. Even if what my dear Oichi tells me is true, and you are not acting on Orochi’s behalf, I have still shown my weakness. I am no use to the Resistance. What more can you do with me besides execute me?”

Mitsunari flinched a little at that, disturbed. He knew what Nagamasa had once done at the fall of Odani, but here he had a second chance. For him to still feel that there was no recourse but death…

Cao Pi turned back to the pirate, wanting to hear his answer. Ning peered suspiciously back at him. “All I want is to take it to the snake,” he growled. “I don’t care how many I gotta go through to get to him, I just want to see Orochi destroyed.”

“How appropriate,” Pi retorted. “So do I.”

He let that sink in, turning to pace slowly along the line of prisoners, aware of their eyes as well as Ishida’s following him. “The lady is correct,” he said to begin his explanation. “I left Orochi, I am lord of Wei and Wei is no one’s vassal. I’ve already begun my quest to topple Orochi, and it requires more strength than I currently have at my fingertips. It will take all of us to even dream of facing him. So if you cannot see the value in joining me, then at least know that if you stick with me long enough, you will find yourselves on a battlefield where you very well might die. At least that way, you will give up your life doing something useful, and who knows? Maybe it will be the martyrdom you seek rather than a pointless death. Either way.” He stopped before Nagamasa and stared down at him. “I will not execute you. If your answer is no, then I turn you loose to wander and wallow in your self-pity somewhere else.”

A long silence fell after he finished, in which Gan Ning’s seething quieted and Oichi simply placed her hand over her husband’s, since neither of them had been bound. Mitsunari stepped up alongside his lord, then. “Have you had any contact with the Resistance, at all? Or have you just been sitting here for months doing nothing?”

“Nothing!” Ning spat back at him. “We’ve been keeping these mountains clean of snakes, that ain’t nothing!”

“We had some word, a while back,” Nagamasa answered more civilly. “I fell in with the Takeda early on, but when they moved their camp to ally with the Uesugi, I came to Chencang to hold it so Orochi’s forces could not take it. The last contact I had was when Oda messengers found us and brought us the terrible news that Lords Takeda and Uesugi had been killed.”

Ishida nodded his understanding. “So you’re caught up on that, but there’s a lot more you don’t know.” His eyes went to Gan Ning. “Did you even know Sun Ce had re-established Wu?”

“Huh?” Ning looked up sharply. “The hell are you talkin’ about? I know he defected but…”

“It’s true. They’re at Hefei.”

“So that’s why you’re here,” Pi said sagely. “You didn’t know.”

Ning drew in a breath and puffed his chest out proudly. “It’s more than that. Azai’s a friend, and I don’t turn my back on my friends.”

“Noble to a fault,” Pi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. All of this bluster was giving him a headache. “At risk of filling your head with even more hot air, your strength is needed on the front line, Master Xingba, not out here in the wilderness. It should be spent hunting Orochi himself, and if you can’t find your way back to Wu, then Wei would be glad to have your help for the time being instead. That is,” he added smartly, “if you can stand to be seen in the company of your rival.”

“You really want me to work for you.” Gan Ning’s brow furrowed, he couldn’t believe this. There was no reason to get friendly with anyone in Wei, and he did trust that if he said no, he would in fact be turned loose to wander again. But half the reason he settled at Chencang was because he was tired of wandering, of not being any use to anyone. Knowing Sun Ce was safe at Hefei gave him one idea, but he and Ling Tong had already given themselves in service to other lords in order to resist Orochi. It was a tough thought, considering himself part of Wei in any capacity, but Cao Pi had a lot of good points. He squared his shoulders and huffed under his breath. “I ain’t so weak as to be afraid of rubbin’ shoulders with him, or you or anybody else. Maybe I’d rather go back to Wu, but if you’re all Resistance, then it don’t matter which army I ride with for now. Point is, _you_ asked _me_. You need me, is that it? Then sign me up. I’m ready.”

Cao Pi heaved a sigh at having to concede that stroke of his ego, but it was enough. He slid one blade from its sheath, walked around behind Ning, and slit the ropes without leaving a mark. “I’ll have my field medics see to your injuries,” he said curtly. “And you two?”

Nagamasa and Oichi looked to him, even as Ning flopped to a seat and rubbed his arms where the rope had irritated his cuts. For them, there really was no choice. “Very well,” Azai said, “we will take your offer. But what of Chencang?”

“I admit I wasn’t looking to conquer another fortress,” Pi replied, going back to where Mitsunari stood. “It’s a bit out of the way and I don’t really want to waste manpower holding it if it has no purpose.”

“Have you even seen any of Orochi’s forces, or anyone else?” Ishida queried.

“Demons, yes,” Oichi replied. “Our patrols have routed a number of them in the mountain passes.”

“But no Resistance forces,” Nagamasa admitted. “Nor civilians, for that matter. It’s been just us, diligently attacking every snake we find.”

Lord and strategist shared a look and a nod. “We will discuss it later, when we’ve all had time to rest and consult,” Pi decided. “For now, I will take control of Chencang, as it rightfully belongs to Wei anyway.”

Nagamasa could not argue with that, and since he and all of his retainers were allowed to keep whatever quarters they had been using, all that was left was to find room for the Wei officers while their men encamped in the outer wards where barracks aplenty could be found. The gates were closed to keep out any real Orochi intruders, and a quiet night eventually fell over the fortress now at peace. Gan Ning’s wounds were treated and wrapped in linen bandages to keep him comfortable while they healed, and he strode around the fortress as proud of them as if they were a fine silk tunic. It was a sign that he had given his all and survived, particularly against Zhang Liao. The evening meal was only moderately tense as the triumphant Wei force absorbed its prisoners into its ranks; Ning was not quiet, but perhaps a bit more subdued than he normally would be in the presence of men he usually would consider enemies, chatting primarily with the couple he had spent the last few weeks faithfully protecting. Later, when most retired to their quarters, he still roamed restlessly around the corridors of the keep, not sure what he was looking for but unable to find it either way. As he stood at one of the upper windows that looked out across the shoulder of the mountain, absently staring out at the sentry torches glimmering in the darkness, he heard a heavy tread coming up behind him and glanced to find Zhang Liao approaching. Gan Ning only acknowledged his presence with a half-hearted smirk that was there and then gone in an instant. “Master Xingba,” Liao murmured, coming right up to the other side of the window frame. He was clearly there for a reason. “That was a well-fought match out there, today.”

“Don’t start with me, Wenyuan,” Ning grumbled. “I don’t wanna hear it.”

“I was being honest,” Liao assured.

“Yeah, but even honest sounds patronizing comin’ from the likes of you.” Ning turned and leaned his back against the wall, keeping the window between them. He folded his arms over his bandaged chest and stared at the floor instead. “The hell kind of strategy is that anyway? Beat down the guy you want to join your army instead of askin’ him nicely.”

Liao snorted. “I believe it was Lord Azai who didn’t want to listen to explanations. If he’d been a touch more patient, not a single weapon would have been drawn.”

Ning shot him a glare. “Oh, so it’s our fault, huh? And just how long have you been with your lord, anyway?”

Zhang Liao looked away suddenly. “Since I retreated from Hefei,” he admitted, his voice dropping contritely. “We were unable to reach Lord Cao Cao’s position before Orochi got to him, I had fallen back to Jianye with Lord Cao Pi.”

“So all along, then.” Gan Ning’s voice dripped with venom. “You’ve been Orochi’s slave all this time. Probably crushed a few Resistance armies along the way, huh? Maybe you were even at the battle where Lord Takeda got killed.”

Liao breathed a soft sigh. He was beginning to understand why Azai’s people didn’t want to believe Wei could possibly be on the right side. “No,” he answered heavily. “I was injured in a battle before that, by Lord Takeda himself. His rearguard routed us when we went looking for his alliance’s camp.” He heard Ning’s grunt of approval and glanced his way. “You knew him?”

Ning tutted under his breath. “Takeda gave us a real hand after Hefei,” he replied gruffly. “Me and Ling Tong. They gave us a place to rest, healed him up, and so on. We wouldn’t have survived without them.”

Liao tipped his head back, casting his eyes toward the ceiling. “I only brushed up against him that once, but he seemed both wise and formidable. When I heard what Orochi’s demons had done, I felt he deserved far better.”

“Course he did,” Ning snapped. That made him look back at Liao, though, wondering if all this was how he really felt. He could rail at Wenyuan for being a subordinate of Orochi all he wanted, but he didn’t actually know what he or anyone in Wei had gone through. Not the same as Wu, he figured, seeing as none of them had been forced or blackmailed, but he still wondered. After a long silence, he tried a different topic. “You seen that guy who kicked our asses back at Hefei, lately?”

“Not since then,” Liao reported. “Master Ishida tells me his name is Maeda Keiji. Of course, now that we’re no longer on the same side, I should like to face him again. He won’t get the better of me a second time.”

“Get in line behind me,” Ning bragged. “If there’s anything left of him after _I’m_ through with him, that is.”

Liao chuckled wryly. Having the pirate around as a comrade was going to be interesting. “You’re not interested in returning to your countrymen?” he asked.

“Eh…I’ll get there,” Ning shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that Lord Ce’s doin’ so well. But there’s a bit of unfinished business between us, I don’t wanna just go waltzing on in to Hefei like nothin’ ever happened.”

“Still holding a grudge, I see.”

“It’s not a grudge!” Xingba insisted. “I don’t bother with grudges, get that idea out of your head. It’s just, yanno. Complicated. Besides,” he added, “one army’s as good as the next in this world. Your lord asked me flat out for my help, so I’ll give it. For now.” He leaned over slightly, beginning to smirk. “Don’t get too used to having me around, Wenyuan.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Liao said dryly.


	52. Chapter 52

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fuuma Kotaro takes charge and makes his first big move as a commander; Sun Ce's forces pay a friendly visit to Oda Nobunaga.

Date Masamune thought he had things well enough under control, relatively speaking, but his tenuous hold on the Orochi army was interrupted rather unexpectedly. He was in the courtyard of Bai Di Castle drilling his rifle troop in anticipation of battles soon to come when a single horse rode through the gate, bearing one of Orochi’s most trusted servants who had been out of contact for some time. From the dark look on his painted face, he did not have good news. The entirety of the Fuuma ninja clan at his command marched on foot behind him and came to an eerily silent stop as Fuuma Kotaro reined in and hopped down, and every last soldier milling about the yard dropped whatever they were doing to watch the outcome of this meeting. Date straightened up and faced him as Fuuma strode up to him, the dark glare tempered slightly by a cold smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “So. You do still exist,” Date sassed him. “To what do we owe this visit?”

“Silence,” Fuuma purred, “and show some respect to the new field commander of the Orochi army.”

Masamune’s good eye narrowed. “Field commander? What is the meaning of this?”

He had not been promoted by anyone, so naturally he couldn’t be offended that someone else claimed the title he wanted, but he could still bristle at the insinuation. Fuuma didn’t care if he did. “Lord Orochi has placed me in charge of the main army,” he said, squaring his shoulders as if to dare Date to challenge him for it. “I’ve come to take command, and to deliver a warning.” The smirk vanished, but a light of evil glee came into his dark eyes. “He’s coming.”

It seemed to take a second for those words to sink in, for the reaction on Date’s face was slow to build and unleash. He frowned, first, but then it hit him and his eye began to widen in shock. “What? No!”

“Protest all you like, it won’t stop him,” the ninja captain retorted. “Lord Orochi knows what’s happened in this region, he knows about Da Ji. He’ll be raising the army and coming to handle things himself, but in advance of his presence, he’s sent me to clean up the mess.”

Masamune quickly shook off his fear and scowled. “This _mess_ is all Da Ji’s fault! She lost control of what was left of Wu, arrested Sun Quan, and didn’t keep a tight enough leash on Dong Zhuo – and then took her eye off Cao Pi long enough to get herself captured!”

Fuuma’s expression darkened all over again. “I don’t need your litany of excuses. If you were to blame, Date, I would already have your head.” He pushed past Masamune and strode through the courtyard, sending riflemen scattering out of his way. Katakura Kojuro stood his ground, eyeing the ninja suspiciously, but the rest of their men made themselves scarce. “It is not your duty to worry about whose fault it is that the army is in this state, or who will be punished for it. Suffice it to say, we are charged with liberating Da Ji from captivity _before_ he reaches us. Whatever information you have, you will give it to me immediately.”

Masamune harrumphed in irritation and turned swiftly, his cape floating after him. “There are less demanding ways to call a conference, you know,” he sniffed. “If you’re truly taking over, then you’ll need to be briefed, so you may as well go right on into the war room.” He went in first, though, intending to collect any papers containing such information and apprise Keiji of this new development so that they would both be fully prepared for whatever the ninja was about to throw at them. Maeda was extremely interested and showed up to the conference with him, mostly to sneer at Fuuma but also to hear what else he might have from Orochi. They strode in to find Kotaro waiting for them, alone, carrying with him a couple of message scrolls brought from their overlord. He only gave a fleeting smirk of acknowledgement before Date opened his mouth all over again. “If those are for me, hand them over.”

“Patience,” Kotaro growled. “I am here to take command, you will give me what I need first.”

Masamune dipped his head to grumble something under his breath and then tipped his chin up proudly. “Fine. What do you want, then?”

“As I understand it, our commanders are down to you two…” Fuuma made a face to deliberately annoy them. “…Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo, Sima Yi, and Zhuge Liang. Is that truly all we have? Am I missing anyone?”

Date shook his head. “On the command level, no. That’s it. I don’t know how many of Sima Yi’s lackeys are still with him, considering his own sons betrayed him, but everyone else has plenty of retainers at their command.” He cast his eye toward Keiji, who technically didn’t have any retainers of his own but had brought in stragglers from various loyalties who couldn’t or wouldn’t go back to their own lords. “I’ve got the full Date and Katakura rifle corps, Dong Zhuo’s guys are abroad with him, and Zhuge Liang should still have Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at his command. Unless he’s gone and lost them too, while my back was turned,” he added with a squint toward Fuuma.

“He hasn’t,” Fuuma replied with an unimpressed stare. “Not that it’s any business of yours, anymore.”

“And just how do we know we can even trust him?” Date went on. “I always thought Lord Orochi had only secured him because of Liu Bei. So what’s stopping him from turning on us the way Sun Ce did?”

“I couldn’t say,” the ninja replied. “But so far he hasn’t shown a single tendency to cause mischief, he’s never complained, and if he’s lost a battle it’s because he wasn’t strong enough compared to the enemy. Where is he stationed, now that Odawara has fallen?”

“Osaka Castle,” Masamune said. “He took Sun Quan there after Da Ji arrested him. Her plan was to have Sun Jian brought from wherever he’s being held, so she could publicly execute the two of them there.”

Fuuma sighed in annoyance. “A foolish plan. Does she want Sun Jian to escape along the way? No matter. That plan is no longer anyone’s concern. Lord Orochi cares not whether they’re alive or dead, so as long as we still have them as prisoners, there’s no reason to waste time and energy changing that status one way or the other. Leave their incarceration to those already doing well to keep them from being freed. Your concern, which is the whole army’s main concern, should be putting and end to the Resistance leaders Zhao Yun, Sun Ce, and Oda Nobunaga. As well as Cao Pi, now that he’s made his intentions clear.”

Date was waiting for that order, and sneered in Fuuma’s face. “And just how are we supposed to do that with so few commanders? And don’t even think of relying on Dong Zhuo to do all the hard work,” he quickly added, pointing a finger accusingly. “That idiot has gone off on his own errands, he doesn’t care about Lord Orochi’s plan at all. All he wants to do is capture women and keep them for himself.”

Kotaro stared him down, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Is that where he’s gone?”

“That’s the last word I had from him.”

“He claims he’s only following Lord Orochi’s order to recapture deserters,” Keiji put in. “Point is he’s only going after deserters with breasts bigger’n mine, never went anywhere near Sun Ce or Cao Pi.”

“He can spout that excuse to Lord Orochi’s face,” Fuuma grumbled, “and we’ll see how much longer he keeps his head on that excuse for a neck.”

The thought of the arrogant tyrant groveling for his life before Orochi brought a wry grin to Keiji’s face, but Date just passed it off with another huff. “We all know perfectly well what the army _should_ be doing,” he countered, “but we don’t have the manpower. Attacking Oda at Guandu or Cao Pi at Xuchang is going to take more resources than we have right now. How does Lord Orochi expect us to accomplish anything without his aid?”

Fuuma glanced away as he considered their options. He still needed the full rundown of their forces and supplies, names and numbers of officers and troops, and any assets like the rifle corps, but there were a few crucial nuggets of information which superseded the menial details. “Where is Lu Bu, at present?”

“Hell if I know,” Keiji answered for both of them. “He took off for He Fei Castle to see if his wife was there, and after that…who knows. He didn’t leave a note.”

The ninja captain turned his glare back on them. “Fools, putting their personal business before Lord Orochi! Fine. Send a missive to Zhuge Liang at Osaka, order him to return here immediately. We will need a strategist in order to prepare any assault, and right now I would prefer him to Sima Yi. Our primary goal will be to liberate Lady Da Ji from prison. Anything else accomplished before Lord Orochi arrives among us, we can consider a bonus.” At last, he unfolded his arms and held out the message scrolls for Date to snatch and read for himself. “As for Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, we need to corral them. Send word to wherever they might be, make sure they are _found_ and are told that Lord Orochi will be here soon. If that doesn’t bring them slinking back to accept orders, they’ll be considered traitors as much as anyone else.”

Masamune raised his eye from the message scrolls, and when no more orders followed, he stood down his anxiety and irritation with a quick sigh. “Consider it done,” he assured. Sending those particular messages would be no trouble at all, as he had been itching to write them for days, now. “I’ll have them ready to ride within the hour.”

“Excellent.” Fuuma regarded them coolly; at least he knew he could trust them. Personality conflicts aside, he knew that both Date and Maeda were Orochi’s devoted servants through and through, they would sooner die than fail their lord. He had gotten the reports, he knew that Date had been tempted to join the Resistance and refused. Of course, he wasn’t going to inflate the man’s ego by telling him that he’d earned Orochi’s trust that way, but it meant Fuuma couldn’t be openly hostile. Seeing now how much their army had dwindled, giving any officer a reason not to trust or obey out of willingness and loyalty would only shrink their army further. The Orochi main army had come to a point where a commander like Fuuma was necessary – the time for a charismatic leader with diplomacy and clever ideas had passed, they needed someone with an iron fist to wrangle what was left of the army into submission and send them to do the impossible. Clashing with Wei or Nobunaga would require armies full of men who did not know how to desert, who could be coerced into giving their lives in suicide missions without flinching. He could live with leaving the boring day-to-day part to Date, but in the end, he would have to answer to Orochi directly, so he needed to stay in control of every facet of the army. Whether or not anything else could be done, he had to whip this army into shape just long enough to spring Da Ji from Wei’s clutches. If he couldn’t manage that much, he didn’t deserve what the demon lord had lain on his shoulders. Yet, before they could get to the regular briefing, a messenger came in with a scouting report from the field which immediately forced a change in plans. As much as he wanted to hope that a sternly-worded missive would call Dong Zhuo back to him, Fuuma could see from this new information that he would have to go and get him himself. Growling deeply under his breath, he demanded Date give him the briefest rundown on which officers were still at Bai Di and of them, which could be spared to leave in less than a day on a new mission.

Dong Zhuo most likely had no idea how much the upper commanders griped about him, for he was simply far too self-absorbed to consider that anyone should ever have a problem with him. Even when Sima Yi yelled in his face, he didn’t consider any of the failures at Anegawa to be his fault. He withdrew while the strategist remained encamped, waiting for messengers to come back with verification that Da Ji had been lost; it was Dong Zhuo’s assertion that regardless of whether it was true or false, he had his “orders” from Orochi and he was hell-bent on obeying them. He only had a couple of his faithful retainers at his command, the rest had not yet returned from their complete rout at Xiliang, and as much as he really wanted their strength at his back, he had no choice but to press on if he didn’t want to lose another escapee’s trail. He had to trust that Lu Bu had them under his control and would bring them along eventually, but right now, staying on the pursuit before this new trail went cold was of the utmost priority for him. The territory into which they pursued an obvious track left by a passing army looked familiar, and Dong Zhuo’s brother Min told their men to take heart, because they were finally passing through some of their own lands. What they would find ahead of them as they pressed on, even their commander could only guess. If the information they wrestled out of the vagabonds lurking in the byways was correct, there could be a fair-sized army protecting this particular treasure. It didn’t dissuade Dong Zhuo one bit, he had already scented his prey and was keen to overtake her before she could slip away like his last prize. One evening, as they were making camp, the sentries suddenly sent up a massive hue and cry that someone had arrived at their camp – someone who was technically permitted, but not at all welcome – and wanted to know what to do. Zhuo trudged out of his command tent to find the tall shadow with fiery red braids standing right there, staring him down. He hadn’t been accompanied by this favorite of Orochi’s since being driven out of Tong Gate, so espying him again, already inside his camp, did not bode well. “What are _you_ doing here?” he snarled at the ninja.

Fuuma Kotaro only smirked slightly. “There has been a change of command,” he informed him. “With Da Ji in Resistance hands, Lord Orochi has put me in charge. And I’ve heard quite a lot about your decisions on which orders you prefer to follow, Dong Zhuo.”

The odious tyrant scowled behind his frizzy beard. He wasn’t generally scared of Fuuma, if only because he didn’t know that much about him besides his tendency to appear like a phantom exactly where he wasn’t wanted. He _looked_ frightening, sure, but Zhuo wasn’t sure what to make of his claim to authority. With Fuuma had come reinforcements from the main army, commanded by Tao Qian, who had been one of those officers almost perpetually sitting in residence at Bai Di until now. With the Orochi army so low on manpower, no one was allowed to sit idle. He lurked behind the ninja’s shoulder, holding his simple feathered fan to his chest. Dong Min eyed him from behind his brother’s shoulder. “But then why travel all the way out here?” he wondered. “Surely you could have sent a message with the governor, here.”

“Messages can be ignored,” Fuuma noted, “as can ineffectual governors who’ve spent too much time studying and not enough fighting.” Tao Qian blanched slightly at that. “Clearly, you have no intention of doing anything Lord Orochi truly wants of you, unless someone stands over you driving you toward the goal. I don’t have time to wait for you to come back to Bai Di for orders, so I am making sure you complete this mission and then do so. Quickly,” he added in a low growl.

“Oh yeah?” Dong Zhuo drew himself up, making his great bulk swell even more, and stared him down. “Well, unless you’ve brought me my gold, I have no reason to listen to your whining, ninja.”

“Your gold is on a cart at the edge of camp,” Fuuma said, almost boredly, and then rather abruptly snapped and rushed him, grabbing him by the beard with one fist and pressing the claws of his other gauntlet to the man’s neck. “You will learn, now, that Lord Orochi permits me everything he denies you, including the ability to arrest, torture, and execute officers who fail him. If you so much as twitch an eyebrow in my direction, I will slit your throat. Is that understood?”

Dong Zhuo trembled in his grip, unable to keep eye contact under his powerful aura. A few beard-hairs drifted down his tunic, sliced by the too-close presence of those claws. He swallowed to fight a dry tongue and mouthed, “Understood.”

Kotaro shoved him back and gestured for the man with him to join them. “The one good thing about Tao Qian is that he’s been studying sorcery for a while, and has reached a level where he is more than useful. We will make use of his skills to bring this errand to a swift and satisfying conclusion.” He brandished his gauntlet in full few of the officers, not to threaten them but to merely intimidate and drive home his point. “I know exactly who you’re seeking. Scouts have already identified the army you’ve flushed out of the bushes, and the deserter you’re hunting is of the utmost importance to Lord Orochi.”

Dong Zhuo regained a shred of courage, perking up in interest. “Is it her, then?”

Fuuma nodded once. “Cao Pi’s wife will make a fine hostage, now that he’s turned his back on Lord Orochi.”

Zhuo grinned broadly. “Excellent! I assure you, nin…er. Fuuma. I will do everything in my power and then some to bring her in. I have a few men with me who’ve picked up Orochi’s sorcery as well, we can work together.”

“Together,” Fuuma snorted. “No. You will work under my command. You may have the field, but the strategy is mine and so are the lives of your men. We will move out in the morning, and march at all speed to cut off the Wei army before they can reach the fortifications in Liang. If they stay ahead of us and dig in, driving them out and capturing their leaders will be much more difficult.” His eyes narrowed in Dong Zhuo’s direction. “I don’t have time for difficult.”

“Yes, sir,” Dong Min stammered, shrinking back. Satisfied for now, Fuuma turned on his heel and went to make the arrangements for his reinforcements to camp, leaving Tao Qian to beg quarters from the others. Dong Zhuo shook off the icy chill of terror and checked his beard to make sure he hadn’t lost too much of it. At least he had learned some good news: the army fleeing from them contained exactly what he wanted.

While they cut across country one way, Lu Bu was leading the rest of the Dong Zhuo forces in a different direction, mindful of the potential that his newest rival was tracking him the whole way. He was between orders, between missions, and in no hurry to meet back up with his former lord even if he was carting most of his men around. Perhaps he, too, could stand to use Orochi’s umbrella order to recapture deserters as an excuse to deliberately search for one particular one. No one was going to be allowed to bring her in, she belonged to him and only he had the right to call her back. Chances were good, only Lu Bu could even know how to coerce Diaochan to return to him. He was woefully short on scouts and recon, though, so his pace slowed to a crawl while he sent out messengers looking for any nugget of information that might lead him to her. As long as he could come across her path before Dong Zhuo did; the last thing he wanted was _that guy_ going after her, he would not allow even the slightest chance that _he_ of all people could find her and have her again. No way. Lu Bu would just as soon haul off and behead him – again – for even looking at her. At least he had the bulk of the tyrant’s army in his capable fist, and wielded them like his halberd, sending them out to do the dirty work and reaping the benefits from astride his fiery horse. It wasn’t the most exciting position for a man of his nature, and with nothing to fight yet he began to show his irritation easily, yet he was doing what he wanted. Orochi could stand to wait for a few days while he sought out Diaochan and turned his steps toward her instead.

While the stragglers of the Orochi army changed their courses this way and that, Sun Ce and his rescue patrol headed back east toward Hefei, but took their time at it, riding slowly so as to take a little extra time to collect their own reconnaissance on the area. It had changed so much since Oda’s forces had begun to tear into and scatter the Orochi army, and though he had gotten considerable information from Zhou Tai and Shangxiang already, Ce was aware that he was still playing catch-up in some regards. He had been secretively stealing across the landscape for so long, and so many monumental battles had been fought during that time. As they made their way along the border between Ji Province and the next territory over, Ce turned to his strategist at hand. “We’re pretty near Guandu, aren’t we?”

“Should be just a few miles away,” Lu Meng affirmed. “Why? Curious to see it now that it’s no longer Da Ji’s cozy fox den?”

“Actually, yeah.” Ce tipped his head back to feel the sun on his face as they rode at the head of their troops. “I’ve been thinking. I know Zhou Yu was sending messages out on my behalf while I went to take care of this, but as long as we’re in the area, why not drop by and meet the famous Oda Nobunaga in person?”

Lu Meng glanced back to where Ranmaru rode just behind them, but figured the youngster probably didn’t have any greater insight than they. “I suppose it’s wise to make the most of an opportunity. We’d only have to go a little out of our way – assuming, of course, that he’s at Guandu.”

Ce turned to his wife on his other side. “Have you heard anything about Oda, lately? While you were still with the Orochi army.”

Daqiao shook her head. “After we were forced out of Guandu, I’ve not heard anything specific. It’s as good a place to check as any – his army still holds it, at least.”

“I really want to talk him, directly,” Ce noted, “but I guess if we at least drop in on his army, we can still pick up a fair amount of information.”

“All we can do is ride up and knock on the door, and see who answers,” Lu Meng said smartly.

It was resolved in an instant, they were going to take advantage of passing nearby and turn aside to Guandu to see what they would find. It wasn’t far at all, and as they went they noted sentries on wide-ranging patrols picking up their presence, although no one challenged them. It was pretty clear that they were not an attacking army, everyone rode and marched with weapons down and they weren’t in a hurry, so even if the sentries did not know the identity of the man at the lead, they could guess that it was merely a visitor and not an attacker. Still, they did their job well, and more than just the usual guard stood waiting to receive them at the main gate of the fortress. Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi stood on either side of the great iron doors, their stances casual but their armor and weapons making it clear that they were prepared to act if necessary. As their visitors rode up, however, both perked up to see Ranmaru among the company, and Akechi recognized the broad-shouldered, tiger-clad fellow at the fore from their clash at Changshan. He unclasped his hands to let them drop to his sides and bowed gracefully as the horses came to a stop. “Lord Sun Ce of Wu,” he acknowledged. “This is an unexpected surprise.”

“We were in the neighborhood,” Ce admitted, breaking into a bit of a grin. “Mind if we stop for a bit to rest our forces? We’ve just come from beating down the Orochi army and wouldn’t mind a break.”

“Oh, really now?” Hideyoshi stepped back and waved a hand. “Guess we don’t need to ask the old ‘friend or foe’ line, then. Ohh!” He spotted Daqiao then and beamed. “Look at you, little lady! Coming back to your old haunt on the other side, huh?”

Daqiao lowered her gaze demurely. She hadn’t wanted to think about that, but now it was out in the open. “I don’t regret having to fight you, my lord,” she said, “it was necessary.”

“No hard feelings,” Toyotomi assured, tipping his helm back. “I’m just glad to see you alive and well. I know how tough it was for you folks at the time. Come on in, Lord Nobunaga will be very interested in you guys.”

“He’s here, then?” Ce asked to confirm. “Great! I wanted to meet him, I owe him a lot.”

Soldiers came to take the horses and show the troops where they could have a rest in the open courtyard, while the two Oda retainers guided the officers into the castle proper. For once, Nobunaga wasn’t in the war room or the throne room, but his own quarters in the castle, and had already authorized Mitsuhide in advance that if the army approaching contained any officers of interest, they were to be brought to him immediately. He rose from his chair when his men entered, noting to himself that they certainly did find something of interest, all right. They had never met on a battlefield, but there was no mistaking that self-assured stance, the red silks, the tiger skin beneath his belt. “Well,” Oda said first, not disguising his keen curiosity, “this is an unexpected meeting. Lord Sun Ce, I presume.”

Ce had a momentary twitch of familiarity upon laying eyes on this resistance commander – people weren’t kidding that he looked sort of like Cao Cao – but it passed, and he put on a cool, casual smile. He had learned enough from his loyal retainers to effect a proper bow for him. “And you must be Oda Nobunaga. It’s nice to finally meet the guy I’ve been hearing so much about.”

Oda smirked back, bowing his head in return. “To what do I owe this meeting, then? Is there something I can do for the Lord of Wu?”

“Consider it just a friendly visit,” Ce replied. “We were passing through on our way back to Hefei and I thought, hey, why not stop in and see this man who’s been so important in setting me and my men free?”

Said so openly that way, it almost took Oda aback for a moment. His dark eyes flickered with understanding, but he kept his cool and simply held a hand out to the chairs set in the parlor. He had taken rather easily to the fine furnishings of Guandu and enjoyed them every bit as he would kneeling on a zabuton on the tatami floors of Honnoji. “Come, then. Let us take the time to get to know each other. It is late in the day – would you be continuing on your journey, or should I have my men prepare quarters for yours?”

Ce glanced to assure himself that Lu Meng was standing just inside the door, and Daqiao floated somewhere behind him. “Well, I hadn’t meant to just drop in and impose on your hospitality,” he admitted, “but you’re right. If you don’t mind us overnighting at Guandu, of course.”

“Think nothing of it,” Nobunaga assured, gesturing to Mitsuhide, who nodded and silently vanished to take care of the arrangements. It left his lord alone in the room with his visitors, but it was a sign of trust and understanding. Oda had no fear that these particular people had any interest in harming him. “In fact, I know a couple of retainers here in the castle who would like to see you, now that you’re here.”

“Oh yeah?” Ce settled into the chair like the rough and tumble warrior he was, while his wife took up position just behind the back of the chair. “Actually, we’ve got someone along you might like to see as well. He’s probably out in the hall right now.”

“Mm?” Nobunaga didn’t need to guess, he already knew, but Lu Meng leaned over to call in the young retainer who had stayed outside until permitted. Ranmaru stepped into the doorway and bowed deeply, and Sun Ce was rather interested to see the glimmer of true feeling that slipped out from Nobunaga’s tightly-fixed mask. “Ran…”

“My lord…” Ranmaru stayed where he was, though his posture was tight as a bowstring, fists clenched at his sides as if it would control his eagerness.

A lazy smile colored Oda’s face as he turned his gaze onto his guest. “Congratulations, Sun Ce. You have managed to disarm me.” He glanced briefly toward his favorite page. “Stand down, Ran. We will talk later, first I must spend some time with your current lord.”

“I understand.” Even Ran couldn’t resist a quick smile, before bowing and ducking back out, avoiding Lu Meng’s amused gaze.

“Was this your intention?” Nobunaga continued. “To bring me a gift, and get on my good side?”

“Honestly, no,” Ce laughed openly. “I mean it, we were just nearby and I decided to stop on the spur of the moment. I didn’t even think about the fact that Ran was with us until we met your guys at the gate.” He raised a finger. “If I’d wanted to pull some kind of strategy like that, I would have brought someone else with me, too.”

“Yes, I’ve received the messages from your camp,” Oda acknowledged. “Within the letter from the famed Zhou Yu were two others – a short note from Sakon, and a letter from my wife.” He smirked knowingly. “She will be content so long as she has plenty of opportunities to sharpen her claws, and from the tale, it sounds as though your army has been more than accommodating.”

“Yeah…” Ce thought of her prowling among his men and couldn’t resist a wry grin. “That’s pretty much it, all right.”

“I shall have to owe you, for taking care of her. And for rescuing her from Orochi’s prisons, in the first place.”

“No.” Ce shook his head. “That was all Lu Meng’s idea, to pay our own debt to you. I know enough to know that Sakon and all his information was your doing. I meant what I said – we owe our freedom to you, so.” He sat up enough to palm his fist over his heart in salute. “Thanks.”

Oda likewise shook his head. “I have done nothing but push people in certain directions. I wasn’t the one who actually came by the information about Lord Sun Jian, nor the one who used that information to attempt to set him free. I hold no debts over you, Sun Ce, so let your mind be at ease. I would rather you continued to build your army and move against Orochi than consider who owes what to whom.” His eyes went stealthily to the woman behind him. “I take it you’ve been abroad to steal his officers from him.”

Feeling Daqiao’s hand on his shoulder, Ce reached across to brush it with his fingers. “That’s right, and we gave Sima Yi a shock or two he won’t soon forget. It’s just a start, we plan to push back against Orochi and take back everything we can.”

“Including prisoners, I assume.” Oda’s expression suggested he didn’t need the full explanation on what was going on with Sun Jian and Sun Quan. He had gotten Cao Pi’s messages as well, he knew everything. “It is getting close to the time when our individual resistance cells will need to band together. It seems that even though we are all stronger than we were when Orochi laid waste to the entirety of this world, we could still be vulnerable if he came among us again and turned his true strength against us.”

“All the more reason for us to sit together and make some alliances,” Ce nodded. “As for me, I feel like I missed out on a lot while I was busy running and hiding. While we were keeping our heads down and sneaking across the countryside, there were some huge battles taking place behind our backs and I’m only just now catching up on all of them. A lot happened, and I need to know about it.”

“Ah, I see. Then, feel free to collect all the stories from my officers currently stationed at Guandu,” Nobunaga encouraged even as Mitsuhide slipped back into the room and took up position behind him, directly opposite Lu Meng as proper bodyguards ought to stand. “They can tell you as much as I would be able to, many of them have waged battles or spoken to officers where I haven’t been.”

“Believe me, I will.” Ce sat forward in the ornate chair, straightening proudly up. “But let’s lay it all out, here. You’re going after Orochi, right? Not just his castles, or his officers, you’re getting ready to go after the big snake yourself. I have one thing I need to accomplish, and hopefully that’ll be soon. I also have one promise outstanding that I need to fulfill. But those things aside, I want a piece of Orochi myself. He’s tortured my family for too long, he’s abused our bonds of honor and turned us against each other. I have no intention on letting him live to gloat about what he can do to us humans, on his whim.”

Oda smiled coolly. “Well said, Lord Sun Ce. But then, is there something you want from me? Even to simply get out of your way.”

Ce shook his head. “The only thing I want is for all of us to be ready to come together, like you say. I may be a hothead who likes to fight on the front lines, but I know the value of alliances. I know, sometimes you just gotta say what you want and hear the promise spoken from the other side, no matter how much you know in your heart you’re both on the same page. So, I’ll make it official. From the present Lord of Wu to the Lord of…whatever you call yourself and your people,” he said with a little shrug. Nobunaga accepted with a vague chuckle. “If any of your forces need our aid, Wu will be there. When Orochi rises up again, we’ll be part of that fight.”

“And the Oda Resistance will be at Wu’s side, whenever and wherever you need,” Nobunaga agreed. “Is that official enough to your liking?”

“It’ll do,” Lu Meng smirked from his place by the door.

They talked a little longer, but the sun was sinking beyond the windows and it would soon be time to call the castle together for dinner, a good time in which to get all the stories Ce could possibly want. But before that could be done, Mitsuhide stepped forward. “I took the liberty of calling up some familiar faces, they should be waiting outside,” he informed them.

Sun Ce and his entourage went out to the corridor beyond the parlor, and waiting there for the conference to end stood Ling Cao, Ling Tong, and Lu Xun. Seeing them, Ce felt like his heart would burst out of his chest in joy, but he hesitated, knowing that they had been on opposing sides for so long that he couldn’t just expect forgiveness. Lu Meng, though, was able to move past him and throw his arms around Lu Xun, who accepted the embrace with a laugh. “It’s been so long!” he said, relieved. “It’s good to see you, all of you.”

Ling Tong stood back, trying to seem indifferent, but he couldn’t maintain the façade for long. He pushed past his father and went straight up to Sun Ce, facing him eye to eye, and then reached to give him a punch in the arm. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Ce returned. “Look…”

“Don’t.” Ling Tong shook his head and then broke into a grin. “Just shut up, all right? Forget about it.”

“Can’t,” Sun Ce retorted. “But I guess I don’t gotta say anything right this instant.”

“Sounds good to me.” Tong looked away shyly as Ce clapped him on the arm, far more gently, and used it to drag him in for a headlock. “Hey, hey! Watch the hair!”

“I’m glad you’re all right,” Ce murmured against his neck, giving him a quick, manly hug and then letting him go. “Where’s Gan Ning? He’s probably still pissed at me.”

Tong’s face instantly fell. “He’s not here. We got separated…after Odani was lost.”

“Ah…damn.” That was most likely his fault, Ce assumed, and gave Tong another reassuring pat on the shoulder before looking to the others, accepting a bow of respect from Tong’s father and a clasp at the wrists from Lu Xun. “You guys all look great. Oda’s been good to you, huh?”

“It’s been an adventure, that’s for sure,” Xun said. “Lord Oda’s army is a mix of kingdoms, you won’t believe who’s all with us. Ah, but you just missed Sima Zhao – he and his brother have been sent to man Fan Castle for a while,” he explained. “He told me all about what happened at Hulao, I think he’d have liked to see you again.”

“Aw, that’s a shame,” Ce complained, “but…wow, it worked? He and his brother both came to work for the Resistance? That’s great news!”

Their chatter was cut short by Oda himself gliding out into their midst, only to inform them that they could all go down to the main hall and settle in for a feast, rather than hang about outside his door. At least, he was going to go have dinner, it was up to them if they wanted to follow. His officers had all been shuffled around again, he only ever reserved Mitsuhide to serve as his second in command; Hideyoshi and Toshiie were with him, with Hanbei, but Kanbei was off elsewhere running strategic errands, the Simas had gone to Fan, and still others were at Honnoji or Xiapi taking care of those fortresses. There seemed to be a little extra smug pride in Nobunaga’s gaze as he escorted his guests into the main hall, and anyone who hadn’t already heard the gossip about a visiting vanguard from Wu stared in surprise to see Sun Ce at the warlord’s side. One man, however, came around the banquet table and straight up to the visiting lord, his stride full of purpose and possibly fury. It was usually hard to tell exactly what Ma Chao was thinking when he had his stern face on, precisely why Ce stopped in his tracks and braced himself. This meeting was a long time coming, perhaps more rife with meaning than making amends with Lu Xun and Ling Tong, and he was entirely unprepared. Chao came to a stop before him much as Ling Tong had, and for a moment the entire room held poised, waiting to see what would happen. They gazed at each other, and then Chao raised his fist and butted it against his palm before his chest. Ce shook his head quickly. “I don’t deserve that.”

“Why would you not?” Ma Chao said gruffly. “You are Orochi’s enemy, are you not? You are the Lord of Wu and as such, I salute you.”

Ce looked from him to Ling Tong, who sidled past in order to get out of the way of any potential confrontations. “You guys have every right not to forgive me for what I’ve done. I haven’t done hardly a thing to atone for it, I…”

Chao held up a hand to stop him. “What’s done is done, and it was a long time ago, now. I have looked into my own heart and decided that I am not worthy to hold grudges against you or anyone else held captive by Orochi.”

“Come on,” Ce sighed in exasperation, “will one of you at least punch me in the face?”

“No way,” Tong smirked. “If you want that so bad, wait until we find Gan Ning. He’ll be happy to oblige, I’m sure.”

The tension evaporated, and Ce accepted their welcome with a quick smack to Ma Chao’s strong arm. The Tiger General had even more of a warm reception for Ranmaru, whom he hadn’t seen in ages, and Ma Dai came among them to crow about reunions and happy meetings. The sudden feast had them all eating and drinking most of the night, especially since the contigent from Wu admitted that they were out of wine at Hefei and were extremely happy to make the most of their hosts’ generosity. Plenty of stories went around the table about all of the battles Sun Ce had missed out on, even the serious and tragic tale of Nagashino told by Ma Chao himself, and the Wu lord in turn shared his stories of Sekigahara and all subsequent battles, which most of the other Resistance cells knew nothing about save vague rumors that might have been spread by some of Wei’s officers. Daqiao was delighted to hear that her sister was just fine, and currently in command of Xiapi, which was too far out of the way to visit but close enough to Wu’s holdings that she had no fear for Xiaoqiao’s safety. “In command, really?” she asked Oda in disbelief.

“The Lady Xiaoqiao has been quite capable,” he assured her. “She held Honnoji while we came to battle here, and once everything had settled, I knew she was the perfect choice to hold that fortress. The men obey her without question.”

“I’m so glad,” Daqiao gushed. “Thank you, my lord, for looking after her. I’ve been so worried…”

“You should thank Sakon,” he demurred, “for finding her in the first place.”

“Yeah, I remember he mentioned that,” Ce broke in, “but none of us have seen or heard from her since that time. I’m sure he’ll be glad to know she’s in such a good place.”

“So now that you know where everybody is,” Hideyoshi said, “are you gonna take our officers back home with you?”

Sun Ce looked to Lu Xun and Ling Tong and then sighed. “I feel like I don’t have a right to,” he replied. “It’s up to them, really, but something Lord Nobunaga said earlier is the same thing I’ve been thinking: that it doesn’t matter which army anyone belongs to, since we’re all probably going to eventually join together anyway. I mean, Xiaoqiao’s holding a castle, and Lu Xun, you’ve been one of his strategists for a while now. You’re doing good right where you are, it doesn’t make sense to uproot you from one army and replant you in another just because it’s part of your homeland or kingdom.”

“I’m glad you said that, Lord Ce,” Lu Xun murmured. “Because I don’t know that I’m ready to leave Lord Oda’s service, yet. He saved my life – he sent his men to rescue me from the Orochi army, I owe him for that. Even if I wasn’t up to my chin in Resistance army strategies and information, I’d still wish to carry through my service until this whole mess is ended.”

“That’s fine with me.” Ce smiled for the officers across the table from him. “We’ll welcome you back home when this is over, anytime you’re ready.”

They toasted the hospitality of the Oda Resistance, the cleverness of its commander, and a great many more things well into the night, until even Hideyoshi was exhausted by all the excitement and went to bed. The Wu officers were shown to their quarters for the night in the guest wing of the fortress, though one officer did not accompany them. It was no surprise that Ranmaru waited until after everything had died down before going to see his lord, finding himself permitted in his quarters when no one else would be. Mitsuhide saw him off at the door, wishing him a good night while he went to post the night watch and sentries before retiring himself. Ran waited until he was called, now that Nobunaga had dressed down and was ready to receive him. The rooms he had chosen for himself were probably Yuan Shao’s once upon a time, and featured a balcony which could be accessed only from within the castle lord’s chambers, a safe place for him to view the moon or do whatever else he might want. Nobunaga came to his young page, set hands on his thin shoulders to have a good look at him and verify that he was healthy and happy, and then invited him onto the balcony so they could speak in private. “It is as Mitsuhide said, when he last saw you,” the warlord said gently, clasping his hands behind his back and lifting his eyes to the stars. “Your trust in Sun Ce was well-placed, and I gather, well-earned.”

“I can’t claim to have seen anything of the future to know where he would end up,” Ranmaru said modestly, following him and standing at his side like they were back in Gifu on an average evening with the world around them at peace. “I only knew I had to follow him, and try to learn from him. There is still much about him I don’t understand.”

“Is he that much of a mystery?” Nobunaga glanced sideways at his favored retainer. “It seems to me that he is simply a true warrior of their era, a man given to show his passions for life, fighting, and everything else openly and without guile.”

“It seems so,” Ran mused, “but that’s what I don’t understand. Others from his time and even from his own kingdom aren’t the same. Master Zhou Yu is as close and guarded as Hanbei and Kanbei, and even Master Lu Meng can be cautious – though, he can also be a bit gruff like Lord Sun Ce. It isn’t typical of his country or of his time, he is simply unlike anyone I’ve ever met.” He carefully raised his eyes to meet his lord’s gaze. “That is why I can’t leave him, yet.”

“I didn’t expect you would.” Oda’s smile was as vague as ever but fond, and genuine. “It’s all right with me, O-Ran. I’m not calling you back to my side yet. You may do as you please.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Ran breathed. “It means much to me that you trusted me, even when you knew me to be among the Orochi army.”

Nobunaga looked away again. “The paths each of us are walking in this world are unlike any we might find familiar. If we can’t trust one another to see the true enemy and work against him in our own small ways, then who can we trust?”

Ranmaru didn’t really want to answer that, as he still had his doubts and confusions about some of those who remained in the Orochi army. “We still have to rescue his father,” he noted. “And, his brother, now. I would not leave him when he still has that to do.”

Nobunaga breathed a quiet sigh and moved to rest his hands on the balustrade. “Unfortunately, I have nothing more of aid on that front,” he said, having already told Sun Ce as much earlier. “It will be up to him and his men, which means you, my Ran. See to it that this is accomplished. Orochi must not be allowed to succeed in executing those men – we need them, not just for the morale of Wu but for their swords and their strength.”

Ran nodded slowly; it was ever his lord’s way to look to whether anyone was a useful asset, before he would even consider their worth as a person with a heart. He was used to it. “I met him,” he said rather suddenly. “Lord Sun Jian. I went with Lord Sun Ce on the raid at Osaka.”

“Did you?” Nobunaga looked to him with keen interest, one eyebrow arched. “What did you think?”

“He was every bit Lord Sun Ce’s father, all right.” Ran smiled to himself. “He was big and kind and I wished I could have stayed to watch him fight that whole cadre of demons by himself. I could easily understand why his kingdom needs him, and why his children are so dedicated to him.”

“High praise, indeed.” Oda reached to ruffle a hand through the young man’s hair. “All the more reason to do what you can to assist them, and save those lives.”

“I will, my lord,” Ran vowed.

They stood silently enjoying one another’s company for a long while, even as Nobunaga began to realize just how deeply he had missed the boy’s presence in his life. It had never felt so sharp and painful until this moment, until it was back and he considered that even in this strange land, in this foreign castle from more than a thousand years past, Ranmaru made everything feel normal and natural just by tagging along at his heels like always. With both him and his wife fighting to assist Wu, now, Oda had little in the way of a personal life left, and while it was fine since he needed to focus on his long-term goal, every now and then – like this very moment under the stars – he missed it dearly. Ran’s presence beside him was warm and familiar. He turned toward the youngster even as Ran looked up to him again. “My lord, may I be allowed to sleep in your quarters? Just for this night,” he begged. “I don’t know when I’ll get to, again…”

“Of course,” Nobunaga answered in his low purr. “I already had Mitsuhide set something up for you.”

“I…oh.” Ran blushed in spite of himself. “Thank you.”

“Do you think I would push you away?” Nobunaga’s eyes in the starlight gleamed wryly. “Despite everything else, O-Ran, you are still mine.”

Ranmaru looked away shyly, but allowed himself a step or two sideways until he was leaning against Nobunaga’s tall, muscled frame. He, too, was craving this small piece of home and familiarity. For a page, even just sleeping at the foot of his master’s bed was enough. At least he was sure Lord Sun Ce would understand if he didn’t spend the night with his Wu fellows, just this once.

Before Sun Ce’s forces left Guandu, he made sure to catch up on all the latest reconnaissance, discovering things he wouldn’t have found even with a year of searching on his own. When he expressed interest in seeing whether or not the Orochi army had the manpower to still hold Xin Di, he learned that Oda’s scouts had been past the Wu territory and found that the Chosokabe clan had already done as much. The Orochi forces left there to hold it had been thinned out to almost nothing, allowing the pirates to sneak in from the sea and take it for themselves with little trouble. Despite past conflicts between Oda and the Chosokabe, he left them be for now, but Mitsuhide offered to serve as a diplomatic go-between should Wu become more insistent about controlling it themselves. All of the passes over the mountains which stood between east and west – Hulao and Tong both, as well as Sishui further down – were free of snakes, and with Odawara now under Wei control, that left Bai Di and He Fei Castles as tiny islands of Orochi power in a sea of Resistance territory. Lu Meng was pleased to consult with Hanbei on a number of strategy items and promised to carry all of that valuable information back to Zhou Yu, so that Wu could truly begin to launch counter-assaults. It seemed that the prevailing tactic for the time being was to keep the remnants of the Orochi main army from uniting, and continue to push them out of the open lands and battlegrounds where no fortresses existed for them to claim. Even if it meant driving them into the secure castles, Hanbei was of the opinion that at least they would know the exact number and location of these castles, and those who had besieged or laid waste to them in the past could share their tactics so as to do it all over again here and now. Better to have their enemy cornered in a set number of positions, surrounded on all sides, than to allow them to travel openly and escape into uncharted lands. Lu Meng agreed, and knew that Zhou Yu would see the wisdom in it. As they rode out to continue their journey home, to bring Daqiao to a place where she could safely rest and recover before rejoining the war effort, Sun Ce was privately humbled to see that his many mistakes made while under Orochi’s thumb had not permanently crippled the resistance or his own personal friendships. The latter felt like it was more important than tactics. The barrels of wine being carried by the supply wagons didn’t hurt, either.


	53. Chapter 53

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun makes a decision; Cao Pi runs into trouble on his way back to Xuchang and Mitsunari has some issues.

Zhao Yun’s forces bid farewell to Honda and his sons early on, but Nobuyuki remained with them for a while as they traveled around the unnamed lands where there were no castles and even villages were few and far between. These were the only places as yet unexplored fully, where a fortress might suddenly be uncovered and a secret Orochi prison revealed, or at least parts of the Orochi army which didn’t have the benefit of a warlord’s protection to keep them from being captured and interrogated. They did have to consider their own scouts, though, in order to get regular updates and fresh reinforcements from Chengdu. At some point they paused the roaming in order to set up a camp and remain in one place long enough for their messengers to find them, while sending some of their own out to reconnoiter with allies. As much as Zhao Yun had wanted to head to Chencang so Yukimura could consult with Azai, they had other responsibilities for the moment and as yet had not heard about Cao Pi in any capacity. Fortunately, with Magoichi leading the current batch of scouts, it was no time at all before the leader of the Shu Resistance could join the rest of the world in knowing the big news.

The camp lay at the edge of the Wuzhang Plains, far enough away that those from Shu could comfortably rest without the ghosts of past battles and memories lurking at the edges of their minds, but close enough that should trouble arise, they could strike and remove to the fortifications south of the rivers to gain some protection and defense. It was there that Magoichi finally found them, though it wasn’t his commanders that had his attention. “Hey, did you know that there’s all these fortifications just a few miles that way?” he wondered as he strode up to Zhao Yun, thumbing over his shoulder. “It totally looks like the kind of place…”

“I know,” Yun gently interrupted, holding his hands up in caution. “I’m familiar with them. We have our reasons not to be using them for an encampment.”

Magoichi gazed at him for a moment before catching on, tipping his head back in a knowing nod. “Ah. Gotcha. Never mind, then. Anyway, you’d better grab everyone and gather ‘round, because I have got _huge_ news for you guys.”

It wasn’t hard to wrangle all of the officers together, most of them were nearby and heard his first hello to Zhao Yun upon arriving, so they knew it was time to gather. Magoichi didn’t even let them sit or get comfortable, he sprang it on them while they were still shuffling feet and making an audience around their commander. He told them straight out of Cao Pi’s letter, his apparent sacking of Odawara and change of heart, and relished the stunned looks and astonished yelps he got in reaction. He had so hoped they hadn’t already heard somewhere else so he could be the one to tell them precisely so he could see their reactions, it was too good to resist and he was not at all disappointed. For a second he thought he’d even get to hear Zhao Yun swear in an unguarded moment of shock, but alas, it was not to be. “He captured Da Ji?” Yukimura repeated, having a hard time believing it. “How?!”

“None of us know,” Magoichi admitted, tossing his hands in the air in a wide shrug. “I didn’t even really get to stop in at Xuchang, he wasn’t there so we kept on going. It’s true, though, the Wei guys who met us at the gate confirmed it.”

“What were you doing at Xuchang?” Zhao Yun wondered.

“Dropping off our former prisoner.”

“Ah, of course,” Pang De said smartly. “We wouldn’t have been allowed to hold him much longer, with Lord Cao Pi joining the Resistance.”

“They asked after you, you know,” Magoicihi said to him. “Choice is yours, but I figured you were probably busy out here and didn’t really have time to stop and think about rejoining Wei.”

Pang De shook his head slowly. “I left Wei for my own reasons, and while I’m glad to hear Lord Cao Pi has made his move at last, it doesn’t change how I feel. I have done more to atone for my time as an Orochi lackey with you than I ever would have by clinging to old ties.” He looked to Zhao Yun. “As long as you are still willing to have me in your army, that is.”

“Always,” Yun vowed.

“It’s about time Wei caught up to the rest of us,” Zhang Bao sniffed. “This is huge!”

“I told you so,” Magoichi smirked.

“Then we no longer need fear any sight of Cao Pi’s forces, or his strongholds,” Yukimura realized. “They are no longer Orochi’s, if anything Orochi may attack him next.”

“If he’s holding Da Ji, then I would not be at all surprised,” Yun agreed. “We may see the great demon himself before too long.”

Guan Xing lowered his head slightly, staring at the ground between their feet. “If Orochi comes again…”

“We’re ready, this time,” Yun assured him, reaching to clap him on the shoulder. “But that means we probably should cut our journey short. I haven’t had much luck in my mission, aside from our meeting with Lord Oda. We were fortunate to be able to assist at Xiliang, but aside from that we’ve not done much besides roam. It’s time I admitted it to myself, and to all of you.” He breathed a long, deep sigh. “I don’t think what I’m doing will actually bring us any closer to finding Lord Liu Bei. Lord Oda was right, he isn’t likely to be in any of the castles we know about, and with Lord Cao Pi also turning on Orochi, that reduces the number of options even more. Lord Sun Ce knew nothing despite being a valued vassal at one time; I suspect the Lord of Wei will be in the same position.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Yukimura interrupted, trying to raise hope. “You would need to ask him.”

“And I will, make no mistake,” Yun said. “But Magoichi says Lord Cao Pi isn’t even at his headquarters at the moment, so I cannot exactly ride straight for Xuchang and be able to hold audience with him. My friends…” He took another deep breath so he could face them and be honest with them, including Saika and Nobuyuki. “My search has come up empty. Meanwhile, the world keeps pushing forward, Orochi’s army continues to suffer losses and other Resistance leaders are doing far more than I. It’s time I behaved like the commander you all see me as. I must return to Chengdu and see about a change in tactics, to begin to wage open war against Orochi like all the others.”

“You sure?” Magoichi asked. “Because if it’s a matter of reconnaissance, I mean, that’s not the only news I brought. I’ve got all the updates for you.”

“It isn’t just that.” Zhao Yun offered him a slight bow. “You have been such a help to me all this time, Magoichi, and I’m glad to have you with me again. But you can see it, too, can’t you?”

The rifleman dropped his head in a serious nod. “Yeah, I get you.”

Yun’s hand went to Yukimura, ever-present at his right side, and rested on his shoulder. “My beloved comrades, you’ve kept me going far longer than I ever would have been able to all alone. You’ve indulged me even when my ideas weren’t the best. I will do you honor, now. Let’s return to Chengdu, inform Lady Yueying of the alliances we’ve made and the fortresses being held in the name of all who resist Orochi, and let our strategists devise our path. We can contact the other Resistance leaders, now, I will even hold conference in person with Lord Cao Pi and Lord Sun Ce if it will help. We must push back against Orochi, now, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends and allies. With Da Ji out of the picture, the demon king is vulnerable like never before. This war is not going his way at all. Whatever small part we’ve played in that, so far, is good, but it’s time we took a larger role.” He faced up to them with a grim yet proud look. “I will find Lord Liu Bei, make no mistake. But it cannot be done by combing through every thicket and glen from the sea to the lava fields. We will make war on Orochi’s forces, and in doing so, we will find him and free him. This has been my vow since the day I was set free, and it does not change now. Can I count on your strength and friendship, still?”

For a moment, the circle of officers around him was silent, each only nodding in answer. There were no words to convey the strength of their belief in him, and their pride in seeing him make this decision. “We will never leave you, Zilong,” Yukimura said for all of them in a fond murmur. “You’ve never not been our leader. We will continue to walk beside you on this path.”

Yun nodded his acceptance. With that decision made, he let the officers go back to whatever they most needed to do while he, the Sanada brothers, and Saika sat down together in the command tent to go over everything Magoichi had brought with him, including the actual letter sent by Cao Pi, addressed to Zhao Yun. Yueying had opened and read it in his stead, for she had his authority to do so, and had charged Magoichi with securing some kind of reaction or decision from Zilong in return. She wouldn’t have expected them to turn around on the spot and head back home, but soon enough they would all realize it was the right choice. He read the missive and listened to everything else that needed to be shared, from the simplest scouting reports on their strongly-held castles to the current whereabouts of some of their forces. The Nanman had apparently headed out on a small errand, word had come of previously-untracked Orochi forces too close to Chengdu to ignore, so Meng Huo took it on himself to investigate and lay waste to any snakes he could find. It was possible Zhao Yun’s forces could run into them on their way back to the capitol. “Good,” he said with a pleased nod. “That should appeal to Lord Meng Huo, and it has the added benefit of allowing the rest of our forces to remain where they are. If Orochi does launch another campaign against the Resistance in person, they need to have our defenses secured against him before they worry about anything else.”

“You think he will?” Magoichi wondered. “Gotta say, Zhao Yun, I’m not looking forward to seeing his ugly mug at all. It’s too soon.”

“The double-edged sword that is capturing Da Ji,” Nobuyuki noted. “Lord Takeda always was concerned that if our alliances began to have any success, it would summon Orochi again. His strategy was to be prepared for such an event at all costs, no matter what else we were doing in the meantime.”

“Then, Lord Sanada,” Yun said wisely, “what is your decision? Will you continue on your own mission now?”

Nobuyuki shook his head firmly. “That time is over. Like you, Lord Zhao Yun, I’ve done all I can. I have rounded up as much of the Sanada and Naoe as could be found, the men with me are more than I had when I left Chengdu with the Hojo. If there’s anyone else out there, they don’t _want_ to be found, and I’m inclined to think there is a reason for that.” He looked to his brother, at that. “I still feel in my heart of hearts that Lord Kanetsugu is out there, but he may be building an army in secret the way our lord did during the first wave of Orochi’s conquest long ago. If so, I would not want to expose them prematurely and leave them vulnerable.”

Talk of Takeda still had the effect of sobering Yukimura, rendering him quiet and solemn, and adding Kanetsugu’s mysterious fate on top of that seemed to hurt. But he brushed it off after a moment and met his brother’s eyes. “If such a thing is possible, then I agree.”

Nobuyuki flashed him a faint smile and then turned back to Zhao Yun. “My decision is the same as yours. The Sanada are now brothers-in-arms with the kingdom of Shu, so I will bring my army back to Chengdu with you and place them at your command as necessary.”

“We will be honored to have you,” Yun said with a smile of his own, “and I will personally be glad to have you along with us, Lord Nobuyuki.”

“Well, I guess that makes this the quickest errand I’ve had to run so far,” Magoichi said breezily. “Here I was, expecting to be out here a few more weeks, runnin’ and gunnin’ as they say, but I guess I don’t mind. If Cao Pi really does bring Orochi out of his den, we’re gonna have plenty of fighting to do no matter where we are on the map.”

“It will still take time for us to get home,” Yun offered. “We may see plenty of action out here yet. Xiliang is not likely to be our last fight in any sense.”

“All things considered, it’s good we left the Hojo with my father, there,” Yukimura sighed. “They’re going to need all the reinforcements they can get, if the tide is turning like this.”

Magoichi perked up. He hadn’t heard their reports yet. “Your father?”

“Oh – yes!” Yukimura responded. “We found him assisting Lord Ma Teng in holding Xiliang and protecting its civilians.”

“And faced Lu Bu for the first time,” Nobuyuki added wryly. His arm was no longer visibly tied up but it still gave him aches and it was not likely he would be using it in battle anytime soon.

“Whoa! No kidding?” Magoichi loved news, especially big news like this. “Since everybody’s alive, I take it you beat him.” He looked to Zhao Yun. “Everybody is alive, right? You’re not about to spring some really bad news on me after all this good stuff, are you?”

Yun smiled knowingly. “Everyone is fine. The Sanadas did their part but we do owe a debt of thanks to Honda Tadakatsu yet again. I am pleased that I got to meet him, and I hope he’s enjoying his hunt.”

“You’re gonna have to tell me the whole story later,” Saika smirked, “and I mean _whole_ story. Don’t leave any messy details out.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Yukimura promised.

They double-checked to make sure they had gone over everything, at least in passing mention of places and people, and then Zhao Yun clapped a hand to his knee in a gesture of finality. “That should do it, then. We will hold here for the night and strike camp in the morning, to set out for the west and Chengdu. We’ll march as quickly as we can without draining our army’s strength and resources, I want to be prepared for any worst-case scenarios.” And hopefully by the time he got there, he thought to himself, Yuan Shao would have information for him to make up for what he hadn’t been able to find abroad. His faith in the nobleman had waned to almost nothing, but he had made it this far on slim chances, one more wouldn’t hurt.

While they were making their decisions, most of Wei was still soldiering on without their lord, as he had not yet returned from Chencang. Xu Huang was in charge at Xuchang, with several strategists on hand to assist if needed, but things were going well. Their prisoner was still firmly in hand, well-guarded but left alone for now since the two who could best interrogate her were out at the moment. When the Saika Renegades dropped Jia Xu off at the gate and got the quick version of events, they knew there was no reason to linger and continued on, leaving him to settle back in however he could. All the officers were itching to know where he had been, and affirmed in one stroke that news of his capture had never reached Cao Pi, but since the Lord of Wei was elsewhere he had to sit tight and save most of his reports and information for when he returned. For now, he entertained Guo Jia with as much as he could, whiling away long and otherwise boring afternoons with strategists’ speculations. Xu wasn’t allowed to hand over Yueying’s letter to him, but he could still tell Jia of his ordeal and the battle at Shizugatake which led to his predicament. That story had Guo Jia sitting up in interest. “Hold on, did you say the Hojo clan?” he asked. “Now that could prove interesting.”

“How so?” Xu wondered.

Fengxiao looked away for a moment, recalling the specific reason he remembered that name. “Some time ago, before Lord Cao Pi made his move, we received information from the Sleeping Dragon as regarded some of Orochi’s prisoners at the time. One of them was a man named Hojo, I believe it is the leader of this clan you fought.”

“Is that right?” Xu said with some bemusement. “Well. It seems these Hojo were right all along, then. One of the reasons they were caught out so far from any Resistance backup was so they could search for their clan leader. I managed to gather that much from them.”

“He is alive, or at least was as of that report,” Jia confirmed. “And can be counted among Orochi’s prisoners. We’ve freed a couple along the way, but he’s still in the serpent’s lair as far as we know – along with Lords Sun Jian and Liu Bei, of course.”

“I figured as much,” Jia Xu shrugged. “Considering Zhao Yun is still out looking for his lord, while his son sits quietly at Luo Castle.”

“Liu Bei’s son, really?” Guo Jia was enjoying all of this gossip far too much. “His children were mere infants last I remember. What is he like, is he grown?”

“Oh, yes – it’s strange to see a grown young man calling himself Liu Shan, let me tell you,” Xu explained, leaning in to share all the juicy details. “He has to be at least sixteen or seventeen, has his father’s looks but none of his muscle. I only saw him briefly during the audience, he said nothing and let Lady Yueying do all the talking.”

“His father’s looks?” Fengxiao repeated with some amusement. “Well, at least that means he’s pretty. Not that it will keep you alive when a demon is on your doorstep, but I digress.”

“I’m sure he’s still no competition for you, Master Fengxiao,” Xu said wryly. “Even if Shu is largely commanded by women these days.”

That made Jia grin even more widely. “Is it? Perhaps I shall have to request to go in the vanguard if our lord needs to make any diplomatic calls at Luo…” The grin faded a notch. “Oh, but Lady Yueying probably isn’t worth my time. There are others, though?”

Jia Xu shook his head in exasperation. “Why do I even have conversations with you some days?”

“Because I’m more interesting than Gongming.” Guo Jia did appreciate his comrades but anyone could freely understand that most of the muscle of Wei, like Xu Huang, were not exactly gifted conversationalists. “Face it, Wenhe, until our lord returns from his little jaunt, I’m all you’ve got.”

It wasn’t entirely true, since Zhang He was going back and forth between Xuchang and Jianye to make sure the latter was re-manned as ordered, and Xu Shu was still around, but these two strategists in particular were familiar enough with one another to keep company. Jia Xu sighed noisily. “I’m still not seeing why he had to go himself, but from what you’ve told me, the entirety of his preparation to turn and betray Orochi was all planned in secret, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still got some particular plans he’s carrying out.”

Jia nodded understandingly. “Between him and Master Ishida, yes. All of those secret meetings alone, just the two of them, all day and all night, finally makes sense. I really was starting to suspect they were having some kind of fling, not that they were conspiring against Da Ji.”

Xu raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? You _never_ suspected that they were plotting so much as a supply raid?”

“Well,” Jia said with a tilt of his head to suggest he was being mostly coy, “I wouldn’t say never. I guessed that they were in fact making plans. But you weren’t here to see it, they really were secreting themselves away together and never asked for input from any of the rest of us. Ishida knew everything, and look – he’s away with the young master again, at his side as always.”

“At his side, huh?” Xu stroked his pointed goatee thoughtfully. “Are they truly that close?”

“Thick as thieves, as the saying goes,” Jia smirked. “Of course, for a long time we all assumed that Master Ishida was a spy sent by Da Ji and that the two of them actually hated one another, but they’ve spent an _awfully_ great amount of time sequestered together for two men who don’t get along.”

“You do enjoy your gossip, Fengxiao,” Xu chuckled. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to see this closeness for myself before I can judge whether you’re right or wrong. That said…” He looked around as if for eavesdroppers and leaned in again. “…I do notice that the Lady Zhenji is not here.”

“She hasn’t been,” Jia affirmed with a twitch of his lips. “All along, she was in command at Jianye, until just before Lord Cao Pi decided to spring his trap and show his true colors.”

“Well, the young master would need to take comfort somehow, then.” Xu shrugged; it wasn’t uncommon and really, no one would begrudge a ruling lord that privilege. “But like I say, I want to see this for myself, first. Sometimes you’re completely full of crap and I do so enjoy calling you on it.”

“If I’m wrong, then I’ll admit it,” Fengxiao laughed, “but just wait until they return. You’ll see I’m right. It’ll be very interesting, I’m sure.”

“How long do you suppose until they get back?”

“I have no idea. Chencang is supposedly quite a distance, but I also don’t know how long he expected to stay there once he rousted out its defenders. They could be on the way back, or it could be another week.” Guo Jia sobered briefly. “I hope it isn’t too much longer, though. I know he’s keen on trying to extract more information from our prisoner, and the longer he waits, the more problems we may have doing so.”

“I’ll be glad to assist in that matter when he returns.” Jia Xu had not been directly subservient to Da Ji for that long, but he relished the chance to turn the tables on her as much as anyone else, plus he did tend to be much more ruthless than most of the honor-bound men of Wei. If a prisoner needed forceful interrogation, he was just the man for the job.

“He’ll be glad to see you, I’m sure,” Jia said politely, even if it might not have been exactly true. “The information you’re bringing him is invaluable. And, if we still have that information on the Hojo leader, that could become a handy bargaining chip with the Shu Resistance.”

Xu sighed again and stretched out, resting his back against the wall behind him where he sat. “Then I suppose all we can do is sit tight and wait. And gossip.”

Guo Jia wagged his eyebrows. “I’m very good at that.”

  


For his part, Cao Pi was in fact on his way back from Chencang, but the return journey had just gotten a bit more complicated. He left Xiahou Dun in charge of the fortress until he could return to Xuchang and order his more useless cousins and younger siblings to go and hold it, and as such, didn’t intend for his journey to take so long. He valued Dun’s strength and didn’t want it wasted in some backwater castle far from the main centers of military action. In trade he had taken Gan Ning and Azai Nagamasa back with him, so he could deploy them to more useful positions. Azai and his wife might do well in Jianye, he thought, freeing up more Cao relatives to be sent to Chencang instead. As they traveled, however, Pi made sure the sentries were on the lookout for a particular set of scouts, and planned their route to pass through a specific province with obvious deliberation. It didn’t take a tactician to know he was waiting for something or someone, and at last, word of who he was seeking reached him while they were encamped one night along a nondescript river between territories. The scouts were overjoyed to have found him, they had been wandering some time and had been repeatedly delayed by running into Orochi forces here and there instead of Resistance. Their report had Cao Pi immediately concerned: over the past couple of days they had been constantly doubling back and rerouting in order to avoid being seen by Dong Zhuo himself. “It’s no mistake, my lord,” one scout breathlessly explained. “We saw him. He is not far from here, I would say just a few miles.”

“Damn it,” the lord of Wei breathed. “That is the last thing any of us need right now. And her ladyship?”

“Ahead of them, but surely Dong Zhuo’s forces are closing in,” the other scout fretted. “We’ve been hamstrung trying to stay out of his path, my lord, but time is of the essence.”

“Yes, clearly.” Cao Pi dismissed them with a nod and then gestured to call his officers to him. Ishida was never far from his side these days, but Zhang Liao, Xiahou Yuan, and even Xingba responded to his request. “I’m sure all of you heard enough of that to understand what’s going on,” he said to preface their meeting.

“You’ve located Lady Zhenji,” Zhang Liao stated.

“And not a minute too soon,” Pi grumbled. “Dong Zhuo is apparently hunting her as well. He must have gotten wind that she disappeared at the same time I made my move. It has become a far more dangerous and crucial matter than simply sending a messenger so that we can meet up.”

“Time to come swooping in to the rescue, sounds like,” Yuan grunted.

“You left your lady all alone in the wilderness?” Gan Ning retorted. “Damn, that’s cold, even for you.”

Cao Pi eyed him in irritation. “I warned her, prior to the attack on us at Odawara, so that she could escape. She should have Cao Ren and Yue Jin with her, and a small contingent of our army, so it isn’t as though they’re completely defenseless.” He took a deep breath to control his anger and tried to focus. “But with Dong Zhuo on their trail, it won’t stay so easy for long. I have no intention of allowing that pervert to even lay eyes on her, so at dawn we will immediately turn aside and ride to overtake him, to get to her before he does.”

Mitsunari glanced sharply at him, hearing the possessiveness in his tone, but kept his reaction to himself. “You’re familiar with this area, I take it.”

Pi nodded. “We’re in Liang Province, I’m sure of it. Much of it is farmland or wild, but there are a few villages here and there. If we move fast enough, we might be able to reach one ahead of the enemy and dig in. I’ll settle for driving him off, but if we can do worse to him, that would please me all the more.”

“Sounds like it’s personal,” Ishida sniffed.

Pi shot him a quick look. “You were in the Orochi main army long enough to have rubbed shoulders with the man.”

“And I hated every minute of it,” Mitsunari admitted. “I’m just saying to take a step back and use your better judgment. I’ll devise a strategy for you, just don’t go hauling off and ignoring it because you want to take a chunk out of Dong Zhuo.”

Cao Pi nearly lit into him in front of the others for daring to call his cool head and intelligence into question, but he quickly realized that he was in fact letting his need to protect his wife interfere with his judgment, and pulled himself back from that edge. “Much will depend on the terrain where our forces meet,” he warned. “I trust you to be more than aware of this, but I’m afraid I can’t offer any additional information to help with strategy until the moment we spy his forces.”

“Noted.”

The officers went their separate ways shortly after, eager to bed down so they could get an early start striking camp and beginning the pursuit. Mitsunari, though, was a bit flustered by the way the conference had gone, and sat up later than most, out by the main fire instead of in the command tent where he would keep others awake. He had ink and parchment as if to take notes or write messages, but the papers were all blank and he merely stared into the flames. He didn’t even notice someone moving to sit at the fire with him until a gruff voice intruded on his thoughts. “Not getting a lot of work done out here. Why don’t you go to bed?”

He looked up to find Xiahou Yuan settling next to him, helm and gauntlets off. Ishida didn’t know the Xiahous as well as some, like Zhang Liao, but there was something affable about Yuan that his closest cousin lacked, which Ishida could appreciate. “It’s not really work,” he sighed. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“Strategists usually do.” Yuan found a stick that hadn’t been used for kindling and began poking idly at the coals glowing in the heart of the fire. “You should get some rest, though. Wenyuan was saying both you and the young master have been running yourselves ragged keeping this army together, and I’m starting to see it for myself. Dong Zhuo won’t get ahead of us just because you took the time to get a good night’s sleep – on the contrary,” he snorted, “he’s probably passed out snoring himself right now. He ain’t exactly the world’s greatest military mind, you know.”

“I gathered as much.” Mitsunari had to admit that Yuan had a point, at least so far as his unused scrolls went. He rolled and folded them and set them aside with the inkstone so he could stretch his toes out toward the fire and let them be warmed. “Lord Cao Pi is really in a hurry to get in there and pick up his wife.”

It was such an obvious comment, but he needed to fish for some information. Yuan seemed like the best target. “From what I hear,” he said, “she’s been away from him for a really long time. I’m not surprised at all, even if Dong Zhuo wasn’t breathing down her neck.” Yuan glanced toward the strategist, eyes warm and curious. “You’ve been with him a pretty long time too, huh?”

Even though it couldn’t have been meant that way, Ishida found himself fighting down a blush. “Pretty long is right,” he answered. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that, but Da Ji made her biggest mistake of this entire war putting the two of us together.”

Since the Xiahou clan had been brought in right at the end of Wei’s subservience, Yuan had never seen him in action prior to the betrayal. He had talked with the other officers, though, so he knew enough of the basic facts. “So, were you really her spy? Or is this one of those ‘haha, I had it planned all along!’ sort of things?”

Mitsunari gazed into the fire rather than meet his eyes. He hadn’t actually talked about this, not even with Cao Pi, aside from one or two cryptic remarks and affirmations. “She thought I was,” he replied, his contempt clear, “but I had to spend some time really figuring things out before I could trust Cao Pi enough. That meant playing the part, because for all I knew I was alone in this mission of trying to bring down Orochi from inside his army.”

Yuan chuckled. “Yeah, learning to trust that guy isn’t something anybody can do easily. I don’t envy you. And even then, sometimes you’re not sure you did it right.”

“Yeah…I definitely know how that feels.” Though he couldn’t say much else; Mitsunari knew full well that any feelings of his being turned on their heads was entirely his problem to deal with, it wasn’t anyone’s fault except his for getting carried away with himself. “You guys probably know it better than anyone, at least here in this world.”

“Nah, don’t go thinking we were right not to trust him or anything,” Yuan countered. “He’s a good kid, really. Psh, kid, what am I saying? He’s the same age as me right now. Honestly, hindsight behing what it is and all, I really wish we’d been less stubborn all along. Dun has his personal reasons for, well, pretty much everything, but I didn’t feel the same. I just got caught up in it, didn’t stop to think for myself that maybe Lord Zihuan was up to something. The fact that we needed to be beaten down in order to follow him doesn’t speak well of us.”

“Still,” Mitsunari murmured, “he doesn’t make it easy.”

“He’s always been like that.” Yuan gave the fire a good poke and then left the stick jabbed where it was to burn down like the rest. “What’s funny is, I think you probably have a better read on him than any of us who’ve been in his service longer. He never let Sima Yi get that close to him – didn’t fully trust him, either. A lot of his retainers aren’t that close to him because we’re not as educated and refined as him.”

“It’s the nature of our countries – both yours and mine,” Mitsunari reasoned. “He comes from a noble line, even I know about it from history. There are warlords like that where I come from, too.”

“Yeah, I know, and it’s usually about blood,” Yuan huffed, “but it’s not _always_ about blood. Sometimes, a peasant rises up to be a mighty general, and nobody can say they’re not allowed just because they don’t come from the right family. There’s guys in Wu who weren’t born scholars but trained themselves up right, and look at Liu Bei – came outta nowhere and rose up to be Lord of Shu. And…what was I talking about?”

Ishida gave him a small but genuine smile. “I think you were trying to pay Cao Pi a compliment.”

“Something like that.” Yuan waved a hand idly. “Anyway. He is who he is, and there’s really nothing wrong with it, it’s just…he doesn’t get the chance to make a lot of friends. I’ve seen the way he is around you, Ishida, he really lets his guard down in a way I’ve never seen before. For what it’s worth, he trusts you, so if he ruffles your feathers about something, just remember that.”

Mitsunari sighed, his shoulders sagging. It was that obvious that his feathers were ruffled? His control was slipping. “It’s nothing,” he assured. “I know he’s worried about his wife, I don’t blame him for getting a little hot under the collar.” He forced a dry chuckle. “If I got upset every time a warlord raised his voice to me, I’d never get out of bed in the morning.”

Xiahou Yuan matched his chuckle with a bit more warmth. “You’re an all-right guy, Ishida. Go on, get some sleep. I’ve got watch tonight and you’ve got strategies to think up in the morning.”

Acknowledging his point with a nod, Mitsunari collected his papers, got up, and bid him good night with a small bow. Despite Yuan’s encouragement, however, he was still thinking about foolish things as he moved around the command tent packing up whatever small accoutrements were still laying around. It wasn’t that he wanted to be awake, but until he could banish these thoughts from his mind, he wouldn’t sleep anyway, so he figured he might as well do something useful and get a head start on breaking camp so that it would go much quicker in the morning. He hadn’t even realized that anything was wrong until he felt the briefest flush of jealousy when he heard the genuine emotion in Cao Pi’s voice, in speaking of his wife and her plight. Mitsunari wanted to believe Yuan was right and he did understand their lord better than most, but even he had never really seen him show strong feelings about anyone or anything. Even with the keep of Odawara burning around them and a phantom of his father brandishing a sword at him, he had kept unusually cool and calm. It surprised him more than anything, perhaps because he couldn’t help but compare it against the things they had said and done in private with each other, leaving him wondering whether he had been played for a fool all along. There had been true passion in that kiss, Mitsunari felt it at the time and remembered it still. Pi had said he never lied to him, so if Mitsunari truly trusted him, he had to believe that, and believe in turn that all of those flirtations and demands for his attention were also the truth.

He shook his head as he wrapped the inkstone and placed it in his satchel with the rest of his items both personal and work-related. _You’re an idiot_ , he scolded himself. _You knew all along the guy’s married, you’ve been around his wife. It’s no use blaming anyone but yourself for getting wrapped up in feelings_. Really, given his station and his way of life, Ishida was prepared for things to stay casual, for it to be the way it usually would between lord and retainer, no strings attached. How and when did these _feelings_ come into play? It would be best if he quit them right now, before anything else happened. If the Lady Zhenji was returning to her lord, he would have no time for dalliances with the strategist anymore. Mitsunari needed to shut things down, and fast, before she found out, before he got too swept up in it, before he let his heart make the decisions. His shrewd mind needed to be the one in control. Work first, duty first. War first. Despite what Cao Pi had said about living in the midst of war, Mitsunari couldn’t afford to be distracted, at least not by ridiculous things like love and heartbreak. Wishful thinking, meant for air-headed fools with lofty ideals of romance and beauty, but not for a determined and ambitious man like himself. Samurai ideals of artistry and justice and love were of no use to a tactician who had to exercise every ounce of cunning and intelligence to stay one step ahead of his enemies and preserve his lord, his lord’s house, and their kingdom with the least amount of casualties and cost. It was even more crucial in this land, where one true foe stood as an obstacle to peace, and that foe happened to be an actual demon with hordes of underworld denizens at his command, sorcery more powerful than anything his victims had even dreamed of, and the very real possibility that he was immortal and therefore any attempt to wage war against him would prove ultimately futile. This wasn’t at all like Honshu, where warlords came and went, daimyo swayed with the prevailing power-wielder like reeds in a strong wind, and there was always someone else coming up through the ranks to pick up his lord’s banner and carry on his legacy after he had long since fallen and turned to dust. What good did it do him, or anyone, to cling to relationships and place hope in a glance returned or a brush of a hand in secret, when Orochi could be on his way right that moment with so many demons clustered around him that they turned the whole earth black with their trampling passage?

And yet, as he finished putting everything in its place and closed up boxes, trunks, and bags, Mitsunari thought to himself that that kind of idea wasn’t right, either. It was giving Orochi all the power and control even over his own happiness, and he had not suffered as a vassal for so long just to roll over and concede that it was all meaningless. When Cao Pi had urged him to let go and live a little, he rushed headlong into that kiss as if it were the only right thing to do. He wanted to believe that Pi was right, and maybe even needed it a little. Keeping himself so tightly guarded for so long was tiring, he wanted to just indulge for once. As he doused the lamps around the tent, Mitsunari couldn’t help but let his gaze drift through the turned-back curtain to where the young lord slept in the back section. Pi was actually asleep before midnight, for once, curled up on his bedroll with his head pillowed on one arm, oblivious to any noise and light coming from the main room of the command tent. His brow was still furrowed even in slumber, but nothing seemed to disturb him. Mitsunari carried the last candle with him through into the back section where they had their beds, noticing that his had been set up for him by their soldiers, just across from his lord as usual. He stood for a long moment gazing at the way the candlelight painted Pi’s face with a warm glow, accentuating his elegant cheekbones and noble lips. The yearning returned even more strongly, it almost took Mitsunari’s breath away. He could feel it deep in his chest, like he’d been run through with a fiery spear. Everything he had told himself about letting go and putting aside and forgetting about it flew out the window, and he closed his eyes and silently cursed himself for wanting this so badly. Things were about to get infinitely more complicated in the morning, he could tell. There was no way he could just let go, not after all they’d shared with one another. _I hate getting between husbands and wives_ , he complained to himself as he pulled off his armor and gloves and got ready for bed. _It always ends in tears, one way or another._

With Cao Pi’s new orders already being put into action, it took almost no time at all to strike camp and get moving on a pursuit course. They came down from the hills through a wooded area where it felt like nothing lived, not even a songbird, and every creak of a branch in the wind startled at least one of the horses. There was a great plain below, and the Wei lord was making for it with all due haste, eager to get into the open where they could move faster as an army and spot their enemy or their allies much more easily. At one halt for rest early in the day, Cao Pi glanced up at the sound of bells jangling in his direction – he was still getting used to hearing them almost constantly whenever Gan Ning was on the move, whether marching or in camp, but there was a particular urgency to the sound just now. Xingba was making himself useful as a scout, he could move as quickly as any of them and despite the fact he couldn’t sneak up on anyone, he was still more than capable of spying out a situation and interpreting it correctly. He jogged up ahead of the other scouts with a shade of perplexity in his frown. “What is it?” Pi asked him, swiftly rising to meet him.

“Dunno, maybe you know more than I do,” he answered. “We got out far enough to have a look and you’re right, there’s a garrison down there in the valley.”

“There was a contingent already manning it,” one of the other scouts said as he knelt to present his report. “There’s no mistake, it’s Dong Zhuo’s forces.”

“Then we shall have to come up behind them and sweep them aside,” Pi determined. “As long as they aren’t aware that someone is at their rear.”

“Don’t think so,” Gan Ning said, “but that’s only half the story.”

Cao Pi peered at him as Mitsunari came up to hear the rest. “Oh?”

Ning gestured with a nod to the tree-clad slopes rolling away to the east. “On our way back, I saw something off that way, looked suspicious. Someone was passing through the wood over there, and it wasn’t any of our guys. They’re ahead of us, but totally in the opposite direction of the garrisons you were looking for.”

“Someone else?” Ishida repeated. “Was it an army or what?”

“Sorta. See, what caught my eye was just one person riding out all alone, but then I realized they were riding so fast because there was an army at their heels, chasin’ them through the wood.”

“We didn’t see anyone pass by here like that,” Cao Pi said, disturbed.

“I know, that’s what I’m saying! They were far ahead and to the east,” the pirate explained, “you’ve got the army pointed west to follow that trail. They must’ve just missed seeing us here, while we’re all hunkered down in the trees.”

“So who was chasing whom? Could you tell?” Mitsunari pressed.

Ning shrugged. “All I could see from a distance was that the rider was tiny – a woman, probably. Little thing, almost reminded me of that slip of a girl Lu Bu called his wife.” 

“What, really?” Pi could understand the confused look on his face, now, because that was exactly how he felt. “Could it be possible?”

“You mean Diaochan,” Ishida noted.

Several of the other officers were drifting closer, seeing this urgent conference and curious about the reports. “You don’t think she would be here, at a time like this?” Zhang Liao wondered.

“It would be a remarkable coincidence,” Pi said warily. “Lu Bu’s consort appearing in the woods just a few miles from where her former master is pursuing my own wife?”

“What’s this about an army chasing her?” Yuan wanted to know.

“That part was pretty obvious,” Ning answered, thumbing over his shoulder in the vague direction he had spotted this tableau. “She was riding like all hell was on her heels, and then I saw the soldiers come down the hill after her.”

“Sounds like we’ve got more than one rescue to pull today,” Yuan retorted. “Wait – what side is she on, first?”

“She was with the Orochi army,” Mitsunari said cautiously, “like her husband, but if that’s still the case then I can’t imagine why she’d be running like that from an army.”

“Unless they were Resistance,” Liao pointed out.

“It is too much of a mystery to be left alone.” Cao Pi shook his head at the inconvenience of it all, and then gestured to Gan Ning. “Take a horse. Pursue them, find out exactly what’s going on. I won’t have our attempts at beating down Dong Zhuo thrown into chaos by another army accidentally interfering on the battlefield at just the wrong moment.” He turned to the rest of his men. “Rouse the troops and let’s continue on. We have our prey in sight, they’ve left us quite the trail to follow. We’ll keep going as planned to this garrison the scouts found. Gan Ning, catch up to us as quickly as you can.”

“On it.” The pirate dashed off to find a horse he could use, and within seconds was thundering off to the east.

As they had made their way through Liang Province hot on the track of their own target, Dong Zhuo’s forces had not taken any care to hide evidence of their passage. The undergrowth was trampled and broken and a wide trail had been left by all the marching feet and wagons. Cao Pi’s army rode down that same trail at twice the pace, aiming for the plains and the hints of a village beyond. The scouts had done their job well, the garrison was exactly where they said it would be, and sure enough, the sentries milling about near the unbarred gate wore the Han-era uniforms of Dong Zhuo’s people. Reconnaissance brought all of this back to Cao Pi where he waited just a few furlongs back in the trees, at which point he turned to Mitsunari. “There is in fact a village on the other side of that gate,” he told him. “There should be storehouses and other outbuildings, but if Dong Zhuo has already reached it, they may be holed up there.”

“Unless our people are still ahead of them yet,” Mitsunari reasoned, “in which case they won’t be lurking around for long. You don’t want to wait too long, you’ll need to initiate assault before they can pull up stakes and head out.”

“We will wait just long enough for Gan Ning to return,” Pi decided. “Yet, no more than an hour. If he hasn’t returned by then, it means that other army is heading away from here and won’t interfere.”

They didn’t need an hour, Gan Ning appeared perhaps ten minutes later, his horse lathered and blowing from the hard ride. He hadn’t even come to a full stop when he vaulted out of the saddle, already talking. “You’re not gonna believe this!” he exclaimed as his feet hit the ground. “Yeah, it’s that girl all right, but guess who’s hunting her down? It’s Lu Bu himself!”

The collected officers all recoiled at once, even Cao Pi blinked in open surprise. “Are you kidding?” Xiahou Yuan yelped.

“You’re certain of this?” Zhang Liao asked with a darker, urgent tone.

“So,” Pi purred. “Orochi’s officers continue to flee him like rats from a sinking boat.” He looked to his strategist. “This puts us in a tough position.”

“With Lu Bu potentially on our tail? I’d say so,” Mitsunari snorted.

“That isn’t my primary concern.” Pi looked through the cluster of officers, away in the direction from which Gan Ning had ridden. “An Orochi officer being pursued by another. You know what we have to do.”

The officers around him stared hard at him, and Mitsunari bristled suddenly. “Are you insane?” he cried. “I don’t even know him half as well as you guys do and I know _exactly_ what’ll happen if we take Lu Bu’s wife away from him!”

“No, the young master is correct,” Zhang Liao interjected. “We must save her.”

“The difficult position is that, this is the worst time to be splitting up our forces,” Cao Pi complained. “I want to have all of you available to assault Dong Zhuo, in order to prevent him from reaching my lady. Yet I cannot overlook this opportunity.”

“Allow me, my lord,” Liao said with a quick kowtow. “I will ensure that Lu Bu is kept at bay, both from the lady and from our other mission.”

Cao Pi nodded once in a solemn acceptance; he was privately relieved that of all the officers he could have taken with him on this extended mission, he had Zhang Liao, once Lu Bu’s own retainer. Wenyuan would not only be formidable in a battle against his former master, but his personal ties with both hunter and hunted could come in handy. To his surprise, Ishida spoke up right then. “I’ll go, too.”

Pi shot him a wide-eyed look. “You?”

“Sure, why not.” Mitsunari faced him with a level stare in return. “You know this Liang village well enough, you don’t need me. Unless you do, then speak up now or else I’m going to help Zhang Liao.”

Cao Pi regarded him for a moment, trying to determine whether this was some kind of ploy or what. “If that is what you wish,” he finally consented, though there was still something uncertain in his tone. “But if it comes to it, try to avoid open battle with Lu Bu. If you can spirit her away by some other means, do it.”

“Whatever,” Ishida sniffed.

“One more to go with them. Azai,” Pi decided. “You’ll do well.”

“Yes, my lord,” Nagamasa said quietly.

“The rest of you are with me. We move in immediately while we still have the element of surprise. Our main task is to locate the Lady Zhenji and her retainers, and if they are in any danger, to eliminate that danger. Understood?”

The officers gave him their agreement, bowed, and split to order their forces. Nagamasa gave Oichi’s hands a squeeze to wish her good luck before mounting up to go along, riding up alongside Zhang Liao. Before he could join them, Mitsunari felt the hand on his arm and wondered that he didn’t see it coming. He kept his eyes innocently low as he turned to meet Cao Pi and the question murmured privately between them. “Is something the matter?”

“No, everything’s fine,” Mitsunari assured. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Pi didn’t believe him for a second. Yet, he released Ishida’s arm and squared his shoulders. “Meet back up with us however you’re able, when this is over. If it all goes to hell, ride for Xuchang and don’t look back.”

“And leave you floundering here?” Mitsunari finally raised his eyes, and found himself puzzled by the serious look in those icy blue eyes. Cao Pi couldn’t possibly be concerned that either of their forces were in genuine danger of defeat, could he? He huffed a short sigh and tapped his folded fan gently against his lord’s armor-plated chest. “We all go home to Xuchang together,” he promised. “Go, get out there and find her already.”

He turned on his heel and swung up into the saddle, hurrying to join the others so they could get moving before either Lu Bu or Diaochan could get too far away. Cao Pi gazed after them, roiling with an uncertain mix of feelings left stirred up by that last comment.


	54. Chapter 54

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A double-whammy of rescue battles for Wei, as they fight Dong Zhuo at Liang and Lu Bu at the Five Gates.

The valley at the heart of Liang Province would have been a fine place for farmers to settle and till the ground, growing wheat and millet for provisions as well as their own use, grazing their cattle and hogs, and laying up silage for the winter. At least, that was what usually took place there, when war did not sweep across the land and render it barren. So far from any castles or well-guarded strongholds, it had been left to the wilderness to reclaim, though the garrisons to the south, east, and northwest which usually stood guard over peasants and their homesteads were still stout and useful. Zhenji and her escort had been aware for several days that they had an Orochi force on their tail, though it wasn’t until they reached the valley that they realized exactly who was commanding it. Dong Zhuo reached the garrisons at the same time, instantly initiating a stalemate as he brought up his army and arrayed it so that they blocked off any further reatreat from the Wei army. Cao Ren wisely drew their small contingent off to the east, letting Dong Zhuo believe he had flanked them while he searched for an alternate route, willing to even double back if that was the only way to escape. They weren’t prepared to fend off a determined assault, and once they found themselves surrounded by the shadowy figures of Fuuma ninjas, Ren knew they were really in trouble. He recognized them from the occasional drop-ins at Osaka to check on prisoners, he wasn’t fooled. He placed himself as a wall between them and Zhenji, prepared to hold ground with Yue Jin at their backs, but this was no place for a last stand. The fields were wide open without even weeds for cover, and enemy forces stood between them and the nearest garrison. Retreat was wiser than fighting, if they could even do so. Their scouts hadn’t returned, so they could only hope that they’d found their way to safety and hadn’t gotten themselves killed, but there was no way to know if that would translate to reinforcements, now or ever. They really needed them now, though.

Cao Pi ordered his men to spring upon the southwestern garrison where Dong Min’s men were holding the path to prevent their prey from doubling back and trying to slip through into the trees, and overwhelm them before they could even raise an alarm. With Gan Ning along to pick up the slack for the absence of Zhang Liao, the skirmish was over rather quickly and they had a base from which to launch their further attack. Dong Min himself got away from them, though, so they had to move forward assuming that Dong Zhuo was about to be informed of their presence. At least they now had the vantage point necessary to get a good picture of the entire field before them: the fences and empty storehouses down at the center, the manned garrisons at the edges of the one-time village, and the figures of soldiers swarming through the valley, moving and flowing like trickling streams to and from particular points. It was hard to figure out which of them might belong to the small Wei battalion attending Lady Zhenji, so Cao Pi split his army up to come at them from two directions, Xiahou Yuan to the west and himself to the east. No one was left behind, every last man was turned out into the field in order to fend off the floods of Orochi forces and locate the missing Wei officers caught somewhere in the middle. It was necessary; no sooner had Cao Pi shown his face and there was a swarm of soldiers on him, oddly enough primarily garbed like samurai rather than the ancient Han uniforms of the Dong army. They came crashing down on Cao Pi’s flank one by one, but Gan Ning was there to take the brunt of it and deal it right back. The onset of their assault stymied Cao Pi’s forces in the heart of the valley, along a fence line between storehouses, necessitating that they pull back into a knot and fight more diligently and precisely. The officers dismounted, as their horses were of no use in this thick of a melee, they could hardly maneuver without crushing their own men. As they clashed, Pi noticed the shadowy figures slipping in and out of the ranks of the enemy, moving so fast and stealthily that he almost had to dismiss it as a trick of the light, until Gan Ning suddenly lunged from where he was, sprang into the air, and nearly landed on the Wei lord’s head. The sharp ring of metal right in his ear proved that the pirate had just barely blocked a strike coming at him from behind, throwing the attacker clear off him and back into one of the officers. “Damn ninjas,” Ning growled before going after him, not letting him retreat and try again.

Cao Pi followed him with his eyes as he held his own block against Mogami Yoshiaki, one of the Date retainers abroad with the main army. He almost didn’t need to, the bells told him exactly where Ning was, but he still wanted to be sure. He tracked the pirate as he slashed a winding path through the waves of Orochi soldiers, evading the rank-and-file and pursuing the ninja he had kept from assassinating Pi. There were more of them, and somehow the River Master found each one as he charged. _So that is their secret_ , Pi realized. They had to stay on their guard if they ever wanted to progress to the commander and take him down. There was no time to wage this like a standard ground battle, and take the garrisons one by one to eliminate the enemy’s footholds, they had to simply throw down the front line and anyone who came up after them, and push forward.

Safe behind a palisade wall, Dong Zhuo was apoplectic over the interference of another army and the delay to his plan to surround and capture Zhenji. He raged at his kinsman for losing the garrison and then rounded on Fuuma, who was silently standing at the gate taking reports from the field. “And what are your ninjas going to do, that my men can’t?” he snarled in the commander’s face.

“Back. Off,” Fuuma warned in a low purr. “Let them work. Unless you were planning to take the field yourself, already?”

Dong Zhuo was most certainly not about to go and lead the front line into battle so soon. He put some distance between himself and the ninja captain before heaving a derisive laugh. “Just remember, we want her alive. She’s no good to anyone dead.”

Kotaro rolled his eyes. “You need not be so concerned. If you insist on telling me how to command this battle, you can go and do it yourself.”

One of the Date underlings raced up to the gate, then, and dropped to his knee to report. “My lords, it is confirmed. The assailing army is led by Lord Cao Pi! He is in the battle already, he has pressed to the center where the Fuuma have held him.”

Dong Zhuo bristled. “No, not him! He can’t be allowed to succeed. Where are those sorcerers? Send them out to do their work!” He didn’t even wait for Fuuma to challenge him, he pointed angrily at him. “Whether your ninjas succeed or not, a little extra power won’t hurt.”

“I agree,” Kotaro said smoothly. “By all means, deploy the sorcerers. I will have Tao Qian put to work immediately.” He did not move from his position, but the men around him rushed to obey his quietly-given orders. Many were eager to see some success in battle, for once, and even if they obeyed out of fear rather than trust, they were more than happy to obey if it meant Fuuma could win this day for them.

To the west, Xiahou Yuan’s forces were not having too tough a time pressing inward, seeking the enemy main camp and eager to take Dong Zhuo out before he could claim his prize, but as they went they came abreast of more storehouses and slowed to make sure there was no ambush hiding inside. As his men poked around the outbuildings, Yuan sat in the saddle with his bow drawn, prepared for anything. Oichi rode with him, and suddenly breathed a shuddering gasp. “Hm? You okay?” the gruff archer asked her.

“There’s something strange about these fortifications,” she answered, shaking it off and regaining her composure. “It could be a trap. Take care searching them, Master Xiahou Yuan.”

“My lord,” an enlisted officer broke in, “it sounds almost as though someone inside is…is praying.”

“The doors are barricaded,” a private added.

“Well, we don’t want to be interrupting any pious sorts, do we?” Yuan said sarcastically. “Force the doors, but watch yourselves. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

A cluster of soldiers began to ram at the doors, but before they could get more than a couple of good poundings in, another low-ranked officer nearby let out a yelp. “W-what’s happening?! Who’s there?”

Oichi went rigid in the saddle, her fist clenching white-knuckled on her hooped weapon. “That same feeling again…!”

Yuan glanced to find his men waving their swords and spears around at thin air, as if attempting to swat insects with them. “What’re you guys doing?” he barked out at them.

“Ghosts!” the major cried, falling back and dropping his sword.

“There’s something there,” another tried to explain, “but our attacks don’t work on them!”

Xiahou Yuan was about to reprimand them when something shimmered near his knee and his horse suddenly reared, shying in terror away from something and nearly unseating him. He managed to grab the reins and pull it down in time, but he dropped the arrow he’d had nocked and had to swing his bow down to use as a club instead. “What the hell?!”

Oichi kept her horse from startling with an iron grip on the reins, but she was already looking around. No one could see anything but a light glimmer on the air like a heat mirage, but some of the men fell sporting wounds. “There’s some sort of strange magic, here,” she warned. “I’ve never seen anything like this!”

Seeing that the assault force had stopped battering at the storehouse doors in order to look around and wonder, Yuan ordered them to resume immediately. “We could be in real trouble,” he breathed so only Oichi could hear. “I don’t know how to hit something I can’t see.”

Across the vale, the phantom soldiers were not Cao Pi’s problem, but his contingent was having more than enough trouble shaking off the ninjas. What was worse, their abilities included traps and stealth weaponry he’d not yet experienced, seeing as he had never entertained Fuuma during a full-scale battle and had not even seen Hattori or any of the others known to be among the armies. Their trickery was as effective as sorcery, though one or two were also well-versed in that since becoming vassals of Orochi. They didn’t need it today, their multitude of tricks combined with their fighting skill was enough. Unlike the soldiers around them who had been trained to fight straightforwardly, with feet planted and formation lines that shouldn’t be broken, the Fuuma slipped in and out of the front lines, using the soldiers as human shields as they darted in, made their hits, and then pulled back. It was unconventional and difficult to combat unless one could think on his feet, like Cao Pi, or use his own reckless tactics, like Gan Ning. While their men were stumbling around, tripping on rope and caltrop traps set up around their position or ducking knives and other small, hard-to-see projectiles flung at them, the commander and his pirate bodyguard worked to puzzle out all the obstacles and turn their men to handle them one by one. After a bit it became clear that the ninjas were using the nearby storehouses as bases of operation, darting inside to rest and let others go out to relieve them, and then taking their turn again when rested, so Cao Pi regrouped his stoutest men and sent them forward to assault the buildings instead, to tear down the defense and give them nowhere to hide. He left Gan Ning to do as he pleased, and watched in some satisfaction as the pirate climbed onto the rooftops and sprang from one to the next chasing down errant ninjas who were trying to fire arrows down into the melee. Mogami and his compatriot Satomi were in charge on this end, but once they were down, it was easier to scatter the soldiers and expose the stealth forces among them. Pi moved to counter when a scout reached him from the other half of his army. “My lord!” he called out. “Lord Xiahou Yuan reports they’re under attack from some kind of magic!”

Cao Pi turned to him, eyes narrowing. “Magic?” he scoffed. “Tell Xiahou Yuan to hold firm. There is nothing to it, find whoever is in charge of the trick and destroy them.”

He knew that were Mitsunari at his side, he would be chided for refusing to believe in magic even after seeing the effects of sorcery and even commanding his lead strategist to use it against Da Ji, but he wasn’t, and so the thought left his mind. Here, now, they were facing no demons. He had not seen a single snake on the field anywhere, so whatever magic his army was worried about had to be no more than a trick like the ones performed by these ninjas. The scout ran to carry his message back, leaving him free to concern himself with disrupting the Fuuma deceptions. Their men had taken heart from watching Gan Ning rage his way from rooftop to field, and mustered behind him to breach the storehouses and garrison doors and put the ninjas to rout. They would not be able to advance until this obstacle had been overcome.

From where they had been pinned down by the Fuuma and Dong Zhuo armies, Zhenji and her men could at least see that something was going on further up the valley, along the trails they had taken to reach this part of Liang. Someone had come up who wasn’t Dong Zhuo, and there was ultimately battleclash in the valley. They couldn’t break free to join them or even so much as get a messenger through to find out who it was, but anyone who set upon the Orochi army with that much ferocity had to be Resistance, and as such, they would not turn down the assistance. Perhaps fate would visit them with some cruel irony, and it was Wu. One of their men gave a shout, then, and pointed to the path running down from the north. Most of that way lay choked with Dong Zhuo’s men as they poured out of their main camp and headed down to try to capture the Wei defectors, but from their midst strode a man who filled those watching with pure astonishment. Where did he come from? It didn’t matter, the Wei soldiers raised their weapons with a cheer because Lord Cao Pi had arrived to save them! He walked openly up the path, and the cluster of men protecting her ladyship parted to let him through. She gaped at him, thrilled to see him but still completely nonplussed that he should appear just when she needed him the most. Lowering her flute, she reached out to him. “My lord! What are you doing here?”

“Do you really have to ask that?” he responded, his smirk as cutting as ever. His swords were out and held low, but as Zhenji’s hand came within inches of closing on his sleeve, he brought one up between them. “I’m sorry, my dear,” he said in a tone dripping with wicked glee, “but I’m going to have to kill you, now.”

“What?” Zhenji stared, and then shrieked as he slashed out at her, genuinely trying to kill her.

Cao Run lunged between them, and the sword clanged off his shield. “My lord!” he gasped in bewilderment. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You heard me,” Cao Pi growled, bringing the other sword up and hacking at him.

The Wei forces fell into complete confusion, shocked that their lord should turn on them like this, right when they had welcomed his presence, and as a result they didn’t even notice things like the way he used the paired swords separately, never joining them together into Pure Havoc’s singular form. Ren used himself as a shield, blocking him from getting a hit on Zhenji in any way, but she was so flustered that she couldn’t even bring up her own weapon to fight back. She kept retreating, and Yue Jin backed away with her to keep her safe, while their men scattered around them trying to stop the Orochi soldiers from taking advantage of this betrayal and attacking them also. It certainly looked bleak, and though Ren was starting to wonder about the way his lord just kept beating on his shield, trying to get past him to Zhenji, there was no denying that he was strong and one wrong step would mean the death of all of them. He was being pushed back, all the way to where the target of the enemy’s wrath cowered behind the protection of her two last retainers. Zhenji finally roused herself enough to look for a way out of this, but they were coming up against a rocky outcrop where the valley began to slope upward back to the hills, and there didn’t seem to be a means of escape left or right. She put one hand on Ren’s shoulder, keeping herself an arm’s length from him and thus out of the reach of those swords, but she couldn’t bear to look her beloved in the eye. “My lord,” she whimpered, devastated by this twist, “do you grow weary of me?”

Cao Pi said nothing, his lips drawn back in a savage grimace of determination as he fought, trying to turn Cao Ren’s shield aside even a hair so he could strike past it and fell him. The silence hurt as much as any words would, and Zhenji felt herself close to losing her will to escape him. If he wanted her dead, then why shouldn’t she give him what he wanted? But then, the soldiers cried out again, for a horse was barreling their way across the open ground. A horse and a pirate, in fact, the latter on foot but running hard with his bells ringing angrily in the chill air. The horse outpaced him, and both defenders and attackers let out shouts of confusion and dismay to see the rider. It was…Cao Pi?

Zihuan was furious, he had finally opened a gap in the Orochi front line only to spot his lady being attacked by what looked like himself. He had left his entire army behind in order to race to her rescue, having only Gan Ning at his side to protect him in turn. He didn’t need protection, though, he had only one goal and nothing would stand in his way. Zhenji fell back a few more steps, and wobbled until Yue Jin came behind her to catch her and support her. “I…what is this…?”

The real Cao Pi flung himself out of the saddle and landed full on the imposter, his joined Pure Havoc screeching against the separate paired swords. He didn’t waste words welcoming or reassuring his wayward retainers, he simply fell to attacking this person, whoever or whatever it was. He wasn’t so full of mindless fury that he didn’t realize he could be in the same situation as Odawara, it was in the back of his mind, but that only fueled his need to take the phantom down himself. He drove in hard and forced the other Cao Pi back away from Zhenji, letting Gan Ning swoop in behind him and cut through the throngs of Orochi soldiers flocking to their position. Cao Ren tottered back and lowered his shield in aching arms, staring at the bizarre situation unfolding before them. They all watched for a moment, at which point he said what they were all thinking: “There are two of them.”

It was very clear in no time at all which one was the true Cao Pi Zihuan. His swordsmanship was impeccable, his handling of Pure Havoc masterful as he separated and rejoined it over and over again to keep his opponent from ever gaining control or momentum. The other Cao Pi, conversely, merely hacked and slashed with the two swords, finding himself constantly driven back. He was no match in speed or strength, especially with Pi so savagely angry that he overwhelmed his foe with energy alone. Gan Ning kept the rest of the Orochi soldiers off him so he could handle this duel personally, and even ran over to give Cao Ren a kick in the shin to get him to stop staring and start fighting. There was a disturbingly loud cry of pain, and everyone who heard it stopped what they were doing to look, and behold Cao Pi driving Pure Havoc with both hands into the chest of his doppelganger. He didn’t stop until the other was on the ground, pinned by the blade and swiftly expiring. It was no phantom, after all, for the body didn’t disappear, and to everyone’s disturbance, it didn’t cease looking like the lord of Wei even after it died. It was just as sickening for Cao Pi to see his own blade piercing his own heart, but he drew back and turned away before it could get to him and focused his attention on more important matters. The Orochi forces still standing scattered and fled, leaving Gan Ning brandishing his River Master and shouting obscene things about their mothers behind them. Zihuan swiftly strode to where Zhenji stood supported by Yue Jin, arms wrapped around herself in fear, reaching his open hand out to her. “Calm down, my love,” he implored as he came, gentling his voice “I am here. It’s me.”

She shrank back from him, since the other one had entreated her as well, but he set his weapon back behind him to keep it out of her sight and kept his hand up in plea. Zhenji finally dared to take it, feeling his warmth, and drew herself up to stand on her own two feet. “I…what did I just…?” she stammered.

“Zhenji, it’s all right,” Pi said gently. “It’s all over.”

She glanced past him to see that Cao Ren was not trying to stop him, so it had to be the real one. He had won. She began to shake a little, wilting toward him as he opened his arms to catch her. “My lord,” she breathed, afraid to believe it, “you saved me.”

He was warm and solid and smelled a little of sweat and horse as she fell into him, but Zhenji didn’t care. It was really Cao Pi, still just as unexpected but wholly welcome. “I’m here now,” he promised, resting his chin on her head in a quick embrace. “Stand strong, this isn’t over yet. But you have me at your side, now. We’re leaving here together.” 

Relieved, Zhenji pressed against him just as long as she dared before pushing apart, because they were in fact still in the middle of a battlefield and surrounded by their men. “By your side, my darling,” she said, the courage coming back into her voice, “there is nothing else I could fear. Not even Orochi’s lies.”

That only brought his duel back into sharp relief against the backdrop of this battle and stoked Cao Pi’s anger all over again. He turned to his men waiting behind him for orders. “Whoever is responsible for this disgusting trickery,” he snarled, “find them. I will personally end their life here and now!”

The rest of their soldiers had caught up and turned immediately to sweep northward up the trail, following the stragglers running from the fight. Gan Ning looked down at the dead imposter and then kicked his cloak over his face so no one would have to look at it. “Let’s get moving!” he called out to their forces. “Don’t stop for anything, especially not any more dirty tricks!”

“My lord…” Cao Ren came up to Pi and bent in a bow with fist before heart. “You’ve reached us…”

“Reunions can wait,” Pi assured, though he calmed his ire long enough to nod back. “You have protected her with your life as you promised. Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it.” Ren looked to where Gan Ning was already leading the charge toward another outbuilding standing by itself in the field. “Where’d you pick him up?”

“Later,” Cao Pi promised. “My order stands. I want the one responsible for this evil, even if it’s Dong Zhuo himself.” He met Ren’s curious look with a firm one of his own. “We are not merely going to take you and escape. That foul tyrant must be destroyed.”

“As you wish,” Ren agreed, and then nodded to the line of a wooden palisade far across the valley, closer to Xiahou Yuan’s position. “The bulk of their army has been coming from there. I expect that’s where you’ll find him.”

“Let’s go, then.” Pi paused to pick up Zhenji’s flute from where she had dropped it and pressed it into her hand. “Can you continue, my lady?”

“Yes,” she assured him, and indeed some of the color was coming back into her cheeks. She was steady on her feet and gripped her weapon without flinching. “I won’t relax until we’ve laid waste to these monsters.”

He offered her his horse, deigning to continue on foot with the rest of his men. As they marched on the main camp, he noticed Oichi riding toward them from the other end of the valley, fast but not with alarm. She drew in near them, and they could see blood staining the silken cords on her hoops. “My lord,” she said, “Master Xiahou Yuan wishes to know your orders. We’ve secured our route to the west and are ready to advance.”

Cao Pi nodded and then gestured with his blade to the palisade wall. “There. They seem to already be aware that we’ve taken the upper hand, I see the gates closing to keep us out. My order is to advance on Dong Zhuo and bring him to his knees. I have one errand to finish and then I will join you.”

“Understood.” The young lady flashed Zhenji a shadow of a smile, guessing at her identity, and then wheeled her horse to bring the orders to their end of the valley.

Gan Ning was on a rampage out of sheer spite for the Orochi army, he didn’t care who he was fighting or what they were doing so long as he could demolish anyone loyal to the serpent. It seemed Cao Pi was right and he needed to expend his strength on the front lines like this, for he was practically a one-man wrecking crew as he charged toward the lonely shed at the top of the rise. He wasn’t much of a believer in sorcery either, since he hadn’t witnessed much of it, but he marked the retreat of their foes and saw most of them withdraw back to this point. Their commanding officer had to be hiding in here, and he might have been the one who sent the imposter to throw their army into chaos. The doors were securely barred, but the pirate had all the strength of Wei at his back, and together they ripped the doors down and barged inside. A cluster of soldiers stood like a wall around someone in the center of the room, bristling with swords and spears; the man was kneeling and chanting, perhaps oblivious to the fact that his spell was no longer necessary. The noise got his attention, and he looked up, startled, to find enemies in their sanctuary. “Fools!” he called to his men. “This enchantment must not be broken! Stop them, or Master Fuuma will have our heads!”

Ning held his ground in the doorway but turned his head enough to call over his shoulder. “Oi! I think we found ‘em!”

The guards leaped to clash with the intruders, but moments later Cao Pi’s tall frame darkened the doorway, and from the livid expression on his face it was clear he had not calmed down at all. He laid eyes on the older man cowering behind his retinue and glowered. “Tao Qian,” he murmured in recognition. “What a surprise.”

Tao Qian shrank back even further, toward the back door of the building. “L-lord Cao Pi…”

“Was it you who put my face on that thing out there?”

The man dropped his head, aware that his plan had failed and he no longer had to maintain the spell. “You must understand,” he whined, “I was ordered to by Master Fuuma. Da Ji taught me the sorcery, he wanted to use it to get close…”

“To get close enough to assassinate my lady by her own husband’s hand?” Cao Pi blazed at him, taking a few steps toward him. The heat of his anger was enough to send Tao Qian’s guards running. “How _dare_ you do that to her! You will pay dearly!”

He advanced so quickly that all Tao Qian could do was drop his fan and hold his hands up in desperation, shielding his head. There would have been a blade through his heart if not for Gan Ning, who suddenly eased himself in between them, letting Cao Pi run into him from behind. “Hang on,” he said, his cool tone belying the bloodthirst simmering just under the surface. “This guy’s got information and it sounds like he’s willing to spill it.”

“I don’t want information,” Cao Pi seethed, “I want the man who manipulated my Zhenji to _die_.”

“Oh, he will,” Gan Ning coldly assured, “when we’re done with him.” He glanced over his shoulder to the man straining against his outflung arm. “What you really want is the bastard who made him do it, isn’t it? You really think this peon could’ve come up with that plan by himself?”

Pi turned icy eyes on him, slowly coming to the realization that he was right. Tao Qian might once have been a vaguely capable ruler of the Han, and just cunning enough to be part of the plot to kill Cao Pi’s grandfather, but he was no mastermind. He had already laid the blame on Fuuma for giving the orders. Pi eased back, letting Ning drop his arm. “To the main camp, then,” he decided. “Fuuma Kotaro is one of Orochi’s top commanders. If he’s here pulling the strings, he will pay in blood for every misdeed.”

He turned swiftly and strode out to rejoin the march on the main camp. Tao Qian groveled his way forward to thank Gan Ning for his life but only got a foot slammed in his face so hard it broke his nose. “Tie him up,” he ordered the soldiers at his back, “and don’t let him get away. Lord Cao Pi is gonna want a few extra words with him later when this is all finished.”

They met up with Xiahou Yuan’s forces in time to see the palisade gate breached, and Yuan and Yue Jin leading the charge into the last reserve forces of Dong Zhuo behind it. A savage battle broke out, but it took some time before Dong Zhuo and Dong Min both noticed that Fuuma had abandoned them to it without a word. He had been there just before the wooden gate splintered from outside, and they had assumed he was going to let himself be the first line of defense to meet Cao Pi head on, but now none of them could see him anywhere in the fray. They didn’t have time to worry, though, for Cao Pi was upon them then, still caught in the lust of his own anger and showing no mercy to anyone in his path. Dong Zhuo was powered by his own anger at having his dream of a lady taken hostage thwarted yet again, it rose past his fear of defeat or death and drove him to clash with the enemy commander himself. “Filthy garbage!” he spat at Pi as their swords crossed. “You’re nothing but a traitor! I should have ended your line when I had the chance!”

Pi pushed him back with a snarl of his own. “ _You_ are the only filthy one I see here,” he shot back, all of his vaunted cool completely vanished. He fought with naked passion, and it was more than enough to overwhelm the Han tyrant. He was out for blood, and seemed about to take it when a huge, hulking black shape crashed to the ground between them, driving them apart. Fuuma was back, diving from one of the sentry towers just in time, though his heel-strike missed cleaving the head of whichever of the two he was aiming for. He drew up to his full height and faced Cao Pi, even as Dong Min dragged his kinsman back away and prepared their army to retreat. Pi slid back into defense, though his eyes were alight with deadly interest. “Just who I was looking for,” he said coldly.

“Cao Pi of Wei,” Kotaro acknowledged, his low tone edged with displeasure. “You have broken your alliance and turned on Lord Orochi. He is not amused.”

“It wasn’t intended to amuse him.” Pi brought the two halves of Pure Havoc apart with a click, lowering his shoulders in a ready stance. “I would send you to him with a message, but as I intend to kill you here, such a message would never be received.”

“There is nothing you can tell him that he doesn’t already know.” Fuuma flicked the claws of his gauntlet in threat. “You think you can take me?”

More than one among both armies watching the standoff wanted to see these two formidable warriors fight one another. Yet, as they faced off, an arrow suddenly streaked over Cao Pi’s shoulder and nearly hit Fuuma, he dodged just in time and it only clipped one of his braids. He looked to see Xiahou Yuan standing with another arrow fitted to the string. “He’s not the only one,” he warned. “All of us kinda want a piece of you right now. Think you can take all of us?”

“Every last one of us,” Gan Ning concurred, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, brandishing his sword.

“For my lord and lady,” Cao Ren added, pounding a fist on his shield.

Zhenji merely stood with her flute resting on her shoulder, but she tipped her chin to gesture toward the half-empty camp behind the ninja captain. “It might prove messy, considering you’re losing all of your backup.”

“What?” Fuuma chanced a look behind him and nearly gnashed his teeth as he realized Dong Zhuo was running – again. “That idiot!” he seethed under his breath.

It was not at all dignified for either party to break off and leave the debt unpaid, but Kotaro had no choice. His clan had been thrown down, scattered, Tao Qian was captured, none of the other Date retainers had managed to limp back to the main camp, and now Dong Zhuo was tucking his tail like a dog and fleeing even though he knew full well of Fuuma’s threats to him. The ninja captain sent a horrific glare around the circle of retainers protecting Cao Pi. “Relish this tiny and insignificant victory for now,” he taunted them, “for it will be your last. Lord Orochi is coming for you, Cao Pi, and when he does, I will not be held back. Your head will be mine.”

Pi’s eyes narrowed at the threat. “Is that all you have? Falling back on your precious demon lord to save you? Get out of my sight, _ninja_ , and take that garbage with you.”

Their parting snipes were hardly painful, but each had his say. Fuuma could do nothing but bare his teeth in a savage growl and then vanish as abruptly as he had arrived, the only competent warrior left among the Orochi forces who could scoop up the stragglers and drive them back to Bai Di. Cao Pi likewise was not interested in loitering about while they retreated, now that his desire to kill the perpetrator of his wife’s torment had been thwarted. He wanted to be as far away from Liang as possible before the sun began to sink in the west, and was equally keen on making sure the other officers on their other errand also succeeded. He withdrew his men as fast as they could manage in their exhaustion, passing back through the southernmost garrison and into the trees before he would let them rest and tend their wounds. This territory was hovering somewhere between autumn and winter and the night would be cold, so they only lingered as long as necessary and then struck the trail they had followed in, hoping to get up into the hills where the barren trees would offer them a little shelter from the chill. Oichi politely and demurely introduced herself to the Lady of Wei and then offered her horse, since the refugees from Wei had lost theirs during the journey somewhere. Upon hearing that she was the wife of some other officer her husband had picked up, Zhenji accepted and smiled coolly as Oichi bowed with deep respect and left them. Despite his weariness and the sheer mental exhaustion brought on as the adrenaline of his rage ebbed, Cao Pi was still on his feet and commanding his men, though he took a moment to gather his wife to him one more time before they mounted up to ride. “I could hardly believe my eyes,” she cooed against his chest. “You came for me.”

“Can you ever forgive me for sending you away?” he said softly.

“Now that I understand why…” If it wasn’t enough to hear Fuuma call him a traitor, she certainly could guess, seeing foreign officers in her lord’s employ. “I knew you had a plan, but these days I can hardly know your mind.”

“It was necessary,” he said honestly. “I wasn’t even sure that I would make it out of Odawara Castle alive. I needed to preserve you, and everything else.”

“I know, but…” Zhenji lifted her head and fixed him with a determined look. “If you ever send me to another castle again, I will make your life a living hell.”

Pi tried not to smile, and put on a chastened look instead. “Understood. You will never leave my side again.”

“That’s all I want.”

He reluctantly let go of her and offered her a hand to help mount up. “As much I would like to call it a day, we still have urgent matters to attend to. We shouldn’t camp here, and we need to meet up with Ishida and Wenyuan. I must know that they’re safe.”

Zhenji was extremely intrigued to hear the name of Da Ji’s spy and the suggestion that he was still around, but that was a story that could wait for later. “I want to hear all about how you turned that fox woman on her head, when you have the time.”

“Maybe I can get her to tell you herself,” Cao Pi said smartly as he went to his own horse. “She’s in the prisons at Xuchang.”

Cao Ren overheard and swore softly. “You must tell us.”

“Later.” Pi swung into the saddle and raised his arm to command the army to move out. “When we’re all safe and snug.”

While battle raged at the barren village, Zhang Liao and his cohorts rode hard through the trees to pick up on the pursuit trail spotted by Gan Ning that morning. It wasn’t hard to find, for Diaochan was running wild and leaving a clear path behind her, which was in turn widened and trampled down by the forces hunting her. As they went, the land started to look more and more familiar to Liao, the grass beneath their horses’ hooves went from brown to green and the trees began to show leaves which in turn grew thicker and thicker. The trail was much easier to follow as they passed through into spring and then summer within an hour, the bent bracken showed it clearly, and then they were emerging onto an actual road. By now Liao was absolutely certain where they were, and led the other two up the road without stopping once. It would be hard on the horses, but time was against them. He wasn’t at all surprised to come upon the first gate, but it stood open and they passed through without trouble. Between the second and third gates was where they overtook Lu Bu’s army, and he recognized every one of the retainers the mighty general had taken from Dong Zhuo. None of them had any idea that anyone else was behind them, and even though it was three mere officers against an entire army, they were able to win the gate and keep going. Diaochan was just beyond, at the end of her strength, but when she realized the interlopers belonged to the Resistance she threw herself on their mercy and begged their help. This, then was what Lu Bu finally discovered when he threw open the fifth and final gate and rode down on them from above – he had circled around while his men were trying to slow Diaochan down, so he could come at her from the other side and pincer her in the middle. Now that the corridor of the Five Gates no longer stood in its natural location, there were plenty of ways to simply go around the gates rather than through them, he had found one and used it well. He was too late to simply grab his wife and leave, though, someone else had caught up and barred the gates behind them, so that Li Su, Fan Chou, and the others could not get to them. It still left Zhang Liao, Azai Nagamasa, and Mitsunari face to face with the legendary warrior, and he was in a volcanic rage. It didn’t help that Diaochan was currently nestled in Ishida’s arms; exhausted, she began to collapse and he happened to catch her just as Lu Bu came upon them. His eyes practically bulged from his face as he leaned down and brandished his halberd at them. “What are you doing with Diaochan?! She belongs to me! What are you to her?”

“What am I to her?” Mitsunari repeated, taken aback by the question. But he quickly realized that Lu Bu was jumping to ridiculous conclusions, and decided to string him along. “Hm, how should I answer that…”

“You dare to touch my woman?!” Lu Bu blazed. “You will die for that!”

He flew from the saddle and instantly crashed halberd-first into Zhang Liao and the Blue Wyvern, as he leaped to intercept. They pushed off one another and came right back in, slamming their polearms against one another in a deafening barrage of hits that persisted until the blades locked, forcing them to strain against one another, both pushing, Lu Bu to advance and Zhang Liao to prevent him. Wenyuan knew full well that the weakened woman and the willowy strategist were no match for his former lord, he would kill them both with one blow if he got past. Lu Bu gnashed and garbled at him in his fury. “Zhang Liao! You should know better than to get in my way!”

Liao kept his calm, though he lowered his head until his eyes gleamed from the shadows of his helm. “Calm down, my lord,” he implored. “I can explain…”

“Silence!” Lu Bu roared in his face. “Any who stand in my way will be cut down – even you, Zhang Liao! I do not want to hear any excuses!”

Nagamasa stood just behind them, between the clash and the woman they had rescued, his lance blocking the way. He had never seen this monster before, but it didn’t stop him from putting himself as the next line of defense despite his awe and worry. “What are we to do?” he quietly asked over his shoulder to Mitsunari, without pulling his eyes away from Lu Bu’s hulking form.

“I’m thinking,” Mitsunari whispered back. He shot a quick glance to the gate behind them, which held stoutly against the army beyond it. A handful of soldiers had defected when they realized they were actively battling against their fair lady, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough to fight back through the entire battalion. The way forward would take them further from Cao Pi, and that was only _if_ Zhang Liao and Nagamasa could manage to defeat Lu Bu, a monumental task in itself. No matter which way they tried to turn, they wouldn’t get far if they couldn’t stop Lu Bu. Mitsunari knew they couldn’t do it by force alone, they needed his tactics. He had seen Lu Bu in action before, way at the beginning when he was still actively in the Orochi main army, and wondered if the warrior remembered. The only thing he could do was keep him talking, for when he was talking he wasn’t fighting and the less he fought, the less likely any of them would be killed on the spot. “You’re too late,” he called out, raising his voice. “She’s coming with us.”

Lu Bu’s fiery gaze shifted to him, turning ugly. “You dare to defy me? You’re nothing but a lap dog – and what’s more, a traitor, if you’re working to keep Diaochan away from me!”

“It’s not their doing!” Diaochan roused herself and straightened up to confront her husband herself. “I refuse to go back, there’s nothing you can say to sway me!”

“Diaochan…” Lu Bu’s growl was deep and guttural like a beast. “I will take you back by force if necessary!”

“Please, let me go!” she cried, pushing away from Mitsunari. “I’m doing this for your own good, my love!”

For a moment he faltered, his armored shoulders drooping. Behind the rage was actual sadness, Zhang Liao’s eyes widened to hear it. “ _Why_ , Diaochan? Why do you betray me like this?”

She faced him bravely, drawing herself up. “Ever since that demon arrived, you have changed, my lord! I know now that there is only one way to turn you back to yourself, and that’s to destroy Orochi. I may not be strong enough myself, but I know who is.” She looked to Mitsunari. “The Resistance.”

Lu Bu’s moment of grief passed and his ferocious rage erupted all over again in an inarticulate bellow. He pushed against Zhang Liao and finally disentangled their weapons so he could go on the attack again, swinging the Sky Piercer in wide arcs. Liao met each one and turned it aside, planting his feet so that his foe could go no further past him. “Traitors!” Lu Bu accused them, spit flying from his lips. “You’ve turned on him!”

Mitsunari saw his chance and seized it. “That’s right!” he said defiantly. “Even I belong to the Resistance now, I serve Lord Cao Pi instead of Orochi. If the lady wants to come with us, she’s welcome. We’ll take good care of her.”

“You will not touch her!” he retorted, hitting Zhang Liao so hard he wobbled and nearly fell aside, but he caught himself at the last second and braced for another impact. “Have you been going behind my back this whole time?”

Mitsunari faced him with an aloof, superior air, tapping his closed fan against his other hand. “I don’t need to. You seem to have done a pretty good job driving the lady away all by yourself.”

Lu Bu surged against Zhang Liao, who felt the need to mutter something whether his ally heard him or not. “You really don’t need to goad him even further, young master…”

Ishida pressed on, seeing as he had Lu Bu so incensed he couldn’t think or see straight. “You really think cutting us all down is going to make her come back with you? She’ll resent you for the rest of her life. Is that what you really want?”

Diaochan turned to stare at his audacity, while Azai moved in closer to back up Zhang Liao in case he couldn’t hold Lu Bu back alone. “You know nothing!” the mighty warrior yelled across their crossed weapons. “I will show no mercy to any of you, for interfering in this matter!”

“And what will Orochi think of you putting your personal matters ahead of him?” Mitsunari challenged. “While you’ve been out here looking for your wife, we captured Da Ji. She’s in Lord Cao Pi’s dungeons right this very minute.”

“What?!” The roar was so loud the men confronting Lu Bu winced. “You lie!”

“It’s not a lie, my lord,” Zhang Liao said darkly, shifting the Blue Wyvern to intercept any further attacks. “We have her. I have stood my turn on guard, I swear it’s the truth.”

For once, Lu Bu dropped back, his shoulders squaring into a defensive stance with the Sky Piercer held low between himself and his foes. “What is this nonsense? You mean to tell me that Da Ji is no longer in command?”

“Kind of hard to command from a prison cell,” Mitsunari sniffed.

“Lord Cao Pi has ended his alliance with Orochi,” Liao continued. “That makes us Resistance now. That is why we stand in your way. He turned on her and captured Da Ji and none of her forces were able to stop him.”

This news actually tempered his anger somewhat, if only because it forced Lu Bu to stop and think. No matter what the wily strategist said, for Zhang Liao to corroborate it, it must be true. How could Orochi’s forces fail her like that? Who was even left, if she couldn’t be protected? With his head addled by anger over Diaochan, it was hard to know what to do. His blood screamed for him to attack them, bash in their skulls, cleave them in half, but this news changed everything. Would Orochi blame him for being halfway across the world on frivolous errands when it happened? Had his men at He Fei Castle known and simply not told him? Confused and frustrated, he studied his former retainer and found no deception in his steely gaze. “You fools,” he growled. “You have signed your own execution orders. Lord Orochi will not tolerate such brazen betrayal, and he will order me to take your heads!”

Diaochan looked back at Mitsunari again. “It’s true? Then…the Orochi army is falling apart…”

“It sure is,” Mitsunari affirmed.

“Not as long as I still draw breath!” Lu Bu hesitated a long moment, fists clenched painfully hard on the shaft of his halberd, and then gave in with a snarl, whirling it out of the way. “Very well, you can keep your heads for one more day. I don’t have time for this. But mark my words – when Lord Orochi finds out, _I_ will be the one knocking down the gate of Xuchang to free Da Ji!”

Zhang Liao did not move a muscle, even if his foe had stood down. “I look forward to that meeting, my lord.”

Lu Bu’s dark eyes moved from him to the woman still shielded behind the wall of polearm and lance. “As for you. You are _nothing_ to me now, Diaochan! If you want so badly to join the Resistance and defy me, you have your wish. But if you truly intend to fight against Lord Orochi, then rest assured, we will meet again. And on that day, I will not be merciful to you.”

Diaochan’s composure wavered only briefly. She faced him right back with her head held high. “As you wish, my lord.”

He growled once more and turned swiftly, the feathers of his headdress floating after him as he stalked to his horse and vaulted into the saddle. Ishida raised his voice and called after him. “Your men are caught between us and the Wei main army – we were only the advance vanguard. If you want to take any of them back with you, I’d suggest you tell them to stand down and get out of the way.”

Lu Bu clearly resented being told what to do, but it was a prudent warning. A larger army approaching from the rear would have no problem managing the five gates and falling upon his army. Without a word he jabbed his halberd in the air to agree to it, at which point Nagamasa grabbed their wandering horses and then pulled the gate open. The foremost of Lu Bu’s officers gaped in surprise, only to be ordered to stand down and let the three horses pass through them untouched. The rearmost bore two riders, as Diaochan clung to Ishida’s back, until they could find where her own horse got left behind at one of the earlier gates. Mitsunari had done his job well, not only had he talked Lu Bu down, but he cleared their retreat back through the entirety of the enemy forces so they wouldn’t have to find some other way to circle around and rejoin Cao Pi. None of them looked back until after they had passed the last gate and rode free down the road into the wilderness beyond.

It was Nagamasa who managed to find their original path and track their way back to where they should rendezvous with the rest of the army, though they had no idea how quickly Cao Pi would wrap up their errand and resume the journey from their end, so everyone was pleasantly surprised to come upon each other deep in the woodlands right at the edge of autumn and spring. The outlying scouts ran right into Zhang Liao, and brought them straight back to where the commander was, necessitating a momentary halt for them all to get caught up and take a rest. Diaochan’s horse was on its last legs after the pursuit followed by the retreat, so the army took stock of their location and decided that it was as good as any for putting up a camp. Evening was drawing on quickly, and here on the border between territories the climate mingled so that it wouldn’t be quite so cold and uncomfortable at night. Cao Pi drew his officers aside while the soldiers put up the tents for them, consulting them beneath a spreading maple tree whose buds were already bursting into leaf. Diaochan stepped ahead of her rescuers and bowed low to the Lord of Wei. “Please,” she said before anyone else had even spoken, “allow me to join your army, Lord Cao Pi. I owe your men my life, and I wish to repay your kindness by assisting you to defeat Orochi.”

Pi quirked an eyebrow and then nodded. “It seems our efforts today have paid off handsomely. I have my lady back, and we have a new officer as well.” His gaze passed over all of them, but lingered briefly on Mitsunari. “Is everyone all right?”

“We came out of it remarkably unscathed,” Zhang Liao replied. “It was all thanks to Master Ishida, he managed to persuade Lu Bu to leave.”

Nearly everyone boggled at him. “Whoa, wait – you _talked_ Lu Bu out of fighting?” Gan Ning exclaimed.

Mitsunari shrugged it off aloofly. “It’s not like I pulled some kind of miracle out of my ass. I took a gamble. The way he reacted when he realized we were Resistance made me think he hadn’t heard that we captured Da Ji, and I was right. It took the wind right out of his sails.”

Cao Pi lowered his eyes in a faintly chastened expression. “Letting you go along was the right choice, then.”

“How did it go on your end? Liao wondered. “I see the lady and our men are none the worse for wear.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Ren answered for them. “Some strange things happened, I wasn’t sure we’d make it.”

Pi raised a hand to caution any of them from telling the full story. “It seems Dong Zhuo had help. The ninja, Fuuma Kotaro, was with him, and had control of the field.”

Diaochan’s eyes widened at the first name, while Ishida’s narrowed at the second. “Fuuma, huh?”

“There’s much to be said about what we found there, but it can wait. Right now I need to tell you all what I heard from Fuuma’s lips directly.” Pi paused for dramatic effect, looking around the circle. “He said Orochi is coming.”

Most of those who had been with him had heard the parting jibe, but thought it an idle threat made by someone who had lost the advantage and had nothing more to say. Cao Pi, however, had been immediately in front of him and saw it in his face, he knew the ninja captain was serious. The officers around him looked to one another in alarm. “Orochi’s coming?” Zhang Liao said in disbelief. “Are you sure?”

Mitsunari let out a worried noise under his breath. “Of course,” he fretted. “Fuuma wouldn’t be out here doing something so pointless as trying to capture deserters with his own two hands if it weren’t true. He’s practically Orochi’s right hand.” His distressed look went straight to Cao Pi and Zhenji at his side. “He wasn’t there to capture them at all, was he? He was going to kill them.”

Zhenji’s hand tightened on her husband’s arm. Pi met his strategist’s eyes and nodded.

“That’s Fuuma,” Ishida warned them all. “Orochi gave him free rein right at the beginning, he’s allowed to do things that no other officer can. Everyone else is under orders, but Fuuma carries out Orochi’s will directly.” He shook his head. “It’s gotta be true. Orochi’s on his way back for round two.”

“All the more reason for us to hurry back to Xuchang,” Pi said sternly. “I will send messengers ahead of us, but now that we’ve collected all of our missing officers and then some, we need to get back and prepare. We’ll rest here tonight, but then we must move with all haste.”

“What about your prisoner?” Gan Ning wondered.

Pi thought about it. His anger had cooled considerably, and the greater part of it was being saved for Fuuma anyway. “Beat as much information out of him as you can,” he decided, “but we’ll leave him here in the forest when we depart. If any of the Orochi army is still lurking about here, they can have him back.”

Ning made a face both impressed and a little disturbed at the ruthlessness of the order, but said nothing to gainsay it. He wasn’t a huge fan of such a tactic but he knew the value of it and was pretty good at carrying it out. An attendant came over to let them know the command tent had been erected, so they broke up and headed back. To Ishida’s surprise, their lord called him to his side to assist him with plans and messages immediately. Zhenji pouted a bit at him. “You aren’t even going to take a single night to rest, are you?” she chided her husband. “It’s right back to work, right away.”

“I’m sorry, my dear.” Pi took her hands in his. “I would love nothing more than to relax and listen to you play your beautiful melodies, but war waits for no one and nothing. When we return to Xuchang, however, you can play for me. All night,” he added suggestively.

Zhenji smirked at his daring. “I will hold you to that. I, for one, have had enough of war for one day, so if you don’t mind I’ll stay out of your little strategy meeting.”

A separate tent had been set up for the women now that they had collected so many of them, even if two had husbands along on the ride, so Lady Zhenji sashayed over to Oichi and Diaochan and made herself comfortable in much fairer and less sweaty company. Cao Pi ducked into the command tent with Ishida on his heels and wasted no time getting down to business. “The message is for Fengxiao,” he explained, “he needs to carry out my orders so that everything is already in motion by the time we get back to Xuchang. Word must be sent in turn to our other holdings – to Odawara, just a warning what we’ve learned. They should be secure enough. To Jianye, I want Cao Hong and Cao Zhen to immediately remove to Chencang to hold it. I’ll send reinforcements along later if necessary, but I want them to replace Xiahou Dun right away so he can return to me.”

“And that’s what you want sent to Chencang,” Mitsunari noted, already sitting down with brush and ink. “He’ll be relieved, I’m sure.”

Cao Pi dropped heavily onto a stool beside him and reached beneath his cloak to begin unclasping his armor. “If I can save even a couple of days by having him send out these messages, so much the better. I don’t know what kind of time frame Fuuma intended by letting that slip, but I believe we need to act as though Orochi were returning tomorrow, even if it actually takes him weeks to show up.”

Mitsunari jotted everything down and then looked up pensively. “Why would he do that, though? Warn anyone that Orochi is moving toward us, I mean. They could have made great use of the terror from the shock of seeing him looming on the horizon all over again.”

“I couldn’t say,” Pi said tiredly. “Perhaps they’re trusting to his overwhelming strength. Perhaps I’m wrong about everything and it was a bluff…”

“No, it’s not a bluff,” Mitsunari said certainly. “I can read that much in the short version of what happened in your battle. Maybe later when I know more I’ll be able to figure it out, for now I’m just curious.” His eyes strayed to watch Cao Pi struggling with his armor, and then with a sigh he leaned over and pushed the cloak out of the way. “Here, let me help you.”

“I can do it…” But even as he protested, Pi’s hand moved away and allowed Ishida’s to creep in and unfasten the scale armor at the side, so he could take it off. He hadn’t called for medics or attendants, so Mitsunari had to assume he wasn’t injured, but as the scale mail peeled away, he could see one or two dented scales and guessed that the young lord was hiding bruises under his silks. Pi felt his scrutinizing glare and looked back at him. “I’m fine,” he promised.

“Cao Ren said it wasn’t an easy battle,” Mitsunari reminded him, baiting him to tell more.

Pi turned away to inspect himself for injury, but after a long moment, broke the silence with a low, angry murmur. “One of the Orochi officers can use the same sorceries as Da Ji. I was forced to fight against myself.”

Mitsunari stared at his back. “Yourself…? What…wait, no. Don’t tell me. He made it look like _you?_ ”

Pi breathed a deep sigh, trying to squash down his anger this time instead of letting it run through him like wildfire. “I’m told it wasn’t a phantom, this time, but rather, the sorcerer managed to make another soldier look and sound exactly like me. He even had a copy of my swords. He was weak, and I killed him myself, thinking him another phantom like the ones at Odawara.” He slowly turned, fixing his strategist with a solemn look. “They intended to have this fake kill my wife, so she would die in despair.”

A dark look rolled over Mitsunari’s face like storm clouds, settling deep in his eyes. “Death’s too good for them,” he muttered.

“That sorcerer is the prisoner I left in Gan Ning’s hands,” Pi went on. “An old enemy of my father’s, no less. He probably doesn’t know much, but I have every faith that he’ll spill everything he does.”

Mitsunari nodded in understanding. “I’ll check on Gan Ning’s progress later. Just in case he needs someone with a brain to ask the right questions.”

He turned back to the writing table to finish off the messages and then rolled them for Cao Pi to seal. By the time they were ready to deliver, the Wei lord was already stretched out on his bedroll, not quite dozing but clearly at the end of his strength after a long day. He sat up long enough to take care of his official seal and then gently took hold of Mitsunari’s coat, keeping him from getting up and going out. “There’s something the matter,” he said quietly. “You’ve been cold all day.”

“It’s nothing,” Mitsunari assured, brushing his hand aside. “I’ll go and give these to the messengers so they can ride immediately.”

It was a very important task, Cao Pi knew he couldn’t interfere or delay it, but he was concerned that if he didn’t dig to the root of the issue right now, he would lose his chance. Mitsunari was every bit as talented as he at closing up, shutting down, and burying important matters behind propriety, professionalism, and duty. He watched the young man cross to the door of the tent and let himself out, and then laid back down to wait. He hadn’t intended to fall asleep, but the next thing he knew the lamps in the tent were lit and his wife was at his side, shaking him awake and telling him that food was waiting for him. The officers were ready to take their meal together, so he roused himself and pulled on a clean surcoat before joining them. Halfway through the meal he became aware that a discussion was going on to his left about whether or not the Lady Zhenji would bunk with her husband or with the other women, and she herself didn’t want to make the decision – either it was up to him, or some kind of protocol had to be laid out for camp purposes. The sticking point was that Mitsunari and at least one bodyguard always slept in the command tent with Cao Pi, a double line of protection with the added layer of a strategist near at hand to advise his lord, but there was little to no privacy otherwise, and adding Zhenji to this mix would be awkward for her as well as the other two, unless Cao Pi were to dismiss his doubled guard. He was too tired to deal with it at the moment, but he wouldn’t be able to flop back down and sleep until he did, so he irritably turned to the ones discussing it. “This is a military camp, not a palace,” he curtly reminded them, making everyone around him jump at his peevish tone. “There is no time to entertain thoughts of privacy. Sleep wherever you like, and if it means I sleep alone then so be it.”

A tense silence followed, and then Zhang Liao spoke up politely. “My lord…Master Ishida and I are willing to step aside for this.”

Pi looked up, and caught on that the argument hadn’t been Mitsunari insisting on their usual pattern, but the opposite. He was trying to push away. His appetite vanished in that moment, as he caught the brown eyes gazing at him from across the table, so he rose and turned away. “There will be no change to our routine,” he decided. “If you will excuse me, I’m tired.”

No one put up any further argument, not when he was clearly in no mood to entertain it. He drifted back into his tent and threw himself down to sleep, and had nearly succeeded when he heard someone come in. Cao Pi remained exactly as he was, though he could guess from the proximity and type of sounds around him, it was Ishida. The back room of the tent was only large enough for two, maybe three in a pinch, so usually he and Ishida slept there while whoever was on bodyguard duty slept just on the other side of the curtain in the main section. The person had come all the way in, and it sounded like he was disrobing. Pi cracked an eye to verify it, and sure enough, Mitsunari was just setting aside his coat before sitting down on his bedroll. His kimono was loose and askew, his auburn hair still ruffled from riding, and despite everything else that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, Pi found himself pushing up onto one elbow. Mitsunari startled at the sudden motion and then settled. “Go back to sleep.”

“Not when you’re behaving this way around me.” Pi sat up fully, resting his weight on one hand. “You don’t wish to be around me.”

Mitsunari closed his eyes with a harsh sigh. “It doesn’t have anything to do with what I _wish_.”

“What, then? Tell me.”

 _Damn him and his magnetic quality_. Mitsunari felt himself compelled to answer. “Just. Figured that now…things would be different. You don’t need a plaything anymore, you’ve got your wife.”

Pi stared at him, wondering where in the world he got that idea so abruptly. “You believe that’s all you are to me?” he wondered, and the thought bothered him. “A mere toy to amuse myself with?”

“Aren’t I?” Mitsunari raised sullen eyes to him.

“No.” Cao Pi raised his other hand and used it to to cover his eyes, breathing a tiny sigh. “If I have done anything to give you that impression, I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t.” Mitsunari looked away again and then made to lie down on his pallet. “This isn’t the time for this, we’ll talk later.”

“This is exactly the time for this,” Pi countered, sitting up further. “I will not let it go unsettled.”

“What do you want, then?” Ishida sat up sharply as well, twisting around so fast his kimono slipped off one shoulder. “I’m not just here for your amusement, or your convenience or anything else. I can’t get caught up in this, we’ve got a war to wage that just got more dangerous and I still…” He caught himself before he said too much, but the effort of holding it back against the tide of frustration and doubt left him gasping for breath. Fine, then, he’d already gone this far, he’d just say it. He couldn’t look Pi in the eyes, though. “…I still find myself watching you, like a boy with a crush, and I can’t let it go. I can’t…let myself…have it.”

As tired as he was, Cao Pi struggled to find words to respond. He could practically feel Mitsunari’s anguish, he was so conflicted and it showed. He forced himself to his feet, took the couple of steps across the tent to his strategist’s bedroll, and grabbed handfuls of kimono to haul Mitsunari to his feet as well. Without warning he bent his head and kissed him hard, swallowing Mitsunari’s startled whine at the forcefulness of it all. Hands pushed against his chest and then yielded, and a moment later were clenched in his shirt, hanging on for all he was worth. Mitsunari pulled back first, though, gasping and then ducking his head to avoid his gaze. “You bastard…”

“What else could I do?” Pi pleaded, softening his grip and then looping his arms easily around Ishida. The man tensed, and then let it all out in a gust of a sigh and feebly beat one fist against Pi’s chest. All he got in response was a soft kiss to his brow.

Mitsunari found himself shaking, and didn’t know if he was angry or relieved. He turned away from the lips against his brow but didn’t try to escape otherwise, wilting against Cao Pi. “Why do I let you do this to me?” he whispered into his shoulder.

Pi grunted a small chuckle and lifted a hand to thread through his hair. “If I didn’t,” he murmured back, “you would still be under the mistaken impression that I don’t want you.”

“Can you?” Mitsunari lifted his head and dared to hope. “Even with…”

“Leave my wife out of it,” Pi insisted. “Didn’t you tell me, once, that your kind are encouraged to pursue love in all its forms, no matter who it is? What makes you think I cannot love more than one at a time?”

“…damn you.” The samurai philosophy was fine to talk about in theory, but Mitsunari had never loved and never expected to. He was married to his work, and though some of his closest friends or fellow retainers might have gotten within range, it never came to anything. How did he manage to find it here with this ancient lord from another time and place? He pressed his temple against Cao Pi’s cheek and clung to him for a while, but eventually pushed him off. “Fine,” he relented. “I believe you. Now…” He hesitated, and then noticed something that diverted his attention. Pi had fallen into bed with his hair still tied back, so Ishida reached to loosen it and let it flow freely over his back. His fingers tangled in the silken length of it, and for a moment he was entranced.

Sensing what he was about to say, Pi chuckled again. “I’ll go to bed,” he vowed, “on the condition that you put these worries out of your mind and sleep, too. You know better than to rely on assumptions.” His ice-blue eyes softened. “You should have come to me, first. I could have told you a long time ago.”

Mitsunari groaned, but he deserved to be scolded. At least, it could not have possibly worked out better in the end. He dared to press a kiss to Pi’s jawline and then withdrew, sliding his fingers reluctantly out of all that soft, ebony hair. “Leave it to you to get everything you want,” he groused, “and then some.”

“Don’t complain,” Pi said suavely, taking a step back to return to his own bedroll. “You’re getting what you want, too.”

Mitsunari’s face heated in a rosy blush, and he conceded that with a nod. He sure was. The details could be worked out later, his unsettled mind had cleared and that was more important. Sleep was beckoning, and by the time Yue Jin came in to take up his post as bodyguard for the night, both of them were already passed out on their own sides of the tent.


	55. Chapter 55

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun gets some new recruits and major new info, Wu forces prepare their next move, and when Cao Pi returns home, there's an unfortunate development that could spell trouble for the Resistance.

The long trek back to Chengdu was going well, the Shu army was making as much speed as they could manage with so many men and supply wagons and Zhao Yun was content to see how well his army could work together under his command. With Yukimura as his personal guard and closest attendant, Nobyuki as a sub-commander and leader of the Sanada, and Magoichi as his head scout, he felt doubly-blessed. His own countrymen were no slouches, but with so many extra capable hands around, no one person had too much on their shoulders at any given time. Zhang Bao and Guan Xing were so full of energy that Saika put them to work as ranged scouts, letting them ride far and wide to make sure the path ahead was safe and pick up evidence of anyone passing or settling nearby, friend or foe. Yet again the land seemed to have been emptied of Orochi forces, they didn’t spot so much as a single snake for days on end, but this was no time to let down their guard. Zhao Yun kept them moving as a military unit at war, for even if no enemies showed their faces, it was good practice for when it would become crucial. Their camps were no longer laid out wherever they felt like it, some measure of wisdom went into choosing secure, defensible positions where their true strength could be hidden at need. Perhaps that was why it was so difficult for their own reinforcements to find them, it wasn’t for lack of trying. At last, though, one evening as the Shu army bedded down not more than two days out from Chengdu, the sentries spotted someone moving toward them and had the officers roused. The approaching party was rather interesting to behold, as most of it was on foot yet moving as swiftly as horses. Well before they came into the light, a gruff, strident voice called out to hail them as friends, making Zhao Yun smile to himself. “Lord Meng Huo,” he greeted the man as soon as he was brought up. “What excellent timing.”

“Good to see you, Lord Zhao Yun!” the Nanman king crowed, beating a fist against his chest. “I didn’t expect to see you guys out here, we were lookin’ for the Saika boys.”

“You found those, too,” Magoichi said smoothly as he came up at Yun’s elbow. “We had a bit of a change of plans, it’s a long story.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Huo assured, waving a big, meaty hand. “It’s good we found you, though, I got something you might wanna see.”

He was walking beside the horses because, aside from his wife, someone else had need to ride. An injured man sat in the saddle of the Nanman king’s own steed, hunched over to hide the extent of his wounds but clearly ailing. Zhurong leaped down from hers to show that she was none the worse for wear, and then gestured for their forces to part and let someone through. From their midst strode a stocky man, muscled and roughly dressed like a hermit or a wild man, blending in rather well with the skins and beads of the Nanman. He carried a pair of fine katana at his side, though, beautiful and stout swords which he clearly handled well. As he came into the light, Yukimura recoiled in surprise. “It can’t be. Miyamoto…?”

The man gave him a curt nod, hearing his name. “Miyamoto Musashi, at your service,” he introduced with barely a bow, and then relaxed slightly as he noticed who had addressed him. “Oh, it’s the young Sanada.”

“And the older one,” Nobuyuki interjected, joining the cluster of people. “Master Musashi.”

“Wow, this is way more distinction than I was expecting,” Miyamoto laughed.

“What brings you here, Master Musashi?” Yukimura asked.

“That’s our doing,” Meng Huo said. “We’ll tell ya the whole story.”

“One of my men was seriously injured in battle,” Musashi added, “do you mind if I get him settled before I come and talk to you?”

“By all means,” Zhao Yun agreed. “Let me call our healers for you as well.”

The Nanman drew aside to make their camp at the edges of the Shu encampment, while the field medics were brought to look over this companion of Miyamoto Musashi. Clearly, they had all seen battle recently, and several had smaller cuts and injuries, but one was worse off than most. He was given a guest’s bed where the medics could watch over him, and the rest of the Shu officers waited patiently for that to be completed to Musashi’s satisfaction. He came to them eventually, and by then everyone else had made camp, secured beds and food, and were sitting around together in Zhao Yun’s command tent talking idly of all the greater news in the world. It gave Yun time to catch the Nanman up on what he had accomplished during his long and fruitless search, and tell Meng Huo the fascinating story of where and how they had run into Honda Tadakatsu continuing his self-appointed work of keeping Lu Bu at bay. The sentry outside the tent announced that their visitor had come and then let him in. Musashi strode with bold confidence into their midst and this time bowed more properly to Zhao Yun. “They tell me you’re the commander of this army,” he said. “You have my thanks, for all the assistance you’ve given me and my men.”

“It is my pleasure,” Yun responded. “Please, sit with us. We were just about to get Lord Meng Huo to tell us all about this battle and how you met.”

“Musashi can fill in any details I miss,” Meng Huo chuckled. “See, we’ve been patrolling around Chengdu just to stay in shape, rather than sit around in the castle and get soft, so if there’s a small skirmish somewhere, my people are on it faster than the Lady can muster out troops from the capitol. We got word of some snakes roaming a little too close for comfort and went out to take care of it. Came up on ‘em near a river we’ve never seen before, and when we got real close we realized they were already fighting somebody.”

“It was the middle of the night,” Zhurong added, “pouring rain, absolutely miserable. The rivers were high from all the rain, and some of the fighting was taking place out on a sandbar in the middle of the water.”

“The Orochi army had these guys pinned down there,” Huo picked up for her, “so we came in at full force to rescue them. Didn’t matter who they were, if they were fighting Orochi. They needed reinforcements, it was no hard decision.”

“They came out of nowhere like ghosts in the night,” Musashi said with some awe, shaking his head. “I was a little startled, I admit, because they looked like wild barbarians – and fought like it, too. But once I realized they were on our side, I was happy to work with them. Without their help, I fear all of us would have been slaughtered on the banks of Tedorigawa.”

Both Sanadas sat up in interest, hearing that name. “Was it merely the river there, or has Fukaoka Castle also been brought there?” Nobuyuki queried.

Miyamoto nodded briskly. “The castle is there, with its floodgates, though it’s in a state of disrepair. When Meng Huo joined us, we had the strength we needed to break free and escape, but the problem was, the Orochi army there was too large for us to just flee. I knew we had to cut off their pursuit and, if possible, wipe out a huge number of them. So I guided the queen here to Fukaoka, we cut down the guards, and then opened the floodgates. It drowned at least half the Orochi snakes when the river rose, and it left the other half on the far bank, they couldn’t catch up to us. My men were in bad shape, but the Nanman gave us their horses and extra provisions and helped us to escape.” 

“It was a rough go,” Meng Huo admitted, “we hiked through the night and the rain because there wasn’t a good place to stop. By morning we were sure we got clear of the Orochi invaders, so we finally made camp and rested. I’m afraid my men aren’t as skilled as your medics when it comes to serious injuries, though. It’s a good thing we found you when we did, I dunno if he’d have made it all the way back to Chengdu.”

“You did more than enough for us,” Mushashi reassured. “I am in your debt, great king.”

“Was there anyone of great status leading the Orochi army in this place?” Zhao Yun asked seriously. “Perhaps not Lu Bu or Date but anyone of notoriety?”

Meng Huo shook his shaggy head. “I didn’t hear any names of any officers, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t see a single human person at that river.”

“Nor I,” Zhurong confirmed. “Even the guards holding the castle were snakes, with one of those spear-toting captains driving them.”

“Interesting,” Magoichi purred. “That’s very interesting indeed, good work.”

“You’re all safe, now,” Zhao Yun said kindly. “You may return with us to Chengdu, that is our goal. Unless you and your men had other plans, Master Miyamoto?”

Musashi lowered his head for a moment. “I’ve been roaming this land for a long time, with my small band,” he said to preface his answer. “The seven of us have never been separated, but we also never joined another army. We’ve been hunting snakes wherever we go, destroying the evil demons of Orochi and cleansing their stain on this land. It’s only now that I see the big picture, how many of them there really are and how large that mission would be for only seven swordsmen to try to go it alone.” He lifted his head, and there was wisdom in his eyes behind the wildness of his sun-weathered countenance. “We owe our lives to the Nanman, and they have told me they in turn owe their lives to you, Lord Zhao Yun. So, it seems right that my men and I should join you.” He nodded toward the Sanadas. “You have other famed samurai of our time already in your service, I’d be honored to fight alongside them.”

Yun bent his head in an acknowledging bow. “Then, welcome to the Shu Resistance.”

Food and wine was brought for the newcomers, and though he spent the evening gladly eating and drinking with his new commander and fellow officers, Musashi requested to be quartered with his men, as they were close comrades and had been through much together. Zhao Yun was fascinated with the man, he seemed extra-friendly and jovial, moreso after a few cups of wine, but also keen-eyed, shrewd, and brave. The others heard him talking enthusiastically with Zhurong about her boomerang. “You really know how to handle that crazy weapon. I’ve never seen anything like it!” He ribbed someone sitting next to him with an elbow. “It’s amazing, huh?

Zhurong’s lips curled in a feline smile. “And you’ve shown me your true courage. _And_ you’re handsome to boot. I think we’re gonna like having you in our army.”

Musashi laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, only to find Meng Huo leaning over his shoulder. “Yeah, welcome to Shu, Master Musashi. You touch my wife and I’ll rip your arms off!” It left Musashi completely nonplussed and Magoichi giggling into his cup a few feet away; at least he wasn’t the only one to get that threat.

After their company had broken up and gone to their tents to sleep, it was up to Zhao Yun to clear away the mess of their merrymaking, but he considered it small price to pay for all the interesting things that had happened in the last few hours. As he helped, Yukimura told him a little about Musashi, as much as he knew. “He is an extremely talented swordsman,” he murmured so no one would catch him gossiping. “But he owes his allegiance to no one. He’s neither a samurai nor a soldier, he merely wanders the land fighting as he sees fit.”

“Have you fought with him before?”

“He did assist me, once,” Yukimura said with a nod. “But then he went along his own way afterward. I have no doubts about his strength and capability. He’ll do well with us, until Orochi is brought down.”

“That’s all we need,” Yun said warmly. “It may be a long fight yet, and we can really use all the strength we can get.”

“The great king and queen did well,” Nobuyuki said as he passed by them and caught a bit of it. “They saved valuable lives.”

Yun clapped a hand to each Sanada brother’s shoulder. “Our army grows, and our determination grows. I am actually excited to return to Chengdu and take stock of what we have, now, and what we can do.”

From the next morning on, they quickened their pace and crossed the last miles into the territory of Chengdu, and in just a few short days were finally passing under the gate of Luo Castle to great fanfare from the citizens and soldiers alike. The size of the army they had picked up was a little greater than when it left, but seeing everyone hale and ready, proud and strong, was a great boost to morale. They were welcomed at the steps by Tachibana Ginchiyo and Jiang Wei, who clearly had not expected the commander to arrive so soon but were happy to see him all the same. They let everyone settle in, including their new recruits, and determined that a true war council could wait a day. Zhao Yun took a little time before dinner to give Yueying a brief report on his wanderings and confirm that they got the important messages from Saika, but that was it. There was a large dinner to welcome them home, and Zilong sat mostly quiet while he listened to tales of his retainers’ exploits, including a much more embellished story of the rescue at Tedorigawa and Zhang Bao’s impressions of watching Yukimura fight Lu Bu. Hearing the laughter and enthusiasm around him brought a smile to Zhao Yun’s face, and no matter how tired he might have been, he stayed until everyone else decided to call it a night, enjoying their company. When he finally made his way up to his quarters, he was quite pleased to find Yukimura silently walking beside him, reaching to slip his hand into Zilong’s. Even with an important council on the morrow and great war plans slowly starting to take shape in the minds of their strategists and officers, they had their time at long last. They had been keeping their hands to themselves for some time, ever since the command tent grew more crowded and they had far more important matters to deal with day in and day out, but finally they were back in a place where time, privacy, and security combined to allow them what they most desired. There was no armor in the way, no cold ground to sleep on, and the attendants were easy to dismiss from the corridor outside their rooms. Zhao Yun led the way into his and closed the door behind them before dipping his head to favor Yukimura with a soft kiss. They lingered for a moment, and then Yukimura drew apart and began to pull his comrade toward the bed. “I know you have your vow,” he murmured, “and I won’t persuade you to break it. But there are still plenty of other things we can do.”

Yun smiled impishly at his cajoling. “Will you spend the night with me?”

“Of course,” Yukimura said, a bit too eagerly. “Are you tired? I don’t want to keep you up late if you are.”

“A little,” Yun admitted, “but I can manage to not pass out on you.”

“My dear Zilong…” Yukimura laughed lightly at his determination to keep up and cuddled close to him, pressing one hand to his cheek and leaning in until their foreheads touched. It was so nice not to have all that armor in the way, for once. “I’ll be gentle,” he promised.

Zhao Yun chuckled back and pressed against him, slipping arms around his waist and holding him tightly. “I’m in good hands, it seems.” He kissed much more deeply this time, slowly and indulgently working his way toward something a little more bold, at which point Yukimura sank down onto the bed and dragged him along. They tangled themselves in one another, pried open tunics and kimono, and spent a significant length of time exploring one another with their hands in between enthusiastic kisses, each taking his turn at dominance before yielding to the other. After a bit Yukimura grew even more brave and pushed aside folds of green tunics to find Yun’s chest and brush it with his lips instead, making his eyes flutter closed in ecstasy. He kissed his way down the length of Zilong’s torso, paying particular attention to the broad planes of his muscled chest, and then made his way back up. As he lifted his eyes to see what kind of reaction he was getting, Yukimura was startled to see that Zhao Yun had fallen asleep. His eyes were fully closed and the slow, even breaths escaping through parted wet lips made it clear. Yukimura couldn’t help but smile; far from insulted, he thought Yun to be adorable in this position. He really did try so hard to stay awake, Yukimura was obviously just too good at making his partner feel relaxed. He wormed his way up against Yun so that their chests pressed together and nestled down to sleep with him, though he didn’t mind laying awake a bit longer, brushing his fingertips along bare skin and listening to the heartbeat beneath his ear.

All officers currently present in Luo Castle were called to the conclave at mid-morning, joining Zhao Yun in the war room which had been serving as Yueying’s office while he was away. All maps, reports, and message scrolls were collected and laid out on the long table where the commander sat, and as many officers as would fit gathered around it. Some were left standing, but for those like Magoichi, Zhurong, and Musashi, that suited them much better anyway. Liu Shan sat at the far opposite end from Zhao Yun, while places of honor were accorded to Yueying, Sanada Nobuyuki, Yuan Shao, and Meng Huo. First, they got all the newest reports out of the way, and Yun apprised them in full of the developments achieved in the field at Xiliang and his visit to Honnoji. It was important to the overall cause of the Resistance that they count Xiliang as one of their holdings, even if Ma Teng had not fully committed his loyalty to Shu itself, since the Hojo were there to help guard it and they, like the Sanada, had latched onto Shu. With Shimazu and his sons holding Odani and Wei Yan guarding Jieting, they had considerably more manpower than Zhao Yun remembered. He looked around the table at all the officers under his direct command: Yukimura, Magoichi, Yueying, Xingcai, Jiang Wei, Tachibana, Pang De, Wang Ping, Zhang Bao, Guan Xing, Guan Yinping, and Liu Shan, to say nothing of entire contigents of the Sanada, Yuan, and Nanman led by their respective leaders. Adding them to their forces at other strongholds and the seven swordsmen of Miyamoto, and he couldn’t believe their good fortune. “We are but one army calling itself Resistance,” he reminded them as talk turned from past deeds to future plans. “My alliance with Sun Ce and my meeting with Oda Nobunaga were just the first steps toward all of us uniting against Orochi. Our army is vast, and it grows by the day, but it will not be enough to vanquish the demon lord himself. There is much to be done yet before we can even think of that end – Lord Liu Bei must still be rescued, as must Lord Sun Jian to the benefit of Wu. There are still some of our people conscripted to the Orochi army, and they still have several strongholds which house large armies of their own.” He sat back in his chair, lifting his gaze over their heads while he thought. “When I spoke with Lord Oda and his people, one thing was clear to me about his strategy, which is perhaps why he has had so much success. He is constantly working to whittle away Orochi’s advantages, one man at a time if he must. They would not have taken Guandu and Fan Castle had they not already weakened the foundations, first. So, even at this time with so many officers in our army, we still could not simply ride out to take Bai Di if we so desired – groundwork must be laid so that in any battle, wherever we turn, we have stolen the advantage from Orochi before we even meet his army.”

“A daring strategy,” Yueying said, impressed, “but one that usually takes a lot of time to prepare and then utilize. Right now, I’m not sure that time is exactly on our side.”

“It isn’t enough to simply copy another lord’s strategy,” Jiang Wei said wisely. “Lord Zhao Yun is right, that we aren’t ready to simply ride out and wage battle. We must take stock of the enemy’s advantages and compare them against our own before we can choose a target and then move against it.”

“Well said,” Nobuyuki agreed. “I have heard Lord Zhao Yun’s impassioned words in the field already, and I agree with his intentions. It is why the Sanada are committed to this alliance.”

“Is that why you came back early, Lord Zilong?” Liu Shan asked in his gentle voice.

Yun closed his eyes for a moment, collecting his courage and wisdom to lay it all out for them one more time. “It is. I have not been successful in my search, and I believe now that I must simply undertake my mission by a different means. Instead of searching personally, asking around and looking around, I intend to turn my focus on Orochi – where his army is, where they go, and what they do. Lord Liu Bei _must_ be at one of their holdings, and someone among their army knows exactly where he is at any given time. That person will not be some random soldier we find on the side of the road, it will be one of his top commanders. In order to find my lord, we will need to begin removing options one at a time. The fewer castles Orochi holds, the fewer he will have in which to house his prisoners. The fewer officers at his command, the fewer we will have to go through to find the one.”

“The Orochi army has shrunk so much,” Magoichi put in, “it’s just a matter of shrinking it even more, all the way down to just one snake.”

“What of Cao Pi?” Yuan Shao asked the entire assembly, though his gaze settled on Pang De. “You say you’ve spoken to Oda and the Little Conqueror, Master Zhao Yun, but he’s only just come around to the other side.”

Yun nodded to acknowledge him. “I have every intention of approaching Lord Cao Pi, personally if I must. But he wasn’t at Xuchang at last report, so we must make contact and agree to a meeting.”

“I don’t know that he knows anything of Lord Liu Bei,” Pang De broke in. “Admittedly, I was not very close to him, but the strategists I worked with seemed to suggest that he was only used by Orochi for manpower, not information. However.” He shifted a heavy look to Zhao Yun. “He is currently holding someone who does.”

The realization hit everyone at the table at once, in the time it took Zhao Yun’s eyes to widen. “Da Ji!”

“Dammit, I didn’t even think,” Magoichi cursed himself. “He’s right, Da Ji is the one person in their entire army who knows everything. And she’s conveniently in Cao Pi’s hands!”

“We must dispatch a message right away, asking him to interrogate her,” Yueying noted, and Jiang Wei reached for paper and ink to write it. “He may not know that we need this information, badly. Even if he can’t meet with Lord Zhao Yun for some time, we can at least beg this request of him.”

“You really think she’ll tell him?” Yukimura asked worriedly. “Even under torture…”

“There’s no way to know without trying,” Pang De replied. “She may very well resist even his cruelest attempts, but to not ask at all is to guarantee we will never get that information.”

“Better him than me,” Yun admitted. “I don’t have the heart for that kind of interrogation.”

“I will have a message ready by the time we’re done here,” Jiang Wei promised. “You can look it over and sign it, Lord Zhao Yun.”

“In the meantime,” Zhurong spoke up, “you shouldn’t pin all your hopes on one road. Whether the demon lady is cooperative or not, there are still plenty of other paths to follow, especially if your goal is to take down Orochi.”

“You’re right,” Yun agreed. “Finding Lord Liu Bei is but one step. We must also find some way of separating Master Zhuge Liang from the Orochi army, as well as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. If we must focus our energy on a particular mission which will have the over-arching effect of destabilizing the Orochi army, I would like to start there.” 

“Has anyone even seen them?” Liu Shan wondered. “Aside from your woeful encounter at Xin Di, young master.”

Guan Xing entered the fracas, his voice low and serious. “Cao Pi did. Or at least, he knew my father was serving Orochi.”

“Your brother faced your father, once,” Zhao Yun explained. “I spoke with him about it when I met them all at Honnoji. It was quite some time ago, and only that once. If anyone besides the Oda army has faced them on a battlefield since, I haven’t heard.”

“It is possible,” Yueying suggested, “that once the Oda Resistance began to build momentum and took a large number of our countrymen into their ranks, the Orochi army feared that leaving Lords Guan Yu and Zhang Fei out in the open, where they may confront their compatriots, would leave them vulnerable to defecting the way so many others have.”

“So you think they may have been pulled back to a mission or a fortress out of our reach?” Nobuyuki offered.

“Lord Nobunaga did say that he had little in the way of information on any of them,” Yukimura remembered from their consultation at Honnoji. “His army, including the strategist Kuroda Kanbei whom we spoke with, met Zhuge Liang at Odawara, which is where they captured and freed several Shu officers.”

“And they had neither seen nor heard from the other two at all,” Zhao Yun added. “Not even Guan Suo was allowed to know where his father was.”

“Which comes close to confirming my theory,” Yueying said sagely. “As Odawara Castle now belongs to Cao Pi, we can be assured that…” She caught herself about to speak in familiar terms of her husband and paused, changing her mind. “…the Sleeping Dragon is no longer there.”

“There was a cryptic piece of information in the letter Lord Cao Pi sent to me, regarding his defection and the capture of Da Ji,” Zhao Yun noted. “When he spoke of his claim on Odawara, he went so far as to list all the castles which would remain strongholds of the Orochi army in its stead.”

Since Jiang Wei was still busy writing, though he was listening to the discussion, Yukimura reached across the table to find the letter in question which had been collected with all the rest of their reconnaissance. “I see,” he said, curious. “It says, ‘…I have taken Odawara, which is no longer an Orochi stronghold like Bai Di, He Fei, Ueda, Osaka, and Edo.’ Some of those we knew about but…”

“Edo!” Yuan Shao suddenly sat up in his chair, and his cry startled those seated around him. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” Meng Huo asked irritably.

“The castle I heard about, when I overheard the Sleeping Dragon talking about prisoners,” Shao insisted, slamming a fist on the table. “I remember, now! It was Edo Castle!” 

For a moment no one spoke, as they looked to one another, trying to recall what they knew of this name. Those from that country were stunned, since they hadn’t considered Edo at all in all this time. “I haven’t been anywhere near there,” Magoichi said quietly, as if thinking out loud. “You’re sure it was Edo, old man?”

Yuan Shao made an affronted face at being called old. “I am positive! You dare call me into question, you young punk? Do you know who I am?”

“What do we know about Edo?” Zhao Yun interrupted before Shao could really get going on a nobility diatribe. “Anyone?”

“I know Lord Tokugawa was holding it when he was captured by Orochi,” Nobuyuki said. “That’s it.”

“I’ve heard rumors about its location in this world,” Magoichi added. “It’s far north of almost everything, on the shoulder of the mountains. None of the passes we know of lead close to it, any expedition would have to cross country for days to get there.”

“Could it be…?” Yun breathed. “A castle out of our reckoning, so far removed from every other battlefield and byway that no one remembered it. It sounds like just the place they would hold my lord.”

Jiang Wei put aside his message and rose up out of his chair to look over the map. “Whereabouts did you hear, Magoichi? I want to compare.”

Saika leaned over Yueying’s shoulder and pointed to a spot where almost nothing was marked. “Somewhere in here. Mind you, it’s only a rumor, I’d have to do some scouting to get its exact location.”

Yueying gave him a sidelong glare to make sure he got out of her space, but she was too interested in this information to let it last long. “I see. Yes, both Hulao and Tong Gate empty out here and here, not close at all. No one using those passes would have reason to come close enough to even spy it at a distance.”

“If the former members of the Orochi army know of it,” Jiang Wei reasoned, “then it must be of some importance. It’s possible Lord Cao Pi was sending you a message, Lord Zhao Yun.”

“Slippery eel,” Pang De laughed under his breath.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Yun cautioned, holding up a hand. “These other castles, first. Let’s narrow it down. Bai Di is the main headquarters, I know that much. Even without Da Ji in residence, the rest of the Orochi army would be maintained there. And Ueda…” His gaze darkened slightly. “…is where I was held.”

“Sima Zhao informed us that his father, Sima Yi, is holding it,” Yukimura reminded him. “But he and some of his retainers have deserted, it’s possible Ueda may be undermanned.”

“Osaka, as well,” Pang De grunted. “I was stationed there for a good while as part of Lord Cao Pi’s alliance with Orochi. When we nearly lost Lord Sun Jian, Wei was pushed out of that castle and Orochi’s snakes took up residence instead. And, they moved him, he will not be there now.”

“That leaves He Fei, of which I’ve heard almost nothing,” Yueying said. “But its location is known, and it is within striking distance of Bai Di as well as other fortresses that used to belong to Orochi, but do so no longer.”

Magoichi groaned a little. “Looks like I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Considering the other Resistance armies all occupying these territories,” Jiang Wei cautioned, “we need not do all the scouting ourselves. At the very least, we can send messages to them as allies and ask what they know. They can tell us if they know anything about the current state of any of these castles, particularly if any have fallen since Cao Pi’s letter was delivered to us.”

Nobuyuki tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It does say something that the Orochi army still holds some of the largest and most defensible castles, two from your time and three from ours, including my family’s ancestral castle.”

“I think I know what to do, then.” Zhao Yun bowed his head graciously toward Yuan Shao. “Thank you, my lord, for remembering that name. I had hoped when we rescued you that someday you would be able to tell us, and so it is.”

Shao was greatly placated by being treated with respect from the commander, and tipped his nose in the air. “If it assists you in your search, Lord Zhao Yun, then I am glad.”

“First,” Yun continued, “we will send this message to Lord Cao Pi to ask him to interrogate Da Ji and secure Lord Liu Bei’s whereabouts, if possible. In the meantime, I would like to send a reconnaissance party to locate this Edo Castle and spy out its defenses.” He looked up to Magoichi, since everyone knew the Saika Renegades would be called on for that mission. “Take as large a party as you wish, for backup or to send word back to us in an emergency. You have complete control, Magoichi, I trust you will make the most of it.”

Saika couldn’t hold back his suave smirk. “You can count on me, Zhao Yun.”

Zilong smiled back. “Between those two actions, we should come into _some_ information. I also authorize messages to be sent to Lord Oda at Guandu and Lord Sun Ce at Hefei, to ask their assistance in sharing information. Barring any surprises, we should prepare for an assault on Edo, but if it turns out that such a plan is not possible at this time, I would like to turn our attention to Ueda or Osaka. Particularly Ueda. Lady Yueying once said that it’s wiser to remove a foothold from Orochi’s control than to leave it, and I agree. If Ueda is the most undermanned of these castles, we should move on it first – we’re within range, and we have the Sanada at hand to give us all the information we need on how best to approach it.”

“Attacking my own castle,” Nobuyuki said wryly. “What _has_ this twisted world come to?”

“If we do move on Edo,” Yukimura cautioned, “you will need to send word to Lord Sun Ce. He promised to come to your aid.”

“It will take time to coordinate an attack of that nature,” Ginchiyo warned. “You will have plenty of time to send messages to all your allies if you so desire.”

Yun looked from her to Yukimura at his shoulder. “I haven’t forgotten our promises to one another. I can only hope that he has located his father by now.”

“It’s possible we could go looking for one lord and find the other,” Pang De said hopefully.

“If we do, I promised Lord Sun Ce that we would let him know, and help him,” Zhao Yun said. “Keep that in mind, all of you, but especially those going on scouting missions.” He looked around the table, and found himself content with these plans and the eager faces looking back at him. “Those are the plans, for now. All of you, keep your weapons sharp and your courage sharper. We will likely be moving out to attack an Orochi fortress sooner than you think.”

“Oh I do hope so,” Meng Huo grunted. “I really wanna get my fists on some more snakes!”

  


Sun Ce had returned to Hefei to find that there were no new messages of importance for him, but there was one curious bit of news. He consulted with Zhou Yu before even settling in, and learned that the entirety of the Iga ninja corps which had been residing among them while their leader was away had suddenly and silently disappeared the night before. Being as he had been let in on the reason for Hanzo’s disappearance, Tokugawa was of the opinion that he had called upon his clan to come to his aid, but assured the Wu lord and his top strategists not to worry. “I trust Hanzo with my life,” he swore, “so whatever reason he has for them, it is important. Not enough to call you into battle, Lord Sun Ce, but enough that he needs their expertise.”

“I suppose, if it’s stealth and secrecy he requires, our army is not the one suited for it,” Zhou Yu reasoned.

“You think it has to do with the mission I sent him on, though?” Ce asked the warlord.

Tokugawa nodded once. “His dedication is second to none. When the time comes for you to act, he will let you know. Trust him, for now.”

“That’s all we can do,” Ce said with a wry smirk. “I do, don’t worry. It’s just hard to sit back and wait.”

While they were traveling back from Guandu, Daqiao had sent a letter ahead to Xiapi and asked for the reply to be sent to Hefei. It arrived a few days after they did, and she fluttered all around the corridors of the fortress like a songbird in her joy, telling everyone who would listen that she and her sister had finally found one another and the world was a much better place for it. Even Lady No couldn’t help but be amused by her boundless energy, even if it was a tad annoying. “I suppose there are worse things in the world,” she dryly noted as she lounged by a sunny window, watching Daqiao and Taishi Ci clasp hands and chatter in glee at each other. “Everyone could be moping about with dour looks at the bleakness of fate or something.”

Sakon heard her and smirked back. “And here I would’ve thought that sort of mood would suit you better, my lady.”

No lounged over the back of her couch in order to favor him with a flirtatious look. “Come now, Sakon, do you really think I like it dark and brooding? Well…I do _so_ like my men that way, but still.” She feigned checking her painted nails for chips. “There’s dark, and then there’s depressing. Nobody likes depressing.”

Sakon sighed and folded his arms over his chest. “Funny, these folks have a few things to be depressed about, but they aren’t at all. Even knowing that Sun Ce’s brother and father could be facing a grim fate any day now, he’s still upbeat as ever.”

“And I suppose that’s why you’re drawn to them?” No teased.

“Probably,” Sakon admitted. He brushed it off and came over to face her more directly, rather than lean on a wall and gossip from the side. “You sure you don’t want to go back to your husband? He did ask after you.”

The lady lowered her eyes in a demure smile. “It’s enough to know that my lord is thinking so much of me. I’m fine here, for now, for the same reasons that Lord Ce’s men are still with my dear husband’s army. This castle isn’t too bad, the company is nice, and I get all the battle experience I crave. What’s not to like about these fine men of Wu?” She snuck a peek at Daqiao as the young woman darted out the door to show her letter to Lu Meng. “Except for their taste in women, maybe.”

Sakon burst out laughing at that. “Aw, what’s the matter, won’t any of them play with you?”

Lady No did still enjoy teasing Taishi Ci, but now she had an even more stoic target: Zhou Tai, who lurked about the castle with his perpetual grouch-face on while he attended Zhou Yu and Sun Ce. He didn’t fluster at all, which only made her want to try harder to crack his façade. “On the contrary,” she purred. “I know if I was _really_ desperate I could turn to you, Sakon, but in the meantime, there are a few of these Wu fellows who aren’t just meatheads.” She nodded toward the shadowy figure in the hallway beyond the door. “I quite like Lu Meng, the stubble becomes him. And he knows how to flirt back. I was looking at that young, pretty one – Zhu Ran, I believe – but he was so nervous he couldn’t come up with a good comeback for me.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Sakon snorted.

“You know what’s truly a shame?” No rolled back towards him and gave him a reproachful look. “Sharing women’s quarters with two of the most tomboyish ladies I’ve ever met. As much as Lady Daqiao’s chirping is going to get on my nerves, at least she knows her way around a beauty regimen – _and_ how to balance the finer things in life with a need for battle. I swear, Ina only got worse for falling in with the Lady Sun, the two of them are made for each other.”

“Better not let Lord Ce hear you say that,” Sakon chuckled. “You know him and his sister.”

“I’ve heard tigers can be very protective of one another,” No said drolly. But even as the words left her lips, they reminded her of something else. As cheerful as everyone was, in the back of their minds every single one of them knew that the primary intent of the Wu Resistance was to locate and rescue Sun Jian and Sun Quan. Even if they didn’t know about Hattori and his mission, they at least were abreast of the main goal and any joint efforts made to do something about it. Lady No had picked up quite a lot of gossip about it from Ranmaru, but as she thought about it, she turned to another capable source. “There’s something I’m not entirely clear on,” she purred, a serious note beneath her usual flippancy. “After the battle, here, Lord Ce’s brother returned to his serpent master, and now his head is on the line the same as his father’s. Why would he do so? Surely he knew that he’d be walking straight into the embrace of death by going back.”

Sakon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He may have understood the minds of the men of Wu better than Ranmaru, but still, he had to ask himself the same question sometimes. “You want my honest answer?” he said heavily. “I think he wants to die. In his mind, it’s the only way to end the confusion and put control of Wu firmly in Sun Ce’s hands.”

No made a face, clearly unimpressed. “Then he should fall on his sword, and not wait for Da Ji to put him on public display.”

“It’s not like that.” Sakon glanced to make sure they had been left alone, so he could speak openly without risking hurt to any of these people he had come to care for. “I’ve never really met the guy, but history tells me that Sun Quan was the Emperor of Wu after his father and brother died. It has to be confusing as hell to have them both alive again, and to have his brother succeeding while he fails. It’s got to call in question everything he knows – whether he had the strength to truly lead Wu, or if it was only because it was thrown on his shoulders as an inheritance. Maybe saying he wants to die and leave leadership to his brother is too simple…more like, he would feel that if he died, he would deserve it, and Ce would deserve to rule in his place.”

Lady No listened and contemplated without contempt. Her eyes were quiet, hiding deeper thoughts within. “Then, even if the tyrant who’s got him by the throat is using him as a scapegoat, he accepts it. I suppose he probably feels it’s the only way to atone.”

“You could be right about that.” Sakon met her shrewd gaze with one of his own. “But he’s not gonna get it. I think it’s a much better prospect for that family and all of Wu if we made sure that execution never happens.”

The Sun siblings at the center of their chat were currently down in the courtyard, though not sparring or practicing for once. They were at play, taking advantage of a gorgeous afternoon to play a two-person game of cuju, kicking a rough hand-made ball between each other. Ce tended to kick too hard, while Shangxiang was graceful and liked to kick it in ways that most people could never reach, a contrast which made for a very interesting match in which neither was likely to score any kind of points. Other retainers were content strolling along the covered arcades and hanging out in the shade of the gazebo in the center of the yard. Hefei had come to life again, mainly as a military outpost, though some of the peasants fearfully tilling and grazing near Changban had agreed to move to Hefei where they would be protected. At least if the Orochi army marched on it again, they would have the shelter of fortress walls rather than the open countryside to look forward to, a much better prospect. Considering that all it would take for the Wu army to assemble and move out was a single message they were all waiting for, the officers were content to take this moment of peace while they had it. Whether playing, watching, sparring, or simply enjoying the sun on their faces, they were going to enjoy this day. Tomorrow it was likely they’d be back at work, scouring over scouting reports and discussing whether to raise the army and move to attack another Orochi target. It was hard to forget the war which had intruded within these very walls far too many times, but they did their best, putting aside discussions of executions and secret missions for laughter, playful smack talk, and in Lady No’s case, flirtations. She and Sakon eventually made their way down to see what everyone else was doing to while away the afternoon, and in no time her ladyship was gossiping and doing her best to fluster some of the big, shy warriors around while Sakon offered his expert opinion on how Ce could improve his chances at winning a game, which somehow devolved into wrestling matches that even the noted strategists couldn’t resist joining. Except for Zhou Yu, he merely stood back shaking his head at the scene of their eager young lord doing his best to flip Sakon onto his back. How did their army come to this? There was no sense in complaining, all he could do was laugh to himself and make sure no one twisted an ankle before any battles to come.

Cao Pi drove his army relentlessly to get them back to Xuchang as quickly as possible, privately fretting the whole time that Fuuma would get ahead of him and take advantage of him not being there to attack the fortress and liberate his captive. Fortunately, as he rode through the gate into the walled city and saw that nothing was amiss, it looked like wrangling Dong Zhuo and his hapless army had slowed the ninja captain down long enough to allow Cao Pi to get home and close it up tightly. Xu Huang personally met them in the first courtyard to assure them that all was well and no trouble had been seen inside or outside the castle for miles, and was happy to see Cao Ren, Yue Jin, and Lady Zhenji among the army. Once inside the palace itself, Cao Pi was interested to see Jia Xu standing alongside Guo Jia, and did not even stop to take his cloak off before demanding a report. He got the short version of where Jia Xu had been captured, and by whom, and thus why he had been released. There was more intelligence to be shared later, he promised, when the Lord of Wei had rested. Being captured by Shu was a humiliation he wouldn’t live down either way, but Jia Xu would make up for it by providing plenty of useful information. The current slate of officers was beyond curious to find Gan Ning now part of their army, but as he had already proven himself highly useful, he was given good quarters near Zhang Liao and the other elite of Wei, not far from Huang Gai, while Nagamasa and his wife were quartered temporarily in a quieter wing until Cao Pi could decide how best to deploy them. Diaochan was allowed to choose her own room and picked one far from most of the men, if only so she could have some peace. She had ridden back with her emotions wrestled into submission, showing a brave face to the other officers around her, but Oichi knew at least that first night among them, she had quietly cried at the pain of being disowned by her husband. Only that first night; after that, she showed no sign of grief or melancholy as she assured everyone she was fine and willing to work hard as part of the Wei army. Her only hope to ever return to Lu Bu’s side was to see Orochi defeated, and she was not deluded into dreams of grandeur. She just wanted to see the demon’s hold over him broken, no matter what it took. She hadn’t said much, except to thank the rest of the army for beating down Dong Zhuo for her – it seemed like the best of luck that they, and not she, had run into him. Now that they were all safe inside the walls of Xuchang, Cao Pi allowed her and the other new recruits time to get used to the place, while he in turn immediately bent his energy and mind to preparing for an Orochi assault.

Since Cao Pi had too much to do, Ishida took it on himself to personally check on Da Ji’s status. They had managed a few rounds of interrogation before leaving on this extended errand, and not gotten much out of it, but he was hoping the long wait had chafed her patience. They had ordered their men to only guard her, and specifically not to talk to her so as to deprive her of contact with the outside world. Despite her loathing for humans she had always come across as gregarious, craving noise and attention, so perhaps the long isolation with no one to talk to and no news of the war would have worn her down. He came into the windowless storeroom that was being used as her prison to find two of the Xiahou clan on guard duty, Ba carrying the peach-wood sword to subdue her if necessary. Da Ji sat in the center of the cage of iron bars that had been built for her, bound with seals so she couldn’t teleport, her back to the door. The pane of light that came in with him fell across her back, making her turn to see who had entered, squinting briefly at the sun before the door took it away and left her in sour darkness again. The guards always carried lamps, day and night, so it was hard to tell from the inside exactly what time of day it was. Da Ji noticed who was visiting her and glared daggers at him. Mitsunari came right up to the bars to have a good look at her, and then turned to Xiahou Ba. “Has there been any change?”

“No, sir,” Ba responded. “We’ve done exactly as you commanded. No talking, no engaging.”

“It’s been pretty boring,” Mao admitted from the other side.

“She hardly moves, mostly she just sits there.”

Mitsunari gazed at her, as if trying to pick out little details the guards might miss, but everything seemed in order. The seals were holding, and Da Ji was sending waves of loathing at him with her eyes. “And nothing suspicious outside, either?”

“No, nothing at all,” Ba affirmed. “Xu Huang has had us on high alert the whole time, he expected someone might attack the castle while Lord Cao Pi was away.”

“Good.” Mitsunari decided that he didn’t mind having the two of them in the room while he talked to the prisoner. He kept his fan in his belt and simply rested one hand on it like the hilt of a sword. “Had enough, yet?”

Da Ji gave him a spiteful pout. “Oh, you’re talking to me, now? What’s the occasion?”

“No reason.” He held out his other hand to Ba to request the peach-wood sword, and pretended to admire it while talking. “Things are changing pretty fast out there. We scooped up a bunch more officers who’ve left Orochi, they’re on our side now. Everything’s coming about according to plan, Lord Cao Pi couldn’t be happier.”

It was only partly a lie, since the only officer who had come directly from Orochi was Diaochan, but it was truth enough to make Da Ji scowl. She did her best to pretend she didn’t want to know about the state of her army, and decided to hurl insults at him instead. “So, you’re quite content being Cao Pi’s errand-boy, are you?”

Mitsunari breathed a soft, smug laugh. “I’ve never been _any_ one’s errand-boy, I assure you.” He leaned closer to the bars, tapping one with the peach sword. “Including yours.”

She bared her fangs at him. “Traitors! You’ll be the first to die at Orochi’s hand, he _never_ suffers betrayal from anyone.”

“Can you be a traitor if you were never loyal in the first place?” Mitsunari left it rhetorical and nimbly twirled the peach-wood blade in his fingers. “I hope you enjoyed your rest, because it’s over, now. We’ve got a lot to do and you know too much, so from here on out it’s going to be nothing but prying questions, all day and all night.” He cast a sly look toward Ba, aware that he was listening. “And apparently one of our guys is extremely well-versed in some pretty nasty interrogation methods, so don’t be surprised if things get even worse for you. You might as well just tell us what we want to know.”

Da Ji tutted and shifted away from him. “Don’t bother. Pain and blood are a joy to me, you’ll never get anything that way. I’m not telling any of you a damn thing.”

Ishida rapped the peach sword against the bars a little more forcefully this time. She flinched a little at the sound. “I said nasty, not painful,” he taunted. “There’s no reason for you to stay so defiant. You’re gonna be locked in here until the end of the war, which is coming up pretty fast from my point of view. Orochi’s assets are being stripped away, he’s not going to have anything left by the time we’re through.” He leaned against the bars with both hands in order to bend down closer to her, speaking in a hush full of scorn and mocking. “You know it, don’t you? He’s already lost this war. He can’t stop us, he can’t break us. We’re still here and we’re getting stronger, and what’s worse, you’ve realized that we were never yours in the first place. Cao Pi included. We strung you along and you danced to our tune just the way we wanted you to. You’re going to keep dancing, too, once Cao Pi unleashes his men to do their worst to you. So like I said: enjoy this moment, because it’s your last at peace. I’m not responsible for what he does to you, and in fact, I’m going to relish watching him do it. You deserve it.”

He straightened up and handed the peach sword back to Xiahou Ba to keep for the duration of his guard duty. Before he could leave, though, Da Ji turned and growled at him. “What do you know? You’re just _his_ dog now instead of mine! Do you know why I gave you to him, Mitsunari? Because I couldn’t stand having you around me!”

Mitsunari gave her the driest look in his repertoire. “That’s the best you can do? You’re gonna have to work harder to cut me to the quick, Da Ji. That doesn’t even bruise me.”

“I bet he uses you the way he uses all his allies,” she persisted, tipping her chin up at him brattily. “He doesn’t care about you, it’s only about how useful you are to him.”

“And you did?” The thought of being used did get to him, briefly, but it was gone in a flash. Mitsunari knew better. Whether or not anything Cao Pi did to him – or with him – was merely to use him, it didn’t change the fact that Da Ji was far worse on every level. He turned back and then crouched on the other side of the bars from her, folding his arms on his knees. “You’re so naïve,” he sneered. “Your strategy was to use human bonds and emotions against them, to enslave them to you, but you don’t even know how they work so it all backfired on you. That’s how you lost Sun Ce, that’s how you’re losing all of them one by one. And you _never_ , not once, had me.”

Da Ji met his eyes and went quiet; there was no lie in them, only cold anger. She had only one feeble retort to fall back on. “He’ll come for me. He’ll lay waste to this castle and I’ll dance on your dead bodies.”

Mitsunari did not dignify that with a response. Even if the rumor was true and Orochi was coming, he wasn’t afraid of it any longer. Instead, he used this moment of closeness to ask her one important question. “Where are you holding Liu Bei?”

Da Ji jerked back, blinking in surprise at him. “Liu Bei? What do you care?”

Ishida knew that Cao Pi’s intention was to secure the last of Orochi’s prisoners before turning to attack, and even though they hadn’t yet received Shu’s message begging for this information, it was already on his mind. He knew that she knew, and if he was going to get anything out of her before Orochi arrived on their doorstep, it was that. His eyes were hard as he held his position. “Answer me.”

She stared him down and then leaned back in to spit in his face. “You’ll have to beat it out of me – if you can!”

Mitsunari raised an arm to wipe his face on his sleeve and then rose swiftly to his feet. “If that’s what you want,” he warned, definitely a threat and a promise both. He turned on his heel and stalked out, having no further orders for the guards. From now on, the guard shifts would shorten, so as to give them more of a rest to keep them alert, and at night there would be extra sentries around the fortress. He didn’t need Cao Pi to give that order, he put it in place before they even sat down to dinner that night. His lord could gainsay him later if he disagreed, but Mitsunari was certain he would not.

Xu Zhu and Xiahou Yuan were on duty for the night watch, even though the latter had just returned from traveling. Only the newest recruits had a reprieve from being put into the rotation, and even then they would only get a day or two before Gan Ning and Nagamasa, first, would be put on the schedule. Xuchang was a stout fortress with layers of walls protecting the castle and its grounds, but there were some forces in the world for whom a well-guarded fortress was no obstacle at all. As diligent and capable as the sentries of Wei were, especially with twice as many patrolling the grounds and gates now, none of them saw the shadows creeping along the rooftops or scaling down the sides of outbuildings, using the jagged rock formations of cooled lava jutting up through the courtyard as cover. They were trained for this very purpose and made no sound as they stole into the inner sanctum and paused to watch the guard movements. For all their concern about needing to infiltrate the palace itself, it looked like they wouldn’t need to – their target had to be there, in that building, not in a dungeon underground. They climbed up to the storehouse roof, high above nearly everything around them, and gingerly began to remove the clay tiles one by one until they made a hole large enough for a slim man to slip through. It took great care not to let a single one rattle or chip. One of the figures poked his head through to see what they would be faced with, and then gave his comrades a few curt gestures to order the attack.

Five ninjas dropped through the hole in the roof one after the other, each one alighting silently and then rolling aside so the next could land in the same spot. As quiet as they were, they weren’t perfect, though, and Xiahou Yuan turned with a “Hmm?” when he heard a whisper of clothing moving. Da Ji was still, though, apparently asleep. He caught a flicker of movement just beyond the pool of lamplight and had an arrow fitted to the string in a snap, only to have something fly out of the darkness and cut the bowstring as it whistled past. “Sound the alarm!” he bellowed, startling Xu Zhu and rousing Da Ji. “Intruders!”

He moved to intercept, swinging his bow as a club, but his eyes were taking time to adjust to the darkness beyond their lamps. Xu Zhu barely got his hands on his club when someone was on his back, trying to reach around him to slit his throat. He reached up instead, grabbed a handful of clothing, and flung his attacker bodily off him. The two of them were slow and found themselves batting uselessly at shadows moving around them in the darkness, until an explosion suddenly filled the whole storeroom with light and noise and the stench of black powder.

Da Ji guessed right away at what it was, and squeezed her eyes shut when one of the ninjas tossed an explosive device at the guards. She came to her wits quickly and threw her back against the iron bars of her cage, thrusting her bound hands through it. “Just take off the seals!” she demanded. “Take off the seals and I’ll do the rest!”

Two of the ninjas were still grappling with the guards, even though they were stunned and wounded, so one of the others had to scramble to obey, finding her in the dim darkness and peeling off the ofuda she couldn’t touch herself. Another used his knife to slit the ropes holding her, and at last Da Ji was unbound. Yuan recovered in time to stumble towards the cage, pulling the peach-wood sword from his belt as he came, but she smirked in his face even as one of the ninjas kicked the sword away. Da Ji waggled her fingers in a little wave, and then with a flick of her wrist, teleported herself out of the storeroom. The instant the magic swirled and flashed in the center of the room, the ninjas disengaged and fled, screaming up the rope they had left dangling from the hole in the roof even as the guards outside forced the doors and barged in, confused and crazed. They barely caught a glimpse of a black-clad ankle disappearing through the hole, and by then it was too late.

The entire castle blazed with light as every last resident was woken up and sent to investigate, but in the chaos the handful of Fuuma ninjas slipped away across the rooftops as silently as they had come. Da Ji had only had enough strength after her long, wasting convalescence to teleport herself just outside the wall of Xuchang, so they found her there and gathered her up, fleeing on foot into the night. By the time soldiers had been turned out to search the grounds outside rather than inside, the escapees were long gone. Cao Pi came into the storeroom half-dressed to find both of his men down, Xu Zhu stabbed in the ample gut by a short sword and Yuan battered from taking the explosion nearly point-blank. His armor had protected him, but his head was still ringing from the blast and he was having trouble focusing his eyes. The medics were already taking care of them, so he turned to some of the other guards to demand an explanation. Only one had seen Da Ji use her magic, the rest only spoke of phantoms. It took Ishida coming down and examining the escape route to explain what it was. “Ninjas,” he growled. “I’m guessing Fuuma’s guys.”

Pi swore in a most un-lord-like manner under his breath. “He didn’t need to come himself, he sent his clan. We anticipated him, or a full-scale attack…”

“It’s my fault,” Mitsunari said bluntly. “I didn’t see this coming at all…”

Cao Pi held up a hand to stop him. “It’s no one’s fault. We doubled the watch and strengthened our defenses and it still wasn’t enough. We were simply bested.” His face darkened. “And now two of my best are down, while Da Ji gets to go back to wreaking havoc. And we have nothing to show for it.”

“They’ll live,” Zhang Liao assured as he came over to where they were head to head in discussion. “Yuan is better off, Xu Zhu will need some time, but his girth spared him. The blade was short, it barely penetrated.”

Pi accepted with a nod and then brushed past him, heading out of the useless storeroom and back toward the castle with Ishida and most of the others turning to follow in his wake. “Someone, I don’t care who,” he said sharply, “prepare a message to be sent immediately.”

“To whom?” Guo Jia asked as he hurried ahead to go and get something to write with.

“Sun Ce.” Pi looked to Mitsunari before anyone else. “I know the first thing she’s going to do with her freedom. He has to be warned.”

Mitsunari nodded silently in agreement. “You’re going to have to report this to the other Resistance armies,” Xu Huang said worriedly as he fell in with the others. “They’ll need to know.”

“It can wait until morning.” Pi threw out an arm in a commanding gesture as he mounted the castle steps. “See to it that the storehouse is studied in depth, so we know exactly how they got in. Double the sentries, but the interior guards can stand down. We no longer have anything of use to guard. I want a full report in the morning.”

His retainers collectively gave him a “Yes, my lord!” before splitting off to take care of things. Xu Huang personally returned to the storehouse to scrutinize every last detail and learn as much as he could about the infiltration, even as the medics carried out their two injured officers. As Yuan limped away on the shoulders of two of his men, Huang looked down to see a broken wooden sword laying in the dirt where he had been.


	56. Chapter 56

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mad dash to save the lives of Sun Jian and Sun Quan before Da Ji can execute them.

The lull following Da Ji’s escape felt to the entirety of the Resistance like the calm before the storm. The swiftest messenger in Wei’s ranks reached Hefei rather quickly, delivering the letter directly into Sun Ce’s hands. He wasn’t pleased to receive the news, but steeled his expression, told the messenger he could rest there overnight, and immediately turned to call his officers to prepare their army to move. They were supposed to be waiting on one man’s word, but at this rate, it might be too late. They would just have to meet the messengers on the road and take their guidance on which castle they should turn toward. The desperate request from Shu ironically arrived the day after the escape, though no one could find much humor in the timing. Cao Pi wrote letters to Zhao Yun and Oda himself to warn them about the escape as well as the rumor of Orochi’s return, though he cautioned that the latter was technically just a rumor, no matter how certain Ishida was that Fuuma had been sincere. Shu received the news with some disappointment, but they already had scouts abroad preparing reconnaissance for assaults on Ueda and Edo, so they continued with their preparations without stumbling. Oda was not the least bit surprised to hear that Da Ji had busted out, but the timing was unfortunate. There was no way to predict how quickly she would have the Orochi army moving again once she had regained control, but he didn’t want to rush his plans either, so he drew his defenses tight around his army’s holdings and settled in to wait. None of the Resistance had to wait long to find out.

Because she was weakened by her captivity, Da Ji lacked the power to use her magic to transport herself great distances at the moment. Her ninja escort protected her as they made their way on foot across the countryside and arrived at Bai Di within a few days, though the rescue party had sent word ahead to their captain, so Fuuma was waiting at the gate with a grim smile of triumph for them. While unhappy that he had been made field commander in her place, Da Ji set to work right away, taking Fuuma’s orders from Orochi and shaping them into a cogent plan going forward. As much as she wanted to visit her undying vengeance on Cao Pi, that had to wait. First, there was a rather overdue set of executions that needed to be carried out before the Wu army could locate and free her prisoners. Things had been so abruptly interrupted by the rebellion and her capture that everything had been stalled in a half-completed state, all she needed to do was finish transporting Sun Jian to Osaka and then travel there herself. Zhuge Liang had arrived from there during the interim, summoned by Date, and assured the strategist and field commander both that the castle was more secure than it had been at the time of Sun Ce’s raid, with the last remaining Wu conscripts under the control of the snake demons who were technically in charge. He warned Da Ji that she had best not delay any longer if she wanted it to stay that way; by now, surely the entirety of the Resistance knew of her plan, so it wouldn’t just be Wu she had to fear. Past experience, he noted, left open the possibility that Oda, not Sun Ce, would show up first. As irritating as the demand was, Da Ji had to agree. As long as Sun Jian reached there in time, she could simply magic herself there to handle it and it would be done. The thought of how devastated Sun Ce and his people would be upon hearing the tragic news cheered her up greatly, after everything she had been through.

The Iga troop had failed to stop the Fuuma from getting ahead of them and freeing Da Ji, so they returned as ordered to Hattori’s side to put their backup plan in motion. His solitary mission had finally come to fruition, and while a message was dispatched to Hefei to call on Sun Ce as agreed, he remained camped near Osaka, completing his preparations and arranging his men to the best use of their talents. Timing was everything – too soon, and they would have no reinforcements at their back to help them escape, but waiting too long would have Da Ji herself at the castle. Hanzo had to make his move at precisely the right time, and from the moment his men espied the escort riding in with a heavily-bound Sun Jian in their midst, the clock began to tick down. It had to be that night.

Prisoners at Osaka were no longer being held at the top of the keep in the royal quarters, but deep in one of the cellars where there was more control over access points and better locks on the doors. Once in a while, Lancehead, the demon in charge, would place Ding Feng on guard duty just to twist the knife in his heart even more, but none of the remaining Wu conscripts were ever left alone with Sun Quan, nor placed on the same duty at the same time. As much as he chafed to find a way to save his lord, Feng put up with it for Quan’s sake, guarding his life until its very end. He was on duty that evening when the escort from faraway Edo arrived, and stared in shock and dismay as more demons practically carried Sun Jian down the stairs into the cellars. Though he was weak, he still kept his head up proudly and moved under his own power, the claws on his arms did nothing more than steer him in the direction they wanted. Ding Feng’s stoic composure wavered, and then he dropped to one knee with fist and palm pounded firmly together before his heart, and refused to move even though Lancehead screamed orders at him and then kicked him. In the end the demon had to open the cell door himself, for Feng simply would not be moved. Quan had heard the shouting outside the cell and wondered if they had finally come to kill him, but then the door clanged open and the last person he expected to see was thrown through the gap. He was so startled that he didn’t even think to lunge for the door, which slammed shut just as abruptly and was barred again. Quan scrambled up and rushed to his father’s side, seeing him struggling to roll over. “Father!”

Jian groaned; his arms had been bound for so long that it was hard to get the circulation back in them, so he could push himself up. Bracing on one elbow, he lifted his head and met his younger son’s eyes, both happy and sad to see him. “It’s all right, son,” he assured as he felt hands clutching his shoulders. “Give me a minute to get the feeling back into my fingers. And my toes. And most of me.”

Quan’s fine brocades and skins were dirty from his captivity, but not nearly as bad as Jian’s; his father’s hair had grayed considerably, and the stubble covering his chin and neck had almost turned into a full beard by now. His helm was long gone and his cloak was nothing more than tattered rags hanging from his shoulders, but there was still plenty of the regal Wu lord in his keen eyes. Quan helped him to sit up and then fell against him, curling strong arms around him and holding him tight. “I’m so sorry, Father,” he whispered against his neck. “I’ve failed you. I’ve failed Wu…and Ce and Shangxiang and…”

“Hush,” Jian implored, cutting him off. “None of that, Quan. You’re alive, that’s all I could want right now.” He leaned against his son, relying on his strength to hold him up until he could regain his stability. “I haven’t seen you in so long. How’ve you been holding up?”

“Not so well,” Quan admitted, rubbing his eyes. “You know…you know they’re going to…”

“I know. Let’s not talk about that.” Jian reached to him and patted his neck in comfort. “Why waste the time we have left talking about such depressing things? We’re together, that’s all that matters.”

Quan took a deep breath to sober himself and spent a moment looking his father over. “Are you hurt?”

“No, not really. Tired isn’t the same as hurt.” He sat up and then flexed both hands, making sure his fingers all still worked. “You?”

“No. They haven’t touched me.” Quan was relieved for that fact, it could have gone much worse for him. He pressed a hand to his lips for a moment, so much was rushing through his mind that he couldn’t settle on what he wanted to say. So many long months merely talking about saving his father, and here they were, Jian had not been saved and Quan was in the same predicament with him. But then, Quan felt like it was where he was meant to be. He reached over and clutched Jian’s hand. “Tell me, father, just one thing. Did you…did you really command Ce to leave you behind?”

Jian looked long and hard at him, and then breathed a soft sigh. “I did, and I would do it again. As you can see, in the end I was right – they didn’t kill me, they needed me alive. Ce got away, right?”

Quan winced at the memories. “He did. He’s fine…he has managed to re-establish Wu at Hefei.”

Jian understood, then, that Orochi’s derisive words had been meant for his younger son, the only one who had still been under the serpent’s thrall at the time. He put an arm over Quan’s shoulders and drew him closer. “You boys aren’t fighting are you?” he asked teasingly.

Quan choked on his laugh, it was hard to take his father’s joke when he felt so wretched. “Not anymore,” he managed to answer.

“Good, good.” Jian gave him a fatherly squeeze and let him go. “It’s all right, Quan. You don’t have to tell me any more. I know it’s been hard on you, but you’ve gone through a lot and survived. All you kids are survivors, I’m so glad to see it.”

He started to move over to lean against the wall, so Quan helped him and then sat beside him. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said quietly. “In the world, in this castle…”

“I wish had something to tell you,” Jian sighed. “I’ve been dragged to hell and back, but since the last time I was in this very castle, I haven’t been able to hear anything about what’s been happening.”

“The most I can tell you,” Quan offered, “is about all the battles I’ve lost, and how many times Ce beat me down. But if you don’t want things to stay depressing, then maybe that’s not such a good idea.”

Jian’s lips quirked as he tried to hold back his emotions. What had his poor children been forced to do? “Later,” he said. “If we make it out of this, I do want to hear it, because it seems like you need to tell me about it.”

Quan flopped his hands into his lap. “Do you even think it’s possible?”

“Ce’s still out there,” Jian said with a conservative optimism. “He wouldn’t abandon us.”

“Even after all the times I faced him…” Quan tipped his head back against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t deserve to be rescued. How could he?”

Jian looked at him, concerned to see him so downhearted. “He’s your brother,” he answered. “And he’s my son. He won’t leave either of us, not this time.”

Quan felt his father’s hand on his arm and bit his lip to keep from losing composure. Hope, for him, was gone, but here in their darkest hour, Sun Jian still believed. All Quan could do was believe in him, in turn. At least he was no longer alone. “You should get some rest,” he murmured, the only thing he could say that didn’t remind him of their predicament. “I don’t know if the guards will be by with food again tonight.”

“I don’t need rest,” Jian demurred. “Please, Quan, all I want is to hear your voice and think about my children. Why waste this precious time with sleep?”

Quan glanced at him, and relented with the faintest smile. He loved his father dearly, and if these truly were their last hours together, he would spend them as Jian wanted. It would take some work to find a casual topic of conversation, though.

Sentries guarding every ward and gate of Osaka were on high alert, now that the two prisoners had been united. A message had gone out to confirm the successful transfer, but there was every possibility Da Ji would arrive ahead of it, if she was calculating the days herself and intended to make her way there on her own schedule. Yet, the night watch was more concerned with keeping an eye out for a full army to assault the castle, and no amount of diligence could fully stop the assault team now stealing their way along the walls. Hanzo knew this castle well, he had infiltrated it before and knew all of its blind spots and weaknesses; the Orochi army thought they had planned for every contingency and tightened security, but not even Zhuge Liang’s wisdom was prepared to protect it against the Iga, who came in over the rooftops instead of along the ground, scaled the keep by way of its rafters and eaves, and crept into windows which most ground troops would never have considered a viable entrance. Hanzo’s efforts had already confirmed that the prisoners were not being held in the upper floors, nor in any of the outer wards, so he narrowed the search to the lower levels of the keep. He had at his command at least fifty of his clanmates, and expected that he would need the strength and skill of every one. They filtered through the castle in their indigo blue garb, melting into shadows and deftly avoiding being spotted by the keen-eyed snakes, their light shoes making no sound on the wooden floors. As they went, they kept an eye out for the handful of Wu faithful, and at one point one dropped down from the rafters and clapped a hand over Pan Zhang’s mouth to keep him from crying out. It took a few whispers and gestures but at last he caught on to their mission, and told them where his lord was being held. In turn, they told him to simply take his weapon and flee the castle without looking back. If fate were kind, they would catch up with him later.

Hanzo led the way down to the cellars, and as they moved through the castle in a knot, his closest comrades slipped around corners and silenced every last guard they came across, temporarily or permanently depending on whether they were human or demon. The rest of his clan swept through the main floor to make a path for them, so that no alarm would be raised until they were clear of the inner ward. They did their jobs well, so that when Hanzo himself prowled along the torch-lit corridor toward the prison cell, there were only two guards left, one of which was Ding Feng. Hattori remembered him from his time in the Orochi army, and thanked his lucky stars that the final stage of his plan featured a Wu officer he could spare. He deliberately stepped out into the light and stood stock-still, one arm at his side and the other behind him grasping the handle of his weapon. Both Feng and the demon with him startled at the sight, but only the latter rushed to meet him, intending to take him down before anyone else could even have a shot. Hanzo did not twitch a muscle until the snake’s sword came within arm’s reach, at which point he agilely slid to one side and brought his blade around in a sweeping strike that sliced through the demon’s flank. His foe did not even get the chance to scream in pain before the scythe-blade jammed point-first into the base of his skull, killing him instantly. Ding Feng remained where he was, though he swept his circular blade down off his shoulder and held it low so that it filled nearly the whole corridor from one wall to the other. As Hanzo flicked the blood off his blade and moved forward, Feng glowered at him. “You shall not have my lord so long as I draw breath.”

Hattori shook his head silently and held up his hands; though he still carried his weapon in one, it was a gesture of calm. “I come at the will of Lord Sun Ce,” he murmured.

Ding Feng straightened up immediately. “What? But how? Wait…” He peered at the ninja, as if only just now remembering seeing him somewhere. “Is this true?”

“There’s no time,” Hanzo breathed. “If you want them free, follow me.”

Feng nodded crisply and moved aside, permitting Hanzo access to the door. It was locked, and none of the guards were allowed to keep the key while down there, so the ninja pulled a few tools from one of the pouches beneath his sash. He only needed a small powder charge and short fuse, but then wadded up a length of cloth into the same gap to muffle the explosion and keep the shrapnel contained. It still sounded dangerously loud in the corridor, but there was no one else around to hear besides Iga ninjas. The blast tore the lock and hasp to pieces, and the door swung open easily.

Sun Quan was already on his feet, placing himself in front of his father to protect him, but Hattori moved in and gestured to them to get up and move. Fortunately, Quan knew him on sight. “What are you doing here?” he exclaimed.

Hanzo glared rather than waste time with an answer, he only gestured more urgently and then turned to go. Ding Feng peeped in after him. “Hurry, my lords!”

“Let’s go,” Sun Jian urged, though as he started up, he wobbled and fell to his knees again. Feng shouldered his weapon and hurried to help him up, almost carrying him in his haste. Quan came to his other side and together the three hustled up the corridor to meet Hanzo where he stood as lookout. One of his clan came to affirm that their way was clear, signaling rather than speaking, so Hanzo did the same to the men behind him. Jian had never seen these fellows before, but since Quan was following them without question, he resolved to push past his weakness and not be a burden to them, and ask questions later.

The Iga held a path through the lower levels of Osaka, passing the escapees from one to the next in a relay and then dashing off to secure the next leg of the journey for them once they passed. The three Wu officers took their cue from the ninjas and spoke no more words aloud, communicating with looks and nods. Hanzo stayed with them, taking responsibility for them and keeping them herded on the correct route. If any wayward Orochi soldier strayed into their path, he or one of his clanmates slit their throat before they could yell. It was ruthless and efficient, not a single step wasted. However, since the escapees could not go over the rooftops like their rescuers, the final obstacle between them and freedom was the wall of the inner ward. Several Iga had gone ahead and cut themselves a path through a servants’ corridor typically meant for castle attendants to carry out their chores without being seen, forcing doors inside and then outside. The only real trouble came as they neared a small garrison near the moat with a contingent lounging around inside; the full force of the Iga came down on them like a tsunami, pouring in from the rafters and windows and slaughtering every last one of them so that not a single one could escape to raise the alarm. Hanzo cut down the five standing guard at the door, and then led his charges down through the moat and out to the western path much as Shima Sakon had done months ago. This time, however, their path was already secured. There was no need to circle around the outer ward and go back, Hattori knew exactly how to disappear into these trees and find a viable path to get them clear of Osaka. They were already half a mile into the wood when someone finally discovered the dead bodies in the keep and woke the castle, and by then it was too late.

Clouds played chase with the moon, requiring the small party to stick to the undergrowth and not risk being seen in the open, since they were moving much more slowly than their rescuers and couldn’t maneuver as well. The Iga seemed to disappear and reappear all around them as they worked to hide the tracks behind them and scouted the way ahead. Hattori could not blame the men for not being able to keep up, but he pressed them wordlessly until it was clear they needed a rest. They were far enough, now, that he could risk it. The others lowered Sun Jian to a seat and then crouched beside him to catch their breath. “Thank you,” the great lord of Wu panted. “Whoever you are, thank you.”

“Father, this is Hattori Hanzo,” Quan introduced. “He’s a ninja, he serves as Lord Tokugawa’s bodyguard.” He, too, nodded to Hanzo. “You have my thanks, Hattori. Never in a million years have I been so glad to see you.”

Hanzo went to one knee before them, bobbing his head in acceptance. “Lord Sun Ce sent me.”

Jian breathed a faint laugh and threw out a hand to smack his son in the chest. “See? What did I tell you.”

“It isn’t over yet,” Hanzo warned. “I had to move before reinforcements could get here. We have a long journey ahead of us, on foot. No horses.”

“My father is in no shape for a long journey,” Quan fretted. “I know we need to keep moving, but we can’t go very fast.”

The eyes showing between helm and mask closed briefly. “I will protect you,” Hanzo said solemnly. “Messages will be sent. But we must risk everything to stay ahead of the Orochi army.”

“So be it,” Jian said, sitting up. “I trust your lead.”

“My lords…” Ding Feng knelt beside them, sniffling back tears. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“I’m glad you’re with us, Ding Feng,” Quan smiled. “It would have torn my heart in two to leave you behind.”

“There are still some of our men who did get left,” Feng said sadly. “But we cannot go back for them, not now. If they catch up to us, they will kill us all on the spot.”

Another ninja alit in the clearing just then, and unwrapped a folded cloth he held bundled in his arms. Inside were two sheathed swords. The Sun men gaped at him before reaching for them. “How did you manage this?” Jian breathed, astonished.

Hanzo favored his clanmate with an approving nod. “My men are skilled.”

“I’ll say.” No matter what else befell them, at least now Sun Jian and Sun Quan would go forth armed with their own swords, stolen from the castle by a sharp-eyed Iga. They waited as long as they could and then urged their charges to keep going, and by then Jian was strong enough to walk on his own. Hattori summoned his fastest men and gave them messages, and then sent them out into the wilderness. He had some idea of what to do in order to buy them time, but it all depended on Sun Ce getting his message before the Orochi army could hunt them down.

Da Ji had guessed at which day her precious hostage would arrive at Osaka, and planned to teleport herself into the castle at dawn that morning, with the intention of holding the execution at noon. The gallows had already been built, everything was in order. Her schedule was correct, but when she appeared in a swirl of magic at the main gate, she found the castle already in an uproar even as the sun cleared the trees to the east. Lancehead had no choice but to grovel at her feet and tell her of the unfortunate development overnight. She had missed her chance by mere hours. Da Ji glowered at him for a long time, her anger building to an explosion point, and then grabbed his own spear and jammed it into his chest. In her rage she missed his vitals, though, leaving him to suffer and bleed on the flagstone. “Turn out the castle!” she shouted, her strident voice echoing in the courtyard. “Every last one of you, now! Find them! Do not stop until we have them! You!” She grabbed a lowly demon as he ran past, trying to avoid her wrath. “Get me a messenger, right now! I need to send word to Bai Di immediately!”

She shoved him away, letting him go and fetch an actual messenger. While Lancehead writhed at her feet, cursing, Da Ji looked up at the offending castle and stomped her feet in an all-out tantrum. “Curse this place and everyone in it! I will not rest until I have them in my hands and a knife in their hearts!”

Sun Ce had already begun his expedition to save his father and brother, so the first of the Iga messengers reached them on the road and implored them to hurry, because they knew the execution would be soon. The next one came mere hours later, informing their lord that Hanzo would be attempting the rescue after sundown. The final message came almost on his heels, and not in writing. The messenger found them stopped at the ford of a river, preparing to go across, and stumbled to his knees before Sun Ce and Tokugawa. He was at the end of his strength from running so far on foot, and Ce first ordered someone to give him water. “What do you have for me?” he asked when the ninja was able to speak.

The Iga forced himself to at least kneel properly, with one fist on the ground. “My lords,” he said, still gasping for breath, “I bring word from Master Hattori himself. He says: ‘both father and son have escaped the gallows.’”

Ce could not stop himself from whooping loudly and punching the air. “Excellent! This is the best news I’ve had in a long time!”

Shangxiang was at his side and noticed that the messenger hadn’t risen yet. “There’s something else.”

The man nodded. “They are still in danger. You must catch up to them. Master Hattori says only this: Komaki-Nagakute.”

“Ko…what?” Ce looked at the officers around him, perplexed.

“It’s the name of a place,” Ieyasu explained. “Two places, a village and the mountain above it, I know them rather well. But that’s all I can say, I don’t know what it means. Hanzo’s messages are often cryptic in case the message is intercepted.”

“Wait!” Shangxiang started and punched her brother in the arm. “I know that place! Ina and I, when we were on our way to Jieting, we stopped there. Komaki and Nagakute. I know where it is.”

“Can you tell in relation to where we are now?” Tokugawa pressed.

“I’m pretty sure,” Shangxiang nodded, looking to Ina, who was accompanying her as bodyguard now that her elbow was healed. “That must be where he is! He told us the place so we could meet him there. Brother, let me ride with the scouts – I’ll have us there in no time at all!”

“All right,” Ce agreed. “Go, and hurry. Everyone, mount up!” he called out as his sister raced past to grab her horse, with Ina right behind. “Break time is over, we’re moving out! My father and brother need us, there’s no time to waste!”

The Iga who had brought this final message begged to ride with the scouts as well, so Shangxiang pulled him up behind her in the saddle and galloped off to the front, where their scouts ranged ahead of the main army. It was a rather impressive army that Ce had chosen to come with him, expecting the worst: Tokugawa had asked to come, and Ina with her best friend, and then at least half of the Wu army including Cheng Pu, Jiang Qin, Han Dang, and Ranmaru, as well as Sakon, even though the lead strategist was Lu Meng. He and Zhou Yu had literally drawn straws to see who got to go along, since nearly everyone at Hefei wanted to and they had to limit the expedition somehow. They couldn’t leave their only stronghold unmanned. Zhou Tai rode as Sun Ce’s bodyguard, ready to protect him the way he would his younger brother. It was no insignificant raid they were embarking on, and now they had a feeling that an army this size would become necessary. If Da Ji hadn’t found out yet today that her prisoners had escaped, she would soon enough, and no one doubted her response. She had no choice but to spend every ounce of energy and send every officer at her disposal to track them down and bring them back in, her hold on her own army depended on it.

The territory where Mount Komaki lay belonged to neither side, one of many which lay idle until some cause or another had need of its fortifications. There was no great castle there, though the foundations of Oda Nobunaga’s attempt at a stronghold stood atop the mountain as if waiting for him to come and finish it. Not far from the foot of the mountain lay the palisades and guardhouses meant to protect the small village of Nagakute, but the village itself had not made it to Orochi’s realm. In fact, just south of the walls belonging to a temple courtyard, there was an abrupt cut-off as if the village ground had been ripped in two when Orochi brought it to his dimension. Where houses and streets should have been were only more trees belonging to the forests of neighboring territories. The cherry trees atop the mountain were in full bloom, and the river which ran down the side toward the village walls roared with rapids from healthy recent rains. It was a beautiful place, and thankfully deserted when Hanzo and his charges reached it a day or so after their escape. With so few men at his command, he warned the Sun men away from camping in the fort on the mountain – they couldn’t defend it, and if Da Ji called in reinforcements from the surrounding Orochi castles, they would come into Nagakute at the mountain’s base and easily besiege them there, if not completely swarm them and destroy them. They had to rest, though, so he advised them to hole up in one of the smaller garrison buildings at the village edge. It was easier to defend, water was close at hand, and they could still send someone out into the nearby wood to hunt or find other means of gathering food. Hanzo knew that they could go no further, the prisoners were weak, so barricading themselves in at Nagakute would give them a fighting chance if the Orochi forces caught up to them before the Wu army did. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened. Within a day they saw soldiers clearly not belonging to Wu trickling across the fields, and withdrew completely into the garrison with the hope that they had not been spotted yet. Out of sheer desperation they doused all fires and silenced all activity, sitting tight and waiting to see if the Orochi army would pass them by and not realize they were there. It would have worked had not separate contingents of the army conveniently met at the base of Mount Komaki, and begun to hold a discussion right there on how best to track the escapees. Da Ji herself was there, leading everything she had from Osaka, and they met Dong Zhuo coming in from Bai Di. Not to be outdone, within a few hours Sima Yi arrived from his encampment near Anegawa, where he and Guo Huai had remained while waiting for the main army to pull itself back together. He had sent Deng Ai back to Ueda, but reserved a larger portion of their forces for himself in the event that Da Ji’s captivity had gone on for a lengthy time and he hadn’t been able to get proper orders from the top. Fortunately for him, he had made contact just before Fuuma’s raid and had been ordered not to return to Ueda or do anything else but wait for things to resolve. He refused to go to Bai Di with the others, not wanting to rub shoulders with either Date or Zhuge Liang, which left him in the perfect position to swiftly provide reinforcements from Anegawa. The Iga supporting Hanzo held a silent vigil from the trees and the westernmost garrison, spying on the Orochi meeting and praying that none of them noticed the closed and barricaded gates.

The Wu army quickened pace with the help of Sun Shangxiang leading the way, guiding the scouts to Nagakute with a few reminders from Ina to keep them on course. Their path struck straight as an arrow through empty lands to reach it as fast as possible, and as fate would have it, they arrived to the south of Nagakute within hours of the Orochi army. “I never would have thought it would pay to have experience working for Orochi,” Shangxiang mused as she sat in the saddle waiting for the rest of the army to catch up. “If we hadn’t been sent to reinforce Date, I wouldn’t have remembered this place.”

“It’s good that our suffering under Orochi was not in vain,” Ina said seriously, peering through the trees. The Iga messenger had slipped away from them as soon as they arrived to make contact, if he could reach his comrades without being seen. “Don’t worry, my lady. It’s all going to come to an end here. We will fight until we reach your father and brother, I know no one will rest until they’re safe.”

Shangxiang smiled softly. “Thank you. You’ve been a true friend, Ina. When everything was dark and bleak, you were always there with me.”

“And I still am,” Ina vowed. “I always hoped that when the day came and your father was freed, I would be there to see it with you.” She tipped her head in a sort of shrug. “True, I don’t think either of us expected it to happen quite this way, but it doesn’t matter. He’s still free, and you’re about to see him again.”

“It looks like we’re going to have to go through the Orochi army to do it, though.” Shangxiang’s look turned grim. “ _That_ part, I think we always expected.”

“Yet it is not without hope,” Ina said. “You have my lord along, and he knows this area well. He should be able to fill Lord Lu Meng in on the locations of the garrisons and the best routes for countering the enemy.”

In fact, that was exactly what Tokugawa was doing as they rode up to Nagakute, and the advance scouts informed them precisely where the Orochi forces had gathered. There was no sign yet from Hanzo, so Tokugawa insisted that they not simply barge out onto the field no matter how energetic Sun Ce was feeling about battle. “They have made a key mistake, and are right out in the middle at the base of the mountain,” he noted. “If we need to attack, we can come at them from no less than three directions and pin them down. If they move up the mountain, though, it will be a bit more tough.”

“We’ve got to find my father before Orochi’s forces capture him again,” Ce said urgently. “Is there anywhere Hanzo might have taken him?”

Tokugawa squinted through the trees as they came up to the strange border between Nagakute and the wilderness beyond, taking note of how little of the village had come to this world. “I hope he isn’t in the castle at the top of the mountain,” he murmured. “We would have to go through the entirety of the Orochi army they brought. There are other fortifications, though, to the north and to the west. But have a care, young master,” he warned as they drew up near Shangxiang and Ina’s position. “If the Orochi army starts searching all the garrisons and buildings, they’ll come this way and stumble upon us, and our element of surprise will be lost.”

“Leave that to me,” Lu Meng broke in, halting and dismounting with Sakon right behind him. “I’ve gotten the reports, my lord, I can see how big their army is. Sima Yi is with them, so they won’t do anything obviously foolish even if they don’t know the terrain. Yes, see, look…” He gestured through the screen of trees and palisades to where the enemy forces were moving about. “…he’s already moving to the high ground. No surprise there. They’re beginning their search, so we have to move.”

“Give the orders, then, Lu Meng,” Ce implored. “Tell me where to go to find my father and brother.”

“Wait.” Meng held up a finger to caution him and then turned to the others. “We don’t want them finding Lord Sun Jian before we do, so we need to distract them with a decoy. Sakon gave me an idea, I want to send a large-scale attack straight up the center to keep at least some of their army occupied. But I’ll warn you.” He sent a serious look around the cluster of Wu retainers. “It’s a dangerous mission. You’ll be pulling the entire Orochi army down on your heads, and I need you to keep them there as long as possible. Whoever agrees to be the decoy will fight without an end in sight, we won’t be able to send reinforcements until our primary goal is accomplished. It could be suicide.”

“Then allow me,” Cheng Pu said boldly, banging the end of his spear against the ground. “I have served the Lords of Wu a long time, this is exactly the kind of mission I deserve to be part of.”

“I will go, too,” Han Dang said. “If for no other reason, to make up for not being strong enough at Xia Kou.”

Sakon glanced to his fellow strategist. “Maybe I’ll go too, have some fun.”

Sun Ce looked at each in turn, his eyes softening. These men had followed him far and never given up, and now they spoke with the true courage of Wu. “I would be nowhere without you, my friends,” he said wistfully. “Please, stay safe. I want to see all of you on the other side, so my father can thank you in person for your loyalty.”

Lu Meng nodded his agreement. “The rest of us need to split up and find Lord Sun Jian. I’ll take Jiang Qin and head north.”

“I’ll go towards the west,” Sun Ce immediately volunteered, “and check out the paths Lord Tokugawa was talking about.”

“I have my sights set on the fox moving toward the castle on the mountaintop,” Ieyasu said dourly. “Ranmaru?”

“I will accompany you if you wish, my lord,” the boy assented. “She will go no further toward Lord Sun Jian.”

“It’s settled, then.” Sun Ce dismounted and pulled his tonfa free. Where he was going, a horse would attract to much noise. Zhou Tai faithfully joined him on foot, while those preparing to lead the decoy attack in the center gathered the bulk of their soldiers around their horses. “Don’t stop until my father and brother are in your hands. Whoever finds them first, send word to the others so we can collapse the attack into the center and end this! Onward!”

Only Shangxiang and Ina had not declared their intentions nor received orders, but as the decoy moved out and Lu Meng started off to the other side to circle around and head toward a fortification north of them, near the river, Shangxiang let out a small gasp. “There he is! He’s come back.”

The Iga messenger slipped into their midst as silently as he had left them earlier. Sun Ce held back to hear his report. The ninja looked to him. “I cannot reach Master Hattori, but I see where they are. Head west. There are paths.”

“Good work,” Ce encouraged. “Coming, sis?”

“You’d never be able to hold me back.” Shangxiang leaped out of the saddle and grabbed her chakrams, glad to have Ina at her back with her bow. “Let’s hurry, before anything can happen to them!”

As they led their units off along the indicated path, Ce’s retainers charged en masse through a gate which opened out onto the field below the foot of Mount Komaki, spreading out as they went and immediately engaging the front line of the Orochi army still milling about there, led by mostly random Han officers of varying loyalties who were in turn under Dong Zhuo’s command this time. They hadn’t anticipated a full enemy army showing their faces in such a way, but there was no time to boggle at the surprise, they had to muster in formation and meet it before the onrush overwhelmed them. “The enemy is here!” Cai Mao barked to his men. “Face them! Do not let them through!”

“Show no fear, brave soldiers of Wu!” Cheng Pu exhorted his men as he led the way, raising his spear high.

The ring of their clash was the first sound of battle heard across the shoulders of the mountain, drawing the commanders’ attention that way, though Dong Zhuo remained where he was protecting Da Ji, at her demand, and Sima Yi’s forces held their position at one of the northern forts. Guo Huai stood with his lord in the open doorway, enjoying the advantage of being high up enough on the mountain’s slope that they could see everything in the center clearly. “They’re setting a trap for us,” he noticed, “and that unit is the bait.”

“And of course Dong Zhuo’s men fall for it,” Sima Yi said scornfully. “Those morons. Leave them to it, we have our own orders.” He turned and gestured with his fan, raising his voice so his entire garrison could hear. “We must hold this path so the traitors don’t use it to circle around the mountain and double back! If anyone spots them, sound the alarm and move in! We cannot let them leave this battlefield alive!”

His forces raised a cheer of acknowledgement, and several hustled to the parapets of the fort to stand lookout. Their position sat at the top of the trail which ran alongside the river, and even the lowest private thought that it would make the perfect route by which the escapees could slip past their pursuers and lose their track crossing the water. The soldiers kept their eyes peeled, squinting into the springtime sun to catch even the slightest glimpse of the russet-red uniforms of Wu. They had no idea that they were clear on the other side of the mountain from their intended targets, but they would have their hands full soon enough.

The path winding along the back side of the palisades and the walls which should have belonged to a temple compound showed signs that someone else had been along it recently, but Sun Ce had no way of knowing whether that someone was Hanzo and his charges or someone from the invading Orochi forces. He flew down the path like nothing could stop him or even slow him down, deftly leaping over rocks and ducking tree branches, zig-zagging with each bend in the trail and not even stumbling when it dipped low and then rose back up along the terrain. Zhou Tai kept up with him, just a step behind and beside with a ready hand on his sword, and the two ladies followed behind them, with their troops racing to stay within sight despite their armor and weapons weighing them down. They knew they’d never overtake their lord, it was hard enough work just keeping from falling too far behind. Ce was so intent on his mission that he didn’t see the enemy soldiers until he was already on top of them, dashing down a hill and around a patch of tress only to blunder straight into one of Dong Zhuo’s men. The officer startled, as he likewise had no idea the Wu army was there until they were already among his own. “What?” he yelped, turning sharply. “Where did you come from?!”

“Take him down!” Shangxiang ordered from behind her brother. “It’s the Orochi army!”

Sun Ce jerked to a halt and spun so fast the enemy officer had no chance, there was a tonfa in his gut in the blink of an eye. Some of the soldiers started to flee, but Ina picked them off with a rapid-fire sequence of arrows. Together, the four officers made short work of the entire cadre before their troops had even reached the clearing, driving any survivors to their knees begging for mercy. The officer leading them was out cold. When their own troops hustled up and surrounded them, Ce looked around and noticed the side trail by which they had reached this spot. It led almost certainly straight back to that open meadow where the Orochi army had been massed. “They’re surrounding the western garrison,” he realized. “We have to hurry. There could be more already ahead of us.”

“It’s just up ahead,” Ina said confidently. “Not far, now.”

“But if any of these guys get back to the main army…” Ce was mindful of their intended plan – they weren’t supposed to be seen, the decoy in the center was meant to draw unfriendly eyes so that their assault force could move with stealth and come out to the western flank as a surprise.

“If we move fast enough, it won’t matter,” Ina promised him. “Let’s go!”

She started off right away, and Shangxiang gave her brother a curt nod to say that she agreed entirely with this plan. Ce raised his tonfa to beckon their soldiers to move out and not linger to take prisoners, and then he was running again, following the women as they made their way toward the wooden walls peeping through the trees ahead. As one they came around the final bend and within sight of the garrison, only to find that its back gate had already been forced. Snake demons from the battalions stationed at Osaka clustered in the doorway, trying to shove past one another to get in, and were completely oblivious to the movement at their rear. Seeing them, knowing that his family lay just to the other side, Sun Ce suddenly let out a roar and blasted past Shangxiang and Ina, plowing headlong into the mass of demons and knocking them every which way. Spindly gray bodies flew in the air as he punched his way through them, demolishing them as if they were a wall of stones he had to rip down in order to make a gap. Something got in the way of his knees and he stumbled, but staggered and righted himself only to realize he’d gotten inside the garrison, and whipped around to look and see if he’d reached his goal. The entire place was choked with demons and humans alike, running amok and attacking one another, but the epicenter of all the action drew Ce’s eye: two powerfully-built men standing back to back, their swords swinging and clanging as they cut down everyone and everything that came within reach of the blades. Beyond them, the hulking form of Ding Feng stood in the other doorway, his circular blade adding to his dangerous breadth and preventing scores of additional Orochi troops from getting past him. Ce hesitated no longer than half a heartbeat and then sprang from his place, beating his way across the garrison yard with massive swings of his tonfa, this way and that. The Orochi soldiers began to panic all around him, and those who scrambled to get out the gate they had just entered ran smack into the other three officers just coming in. The momentum shifted in an instant, from the certain death of three brave escapees to a complete rout of their attackers. Zhou Tai shouldered through the ranks of enemies and darted across the open ground in a flash, sweeping to Sun Quan’s side and ripping through the hordes of demons attempting to get their hands on him. Arrows picked off three more leaping toward Sun Jian, and then Ce himself was there, joining his father and brother in the thick of the melee. With Ding Feng at one door and the reinforcements of Wu at the other, no one from the Orochi army could get in anymore – nor could a single one get out.

The noise died down as the last demon fell, and the defenders came to a halt where they were, looking around to see whether they had truly secured the victory or if it was all some sort of dream. Sun Ce took a deep breath that burned in his lungs, and then turned sharply to the two men he had come to rescue, the tonfa falling from his hands. “Father! Quan!”

Jian did not drop his sword, but he shifted it in his grip so he could reach and throw his arms around his elder son without accidentally hitting him. “Ce,” he breathed, “you did it. Thank goodness…”

Quan turned to them both, and had to brace himself as his brother shifted so he could hook one arm around his neck and drag him into this, too. Ce held them both, and then grunted as Shangxiang smacked into him from behind, likewise stretching her arms as far as they would go and gathering as much of her family into them as she physically could. “You’re okay!” she cried. “Father, brother!”

“Sister,” Quan murmured, truly shaken. They were all there, all four of them, on their feet and alive. “I can’t believe it…”

“Believe it!” Ce laughed in his ear, jostling him and then letting him go. “We’re all together at last!”

He stepped back to look them over. They certainly had seen hard times, but both looked energetic enough, flushed with the heat of battle. They had their own swords, as well, a lucky stroke considering the position they’d been put in. Jian gave his daughter one more hug and then turned to all his children at once. “The celebration’s going to have to wait. We need to finish this.”

“Right.” Ce looked to see where everyone was. “We’re not gonna be able to get out of here without pushing the Orochi army back. There’s too many of them, but we’ve got plenty of guys on our side, too.”

“I’ll settle for hamstringing them,” Quan said darkly, “but I really want to tear my claws into that woman.”

“Get in line with the rest of us,” Shangxiang quipped.

Someone leaped down into the garrison from atop the walls, and though all of them started and reached for their weapons, it was only Hanzo. His sash and sleeve were ripped and his mask was askew, clearly he had been fighting as well. “Now is the time,” he encouraged. “The Wu army in the middle is losing ground.”

“All the more reason for us to launch a counter-attack,” Jian said boldly. “Forward, into battle!”

Their men cheered loudly, and even the Iga troop seemed to relax for a brief moment in either joy or relief. They had done their job well, and now the Sun family had been reunited as one whole. They couldn’t count it as a complete victory until all of them walked off the field alive, but they had been secured, and that lent more than just extra manpower to the Wu Resistance. Quan turned to Zhou Tai, but there was nothing either could say right at that moment. Tai nodded to him and made to return to his place at his lord’s side, but Quan gestured to Jian. “My father is hiding it well, but he’s lost a lot of strength lately. Make sure he survives.”

“Yes, my lord,” Tai grunted.

Sun Ce scooped up his weapons and prepared to get back out there, his energy hardly dented by that little scuffle. He stopped to give Ding Feng a welcoming rap in the arm, and then looked to his father. “Would you like to take command, Lord Sun Jian?”

Jian smiled vaguely. “Not one bit. You’ve built this army, my son, they’re yours to command.”

Ce nodded his acceptance and raised one fist in the air. “Our men need reinforcements, let’s go! Hanzo – can you send a messenger to our forces on the mountain? Let them know: mission accomplished.”

Hanzo bowed. “I will go.”

He zipped right out past Ce and Feng, who couldn’t let a ninja beat them to the punch and headed out together, with the rest of their troops and officers trailing. The Orochi soldiers who had surrounded the garrison were long gone, but it was easy to follow their track back to the wide open space at the foot of the mountain where the others were fighting as if to defend the gate of Nagakute. They were holding their ground well enough, but the sheer numbers had them exhausted, and among the enemy forces were a handful of Wu officers, afraid to defect even though they were facing their own comrades. They had been unable to escape Osaka with the others and consequently had been dragged along on this sortie by Da Ji herself, who wanted at least someone from Wu to witness it when she finally killed the Sun family herself. Cai Mao and the others of the earlier Han who were content doing Orochi’s bidding fought more fiercely than they, but there were fewer of them. Still, things looked bleak in the center, and more than once Han Dang and Cheng Pu looked over their shoulders, hoping against hope to see a sign. They couldn’t hear anything going on elsewhere over the din of their own battle, so they had to hold firm and keep fighting no matter how much they ached or how many of their soldiers fell back injured. Sakon backed them up capably, crossing behind them here and there to stem the advance of the enemy to one side or the other. “Hang in there,” he encouraged them. “We’ve gotta hold this ground.”

“I know,” Han Dang said gruffly. “It doesn’t matter what happens to us, as long as we buy them time. If we retreat now, we would never be able to face our lord again!” 

“As long as we’re doing everything we can, in our power, right here and now,” Cheng Pu agreed. “Nothing else matters.”

Sakon heaved a quick laugh. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

He whirled to deliver a massive two-handed swing of his Wrecking Blade straight into an oncoming demon corps, knocking them all sprawling. Behind them stood an older man, clearly an officer, still clad in Wu red with his sword lowered toward the ground. He regarded Sakon with a sage look and then spotted Cheng Pu at his shoulder; the faithful Wu retainer saw him at the same time and lowered his spear. “Zhu Zhi! Stop this and come over to our side, before it’s too late!”

Zhu Zhi winced at being recognized. He was one of Sun Jian’s own officers, and because of that, had not been sent to Osaka like the others. He knew his lord had escaped, but nothing beyond that. “But Da Ji,” he argued, raising his sword in a semblance of a defense. “If she sees any of us falter…”

“You don’t have to worry about Da Ji when you’re not working for her,” Sakon pointed out. “Any man of Wu is welcome over here, c’mon!”

Zhu looked over the field, toward another gate in the distance that protected the road up the mountain to the fortress at the top. He could have sworn Da Ji could see them all from up there, but the urge to never raise his blade against a countryman ever again was strong. “My son,” he said out of nowhere, turning back to Cheng Pu. “Is he with you?”

The stout man drove his spear to knock enemy soldiers sprawling, so he could keep up this conversation. “He didn’t ride with us on this mission,” he answered, “but Zhu Ran is safe with Wu. Guarding Hefei with Lord Zhou Yu right now.”

Zhu grimaced, clearly in a struggle over whether he should defect or not. But then, as he looked away across the field again, his expression darkened. “Oh no,” he breathed. “Enemy reinforcements. That’s not good…”

Sakon chanced a look in the same direction, and began to grin as he realized the “enemy” meant was the Wu army. He could clearly make out Sun Ce charging out at the head of the troops. “Hey, look at that! We got us a tiger cub on the…” He trailed off as he spotted the others behind their lord. It was such a heartening sight that he fell back and leaned on his heavy blade, giving an impressed whistle. “Well, well. They did it.”

Though they weren’t running quite as fast, Sun Jian and Sun Quan strode into the open as the rest of the soldiers streamed around them, following Lord Sun Ce’s lead and cutting into the flank of the Orochi army. One of the other officers battling with them fell back immediately, a younger man with tousled hair and stout armor. “Our lord is saved!” he crowed. “Lift up your heads, men of Wu, our long darkness is past!” He immediately turned and lit into the snakes behind him, defecting on the spot. His men appeared to follow suit without hesitation.

Han Dang made a small noise of relief. “Lord Sun Jian!”

“They’re safe!” Cheng Pu concurred, and then turned swiftly to Zhu Zhi. “Come on, man, Xu Sheng had the good sense to know what side he’s on!”

Zhu breathed a hard sigh and then straightened up, squaring his shoulders. “And so do I!” he vowed, raising his blade and spinning in place to cut down the Orochi retainer looming up on his right.

The immediate defection of two more officers and a healthy percentage of the enlisted men spread doubt and fear through Cai Mao’s men like poison. The hard, fast onslaught of reinforcements on the right flank didn’t help, and then even more men cut in from the left, as Lu Meng and Jiang Qin responded to Hanzo’s message and folded in on the other flank. It wasn’t long before someone yelled a retreat and the next thing the Wu army knew, their enemy was streaming through the gate to Mount Komaki, barely holding their rear line against continued assault. The most eager of pursuing soldiers were ordered to halt at the gate, while the collected officers met one another in the center of the field, standing down weapons for a moment and taking a good long look at one another. Lu Meng bowed deeply with fist over heart. “It’s a joy and a delight to see you, my lord,” he said to Sun Jian.

“Look at all of you.” Jian couldn’t keep an impressed and somewhat wistful smile off his grizzled face. “And you’re not even half of it, I bet.”

Sun Ce glanced to the side as Hattori flitted into their midst, finally able to properly join in the battle himself. “You got the message, I take it?”

“We did,” Meng affirmed, “but I was about to turn back anyway. Sima Yi was in that garrison, but just before Hanzo reached us, his forces withdrew from there and went even further up the mountain. I have a feeling they might have been called back to Da Ji’s position.”

“That means we’ve got ‘em on the ropes,” Sakon said, shifting his gaze from strategist to lords. “Unless you want to make the most of their retreat and beat it out of here.”

“And have her biting at our heels the whole way? No way,” Ce said brashly. “It’s time we tigers bit back.”

“Lord Tokugawa is ahead of us,” Han Dang reminded. “If she’s pulling back and digging in, he’ll need our help anyway.”

“We should head in the direction he went,” Ina offered, gesturing with her bow back to the west. “He best knows how to assail the fortress on Mount Komaki, so if he went by that path, there’s a good reason for it.”

“That center path down from the castle is wide and there’s no cover,” Xu Sheng broke in, eager to make up for supporting the Orochi side in this battle. “I don’t have much more than that, we didn’t actually go into the forts up there. She pushed us down here right away.”

“All the more reason not to go that way,” Lu Meng noted. “Follow Lady Ina, and let’s give it one last push!”

As their army fell back into its proper units so that each officer could lead, and both Ding Feng and Lu Meng moved to welcome Xu Sheng and Zhu Zhi back into the fold, Sun Jian clapped a hand to Ce’s shoulder. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to hang back here,” he said quietly. “Too many swords in that fight and we’ll all start hitting each other on accident.”

Ce met his eyes and knew his real reason for staying. He nodded, and then looked to the others around him. “Sakon, will you stay with him? I know you’ll make sure no one else tries to capture him again.”

“Sure.” Sakon looked to the great lord of Wu, whose acquaintance he had made that one time, and smiled ruggedly. “I’d love the chance to get to know such a famous guy.” 

Han Dang was flagging as well, sporting a few cuts to his arms, so he also consented to stand guard over Sun Jian. They made themselves the rearguard and waited there at the gate of Nagakute, watching proudly as the three Sun siblings roused the army and led them away to bolster Tokugawa and finally meet the true enemy commander. Jian leaned on his sword and heaved a soft chuckle. “Famous guy, huh? And here all I’ve done in this world is sit in one prison cell or another. You’ve been doing all the hard work.” He had to search his memory for what Ce had called him the last time there was an attempt at rescuing him. “Shima, was it?”

“Shima Sakon, at your service,” the big ronin said smartly. “Of course you’re famous, all these kids have been talking about for months on end is you.” He took the Wrecking Blade down off his shoulder and jabbed it into the soft earth to stand as a warning to anyone who would try to assault the rearguard. “You’ve got a good bunch of kids, my lord. It’s a happy day all around.”

“And they’ve got a good bunch of men to help them out,” Jian complimented in turn. “Thank you – again.”

Charging pell-mell straight up the side of a mountain wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do, especially when most of them were already tired from fighting, but Sun Ce’s determination was infectious, driving all of them to push past their minor aches and exhaustion and stay with him all the way to the top. He knew it wasn’t wise to hinge the rest of this battle and the lives of his army on his burning need to deliver a healthy dose of vengeance to Da Ji, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to show her the consequences of everything she had done to them, and if they couldn’t actually take her down here and now like Cao Pi had done, he wanted to at least leave her with a few marks from his claws. At least there was no sign that the true heavy-hitters were waiting with her at the top, if it was only Dong Zhuo and Sima Yi they would not have trouble. They came upon Tokugawa and Ran halfway to the summit, engaged in fierce battle with Da Ji’s vanguard, and joined forces to overwhelm them and push them all the way back to the fortification. As Ieyasu had suggested before the battle’s start, it looked as though the castle was unfinished, still a wooden palisade with some stone foundations here and there, but it was secure enough for Da Ji to use as her main camp while she sent out her men to search for the escapees. The Wu army now had so much power at hand that they breached the doors with little effort, and found the Orochi army arrayed in three layers within. Sima Yi and his fresh forces had regrouped the men who had fled out of the center in a first wave, while Dong Zhuo and what was left of Bai Di’s strength formed the second wave behind them. Da Ji herself was at the back, arms folded, glaring at the intrusion. She couldn’t even find the words to mock them as she noted Sun Quan standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother and sister, all of them eager to take the fight to her and see it to its end. Sima Yi raised his black-feathered fan and pointed it toward them in threat. “You fools came all the way up here, and for what? To die here instead of in the valley, it seems.”

“Shut up,” Ce snapped rudely at him. “I’m not here to waste my breath talking, Sima Yi. Prepare yourselves!”

He moved first, though Quan went with him, and Zhou Tai instantly joined them, right between the two brothers to protect them both. Guo Huai braced himself, but there was no way he could shield his lord from such an attack. The first wave of the Orochi defense started to melt in toward their spearhead attack in the center, but as soon as the brothers were out of the way, their army burst through the gates after them and fanned out to engage the enemy, who had already taken quite enough of a beating from those same men. The second gate at the eastern end of the fort breached as well, and even more Wu soldiers poured in from there under Tokugawa’s command. He had plenty of backup of his own, so Ranmaru left his side and dashed to join Sun Ce, so that each of the brothers would have his own bodyguard at hand to hack through the ranks of the enemy. Sima Yi went down hard with no more snide quips to throw at them, and only because of Guo Huai did he get pulled off the field alive. Shangxiang and Ina joined the others as they hit the second wave, which faded even more quickly due to Dong Zhuo’s typical reluctance to put himself at risk. He had just come from that mess at Liang, he was of the opinion that he was too tired and sore to wage another battle even if he had Da Ji breathing down his neck. He exhorted the men under his command until the front line shattered and then shut his mouth so that no one would mark exactly when he slinked off the battlefield. The way to Da Ji was wide open, she had no one else attending her. Ce broke off from battling to see her leap down from her perch and advance on him, the orbs floating over her head already whirling to bat away resistance. “You!” he blazed at her, instantly turning and charging at her. “You’re the one person I’ll show no mercy!”

“Don’t make me laugh!” she snarled back, flinging out an arm to direct her orbs to bash in his skull. He batted them away easily, and then had three swords at his back to continue to deflect them as they circled around and came from all directions. Da Ji had more than just her orbs at her command, though, and splayed her hands to cast spells toward her foes, fireballs and crackles of a dark energy. Ce ducked and dodged most of them, bashed an orb away, and then caught a startling movement out of the corner of his eye. Shangxiang leaped to avoid the orb and then gracefully landed on it like an acrobat, clinging to it as it kept flying. Her weight slowed it down, though, and with a final kick she slammed it into the dirt and sprang on it. Da Ji let out an inarticulate squeal of rage. “How _dare_ you?! You filthy traitors!”

“You’ve toyed with us long enough, you evil bitch!” Shangxiang shot back, crouching on top of the half-buried orb as if to dare her to try to move it again. “What you’ve done is unforgivable!”

Seeing as she was down one weapon, Da Ji called the other orb back to hover in front of her, the only remaining shield in her power to keep the Wu army from cutting her down where she stood. Sun Quan shouldered through the melee and stood at his brother’s side. “The Sun family is reunited,” he pointed out for her. “You won’t be able to hurt us any longer, Da Ji.”

“You locked up my friends,” Ce seethed, raising one tonfa. “You messed with my family.” He brandished the other. “And it still didn’t get you anywhere! You’ve lost all of us, Da Ji, and now you’re going to lose this battle _and_ this war!”

His pause for trash-talking allowed several of his retainers to get into position, but Da Ji had an eye on all of them. Ranmaru and Zhou Tai closed in from the sides, and that was when she moved. A swish of her hand and she disappeared from that spot, orbs and all, and reappeared on top of the wall. “I see you worthless children managed to meet up,” she spat at them, “but what about your father?” Another flick of her wrist and she was gone from sight.

Ce and Quan turned to one another and yelped simultaneously, “Father!”

“Don’t worry,” Tokugawa assured.

The only way for Da Ji to salvage anything of her men was to flee the field immediately, but she didn’t want to leave without killing at least one of the Sun family. She had rightly guessed that Sun Jian had remained behind, and blinked herself down to the foot of the mountain to catch him by surprise and murder him on the spot. She appeared out of a spiral of energy right in front of the gate, making the men jump and Sakon lunge in with his massive blade held as a shield, but he didn’t need to worry either. No sooner had Da Ji materialized and there was a curved sickle blade at her throat. It completely derailed her savage intentions, forcing her to freeze on the spot lest she help that blade do its deadly work. There was only the slightest jingle of chains, and then Hanzo purred, “Surrender.”

Da Ji’s face twisted in rage. “Never!” she declared, and then teleported away again, this time as far as she could. Hanzo did not relax his stance or lower his blade until he was certain she wouldn’t come back, at which point he simply turned and bowed to Sun Jian and his bodyguards. “Mission complete.”


	57. Chapter 57

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sun family is successfully reunited; Oda makes concrete plans - and so does Da Ji. Meanwhile, something sinister this way comes!

It took time to withdraw the army from the top of Mount Komaki, even though Ce and Quan ran ahead of their men in order to see for themselves that their father had been well taken care of. Sakon happily told them of Hattori’s timely ninja appearance, letting them breathe a sigh of relief and then finally lay down their weapons and truly enjoy their reunion. Seeing that they were fairly occupied with important family matters, Tokugawa took charge of setting up camp, deciding that Nagakute was as good a place as any to rest for the night. The gate in the wall could be closed so they wouldn’t have to deal with the aftermath of the battlefield beyond it, while they withdrew to the other side of the wall. There was a swath of well-tended ground there, the outer yard of the temple whose inner wall was the only thing belonging to the village of Nagakute that came along with the mountain into Orochi’s world. It was secure enough and could be easily guarded on each side, and there was room for tents and fires while the officers withdrew just past the temple wall to a small shoin. The Sun family and their immediate bodyguards were given primary use of it as a place to rest and later to sleep, while the rest of the Wu officers placed their tent immediately outside. Everyone was looked over and minor injuries tended, and the two former prisoners were brought clean, fresh clothing from whatever supplies had been brought along. Ce hadn’t even considered that need, but someone clearly had, for Lu Meng presented them with fresh tunics and pants which might not have been the most regal, but they weren’t dirty and foul, and that was all that mattered. Sun Jian was rather content to simply sit and people-watch while his family and retainers moved about him, as if unable to believe his eyes that everything had worked out and no one had been lost. His elder son was still being treated as commander, but most of his duties were being undertaken by Lu Meng, Sakon, and Tokugawa, leaving him free to check up on his family and rejoice with everyone around him. Jian heard Meng chuckling to himself and looked up at him. “He’s going to keep going like this all night until he runs out of steam, and then he’s just going to crash.”

Jian followed his gaze to see he meant Sun Ce. “That’s how he is,” he acknowledged. “Ever since he was a little boy, running until he wears himself out. Just have somebody follow him around with a pillow to catch him when he pitches over in a dead sleep.”

Meng laughed even harder at that mental image. “I’ll get Ran on it, he’s just right for the job.”

“That willowy kid? Make sure Ce doesn’t crush him when he lands on him.”

Ranmaru was, at the moment, keeping his distance, lurking about the shoin with the bodyguards but not interfering with the Sun siblings and their personal business. He felt rather than heard the solid shape of Zhou Tai loom up behind him, but the man’s quiet, sullen voice took him by surprise. “Do you understand Wu, now?”

Ran looked up to him, and then across to where Ce and Quan were facing one another, the former with his hand on the latter’s shoulder as they talked. “Sun Ce is unpredictable. Sun Quan is stubborn. I can see why so many great warriors are willing to be led by one or the other.” His gaze returned to Zhou Tai’s scarred face. “But I don’t think I will ever truly understand their relationship, or what any of it has to do with the future of Wu.”

Tai nodded slowly. “You don’t have to. So long as you support them.”

“I do,” Ran vowed. “It was hard watching Lord Sun Ce have to fight his own friends, and then his own brother and sister, but he never gave in to despair. He believed in them, and I believed in him. I can only hope to have a heart that strong, if I am ever tested so.”

“You think you haven’t been?” Tai gazed down at him, almost studying him, and Ran realized he was right. He _had_ been tested, perhaps not by having his own family dangled like bait before him to force him todo evil, but he had had to choose loyalties, fight against his instincts and his lord’s army, and put himself on the line for Sun Ce’s dreams more than once. Seeing that he didn’t need to explain himself, Zhou Tai’s eyes narrowed in the slightest impression of a smile before he turned and stalked off to make himself useful.

Ce and Quan had only just started talking, but very quickly realized that things could get serious, and so moved aside into a corner of the shoin where no one could easily eavesdrop – hence the hand on Quan’s shoulder, guiding him away from the others. “You really think I would’ve just left you?” Ce asked gently, managing to lower his voice and not go yelling it across the courtyard. “As soon as Zhou Tai told me what was up, I had Hanzo on your trail. Brother, you were _never_ alone, we had an eye on you the whole time.”

All of this generosity and forgiveness stood in such drastic opposition to what Quan had been expecting, he was having a hard time accepting it. Better to be up-front about it with his brother than languish alone in a tent somewhere beating himself up for it. “Even though I cursed you,” he whispered in disbelief, “and blamed you for everything…? I was so angry with you…” He had already anguished and lamented the truth for countless dark, lonely nights in the cell beneath Osaka, there were no more tears to shed for his failure, but as he looked now at his blameless brother, he couldn’t help but dredge it up again if only to make it absolutely clear – to himself and to Ce – where he now stood. “It didn’t even occur to me that Da Ji was lying about you abandoning our father, I thought I was the only one who cared about him and about Wu, and you going off on your own…”

“Hey.” Ce gently interrupted him and drew him in closer, making sure his back was to the rest of the room so that if he did break down, no one would see it. “It’s over, all right? You did what you thought best, and so did I. But Quan…” He cupped both hands around his brother’s strong jaw, almost forcing him to not drop his gaze. “You did a brave thing. It was crazy, and kinda suicidal, but it was brave of you to go back there and face up to Da Ji. It saved the rest of our men, and Daqiao, and bought us time to find you and Father both and get you out of there.” He smiled proudly. “It was exactly the kind of thing I would’ve done in your position.”

Quan let out a soft, sad chuckle. “Guess we brothers aren’t so different after all.”

“When you get right down to it, we’re really not.” Ce patted him on the cheek and drew back his hands. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I left you in such a hard position. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Quan insisted. “I was the one who hurt you, and everyone else around me. Even Zhou Tai. I don’t deserve all of you taking me back in like nothing happened, but…” He looked away briefly, to find all of them milling about in the shoin and the yard, settling in to their quiet camp. “…I’m glad you did.”

Ce smiled wryly back. “At this point, we can’t afford to hold grudges. I don’t care what happened or who said what when, I just wanted my family back together, safe and sound. I swore I’d take everything back from Orochi, and I finally have.”

They clapped each other on the shoulders and stared into each other’s eyes for a moment longer, and then decided they’d said enough and moved back to rejoin the others. From that point on, nothing would stand between them, not even the right to rule their kingdom.

The officers didn’t sit down to eat until sunset, after making sure everything else was taken care of, and aside from a quick query as to how everyone had managed to get to where they were, they didn’t speak much of the battle or the escape. Hanzo sat with them in a place of honor instead of with his clan, because so much could be attributed to his hard work and uncommon skill. “So that’s why you didn’t fret,” Ranmaru realized of Sun Ce, as the rest of his retainers finally learned of the extent of the secret mission. “I hadn’t even realized Hattori was not at the fortress in all that time.”

“I assumed he was just doing his duty, as he always does for our lord,” Ina said modestly. “When a ninja can’t be seen, that’s usually the reason.”

“It wasn’t my doing, this time,” Tokugawa said humbly. “It was all Lord Sun Ce. His plan was in place even before he came to me to tell me he was borrowing Hanzo for a while.”

“It had to be,” Ce shrugged. “My family’s lives were at stake, I wasn’t about to sit on my hands and cry about it.”

Sun Jian raised his cup to his son, even though there was no wine in it. That would have to wait for them to get back to Hefei. “Then I have no trouble taking a step back, and letting Ce continue as Lord of Wu until we’ve brought Orochi down. This army and all our people are in very capable hands.”

All of his children and his most loyal officers looked to him in surprise. “Are you sure, Father?” Ce wondered.

“Completely.” Jian fixed him with a knowing look, a steely glint of confidence in his eyes. “I’m not saying this tiger won’t raise a claw in his own defense, but they already look to you as a commander. All of you here are my witnesses: if I am a Lord it’s in name only. I will take up my sword in battle alongside you, and support my sons as they work to lead Wu against Orochi.”

Everyone shared glances and then took up their cups as well, to raise them in toast to agree to his decision. As the original ruler of Wu, Sun Jian had every right to step down or step back as he saw fit. As it was, they didn’t have a kingdom to rule yet, not until the war was over and their demon oppressor had been brought down. “As you wish, my lord,” Lu Meng said for all of them. “But that’s not going to stop us from having a huge feast when we get back to Hefei.”

Wu’s bravest let out a collective grunt of agreement. “All that wine we just got from Oda,” Sakon lamented. “It’ll be gone in a night.”

Jian tossed back his head and laughed. “Excellent! I’m dying for a taste of wine, do you have any idea how long it’s been?”

They all laughed and fell back to their meager camp meal, which to some tasted every bit as good as that feast, for they were in good company after a hard-earned victory. “Well, that’s one down,” Ce mused, half to himself. “Now I’ve just gotta fulfill my promise to Zhao Yun.”

“What’s this, now?” Jian wondered as he reached for more rice.

Oh, there were so many battle stories he needed to tell his father, Ce realized. “When things were at their darkest, Zhao Yun and his army saved my life, they came to us unlooked-for in the middle of a battle. I promised him I would help him look for Liu Bei, since that’s been his whole mission the entire time.”

Jian’s expression sobered. “I see. Then you should tell him that I’ve spoken with Lord Xuande.”

Again, the whole table recoiled in surprise. “You’ve seen him?” Lu Meng exclaimed.

“It was…I don’t know how long ago, I lost track of the days while I was being held in that castle,” Jian said with a shake of his head. “But before that Orochi had me dragged to his demon fortress, Koshi Castle, and I met him there. I don’t know if he’s still there, or if Orochi had him moved also, but that was where we crossed paths.” He looked to his elder son and nodded firmly. “He needs to be rescued every bit as me. If you made a vow to Zhao Yun, then you need to keep it.”

Sakon let out a heavy sigh. “If he’s still in Koshi, that’s an impossible task – at least for just a small rescue party. That’s gonna take all of us.”

“Orochi has a tendency to move prisoners around, once they start talking to each other,” Jian offered. “It’s entirely possible he’s sent Liu Bei somewhere else, merely because he and I met – because now you know what I know, and knowledge, in this world, is more deadly than sword and spear.”

“We’ll touch base with the Shu Resistance,” Lu Meng promised, looking to Ce, “once we get back to Hefei. See where they’re at and if he’s still eager for you to join.” 

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear that his lord is alive.” Ce looked back toward his father. “Was he all right, when you saw him?”

“He wasn’t injured, and he still had his wits about him,” Jian replied. “We talked at length about our families. He’ll make a great son-in-law.”

Across the table from her brothers, Shangxiang nearly choked on her drink. “Father!”

“You love him, don’t you?” Jian leaned toward her; it had been months since they sprang this development on him, way back before Orochi’s army had been seen anywhere near Hefei the first time, and though he hadn’t forgotten, he hadn’t had the chance to really say much about it. “Promises made are promises kept. We’ll get him, even if our whole army has to join up with Shu in order to do it.”

Shangxiang blushed as red as her shirt, but nodded briskly. “I know you will. Thank you, Father.”

“Which reminds me.” Jian shifted to Sakon instead. “Do you happen to know a man from your country named Hojo?”

“I know a lot of Hojos,” Sakon said smartly, “why?”

“The castle I was in, before they moved me to Osaka. They were holding Hojo Ujiyasu there as well.” Some of the smirk still played about his lips, but his eyes were hard and fierce. “I vowed to him I would tell someone, so he could be set free as well. No one remains a prisoner of Orochi as long as I draw breath, especially not someone who was a friend to me in our darkest times.”

Sakon mulled this over and then nodded. “I’ll get in touch with everyone I know, see if anybody knows where his clan is. We’ll get him out one way or another.”

“Good.” Sun Jian relaxed and sat back. “I’d like to see him again. I told him he should come and see the plum blossoms at Xin Di, and we could drink to better times.”

“Orochi had better brace himself,” Quan said suddenly, a fresh note of determination in his voice. “The Wu Resistance is on a roll, we can’t be stopped. If we have to take back everything he’s stolen no matter what kingdom they’re from, we will.”

“Hear, hear!” Shangxiang agreed, and the rest of their officers echoed it, raising their cups. It truly felt like they had come through the darkness into dawn, and were wide awake and ready to fight.

  


Word went out quickly of the liberation of Sun Jian and Sun Quan, so that everyone with a finger on the pulse of the world knew it before the Wu army even reached Hefei. It came as splendid news to all the other Resistance leaders, as each had their own personal interest in seeing Sun Ce succeed at this mission. Oda Nobunaga was particularly pleased, as he had sown the seeds himself and could now sit back and watch as Wu reaped the benefits. He still had much to do, though, and gathered his closest retainers, every strategist in his employ, and a few others to discuss their next move. With Sun Jian free, Cao Pi rising up, and rumors of Orochi’s return, he knew they could sit behind their defenses no longer. He had been waiting for things to settle, but now was the perfect opportunity to step in and follow the momentum of the flood. “Until now,” he said to begin as they all bellied up to the omnipresent map table in the war room, “we have been operating as we best see fit, and even the Orochi army calls us the Oda Resistance. But the heavy traffic of messages coming in and going out is proof that we are no longer the only ones who can claim such prestige. Zhao Yun, Sun Ce, and Cao Pi have been slowly building their strength and doing what they can, in their own way, but now all three of them have emerged as commanders of large and formidable armies, also called Resistance, who have been launching their own assaults on the Orochi army and succeeding. They now stand shoulder to shoulder with us, and I believe that means the time is ripe to unite.”

He had spoken words to that effect around Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi before, idle chit-chat mostly, but this was first they had all heard of him actually planning to move in that direction. “My lord?” Lu Xun queried for them all.

“Whether Orochi comes to us or we go to him,” Oda explained, “the fact of the matter is, any one of these four armies will still be obliterated if they go alone. But all of us, together, have the might needed to finally take him down.”

“The real question is, with the other three be interested in uniting?” Hideyoshi wondered with a sly note. “I’m thinking mainly of our little pal from Wei.”

“Sun Ce already expressed interest,” Nobunaga replied, “and some words to that effect were suggested by Zhao Yun a while ago. As for Cao Pi…” He smirked knowingly to himself. “He’s been ready for it all along.”

Several of the officers gave him a curious look. “How can you say so?” Mitsuhide asked. “You fought him yourself, my lord.”

“Twice, yes,” Oda said airily. “Both times were very illuminating. I had his measure the very first day we crossed swords, the second time was merely confirmation.” He looked to Hideyoshi. “Don’t worry, Monkey, he’ll join us. I’m positive.”

“Why now?” Hanbei asked, mostly just to be an ass – he already had his theories. “Sure, the Sun family is no longer under threat of execution, but there’s still other prisoners of Orochi out there. They still hold plenty of fortresses.”

Nobunaga twitched an eyebrow in his direction to concede his point. “Now, if only because we’ve reached the point where our four armies can no longer operate independently. Given the number of missives that have been sent out lately and jointly copied between all four of us, we know that we cannot simply act however we want and not consider how it affects the others. When something happens, for good or ill, the other three armies are notified. That in itself is the first step toward unity.”

“I understand,” Lu Xun agreed. “When it comes to the point of needing to outright ask for permission or reinforcements from each other, we might as well simply be one army.”

“Given the size of each, however,” Sima Shi put in, “proceeding too fast will cause a logistical nightmare. Not only that, but who among the four has the right to claim lordship over the rest?”

Oda nodded to him. “Quite right. And I’m sure the Orochi army thinks the same of us – which of us will try to bend the others to his will? Or, to put it more plainly, they probably think that Cao Pi and I will come to blows over which one gets to lead. But they’re aiming far wide of the target.” He set his hands, fingers splayed, on the map and leaned over it so he could address the group all at once. “I have not come this far by clinging to old notions and behaving exactly as I would back home. I have never treated this land as if it were Honshu and I needed to unite it under my banner. I have stood face to face with names I’ve known from history, men who can hardly be said to be weak or incapable of the same greatness as Oda Nobunaga. I’ve crossed swords with legends. None of us can even begin to speak of ruling even a corner of this realm for ourselves until we’ve defeated the demon who brought us all here – and if, by some tragedy or miracle, this world does not end when he does, then and only then can we talk about who can claim lordship.” He straightened up now that he had their attention and gauged their expressions. Each one was keenly interested in what he had to say. “On a more practical level, I believe the best way for any of us to achieve success is for the four of us to become allies. Each still leads his own army, but we work together, hand in hand.”

“Then, it’s less one army under one, and more four allies as one,” Ma Chao realized.

“I think that would be palatable to the other three leaders, wouldn’t you say?” Oda smiled coolly at him and then tapped his fingers on the map again. “I have yet to make any kind of proposal to any of them. I’ve met with two, informally, but haven’t yet done more than receive polite letters from Cao Pi. I called you all here today, specifically, to see if you have any thoughts on how best to approach these three warriors from the Han era.”

Mitsuhide looked around with fresh eyes, realizing why he had called these particular men. “Well, you do have men of Shu and Wu, here,” he noticed, “I would expect they would know their lords best.”

“But we have no one from Wei,” Toyotomi pointed out. “As if Cao Pi wasn’t already hard enough to read. Unless the Sima boys count?”

Shi closed his eyes and smiled coldly. “My father is the reason Wei ended.”

“…oh. Never mind then,” Hideyoshi said with an awkward grin.

“I don’t think you need any kind of insider information from us,” Lu Xun reasoned. “You’ve already met with Lord Sun Ce and Lord Zhao Yun. If you approached them again, I’m sure they’d listen to whatever you had to say.”

Ma Chao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Would you gather them here for a conference, like we did with Lords Takeda and Uesugi?”

“That is one option,” Oda agreed.

“But that requires all of them to be available at the same time,” Mitsuhide countered. “If Zhao Yun is still abroad on his search, he might not be. Or, if any of the others are tangling with the Orochi army and thus too occupied to attend a meeting. With Da Ji on the loose again, we don’t know what she’ll do or who she’ll attack next.”

“Also true,” Oda murmured.

“Yet these armies are large enough that the commanders themselves need not see to every battle personally,” Kanbei suggested, “and ought not to, if they are wise.”

“It’s still too uncertain a situation,” Mitsuhide argued.

Hanbei sighed loudly and slumped on the map table, propping his chin on one fist. “It’s really very simple. You would have to send word to propose the idea and then coordinate a time anyway, right? Send each one a delegation, led by someone they know and trust. That way, even if they have to decline a grand convention of warlords thanks to being too busy fighting Orochi or something, at least they’ve heard what you have to say, Lord Nobunaga.”

“Makes perfect sense to me,” Toshiie shrugged from where he stood mostly listening.

Oda fixed the tiny strategist with a keen look. “Yes, I think I like that idea. What do you say?” He turned his gaze first to Ma Chao. “How would you like to visit Chengdu, and speak to your comrade on my behalf?”

Chao gave him a full, stern kowtow with fist over heart. “I would be honored, my lord.”

“Lu Xun.” Oda next smiled coolly at the young man. “I believe the lords of Wu have reached Hefei and would like to hear from you.”

Xun perked up, but then paused with his mouth open to answer as he thought of something. “Actually, Lord Oda,” he said, “I think it would be more fitting to send Sima Zhao.”

Both Oda and Shi looked sharply at him. “Is that so?” the warlord said to prompt him to explain.

Xun looked to Shi instead and nodded. “He would probably enjoy an opportunity to show Lord Sun Ce what his efforts led to. It’s not that I or Ling Tong don’t want to see him again, but we did just get to see him a few weeks ago.”

Sima Shi huffed a sigh. “Master Lu Xun has a valid point. I can see my brother in this role.”

Nobunaga hummed under his breath. “Very well, I will make him the offer, with the understanding that I have men of Wu to fall back on should he decline.”

“What about Wei?” Mitsuhide asked warily.

“Actually, I was thinking of sending you…Monkey,” Nobunaga replied with a dramatic look in Toyotomi’s direction.

Hideyoshi blinked. “Me?”

“Indeed.” Oda was clearly pleased with himself for catching him off guard. “With Cao Pi, I feel like I have no need of someone familiar with him directly. But if I recall correctly, you _are_ familiar with the man serving as his lead strategist.”

Toyotomi caught on immediately, and even Kanbei and Toshiie tipped their heads in knowing gestures. “Oh, I get it now,” he smirked. “You want me to put in a good word with Mitsunari. I see how you are. In that case I guess I should just accept, my lord.”

“Excellent.” Nobunaga stepped back from the map table and clasped his hands behind his back, facing them smugly. “I will have specific letters prepared for each of you, and you may take up to two additional officers with you in the event you need to fight your way through to their strongholds. Despite the dwindling size of the Orochi army, they’re becoming more tenacious and desperate and may attack anything smelling of Resistance on sight, so have an escort that can tackle such situations. I’ll send word to Fan Castle to propose this idea to Sima Zhao, as well. Who knows.” His eyes drifted back towards Lu Xun. “You or Ling Tong may be able to go along, then.”

Xun bowed. “Thank you, my lord.”

With that settled, Oda went over a few more smaller matters of tactics and organization and then dismissed them all, though he still had messages to go through from the scouting reports that had come in overnight. Mitsuhide was the only one who lingered, mainly collecting papers and preparing what his lord would need to write all those letters and summons. Nobunaga relaxed in one of the ornate chairs common to the castle and perused the messages in silence for a while, though he glanced up as Mitsuhide came into his line of sight to shutter the window against a chilly draft. Winter at Guandu was surely not far off, now. “Tell me, Mitsuhide,” he said idly, “what do you think of preparing a large-scale venture against one of Orochi’s remaining castles?”

His retainer glanced back at him curiously. “It has been some time since you rode into battle yourself, Lord Nobunaga,” he noted. “Are you bored, perhaps chafing for some action?”

“Perhaps a little,” Oda conceded. “We’ve grown so large that my officers are out having more fun than I am. But that is hardly my primary concern.” He clucked his tongue as if to scold him. “Really, Mitsuhide.”

Akechi gave him an impish little smile. “It is the truth, either way. But tell me your mind, my lord, if you wish.”

Oda paged absently through the mission reports, though none of them had anything of great urgency for him to care about. “I’ve been biding my time using Hanbei’s strategy, of keeping the Orochi army confined to a known quantity of strongholds and not allowing them to roam around like they still own these territories. Yet, there is one key to it on which we disagree. I’m no longer inclined to allow Orochi to hold _all_ of them, since the ones he still has are highly defensible and rather valuable. If we must push their army into small pockets, I would prefer that they had less of them overall.”

“Ah.” Mitsuhide couldn’t find a flaw in the idea itself, but he knew his lord well enough to debate him anyway. “From the way you speak I’m guessing you’ve already thought long and hard about this, and merely want me to back you up on whatever fool idea you’ve come up with.”

Nobunaga smirked up at him as he stood over him. He and his closest retainer had not traded many sharp words during their time in this world, Mitsuhide had apparently never seen cause to challenge him. There was a shade of concern behind his teasing, now. “How do you know it’s a fool idea if I haven’t said what it is, yet?”

Mitsuhide raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

His lord’s smile grew wider, and a shade darker. “At least I have you to keep me honest, Mitsuhide. And Hideyoshi to keep me entertained. Perhaps it is a bit ambitious, but you know me.”

“All too well. Which castle do you have your eye on?”

“Why, none other than Bai Di itself.”

His retainer’s shoulders sagged in an expression of resignation. He should have expected this. “Why don’t we skip Bai Di and go straight to Koshi Castle, then?”

Oda chuckled quietly. “I’m not going to attack it tomorrow, Mitsuhide. I’m aware that it will take some work, and if I’m sending several of my strongest retainers out visiting, it would have to wait until they return anyway. But I have my reasons.” He held up fingers as he counted them off. “One, it is closest to our current position. Two, it has long been Da Ji’s den of choice, even before we rousted her from here. I would like to throw her into even more chaos by taking something precious to her. Three, it would force the Orochi army into less secure positions. They would have to choose whether to flee eastward to He Fei Castle, or west or north through Resistance-occupied lands to their other holdings.”

Mitsuhide straightened up and moved back toward the map table as if to verify the positions of the named castles. “It certainly sounds worthy on paper. But can we manage it? Even with the entirety of our army, leaving our own strongholds undermanned.”

“I suppose that’s where you and the strategists would come in,” Nobunaga acknowledged. “It has been hard to get close to Bai Di to scout out its defenses, so before I get too ahead of myself and become enamored with the idea, we should start there.”

At that moment, a messenger appeared at the door with yet another report, bowing to them. Mitsuhide moved to take it, but Oda’s sharp eyes spotted it from across the room and he was out of his chair in an instant. “I’ll take that,” he assured his retainer. “Can you do me a favor, and send Sima Shi back to Fan Castle with the summons for his brother? That, at least, should not wait.”

Akechi accepted the order with a bob of his head and swept out, leaving the messenger standing there with his arm out, holding the message scroll for whoever would take it. Oda obliged and then sent him away, retreating back over by the window to read this one for himself in private. He knew it from its blank outside, no seal or other indication where it came from, and knew this was not for anyone’s eyes but his own. As he read it, he couldn’t help but smirk to himself in anticipation. There was every possibility that the idea he had just floated would come in handy, even if his army would not move directly against Bai Di just yet.

To say that things at that very castle were already in a state of chaos would be putting it lightly. Fuuma had ultimately been unable to dissuade Da Ji from moving so quickly to execute her prisoners, and though none of his reconnaissance suggested that Wu was in a position to screw with her plans, he still had a sense of foreboding about it. Thus, when she returned with the straggling remnants of the reinforcements called from Bai Di and Anegawa a few days later, he relished actually saying his “I told you so”s to her face, repeatedly. Date watched from the sidelines with smug glee as he upbraided her in front of the rest of the remaining Orochi retainers. Lu Bu was absent, yet, sent back to He Fei Castle to keep it from falling into Resistance hands, but nearly all the others of great rank and power were there to see it. Dong Zhuo didn’t seem to mind watching her be disciplined instead of him, while Sima Yi twitched from an excess of frustration. He chafed to be allowed to return to Ueda, or at least bring back his loyal retainers and leave it to the snakes if they wished, but he was stuck there for now. When Fuuma finished his diatribe of threats, Keiji moved to his side, finding him a ready ally since both of them felt that they were closer to Orochi than even his demon strategist and knew his mind better than she. “One thing’s for sure,” he said harshly, “we’re not gonna get anything done if battles keep going this way. Lord Orochi wants us to defeat the Resistance, not let ‘em walk all over us.”

Da Ji faced them boldly. “I don’t owe either of you any kind of explanation _or_ loyalty,” she snapped, pointing a sharp nail at them. “Lord Orochi is the only one I belong to, and when he comes, I’ll take his orders directly. Gladly!”

“Until he comes,” Fuuma reminded her, “you answer to me. If you wish to lead a battle, you will do so at my pleasure, or else I will keep you here at Bai Di where you can’t lose any more of them.”

She seethed at him, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. Any attempt at defending herself would just give him the opportunity to berate her _again_ about losing the hostages. “You can’t keep me here,” she countered. “You need a strategist in the field.”

“We’ve got two of ‘em standing right there,” Keiji pointed out, tipping his head toward Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang standing on either side of Masamune, as if using him as a wall between them.

Da Ji looked at them and growled a little. “And when was the last time either of them won a battle? If I were so useless to Lord Orochi, you wouldn’t have sprung me from prison. Face it, you need me.”

“Maybe I should send all three of you out together, then,” Kotaro complained. “Maybe that way at least one of you can manage to pull out a victory.”

Two of them bristled, but Zhuge Liang looked completely unruffled as usual. “If you’re quite finished,” he said placidly, “perhaps we can indeed put our heads together and come up with a suggestion for how to carry out Lord Orochi’s order.”

Fuuma nodded once. “I’ve said all I needed to say, there should be no further confusion or wavering about who’s in charge and what we need to do. By all means, prepare _some_ thing, lest he come down among us to find us sitting on our hands waiting for inspiration.”

Da Ji turned on her heel and stalked out, and the other two followed shortly after, disappearing into an antechamber of the war room to discuss things amongst themselves. It was one of the places in the castle where Da Ji usually hid when she wanted to be away from all the humans, whether for relaxation or simply to lord herself as better than them. It was with great reluctance that she allowed the Han strategists to join her there, but there were few places to go and conference in private where she could have a cushy seat. She flopped down into her nest and curled her legs up before huffing and looking to them. “The nerve of him, giving _me_ orders,” she grumbled. “Goes around all this time doing whatever he wants and _now_ all of a sudden he’s into taking command? Please.”

“My lady,” Zhuge Liang said before she could really get going and drag Sima Yi into it, “we should work on this, so as to have at least something to show for our efforts before sundown.”

Sima Yi eyed him. “Don’t act like you’re so much better than us. I hate that.”

Liang patiently turned his gaze on him instead. “Would you rather have to explain our lack of useful plans to Orochi himself?”

Yi made a small noise under his breath, lips twisted in a scowl. “So, what, then? He wants us to somehow combat the entirety of the Resistance with a dwindling army and fight against the same people who used to be on our side. It’s a rather tall order no matter which way you look at it.”

Da Ji’s irritation began to ease, but slowly, as she thought. “We may not have as many human officers in our command anymore,” she said, “but we still have plenty of Lord Orochi’s own. It’s time we stopped relying on conscripts and such and deployed our demons across this whole land.”

“True,” Liang nodded, “yet they have their own set of problems. For one, they don’t easily take orders from humans, even though Fuuma, Date, and the two of us are still by rights in command. For another, they flee the field as soon as their lives are at stake.”

“Don’t worry,” Da Ji countered. “With Lord Orochi on his way, you’ll see their behavior change. They’ll do anything for him, and if they can get in his good graces ahead of time by winning battles for him, they’ll be there when you need them. We have enough captains to more than make up for every faithless conscript we’ve lost.”

“That remains to be seen,” Yi said doubtfully.

“If nothing else, they’ll listen to me,” she insisted. “I don’t care what Kotaro says, you need me on the battlefield to drive them into action.”

“At least, the remaining officers we have are loyal, and not likely to turn,” Liang mused. “Date Masamune and his entire rifle corps, with the Katakura, can be formidable, and he’s been tested and proven faithful. Keiji and Lu Bu are as strong as any demon and neither of them will leave our lord. We cannot afford to simply leave them guarding castles anymore, they must be turned out as the primary strength in any future assaults.”

“What about your men?” Sima Yi asked suspiciously. “We all know full well that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are only loyal as long as Lord Orochi holds their brother.”

“You must take my word for it,” Liang said, closing his eyes solemnly. “There is no chance that they will turn, for the Resistance will not be able to liberate the prisoner. I can say no more than that.”

“So cold,” Da Ji complimented him. “They’re your own people and you still say that. I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

“I merely speak the truth, from a tactician’s point of view,” he murmured. “It is no boast, nor wishful thinking. They are no closer to reaching their lord than they are to reaching and plucking the moon from the sky.” His eyes flicked briefly to Da Ji. “Though, only one among us knows where the prisoner is being held, and wisely so. There are fewer chances for that information to be compromised, this way.”

Da Ji shrugged and then rested her chin on her knees, circling her arms around them. “Sima Yi is right, though, Lord Orochi asks almost too much of us. Even if he doesn’t expect us to actually succeed, it’s a burden being tested like this. The Resistance have the manpower and the territories, and each is headquartered in a strong city.”

“There’s only one way to go about this,” Sima Yi said sharply, not liking the pessimism around him. “You’re focusing on too large a goal. The Resistance is made up of many small units, and all of them operate separately from one another. As long as we focus on only one of them at a time, we stand a far better chance at victory. Move on them individually and cut them off from one another.”

“And just how do you suggest we do that?” Da Ji sniped at him.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been commanding this army all this time and haven’t even sussed out your enemies’ weaknesses,” Yi shot back. “Do I need to spell it out for you? Wu has only one stronghold, and the Sleeping Dragon here already conquered it once with Maeda’s strength. Shu is hampered by its commander’s desperate need to find his lord. Wei is likely estranged from the others thanks to Cao Pi’s former alliance. As for Oda, his greatest success cost him the lives of two top-level commanders in a ruse designed to divide us. He can’t play that same trick again.”

Zhuge Liang turned toward him with eyebrows raised. “A masterful reasoning of the situation, Lord Sima Yi.”

Yi peered at him. “Even your compliments sound condescending, you know that?”

Da Ji’s lips twisted in doubt. “What you’re talking about sounds almost like divide-and-conquer. But there’s no time to let a long-term strategy play out. Our lord’ll be here before we know it, we can’t afford to chip away at the Resistance one castle at a time like they did to us.”

Liang nodded wisely. “Their victories were months in the planning and execution. We don’t have months.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that at all,” Yi sniffed. “Merely to stop worrying about what all four of them are doing simultaneously and _focus_. Use our advantages as advantages. Start with the weakest among them and work through them one at a time. It sounds like Lord Orochi just wants us to show we aren’t completely incompetent and can actually carry out a victory, I’m sure he’ll be pleased if we can even take just one of them down before he arrives to complete the job.”

“It’s hard to say which of them is the weakest,” Liang said pensively. “We have a psychological weapon to use against Shu, yet, but we no longer have that advantage against any of the others. There is much we don’t know about the actual extent of their forces, as well – it seems from Date’s reports that they may have more reinforcements and allies than our scouts have been able to uncover.”

“Had we not lost Sun Jian, I would have said Wu,” Yi added, “but that’s not so much the case anymore.”

“They’ll be riding on a wave of high morale,” Liang agreed.

Da Ji’s eyes narrowed suddenly with burning anger. “Wei, then. We know more than enough about Cao Pi’s forces and his tactics, thanks to him being our ally for so long. We have more insider secrets on him than any of the others.”

Liang’s gaze eased toward her. “Are you sure that isn’t your personal feelings talking, my lady?”

“So what if it is?” she retorted with a touch of anger. “I have a healthy amount of hatred for all of those bastards right now, so if you want me to pick a resistance cell where I _don’t_ have a personal grudge against the leader, you’re going to come up empty.”

“Fair enough.”

“In my opinion, Oda is by far the strongest of the four,” Yi mentioned, “but if I were you I would not leave him for last. He has an uncanny ability to stir the others into action and then take advantage of it, he shouldn’t be left to wield that kind of power.”

Liang smiled to himself. “Astute observation yet again.”

“Will you stop it with that? You’re just being insulting,” Yi groused at him.

“Zhuge Liang is right. No, not about that,” Da Ji said in exasperation as Sima Yi glared at her. “I mean about our other advantages. We still have something to use against Shu, so they can wait. Oda and Sun Ce, I don’t care, I want them both to die but we’ll get to them in due time. Cao Pi is our best target right now.”

“Xuchang is well-guarded,” Yi warned. “As you no doubt noticed yourself, my lady. No amount of looking at it from the outside showed us a way to assault it directly, and if we’re looking to take down Cao Pi, Fuuma’s ninjas aren’t going to be enough.”

“It would be wiser to draw him out, if we can,” Liang suggested. “It need not be a particularly clever piece of bait, he would see through it anyway.”

“Not that we have any bait palatable to him,” Yi snorted.

Da Ji sat forward on her cushions, fixing him with a cocky sort of look. “You know him fairly well, would you say, Sima Yi? What would get his attention?”

Yi narrowed his eyes in her direction. “You’ve tried pretending to be his dead father, and that didn’t work. You’ve lost the opportunity to use his wife as a hostage. His men would rather die than be taken prisoner.” His face went blank for a moment as he thought, his gaze lowering to the black feathers of his fan. “You must appeal to his plans. He wants to overthrow Orochi? The only thing for which he would march out of Xuchang and leave himself vulnerable is an opportunity to gain another victory toward that goal.” His head came up and he shot Zhuge Liang a quelling look before he could be given another verbal pat on the head.

“Let me guess. I’m to be the bait,” Da Ji smirked.

“It would require you to be on the battlefield where you want to be, rather than holed up here,” Liang reasoned.

“I suppose it could be worse.” She swiftly pointed a finger at them, then. “But if either of you slip up and I get captured again, I’ll see to it that Lord Orochi strings you both up by your own intestines!” Both of them merely raised their eyebrows at the threat. “Fine. This is a good plan. Let’s tell Fuuma and get it going. I don’t want to let that jerk sit around in his fortress any longer, he needs an even bigger shake-up. If I can kill both him and Mitsunari, that would be _my_ goal, but I’ll settle for scattering their army to the four winds and making it so the Wei Resistance has no chance of regrouping in time to face Lord Orochi. This time, he’ll join his father in the afterlife, and good riddance!”

The two strategists bowed their heads briefly to accept the assessment. “I will inform Master Fuuma immediately,” Zhuge Liang decided.

“Good,” Sima Yi huffed. “I need to contact my men at Ueda Castle and prepare them to reinforce us. If I’m not going to be allowed to leave, then I need them with me.”

Both of them swept out of the anteroom on their separate missions, but Sima Yi would not get his chance in the end. It wasn’t his fault, he did send a message to Zhong Hui at his earliest convenience, but it would not reach him in time. At that very moment, the corridors and wards of Ueda Castle were filled with battleclash, and Deng Ai stood alone in the main hall of the castle keep, doing his best to fend off Sanada Nobuyuki, Shimazu Yoshihiro, and Zhurong all at the same time while Zhong Hui raced upstairs to either grab or destroy Sima Yi’s papers before the Resistance could steal them. In desperation he had snatched a burning brand from one of the castle’s hearths and merely pitched it wholesale into the study even as Sanada Yukimura grabbed a handful of his surcoat and dragged him backwards. The flaming brand landed on the desk and instantly ignited the piles of papers, forcing Yukimura to let go of his prey and race in to beat out the flames before they could spread and raze the whole castle. It left Zhong Hui the instant he needed, he scrambled to his feet and ran down the halls to the rear staircase and the side entrance. He had to battle Shimazu Toyohisa at the door, but the whole time he was screaming for their forces to retreat by any means necessary. He gained just enough of a gap past the young man to slip through and escape down the same side road which Kiyomasa had used to save Nene, and didn’t even look back to see if any of their men were following him. Hearing his order echoing through the main level of the keep, Deng Ai grimaced and then forced himself to stop battling these three mighty warriors into submission and simply give back, fleeing through the castle until he could find a different gate down into the canals and using Zhao Yun’s old escape route to get clear. The Shu Resistance army paused for only a moment before Nobuyuki ordered them to split up and search the castle, turn out every last Orochi-loyal soldier they could find and cleanse every room and corridor of the Sima clan. Fortunately, there wasn’t really anyone else left once Zhong Hui and Deng Ai were stealing their own horses out of the stables and riding for the hills, but for a few attendants who didn’t mind surrendering and agreeing to join the Resistance if they were going to control the castle. Thankfully, the battle was short and there were very few casualties, and at last, Nobuyuki and Yukimura stood together in the main entrance, looking down the steps to the quiet wards and the rich countryside beyond. Both clapped hands to each other’s shoulders in triumph. It was the best outcome of a hastily-planned assault, and now the Orochi army had one less place to call home.

Rather than force the entirety of his army to sit around Chengdu and wait for the Saika Renegades to conduct their exploration, Zhao Yun had authorized a force consisting of the Shimazu, Sanada, and Nanman to head to Ueda and test its defenses. Immediately launching an assault hadn’t exactly been in the plans until they reached the territory and realized that Sima Yi was away with at least half of his actual forces; only two officers had been left to hold the castle, leaving it so undermanned that the temptation proved impossible to resist. The peasants farming outside the castle grounds had been rather surprised to see the lords of the Sanada returning to their home, and wisely kept their heads down, giving no warning to those inside Ueda that they were in danger until battle had already been joined. They had no vested interest in protecting the Orochi army, especially now that the generous Sima Zhao was long gone and the only thing Sima Yi wanted from peasants was a tax of goods to feed his army. Things looked like they might be much better under the hands of Ueda’s rightful owners. As the sun set behind the hills, Yukimura brushed soot off his cheeks and grinned widely at his brother. “Well, Lord Sanada. It looks like we’ve found you a nice castle after all.”

Nobyuki smiled coolly back. “And just in time, too. I was beginning to worry that our Sanada forces were going to start crowding Luo.” He brushed trail dust and ashes off Yukimura’s sleeves, making a face at how he came to be such a mess. “Good work, brother. Goodness, where did you pick up all this…?”

Yukimura sighed. “One of them attempted to set fire to the keep before he fled. I put it out but it damaged one of the rooms on the top floor.”

“Ah. Not my bedroom, I hope?”

“No, one of the parlors. It’s fine, no more than one of the desks and maybe the floor, it should be easy to clean up.”

“How about that!” Yoshihiro came up to both of them and gave them hearty pats on the shoulders that nearly drove them through the floor. “Never thought I’d be back here, but the place does look much better without all the snakes.”

“I’m glad you were able to join us,” Nobuyuki said with a pleased smile. “Thank you for your assistance, Lord Shimazu.”

“Anytime. You don’t mind if my boys and I stay here tonight, before we return to Odani?”

“Of course. Everyone should feel free to stay. Even you,” he added for his brother. “I know how eagerly you want to return to Lord Zhao Yun, but you deserve a night’s rest first. He wouldn’t begrudge you the chance to sleep in your own bed.”

“I suppose,” Yukimura laughed. “I’ll go see to it everyone has quarters, then. Good work, everyone!” he called as he moved through the keep. Behind him, Nobuyuki just stood for a moment longer, smiling to himself at their good fortune.

Sunset and the encroaching darkness did not matter to the ones fleeing Ueda. Deng Ai and Zhong Hui had managed to secure horses and round up enough of their fleeing soldiers, but now they had to press on and get away, there was no taking back the castle with that kind of force in control. At least Zhong Hui had the presence of mind to know that they needed to head straight for Bai Di – the last missives from their lord had suggested that if he wasn’t able to return to them in person, he could be found there. They had no choice but to find him on their own, without benefit of guides, scouts, or maps. Starting out with a desperate night ride to get as far away from the enemy as possible didn’t help. As he rode, Zhong Hui silently cursed all of Shu for getting in their way and making all of this far more difficult than it had to be. Surely, they didn’t need the castle when they had all of Chengdu! Blasted Resistance!

They were not the only army moving across the landscape that night. Many long miles behind them to the west, far beyond Chengdu, beyond Edo and Kyuushuu and all the unnamed lands still further yet, where the grasslands, forests, and foothills began to turn into lava fields, a great black mass crawled across the ground, slowly inching its way east to the occupied lands. A bird on the wing could look down and see them stretching from one horizon to the other, a teeming, roiling mass of movement taking advantage of the cool dark of night in which to travel. They spilled between hillocks and oozed along open byways like a plague of locusts, like a creeping fungus, the edges of the pack ragged where stragglers filed along but the bulk of it moving at a steady pace as one great unit. At the head of this horrifying mass rode this dimension’s one true enemy, his face cold and impassive as he led the army at his back on its single-minded journey. His chariot was pulled by his own creatures of darkness, any of the snake demons who failed or displeased him were made to serve him in this manner. Immediately behind him strode all new demonic forces no one had yet seen, towering giants with tusks like boars and spindle-legged creatures with their fearsome faces hidden inside closed helms. Beyond them the unnumbered legions of gray-skinned snake demons from captains down to the lowest rank and file marched tirelessly throughout the night. They had a long way to go, yet, to reach even the westernmost of Resistance-held land, and the size of the army prevented it from moving at anything that could be considered a fast pace, but they were coming. As Fuuma had warned, he was coming, with a nightmare behind him. Soon enough they would all know his presence, and the true test of the Resistance would come.


	58. Chapter 58

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oda's delegations meet with the other factions; Cao Pi and Mitsunari get physical; Ma Chao and Zhao Yun talk about love and stuff. NOTE: actual sex in this chapter! A full scene, too!

The three delegations set out from Guandu on the same day, but between safe routes of travel and sheer distance affecting their time on the road, Hideyoshi was the first to reach his destination and test Nobunaga’s ideas. Security at Xuchang was still on the high side after the ninja invasion, but when he stopped at the gate and gave his credentials and reasons for being there, he was allowed in without question. He had brought his own son as his sole bodyguard so he could see such a monumental occasion in person, and with them a small vanguard for protection on the road, all of whom had to stay out in the main courtyard while their lord went in to meet with the Lord of Wei. The Toyotomis dismounted at the base of the stairs leading up to the palace, where attendants came for their horses and Huang Gai met them to escort them in. Between him and Xu Huang at the doors, Hideyoshi could see that Cao Pi was quite capable of making a show of strength when he wanted to. Word had gone ahead of them so that they could be brought straight to the audience chamber, where Cao Pi sat in his thronelike chair to receive them, Mitsunari standing at his right shoulder as always. They hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting anyone in this fashion for several weeks, it was a special occasion worth special attention. Toyotomi stepped up to the base of the dais and grasped his fist in a valiant effort at making a proper kowtow. “From Lord Oda Nobunaga to Lord Cao Pi of Wei,” he said in a big, bold voice, “greetings!”

Ishida’s face was hard to read, but his eyes were alight with so many emotions that they glittered in the cool light of the throne room. “To what do we owe this unexpected visit, Lord Toyotomi?” he asked, keeping his voice even as if he were reading from a script.

Hideyoshi faced them all – the ranks of Wei officers standing in two lines stretching from where he stood up to Cao Pi’s chair – and smiled easily. “I’ve been sent personally by his lordship to open up the lines of communication,” he said crisply. “Lord Nobunaga is interested in our armies all working together, so consider me the proverbial olive branch to get us talking about that kind of thing.”

Cao Pi’s eyes flashed with interest, he even leaned forward in his seat. “I see. A formal request, is it? I will hear it.”

Hideyoshi pulled the sealed letter from inside his armor and handed it to Zhang Liao, who stood in the first rank of officers. “It’s all contained in here, my lord, but he sent me so we could do more than just read messages from each other. I’ve been at his side since the very beginning, so if there’s anything you want to know about his plans or his intentions, I can answer it all.”

From Zhang Liao the scroll passed its way up the line, to Xiahou Dun who had just arrived from Chencang yesterday. He gave the letter a look as if to make sure it wasn’t going to explode and then handed it to Cao Pi, who broke the seal and gave it a quick skim to verify Toyotomi’s story. While he did, Zhang Liao looked at the young man standing beside his father. “So you are the real one,” he murmured to himself. He recognized Hideyori from the phantom’s visage at Odawara, but this man was undoubtedly as Ishida had said – not nearly as strong, and much fairer in countenance and bearing than the evil thing which had worn his face.

Hideyori looked to him in curiosity. “Beg pardon?”

“Nothing,” Liao demurred. “Welcome to Xuchang, headquarters of the kingdom of Wei.”

“I see,” Cao Pi said, shushing them all from their private mutterings. He rose from his throne and stepped down through the gauntlet of officers to face Hideyoshi himself. “It seems there is much for us to go over. There’s no reason to do it here where my retainers would have to stand all day looking bored. Join me in my war room, we’ll talk.”

As the rest of the officers peeled away and went back to their regular business, Ishida stepped down alongside his lord to make the proper introductions. “My lord,” he said, and it was clearly meant for Cao Pi, “this is Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his son Hideyori. It’s as he said – he’s one of Oda’s closest men, and dare I say it, most honest.”

“Aww, you flatter me, Mitsunari,” Hideyoshi laughed. “Look at you – you look good! None the worse for wear, anyway.”

Cao Pi glanced to see Mitsunari lower his eyes and a rare genuine smile cross his lips. “Same to you, Lord Hideyoshi.”

“Come,” Pi encouraged them all. “You have my attention, Lord Hideyoshi. Let us talk about alliances.”

The war room was the best place for it, perhaps not the most comfortable but the most appropriate, with a map at hand if they needed. It was a true, naked gesture of Oda’s willingness to join rather than rule in that he sent Hideyoshi with no orders to conceal any information Cao Pi might have wanted, and he certainly did not shy away from even the toughest queries. They talked throughout the day and almost into the dinner hour, at which point arrangements were made to house the delegation overnight and let them enjoy a quality dinner with the entirety of Wei as stationed in Xuchang. There was so much to share it spilled over into the next day, by the end of which it was clear that the first step toward alliance had been made. Unlike the accord he signed so many long months ago to be made a vassal of Orochi, Cao Pi knew that this one required more actual work to lay out and prepare, and he was willing to do it. In exchange, he suggested perhaps Toyotomi would like to stop by Odawara on his way back to Oda’s side. Someone there might like to see him as well.

The sentries around Hefei picked up the movement of a small pack of soldiers and two riders long before they came within sight of the fortress and the reawakening village around it. It was clear they were simply visitors of some kind, but from where and for what purpose, none of the scouts could say. Only when they struck the correct road to find the fortress in a direct line did someone realize that there was at least one in their midst bearing the colors of Wu, and by the time they reached the gate, a sizable welcome party had tumbled out to see who it was. No sooner had the horses at the lead come to a stop and Ling Tong sprang from the saddle to run and tackle as many of his comrades as he could in a single embrace. Since he’d already seen Lu Meng recently, he went for Zhu Ran, Taishi Ci, Cheng Pu, and several of the others, culminating in a pause and then a deep kowtow for Sun Quan. To his astonishment, Quan bowed back. Apologies and air-clearing could wait, though, he had a purpose, and turned to it as his comrade likewise dismounted and strode up, thumbs hooked in his belt. “So, uh, this is Sima Zhao,” Ling Tong introduced. “He’s been sent by Lord Oda to talk to Lord Sun Ce about alliances and stuff.”

“Please, you’re both welcome here,” Zhou Yu said warmly as he pushed his way through the crowd to greet them. “Lord Sun Ce and Lord Sun Jian are inside, they’d be glad to see you.” He had a special lingering smile for Sima Zhao, who likewise bowed properly and let himself be led in.

The lords of Wu were seldom as formal as some others, as befitting their rough and rugged demeanor, which meant that Sun Ce was already halfway across the courtyard to see what everybody was fussing about rather than sitting in some throne somewhere. Sima Zhao and Ling Tong emerged from the crowd at Zhou Yu’s direction, and the former again palmed his fist in a cool, friendly kowtow. “Lord Sun Ce,” he said brightly, “I come with a greeting from Lord Oda Nobunaga, and a letter. He wants to know if you’d like to make an alliance, for real, and he sent me to talk it over with you.”

Ce tipped back his head in a brash laugh. “Did he? Well, all right, then! I’ll hear what he sent you with, but first – look at you!” He reached to clasp Zhao’s arm at the wrist in friendly welcome. “He said you were in his army but I’m glad I get to see it for myself. You really did it, huh?”

“That’s right,” Zhao affirmed. “All thanks to you, my lord. We couldn’t quite get my father out of there, but I got my brother and my wife, that’s something.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” Ce gushed. “C’mon, let’s go inside where it’s not so bright out. My father is with us, and even though I’m commanding the army he’s still kinda technically Lord of Wu, so he should probably hear everything, too.”

“Wow! I look forward to meeting Lord Sun Jian, sure,” Zhao acknowledged. “This is so cool…”

Ling Tong grinned at his awe. “I told you.”

They went inside the fortress to hold an official audience with the Sun family, and Tokugawa since he was there anyway as part of the army. Zhao presented the letter from Oda and then sat with them, Ling Tong at his side as an observer, to chat about what it would take for all four armies to unite. Sun Jian was extremely intrigued by this man who had apparently been pulling a lot of strings to help the Resistance succeed, and queried both young men about their impressions of the deal and the reasons and Nobunaga himself, and by the end of the day was thoroughly satisfied. It was almost a foregone conclusion that Wu would join, but the more they talked about the battles and the obstacles which lay ahead, it became obvious that this one meeting wouldn’t be enough to get all the minutiae worked out. Ce agreed that if Oda called a conference, he would be there.

Within a few days of the other meetings, at long last Ma Chao and Guan Ping rode up the familiar roadways of Chengdu, emerging from the cool of the bamboo forests onto the open plain leading up to the main gates of the city. Sentries had spotted them, but no one raised a ruckus until they rode into full view of the guards on the walls, at which point a call went running all the way up to Luo Castle: Shu’s own had returned! Zhao Yun came down immediately, Yukimura at his side since he had already returned from Ueda, and as soon as the name “Guan” had been spoken, Xing and Bao went running past them in excitement. The delegation rode right up to the castle’s gate, and there both men dismounted to bow properly before being tackled and dragged into long-overdue embraces. At least Zilong and Mengqi had seen each other once before, so their meeting was more restrained, grasping one another’s forearms in relief and welcome. Guan Ping, on the other hand, put his brother in a headlock and roughhoused with him until Jiang Wei came out to scold them for their rambunctiousness. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon,” Zhao Yun said to Ma Chao when everyone had settled down. “Has something happened?”

“No, this is a friendly visit. Diplomatic, even,” Chao replied. “I’ve been sent by Lord Oda as his representative, to ask you formally for an alliance. His intention is to bring all of our Resistance armies together to work as one.” He brought the letter out from a safe place inside his armor to show as proof.

“…alliance?” Yun’s eyes went to the letter, and he nodded. “By all means. Come into the castle, let’s sit and talk. Jiang Wei,” he added to his strategist, “will you call Lord Liu Shan to join us? I know he doesn’t enjoy official audiences, but I think he can make an exception this time.”

Ma Chao’s eyes went wide. “Liu Shan…?”

“I can’t wait to see him,” Guan Ping laughed. “What an incredible chance!”

The two wayward officers were treated to a gauntlet of familiar faces as they passed through the castle on their way to the great throne room, clasping hands and smacking shoulders as they went, until they reached the door to the chamber and Ma Chao needed a moment to stop and bow properly to Pang De – and receive one in return. Pang De leaned close to him and whispered the news about the status of Ma Chao’s father, which left him hastily trying to dash tears of joy out of his eyes as he entered the throne room. Liu Shan was just coming in from another door, and Yueying met them all in the center at the base of the dais. The young lord bowed graciously to welcome everyone in and bade them all sit down in the collection of chairs waiting for them. “As long as my father remains Orochi’s prisoner, we are all equals here,” he assured. “Let’s talk like old friends, and not diplomatic envoys.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Guan Ping agreed as he flopped into a chair.

“Give me a moment,” Ma Chao implored, handing Zhao Yun to the letter to read. “I just learned that my father is alive, I must…”

“Say no more,” Yun agreed with a squeeze to his arm before he, too, sat down. “I was about to tell you myself, apparently Master Pang De couldn’t help himself.” He shot the dour warrior a smile to assure him that there were no hard feelings, and settled in to read what Oda had to say.

It helped that he had Ma Chao there to explain what was in Nobunaga’s heart, at least as far as he understood it, because it was a lot to digest. He and Mengqi put their heads together and hashed out all the good reasons for an alliance, and clarified that it was indeed an alliance and not a request for any of the other commanders to become subservient to one. To that end, Zilong was immediately in agreement, and the rest of their talk mostly had to do with what they needed to accomplish, yet, and how great it was that Oda trusted his retainers with a duty like this. Dinner that night in the castle was a jovial affair where everyone who hadn’t yet gotten to trade stories did so, and Ma Chao relished the chance to sit with Zhao Yun and Yukimura and drink and talk – talk well into the night, no less; the plates and everything but a cask of wine had been cleared away and they were _still_ talking, sharing advice and observations and making sure that this alliance would be able to do what they all needed. Yun told him of the plans to assault Edo, and perhaps soon, now that additional information had trickled in from Cao Pi suggesting at least one prisoner, maybe more, could be housed there. He confirmed that he had already sent word far across the land to Sun Ce at Hefei to let him know, so that their promises to one another could be fulfilled. When they finally stumbled away to their quarters to get some sleep, Ma Chao found that his friend had done as promised – they had prepared his quarters to wait for him, even if he might not have been able to see them until after Orochi was defeated. Everything was as he remembered, and he knelt to silently give thanks before tumbling into bed.

Whether they could all meet together or not, the outcome of the delegations went exactly as Oda had hoped. Each of the other armies had their reasons not to immediately move to make it formal, but there was a loose coalition forming between them, coalescing into something a little more definite now that Nobunaga had extended his hand to each. Shu and Wu were already connected, so the only real agreement that still needed to be made was for each of them in turn to genuinely accept friendly relations with Wei. At least Oda’s move forced all the commanders to consider certain important points: if one of the others was in trouble, would they send reinforcements? Would they consent to sharing information without being asked? Did they need to sign agreements before they would learn to trust one another? Could they humble themselves and not let past bad blood get in the way of the only means of toppling Orochi? For now, the coalition was at an informal stage, an agreement in word and deep in the hearts of the leaders but not in deed yet. And, none of them could forget that Orochi’s elite were still out there, preparing to rise up and strike back from their remaining strongholds. The Orochi army still had a few routes not entirely cut off from their use, though they had now lost Ueda and were being driven further into smaller pockets of control. They weren’t completely finished, yet, they still had more than enough strength to rise up and fight back, even turn the tide of the war against the Resistance if allowed to proceed. And, if it was true that Orochi was coming, the separate members of the coalition could not continue thinking of themselves as separate. They no longer had the luxury of time to work on whittling away those last castles from Orochi control, they had to get moving on their plans.

Cao Pi was rather content with the offer made by Oda, and though meeting the warlord was on his list of things to do, he was aware of the time constraint as well as the difficulty of bringing all four commanders together in a convenient fashion. Someday, perhaps, they would need to, but he played it casual, leaving himself open for the opportunity without insisting that it take place on his schedule. He was waiting on some reconnaissance to help him prepare his next move, which could not be a small one. All of his retainers and countrymen were accounted for, he knew of no one else claiming independent resistance who could be brought in to serve one army or another, and as far as he knew there was no way to break anyone else away from Orochi’s control. That is, except for a few remaining notables from Shu, but in comparing notes with his strategists, Pi gathered that no one could figure out what Zhuge Liang was doing as an Orochi loyalist, nor what had become of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Until they were located, nothing could be planned for their sake. Xiahou Dun had more than a few choice words for Guan Yu’s inability to throw off the yoke of his oppressor, at which point Guo Jia helpfully reminded him about Yiling to shut him up.

There was a certain tension around Xuchang after Toyotomi’s departure, as of building energy rather than an undercurrent of fear or grief or worry. The five strategists at Cao Pi’s service went from consulting one another to doing most of their thinking separately, and only bringing concerns to him at daily briefings. It meant that if he wanted to talk about such matters outside of their meetings, he had to seek them out wherever they liked to hole up. Jia Xu liked to prowl around the courtyard watching the soldiers drill, Guo Jia was usually sitting somewhere like a windowsill or a balcony enjoying the fair weather, and Pang Tong, well, it didn’t matter where he disappeared to nap because nobody needed him that urgently anyway. At least Pi always knew exactly where to find his lead strategist, since he was the one he tended to want first and foremost, and not always because of strategy. The war room was still a good enough place to find privacy, since outside of briefing meetings, no one else had need to be in or around it. It sat just off the throne room so that one would have to have deliberate reason to pass through the door and down the corridor to reach it, perhaps all the more reason Mitsunari liked to retire there to think or just to write. It was surprisingly quiet when there wasn’t a meeting going on, and he could expect not to be bothered for hours on end. It might not have been as secure as his quarters, but people expected him to be in his quarters; better to go somewhere unexpected when you just didn’t want to see people. That day, Cao Pi did not even need to question attendants or other retainers to see if they’d seen Ishida, he knew he’d gone to the war room to get some peace and quiet. Good, because that was what Pi wanted, too.

He opened the door just enough to let himself in and then closed it behind him, not even checking to see whether the man was already in there. And he was – at the very far end of the room under the light filtering in from the windows at his back, facing the door. Mitsunari stood at the map table with his hands perched at the edge, propping him up while he leaned over to inspect the current state of their collected information. Without the gauntlets covering them, his fingers were pale and slender, graceful even, tapping gently to indicate the subtle sense of irritation he might have been feeling as he looked over the map and silently judged it. Cao Pi noticed that he had changed his outfit into something different, a little more elegant even. The long coat he wore today was touched with blue, soft azure sleeves fading to white at the breast that almost looked as though he were proclaiming his affiliation to Wei through the color of his garb. He didn't glance up when he heard someone come in, for he more or less knew who it would be – only one man dared interrupt him when he was sequestered away, and he was fine with it. Cao Pi paced up along the length of the map table, and then around it, his gaze shifting from the map to the strategist as he walked slowly. “Whatever could that map have done to vex you so?” he purred slyly.

“What says it's the map I'm frustrated with?” Mitsunari countered, finally raising his gaze in order to shoot the young lord an unimpressed frown. They studied one another for a moment and then both looked back down at the map at the same time. “It's nothing, really,” he added, less snappishly. “I was just noticing where we still have gaps in our information.”

“I suppose that will change once we compare notes with Wu and Shu,” Pi noted, finally coming to a stop just behind and beside his strategist. “I suppose we have no choice, then. We’ll have to reach out to our allies after all.”

“It's not so bad,” Mitsunari said flippantly with a glance over his shoulder. “You'll just have to suck up your pride for once. I know how hard it must be.”

“You have no idea.” Cao Pi smirked at him, and took a step back as if to let him get back to work. He didn’t want to think about the coalition right this moment, he was completely distracted by the sight of Mitsunari under the sunlight. It drew out all the copper highlights in his auburn hair and shimmered on the fine embroidery threads on the back of his coat, though the way he stood put his entire face in shadow. He seemed to be aware of the eyes on him, for he gave Pi a shifty glance that morphed briefly into a knowing smile. They had had very few moments to themselves since that night in the tent in Liang Province, and naturally so, for a lot had happened and they both had too much work to do. Mitsunari still found himself treated to an occasional surreptitious brush of a hand as meetings broke up and everyone was too focused on getting out the door to notice, or the attention of icy eyes and cool smiles across the table at dinner while other conversations went on around them. Even if there was neither time nor opportunity to indulge one another, he was at least confident now that he didn’t have to compete for a shred of Pi’s attention. He had it in spades. Even now, he suspected that his lord had absolutely no logistical reason to be stopping in to check on the map or his tactics, the eyes roaming over him were that obvious. He tried to play it coy, pretending like he was really that busy and needed to concentrate on work. But no sooner had he turned his focus back on the map table and he felt the other man's looming presence immediately behind him. If Cao Pi was trying to intimidate him, it wasn't working. But then, there was a hand on his hip, and Mitsunari straightened up. “Relax,” Pi implored, barely above a whisper.

“You really think I can?” Mitsunari retorted. He turned his head to glance over his shoulder, realizing that Pi was easing closer, melding himself against his back and lowering his eyes to gaze at the way the sun shone in his hair. It was almost uncomfortably intimate, Mitsunari had to look away quickly. “Is this really the time?” he teased with a small laugh.

“If not now, when?” Pi reasoned. “I mean, I suppose I could sneak out of my quarters in the middle of the night,” he added wryly, “but then you’d be angry at me for waking you up.”

Ishida snorted, but the exact nature of that suggestion hit him a moment later, derailing his intended taunt. “Hang on,” he said warily, “you don’t mean…”

Pi huffed, and he could feel the warm puff of breath against his cheek. “Come now, this is not the time to play innocent. I never would have taken you for the shy type, Mitsunari.”

“I’m not,” Mitsunari insisted, “but…the risk of someone…”

“The risk is what makes it worth it.” There was a moment’s pause, and then Cao Pi pressed against him, pushing him against the table. “I will not waste time with silly seductions and whispered nothings,” he murmured darkly in the strategist's ear. “I want something of you, and I am accustomed to getting exactly what I want.”

Mitsunari breathed a long sigh, but his body was already reacting to the aggressive proposition. In fact, he hadn’t felt the true flush of desire until just now, until the gentle gaze and quiet tone turned to something far more possessive and demanding. Without turning to look, he remarked, “So you really _are_ nothing but a spoiled brat, like everybody says.”

“You say spoiled, I say well-heeded.” Pi knew he had the advantage, he was slightly taller and had the benefit of authority. Yet, he wasn't like other warlords. He might have been extremely talented in coercion and other tactics, but he was not in the habit of simply taking what was refused. That was for heavy-handed conquerors. His hand on Mitsunari’s hip caressed gently, pulling folds of the coat out of the way. “Your answer?”

“I have a choice?” Mitsunari wondered, genuinely surprised.

“What do I look like, Dong Zhuo?” Cao Pi snapped. “Of course you have a choice.”

Mitsunari didn't give an answer just yet. He stood thinking about it, all while the groping touch found a path and slid into the side-slit of his black hakama – an extremely rude gesture, made all the more worse as that hand crossed his thigh and bumped against the bulge in his fundoshi. At that, he finally shot a glare over his shoulder at the warlord's cool smirk. “How _dare_ you...”

“Then push me away.” Pi continued to smile at him through narrowed eyes, daring him with his very presence. His touch was intrusive but not overpowering, he merely caressed his fingers along Mitsunari's thigh beneath his hakama. “Tell me you don't want it, and you're free to go.”

Ishida took a breath as if to say exactly that, but it came out as a shuddering gasp at the soft, erotic touch inside his clothing. He felt himself pressing back against his lord without thinking. Pi let out a quiet chuckle at that, which only roused Mitsunari's ire. “Damn you,” he breathed, turning his face away to hide the burning flush that crept into his cheeks.

“Come, now...” Pi extracted his hand and pressed it against Mitsunari's chest instead, pulling him back against his own body. “This is between us alone. I have sent everyone else out.”

It was exactly as he wanted, but Mitsunari felt the urge to resist. It didn’t make any sense, but he still did it. “I won't be one of your concubines.”

“I never asked you to be.” Pi leaned over his shoulder and spoke in a low murmur directly into his ear, letting his breath caress across the lobe. “If I wanted to humiliate you, I can think of a thousand more entertaining ways. I would not bother to go to this extreme for such a lousy purpose. This is something completely different – and as such, it remains here. Between you and myself, alone, nothing more.” He turned his head so that his lips barely touched Mitsunari's cheek. “If you still do not trust me, then leave. Surely you can manage to walk to the door. I am unarmed and not interested in fighting you.”

Mitsunari gave it a moment longer, as if still considering it, and then placed a hand over the one on his chest. “You really do have concubines, hm?”

“Back home, yes. They didn't seem to make it here to Orochi's realm with us.” Pi laughed dryly in his ear. “No one could rival my father's harem, though. Compared to him I am a prude.” The hand trapping his was the signal he had been waiting for. Yet, he wasn't interested in romancing the strategist just now. Once he had his agreement, he moved swiftly. He reached down around Ishida to find the ties of his hakama and yanked the knot open, causing the back half of them to fall open and flop into a pile on the floor at their feet. He now had unfettered access, while Mitsunari still had a shred of his modesty. Cao Pi pressed against his back and slid both hands down under the front half of the hakama still tied around Mitsunari's waist, groping to locate his fundoshi and pull the twisted fabric aside to free him. He fondled and teased a bit, giving Mitsunari plenty of opportunities to shove him off, and then bent his head to trace his lips along the strategist's neck.

Mitsunari groaned under his breath and pushed back against him, not to escape but to encourage. He tipped his head to the side to allow the kiss, and the instant he felt Pi’s warm breath and lips on his skin, a fresh flush of heat surged through his whole body. He couldn’t believe how much he wanted this, it was embarrassing. But the Wei lord’s power and control had gone from attractive to irresistible the longer Ishida had been in his service. The oblique flirting, the stolen kisses, the heated glances, they were all nice but deep down, _this_ was what he’d been craving. He curled one arm up and back to capture Pi’s neck and demand more, and his fingers idly found the young lord’s long ponytail where it hung over his shoulder. It was every bit as silky as it looked, Mitsunari curled his fingers into it and dragged them down the length, indulging in the feel. Cao Pi growled contentedly against his neck, permitting the familiar touch, and then drew back just enough to start working at his own belt. Mitsunari glanced to the side but didn’t turn around. “What are you going to do?”

“Take you. If you permit me.”

“Just like that?!” This time, Mitsunari did turn, only as far as he could with his hakama pooled around his feet. His arm came around the front of his kimono to keep it closed over his arousal, though it was tied shut still and his modesty was intact for now. “What, I don’t even get a drink, first?”

“Do you want it, or not?” Pi persisted, unclasping the large, ornate buckle at his waist and allowing the drape and girdle beneath his belt to slide back behind him onto the floor.

Mitsunari’s eyes followed the disappearing accessories and then forcefully darted upward to his face. “I. Well…fine, it’s just. A little sudden.”

Pi smirked at his stammering and swept aside folds of silk to find the cord that kept his trousers tied. In doing so, he briefly exposed the evidence that he was already ready. “I said I wasn’t interested in wasting time.”

“Or silly seductions, yeah, I heard…” Mitsunari almost made a crack about foreplay but figured bringing up the man’s wife at this particular moment would only lead to a disappointing and sudden end to this opportunity, so he wisely closed his mouth. His eyes dropped again, and he dared to stretch out his hand to rest the back of it against Pi’s soft silken pants and feel for himself. It probably startled him more that he was permitted to do so. He eased back and nodded, giving his own permission to proceed.

Cao Pi pressed back up against him, curling an arm around his waist, and took a moment just to let their bodies rest together even with layers of clothing between. His murmur still had all of the weight of his power and status, but tinged now with a hint of sincerity. “I may feel more like taking my time, later. Right now, I simply need you. I must know how it feels to have you.”

Mitsunari’s breath left him in a rush. “Then stop talking and do it,” he begged, clenching his hands on the arm around him.

Chuckling in his ear, Pi withdrew enough to finish his own preparations, and then pushed him against the map table, his hand intruding beneath his kimono to push it up his back to expose him completely. Mitsunari did his part, resting on his forearm and sliding his feet as far apart as he could, stifling a gasp at the warm touch circling around his ass, over his hip, and down his thigh. There was a brush of silk and linen against his skin, and then the warm bulk of Cao Pi’s hips pressed against him, making him moan eagerly in spite of himself. Then, the exploring hand raked up his back and tangled in his hair; he glanced to the side to see what it was doing, only to have the backs of Pi’s fingers brushing his cheek and neck, applying just a bit of pressure as if to guide him to follow Pi’s every whim. And like any good retainer he obeyed, tipping his head to follow the caress, trying to steal a glance and meet his lord’s eye. The instant he did, those long, thin fingers splayed across his lips and then curled to force their way inside his open mouth. It startled him, but almost immediately Mitsunari closed his eyes and began rolling his tongue around those fingers, tasting them and sliding between them. It was Pi’s turn to breathe a soft moan, as he found his choice of method so quickly being used against him. It was enticing to watch, Mitsunari’s lips closing around his fingers, his long eyelashes fluttering against his cheek as he indulged, sucking and licking and worshiping them. Pi withdrew them almost reluctantly, but the necessary work had been completed. He hastily moved his hand down and pressed those fingers against Ishida’s opening instead, easing past the resistance and then pushing further in, faster. Mitsunari bit back a grunt at the abruptness of it, telling himself to relax and go with it since he wanted it just as badly. Cao Pi wasn’t kidding about wanting it here and now with no waiting, he used his wet fingers to test things out and then withdrew, yanking on the cord and wrestling his trousers out of the way. He rested himself against the cleft of Mitsunari’s ass for a moment, basking in the feel and the heat, and then figured maybe that wasn’t enough preparation after all. It wasn’t at all elegant and graceful for a lord of his stature to spit into his palm and work himself over, but it was all he had. Taking his time later would mean taking his time for _everything_ , but right now, he was past the point of no return and had to go for it.

Mitsunari’s hand on the map table clenched into a fist as he felt himself entered, his head dropping nearly onto his forearm at the forcefulness of it, the burn taking his breath away for a moment. And then his mind helpfully pointed out to him that his lord was inside him, _Cao Pi had taken him_ , and the tension melted right out of his hips and back. He went almost limp with relief, but then reminded himself to brace for it, shifting his arms around on the map table, trying to scoop up folds of kimono with one to keep it out of the way. Pi took a couple of long, slow pushes to situate himself, rearrange himself, and then grasped at Mitsunari’s hips as he began in earnest. Just a few thrusts had Mitsunari already gasping out loud, unable to control himself. It wasn’t as though he’d never done this before, but it had been quite some time and from the way his body responded, he needed it – and Zihuan provided, setting a fast pace and pushing deeper bit by bit. He couldn’t hold himself back, he’d been looking for this chance for ages and the sight of Mitsunari bent beneath him like this was every bit as good as he’d dreamed. In time the energetic motion of their hips together loosened the remaining ties of the hakama and they naturally unwound from Ishida’s waist, dropping the front half to the floor and completely exposing him. At the same time, he couldn’t stand the heat any longer and twisted to try to wrestle his coat off, slipping it off one arm and letting it drag off his other side before he had to brace his hand back on the table. Pi was getting even more aggressive, nearly slamming him against the table, his fingertips digging into soft skin and hard muscle. They were really in for it now, if anyone walked in to find them there would be no mistaking exactly what they were doing. Mitsunari’s eyes shot toward the door was if concerned about this very possibility, but it remained closed, and the mere thought of someone catching them only drove his need and desire higher until he groaned from the intensity of the ache in his groin. At that, Pi finally broke the long silence between them with a soft, sly chuckle. “No complaints?”

“No…” Mitsunari tipped his head up to take deeper breaths, and then arched his back, pushing himself back against Zihuan. “Just don’t stop. Whatever you do, don’t stop.”

Pi breathed a gasp of his own at the plea and redoubled his efforts, escalating the pace and plunging as deep as he could with every thrust. It was much easier now, Mitsunari’s body swallowed him eagerly and it was truly a sight to behold. His hand snaked down around his retainer’s thigh and held him even more firmly in place, feeling that he wouldn’t need much longer and pulling him into an angle that would benefit both of them. Mitsunari caught a cry behind his teeth at the jolts of pleasure searing through him, splaying his hands on the table and pushing back to meet Pi’s every thrust. It wasn’t long at all before the building pressure burst, and Cao Pi drove in deep, hips jerking and then holding still while his body emptied itself. At the same time, his hand slid to the side and grasped Mitsunari’s erection, stroking him in time with the twitches of his own hips until he likewise finished a few moments afterward. Mitsunari allowed himself one loud, gasping cry at the climax and that was it, but it was all he needed. He slumped forward and laid on the table, and then felt the press of Pi’s forehead against the middle of his back. They couldn’t remain coupled like that for long, though, and as soon as he was let up, Mitsunari yanked off his half-unwrapped fundoshi and tried to use the cloth to clean up; the mess would surely be noticed, at least it wasn’t inside his clothing. The black hakama and kimono would hide absolutely nothing if he wasn’t careful. When he went to pull up his hakama and retie them, his knees went a bit weak, and he found himself braced against the table once more. Pi swept in to help him rather suddenly, raising the pleated linen to cover him at least until he could properly wrap the ties and secure them. At that point, before he could move to do anything else, arms came around him and caught him up, pulling him against the firm, heated body of his lord. It was a good thing he wasn’t wearing armor, he belatedly thought. The silk shirt and indigo surcoat were clearly damp with sweat, and Pi still panted for breath a bit, though he was closer to calming than Mitsunari at that point. He nuzzled his strategist’s ear and murmured, “Now that…was worth it.”

Mitsunari made a soft noise of agreement and let himself be held, resting his head back against Zihuan’s shoulder. “What took you so long?”

“Really…I don’t know.” Pi tilted his head and lazily pressed his lips against Mitsunari’s jaw, and then teased him further by flicking out his tongue and tasting the sweat off his skin. “I meant what I said, though,” he added after a moment. “This is between you and I alone.”

“I think some of the others already suspect,” Ishida muttered.

“Let them. As long as no words are spoken, we can both keep our privacy intact.” That was the way of it, for warlords of his stature. People could make assumptions all they wanted, even his own wife could wonder to herself, but no one was allowed to ask him or accuse him. His affairs were his own and he would conduct them at his leisure, so long as it didn’t put the kingdom or their security at risk, doubly so if he wanted to be with a retainer rather than a consort. Cao Pi let his intentions be known with gentle hands and lips, keeping Mitsunari close to him until they both had had enough. He stepped away first, allowing his strategist to fish his azure coat up off the floor and finish dressing. He still had to put his belt and girdle back on anyway, too many layers for such a tryst.

They still fumbled fingers along each other’s clothed arms and shoulders and flanks as they moved around one another, making sure no evidence had been left and then pretending like they still had work to do. It was too late, though, attentions had been diverted and there was no point in looking at the map, talking about strategy, or anything else. Mitsunari finally shrugged and gave it up. “Maybe I should just. I don’t know. Teach Fengxiao to play shogi?”

Pi was definitely in agreement that the war could wait until tomorrow, safely locked outside their gates. “You did promise that when my lady returned to this castle, you would show us the tea ceremony again,” he remembered.

“Oh yeah, I did…” Mitsunari slowly turned to regard him, as a hand brushed errant strands of auburn hair away from his collar. “Sure that won’t be awkward, all things considered?”

“Not for me.” Pi’s sly smile tempered, though, as he met Ishida’s gaze. “Would it bother you?”

Mitsunari thought about it, and then shrugged it off. “Not really. As long as you don’t keep making eyes at me.” He poked his lord in the chest and then soothed it with the flat of his hand. “That’s the only thing that makes it hard to keep myself in check.”

Pi chuckled and conceded with a nod. Both of them were highly adept in most situations at keeping their true emotions hidden, they would simply have to rely on that training and not get carried away. It sounded like a good plan to while away the rest of the afternoon, so they left work behind and moved to do that, Mitsunari to collect what he needed and Cao Pi to cajole his wife into enjoying a little culture. Yet, as they reached the door of the war room, he stopped his strategist with a quick touch to his arm and leaned in to murmur one more thing. “Would you be annoyed with me if I came to your room tonight, after dark?”

Mitsunari slowly turned to appraise him over his shoulder, his eyes dark with desire and a sly smirk of his own playing on his still-wet lips. “You can’t wake me up if I don’t fall asleep before you get there,” he teased, and then let himself out the door alone.

  


Ma Chao and Guan Ping lingered a few extra days in Chengdu, which they had been permitted to do as long as they sent messages ahead of them apprising Lord Oda of the results of their meeting. With the Sanada and their stragglers moved to Ueda, and the Nanman more interested in patrolling the roads connecting Shu’s holdings than sitting around, Luo Castle felt far less crowded these days. Zhao Yun was content to bide his time until Magoichi could return with the crucial intelligence on Edo Castle, since he had the opportunity to spend it with the people he most cared about. A day of gentle rains had them all holed up indoors with one another, as the delegation from Oda decided to wait until the weather cleared before they would depart. Yun walked with Ma Chao along a quiet corridor in the wing of the castle where everyone was quartered, which was mostly quiet at this time of day since many were down in the main halls entertaining themselves in some fashion or another. They seemed to have exhausted every topic of conversation in the last few days, so most of the way they simply walked in silence, shoulder to shoulder, two of Shu’s mightiest Tiger Generals together, finally out of armor for a length of time. Chao did have one thing on his mind, something he had noticed by finally spending more than half a day around his friend, and brought it up with a gentle elbow against his side. “Tell me, Zilong…what exactly is going on between you and Yukimura?”

“Ah…what?” The question caught him by surprise, leaving Yun blinking and trying hastily to come up with a more coherent response.

“Oh…maybe that was a bit rude of me,” Chao quickly continued, mistaking his stammering for offense. “I didn’t mean to ask so boldly. But I noticed…how close he remains to you, even here in a secure castle.”

“He does…” Zhao Yun felt his face burning and looked up toward the ceiling, as if searching for inspiration. “I did say that we had become close friends…”

“It’s more than that.” Mengqi’s eyes were shrewd, but not unfriendly. There was a smile in them. “I know I’m not the most romantic man in the world but I can recognize it in others when I see it. Or, have you sworn a bond of brotherhood, like our lord and his brothers?”

Yun found himself unable to fall back on that second excuse, he wasn’t in the habit of lying openly – particularly not to his friends. “You are closer to the mark than you think,” he said with a modest chuckle. “He and I have…become involved, I suppose.”

“You suppose?” Ma Chao retorted. “Zilong, I should hope you know the difference between involved and not involved. One of them usually involves a tryst.”

His blunt humor had Yun laughing in spite of himself. “Of course I do! What do you mean to ask me, Mengqi?”

Chao drew them both to a stop near a window, where the rainy gloom outside made the lamps positioned inside the castle shine that much brighter. “Perhaps I’m just curious,” he answered, leaning on the sill. “You haven’t yet married, so you’re free to do as you please. But if I’ve noticed, it’s possible others have as well.”

“No one’s said anything,” Yun reported with a small shake of his head. “But then, few know me as well as you do, Mengqi.”

Chao gestured for him to join him sitting on the windowsill, it was wide and the eaves of the castle roof kept the rain from leaking in. They could talk as if in secret, here. “In the last couple of days, I have heard others remark on how important your friendship has been, how you support one another. Yukimura has joined himself to you rather than remain with his own brother and his clan. I know full well that that doesn’t usually mean anything other than a deep loyalty,” he noted, “but then I see the way your eyes find each other, and I had to wonder.” He set his hand on Yun’s arm as they settled in beside one another. “It does my heart good to see you so content, my friend.”

As much as he had been fine with keeping his relationship private, Yun suddenly felt the urge to finally confide in someone, to share his happiness with at least _one_ person. Ma Chao seemed the perfect candidate. His hand came to rest over the one on his arm as he leaned in, a light blush playing around his cheekbones and a smile on his lips. “I am so very happy, Mengqi,” he whispered. “He fills me with such joy that I almost feel ashamed at being so happy in a world where so many are downtrodden and fearful and hurt. I have never been in love before,” he hastily explained, “until now. I know it to be true.”

Mengqi smiled and reached to ruffle his friend’s hair, as much of it that wasn’t tied back at least. “Good, good. I want only the best for you, my friend, and I can see that this young samurai just might be it.” He sat back and let his other hand move to brush along Zhao Yun’s knee nearest to his. “You need not fear, I do not disapprove. Sworn brothers or not…” That, at least, he was used to. But after a moment his expression sobered. “Yet, what will you do if this world ends when Orochi is undone, and he is sent back to his time?”

“I don’t think too much about it,” Yun confessed. “If our friendships across time end, then, so be it. It’s not as though heartbreak is some kind of rare experience for only the most unlucky, that I should escape ever having to feel it. Until then, I prefer to live in the moment. As long as we are not dead, we must live to the fullest with every breath.”

Ma Chao nodded slowly. It was a sentiment he could appreciate. “Would that I had the courage,” he said with a small, wry laugh under his breath. “I have long admired you, Zilong, but I never took that step.”

A pang of mingled delight and regret stole through Yun’s chest, taking his breath away for a moment. He moved his hand to arrest the one on his knee and clasp it gently. “And I you, Mengqi, but I never thought to take the chance.”

“There was never a good time or place,” Chao agreed. For all the chaos in Orochi’s world, it still allowed everyone, including countrymen, to have opportunities they never got back home in their original world. He squeezed the hand entwined with his and then withdrew. “It’s no matter. You and Yukimura are something, together. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: I must see you two fight together on a battlefield. It must be incredible.”

“So some have said,” Yun laughed modestly. “I couldn’t say, you’ll have to judge that for yourself.”

A messenger interrupted them just then, coming around the corner to find them sitting at the window and presenting Zhao Yun with a letter just received. He decided to open it and read it immediately, rather than wait for official briefings. “What is it?” Chao wondered.

“Ah, it’s from Lord Sun Ce,” Zilong happily reported. “Hopefully it’s good news…yes, it looks like he’s confirming my suggestion that we look into Edo Castle. I…hold on.” The letter got more complicated from there, so he quieted and read the entire thing, brow furrowing pensively. Toward the end, he gave a sudden sharp intake of breath and covered his mouth with his hand, and as Ma Chao watched curiously, he noticed that the hand was shaking. Before he could ask, his friend murmured, “…he’s alive. He knows…”

“What?” Chao leaned in closer, though he did his best not to read over his shoulder. “Zilong, what do you mean?”

Yun pursed his lips to try to hold his emotions in check. “There is word from Lord Sun Jian himself. He says one time, perhaps a month or more ago but…he saw Lord Liu Bei. He’s alive, Mengqi, and he’s still waiting!” It was too much, he couldn’t stop himself from wincing, and then a tear ran down his cheek. Ma Chao gripped his shoulder and squeezed hard as if trying to hold himself back as well, and his warm, solid presence was enough to at least allow Zhao Yun to keep his voice steady. “Thank heaven for Lord Sun Jian.”

“Where?” Chao pressed. “Where did he see him? We must mount a rescue effort immediately, I will send word to Lord Oda…”

Yun shook his head gently. “It says, that was at Orochi’s castle. But Lord Sun Jian warns…here.” He showed the letter to Mengqi. “That because the two of them talked, Orochi may have sent him elsewhere. But look! Again, confirmation that the lord of the Hojo clan was being held at Edo, last he knew. So it _is_ being used as a prison for valuable hostages.”

“As Lord Yuan Shao heard that one time,” Chao realized. “And the more castles the Orochi army loses to the Resistance, the more likely that if they must move prisoners, they’ll end up at Edo.”

Yun held the letter against his chest, unable to stop the tears dripping off his chin but keeping his voice calm and even soothing the tremble in his hands. “Lord Sun Ce will join us, as promised. He will fulfill his vow. This is incredible, Mengqi…”

Ma Chao smiled vaguely; he was glad, now, that he had forgiven Sun Ce rather than hold him responsible for his treason. “Do you want me to join you, as well?”

“If you wish…” Yun looked to him, reaching up to dash away his tears. “I will never turn down assistance.”

“I’ll need to check in with Lord Oda, first,” Chao sighed. “We’ll ride back as soon as I can pry Guan Ping away from his brother, I will see if there is anything to which we must attend and if not, I will request to offer reinforcements to you. We men of Shu must band together to save our lord.”

“That will be more than enough,” Zhao Yun said in relief. “Thank you, my dear friend. I will make sure you know everything of when and how we plan to proceed.”

“Yes, good. Keep me informed.” Chao gripped his shoulder again, more gently this time, and leaned in to press his temple against Zilong’s. “Our long nightmare will soon be over. I can feel it.”

Yun didn’t know what else to say to that, though a soft sound of longing escaped him. To finally have this challenge overcome, the one thing he had dedicated himself to for months on end, sacrificing so much for, it could be exactly as Ma Chao said. Over, with one more battle. When he met with Sun Ce to see this task carried out, Zhao Yun needed to embrace him like a brother for this. The letter came like a ray of sunlight in the darkness, bringing him fresh hope just when he was nearly out of it. That the other resistance leaders and their forces should be so eager to help him, too, it was almost too much. He needed to sit on the windowsill and process this, before he could show his face to the rest of the castle, and he was quite glad that of all people, Ma Chao was with him.


	59. Chapter 59

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Pi moves to intercept Da Ji at Yamazaki and is dealt the biggest surprise of his life.

The information which came across the map table in the war room that morning was what Cao Pi would consider a little too good to be true. Just when his army was beginning to chafe at sitting around too long, waiting for something to happen, the promise of a battle was being dangled before him. Scouts and spies were in complete agreement, the Orochi army was moving out on some errand and Da Ji would be heading it up. Apparently, losing one of her two most valuable prisoners wasn’t enough to warrant her being squashed under Orochi’s heel; of course, if he had not yet heard of her failure, that could be one explanation, which pointed to him not being as nearby as Fuuma would have liked them to think. Either way, she was still in command enough to be driving an army before her, and while none of the scouts could gather intelligence on their objective, it appeared their path would pass nearer to Xuchang than anyone would be comfortable with. As he stood at the table with just his strategists and Zhang Liao at hand, Cao Pi gave them all a wary look. “And what about this doesn’t sound like bait to a trap?” he openly asked, sarcasm firmly intact.

“Come now, Lord Zihuan,” Guo Jia chuckled, “it isn’t as though this would be the first time you walked deliberately into one of her traps.”

Mitsunari rolled his eyes magnificently. “She just never learns, does she?”

“I may not be as up to date on the lady-demon’s tactics,” Pang Tong mused, “but from here it looks like she’s put us in a tough spot. We call her bluff, she waltzes right on by to actually go and create havoc somewhere beyond us. We take the bait, we’re setting ourselves up for whatever trap she’s trying to lay.”

“Hm, yes, that is a troubling point,” Zhang Liao said, stroking his goatee. “What could they even do? If they press too far in that direction they’ll run into the Shu Resistance.”

Jia Xu waved a hand dismissively in the air. “And if she does that, she would have us immediately at her rear, backing up our would-be allies in a spectacular pincer move. Is she really _that_ foolish?”

Mitsunari’s face clouded. “No,” he said after a moment’s pause, “and that’s what’s bothering me. Word has it she has both Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi with her. One strategist of their caliber is enough, but both of them alongside her? They would never do something so blindingly stupid as set themselves up for being outflanked, ambushed, or otherwise put in a tight spot.”

“Hence why I called you all here,” Cao Pi said to bring things back around to his control. “She has the two greatest strategists of our age assisting her directly. I have four of my own. I should like to see which of us is the more intelligent.”

The strategists in question all looked amongst each other from where they stood at corners of the table, Mitsunari beside his lord as usual. “If your praise for those two is genuine,” Pang Tong murmured with the slightest amusement, “then the good Master Ishida has an excellent point. Either we’re looking in the wrong place for their motives, or they know full well how it looks and are issuing an open challenge to us.”

“They know we know it’s a trap,” Guo Jia agreed, “so the true motive is deeper.”

They all stared at the map for a long moment, where a marker sat on the current whereabouts of this large army their scouts had spotted. It was close to Xuchang, but not so close as to imply they were headed directly there to battle the Wei army at their stronghold. Wenyuan harrumphed a bit. “Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” he pointed out. “The scouts can only tell us which direction they came from and where they currently are. They don’t actually know where this army is going. It could be…” He drew various curving lines with his finger, routing through different nearby territories. “Any of these. For all we know they could be attempting to drive westward to meet Orochi himself.”

It was true that several routes he traced did not pass anywhere near a Resistance stronghold of any kind, meaning thathe first instinct to accuse Da Ji of looking for a castle or depot to attack was not the correct one. Mitsunari made an annoyed noise under his breath as he realized it. “She’s using Takeda’s own strategy against us – again,” he complained to Pi. “He and Uesugi lured the Orochi army to Nagashino under threat that if we didn’t meet them there, they would just keep going. She’s doing the same thing. It doesn’t matter where this army could go if we let them pass, it’ll be bad for us no matter what. We really have no choice but to stop them in their tracks.”

“If so,” Cao Pi said darkly, “then we will give her more than she’s asking for. If she wants us to leave the security of Xuchang to meet her on the field, she will regret making that request.” His gaze swept around the table again. “Wenyuan, make sure these four have the complete, updated numbers of our troop strength and officer capability. I want them to have every advantage of ours laid out so that the strategy they devise will ensure us victory no matter what.”

“Before you even get that far,” Guo Jia interjected, “we must first dictate the field. If we are to meet them somewhere, it should be a place of our choosing. If Da Ji is trying to lure us to her, we must lure her back to us.”

“What are our choices?” Mindful of the speed at which an army moved across the landscape, Pi considered which of the nearby locations they could reach ahead of the Orochi forces. A couple of them didn’t appeal to him, they wouldn’t be able to gain ground, but then he spotted a name he didn’t recognize. “Yamazaki?”

Of those present, only Mitsunari would even know it. His face registered no strong feelings toward it. “It’s tricky, but it would do,” he said. “There’s a mountain there, both a risk and a bonus depending on how you approach it. It’s easy to get pinned down there, but it’s also an excellent spot from which to fire cannons down onto the enemy’s head.” He shifted his gaze to his lord before he could be asked. “Yes, I’m familiar enough.”

“Given the time it will take to raise our army and move out, it may be the best option,” Zhang Liao grunted. “We wouldn’t be able to get to Wuzhang until they’d already passed, and chases are equally hard on the pursuing army.”

Cao Pi nodded his understanding of their assessments. “So be it. We will move toward Yamazaki in an attempt to cut them off and deal with them on our terms. I want the army ready to move out in less than two days, and you four will have a strategy for me by that time.”

In the end, Wei departed from Xuchang earlier than scheduled, but not by much. It took time to equip and supply an army of the size they would need to meet this brazen challenge, to say nothing of plotting a route to get them to the nearby territory before the enemy could reach it. They had to move as fast as physically possible while staying together and organized, never a small task even for the most diligent army. Cao Pi chose to lead himself, and brought both Mitsunari and Pang Tong along to assist, seeing as the Fledgling Phoenix had more than a passing familiarity with the Sleeping Dragon and his tactics. The lead officers included Zhang Liao, Cao Ren, Yue Jin, and several Xiahous, but they were mindful of every possibility that Da Ji was indeed copying the Takeda-Uesugi idea and trying to draw out enough strength to leave Xuchang vulnerable, so a healthy contingent was forced to remain behind under Lady Zhenji’s command to bolster the defenses and steel themselves against a surprise attack. Odawara and Jianye were put on alert, as well, to move in as reinforcements where and when necessary. The army moved with all haste and had scouts running back and forth with updates on the movements of the enemy, but within a couple of days it became clear that they couldn’t outrun Da Ji’s forces. They would get to Yamazaki ahead of Cao Pi, but he had one consolation; they had picked up on the pursuit and seemed likely to stop and fend it off rather than continue to march onward. The battle was less likely to play out on their terms, but going into it, Ishida was at least confident that it wouldn’t be a trap. Da Ji would reach the foot of Mount Tenno mere hours before them, there was no time to set up anything besides a customary defense. “It’s the terrain,” he replied when Xiahou Dun questioned his confidence. “It has nothing to do with who’s leading them or devising a strategy. The mountain is a key point, they can’t leave it undefended. You’ll see when we get there and spot it at a distance.”

Dun harrumphed and moved off to relieve someone riding point, perhaps so he could be one of the first to spot this mountain after all. Cao Pi turned to the strategist riding at his side. “It isn’t so easy, is it?”

Mitsunari made a bit of a face. “The enemy ranks include two strategists worth their fame. I’d be lying if I said it was no problem.”

“It will be entertaining, at least,” Pi said a bit more flippantly. “I am still of a mind that they haven’t actually joined forces – Sima Yi’s ego will ensure that they may stand on the same field, but that doesn’t necessarily imply cooperation or agreement.”

“From what I remember, I believe you’re right,” Mitsunari snorted. “But at the same time, their army can’t afford to lose. I’ve seen worse rivals put aside their animosity for the sake of the greater good.”

Cao Pi grunted a sardonic chuckle. “I doubt that this is what anyone would call the greater good.”

Mitsunari looked straight at him. “To Da Ji, killing the both of us definitely counts.”

The young lord of Wei nodded to accept his point, but said nothing more about it. They could debate different avenues of strategy all they wanted, but it wouldn’t matter until they reached Yamazaki and could see how Da Ji’s troops were actually laid out. There were too many unknown variables, so all they could do was ride hard, keep formations tight, and sharpen their weapons when they stopped for the night. Nothing mattered until they arrived, arrayed for battle.

Dense fir woods covered the shoulders of the mountain, and the warm, humid afternoon drew the scent from them and spread it all through the valley below it. Clouds were building to the west, filtering the sun and threatening thunder, but it hadn’t yet reached the territory of Yamazaki where the dry grass could really use it. Seeing as they had no element of surprise, the Wei army trusted to numbers and strength and the orderly strategies of the two men supporting Cao Pi. There was no time to erect a camp, they simply rode out from the pine trees onto a grassy plain below the mountain’s foot and paused to organize before moving to strike. Ishida had led them to this side of Tenno, knowing full well that the only viable paths by which they could approach or climb the mountain started here, though as they reconnoitered with their spies and scouts, he frowned at the reports of the locations and encampments of the Orochi army. Not only had they already claimed the mountain, there was also a much larger camp down on the other side of the ridge. While they were clustered there, consulting, the thick, summery air reverberated with a concussive thud, and the entirety of the Wei army looked up at a whistling, rushing sound growing rapidly closer. The projectile landed short of their position, but it hit hard enough to throw up showers of earth and startle the horses, many of them reared and shrilled at the thud and boom of the cannon-shot. Cao Pi immediately barked orders for everyone to draw back out of range, but it was clear that the Orochi army had all the advantages of position and weaponry and had already spotted them. “Cannons,” he grumbled.

“They have to be stopped before they can rip our army to shreds,” Mitsunari insisted as he wrestled his horse into submission. “They’re firing from the top of the mountain, we have to claim it – and fast.”

Pang Tong nodded in agreement. “Keep your eyes open for changing situations, but for now, go on with the original plans. It’ll still work.”

“Very well.” Taking a breath, Cao Pi raised his voice to call out his orders to the men clustered around him, waiting with a wary eye to the sky as cannonballs continued to rain down. “Li Dian, Yue Jin – take your unit to the side and attract the enemy’s attention. Get as close to their camp as you can, but don’t do anything rash. Keep their eyes on you as long as possible. The rest of us will claim Mount Tenno while we have the chance!”

There was a quick scramble as the ordered officers separated their units out, but then they were off, circling around the base of the mountain toward the camp on the other side, using the paths Mitsunari had told them about to slip out of range of the cannons and strike at the army’s main position from their flank. They had too few men to even have a hope of taking the camp, but they were meant as a distraction, to keep the bulk of the Orochi army from riding straight through the Wei forces and capturing or killing their lord. When Cao Pi said “the rest of us,” he meant it – aside from Xiahou Yuan and Pang Tong with a tiny vanguard, he ordered the rest of his army to follow him and led the charge up the side of Tenno. Xiahou Dun sent two of his kinsmen to back up Li Dian, but he rode right at his lord’s side, with Mitsunari at the other, Cao Ren and Zhang Liao immediately behind them. The pathways crossed back and forth along the shoulder of the mountain, following whatever well-worn track made for the best route up to the summit, and every single one was choked with Orochi soldiers, both human and demon alike. Rows of archers stood just beyond one gate, while a cadre of demon soldiers blocked another side path up, and above them the cannons continued to roar. Mitsunari led them a particular way so as to avoid the cannon-shot, but the thunderous noise still made the horses balk until all but two or three of them had been thrown and had to progress on foot. It was slower going, but better than having a horse shot out from under them. Xiahou Dun rode down the archers without flinching, sending them scattering in all directions and making a path for the rest. They encountered even more resistance as the path continued to wind upward along the back of the mountain, but this was precisely why Cao Pi had brought so much strength with him. This wasn’t about who could shrewdly out-maneuver who, but about sheer force mowing down the defense and reaching their goal. Mitsunari had them on the right path, the rest was pure brute strength, and with Dun and Zhang Liao at the fore with Cao Ren easily fending off arrows with his shield, Cao Pi was certain of the outcome. The path was stoutly defended by clusters of soldiers, but they were weak, possibly tired, and there wasn’t a single officer, human or demon, leading them. As they climbed upward the boom of the cannons grew even louder, proving that their objective did lay at the summit; a gate stood at the top of the path, which Wenyuan and Yuanrang forced open, allowing them to pour out onto the flat ground at the very top of Mount Tenno.

A number of cannons had been hauled up to the summit, some pointing toward the flank where the Wei army had arrived, others pointing to the opposing valley where the Orochi main camp lay, as if to defend no matter which direction the battle below took place. While the engineers and cannoneers worked to load and fire the artillery, they were in turn being defended by cadres of archers, and in the very middle of them, protected on all sides, stood a man in white robes carrying a white-feathered fan. Mitsunari’s eyes seemed to find him right away, and he silently pointed with his folded fan. Cao Pi followed the gesture and leaped down from the saddle in order to cut his way through on foot. The rest of their men raged down the line of cannons, attacking the soldiers loading and tending them. Zihuan only had eyes for their commander, though, and he in turn ignored the mayhem to his left and focused solely on the man plowing through his archers to get to him. The wide sweeps of Pure Havoc were more than enough to cut arrows out of flight and slice through arms and bowstrings, to say nothing of the assistance provided by the Open Valor throwing gusts of wind left and right behind him. Zhuge Liang turned and placed his fan in a defensive pose over his heart as Cao Pi cleared the last line of archers and slowed to confront him. “I expected you would make Mount Tenno your target,” the Shu strategist murmured, though his eyes strayed to Ishida as he said so. “It seems my welcome party was not to your liking.”

“I’ve had better,” Pi said dryly. “Still, I’m not at all surprised to find you reserved some of the better ones for yourself.” Even as the words left his lips, an arrow swished toward his head. He sidestepped and cut it down with one flick of his wrist. “It’s been a while, Sleeping Dragon. Has it truly been since the snows in Tianshui?”

“At that time, we were on the same side of the field,” Liang noted. “Yet, even from that day, I knew you were only waiting for an opportunity to turn.”

“Is that so?” Pi prowled even closer, heartened that the famed strategist did not retreat from his advance. “And yet, for months afterward, Da Ji remained under the delusion that I was her loyal ally. I wonder. Is it that she wouldn’t listen to your sage advice? Or did you even bother attempting to give it?”

Kongming’s eyes went to Mitsunari again as he stepped up on his lord’s side, guarding him from errant arrows from behind. “You, on the other hand,” he said quietly, “you surprised me, Ishida.”

Mitsunari sniffed, unimpressed. “Then you clearly weren’t paying attention.”

“Enough of this frivolous banter.” Cao Pi brandished Pure Havoc, sweeping it out in front of him. “I will give you three seconds to decide whether to fight me or surrender. You will lose the mountain either way.”

Zhuge Liang appeared to contemplate it, though a cry to the side distracted all of them, as Cao Ren bashed his shield into an archer hard enough to break his arm. The cannons had already fallen silent, he and the others were pulling inward toward the center, taking down the remainder of the defense corps holding the summit. Liang knew full well there was no way he could take all five officers, particularly not the powerful threesome looming in from his left. He raised the fan and then slashed briefly with it to cast a gust of wind to push them back from him as he retreated. “This mountain is hardly the whole battle,” he warned as he backed away.

The gust wasn’t enough to even take them off their feet, all of them dug in and held ground, but they let him go. “Take a message to your lady,” Cao Pi said icily, turning a sudden glare on him. “Tell her that she will have to work much harder if she wants my head.”

Zhuge Liang tipped his head in acknowledgement, and then a cluster of soldiers gathered around him, whisking him away to safety out the other gate down the far side of the mountain. The last of the defenders went with them, if there were any who could still walk. Zhang Liao came up on Cao Pi’s other side, holding the Blue Wyvern in a stance to protect him until it was all clear. “You didn’t take him prisoner?” he wondered.

“Not yet,” Pi said sternly. “There is little he can do to recoup this loss, and I doubt he would have suffered himself to be captured anyway.”

“The sorcery he’s learned is even more powerful than mine,” Mitsunari grumbled, “he’d have used it to prevent all of us from laying a hand on him.”

“The mountain is ours, then,” Xiahou Dun said proudly. “Fine work, everyone.”

“You saw how easy it was to take it,” Mitsunari cautioned, wagging his closed fan. “It’ll be just as hard for our side to defend it.”

“We will use our advantage for as long as we can,” Pi decided. “Bring up the rearguard to hold it, and then use their own cannons against them.”

Dun and Liao looked at each other. “Does anyone on our side even know how to fire a cannon?” the latter queried.

“We didn’t kill all of their cannoneers,” Dun replied with a shrug.

“Any who can be coerced into turning, as long as they’re still capable of standing, do it,” Pi commanded. “They’ll keep their lives in exchange.”

Mitsunari used the fan again to point to the line of cannons facing off the other side of the summit, looking down on the Orochi encampment in the valley below. “They’ve already gone to the trouble of setting them up for us, it’s too perfect.”

The other three moved off to rouse the injured from the field and see if any of them were hale enough to still work the cannons and could be convinced under threat of death to man them once again. A handful were actually from Shu, and seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to turn their newfound knowledge of cannons onto the monsters who had tormented them for so long. In the time it took to bring Xiahou Yuan and Pang Tong up to hold this new position, they had gotten the cannons firing again, this time straight down onto the Orochi army itself. As they looked down from this height into the camp, and picked out the activity farther off to the east where their decoy force was still battling, they could see just how vast an army Da Ji had managed to round up. From this distance it was hard to tell man from snake, but the plain in front of the main camp teemed with soldiers trying to muster. The task of taking down this whole army and getting to the demon strategist at its head looked far more daunting now; Kongming’s warning was apt. Yet, as the first cannon shots soared from the mountaintop and exploded on the ground among them, watching the little people far below scatter in all directions was oddly satisfying. Cao Pi indulged in the view for a moment before turning and taking his two strategists aside. “Making this our main camp, good or bad idea?” he asked them both.

Pang Tong tipped up his hat. “Despite the old adages about the high ground,” he answered, “I can’t help but notice how swiftly you got up here. Either the Sleeping Dragon is losing his touch, or this height isn’t as defensible as you’d think.”

“You’ll have to watch both gates,” Mitsunari added, nodding toward them one at a time. “If the Orochi army gets under the cannons like we did, it’s only a matter of time and sheer numbers.”

“Which they’ve definitely got,” Tong agreed.

“I want to hold it as long as we can,” Pi said, “but if the choice is keeping it while losing the battle, or giving way and hitting them from the other side, I would prefer not losing.”

“If we have to give it up, there’s only one thing for it,” Mitsunari said bluntly. “Destroy the cannons.”

Pi nodded and then called the others to him to relay those very orders, to hold Mount Tenno unless it became impossible, and then destroy the cannons on their way down so they would no longer have to fear the screaming cannonballs raining down on them from any side. No sooner had he finished and Xiahou Dun gave a loud growl – he had remained at the cliff’s edge, watching the battle below, since he was in his lord’s vanguard and wouldn’t need those orders. “No…” he grunted.

Everyone looked his way. “What is it?” Yuan called back.

Dun turned swiftly toward them. “The other wing, they blundered straight into an ambush. If we don’t back them up, they’ll be slaughtered to a man.”

Given the lengths to which he had gone just to secure a single officer to his army, Cao Pi could not let four of them be killed outright. He quickly gestured with his blade. “Go, Dun. Back them up and get them out of there. They’ve done their job, they need to fade back and retreat to our previous position.” The proud warrior instantly turned, whistled for a horse, and was off down the back side of the mountain to do so before anyone else could even move. Pi reiterated his orders for those holding the mountain and then regrouped the rest of his men, prepared to lead them back down by the same route. The gate opposite them had been left open by the Orochi army, since that was the most direct way for them to approach the summit from their own main camp, but now that they had been routed, it was up to Yuan and his men to barricade it and hold it against intrusion at all costs. Cao Pi and his unit withdrew through the other gate and wound back down the way they had initially come, but as they opened out onto a long stretch littered with spent arrows and drops of blood, they found fresh Orochi forces already coming up, led primarily by snake demons but liberally peppered with humans in the older Han uniforms common to Dong Zhuo’s forces. It looked like getting down off the mountain was going to be every bit as hard-fought as going up.

Deep within the garrison being used as the main camp and safe behind stout walls of stone and timber, they didn’t need to wait for Zhuge Liang to fall back to their position to know what had happened. The sudden turn of the cannons against them and the shrieking of the snakes as they fled inside the fortress to protect themselves against being blasted to bits easily told the story. Sima Yi could not help but gloat from where he stood next to the other two commanders. “Zhuge Liang has failed,” he proclaimed. “Which means it is entirely up to me to secure a victory over his defeat.”

Da Ji gave him a reproachful look. “I’m standing right here, too, you know.”

“Of course, my lady,” Yi said, “but you’ve already placed us all under orders not to let them capture or harm you. Allow me to go ahead of you and succeed where he failed, then you won’t have to worry about even stepping a foot out of this camp.”

“Uh huh, sure,” she scoffed. “Like you’re going to go out there yourself.”

He looked to her, frowning. “I will,” he declared. “As soon as I am needed. I’ve already countered those fools who came up on our flank with no forethought whatsoever, the ambush took good care of them. We’ll see what the Sleeping Dragon has to say for himself – _if_ he managed to escape without being captured – and I will move the next wave forward as necessary.”

On her other side and just far back enough for him to be able to spend the whole battle ogling her, Dong Zhuo grunted angrily under his breath. This was the third battle in a row he’d been dragged out to, and it didn’t seem like he’d be getting a reprieve anytime soon. “Strategists,” he complained. “Nothing but a worthless pack of thinkers with their heads in the clouds. Just get in there and bash their heads in!”

Both Da Ji and Sima Yi turned highly unimpressed looks on him. “Perhaps you’d like to lead that effort?” Yi mocked him. “Chafing for a bit of action, are we?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Zhuo retorted. “A man of my means leads from the camp, not the front line.”

Huffing at his excuse, Yi turned back to observing the flow of battle. “You know, I think he does have a point. You, and you.” He gestured with his fan to Xu Rong and Hua Xiong, who were serving as their lord’s bodyguards. “Take your units and pierce through the middle. Head for their camp and draw them after you. Stop for nothing, slay everything you see!”

The two retainers turned to look to see if Dong Zhuo would argue, but he only gave a jerk of his head to direct them to go. Both were stout warriors, and as long as he wasn’t planning to leave the safety of the walled-in camp, he didn’t need them at his side. They picked up weapons without argument and led their men out, straight into the line of fire from the cannons. The artillery fire was ripping the field outside to shreds and preventing many of the snake demons from regrouping or becoming effective, but the grim-faced men of Dong Zhuo’s core army charged right through, ducking and dodging the direct shots and simply pressing forward until they could climb a path up and over the shoulder of the mountain to where the cannonballs would not reach them. Even Da Ji was impressed at their fortitude. “Go, grind them to a pulp!” she said gleefully to herself. “Excellent move, Sima Yi.”

Yi nodded smugly. “They’ll cleave the Wei army right down the middle. Cao Pi will have no choice but to battle them himself, or else try to run up the mountain and hide there. Once we’ve claimed the entire foot of the mountain on all sides, it will be no trouble to trap him up there and deal with him as we see fit.”

At that moment, the garrison gates swung open yet again to admit a single person, running as hard as he could to escape a gruesome injury by cannon shot. What had become of Zhuge Liang’s demon escort, he didn’t say, but he stumbled into the encampment alone, his robes and hair disheveled. The faces of the three remaining commanders turned sour, seeing him. “Well, well,” Da Ji said with a coldness behind her usual lilt, “you came crawling back after all. And here I thought you might have taken this chance to turn traitor as well. Clearly there is no love lost between Shu and Wei, after all.”

Kongming did not dignify her accusation with a direct response. He was limping, though it wasn’t clear how badly he had been injured in his flight down from the summit of Tenno. “We were more than outmatched,” he reported. “Cao Pi has considerable strength at his side.”

Da Ji arched an eyebrow at him. “Did you see him yourself?”

“What in blazes are you doing?” Dong Zhuo interrupted, barging in. “Drag your sorry carcass back there and reclaim that mountain! Don’t you see what those cannons are doing to our forces?!”

Liang suffered him only the briefest of glances before turning back to Da Ji and answering her. “Indeed. He is not waiting in their camp, but on the field in person.”

“That brat doesn’t know when to put his ego aside,” Sima Yi grumbled. “Idiot! Taking the field himself will be the death of him.”

Liang gave him the same blank look Dong Zhuo got. “Would you be the one to deal it to him, then?”

“With pleasure! You clearly don’t have it in you.” Yi brandished his fan and strode off, calling a unit of the army to him. They drove forward in the wake of the previous wave of soldiers, cautiously navigating their way between cannonballs toward the paths through the valley.

Da Ji stared down her other strategist. “You’re no good in a fight but your brain still works,” she said curtly. “Stay here and give me a hand. And you…” She rounded on Dong Zhuo. “Stop staring at my ass! If you want so badly to retake the mountain, go and do it yourself!” He shrank back, gnashing his teeth, but made no move to obey either demand.

Xiahou Dun had barely made it to the distant arm of their forces in time, they had suffered greatly in Sima Yi’s ambush just below the side gate of the walled garrison and both Yue Jin and Li Dian sported bloody injuries. At Dun’s command they backed down, however, and gathered the survivors to retreat back down along the paths through the trees. He assessed them quickly, hastily wrapped a cloth around the cut to Dian’s scalp so blood wouldn’t drip into his eyes, and then herded them back toward the spot considered their main camp, even though the Wei army had not actually camped there. It was the spot where they had come out of the trees to behold the battlefield, the spot now serving as a mustering location and fallback position for the injured. Along the way, they came out from around a bend in the trail to find themselves instantly beset by Hua Xiong and his men, and the huge warrior made a beeline for Yuanrang the instant he spotted him. They clashed hard, and practically wrestled one another across their crossed blades. Neither felt like he could let the other proceed with their plan, and the exhausted flanking troop came up around them to hold the line alongside their lead officer. There would be no rest until they could clear this path of Han troops and make a gap through which the worst-off could escape.

Cao Pi struggled his way slowly down the side of Mount Tenno, fighting with every step, aware of Mitsunari on one side and Zhang Liao on the other beating back waves of enemy soldiers. It seemed that someone of intelligence among the Orochi army had turned out multiple waves of soldiers to advance despite the cannons, and they were giving the Wei army the hardest time they had faced in a battle yet. The mingled army of humans and snake demons had them in total numbers, no matter how many they cut down, more were right behind to take their place. Once they got under the shelter of the cliff where the cannons couldn’t reach them, the Orochi army became even more bold and savage, launching into a pure melee to try to overwhelm their enemies. The four officers who had come down from the summit stayed together in a cluster and drove like a wedge into their foes, gaining ground a little at a time but at the great cost of time and energy. Mitsunari’s arm ached from the close combat, so he tried to give himself a moment’s rest by putting himself back to back with Cao Pi and flinging out powder charges instead, using the shortest fuses so that the little bombs exploded practically on contact. It had the snakes squealing in pain and terror, at least. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” he breathed over his shoulder to his lord. “How are we going to get out of this one…?”

“Isn’t that your job to figure out?” Pi snarked back at him. “Stay calm, we can do this.”

“There’s no thought involved in just pushing your way through this many enemies,” Ishida shot back, perhaps griping a little at the idea. It didn’t matter how smart he was when he was faced with hordes of enemies simply hacking and slashing at anything in the indigo of Wei. He glanced as the bulk of Cao Ren and his mighty shield moved into place to guard them both on that side, and then past him to the gate standing at the end of the path where it emptied out at the foot of the mountain. Even more Orochi soldiers were streaming past it, and he gave a small start as he realized the direction of their movement. “They’re after our main camp,” he warned.

“I see it,” Pi acknowledged. “I figured they would try something like that, but there’s no officers there for them to attack.”

“Not unless Xiahou Dun has pulled Yue Jin’s unit all the way back there already.”

Cao Pi made a frustrated noise under his breath, almost a growl. “Going after the injured and weakened,” he seethed, and then raised his voice to bark out orders. “Push back to the staging ground! Give no quarter, let no one stop you from regaining our position!”

Hearing him gave fresh energy to their troops, at least for a fleeting moment, but a moment was all they needed to finally break through Xu Rong’s main line and cut around a loop of the trail which descended back down toward Wei’s mustering ground. Before Pi and his strategist could make that escape themselves, however, Rong and his toughest men swarmed on them where they still stood back to back. Mitsunari gritted his teeth and told himself, _it’s now or never_ , and flicked his fan out to perform a desperate move. Since coming into Cao Pi’s service, he had put aside the sorcery he had learned while in the Orochi main army, deciding he didn’t need it and refusing to use a tool given to him directly by Da Ji. But in this moment he couldn’t see a way through without it. The incantation was nearly silent, murmured in soft words spilling from his lips, and then he moved, flinging the fan with all his strength. It swept through the enemy, circled, and returned to him, over and over in a rapid sequence, building momentum and tracing a particular pattern through the air as it went. When the power had built to its maximum, Mitsunari suddenly snapped the fan shut and slammed it to the ground, closing the final line in the invisible fence he had created through the fan’s traced path. It shimmered into existence as a beam of light criss-crossing like a web, enclosing a startling number of enemies, all of whom balked at magic appearing where they had never expected it to be. Mitsunari drew back and then drove the folded fan to the ground once more in the same spot, triggering the spell he had cast. The light swelled and then burst, and everyone trapped within the web recoiled and fell as though struck by lightning.

Cao Pi had felt something building behind him, like the swell of a storm before the clouds break, but only turned to look at the moment the spell erupted, and he stared in shock at the staggering power of it. Mitsunari could do this? It was clearly the kind of sorcery learned at Orochi’s hand, but he wasn’t about to dismiss it, considering it single-handedly decimated the attacking force, cutting their numbers at least in half in one fell swoop. Then, as he started to get to his feet, Mitsunari wobbled, driving Cao Pi to snap himself out of his awe and move in to catch him before he could collapse. He scooped his strategist up with one arm to keep him on his feet, even as he turned with half of Pure Havoc raised to guard them both. Ishida pushed against him as if to insist he was fine. “Now, before they regroup!” he demanded of his lord.

Pi whistled to call his horse to him, and then pushed Mitsunari into the saddle instead. “Get moving!”

There was no time to argue, so Mitsunari grabbed the reins and charged through the remaining soldiers, knocking them sprawling. Cao Pi ran right behind him, taking advantage of the blundering steed to dart through the ranks of startled, off-balance enemies and escape without a scratch. It left no one on the path behind them to stop these forces from continuing up the mountain in order to try to take it back, but there was more than a mere welcome party up there now, it would have to suffice. The order ran through the entirety of the Wei army: pull back to the muster position, regroup. If they were going to have any chance at beating back an army larger than theirs, they needed to take stock of their remaining resources and go in more wisely for a second round.

Xu Rong had not been defeated and Hua Xiong was still vigorously battling Xiahou Dun, so the crossroads just below where all the paths converged was still a mess of soldiers from all sides. Mitsunari pulled up short, seeing that they had another wall of humanity to break through; he wasn’t sure he had another spell like that in him, it took a lot of his energy. He had recovered enough to sit tall in the saddle, and even dismount and stand without buckling as Cao Pi came to his side. “Damn them,” he cursed, though he was more angry at himself. “We seriously underestimated the size of their army.”

“We must hold them here, then,” Pi said sharply. “I see Li Dian and the others, they’re safe.”

He gazed seriously at Mitsunari, who raised a finger to stop him from opening his mouth again. “Not now. I’ll explain later.”

One of their men gave a great cry, then, and a word was quickly passed up the valley along the conjunction of paths: reinforcements. Reinforcements had come! Some of the men were further down and could see along the path to the staging ground, they were the ones spreading the rumor. Cao Pi and Zhang Liao looked at each other, perplexed and mildly disturbed. They hadn’t planned reinforcements. Had someone from Jianye or Odawara taken initiative? Or was this another trick of the Orochi army, appearing inside their own main camp as the ambush they never saw coming? Judging from the dark look which swept across Mitsunari’s face, he suspected the latter. The cry served as distraction enough to halt some of the fighting, as soldiers from both sides wanted to have a look for themselves and verify whether the rumor had merit, allowing Pi and his men to shove through unharmed and get down to where the path curved again. They were just in time to see a cluster of horses thundering toward them, leading a small unit of infantry, and by their colors they did seem to be Wei troops. Cao Pi suddenly drew in a sharp breath, and his grip on the hilts of his swords faltered. Beside him, Zhang Liao gasped out loud and leaned against the Blue Wyvern as if propping himself up. “It can’t be!” he breathed.

Mitsunari wasn’t as startled by the sight of the man riding at the head of his vanguard, although for a moment he did have to wonder if Oda Nobunaga had come to rescue them. But no, that wasn’t Oda, and the realization dawned on him at last. “No way…” he whispered to himself.

One of the other riders let out a gusty laugh as they approached. “My lord! It looks like we made it just in time!”

Some of the Han soldiers fighting against them looked and then recoiled, fading back rather abruptly. “A phantom!” someone yelped. “Phantoms of the dead! They can use magic, too, I saw it! Phantoms! Run!”

The man who reined in just to the rear of the Wei line was no phantom, not this time. His sword was bared and his grip on the reins was firm, but there was something of a light of amusement in his dark eyes as he turned them toward the men standing on the side of the path. “So, my son,” he purred. “I gather we are not too late?”

Cao Pi’s ice-blue eyes hardened, and his hands on his swords tightened as if to prevent himself from dropping them in surprise. “Father,” he murmured back. “I see you’ve managed to stay alive, after all.”

A thunk and a ring of metal sounded not far behind him where Xiahou Dun did, in fact, drop his sword. “My lord…” he said, and his voice trembled. “You are here, at last…”

Cao Cao heaved a short laugh. “Come now, Yuanrang. Men don’t drop their swords in the middle of a battle.”

The Wei army swelled around them, moving in like the tide to circle around and behold for themselves that Lord Cao Cao had indeed returned from the dead and stood there before them now, astride his horse and armed for battle as if he had never been gone. With him rode Dian Wei, naturally, but also Xun You and a slender woman from the Cai clan, and the men with them looked healthy and ready to go. There was obviously no time to ask him where he had come from or how he had cheated death, there was a battle to be won and reinforcements unlooked-for were not to be turned down. Cao Pi raised his head bravely to look his father in the eye and then nodded. “The Orochi army boasts too many strategists for my liking,” he explained. “Your assistance will be useful in cutting through their lines to get to the demon in the center.”

“So be it.” Cao Cao nodded curtly and brandished his broadsword. “Come, Dian Wei. Let us give my son a helping hand.”

“Yes, sir, my lord!” Dian Wei bellowed eagerly. “I’ve been miserable without anything to fight for so long. I’m ready to tear ‘em to shreds!”

Hua Xiong had not retreated with his superstitious men, he had to see this for himself as well, but before he could rouse what was left of his troops and lead a fresh charge, Dian Wei spotted him and gave a roar before spurring his horse straight towards him. Taking advantage of the moment, Cao Pi took his horse from his strategist and mounted back up, so as not to have to try to lead with his father riding head and shoulders above him. The other officers stepped in close to welcome Cao Cao, and even Cao Ren had to touch his stirrup to make sure he wasn’t a ghost. “I have waited a long time for this,” he said in disbelief.

“I apologize for my tardiness,” Cao Cao said, almost casually. “I hope that I may distinguish myself in battle to make up for it, here.” He glanced aside as Cao Pi rode to join him. “You have led our people well in my absence, my son.”

Pi’s cool mask was in place, hiding his true reaction to this moment, and his voice remained even. “I am sure your arrival will bolster the soldiers’ morale even further,” he said sincerely. It was already happening all around them, the men who had been weary and hurt a moment before were ready to jump right back into the thick of it. He glanced to Mitsunari, now on foot since his horse had bolted somewhere on the mountain path. “I suppose this will have to do for regrouping. What do you suggest?”

“Leave the mountain in Xiahou Yuan’s hands, they have their orders,” Ishida replied, all business. “We have enough reinforcements now to push back. Split into two equal groups, one to go back along that side path Yue Jin’s unit took, the other to go up and over this ridge toward the center. Most of the enemy advance is in the center, we need to circle back around behind them and pincer them.”

Cao Cao nodded again. “I will take my men to do that, then. You say to follow this path, ahead? Very well. Watch closely, you may learn something.” He waved, and both Xun You and Cai Wenji followed, with all of their men. Dian Wei joined them, as he had just finished the final beatdown on Hua Xiong. Xiahou Dun followed without even saying a word, though he waved for Wei and De to go along even if they had just come from that direction. That left Li Dian and Yue Jin to join Cao Pi’s forces, which had gotten the moment’s breather they needed and were ready to go.

“I can hardly believe it,” Zhang Liao said under his breath as he strode up to his lord’s side. “But we can’t stop here, we must press on.”

“Of course,” Pi said arrogantly. “This battle is mine to win. Move out, to the center! My father will not claim all the glory for himself,” he added to himself in a growl before slapping his heels to his horse’s flanks. Even with all the strength around him, he chose to lead this final charge himself, for better or worse. Mitsunari only shook his head and then ran to keep up.

While some of Dong Zhuo’s men pulled back and others were defeated, there was still one officer standing in the gap at the top of the ridge, waiting where the paths crossed as if to defend the route toward the main camp with his life. Those who knew him did not expect that Sima Yi would die to defend that path, however. He seemed in complete control, able to order around the snake captains with full authority and arranging them on the mountain’s shoulder to block anyone from getting past either to the Orochi camp or to the mountainside paths. There were more demons than men around him, now, though few of the latter were able to retreat all the way to the Orochi garrison due to the persistent cannon fire. He stood there almost expecting the assault to come, and smirked widely as he saw who was leading it. The whispers about phantoms from the Han soldiers who had passed him meant nothing to him, as of yet – he hadn’t heard a single one mention the name of the man who had just appeared out of nowhere. All of his focus was on the true leader of the attack thundering towards him. As he came within range, Yi flung out his arms as if in welcome, but the sneer on his face was anything but welcoming. “ _Dear_ Lord Cao Pi!” he called out with all the sarcasm he could muster. “I am _so_ glad to see you looking well.”

Pi reined in and dismounted with a flourish of his cloak. “And I you,” he said brusquely as he came on, whirling Pure Havoc one way and then the other. “It will make it that much more satisfying when I kill you.”

It was clear that underneath his controlled mask, Pi was seething with mixed emotions, and here stood a handy target on which to vent them. Sima Yi laughed coldly. “Is that how it’s going to be? And here I was looking forward to our long overdue reunion. Suit yourself, but I won’t be the one dying today.” He brought the fan up quickly to defend himself, his right hand raising to cast a spell. Pi raced to meet him before he could pull it off, diving in low and sweeping the joined swords quickly in a deadly slash. His swordsmanship had always been more than a match for anything Sima Yi could do, but this was the first they had clashed in Orochi’s world, since the one-time Wei strategist had learned sorcery from the Orochi minions. It was all he could do at the onrush to keep himself from simply being knocked down and run through, blocking with the gilded hilt of the fan and giving back along the path, dodging and moving around the reach of the paired swords. Cao Pi repeatedly pulled them apart and used them one at a time to keep his foe from getting even a moment in which to call up a spell, darting in close and refusing to let him back away far enough to leave a gap between them. His furious pace wiped the smirk off Yi’s face in no time, and as they circled around, up and down the slope of the path, he began to glower at the lack of opening in which to strike back. Zihuan was not fooling around, he clearly meant to kill his opponent, and pressed the attack with skill and grace. Yet, Sima Yi was not a strategist of renown for nothing, and decided that he would be best served using everyone and everything around him as a tool to bring Cao Pi down, so long as he could personally deliver the final blow. If he was going to be driven around the battlefield by the momentum, he would dodge right into the paths of other weapons, retreat through a hail of arrows, and draw Cao Pi further away from his own men. The Wei lord still managed to weave through the minefield unscathed, but they were encroaching on the valley currently being shelled by cannons, and there was no time to stop and think whether Xiahou Yuan would know to halt the cannons when a lone man of theirs came into the firing zone. Yi blocked and then parried with gusts of wind from the fan, trying to push him back, and then shifted again as he noticed someone coming up on Pi’s other side, in his blind spot. As long as he didn’t telegraph the coming blow by grinning too soon, it would hit and part of his problem would be over. Just as the spearhead drove in, a blur of gold and blue swept in between it and Cao Pi’s back, and with a mighty ring of metal on metal the mortal blow was successfully blocked. Pi turned sharply to find Mitsunari at his back again, but what he had done to protect his lord had cost him even more than a little energy this time. The spear had pierced the silk between the metal ribs of the fan, ricocheted off his bronze bracer, and was now embedded in his left shoulder. 

Mitsunari held his ground, teeth gritted against the pain, while Lancehead stood boggling at his sudden appearance. “What are you doing?” he hissed at the lord behind him. “Finish that smarmy bastard!”

Cao Pi immediately turned back to Sima Yi, who might have also been surprised at the interfering retainer but mastered himself quickly enough to take advantage of the distraction to summon a much larger and more effective spell. If he couldn’t cut Cao Pi down, he would blast him into oblivion instead. Shaking off his concern, Pi sprang from his place and drove in hard, forcing Yi to disengage his sorcery and defend himself with the fan instead. This time, Pi had the advantage of being upslope, and used gravity itself to give him extra power to simply bowl the strategist over and send him tumbling into the dirt. As he plunged in for the man’s heart, though, something all too familiar slammed into him from the side, knocking one of the swords out of his hand and sending him staggering sideways. Da Ji did not waste time snarking at him, she simply pulled her orbs back in close to her, descended on Sima Yi where he lay, and grabbed his wrist. A swirl of magic took them both away in a flash. The escape enraged Pi, but he took a breath and stood down, locating his sword first and then doing his best to calm himself before turning back to where the rest of his men had caught up and pushed back against the Orochi defense. Zhang Liao had broken the shaft of the spear as he attacked Lancehead in retaliation, but any vengeance was forestalled as the demon captain retreated back into the valley with the remainder of his troops. Mitsunari knew better than to pull the blade out here and now, but he was already faltering, leaning against a fence stile at the corner of the path and holding his hand over the fresh wound. Cao Pi came to him, shared a moment’s glance with him, and then called for the medics to take him back to the main camp. He said nothing more, it could wait until this mess was over. Zhang Liao was his champion now, and stood at his shoulder. “What now?”

“Send a messenger up the mountain trail to Xiahou Yuan,” Mitsunari answered instead of Cao Pi. “They need to cease fire so we can advance on the Orochi camp.”

Pi nodded. “And we will need their strength more than ever. Do it,” he commanded someone nearby, who raced to obey. “Regroup and hold here until the cannons stop, and then charge. Give your very lives to bring down Da Ji and Dong Zhuo!”

The few minutes’ respite they had while waiting for the concussive booms to stop was necessary, to keep his soldiers from losing their second wind inspired by Cao Cao’s return. The instant the roar ceased and the echoes faded away from the mountain’s slopes, their lord mounted up and led them onward, down into the deep valley ringed by pine trees where the wooden walls stood in defiance of their efforts to bring down the Orochi army. The cannons had at least done their work, the front lines had been ripped to shreds and any defensive bulwarks in the field were in shambles. Even the front gate of the garrison appeared to have suffered damage, a perfect target on which to concentrate their blows. From the sound of battleclash away to the right, it seemed Cao Cao’s contingent had reached the wall and side gate as well, so together both wings of the army tore into the gates and burst into the commanders’ hiding place from two places at the same time. All they heard over the din of battleclash was Dong Zhuo bellow, “Time to finish this!” and the last round truly began.

Da Ji had only retreated with Sima Yi as far as the main camp, so she was still there, along with both strategists, although both had been compromised by injury. They remained back, seemingly just watching and not even mustering the remaining troops, while Da Ji and Dong Zhuo launched themselves and what strength they had left at Cao Pi and Cao Cao. Dian Wei had not been merely bragging about his eagerness for a good fight, he was on a one-man rampage and, seeing the demon strategist who had assisted at the original fall of Yiling, roared like a bull before coming on even harder and stronger. It was enough to almost shame Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao to push past their exhaustion to find a reserve of strength to keep up with him. Even without Mitsunari faithfully at his side, Cao Pi pressed on as well, since he had Cao Ren at his right arm to serve as his shield and the duo of Li Dian and Yue Jin ignoring their own injuries to fight in skillful tandem on the left. It was surprisingly easy for the reinforcements to drag Dong Zhuo down, but the sight of slender Cai Wenji behind them gave him enough of a second wind that he was able to barge through them, trying to reach her. Cao Cao himself got in the way and slashed down with his broadsword, cutting the foul tyrant right down the front. Zhuo’s chestplate and massive belt saved him from certain death, but he took the blow to the same spot where Zhao Yun had wounded him months ago and went down screaming. Seeing him actually injured and not merely whining, Da Ji turned to see what she could do to still win this battle, and only then spotted the reason for the Wei advance and the renwed energy in their warriors. She stopped in her tracks, gaping. “You!”

She almost didn’t see Cao Pi coming in from the side, but managed to get one orb between his blade and her heart just in time. “Did you forget you were fighting me?” he taunted her, his tone low and savage. “Do not be distracted by shadows, Da Ji. A strategist of your ilk ought to know that.”

Da Ji bared her fox teeth at him. “That’s no shadow!” she growled. “Where were you hiding him?”

Cao Pi did not answer, for there was no need to expose his weaknesses by admitting the truth. He merely popped his swords apart and used the pommel of one to bash the orb out of his way so he could continue his attack. Da Ji was not about to let this surprise ruin her plans, she dodged him and then vanished, teleporting herself across the garrison to a spot immediately behind Cao Cao. Her ambush might have turned out poorly for Wei had Dian Wei not been hyper-alert to any threat that might befall his beloved lord. He was close by, and merely turned with his huge axe raised high enough that its shadow fell completely over Da Ji. Startled, she had to immediately give up her plan to murder Cao Cao in cold blood and leap out of the way. Xiahou Dun followed the bodyguard’s lead and went straight after her, forcing her even further back. She was beset on all sides, and even Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were too busy staring at the unexpected appearance of Cao Cao to come to her aid. Snarling in a rather fox-like manner, Da Ji raised her voice and shouted for retreat, teleporting herself in another whirl of gauzy skirts up to the top of the garrison wall. Cao Pi still advanced on what was left of the Orochi army, and though his eyes were on Da Ji atop her perch, he was growing close enough to make good on his threats to run Sima Yi through. “Abandoning your army again?” he called out mockingly.

His taunt found its mark; she glared daggers down at him. Rather than just flee, she had to somehow get her army out of this. “Laugh while you can, Cao Pi,” she snidely countered. “All of this is just delaying the inevitable.”

“Is it true, then? Your precious overlord is coming to do battle himself?” he said daringly.

Da Ji seethed at him. “You just don’t get it, do you? Lord Orochi is too strong for you! But since you want to fight him so badly, you’ll get your wish.” She looked down to where Dong Zhuo’s men had dragged their wounded commander, and the two famed strategists held their ground warily. “Sima Yi! Zhuge Liang! If you dare to surrender and go slinking back to their side, I’ll slit both your throats here and now! Pull back, all of you!”

Zhuge Liang took charge, raising his fan commandingly and gesturing for their troops to depart the garrison by a rear gate which opened out into the pine forests. A peal of thunder rolled across the mountain, and for a moment the snakes panicked and scattered, fearing more cannonballs. As Cao Cao came to his son’s side, Kongming fixed them both with a deep, penetrating stare, as if scrutinizing them for his own purposes, and then beckoned the others to follow him into retreat. Sima Yi had backed further off, and only glared before turning in a flurry of robes and disappearing among the army. Cao Cao watched with a grim look. “You do not wish to press the attack and cut off their retreat?”

“There’s no need,” Cao Pi assured. “We’ve done what we came to do. They wanted to challenge us and destroy me; that will not happen.” He waited a bit longer, until most of their foes were out of earshot, and then added in a quieter murmur, “Our men are exhausted and injured. We would only find ourselves at stalemate, we lack what we need to completely overcome her.”

His father grunted understandingly under his breath. “I see. Then, you are correct. This can be considered a victory.”

Pi turned to order his men to bring everyone up, they would make use of this walled-in area to house their own army while Da Ji’s fled back eastward in the direction they had come. Wei was too tired and sore to give chase or do anything else but throw up tents and take care of themselves. The battle had been costly for both sides, but they had planted a foothold at Yamazaki and stood poised, now, to prevent the Orochi army from advancing any further westward for any planned purpose. They could afford to take a couple of days to camp there and rest before returning to Xuchang.


	60. Chapter 60

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Cao Cao's return; Oda makes his plans and begins a battle at the Wuzhang Plains with surprising results.

While the majority of the officers clustered around Cao Cao to talk about how amazing it was to see him, Cao Pi went to see how his lead strategist was faring. Ishida had refused to be dragged all the way back to the staging ground to be treated, but the emergency measures taken in the field weren’t enough. The medical tent went up even before the command tent, seeing how many were injured, and the healers parted to let their lord come to see the damage for himself. By now Mitsunari had been stripped of his coat and kimono and lay stretched out so the medics could stitch the wound in his shoulder. He looked up as Pi came to his side, eyes glassy. “I’m fine,” he said, even though both knew it was a lie. “Go. You’ve got more important things to do.”

Pi placed a hand on his head, curling his fingers through sweat-dampened auburn hair. “You must stop taking hits for me,” he said softly. “Else, I may start thinking I can’t defend myself.”

Hazy from the pain, Mitsunari closed his eyes and smiled faintly. “You’ll never think that.”

“My lord,” one of the healers cautiously interrupted, “we need to treat him before he loses more blood.”

Pi looked to the man and nodded brusquely. “Do it. I want him capable of at least sitting and holding a cup of wine by sundown. Again,” he added as if to scold Mitsunari, and then swept out to leave them to their work.

The gaggle of officers in the middle of the compound was noisy, and Cao Cao clearly did not mind their attention at all. “So you’re not dead?” Xiahou Yuan asked even though the answer was obvious.

“I seem to be very much alive,” Cao Cao acknowledged. “I see that all of you have been assisting my son as though he were me. For that, you all have my gratitude. Your loyalty is invaluable.”

“Dian Wei,” Xiahou Dun said seriously, “you have performed a great service in keeping our lord safe all this time.”

Wei brushed it off with a wave of his hand. “It’s my calling and my destiny. I know of no other way to live.”

“He’s right,” Cao Pi said smoothly as he joined them, making them all look his way. “You have done a fine job keeping my father alive.”

“Aw, you know me, young master,” Wei said, beaming. “I would sacrifice even my own life to save him. Lucky for us, so far I haven’t needed to!”

More than one of the officers looked away knowingly, at that, but he didn’t catch on. Now that the young lord had encroached on the conversation, everyone stood waiting to see how father and son would interact. Cao Cao turned squarely toward him and lowered his head. “You fought well, my son.”

Pi accepted the compliment with a bob of his head in turn. “Welcome back, Father. I take this to mean, you wish to take control of this army which fights in the name of Wei.”

Cao Cao shook his head. “This army belongs to you. You built it, kept it, and strengthened it. It is your right to continue as its leader. I would be content to stand back and watch as you conquer this land.”

Cao Pi’s expression subtly turned cold as ice in that instant, his jaw tightened and his eyes closed briefly as if to hide his true feelings from being glimpsed in them. Not a one of the retainers clustered around them noticed. “I’m sure you’re aware that we all have a million questions,” he said to deflect the topic. “If it pleases you, we can wait until the evening meal, so you can tell us all about your adventure at once rather than repeat the story over and over.”

That seemed to be agreeable to everyone, so they broke up the conference and went about getting the camp settled, though Xiahou Dun did not seem to stray far from his true lord any more than Dian Wei did. There was much for a commander to do in the meantime, so Cao Pi stayed deliberately busy until well after the thunderstorm lurking at the fringe of the mountain passed by, the sun came back out and then set, and everything had been properly prepared both inside the garrison and out. Messengers had been dispatched to update their other strongholds on the big news, spies had gone out to trail the Orochi stragglers and verify that they were returning to one of their castles, and the scant supplies of black powder and cannon shot still left had been put under shelter before the rain. Every last scratch and bruise was finally tended, and guards set to protect the encampment from further incursion. It was fairly late when the officers gathered in the command tent to eat together, but it was important since there was much to be shared besides a meal. Mitsunari was among them, although he deliberately sat far to one side propped against a tent pole, he was so depleted from the battle and his injury that he could hardly stay awake let alone stand the hubbub. Cao Cao, predictably, had been making the rounds of his faithful officers, asking about little things so as to be more or less up on the details before even gathering to eat, and Zhang Liao had told him more than enough about Ishida to satisfy his curiosity. As he came in, he noticed the young man from Wa seated as comfortably as he could be and made a point to stop before him. “Ishida, is it?” he said politely. “Thank you, for keeping an eye on my son.”

Mitsunari raised his eyes but stifled the sudden wave of shock that wanted to sweep over him. He met the great lord’s gaze briefly and then looked away with a snide “Hmph,” under his breath. “He just gets in my way, is all.”

Cao Cao breathed a short laugh. “I imagine so. Nevertheless, I hear you have done much for him, and for that you have my thanks.” With that said, he went to make his way to the position of honor accorded him and settled down.

Mitsunari watched as Cao Pi came around and placed himself deliberately not too close to his father, leaving room for some of the more awed retainers to take their place at Mengde’s sides. Dian Wei was still in a great mood, laughing and talking about wreaking havoc now that he was here, Xun You went to make small talk with Pang Tong out of sheer curiosity, and the attendants streamed in to bring them their food and drink. After enough of a preface had been made, along with a dent in the meal, Zihuan finally asked the question they all wanted an answer for. “So tell us, Father,” he purred, his tone all suave and disarming, “how is it that you did not come to die like Orochi wanted, at Yiling?”

“Yeah, and where’ve you been all this time, my lord?” Xiahou Yuan put in.

Cao Cao sat lording himself over their fawning like he completely deserved it. “It’s really nothing to make a great story,” he said modestly. “Dian Wei thought I was dead, and I confess there might have been a moment in which I myself believed it. Orochi cut me down, I was there, I felt it. But in his haste to take me off the battlefield and bury me where those demons could not defile the grave, Dian Wei did not truly check to see if it were true. I came to myself to find him carrying me on his back, weeping to the heavens.” He shot his bodyguard a wry smile, and the big bald man actually blushed in embarrassment. “Imagine his shock when the body he carried started moving. Though I wasn’t dead, I was severely injured, and if he had not stopped and changed his tactic to care for my wounds, it’s possible I might have died after all. I had enough wits about me to ask him to take me somewhere safe until I could recover, and that was the last I remembered for a while.”

“Yiling was still crawling with demons,” Dian Wei said to take up the tale, “and I didn’t know where the hell the Xiahous or anyone else had gone, it was just me. There wasn’t time to go looking for anybody, my lord was in real danger of dying, so I just patched him up and then hid him in the forest until I was sure the Orochi army had left. It took a few days. At that point there was no way to find the rest of the army, so when Lord Cao Cao was able to be moved, I took him as far away as I could.”

“That is really all there is to it,” Cao Cao insisted. “My injuries were so severe that I required several weeks of convalescence to return myself to health, and even longer to regain my strength enough to be able to ride and do battle again. Dian Wei looked after me the entire time.”

“But where?” Xiahou Dun wondered. “Are there even more locations in this world we haven’t discovered?”

Cao Cao gave him a sly smirk; clearly he relished being able to drop this bomb on them. “Why, Luoyang, of course.”

Plates and cups were nearly dropped in surprise. Even Cao Pi’s eyes widened. “You found Luoyang?”

“In time.” Cao Cao leaned back, smiling smugly over his cup. “At first, we holed up in a small village that had been deserted, but it was still too close to Orochi-held roads, so eventually we had to move. It took some searching, but we did find the capital.” He nodded toward the woman seated among them. “It was there we ran into Cai Wenji, and Xun You as well. They had managed to find it and use it as a refuge, it was otherwise completely empty.”

“It was a fortuitous meeting,” the young woman said with a sage air. “Lord Cao Cao was still in great need of healing. I was able to help him, and hopefully soothe his pain with my music if nothing else.”

The elder lord smiled fondly in her direction. “You were a great help to me in more ways than one, my lady.”

“So that was how you were able to build at least a small unit of your own, before advancing to any battles,” Pi noted. “Curious, though, that you should ride to meet us here rather than come to visit at Xuchang, where I’ve been in command for some time.”

“Merely coincidence,” Cao Cao assured. “I had made up my mind to locate the Wei army, it just so happened our scouts reported that it was on the move. Yet, I assume that this isn’t the entirety of our army.”

There it was. _Our_ army. Pi’s expression cooled again. “I also hold Jianye, Odawara, and Chencang,” he replied stiffly, “with a decent contingent at each to guard them in the event that this move of Da Ji’s was a ruse to draw out our strength and leave our castles undermanned. I chose not to make the same mistake she did.”

Cao Cao’s heavy brow twitched, as he sensed a longer story behind that comment. It wasn’t important now, but he would learn all about it later when he had time. “I see that my decision to move out now was wise,” he said ponderously. “Things are moving and shifting. The momentum is building. Yet, you have such a masterful control over Wei right now, I dare not step in your way lest you plow me under like the rest of your enemies.”

There was still something icy in Cao Pi’s smile as he raised his cup to his lips. “Yet, all of Wei will be glad to have you back, Father. We can look forward to a warm welcome in Xuchang in a few days.”

The meal dragged on into the night until it was almost a party, but the injured needed rest and there would be plenty to do in the morning, so eventually they wound down the many stories of their exploits in Cao Cao’s absence and broke it up to go to bed. Since his unit had brought their own supplies on their journey, including tents, Cao Cao had his own separate place to lay his head where only his bodyguard was allowed to join him, and another for their retainers. Fortunately, that allowed Cao Pi to keep his own routine as usual. Seeing as most of the others were still all a-flutter about his father, he selected Yue Jin to stand guard over himself and Mitsunari, who was in no shape to go anywhere anyway. They had to wait until everyone else had left, and at last Pi was able to help his strategist to his feet and escort him to the separate sleeping chamber at the back of the tent. As he eased to a seat on his pallet, Mitsunari finally got his chance to talk to his lord about this new twist in Wei. “That’s quite a mountain you have to climb, there,” he quipped.

Pi glanced through the gap in the tent canvas as if expecting his father to still be standing there, but Yue Jin was the only one around and he was busy dousing lamps on the far side. “Crumbling though it is,” he murmured in turn, “it is high and mighty and treacherous, yet. It will not be an easy journey.”

Mitsunari softly chuckled in understanding. He saw, now, what he had long wondered about – the attitudes of the Xiahou clan, particularly, but also every spoken reference comparing Cao Pi to his father. He had grown close enough to the young lord of Wei that he saw things from his point of view, particularly how pointless such comparisons were when Zihuan was clearly his own man with his own ambitions. It was good to know Cao Cao had no intention of wresting command of the Wei army from his son, but how long would that last, and would the rest of Wei see it the same? “Can I ask?” he said more gently. “If it’s good to see him…?”

Pi regarded him for a moment, his eyes uncertain, and then he lowered his head with a sigh. “I think I’m still reeling from the surprise,” he replied. “Ask me again in a few days.”

“So you didn’t know.” Mitsunari tilted his head. “No idea at all? Not even a slight suspicion?”

“No, none. I confess, I thought him dead like everyone else.” Pi harrumphed and pulled off the rest of his belt and excess clothing so he could lay down to sleep. “I should have known, that he would sniff the winds of war and know that this is the precise time in which to return from the grave. He couldn’t have timed that more perfectly.”

“High and mighty and treacherous, indeed,” Mitsunari said wryly as he eased himself down onto his back, slowly and painfully.

“Let me worry about it. It is my mountain to climb.” He watched Mitsunari wince as he settled down, and then leaned over to pull his blanket up for him. “At least your mind isn’t damaged, I’ll still need that.”

“You can have it later,” Ishida grumbled, closing his eyes. “Give me at least two days’ sleep first.”

  


The increasing hostilities throughout Orochi’s realm could not be ignored by any of the factions, every commander knew it was a sign that the worst was soon to come. Things were going poorly for the army under Da Ji and Fuuma Kotaro, if only because they were now so reduced that attempting to manage four different resistance armies at once was nearly impossible. The feint to draw Cao Pi out had failed, if only because the most unexpected reinforcements had come at just the right time, but the true cost of the venture had been just what they could not afford at that time. Dong Zhuo was temporarily down, wounded badly enough that it would take time for him to even be able to sit in a saddle and command from behind castle walls. Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang had both taken blows but were fine to continue, though in what capacity depended on how they intended to man what resources they had left. There was nothing positive to be taken from their sortie, the only thing they could even consider good fortune was the fact that nothing and no one else attacked them for a good week afterward. It allowed Da Ji time to draw the army back to Bai Di to lick their wounds, reconsider their options, and read all the incoming scouting reports confirming that Wei was successfully returning to Xuchang in triumph. It didn’t matter that neither army had truly overcome the other, and each side had only lost one officer to active duty, the mission of the Orochi army was to actually conquer, dominate, and destroy the Resistance, and not doing so was naturally a defeat.

The injury to Mitsunari’s shoulder was serious but not deadly, and since he could still wield his fan with just his right hand, would not slow him down much if he needed to fight. But it was deep and painful, and until he could recover his strength, he would be staying within the walls of Xuchang. Of course, things abroad had reached the point where not even the greatest strategist of any age could predict which way the winds blew or which ways the armies would move, so he couldn’t say whether Wei would need to march out again soon, or later. At least he was in the perfect position to observe the return of Lord Cao Cao and the way it affected Lord Cao Pi. His personal feelings aside, his loyalty was entirely to Zihuan and he couldn’t help but sympathize completely with him, viewing his father’s reintroduction as interference and possibly a sign that the future of Wei and the entire resistance could become extremely complicated. Yet, in the days following their return, Mengde continually reaffirmed his intent to simply sit back and let Cao Pi do all the hard work, and deign to raise his sword alongside the other officers if and when called upon. The tension between father and son was still subtle, only those who swore they knew one or the other well could see it when they interacted. Pi threw himself right back into his work, intent on learning what Da Ji’s next move would be as soon as she made it, if not before.

As much as Oda Nobunaga wanted to make his move before Da Ji could have any time to rest and rebuild her army, his own preparations were on a different schedule from what he most desired. He kept his officers involved in the plans and made sure they all agreed that making a decisive move against the Orochi army was in their best interests, but the longer it took to put everything in order, the more unlikely it seemed that Bai Di would be the viable target. So much of the Orochi army was bivouacked there instead of He Fei Castle, and even though the very officers Nobunaga wished to draw out into the field were there, he was mindful of the odds against directly assaulting the castle. His reconnaissance had uncovered a number of curious items which could lead to an alternate plan, however; Kawanakajima was still empty, as was Shizugatake much further to the west, and while the Sanada had retaken their ancestral castle, there were still narrow routes leading westward which the Orochi army was capable of using, such as the one Da Ji’s recent incursion had been on before being stymied at Yamazaki. There were no major Orochi strongholds in that direction, and yet Oda seemed unable to pull his eyes away from it, his focus drawn to it even as he asked his strategists to devise irresistible lures to bring Da Ji and her elite out of Bai Di. “But my lord,” Hideyoshi countered, “by now she’s gotta know that that’s what you want. If you ask me, she’d be a fool to step foot outside her cushy little castle for anything short of us attacking Orochi himself.”

Oda slowly turned to regard him as they stood in conference with a number of officers in the war room. “You know, you’re absolutely right, Monkey,” he said with that underlying tone of eagerness that suggested he had just come up with a very bad idea. Hanbei heard it and rolled his eyes, expecting that whatever would be said next would be terrible and he would love it. “If she values her own life so much that the only reason to risk it is her beloved demon overlord, then we shall just have to go after him, won’t we?”

Mitsuhide stared at him. “Go after Orochi himself? How? Even if he’s on the move toward us, no scouts have spotted him yet…”

“He is somewhere to the west, is he not?” Oda smiled cuttingly at his men. “It seems simple enough to begin moving westward. I had planned to relocate from Guandu before winter settles in anyway, it would kill two birds with one stone.”

Sima Shi stood staring at him, unable to believe that the intelligent and capable warlord he had been following was suddenly turning reckless, but beside him, Hanbei chuckled dryly. “Well, it’s that, or we work harder to help Shu find their lord. Castles are nothing, the Orochi army is more worried about their officers and their prisoners. If we can’t aim for one, we must aim for the other.”

Seeing as the only knowledge they had pertaining to the search for Liu Bei was Shu’s own report that they had designs on searching Edo, there wasn’t much Oda’s army could do to assist on that front. It seemed they really could only aim at Orochi. Enough of the officers were still gaping at him that Nobunaga felt the need to laugh at them. “Have I given you reason to think that I am fool enough to overreach at this very crucial juncture?” he taunted them. “Of course we will not be simply uprooting and migrating west to confront Orochi – that is the lure, the bait to bring Da Ji precisely where we want her. We cannot even think of meeting him on a battlefield until we’ve reduced his army and strengthened ours. As long as our declaration of intent is convincing enough that Da Ji simply cannot sit by and let it stand.”

Most of them lowered their eyes contritely; they deserved that scolding. Ma Chao, who had only just returned from Chengdu in time for this, had remained silent on his wish to ask for troops to assist Zhao Yun, and now it looked like there would be no one to spare. This mission took precedence, he had no choice. Taking a deep breath, he faced his commander directly across the map table. “You will have to sell it well, then, my lord,” he said boldly. “It would not do well for us to leave any of our holdings understaffed if Da Ji does not rise to the bait.”

Oda turned to regard him with a calm, appraising gaze, and then turned to gesture at the map between them. “I remember once you spoke to me of your experiences with battling on the Wuzhang Plains. They lay in an interesting location from a strategic standpoint: three different Resistance cells control territory all around them, I’m certain both they and the Orochi army use these plains as a route of travel. It seems to me that it would be the perfect place to mount a defense if the Orochi army were to decide to put a stop to our advance. What do you think?”

Chao blinked at being openly consulted in front of all the others. He looked down at the map, pushed past his memories, and nodded once. “If we control the high ground and force Da Ji to battle us on the plains, it would do well. I cannot even begin to approach the great mind of Zhuge Liang or suggest anything he might have done there, but that should hardly be something to rely upon.” He looked to Sima Shi at one corner of the table. “Others would be better in that regard.”

Shi tipped his head in acknowledgement. “I was with my father when he fought from the high ground, as you suggest. I believe you’re on the right track, Lord Ma Chao.”

“Excellent. If there are no objections,” Nobunaga purred, “I will make this my goal. We must do everything in our power to entice Da Ji out from hiding – leave no possibility unexplored, this must succeed.”

“The army is prepared to move out at your command, my lord,” Mitsuhide confirmed. “If you’re planning to use this opportunity to change our headquarters and put the winter command in residence here, we can have supplies packed in no time at all.”

“Good. Do it,” Oda ordered.

Of all the potential information about the Oda Resistance that could possibly get Da Ji’s attention, the most important one had already reached Bai Di, but she had not yet seen it. Too busy cleaning up the mess from first Mount Komaki and then Yamazaki, she didn’t bother with the less urgent-sounding spy reports until it was almost too late. Word came to them that the Oda Resistance at Guandu was making some kind of preparations, which brought his name to the fore and jogged her memory of earlier reports. She found them, and Date came into the chamber to find her tearing frantically through the papers one after the other, her rage building. “What is this?” she snapped at him as soon as she spotted him. “Why did no one tell me Oda’s been sending people to all the other Resistance armies?!”

Masamune scowled back at the insinuation that it was his fault. “I did tell you. Over a week ago,” he said snippily.

“Well obviously you didn’t tell me the whole truth!” She brandished a fistful of message scrolls at him. “Do you have any idea what this means? He’s trying to unite all four of the Resistance leaders into one army!”

Date did not look particularly surprised, though he did frown. “Is that what you took from it?”

“Why else would he be sending _officers_ and not just messengers?” Messengers from both armies came and went almost unobserved, it was so commonplace that no one cared unless there was an abrupt and lasting absence of them. Da Ji threw down the old reports and began pacing. “So if he’s building something at Guandu, the minute that _something_ sets foot outside the walls, it’s going to mean disaster for us! He is the one man I _must_ personally destroy before he can succeed. If he can unite all those armies together into one, they might actually be able to stand against Lord Orochi!”

“Impossible!” Masamume scoffed. “No one can defeat Lord Orochi! They’re fools for even thinking they have a chance!”

Da Ji swished straight at him from across the room and shoved her face up into his with a snarl. “Of course no one can defeat him, but there’s a lot that can happen that Lord Orochi absolutely _does not_ want to happen!” she hissed into his face. “If they have enough strength they could actually survive his onslaught, or worse – fight him to a stalemate! That is the exact opposite of conquering this entire land and having every human under his thumb.” She jabbed a painted nail into Masamune’s silver chestplate to punctuate her lecture. “Of all the Resistance leaders, Oda has been the one man who has thwarted me at every turn, the one who’s taken more of our castles, built the largest army, and even turned our own officers against us! Everything traces back to him, so _he_ must be the one to suffer and die first!”

Masamune placed a single finger on her shoulder and pushed her back out of his personal space. “Well, if you want to kill him so badly, you’ll get your chance. That report from this morning suggests they’re preparing to move out. Once he leaves the safety of Guandu, he’ll be vulnerable.”

“Perfect,” Da Ji spat. “Call the others. Dong Zhuo’s out, but I don’t care. I’m tired of him failing me at every turn, let him rot! You and Keiji, it’s time for you to show me just how good your stupid rifle corps is!”

Date bristled at the insult, but since everything else was agreeable to him up to and including the chance to ride to battle again instead of occupy a castle, he just huffed and turned to call Fuuma and Maeda, as well as their strategists. At that point, it didn’t matter which direction the Oda army moved when they left Guandu or what their true objective was, they already had exactly what Nobunaga wanted: the enemy’s undivided attention.

  


The ridges above the Wuzhang Plains had had fortifications built upon them long ago so that armies at the frontier could regularly wage battles for control, even before Wei and Shu became accustomed to staring at one another across the expanse of the flat grassland. The northernmost ridge had the perfect garrison to call a main camp for whoever approached from that direction, and three solid gates blocked the paths leading up to it from below, an asset Oda Nobunaga used to his advantage. The massive army under his direct command had reached the plains earlier that day, and now, as the sun began to sink behind the hills, they were in firm control of Wuzhang with their numbers concealed by the fortifications and a solid defense waiting behind the gates. Scouts confirmed that an Orochi army was indeed trailing them, moving on an intercept course which would naturally converge here, but Oda had planned well in advance so he would be able to claim the northern ridges and force his enemy to make do with the southern side of the plains below the river. A quick reconnaissance of the territory found that, like in so many locales, a foreign building had been planted squarely in the middle of the plains, but the lava beneath its walls had cooled in most places, allowing access to the courtyard of the structure at least. It dammed the river in the center, causing it to pool on one end and the riverbed to run dry on the other. Aside from that, nothing but fences and crumbling half-walls of ruined farm buildings peeped between the long grass for many long miles before the three bulwark gates. The enemy was finally spotted moving in along the river from the east around sunset, and as he stood atop the cliffs where they best afforded a long view of the battlefield, Nobunaga smirked to himself to see it. “So it begins,” he murmured, knowing Mitsuhide was just behind him. “I suppose we shall see, soon, just how many Orochi minions we managed to hook.”

“From the looks of things, they certainly aren’t having any trouble filling their ranks,” his retainer said pensively, “despite their dearth of officers.”

“It is as we were warned, then.” Oda turned keen eyes on him. “She has demons unnumbered to take the place of all those officers she lost.”

Mitsuhide smirked back. “In my experience, their limbs and their spears break far more easily than humans’.”

“Then we will litter the battlefield with their carnage.”

He turned and strode back toward the main camp, breezing through the gate as the setting sun before him dipped low enough to cover the entire encampment with the shadow of the palisade wall. Milling about in the yard were most of the high-ranking officers brought from Guandu: Toshiie, Hanbei, Sima Shi, Ma Chao, Ma Dai, Guan Ping, and Ling Tong, while Hideyoshi was busy triple-checking their perimeter. Truthfully, they could have brought even more, but two strategists were plenty and they needed to leave a large enough show of force at Guandu and Fan to prevent Da Ji from essentially doing exactly as Oda had done in his own conquest. The enemy’s timely appearance suggested that they had avoided both those castles and headed straight for this army on the march, a thought which pleased the commander to no end. He had let Sima Shi set up the defenses precisely as his father’s had been arrayed in another time, seeing as they had been victorious then, and relied on the men of Shu to warn of any advantages Da Ji might be able to use on the southern end. All of those present were eager to fight, morale was high and the confidence of their commander wiped away any doubt. As he joined the collection chatting together about their preparations, Toshiie laughed brightly. “What do you think, Lord Nobunaga? Are they going to dig in and wait till morning, or take it to us at night?”

“At this point, it is hard to know the mind of the cornered fox,” Nobunaga replied coolly. “Then again, we did hit her at night. She may wish to return the favor.”

“I heard the reports,” Ling Tong said, “she’s got some serious numbers backing her this time. I guess she really must hate losing.”

“I’m sure the taste of it is bitter in her mouth, by now,” Mitsuhide agreed. “Particularly after being run off the field by none other than Cao Pi.”

“All the same,” Shi cautioned, “we can’t trust that she will let her hatred and annoyance run away with her head. She could still be in firm control of her army and her officers.”

“Correct,” Nobunaga said. “We must conduct this battle as though she were every bit as powerful as the famed strategists who once butted heads, here. Who knows, she may have one or both of them along, and they have the same knowledge of the terrain that we do.”

“I wouldn’t mind having another go at Zhuge Liang,” Guan Ping murmured.

“We must keep our heads, whether they are here or not,” Ma Chao advised. “We provoked this battle, we must win it.”

The goal, as they all understood it from those long and frequent conferences in the war room, was to cut away as much of Da Ji’s strength as they could. Capturing or injuring her lead officers, or even capturing the fox herself, would be the ultimate, but barring that they needed to at least hamstring the army, leave them stranded with no way to return safely past Oda’s castles, and at the very least prevent her from capturing, wounding, or killing anyone of theirs. It depended somewhat on who was with her; if she came after them with no one notable, no one worth capturing or turning, they merely needed to drive her off with her tails between her legs and prove their superiority. The snake demons seemed to lose morale easily if they suffered continual defeats, which could only work to their benefit. Everything had essentially been put into place, so now all they could do was wait as night fell to see whether she would advance now or wait until dawn.

Though she was in fact being driven by her pure hatred for Nobunaga, Da Ji was capable of controlling herself long enough to prove to Fuuma that she could command this army without his help. Had they known that the Resistance would stop to meet them at Wuzhang, Sima Yi might have been more interested in coming along, but after the fiasco at Yamazaki he was in no mood to work with Zhuge Liang again so soon. Kongming consented to taking his place, and luckily so because he was able to point out everything he had done before at this very spot, but he warned her that their position in the south was far harder to defend than the fortifications to the north and they needed to pull out every trick in the book if they wanted to succeed. They had Date Masamune and Katakura Kojuro, with their full rifle corps, and Maeda Keiji in a truly bloodthirsty mood, but beyond that, there were few human officers left to them with the capability to stand, mostly weaker men of the early Han with only the vaguest connections to the kingdoms which came after. The majority of Da Ji’s assault force was comprised of snake demons, whom she intended to drive into the heart of the battlefield with no mercy for cowards. Trusting in superior numbers worked more often than not, so even if it had failed last time, she was sure it would do well here. Their main problem was drawing the enemy out from their snug bulwarks to fight in the open. Leaving her other strategist to guard their main camp, Da Ji went ahead with Date and Maeda to get a good look at the field for themselves, finding a rise of earth at the back of the foreign building cutting the river in two, from which they could see almost everything. “There’s no sense in letting Oda get a good night’s sleep so he can fight back extra-hard in the morning,” she reasoned, shading her eyes with a hand from the last of the sunlight creeping out of the sky. “We move at once. Array the front line like we planned, send that Yan Whatever-his-name-is to where Zhuge Liang wanted him, and you know the rest.”

“Understood,” Masamune said curtly, dismounting from his horse. “This is a good spot, I’ll make my stand here to direct the reinforcements.”

“Man, this is gonna be good,” Keiji said with an eager grin. “Oda himself, I’m up for this one!”

“He won’t know what hit him,” Da Ji said darkly. “This time, I’m ready for everything.”

She left them to their tasks and teleported back to the main camp, which had been set up inside a rather well-built temple which Zhuge Liang was currently exploring with interest. It didn’t belong to Wuzhang, he wasn’t even certain it was from their own time. If they weren’t about to launch into battle, he would have liked time to study it and determine whether its hidden mystical energies could be of any use to them. But the orders had been given and the army was moving out, all they could do was rely on strength and tactics now. Masamune dug in to observe from high above, his sight line almost even with the tops of the three gates across the plains from where he stood. Twilight deepened to full darkness before everyone was in place, but by then, there was no stopping the battle. Torches flared on both sides, but great swaths of the plain in between were as black as midnight. Raising his saber, Date called out in his strident voice, “First wave! Advance, and tear down those forts!”

The Orochi lines stretched across the valley from one cliff to the other, with the Katakura rifle unit embedded behind demon captains who took the order and charged toward the three gates. By attacking all three points at once, it was expected that the defense would have to split to cover all three, leaving them weakened and allowing that at least one could be breached. On paper it was a fine tactic, but the Resistance had far more manpower behind those three gates than their enemies imagined. Nobunaga himself sat in the saddle just upslope from the middle gate, ready to advance the instant the doors before him opened. He needed to buy time, and forcing the Orochi army to work to wrest even one gate from him would do. His army would not advance first, they had no reason to. A sentry came up behind him to report the simultaneous assault, which made him laugh to himself under his breath. “This should be amusing,” he purred to Hideyoshi on his right.

“No change to Hanbei’s plan, I’m guessing?” Toyotomi asked.

“It is exactly what we need,” Oda affirmed. “If they can manage to break down one of these gates, they deserve a reward of a few minutes to make something of it. Then, we open the others and pour out onto their flank to break down their front line.”

There were formidable forces waiting behind each one – the Ma cousins to the west, Toshiie and Ling Tong to the east, and himself with Toyotomi in the center – while another line of their stoutest officers waited at two more strategic points upslope and Sima Shi guarded the main camp with Hanbei directing strategy beside him. The bulk of the Orochi forces had moved in under cover of growing darkness, so they couldn’t be sure of the exact numbers facing them, but so far not a single officer uttered a word about whether or not they had planned for reinforcements. They were confident in their preparations, and the longer it took for the enemy to gain any headway against them, the more certain they were that Oda had planned this down to the last man. It took a frustratingly long time for any of the gates to be breached, in the end it was the easternmost one, and the snake demon who led the charge ran shrieking right into Toshiie’s poleaxes. Ling Tong got the briefest glimpse through the open doors of the pitch-black plain beyond crawling with snakes, and then he had to focus on defending this position with all his might.

As soon as the eastern gate opened, much of the first wave melted toward that side, giving up on the other two and pouring all their strength onto that gap in order to overwhelm the defenders. No sooner had the last demon officer jogged past the iron doors in the center and they slammed open from the inside, releasing the Oda troops and the commander himself, his sword glowing brightly in the darkness as he came galloping out to trample and cut down his foes. The Ma cavalry charged from the west, and in that instant the plain was in chaos. A chunk of the front line turned and swept back toward this attack, but they were no match. Masamune could see the trouble well enough from the faint light glinting on weapons and armor and grumbled under his breath. “Time for the second wave,” he said angrily. “Get in there and make them pay for that. Keiji, you’re up!”

“You got it!” Keiji raised his pike high and bellowed at the top of his lungs as he clapped his heels to his horse’s flanks. “In the name of our great snake overlord guy, Orochi!”

His blustery presence was just what the Orochi lines needed. He thundered down from the ridge and through ranks of demons and riflemen toward the front, shouting out orders to this officer or that to have the second wave move in now, immediately, no it’s not too soon get in there. He himself rode up a gravel track in the center and found himself aiming straight at Oda, which only heightened his desire for bloodshed and drove him to speed. Much of the Resistance had not seen him in battle in some time, so the sight of the famous warrior bearing down on their commander, face painted for war, startled a good many of them. Nobunaga was not at all daunted, though he reined in to wait and let Keiji come to him. He locked eyes on the bigger man and waited until the last second, and then deftly ducked the swing of the pike by leaning out of the saddle to the other side. It was such an insult that Keiji yanked his horse to a screeching stop and turned to come at him again, no longer grinning. “What’s the matter, Demon King?” he yelled as he closed in. “Can’t handle a little taste of Orochi’s true power?”

This time, Nobunaga spun his steed and slashed out hard with his blade, knocking the pike wide. His glare was cold for this upstart nephew of his loyal retainer. “What I can’t handle,” he said dryly, “is having to listen to your inane prattle. Fight, Keiji.”

“With pleasure!”

As they clashed in the center, the second wave of Orochi soldiers swept straight in, not bothering to split since they now had available targets all along the base of the ridge. To the west the defense held, but to the east things were not so certain, since an extra portion of the enemy’s strength was still concentrated there. Guan Ping moved in from further uphill to bolster their defense, but it looked like it might not be enough. The three officers stood just outside the broken gate to hold the line, backing one another up, but now they could really see just how much of the plain swarmed with enemy soldiers: this was nothing short of a huge ground battle with thousands of troops committed. The report of rifles from somewhere downfield served as a warning of what else lurked out there in the darkness, and the officers realized they could be easily seen in the torchlight and were standing targets for the rifle corps. Katakura himself loomed up out of the night and attacked Ling Tong directly – like his lord, he carried a sword in addition to pistols, but he also had a narrow buckler strapped to his left arm to shield him from most of the blows from the nunchuku. They were still fighting in close quarters when the thunder of approaching hooves began to be felt in the ground beneath their feet, and then heard above the din of battle. It was nothing like anything the Oda Resistance had brought with them, before too long it was clear it belonged to a cavalry of some sort. Kojuro’s sword-arm faltered as he looked around, trying to locate the source of the noise, and even Ling Tong stood back with his weapon held in a block, confused. The horses burst from around a bend in a path to the east, their riders clad in mostly white and a fierce warrior at the head of the column, his eyes glittering from the shadows beneath his hood. Toshiie gasped loudly to see him, even before the dour leader called out his first challenge to the battlefield in his low, gruff voice: “The bells of war toll for me!”

Guan Ping’s huge blade drooped as he stared in shock to recognize these men. “It can’t be! Lord Kenshin!”

Fighters on both sides faltered, allowing the Uesugi cavalry to plow right over the hesitating Orochi troops, sending them scattering in all directions. Katakura jerked back out of the way lest Kenshin’s barbed blade take his head from his shoulders on the spot. Rather than continue on to the center, the cavalry drew in and reformed their lines to take the battle to this eastern flank, clearing out a number of the enemy to allow the defenders a moment’s rest and breathing room. Behind Uesugi rode Naoe Kanetsugu, fierce as ever, and in no time at all their mingled cavalry had decimated the second wave and drove the snakes back past the rifle lines. Katakura held as long as he could and then gave way, calling an order to retreat for now. Once the immediate area was clear of foes and gunshots, the leaders rode back to where the three officers had bravely made their stand. Uesugi was already beside himself with glee, crowing to the sky, “God of War, watch over us in this battle!”

Guan Ping was still so staggered by this development that all he could do was laugh. “Lord Kenshin! It is good to see you!”

Naoe reined in beside his lord, flicking the blood from his sword. “Of course! We of the Uesugi cannot let such a dishonorable foe run amok any longer.”

Ping did his best not to roll his eyes. “…and you too, Lord Kanetsugu.”

“What in the hell is this?” Toshiie exclaimed. “I thought you were dead!”

Kenshin gave him a cool smirk. “Does it matter? We have come, now.”

“Well all right. That takes care of things on this end, I guess,” Toshiie shrugged. “We should go to the center and see how Lord Oda is handling things.”

Far to the other end of the field, the Ma cousins were holding ground rather well against the battery of Orochi forces, almost all snakes on their end. Yet, they couldn’t break through the line to get to where the commander was still locked in combat with Maeda Keiji, and the continual stream of reinforcements from further afield was frustrating Ma Chao. He rode back and forth with the Silver Stallion flashing in the moonlight, but no less than two demon captains swarmed on him and separated him from Ma Dai, doing their best to pull him from his saddle under the impression that he would be less fearsome on the ground than on a horse. They, too, felt a sudden tremor in the ground beneath them, but failed to understand it until it was too late. The horses seemed to appear as if out of thin air, coming into the firelight from the darkness beyond and racing up the path from the west to cut directly into the Orochi flank. The foremost rider in his terrifying oni mask rode down the captains assailing Ma Chao and personally knocked them aside, leaving him sitting there in paralyzed astonishment. Unlike nearly everyone on the battlefield, he knew this man lived, but he had no idea that he would be making an appearance right here and now. Ma Dai whooped for joy as the red-clad Takeda cavalry stormed past him, and then fell in with them as they began to put the western flank of the Orochi army to rout. Takeda Shingen circled around and came up alongside Ma Chao to make sure he hadn’t been hurt, grinning below his mask. “What did you think of that entrance I just made? Pretty heroic, wouldn’t you say?”

“Lord Takeda!” Chao stammered. “I…you’re here!”

“Swift as the wind,” Shingen affirmed. “Well, I once was. It counts, right?”

“I…yes!” Mengqi shook himself out of it and brandished his spear. “It will be my pleasure to ride at your side, Lord Takeda! Come, let us clean up this snake den!”

Takeda’s booming laugh sounded across the field, at which point Mitsuhide appeared in the open doorway of the western gate, boggling at this development. There was no time to wonder, though, he fell in with them as well and powered into the collapsing Orochi lines.

By now both Nobunaga and Keiji were out of the saddle and battling hard on the ground, and few from either army wanted to approach too closely lest they become collateral damage. It seemed impossible that the sword he had named Demon Slayer could be the match of Keiji’s massive pike, but it fended off each swing with a shower of sparks, humming as it whirled around trying to get inside the big warrior’s reach. In a duel of strength versus speed, they had no choice but to keep one another at stalemate. Yet, here before him stood one of Oda’s goals for this battle. If he could not overcome Keiji, he could not even be given the choice to capture or wound him. Killing him seemed next to impossible, but some part of the warlord was loathe to slaughter such a capable man even if he could not be turned to the Resistance. He darted and dashed around Maeda, striking for open spots and vulnerable points when he could and then fending off or dodging the pike as it came in to stop him. His speed forced Keiji to take the shaft of the pike in two hands and use both ends to the best effect, swinging much more quickly to try and trip up the man evading his every attempt at cutting him down. Keiji knew full well Da Ji wanted this man dead, but he was caught in the thrill of battle much as he had been against Sun Ce, fighting lustily and thinking only of claiming victory. Both had taken hits, but Maeda tended to wear less armor overall, so he was starting to falter as some of his recklessness cost him his stamina. The only visible injuries he sported were to his arms, where nothing protected him. As Oda threw himself in again, bracing his free hand behind his other arm to lend extra power to the hit, Keiji held him in place, grinning savagely across the shaft of his pike. “Wanna see what I’m really capable of?” he dared. “I’m gonna break you in two!”

“Save your breath,” Nobunaga snarled at him, “and show me what you have left.”

He didn’t want to admit that his own strength was flagging, this fight was going on far too long. Yet just then, a cadre of officers arrived from the side, and one broke from the pack, outpacing even Uesugi’s horse as he came in swinging. Keiji let out a yelp at the interference, and then abruptly sobered as he realized who had attacked him. The pronged blade of the pike hovered low to the ground as he put himself into a defensive stance. “Well, well…”

Toshiie’s usual glee was completely gone, and in its place he wore a grim and dark expression. He advanced with both polearms held down and out, ready to attack in a heartbeat. “Don’t even think of backing down, Keiji,” he growled. “Not now.”

Keiji grinned savagely back. “Wouldn’t dream of it, uncle.”

Guan Ping nearly held his breath; he knew that they were on opposite sides, but he had never dreamed of seeing them face one other. Toshiie moved first, lighting into his wayward nephew with a fresh reserve of strength. The two of them beating on one another was even more impressive than watching Oda fight, and for a while no one could say which would win. “Such power,” Ping breathed in awe. “Even my father would be hard pressed…”

“I see you’ve fought well so far, Guan Ping,” Nobunaga said to distract him. “Report.”

In the moment Ping looked toward him, not even sure how to explain the appearance of the Uesugi, a loud clang sounded beyond them as Toshiie struck down Keiji’s pike with one axe and then slashed hard at him with the other. The cut was deflected by his lacquered shoulder guard but the force of the blow itself knocked Keiji sprawling. He tumbled end over end across tussocks of grass and came up to find himself disarmed. Snarling and cursing himself, he whistled for his horse. “Handed my ass to me on that one!” he shouted to his uncle, presumably a compliment, and grabbed the saddle as his horse flew by, mounting up on the run and galloping away down toward the dry riverbed. Toshiie stared after him, and then lowered his gaze to the mighty pike lying in the dirt at his feet.

Oda huffed a sigh to himself, seeing that his first opportunity had come to nothing. Keiji was injured, but not seriously. It would not be enough, they had to do better. But he said nothing to this effect to his officers as they gathered around him, instead lifting his heavy gaze to the hooded man astride his horse. “So, the God of War has arrived.”

Kenshin gave him a curt nod. “I see you could not resist dirtying your own hands.”

Just then, the entirety of the Takeda cavalry came into formation near them, while Shingen and Ma Chao rode over to check up on things for themselves. Yet again, Guan Ping boggled to see him. “Lord Shingen! You’re all right!”

“Oh yes, I’m fine,” Takeda assured. “Alas, there isn’t time to have a chat about it. God of War, Demon King…” He looked to each of the other two in turn. “We have work to do.”

“Yes. The rest can wait.” Oda accepted the reins of his horse as Ling Tong brought it to him and then stopped to take his turn gaping at Takeda. “We cannot stop until victory has been secured.”

“War,” Kenshin purred, relishing the feeling of being on a battlefield again. “How I love it.”

“I see you handled yourself just fine against the younger Maeda,” Shingen said as Nobunaga mounted up. “What else are we facing, here?”

“Katakura was on the field,” Toshiie said as he turned back toward them, trying very hard to shrug off his emotions. “Where Katakura is, Date is.”

Shingen shook his head, making the mane of his mask swish. “That boy always was handy with firearms. Dangerous things, though. I much prefer the solid whack you can deliver with wood.”

“Or the solid cut you can make with steel,” Kenshin put in.

“Seeing as Hanbei is all the way up at the top of the ridge,” Oda interjected, trying to keep them on task, “what would _you_ suggest against firearms, Tiger of Kai?”

“Be very careful,” Takeda retorted. “At least we know to expect them, and not be surprised when we hear the shots. I’m more concerned about how to approach Orochi’s main camp.”

Oda was prepared for that. He looked to his officers. “Ma Chao. Ma Dai. Each of you, go with one of them to those paths we spoke about earlier – one to the west and one to the east. Do whatever you can to stop anything that reeks of Da Ji’s tricks along the way.” He glanced to the side as Mitsuhide rode up behind them. “Anything?”

“There is someone hiding behind the walls, just to the side of that cliff,” Akechi reported. “If they meant to ambush us, they would have done so by now. My guess is reserves.”

“Take them out,” Nobunaga ordered. “Take everything out as you sweep southward. We will meet again as we reach the main camp, and there, hopefully, we can finally put an end to Da Ji and her meddling. Move out!”

From his vantage point above, Masamune watched as his best officer rode off, veering away toward one of the trails to the main camp rather than toward him. He knew Keiji was no coward and not likely to just leave the field when things went sour, but then he saw that the man carried no weapon and had one arm wrapped around his middle. _They got Keiji?!_ he fretted to himself. _Impossible!_ Was that it? Had the rest of their front line already been routed? He turned his gaze back to the plain below, but it had grown so dark that he couldn’t tell where Oda’s front line currently stood. Kojuro came to his side, then, breathing hard. “My lord, we’re in trouble,” he warned. “Uesugi Kenshin is here.”

“What?!” Date rounded on him, his one eye wide. “Impossible! Kenshin is dead!”

“He’s not,” Katakura insisted. “He almost bashed my skull in. He’s here, Naoe’s here…I would venture to guess that it means Takeda isn’t dead, either.”

Date’s face tightened at the mention of Naoe. He tore his gaze away from his retainer and searched the field again, to no avail. The huge building immediately below him was blocking some of his view of the center. He drew his saber again and used it to point. “Carry the orders to our forces lying in wait,” he demanded. “The ambush in the garrisons, spring it now! The ones up on the cliff, use Zhuge Liang’s rock falls! Leave our men here, I need them as backup.”

Kojuro turned to grab soldiers to carry those messages to the officers in charge of the strategies, but remained there himself. When they had run off, he arrayed the rifle corps in formations aimed down both of the sloping trails which led to their position. “You have me,” he assured his lord in a quiet tone. “I will never leave.”

Masamune looked to him, and for a moment his expression softened. “If I can trust no one else but you, Kojuro, then so be it.”

As Nobunaga’s men split to carry out this next phase of the battle, the courtyard of the strange building smack in the middle of the plains erupted with an ambush force, but they had not chosen their timing well. Takeda and Uesugi were on the move, but some of their respective cavalries were still lagging behind in a perfect position to intercept the assault alongside Oda and most of his lead officers. Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi rode to surprise the additional force waiting behind some ruins, while the rest piled onto the ambush and sent them fleeing into the night, some to flounder in the swollen river and others to stumble into the woodland paths which were every bit as awful as a maze on a night as dark as this. At the same time the rocks began to fall from the cliffs overlooking the river, hitting some of their own forces, but it was the first real check for the Oda Resistance. They could not progress along the center so long as there were heavy objects falling from above, so they took their time exploring the building and verifying that they had driven away all the enemy forces from it. As he sat waiting out the troublesome delay, Oda could be seen head and shoulders above his army, so what befell him was perhaps his own fault for lowering his guard. Something pinged into his armor with enough force to knock him clean out of the saddle, and a second later they all heard the report of the gun echoing from the cliffsides. Several men leaped to his aid, but Ling Tong stood with his eyes locked on the dark hump of the hill visible above the roof line. “There!” he called out, pointing. “I saw a flash, up there!”

Toshiie dropped to his lord’s side, terrified of what he would find, but Nobunaga sat up and shoved away all the helping hands. “I’m fine,” he insisted. “Who was it?”

“A sniper,” Toshiie growled, looking from him to Ling Tong. “You’re sure you saw it?”

“Yeah, positive. Way up there.”

They both looked, then, as Oda got to his feet and inspected his armor in the torchlight. There was a considerable dent in his chestplate right above and to the left of his heart, but no sign of the bullet. He followed Tong’s pointing to see the rise silhouetted against the starry sky, his eyes narrowing. “Find me a way up to that hill. I will repay that hit with one of my own.”

Whichever rifleman of the Date had drawn a bead on the enemy commander had only the briefest moment in which to exult in his success. They could see Nobunaga return to the saddle, and then the entirety of the force moving out from the courtyard into the night beyond, making for the side where the river ran dry. It didn’t take a genius to gather that they would sooner or later find their way up to the top of the hill, so the rifle corps collectively reloaded and aimed and stood waiting. Date Masamune planted himself right behind them, saber in one hand and pistol in the other, anticipating the assault. If they were going to be so bold as to try to stop his riflemen, he would be there to stop them instead. He did not fear Uesugi, he did not even fear Oda in this moment. His heart was fixed on bringing glory rather than shame to Lord Orochi, and he did not waver. Even when the distant, reverberating sounds of rocks tumbling down the cliffsides ceased, as Shingen and Kenshin each surprised an officer engaged in carrying out such a strategy and put a swift end to them, Date held his ground and longed for his chance to put more than just a dent in Oda Nobunaga.


	61. Chapter 61

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the pivotal battle at the Wuzhang Plains, and the new decisions both sides have to make afterward.

The varied officers of Oda’s army, now bolstered by the most unexpected reinforcements, moved southward on three separate fronts while their rearguard took precautions to close the bulwark gates and hold them, on Sima Shi’s orders. He was mindful of the old trails which cut through the hills just beyond the plains and how much Zhuge Liang would know of them, aware that the possibility existed that the Orochi army could send a stealth troop around behind the front lines by one of those routes and attempt to attack the main camp. The commander might have been busy on the field, but their supplies and rearguard were there, and no resources were to be lost. He personally rode down to oversee the close and barricade of the west and center gates and then clustered their best remaining men behind the busted eastern gate just in case. While Hanbei analyzed the situation from atop the cliffs, squinting into the darkness, Shi sat astride his horse with his long rapier drawn, ready for anything. The rest of the army had already moved out of their scope, they could do nothing more besides hold their ground and wait for messages.

The Takeda forces on one end came to a spot where rockslides had already cut off one of the rear trails, necessitating a backtrack to find a shortcut back to the spot where the river had run dry, a much more viable path now that they had put a firm end to the engineering of said rockslides. Far on the other side, Uesugi’s troops were glad to have Ma Dai’s knowledge of the terrain to guide them through crumbling, ruined walls of former fortifications to bring them all the way to where the ground began to rise again toward the southern ridges, putting them too close for comfort to the Orochi camp and forcing the enemy to prematurely spring yet another ambush to deal with their unexpected appearance. In the center, Ling Tong was the one to actually find the track leading up to the top of the hill, and almost started up it when his commander called him back. “Where there is one rifle, there will be more,” he warned. “I will not have you shot for blundering into the snipers’ nest unprepared.” The spot beneath his armor where he had been struck smarted, but would not slow him down, so he looked among his men and chose two already wearing heavy armor. “Guan Ping, Hideyoshi. Lead the way. Roust them out and make us a path.”

The two named officers looked at each other and then started off on foot, jogging in the direction Ling Tong had suggested. As they drew near they could see that there were torches far up at the top, backlighting a crowd of human figures standing in formation. “Watch yourself,” Hideyoshi muttered to his comrade. “Don’t let Lord Nobunaga fool you, getting shot in the chest is no fun at all.”

“They won’t.” Ping hefted the Young Dragon and held it in front of both of them, using the broad side of the blade as a shield as they advanced up the path. Both could guess when they came into the light because the first round of shots rang out all at once, they could see the flash of the muzzles and seconds later heard the ping of the bullets ricocheting off the huge sword. As soon as he saw two lines of fire flash and end, Hideyoshi leaped out from behind the shield and bounded forward, flicking out his staff into its triple parts and swinging it widely. The riflemen were reloading as hastily as they could, but most of them weren’t fast enough. Toyotomi was among them in no time at all, kicking and bashing and flinging them into one another. Ping followed shortly, hacking his way through anyone left standing and bowling them all over. One tried to get another shot off but he pulled back too quickly, and the bullet zinged off Guan Ping’s shoulder pauldron. The chaos of their assault acted as a signal to those waiting below, and no sooner had they cleared the way through ranks of Date rifle troops than their commander himself, trailed by Ling Tong, emerged from the gloom of darkness into the torchlight. As Nobunaga approached, face darkened with a glare, there was a flash of movement and swirl of a cape just up the hill, and Ping froze as he heard something click next to his ear. The metal against his temple was warm, as if recently used, and though he’d never been in this situation before, he knew better than to move.

Date Masamune stood with shoulders squared in challenge, saber held low and only his left arm outstretched to press one of his Dragonhunters against Guan Ping’s head. His one eye found Nobunaga and met his gaze; Oda took a few more steps and then stopped. “Do you really think that will be enough to get any of us to back down?” he growled as if offended that Date would even dare.

“Of course not,” Masamune snapped back. “I’m here to show you how useless your ambitions are, Oda Nobunaga. All of you are nothing next to Lord Orochi. You can get past me, you can get past Keiji, and maybe even Da Ji, but behind us he’s waiting, and compared to him you are _no_ Demon King!”

Some of the rage eased from Oda’s expression as he raised one eyebrow at this boasting. Guan Ping shifted his eyes to regard the gun being held to his head and the man holding it. “Why have you sided with a monster like Orochi?” he wondered in genuine confusion.

Masamune glared at him. “Why have _you_ sided against one so great as Orochi? You idiots think that this man is the greatest power in this world?” He nodded to indicate Nobunaga. “Hah! Not even close! Orochi possesses overwhelming power and a relentless desire for destruction, incomparable to anyone human.”

Oda snorted in derision. “Does he, now?”

Date glared him down. “This amuses you, does it? Well, I’m not here to joke around!” He shoved the pistol more aggressively against Guan Ping’s temple. “None of you are faster than a bullet. Prepare to lose the first of many of your retainers, Oda!”

He may have been expecting one of them to try to stop him, but underestimated the speed with which Ping could manage his Young Dragon. It only took the flick of a wrist to put it in position and then he jabbed backwards with it, finding Date’s side with the huge ring at the pommel of the sword’s handle. The blow was hard enough to not just knock Date’s arm up and out of the way, it threw him back several steps and allowed Ping to whip around and face him. Masamune recovered quickly, though, and lunged into the middle of them, dropping his saber and pulling the other Dragonhunter from his belt, cocking and aiming both of them to each side. At the same time Ping, Hideyoshi, and Ling Tong rushed to intercept, but came to a halt with guns in their faces. In contrast, Oda did not move a muscle. He beheld the standoff and turned away. “If you think you can best three of my top officers all alone, One-Eyed Dragon, be my guest. I will be waiting for you in your own main camp after I have defeated Da Ji.”

“Not alone!” Katakura Kojuro came in suddenly from over the crest of the hill, slashing at Guan Ping with his sword. Ping shifted to block it, taking him away from the other confrontation.

Date had the other two covered with his pistols, but his gaze shot past them to Oda, who continued on down the hill. “Don’t underestimate me!” he screamed at his foe’s retreating back. “I’m prepared to sacrifice myself to make my lord’s vision a reality!”

That actually got Nobunaga’s attention. He looked back over his shoulder, his eyes dark and shadowed. But he said nothing more, leaving the conquering of the two famed marksmen to his retainers while he continued on as planned. There was an Orochi commander to take down.

With Kojuro at his shoulder, Masamune forced himself to focus on Toyotomi and Ling Tong in front of him. This fight was going to be messy either way, but he only had a handful of shots and then he needed to find his saber again if he wanted any chance to survive, let alone lead a counter-attack. He noted that the weapons in the hands of the two before him were remarkably similar, they would need to press in close to fight him. If only he could get some distance and time to reload! Hideyoshi was tired of the staredown and decided to initiate the fight, swinging one end of the tri-part staff to knock one of the guns away. It clanged against Date’s bracer, but he kept his grip on his weapon, ducking the other end of Hideyoshi’s weapon and rolling right back to fire at point-blank range. The shot hit him just above his heart, the bullet embedding in the metal shoulder guard that curved down far enough to protect him right there, but the force of it knocked him staggering. Ling Tong rushed in at the same moment, forcing Masamune to block him with the other arm, wincing as the nunchuku slammed into his forearm. He flipped the other pistol around now that its shot had been spent and swung around to try to club his foe with the handle, seeing as he appeared not to be wearing any armor at all. He was the more vulnerable of the two, and Date pressed his advantage to try to take him down before Hideyoshi could recover and rejoin the fray. He turned and ducked to let more of the rapid-fire hits from Ling Tong glance along his plate armor, circling in the hopes of being able to reach his saber, and then rolled his shoulders to the side to evade the high roundhouse kick coming at his head. As Tong landed, Date twisted with the momentum and came up with his second pistol aimed right at the young man’s throat. Ling Tong recoiled, eyes wide, but he knew he probably couldn’t duck the shot in time. Masamune’s finger tightened on the trigger, but then someone grabbed him from behind and yanked him back hard enough that his arm flew upward and the shot went off harmlessly into the air. Toyotomi had his staff extended to its full length and caught Masamune under the chin with it, gripping and pressing it upward against his throat. “That’s enough, Masamune!” he demanded. “Nobody’s sacrificing anything tonight. Stand down!”

“Never!” Date retorted in a strangled gasp. He dropped one arm and tried banging his pistol grip backwards against him, but he couldn’t find Hideyoshi’s side to even land a hit. The shaft of the staff pressed hard against his windpipe, and he knew exactly what was happening to him. There was nothing else for it, he had to drop both guns and grab for the staff instead, straining against Hideyoshi’s powerful grip in a last-ditch effort to push the staff off him before he could pass out. Across the way Katakura glanced to see his predicament and tried breaking off to run over and save him, but Guan Ping intercepted him with a powerful back-handed swing of his Young Dragon, nearly shoveling him backwards and completely out of the picture. Sucking in a breath, Date tried one more time, throwing his head back and trying to butt his sturdy helmet into Toyotomi’s face. It might have succeeded in knocking him out if Hideyoshi hadn’t dropped his head and let the blow clang into the forehead-guard of his own helm. It rang both their bells, but Hideyoshi managed to keep both his feet and his grip. Date began to cough and then choke. “What are you doing?!”

“I know, this isn’t the most spectacular way to end a fight,” Toyotomi said with a comical sigh, “and it’s kind of a cheap move, but we don’t have time to play around with you right now. I’m real sorry about this Masamune, but you brought it on yourself.”

Date began to struggle and thrash, desperately trying to yank the staff off his throat, but it was rapidly becoming too little too late. The staff cut off his air just enough to make him dizzy without killing him, and at last he finally fainted, slumping senseless against Toyotomi, who let him drop to the ground with a thump. The magnificent crescent helm jostled loose and rolled across the ground, so Hideyoshi bent to catch it and then set it gently next to Masamune’s head. Both officers were down, and the handful of riflemen still on their feet turned and fled down the other side of the hill lest they succumb as well. Ling Tong strode up to verify that they had succeeded, rubbing his own throat in sympathy. “Wow, that was cold, man,” he remarked to Hideyoshi.

“He’ll wake up,” Hideyoshi assured. “Better than the alternative. Boy’s got his head all twisted up, I don’t wanna just kill him and leave him with regrets in the afterlife. You two okay?” he added, looking to them.

“Fine,” Guan Ping answered, “but what about you? Look at that…”

He leaned in to point at the bullet buried in the shoulder plate. Toyotomi waved it off. “I’m fine! See? It didn’t even leave a scratch. C’mon, we can’t let Lord Nobunaga have all the fun. There’s more where these two came from.”

Further south of their position, way back at the Orochi main camp, Maeda startled the rearguard of snake demons as he rode through the gate and suddenly collapsed out of the saddle, crashing to the ground in the middle of the dirt courtyard. He was conscious but hazy, and as Zhuge Liang came running to see what put him in this state, the serpents turned him over to expose his cut-up arms and scored armor. They couldn’t see for themselves, but he had taken so many hits to the middle that he was unable to stay upright any longer. He rolled his head to the side and squinted up at the white-clad figure looming over him. “We got a big problem,” he grunted.

“Hold still, you are injured,” Liang observed.

Keiji reached up and grabbed his sleeve. “Listen to me!” he hissed. “Problem. Uesugi. Probably Takeda too, but I didn’t see him before they knocked me down.”

Zhuge Liang’s eyes widened, but before he could ask further, he heard Da Ji’s angry cry behind him. “What? Weren’t those two dead?”

“Apparently not,” Keiji said with a cough.

“You’ve taken serious damage,” Kongming noted. “Who…?”

“Little bit of Oda, little bit of my uncle,” Keiji replied, letting his head drop back onto the ground. “Gimme a bit and I’ll be ready for a second round, I swear.”

It was clear that he wouldn’t, though, at least to Zhuge Liang, who called some soldiers over to pick him up and drag him off the field to a safe place where his wounds could be tended. From the scores in his chestplate and the dents in his bronze pauldrons, it was clear he was hiding worse damage underneath. Liang rose to his feet and turned to find Da Ji with her arms folded, tapping her fingers irritably on her arm. “Men,” she sighed. “You can’t live with ‘em, you can’t just have ‘em slaughtered when they fail.” She shot a glare at her strategist. “What do we have left?”

“Date and his rifle corps are still out there,” Liang answered coolly. “There is still the rear ambush, which has not been launched yet. And, the additional force you have waiting to cut behind main lines.”

“That one,” she said with a wag of her finger at him. “Send them out immediately. The ambush knows to wait until they see the enemy – and if they have to attack, that means Oda’s gotten too close for comfort.” She growled to herself and turned to stalk back into the temple to wait. “And in that case, it looks like I’ll just have to do all the hard work myself. _Again_.”

Zhuge Liang watched her go and then turned to array their forces, sending messengers out to their flanks and the small force waiting to sneak up one of the side paths to assault Oda’s main camp. While he was at it, he sent another to find out whether Date was having any success, and then returned to guard Da Ji. He was starting to have a bad feeling about the outcome of this battle, after taking Keiji’s report. _If Uesugi and Takeda did not die at Nagashino, but have been waiting for this opportunity_ , he thought to himself, _then Oda is even more calculating and dangerous than I expected_. He hoped that the messengers would bring him information on these reinforcements swiftly, before they reached the main camp and he had to see them for himself.

The Takeda cavalry caught up to Oda around the same time Toyotomi and the others did, and more than one rider offered to pull the officers onto horses behind them to lend them speed. Nobunaga was bent on reaching the main camp before their enemy could pull any more surprises on them and stopped for nothing, not even the half-hearted ambush that spilled out from the trees on the side of the path as they forged their way ahead. There wasn’t even an officer in charge of the snake-demons, and they shrieked as the unexpected cavalry mowed them down. To the other side of the main camp Uesugi and Naoe were doing much the same, driving terrified messengers ahead of them as they followed Ma Dai straight up the ridge. Every obstacle Da Ji had put in their way had failed, her best had been bested and now the only thing standing between her and total defeat was the stone wall of the strange temple now sitting where the Shu main camp had once lain. The two demon captains standing guard outside it put up a brave front for about two minutes when horsemen poured in through the palisade gates, and then they too faded back, fleeing for their lives. The only real advantage left to Da Ji was the temple itself – it had only one narrow doorway, there was no way for anyone to reach her while mounted and even on foot they would have to fight each other to get through. From Nobunaga’s perspective, Da Ji had allowed herself to be rather literally cornered like a fox in a hole, and his officers willingly stood back to let him lead the way into her den. Zhuge Liang stood at the top of the smooth stone steps to block their way, his fan cradled gingerly in his slender hands. Nobunaga looked up to him with a wicked smirk, his blade still humming in his hand. “What a pleasure, to face the man who met his end at this very spot,” he said with a throaty snicker. “Or so the legends say.”

Kongming’s eyebrow arched elegantly, but there was the briefest twitch of his mouth to suggest that such a barb actually stung. He didn’t know that about himself, or he might not have placed himself where he did. “If you expect a taunt to challenge your own, Demon King, you may be sorely disappointed.”

“Not at all,” Oda said smoothly, placing his foot on the first step. “I expect you to do _some_ thing, though. You are the last line of defense, I take it. You can continue to stall me with useless words, or you can fight me. Choose wisely.”

Liang looked past him to where Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin moved in behind him, standing shoulder to shoulder, and then just beyond them to Ma Chao, Ma Dai, and Guan Ping standing beside Naoe, Toyotomi, Akechi, Maeda Toshiie, and Ling Tong. Ping brandished his huge blade, but Ma Chao only stared back coldly, his eyes gleaming from beneath his helm as though he were a demon himself. Zhuge Liang was under no delusions, the battle had already been lost, but he knew the woman hiding behind him would not give in until she tasted the pain of it herself. He lowered his gaze and then stepped aside. “I have no reason to stall you. Bluffing you would be pointless, you are already aware of the situation.”

“Quite,” Nobunaga agreed, climbing slowly up the steps until they stood together on the same one, looking straight at one another. “She wants my head, but she will not have it.”

“Yes, I doubt she will gain anything by attacking you now. Not with the vanguard behind you.”

“You are as wise as the histories say you are.” Oda leaned in close to him. “Why do we dance so? Why force me to lift my blade one more time, as if it were to change anything?”

“I’m sure you know the answer to that as well.” 

Oda raised his glowing blade and tipped it as if to threaten to decapitate the famed strategist, and then let out a shout. “Da Ji! Surrender now, or I will let every single one of my officers have their turn attacking you until you can no longer stand!”

There was a moment’s pause, and then a great stone orb came rushing at him from the darkness beyond the gate. He dropped to a knee to let it pass overhead, and even Takeda and Uesugi had to duck to keep from being hit next, but it curved and soared back over to return to its master. Sighing in annoyance, Oda ignored Zhuge Liang and stepped back down out of the temple stairway. “This is pointless,” he complained. “Anyone who wishes may have a go at her, I will not face her no matter how badly she wants me. If she cannot accept defeat, I have nothing more to offer her.”

“Is that so?” Da Ji’s lilt came at them from the side – she had teleported herself into the courtyard littered with demon bodies, so as not to remain trapped. Spears and swords pointed toward her in threat, but she had only eyes for the resistance commander. “So! Running away just when the battle is yours? I’m finally seeing that Oda Nobunaga is a coward, deep down! This is a development I never expected, but it feels oh-so-good to witness for myself.”

Nobunaga continued to walk through the ranks of his men, sparing her only one disdainful glance as he sheathed his sword. Her words were hollow, they meant nothing to anyone watching, and no one seemed particularly impressed with her childish taunt. Seeing that he really meant it, and had no intention of fighting her, Da Ji flew into a rage and ran towards them, only to find Takeda and Uesugi moving to intercept, standing like a wall between her and the warlord. The Barbed Fang knocked away one of her orbs, while the other pressed against Takeda’s war fan, desperately trying to bowl him over and failing utterly. She gnashed her teeth at both of them. “Why aren’t you _dead?!_ ”

“Sorry about that,” Shingen retorted. “I guess I’m just a tough old coot.”

He batted away the orb, but before the two of them could move in to finish it, Da Ji bounded backwards out of their reach. “You’re wasting your time!” she declared. “I’ve already sent my forces to your main camp, by now it’s in ruins!”

“I highly doubt that,” Nobunaga said boredly over his shoulder.

Though they hadn’t passed word to the camp nor received any in turn, none of the officers looked particularly concerned. Shi and Hanbei had Hideyori, Guan Suo, and Niwa Nagahide still with them, if they really needed that much manpower, but in truth the Orochi sneak attack lay in ruins at the broken-down gate of the bulwark, while Shi had never left the saddle and sat now waiting for word on the final outcome. Da Ji shot Zhuge Liang a look, but the strategist didn’t seem to have anything left to help. “Where’s Date?” she snarled at her enemies. “What did you do to him?”

“He’s taking a nice long nap,” Hideyoshi replied, leaning casually on his staff. “If I were you, my lady, I wouldn’t worry so much about him. You’re the one in real trouble, now.” His voice sounded lighthearted as usual, but behind it was a deadly threat, a coldness fitting for the man who would someday succeed the warlord behind him. “If you wanna go, I still have plenty of energy left. But I don’t think you’re gonna have any fun.”

Mitsuhide and the men of Shu had closed ranks around Oda, and the other retainers ranged in a loose cluster, a nigh-impenetrable fortress unto themselves. Even if she had wanted to teleport right up to Oda and stab him in the throat, there was no way to get in and out without being killed herself. But she couldn’t let it just end like this, there was no walking off the battlefield when her deepest-desired goal stood right there in front of her. Letting out a scream of rage, Da Ji charged again, sweeping her arms to direct the orbs to hit and keep hitting. It didn’t matter how many officers stood between her and him, how many times a spear or a blade threw her weapons impotently aside, she forced her way through until she came up against the crossed polearms of the Ma cousins. She threw herself against them in her fury, and almost didn’t notice that Ling Tong and Toshiie were closing in from the sides and Naoe from the back with a handful of ofuda seals ready. She stretched one groping hand out toward Nobunaga, who ignored her completely and turned to give orders to some messengers standing ready for him. Da Ji almost didn’t hear the cry of warning, but then there were bursts of light around her, and she jerked back to find Zhuge Liang running through the center of the throng; he had cast one quick spell to throw aside as many of the officers as he could and then dashed through the corridor between them to grab her by the arm. As he laid hold of her, she twisted enough to notice Naoe Kanetsugu and his ofuda, and her heart squeezed in pain to recognize them. No more, she would not be sealed like that a second time! Without a moment’s hesitation she gave up the fight and spun in place to teleport herself – and Kongming, clutching her arm – out of there.

The Oda generals staggered back and looked around, but a quick assessment proved that none of them had been injured by the sudden sorcery. They all seemed fine, just blinking a little at the spots in their eyes from the bright flash in the darkness. With Da Ji gone, any Orochi soldiers still in the vicinity broke ranks and fled into the night. Naoe came to himself and jabbed his sword into the dirt where his target had just been standing. “Damn! She has escaped again.”

As much as he had really wanted to capture her to bring this whole venture to a satisfying conclusion, Nobunaga had to be content with driving her away. They had put true fear into her and shown her the limits of her power, perhaps that was enough. “The Wuzhang Plains are ours,” he declared. “Have we had any other successes? What’s this about Date, Monkey, did you capture him?”

“Knocked him out,” Hideyoshi corrected. “Want me to go and fetch him?”

“You won’t need to!” A single horse rode through the eastern palisade just then, bearing an exhausted but irate Date Masamune, helm back on his head and all his weapons at hand. He held the saber out in challenge, but it was clear he would have no success against ten officers standing between him and Oda. He knew Da Ji had fled without even needing to witness it himself, and with Keiji down for the count, he was the only Orochi officer left. Takeda and Uesugi both stood down their weapons, but the others around them raised theirs, ready to fight if he wanted. Date stared them all down. “You idiots!” he cursed them. “You could have lived peacefully under Lord Orochi, but now you’ll get nothing but his wrath! Whatever comes now, just remember that you brought it on yourselves!”

Shingen lifted his head slowly, considering his rant. “Do you really think in your heart of hearts, Masamune, that he is a fit ruler for this land?”

Date’s good eye narrowed in his direction. “Better than him!” he spat, pointing with the saber to Nobunaga. “Better than you! Better than all of you!”

Kenshin glared right back at him. “What is it you truly desire from him, Dragon?”

Masamune looked to him, and then past him to Naoe, who looked genuinely pained to have to listen to this. He seemed to direct his scathing response to his old friend. “Nothing! You think I follow him because I want something from him? Morons, all of you! Orochi is greater than anything you can imagine! He’ll wipe you all out just because he can, and then where will you be? _I’ll_ still be alive, at least – maybe with you gone I can have a small piece of land to myself where idiots won’t bother me!”

“You really believe that?” Kanetsugu had had enough and shouldered past his lord, advancing on Date with his blade held low. “Enough, Masamune! I won’t hear your foolishness anymore! Orochi’s reign of terror will soon be at an end – you can see it, you know it to be true!”

“Don’t you get it?” Masamune blazed back at him, his voice breaking from the raw burn in his throat. “Without Orochi, this land will end! Wake up!”

“ _You_ wake up!” Kanetsugu shot back. “Orochi has nothing left, he will use you until you are spent and then he will cast you aside just like he has everyone else! He will drive you to destroy yourself! Where will your vaunted plans for peace be, then?”

Ma Chao made to move to restrain him from going too far, but Takeda gently held him back with his fan. Date had had enough as it was and turned his horse to be able to bring one of his pistols to bear on Naoe. His friend stood with arms at his sides, ofuda in one hand and sword in the other, but did not appear to move to protect himself from being shot. “Look at yourself,” he said in a low tone. “When was the last time you pointed that thing at my heart, Masamune?”

That finally pierced through Date’s armor to his heart; his hand began to shake, and he lowered the pistol before he could do himself or anyone else damage. But he was too deep in Orochi’s thrall, too wound up in his web and fettered by his own pride, so all he could do was wheel his horse sharply and gallop off into the night, presumably to chase after Da Ji. Several of the officers, including Kanetsugu, let out a deep breath in relief. It was over.

There was nothing of value left anywhere along the southern ridge, the Orochi army seemed to disappear without a trace, so the Resistance returned immediately to their own camp to see if there was any damage. Sima Shi met them in the gate and escorted them back, proud to describe the way they took down the desperate last attack from an Orochi unit exactly as he had predicted. He had never met the two warlords now riding with Oda and only obliquely knew of their importance, so he didn’t show as much surprise as the others when they appeared. There were so many horsemen with both units that they had to camp further down the hill from Oda’s main camp, along with their lords, so the full story would have to wait until morning. It was late, after all, and everyone deserved a good rest. At least Ling Tong finally got his chance, now that the battle was over and the adrenaline fueling him to fight had ebbed. He palmed his fist and then pressed it against his lips as he bowed his head deeply in gratitude and joy. “I’m so glad to see you again,” he said softly. “When we heard the news…it was…I couldn’t…”

Shingen put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “It’s good to see you too, Ling Tong. Although, I’ll be quite curious to hear how you ended up _here_ in particular, after all this time.”

Tong laughed tiredly. “It’s a pretty long story. I’ll be glad to tell you.”

“I look forward to it.” He turned Tong with that hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle push. “In the morning. Go, go, you look like you need a thousand years of sleep right now. I promise I’m not going anywhere, you can rest easy.”

Tong stumbled and then caught himself, and sheepishly excused himself to hike the rest of the way up to the camp on the ridge. He did in fact need sleep, but he needed all of that, first.

The army remained encamped there for at least another day, not that they had great need to tend the wounded and count their blessings against their losses, but it was simply better to rest where they were. They had, in fact, begun a migration from Guandu to a more hospitable location, but Honnoji was not yet ready for them so they could take their time. It was late morning when the officers finally met to conference, mainly so that the newcomers could get caught up, but Nobunaga hinted to his retainers that they might not be as out of the loop as some thought. Mitsuhide gave him a cunning look as they set up the command tent to receive an influx of people. “You’ve been planning this since our meeting at Saika village.”

“Naturally,” Oda replied, finally able to admit to it. “I’m a bit surprised you didn’t even suspect, Mitsuhide.”

“You were rather convincing,” Mitsuhide sighed. “I like to think I know you that well but apparently you can hide things even from me.”

“At times it becomes necessary to fool even your closest,” Oda murmured, passing close enough to him to take him gently by the arm and pull him in closer to keep one last secret between them. “Do you hate me for it, Mitsuhide?”

His graceful retainer’s eyes searched his and then lowered. “No. You did what you had to. It’s not as though you are the only one in this land who has.”

“There are some who still do, in fact.” Nobunaga let him go, dropping his hand slowly so as to let it brush along the length of his arm. “I regret only one thing – that I had to force Ma Chao and his noble heart to bear the secret as well. I will have to apologize to him.”

Mitsuhide looked past him and then smirked. “Then you had better go and do so.” He nodded toward the tent flap, as the Ma cousins entered right then.

Nobunaga turned to greet them, though they bowed to him first. “I can imagine the weight has been lifted off your shoulders,” he said as they came up.

“It has,” Chao said with a faint smile. “I still haven’t told Guan Ping and the others that we knew, but the arrival last night surprised even me. Well played, my lord.”

“I will take responsibility for your long silence on the matter.” Oda laid a hand on one shoulder of each of them. “You were loyal to the end, and never wavered. I will not forget that.”

“I still don’t fully understand the why, but I’ll bet we’re about to get the explanation,” Ma Dai said, giving his cousin a wry look. “I’ll be content with knowing the whole story.”

Oda nodded and withdrew. “Forgive me for placing you in a tight situation. You will indeed understand all.”

Uesugi and Naoe arrived first once again, ducking into the tent and accepting a place to sit. The rest of Oda’s officers trickled in before and after, and then Takeda appeared at last with Sanada Nobutada at his side. There was plenty of wine among the supplies for proper hospitality, and everyone accepted a cup before they got down to it. “I don’t know how you did it,” Toshiie said after he had tossed his back. “Let us go on for months thinking they were dead, didn’t even warn us there might be reinforcements coming. I swear, if we weren’t in camp I’d be drinking myself stupid right about now.”

“It was a pretty good surprise, wasn’t it?” Takeda laughed. “Don’t take it all out on Lord Nobunaga, we both had more than a hand in it. It was actually my idea to let everyone think we’d been killed.”

“It was meant to lull the Orochi army into a false sense of security,” Nobunaga said smoothly. “They had to believe that they had managed to do something right. You could say, for months now Da Ji has been chasing that fleeting taste of victory, only to find out first-hand that it wasn’t a victory at all. We have been manipulating her all along, and now she knows it.”

“Where have you been, though?” Guan Ping wondered. “How could such a vast army stay hidden for so long?”

“Ah, that one is my secret,” Takeda cautioned, “and I would like to keep it for now, just in case we need it again. Suffice it to say, we withdrew where no one could find us and slowly brought our men in, bit by bit. Poor Kanetsugu had so much work to do, running back and forth all the time, finding them and leading them there. And then all of them having to get over the shock of the truth. It was hard on everybody.”

“And a bit lonely as well,” Naoe admitted. “Not being able to contact anyone.”

“But you must have been in contact with Lord Oda,” Mitsuhide reasoned, “if you already know so much about what’s going on.”

“Only a little,” Shingen said. “At first, we only corresponded once in a great while just to stay on top of things, but in recent days we did start communicating more. Our army was ready anytime, we simply needed the right opportunity in which to reappear. We went to so much trouble, we weren’t going to waste our miracle on a smaller, less important battle.”

“It was important that Da Ji see it for herself,” Kenshin put in, “and know that she had failed. The only way it would have been even better was for the serpent himself to be here, but we can’t always have what we most want.”

Hideyoshi laughed suddenly. “You picked the battlefield, didn’t you? You made us go to all that work to get Da Ji to come meet us here, just for that!”

“Perhaps,” Takeda chuckled. “What do you think, was it worth it?”

Oda’s smirk faded subtly. “Maeda Keiji is injured, but I doubt it will slow him down. We were unable to capture any of them. Yet, you do have a point, my friends – Da Ji knows how badly she failed. I expect it will have a lasting psychological effect, if nothing more.”

They talked a bit more about the greatest ruse ever pulled off and then turned to other matters of war, as the two allies had not yet heard about Cao Pi’s own miracle, news which had just come in before the Oda Resistance moved out. “Then, you have made efforts to stay in contact with the other Resistance leaders,” Kanetsugu noted with interest. “Excellent.”

“Indeed,” Shingen agreed. “I would enjoy hearing about some of my friends elsewhere, I wonder how they’re doing? Like Master Huang Zhong, and Lord Zhao Yun and his brave allies.”

“Huang Zhong is moving to hold Guandu for me as head of the wintering army there,” Nobunaga replied. “As for the commander of Shu, I believe Ma Chao can tell you everything, as he was just recently visiting on an errand.”

All eyes went to the Tiger General, who sat at a corner with his dragon helm in his lap. “Ah…yes,” he said after being put on the spot. “Lord Zhao Yun is well – very well. They are about to move to a battle of their own, they have come to believe that Lord Liu Bei may be imprisoned in Edo Castle at the moment. I would have liked to bring reinforcements to their aid,” he added with a glance that strayed toward his lord, “but they already have Lord Sun Ce’s promise to assist, that should be enough.”

Oda gave him a gentle look, filled with as much contrition as a man like him could manage. “Alas, our timing is a problem.”

“It’s quite all right, my lord, I understand. And this was an extremely important battle, I am glad to be here.” Chao turned from him to Takeda and Naoe. “I believe the Sanadas would love to hear the good news from you, my lords. They are part of the Shu Resistance, as are the Hojo. And, I was there when Lord Zhao Yun received word from Wu that Lord Sun Jian met the Hojo clan leader also being held at Edo, so at the very least, they should be able to liberate him soon.”

Kanetsugu let out a small gasp. “Oh, Yukimura! Yes, I should send word to him right away.”

“Let him in on this gently,” Takeda cautioned. “I wouldn’t want to give the poor boy a heart attack.”

“You’ll also be pleased to know,” Mengqi went on, “that they discovered my father alongside Sanada Masayuki in Xiliang. Everyone is alive and well, it seems.”

Nobutada sat up sharply. “My brother is alive? Thank heaven!”

“Truly, a blessed day,” Kenshin murmured.

“I shall have to send my regards, once we settle in,” Shingen agreed.

“What are your plans, then, my lords?” Mitsuhide asked, though his gaze went to Nobunaga at his side, since he assumed his own lord had more than a say in the answer.

Takeda tapped his war fan on his knee. “Given how masterfully successful our gambit has been, I believe the time for hiding ourselves away is over. We could not possibly pull that off again, anyway, but it seems there is no need for secret forces any longer. But then,” he said slyly, “that has been the objective all along.”

“We are bound by honor to remain united,” Naoe said proudly. “It has been so since we last all sat at table together.”

“So long as there is room for all our cavalry at one of your fortresses,” Uesugi put in.

“I had taken thought about that, before we withdrew from Guandu,” Nobunaga admitted. “I will be spending time at Honnoji, which is still summer-like enough for my taste. I care not whether both of you continue to travel together or would rather split up, but there is room enough at Fan Castle for everyone. We also hold Kanegasaki and the castle at Xiapi.”

“You’ve been busy,” Takeda noted with approval. “If the weather is fair at Fan Castle, that sounds good enough to me.”

“You think we’ll get the chance to settle in and enjoy that nice weather,” Hideyoshi teased, “or are we gonna be hauled out for another battle real soon?”

“That all depends on Orochi.” Oda nodded as Toshiie leaned in to refill everyone’s cups, particularly his own. “I am certain that even if she might have said it in anger, Da Ji’s admission is the truth, and he is on his way. We must all stay wary and alert, but I begrudge no one if they wish to rest and rebuild their strength for the next round.”

“There is no such thing as true rest until the snake is brought down,” Kenshin growled. “And I, for one, have rested enough. If he appears, I will gladly ride at the front to welcome him.”

“My nemesis is quite serious about this,” Shingen snorted. “He has been rather bored, hiding and biding time are two things he isn’t very good at.”

“All things considered, Lord Kenshin,” Toshiie said, raising his cup to him, “you’re going to get more than your share of action. Don’t worry.”

After the conference wound down and plans had been laid in stone for which way each contingent of the united resistance army would move on the morrow, Kanetsugu excused himself and swiftly went back to his tent to immediately write a letter to Yukimura, now that he was free to let go of the long-held secret. Nothing had weighed on him so much as not being allowed to contact anyone for so long, it was worse than simply not knowing where to find his friends or whether a message had reached them. It felt wonderful to consider Yukimura away in Chengdu reading his words and finding hope again, though he was mindful of Lord Takeda’s caution and told the story of their clandestine mission gradually, so that he would not be too badly shocked by the revelation. He closed with an apology for being away and his well-wishes, and wasted no time getting the message sealed and handed off to a rider to carry it westward. Ma Chao found him standing on the slope watching the messenger ride away and came up behind him, clapping a hand to his shoulder. “Good tidings, I hope?”

Kanetsugu smiled at him. “The best. I can only hope that my friend does not hold it against me. Who knows, maybe he didn’t even know…”

“He knew,” Chao said heavily. “I spent some time with him and Zilong when they paid a visit to Lord Oda. He wanted to know everything that happened at Nagashino.” He breathed a sigh and looked down at his boots as Naoe looked sharply at him. “It hurt to have to prolong their pain. I couldn’t even look them in the eyes, and I still had to tell them that horrible lie. I understand now what it was for, but at the time I could only follow orders and pray that it would make sense someday.”

Kanetsugu turned fully toward him and set both hands on his shoulders in comfort. “I wish I could say I was surprised that Lord Nobunaga would use your loyalty so, but I’m really not. It is his way. Yet, it was for the best. I’m sure Yukimura will be overjoyed to know that his lord isn’t dead after all.” He smiled warmly as Chao lifted his head to meet his eyes. “Thank you, for keeping me and my lord safe, Lord Ma Chao.”

Mengqi reached up and rested a hand on Naoe’s arm. “I am glad to have you back, Lord Kanetsugu. You have been dearly missed.”

Naoe opened his mouth to respond and unexpectedly found himself blushing. It couldn’t have been meant that way, it was just the choice of words, but he still felt pleasantly warm and a bit abashed, hearing that from the famed general. Yet, as they stood there gazing at one another, he couldn’t help but wonder. They had talked long into the night after the battle was over at Nagashino, he already had a great respect for Ma Chao and knew they agreed on so many things, particularly honor and justice. Perhaps it was a good time to get to know him even better as a friend. He withdrew his hands and beckoned for Chao to walk with him, back up to the Oda camp on the ridge. “Since we are staying put for another day, this seems like an excellent time to spend together. I may be up to date on the facts of who, where, and when, but I feel as though I’ve still missed out on so much.”

Chao fell into step alongside him. “It has been quite the adventure, since we last spoke. I can tell you what I know.”

“I would rather listen as you tell me about yourself,” Kanetsugu said with a smile. “Is it true, then? You were able to visit Chengdu and see your countrymen.”

“Ah…yes,” Chao said, the warmth returning to his voice as he remembered. “Lord Oda sent us to begin building the foundation for an alliance. Given what I had heard about the fall of Chengdu, when Orochi’s conquest began, it was a joy to see it healthy and full of life, with so many of my friends there to guard and keep it.” His tone gentled even more for a moment. “Even my lord’s young son, all grown up now.”

Naoe gaped at him. “Is that so? Lord Liu Bei’s son – is he commanding, then?”

“No, Lord Zilong is still in command. Lord Liu Shan has decided to defer his position so long as his father is still alive.” He pursed his lips briefly. “Would that I could join them at Edo, and free him. Then I could see with my own eyes the moment when he beholds his son…”

Kanetsugu rested a hand on his back as they walked, and Chao found himself grateful for his support. “Fate has a reason for you to be here and not there,” he assured. “Perhaps it will reveal itself in time.”

Ma Chao smiled at him; he couldn’t not feel fond of this man, already. “Your optimism is welcome and much needed, Lord Kanetsugu.”

“Then, come,” Naoe implored, “sit with me a while and tell me about Chengdu. I am eager to hear it. It isn’t as though either of us have any pressing duties to attend to, after all.”

Chao laughed softly and nudged him in the shoulder. “You are a terrible influence, Lord Kanetsugu. Lead the way, I will bend your ear all day if you let me.”

  


The Orochi army which regrouped in the wilderness south of Wuzhang was considerably less than what set out, but many of the demon captains had a tendency to simply return straight to one of their strongholds rather than find the army itself and march along, particularly after a defeat. Keiji’s injuries had been tended but he rode in a sour mood, while Masamune still bristled with anger boiling deep inside. Standing before the united warlords had shaken his confidence in himself, but he still maintained complete faith in Orochi and seemed eager for the demon overlord’s coming campaign. In contrast, Da Ji looked almost nervous. She put off Zhuge Liang’s attempts at discussing their next course and rode out ahead of everyone but their advance scouts to avoid looking at any of them. She knew full well how close she had come to losing everything, and was ever mindful that Orochi would have plenty to say about her repeated defeats at resistance hands. She had nothing to offer him when he arrived – no new prisoners, none of their enemies destroyed, and all four leaders still out there roaming free, doing as they pleased with no fear of Orochi, attacking her and their forces with impunity. It weighed on her throughout their journey back, and she could just hear Fuuma’s rage already; he wasn’t permitted to kill or arrest her, but he would upbraid her again in front of their whole army, he would lay responsibility for their continued fumbling on her, and threaten to let Orochi see everything she had done or failed to do when he got there. She feared her lord more than anyone, and knew she was already a massive disappointment in his eyes. Not only that, she was running out of time to change that. Halfway back to Bai Di, she made up her mind. She could not return without something to show for her efforts besides more wounded officers and a smaller army. To slink back now and swear yet again that she could succeed, beg Fuuma and the others to ignore the fact that she had lost _again_ and plead for them to trust her with one more assault, it would grate on her as much as them. Da Ji was losing their respect, and with it, all her authority. The only way to make up for it would be to turn things around, claim just one victory. But where, and over whom?

While in transit, Da Ji had ordered the other officers not to send full reports back to Bai Di just yet, but their forces still back at headquarters were mindful enough to send messages out with important updates, in case it would assist them somehow. Many were meant for Zhuge Liang, since he still commanded a fair portion of the strategic resources and had spies looking out for him. One reached them while they were striking camp one morning, bringing him an update on something he had already known about. Da Ji came over to see what was going on while he was still reading the full report from the field. “And just what are you up to, this time?” she needled him.

Zhuge Liang did not take his eyes off the scroll. “Do you recall the report, before we left, of Resistance scouts lurking in the region near Edo Castle?”

“Of course I do.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What have you found out?”

“Our own decided to provoke them to open confrontation, to keep them from advancing too far,” Liang replied. “In doing so, they confirm that the ringleader was one of the Saika Renegades, whom we know to be working for Zhao Yun.”

“Ohhh…?” That had her attention immediately. Da Ji leaned closer as if to try to read over his shoulder. “So Zhao Yun is sniffing around, is he? Still looking for his precious Lord Liu Bei, I take it?”

Kongming gave her a stern look. “If he has learned of the location of Edo Castle, he is already coming too close.”

Da Ji pursed her lips thoughtfully and looked up to him. “Your men are still there, right?”

“Yes. All of them.”

“Perfect.” She stepped back out of his personal space and set her hands on her hips. “They’re all good and rested, and two of the strongest are there with them. That’s exactly what I need right now. We can make the most of this chance and take down Zhao Yun, and I can finally get that execution I’ve been longing for.”

Kongming’s face remained impassive. “You would lure him there and attempt to destroy him.”

“I probably don’t even need to do any luring!” she laughed. “He’s so single-minded, all Liu Bei this and Liu Bei that. If he thinks his lord is at Edo, then he will come, and we’ll be there ready for him.” For the first time in days a wicked smile curved her lips and showed her fangs. “Unless you’ve suddenly become squeamish about fighting your former allies…”

Zhuge Liang’s expression changed only slightly, into something of a disapproving frown. “I fought them without flinching just days ago,” he reminded her, “I would hardly have had reason to change my mind since.”

It wasn’t technically a lie, he had surely thrown magic straight at Ma Chao and Guan Ping to allow him to get between them and rescue the demon strategist, but it wasn’t quite the sense of clashing weapons and drawing blood that usually came with a fight. Da Ji smirked at him. “So if I ordered you to prepare your best strategies to take down an invasion force, and _this time_ not let Zhao Yun escape with his life, you would do it?”

“If that is what you wish,” he answered with a bow of his head.

“Then, do it.” She jabbed him in the arm with a nail. “I want you to ride ahead and set everything up. Make sure you get there before Zhao Yun does, and whip your men into shape. They’d better not fail me, because it isn’t just Lord Orochi who’ll be disappointed if they do. Liu Bei lives at Lord Orochi’s whim, and if his brothers can’t manage to live up to their reputations at a crucial time like this, then he dies – and they’ll die with him.”

The Sleeping Dragon’s face steeled back into his usual blank, unfeeling stare. “I will make sure it is understood, among all of my retainers.”

“See that you do,” she smirked. “Meanwhile, I’ll send Date and Keiji back to Bai Di to clean themselves up. I’ll follow you shortly with my own troops, just in case you need reinforcements.” The dark grin deepened into something almost feral. “I have to be there to squeeze the life out of him myself. I may not even wait to hang him, this time, I might just jab a sword through his heart on the spot.”

Nodding, Zhuge Liang turned and made to carry out these orders, collecting only his scout and a small vanguard of soldiers to ride with him so they could move at speed. Da Ji stood back and rubbed her hands eagerly. At last, a ray of hope! She wanted one more chance, and this was the perfect chance indeed. Oda and Cao Pi might have been too strong, but she was certain the Shu Resistance was nothing but a bunch of vagabonds, a handful of officers whose hearts tended to lead them too easily into traps. Zhao Yun had fallen for it before, more than once, and here he was yet again, still hunting after that same desperate goal. With an entire contingent of fresh troops who had not seen battle at all in quite some time, Da Ji was certain she could finally succeed. The mere thought of being able to ride back to Bai Di with one of her hated enemies’ heads on a pike energized her like nothing else. She gloated privately for a minute or two, and then moved off to find Date and give him his new marching orders.


	62. Chapter 62

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part one of the epic battle at Edo Castle.

The lands surrounding Edo Castle had never quite made it to spring after all this time. It warmed once in a while, the frost even came out of the ground for a month or two but the grass never greened and the trees never budded. It was too close to the mountains and too far north to succumb to the influence of neighboring territories, and so it remained locked in an endless dreary November, gray and brown and chill. The clouds laying heavy on the shoulders of the mountains were looking unusually bleak, it seemed that instead of the cold rains or sleet that had been falling on the castle in recent weeks, they might be on the verge of seeing snow again. The plains and foothills were a rolling sea of mud and damp, the tussocks of dead, tangled grass holding more water than ice between the roots for now. The muddy track which wound its way north squelched beneath the hooves of the horses, and encampments could not find much comfort at night. Still, Zhao Yun and his men made this trek eagerly, not about to let the landscape bleed away their energy and good spirits. He didn’t see this land as soon to be a victim of winter, but rather a sign of a coming spring, in their hearts if not in the weather. They had set out from Chengdu before word of the battle at the Wuzhang Plains reached them, and spent time at Odani to pick up additional reinforcements, so they were unaware of some of the greater developments going on around them. All Zilong knew was that he had taken every precaution and coordinated everything with his allies in Wu, and they would soon meet to carry out what everyone hoped would be a final battle of sorts.

They met up with Magoichi at a set rendezvous some miles from the castle, a spot he had chosen so that their advance could be hidden well enough. They camped there that night, and had barely gotten the tents erected when the perimeter scouts reported another army coming up from the southeast. Zhao Yun stood at the top of the ridge to await them, and beamed like the sun when he saw the russet reds and tiger skins on the advance riders. Sun Ce had brought Zhou Yu and Ina with him, and just enough troops to make a difference, but his contribution was much smaller than what Shu brought. He rode up and dismounted before the Shu commander, palming his fist and then reaching to clasp Zhao Yun’s wrist. “All right, here I am,” he announced. “Never let it be said that I go back on a promise.”

“It is good to see you,” Yun said warmly, accepting his greeting and gripping his forearm tightly. “I never had any doubts.”

“So this makes us even, right?” Ce laughed.

Yun couldn’t help but share his smile, even as he stepped aside so Zhou Yu could offer his respect as well. “It will be more than enough, I’m sure. Master Zhou Yu, a pleasure. And…”

“Ina?” The gasp came from just behind him, as Yukimura arrived on the scene and came to a halt, blinking at what he discovered.

Lady Ina bowed deeply to both of them. Her arm had long since healed and she was ready to fight again. “I hope you don’t mind my presence, my lord…”

Yukimura snapped himself out of it and came down to clasp her hands, breaking into a huge grin. “Mind? Of course not! Just wait…” He turned and yelled into the camp. “Brother! Come quick!”

Ina’s eyes went wide in shock – she had not anticipated such a possibility. “He is…”

“Uh oh,” Sun Ce chuckled. “Did I stir up trouble?”

“Not at all,” Zhao Yun assured, gesturing for him to wait and see this for himself.

Nobuyuki had come along to assist as a means of thanking Zhao Yun for letting them take Ueda back with Shu help, and was mostly busy about the camp with practical matters. He heard his brother’s shout and came trudging up, expecting trouble. “What is it, Yukimura…”

He stopped short as his eyes fell on the woman standing with his brother, and Zhao Yun couldn’t help but grin at the pure surprise and delight which dawned on his handsome face. Everyone stepped back out of the way as Nobuyuki rushed the last couple of steps and caught Ina up in his arms, and despite her usual warrior’s stoicism, Ina was completely disarmed by this meeting and simply let him. No one could see it, but her hands were clenched on his cowl as if to pull him against her. Sun Ce whistled innocently and pretended to avert his eyes. “So! Guess we made a good choice after all. And here I was only thinking of bringing along someone who knew the castle.”

“Come, let us get you settled into the camp,” Zhao Yun implored, deciding to leave the betrothed couple to reunite without all of them gawking at them. “We have a lot to talk about if we want to be ready for tomorrow.”

The camp location had also been chosen to allow them one last night’s rest before launching the assault, they wouldn’t have far to ride from here to reach the castle compound. Zhou Yu saw to bringing up their men and getting them a place within the encampment, while Ce walked with Zhao Yun and Yukimura to get the real briefing. They ducked into the command tent where Magoichi was already busy with maps and notations, head to head with Yueying, who had consented to join this assault as one of the original resistance members. They needed a strategist, anyway, and Jiang Wei had agreed that she deserved her place in command. The other officers were elsewhere in camp, they didn’t need to join in the strategy meeting just yet. “I was with the Orochi army when they first took this castle, you know,” Sun Ce said after greetings had been exchanged. “But even so, I thought I’d bring someone along who knew it better than I would. I asked Tokugawa but he sent Ina in his place. I guess he’s not ready to watch his castle be put to another battle just yet.”

“With her intimate knowledge and Lord Zhou Yu’s tactical genius, I would consider us much better equipped,” Yueying said happily. “Magoichi has been scouting the area for a couple of weeks, but our knowledge of the present state of the interior of the grounds and keep is still thin.”

“This is gonna be a hell of a battle,” Magoichi remarked. “The whole compound is pretty tight on defense, somebody with a real head on their shoulders must’ve planned it out. I don’t know who’s all in there, but we’re liable to run into a few walls on the way.”

“The only thing we know for certain is that we cannot simply sneak in and rescue the prisoners,” Zhao Yun said soberly. “A full assault is the only way to gain entrance.”

“Fine by me,” Ce agreed. “I didn’t come to sneak, I’m here to fight.”

“How is your father, by the way?” Yun asked. “It was so good to hear about his liberation.”

Ce smirked a bit. “He’s better than fine. He actually thought about coming along, you know. He was held here for a time, and he’s real interested in whether or not they’ve still got his pal Hojo here.”

“If he is here, we will certainly set him free as well,” Yun vowed. “His clansmen are allies of Shu, it’s only right.”

“Great! He’ll be glad to hear it.” Ce shook his head wryly. “It was kind of nuts. There were a lot of my officers who wanted to come along – not just my father but my sister and brother, Ranmaru, you name it. But Zhou Yu was the one sending most of the messages back and forth to you guys, so he got final say. He thought a smaller unit would be better, so we didn’t overwhelm your forces.”

“And I agreed,” Yueying said, since she had been corresponding directly with him. “It seems appropriate that you and he were able to respond, Lord Sun Ce, considering what we’ve heard of the incident at Hulao.”

Zhou Yu ducked into the tent just then, finished with his other duties and ready to sit down and talk. “Ah, everybody’s here already.”

“Not everybody,” Magoichi assured, giving him a salute in welcome. “The kids are around somewhere, Shimazu’s taking a nap, and I don’t know where Nobuyuki went.”

“He’s busy,” Yukimura laughed. “Don’t worry, he’ll be with us when it matters.”

Zhou Yu sat down with them, his face serious. “I must ask you one very crucial question before we plan anything, Lord Zhao Yun: do you have any confirmation that Lord Liu Bei is, in fact, inside Edo Castle?”

Zilong was forced to shake his head. “I cannot be sure. Yet, with the strong likelihood that Hojo Ujiyasu is there, that gives me reason enough to still make this assault. One prisoner liberated from Orochi’s clutches is still worth it.”

“I did my best,” Magoichi insisted. “But some secrets aren’t meant to be found out, I guess.”

“My promise still stands,” Sun Ce reassured. “I said I’d come along to help you search, so if he isn’t here, we’ll keep going. But I gotta say, I think it’s worth it just to kick Orochi’s forces out of this castle. It belongs to Tokugawa, it should be in Resistance hands no matter what.”

“I agree,” Yueying said sagely. “Any assault against Orochi, now, is worth the effort.”

Yu nodded. “Well said. In that case, let us look at what we have before us, and prepare to use our resources efficiently to take control and search the grounds.”

They got started without waiting for Ina or anyone else to join them, but as the day waned and the dinner hour drew nearer, the other officers trickled in bit by bit – Zhang Bao and Guan Xing, still eager to fight, then Shimazu with one of his sons, and at last Nobuyuki and Ina, who said absolutely nothing of what they might have talked about in the meantime and merely settled in to add their thoughts to the overall plan. They still talked all through their meal, and by the time the night watch was set they had a rather incredible plan in place. Without knowing exactly how many Orochi soldiers might be residing inside the walls, it still seemed like they would be able to successfully sack the castle at this rate. They had to talk each other out of getting too overconfident, and as he went to find his bedroll, Zhao Yun had to keep telling himself not to get his hopes up again. Yes, there was a good chance, but there was an equally good chance that his lord was being used against him as bait again. He could be certain of nothing, and had to steel himself to be content with destroying an Orochi stronghold. The Hojo lord’s life was not something to be simply thrown away either. Yet, as he stretched out beside his companion, Yukimura noted that he couldn’t quite erase the smile from his lips.

A gray pall of clouds shrouded the sunrise, but the weather remained steady as they rode the rest of the way to their destination. The tall keep of Edo Castle could be seen for miles, but as they drew near, Ina led them off the main road to a spot in the hills to the south. Sun Ce remembered it, it was where the Orochi army had camped prior to sacking it as well. It allowed them to muster while hidden from the eyes of castle guards and take one more good look at it before committing themselves to the attack. Zhao Yun peeped through the trees to see the high roofs of the keep and tried to stop himself from thinking that his lord could be in one of those rooms right there, waiting. He took a deep breath to control himself and turned to give the final orders. “The castle keep looks like the most likely location to hold a prisoner,” he said as he joined the others. “But whether at the very top or the very bottom, I couldn’t say.”

“According to my father,” Ce said, “when he was held here, they were up high in the keep. So you’re right on target, there.”

“Once we breach the castle, search there first,” Ina implored. “If he is not there, I might know one or two other places, but they would be far less likely to hold prisoners.”

“You still maintain that the northern gate is closer to where we want to be?” Those in the know nodded, so Zhao Yun bobbed his head in acceptance. “Then we proceed exactly as planned. To the south, first. Then to the west. Keep them guessing.”

His officers saluted and scrambled to move without any further delay. They had a hard road ahead of them, but every last one was mindful of the need to claim victory over Orochi, and morale was soaring. Sun Ce pulled his tonfa from his saddle and stretched to rap one against the shaft of Zhao Yun’s spear as a gesture of unity, sending him off on his own mission. Yueying took the younger officers in the front line, while Yukimura and Zhao Yun mounted up and followed at a distance. Another contingent headed west with the Saika Renegades, circling around and waiting to show themselves. The main force to the south needed to move first, their purpose was to feint and lure the enemy out of the castle gates. Zhang Bao and Guan Xing stepped out in front of the army, standing in full view of the great gate of Edo and brandishing their blades. “You cowards!” Bao shouted at the closed doors. “Don’t just stand there quaking in your boots, fight us!”

“The sons of Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are here to take your measure!” Xing called out. “Answer us with a challenge or not at all!”

“Yeah!” Bao raised the blade on his arm and shook it as a sentry peeped over the wall to see what was going on. “I heard that the Orochi army is nothing but a bunch of worms! Cowering behind walls! You got nothin’!”

Xing looked at him. “I don’t think they’re brave enough. Shall we?”

Bao grinned back. “Let’s do it.”

The two of them sprang from their place at once and rushed the gate, and a moment later the unit they led followed, more than enough manpower to batter the doors and force their way inside. The sentries on the wall called down to their forces inside the ward, and eventually word made it to some of the officers. Ma Su was primarily in charge, and strode out from the main keep with his elder brother Ma Liang at his side. “Do not allow the enemy inside the castle. Reinforce the gates!” He turned to Liang. “Lord Zhuge Liang was right. I have to get into position, you’re in command here.”

“Understood,” his brother intoned with a slow nod. “Hurry, then. All forces!” he added, raising his voice. “Take them down before they can enter the castle!”

Xing and Bao heard the command from the other side of the doors and grinned to each other. Success! They wouldn’t have to break down the gate, someone was going to open it from the inside for them. The Orochi unit just beyond crowded into the gate to prevent them from getting past, and seeing the men in their green-toned uniforms gave the young officers their first surprise of the day. It had been quite some time since they had fought their own countrymen in the course of this war, it took them aback at first. But Zhang Bao had no mercy for those who still served the serpent lord, and simply put his head down and charged, striking on all sides. Guan Xing followed his lead, and then at the right moment Yueying and Shimazu moved in to back them up. It was an incredible show of force, a temptation no defending army could resist. While they played their part, Zhao Yun and the Sanadas rode along the edge of the trees, skirting past them and through a gap in the outermost wall to continue on around the castle, using the distraction to slip past and get into position. They had a long way to go to get all the way around to the northern gate, but this was the plan and they were doing well so far. They rode to a spot at corners of the outer wall within sight of another gate and halted there to wait and let the strategy play out.

The tandem efforts of Bao and Xing pushed through the all-human defense and barged into the outer ward of Edo Castle, and for a bit they continued to fight their way inward, slowly step-by-step advancing toward an inner ward. They could hear the shouts of warning all around them: “The enemy has infiltrated the castle! Do not let them reach the keep! They’re close to the southern keep! Push them back!” It was a good sign, and after giving the soldiers a little taste of hell, Guan Xing reached to snag his comrade’s arm. “That’s good,” he said quietly. “We must transfer to the eastern gate, now.”

“Gotcha.” Bao raised his voice and called above the din. “The gate is open! Men, follow me!”

They turned and ducked out through the gate as quickly as they could, and Yueying pulled back with them, while the collective Shimazu clan remained in place, not fighting further inward but holding the line, preventing the Orochi side from being able to close the gate behind them. Ma Liang looked somewhat perplexed at this tactic, but as yet he could not predict their next move or even why they would feel the need to retreat when they were managing capably. Some of his men crowed about pushing the resistance out of the castle, but he wasn’t so sure. After all, Yoshihiro still stood in the gateway, and his massive hammer was making more of a dent in their defense than the pair of excitable officers had.

Zhang Bao and Guan Xing drew around the side of the castle complex, following the wall and saluting Zhao Yun as they passed, and fell upon the eastern gate with the same tactic. At the same time, Magoichi’s force with Ina as support attacked the western gate, giving the castle’s contingent something to fret about. An army large enough to attack three gates at once was not going to be such a pushover – and by attacking all at once, like this, their objective grew uncertain. Orders from the top suggested that a Shu army would want to rescue prisoners, hence the cries to protect the keeps. What was this, now? At least one officer moved to respond directly without waiting for orders, charging the east gate and plowing straight into Guan Xing. The young man did not balk at the attack, but his eyes widened to recognize a man of his father’s service. “Zhou Cang!” he exclaimed as he dug his heels in and refused to be pushed back. “What are you doing here?”

The stout man clenched his jaw as he realized he had come up against his master’s son. “I cannot give my reasons,” he grunted. “Withdraw, please, Master Guan Xing.” 

“You know I can’t do that.” Xing lowered his head with a glare and shoved his opponent off, and then cut back in with his wing-blades, driving him further back into the castle. “I won’t rest until we’ve rescued Lord Liu Bei!”

“I know,” Cang said, a bit more angrily. “But I cannot relent either.”

Xing didn’t fully understand his choice of words, but since neither could back down, both threw themselves into the fight with all their strength. Despite being young and smaller than his father, Xing was not weak, and had all of his father’s drive and courage. He battled back until he had pushed quite far into the castle from this gate, at which point Zhao Yun unexpectedly rode through the gap to assist. He had only a startled stare for Zhou Cang’s presence before whirling the Dragon Spear into place and advancing with purpose. His appearance threw the Orochi side into a tizzy, calling out reports about the enemy commander and reiterating the demand not to let them breach the keeps. There was a smaller keep on the southern side of the courtyard ahead, and the much taller main keep on the north side. Zhao Yun’s eyes went to the northern one, but he could see that it couldn’t be easily accessed from here, not without charging through what looked like the entirety of the castle’s compliment. There was a reason Yueying and Zhou Yu had devised this strategy, he had to follow it without wavering. He assisted the others in pressing all the way to the first outbuilding, drawing more of Ma Su’s men down to deal with them, and then found Zhang Bao at his stirrup, giving him a smack on the leg. “Right, we’re heading out,” he advised his lord. “Come on.”

“Let’s hope they take the bait,” Yun said under his breath as he wheeled his horse and followed them out onto the open ground beyond the gate. They could all hear shouts behind them demanding reinforcements and then Sun Qian ordering his men to hunt down the fleeing enemy. Zhao Yun smiled grimly to himself and spurred his horse on, rejoining the Sanadas and signaling Yueying as their contingent continued on to the north. They had to trust that the others had everything in hand while they headed to the real objective of this battle. And they did; Bao and Xing gave way until they had drawn a number of defenders out onto the plain and then turned and fell upon them with gusto.

To the west, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were carrying out a similar gambit, while Magoichi’s unit caused enough trouble at the gate to allow them to slip by. Yet the western gate was dangerously close to one of the doors of the southern keep, so Ma Su himself responded to the call that the enemy had infiltrated. His orders were to keep the Resistance out of the castle entirely, though barring that, as long as he prevented them from entering either keep, it would be considered a success. He handled himself well against Saika and the Sanada retainers who made up this force, but then he turned and came face to face with Sun Ce himself, and things did not go so well for him. The appearance of the Wu lord meant more than just a power-hitter fighting for their enemies, and Ma Su knew it. He barely got out of it alive, practically crawling his way back to the center courtyard and collapsing at the feet of Fa Zheng, who was the one trusted to hold the keep secure. “You don’t understand,” Ma Su insisted, clutching himself around the middle where he had taken too many hits from those tonfa, “these aren’t just more enemies. Reinforcements – from Wu!”

Fa Zheng stared at him. “What do you mean? Why would Wu…”

“It’s Sun Ce!” Ma Su gasped. “Sun Ce and his retainers!”

The staring turned to gaping. Fa Zheng liked to think himself as controlled and cool as his mentor, but this news was beyond shocking. “That can’t be!” He looked, but the melee at the western gate was too confusing, he couldn’t pick out one man from another, not even the red of Wu mingled with the greens of the two sides of Shu. “Reinforce the north and east gates!”

“The east gate has been breached!” a soldier reported.

“Then focus all our strength at the northern gate!” Fa Zheng demanded. “That’s where reinforcements will head next! Reinforcements from Wu,” he added warily. “I don’t think the chancellor predicted that. What are they up to?”

At the gate, the lower-ranking officers held ground while Magoichi stepped back, giving their reinforcements a wave. “Thanks for the help,” he said to Ce, “but you’ve got more important things to be doing.”

“I know, I just figured you could use a hand to hurry this up,” Ce reasoned. He looked through the gate to the soldiers still trying desperately to keep the Resistance out, his face darkening. “I thought Orochi was down to just his snakes and Lu Bu, but there’s awn awful lot of Shu guys defending this castle.”

“That so?” Magoichi followed his gaze. “You recognize ‘em?”

“Yeah. They’re not so famous as some, but I’ll bet everybody from Shu knows full well who they are.” Ce shook his head grimly. “It’s more than a little strange.”

“Our boys and lady probably aren’t enjoying it that much,” Saika murmured. “Guess that means guys like us oughta step up and help ‘em out. Get moving, you two – I’ve got this.”

Sun Ce nodded and dashed back to mount up and ride, rejoining Zhou Yu and leading their men onward, along paths that struck northward. Their siege was almost complete, he merely had to meet up with Zhao Yun again at the northern gate and the strategy would be fulfilled. As they rode, he noticed a few flakes of snow drifting down and speckling his horse’s neck, and looked up. The leaden gray skies had thickened and darkened, it looked like a storm was moving in. “What do you think?” he asked his strategist.

“You’re right, it’s very strange,” Yu replied, clearly more interested in the battle than the snow. “But if we can sack this castle, I would want every one of those Shu retainers captured. Most of them won’t leave Orochi otherwise.”

“Zhao Yun could double his army in one day, if he can take them all,” Ce noted. “Have I mentioned lately how much I love the way you think, Gongjin?”

“Not often enough,” Yu smirked.

They thundered along the path laid out for them by those who knew the castle and wound their way through fences until they came out on a small knoll just north of Edo, and paused to gauge the size of the fight ahead before continuing on down the slope. Here stood the first snake demons they had seen around the castle, but only one small unit with one captain, bolstering a force led by Mi Zhu of Shu. The older man looked with some surprise at a unit in red coming down out of the hills, but then Zhao Yun and the Sanadas appeared at the other end of the field, shocking him even more. He had only been ordered to reinforce the gate, no one told him it was the great Tiger General attacking it. The officers merged in the center and poured their troops down onto the gate defenders, some of whom actually broke and fled at the sight of Zhao Yun and Sun Ce riding side-by-side with their retainers in formation behind them. The demons at least put up enough of a fight to turn things savage, shooting arrows at the horses and massing to drive the human soldiers into the fray with them. Yet they weren’t strong enough to bring down the Sanadas’ fine cavalry mounts, and even Yun evaded the worst of it, though he dropped out of the saddle and pressed closer on foot, trying to reach the officer holding the gate. It had been closed and barred behind him, the only way to truly keep the Resistance out. Zhao Yun used the shaft of his spear to bat away anyone who came at him to clear a path to the gate, his eyes narrowing as he recognized the officer in charge. Demons came at him from behind only to be cut down by Yukimura, faithfully guarding his comrade’s back. It certainly looked grim for Mi Zhu, but the man faced them bravely, armed with an iron-bladed fan. Zhao Yun scowled at him. “Why is this castle filled with the people of Shu?” he demanded to know. “This makes no sense! Why would you be helping those who hold your lord?”

The older man set his face in determination. “I’m sorry, Lord Zhao Yun. I cannot let you pass here.”

“I will not hesitate to strike you down if you do not get out of my way!” Yun said with a flash of anger.

“You will do as you must.”

There really was no contest, Mi Zhu was a scholar and a close relation of Liu Bei’s, not a general accustomed to the brutality of the field. Zhao Yun needed only three strikes of his Dragon Spear to push him out of the way, and then held him with the shaft against his throat as Sun Ce shouldered past to force the gate. “He is your brother-in-law!” he hissed into Zhu’s face. “What is going _on_ , here? What is this about?”

Rather than answer, Mi Zhu simply shook his head, his silence a plea to have this ended. Yun showed enough restraint to simply strike him over the head to knock him out rather than give him a spear to the ribs, and then turned to find that Sun Ce had done his part. For a moment they paused, searching each other’s eyes. “It’s unpleasant having to fight against your former allies, isn’t it?” Ce said with a frown. “I know exactly what that feels like.”

“It is, yet I cannot help but think there’s something behind all this,” Yun fretted. “Why are they guarding the castle which holds their lord? Is this yet another ruse to try to shake me from my determination?”

Ce shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t rest until we’ve searched this castle from top to bottom, inch by inch. Chin up, Zhao Yun, we’re halfway there.”

“Step carefully,” Yukimura warned them both. “I don’t like this, either. There may be more unpleasant surprises ahead.”

“Stay close, then.” The rest of their foes had been beaten back enough to allow them to pass, so Zhao Yun shook his spear in encouragement and led the way.

As of yet they hadn’t seen the strategist leading the defense, nor anything resembling a commander of this army, but seeing all his countrymen there filled Zhao Yun with a twinge of dread. Surely Zhuge Liang could be the one behind this. What other commander would Ma Su, Fa Zheng, and the others listen to? Who else could order them to fight their own friends and find himself obeyed without question? It was troubling, but he and Yukimura had bested the Sleeping Dragon before, and here they were again. Yet, as they raced along the flagstone paths lining the outer and then inner wards protecting the keep he hoped that their forces at the other gates were not in danger of any sudden traps or tactics laid against them. Yueying was in command in one part of the field, luring officers out of the inner wards and exposing them to defeat, while Magoichi and his riflemen troubled the remaining defense with their mercenary tactics, and Shimazu bulldozed his way through the southern gate, pressing all the way to the doors of the smaller keep. Ma Su was hurt but still on his feet, while Fa Zheng stood in front of him, both of them gawking at the huge man with the huge mallet storming up the paved sidewalk toward them. Holding off waves of soldiers was one thing, but this foe looked to be far out of their league. Ma Su kept his comrade in front of him, one hand on his shoulder to keep him from dodging and leaving him vulnerable. “I’m sorry to say this,” he called out to Yoshihiro as he barged toward them, “but Lord Liu Bei is not here.”

“You don’t mind if I have a look for myself?” Shimazu growled, raising his hammer as if to smite them both where they stood. They both leaped to opposite sides to evade him, and he laughed harshly at them. “That’s right! Get out of my way! Toyohisa, you’ve got these fellows? Don’t let them twitch a muscle while I make a sweep of this part of the castle.”

“Yes, father,” Toyohisa said briskly. The two Shu sages stared at him, he was almost as huge as his father and carried an axe even larger than the hammer. Despite his lack of shirt, the cold and snowflakes didn’t seem to faze him at all. He leveled an eager grin on them, and gestured with the enormous axe-blade for them to both stand to one side so he could keep an eye on them.

Coming around a corner, Zhao Yun was certain that this was the yard Ina had told him about, a small piece of garden which lay just outside one of the entrances to the main keep. Yes, there was a bridge ahead, she had mentioned a bridge. He was about to shout encouragement to the others that they had found it when he noticed someone standing on that bridge, an armored mountain carrying a bladed polearm he knew all too well. His steps slowed and the Dragon Spear drooped, but he still came on without hesitating. He heard Sun Ce swear softly behind him and held up a hand to keep the others back. “I must handle this,” he implored.

“Nah-uh,” Zhang Fei said in challenge. “This is where you guys get off.”

The mighty warrior standing in their way did not look directly at Zhao Yun, though, his eyes went to Sun Ce and Yukimura. For all his bluster, he couldn’t hide his discomfort at having to face a friend, a loyal retainer of Liu Bei. Yun noticed, and his righteous anger bubbled up, pushing away his worries and giving him the strength to heft his spear into position. “Zhang Fei!” he called out in challenge. “I am here to rescue our lord! If you stand in my way, I will not show mercy!”

Zhang Fei finally turned his eyes to him, scowling. “I can’t let anyone from the Resistance through,” he retorted. “That includes you, Zhao Yun, so just turn around and go back home. We got nothin’ for you here.”

“Kinda suspicious that you’re under those kind of orders, if you’ve got nothing,” Sun Ce said smartly. “You just gonna stand there, Zhang Fei, or are you gonna fight?”

Fei glowered at him. “What the hell are _you_ doin’ here? This ain’t your fight!”

“Oh, but it is.” Ce strode up to Yun’s side and dropped into a ready stance. “I made a promise and I stand by it. Zhao Yun is my ally, so here I am to help him out!”

Zhang Fei grumbled inarticulately under his breath, pressing the heel of his hand to his face. “Damn it all to hell, are you kidding me? No matter.” He dropped into a stance of his own, bringing his polearm up and aiming its blade at them. “If you won’t back off, then I’ll _make_ you back off.”

As he shifted to bring his spear to bear, Zhao Yun heard Ce’s quiet murmur of direction at his shoulder. “He’s trying to buy time. Don’t take this alone, the more of us who pile on him the faster this will be over.”

Yun really wanted to fight Zhang Fei himself, but he knew the young lord was right. He needed only a glance to summon Yukimura to his other side, and then all three of them were charging, eager to push Zhang Fei off the bridge and out of their way. He held and then pushed forward against them, coming down off the bridge in order to make use of the garden yard to fight all three of them at once. Nobuyuki and Zhou Yu held back to sweep through and clear the way of any interference, sending all the defending soldiers into retreat as soon as they dared show their faces – nothing would prevent their comrades from carrying out their mission, and they needed to back them up. Zhang Fei was powerful but not invincible, and with all three warriors facing him in their prime, he began to struggle rather quickly. They weaved in and out among one another, each taking the chance to get in a few hits and then pull back to let the next have his turn, keeping up a relentless assault with no breaks or breathers for Zhang Fei. After a stretch of this tactic, Zhao Yun pulled back, taking a moment to rest while he watched Sun Ce and Yukimura continue to beat on their foe. Something had occurred to him in a flash of clarity between strikes: if Zhang Fei was here, that meant Guan Yu could not be far behind. Given the other officers also defending Edo, there was no reason to think that the God of War would be assigned to some other castle or mission elsewhere. No, he had to be here somewhere, in which case, he needed to reserve his strength. The other two were more than a match for Fei, particularly Ce, who had a grim smile on his face as he darted in to pound him with the tonfa and then deftly dodged the Serpent Blade in order to leave Yukimura an opening to attack from the other side. For a moment the spear and pike clashed, straining against one another, and then Ce was back, hitting hard enough to finally knock Zhang Fei down. Yukimura dove in to bring the blade of the Crimson Fang against Fei’s throat, and he realized with a sudden start that he had been bested. It seemed to go by in a flash, but all three officers were breathing hard from the exertion, and Zhao Yun stepped back in to take over, restraining their opponent with his spear hovering beneath Zhang Fei’s chin. Fei just stared at him, likewise trying to catch his breath and grimacing a bit from the ferocity of Sun Ce’s hits. Every breath seemed to hurt. “Do it, then,” he dared. “C’mon, Zhao Yun.”

Yun’s expression tightened, his eyes darkenening. “You and I shouldn’t be at odds like this,” he said, the anger still clear in his voice. “If there is a reason you still stand in my way, tell me!”

“Shut up!” Fei roared, nearly pressing into the spear blade. “You don’t know anything, and you don’t need to know anything!”

“Wrong,” Yukimura put in. “You are the man’s brother, I think his faithful retainers have every right to question why you dare stand in their way!”

Fei’s eyes shifted to him in wonder, that he should dare say such a familiar thing. Yet, all he could do was clench his jaw and close his eyes, letting his head thump onto the cold ground. The only way to keep his orders – and his composure – was to stay silent. Ce gestured with a tonfa. “He’s down, let’s keep moving.”

“Wait. I will not simply let him run off.” Zhao Yun pulled back his spear and then gestured for Nobuyuki to join them. “Hold him here. Do not let him escape under any circumstances!”

Fei’s eyes opened, hearing that, and he squinted up at Zhao Yun as the others hauled him up and made to bind his arms. “That’s right. No mercy,” he implored.

Yun gazed down at him, no pity in his eyes. “Forgive me,” he murmured, “but my lord comes first.”

The pure devotion in his statement made Zhang Fei wince. He was still alive, meaning they had showed him more mercy than he deserved. He sat with his head and shoulders bowed as if to avoid looking at any of them while Nobuyuki covered him with his long sword. “Go, Lord Zhao Yun,” he implored. “The goal is within sight, don’t stop now.”

“I’ll secure our exit,” Sun Ce decided, tossing his head to indicate the gates behind them. There was always a chance the defenders they had already plowed through would regroup and try to blockade them at the gate. “You go on and get Lord Liu Bei!”

“Understood,” Yun said with a nod, but before he could move to cross the bridge, he saw movement behind them and whirled with spear at the ready. Fortunately, it was only their own men, coming through a door from another part of the castle. The man at the lead looked rather pleased with himself for finding them. “Magoichi!”

“Caught up just in time!” Saika had found a path through the outer wards and snuck around to join them. He blinked a bit to see Zhang Fei bound and captured, but didn’t need to ask. “Looks like you guys found the place, all right.”

“Come,” Yun implored, glad to be able to replace Sun Ce with another formidable fighter. “But stay on your guard! There may be a much larger force waiting inside the keep!”

Sun Ce watched them go, and then looked down at Zhang Fei’s bowed head. “They’ll never win a war with unwilling troops,” he said sharply. “She still hasn’t learned that by now.”

Nobuyuki gathered who he meant and nodded. “Forcing Liu Bei’s men to fight like this is nothing more than pointless cruelty.”

“That’s Orochi,” Ce grimly agreed, and then tossed his head toward the door on the far side of the bridge. “Zhou Yu, go with ‘em. They might need you more than I will.”

“If you insist,” Zhou Yu responded. “Take care, my lord.”

He jogged to catch up with the others, who had only just crossed the bridge and entered the castle, moving from one shoji partition to the next along the ground floor, weapons leading the way. They were mindful of an ambush or other guardian force awaiting them around any corner, though as yet Zhao Yun had not shared with them his worst fears. Magoichi led the way, sliding up against walls and peering around them with his rifle cocked and then forging onward when he spotted no enemies in their way. Mindful of the suggestions from their comrades, they did not bother searching the entirety of each floor and only worked to reach the stairwell and keep going upward, floor by floor. The second floor was where they found the first defenders, but the mingled force of snakes and men had no commander and only put up a token resistance before being bashed aside so Zhao Yun and his men could keep climbing. Finally, on the top floor, Magoichi ducked out from the stairwell straight into the corridor beyond and stopped short, shifting the rifle in his hands to cover his whole body like a shield. “Damn!” he said loud enough for those behind him to hear.

“What is it?” Zhao Yun came up behind him, but the sight which met him at the end of the hall did not fill him with bewilderment at all. He had been expecting this, so even though Yukimura and Zhou Yu started in shock, he merely lowered the Dragon Spear and his shoulders into an attack stance. “So. You _are_ here.”

Guan Yu stood with his entire body blocking a set of doors, leaning the Blue Dragon in one hand like a god carrying a holy staff. His dark eyes flashed with barely-suppressed surprise of his own as he came face to face with the enemy commander. He didn’t make any kind of exclamation as the officers came to stand shoulder to shoulder in confrontation, and only then lowered the massive pike into a position mirroring Zilong. “No matter how many you are, none shall pass me,” he declared in a low tone.

Zhao Yun was quickly reaching a level of impassioned defiance he hadn’t touched since facing Zhuge Liang at Xin Di. His scowl deepened as he met the giant warrior’s eyes across the room. “Guan Yu!” he shouted with far more emotion than he intended. “I thought you and I were friends! Would you stop me, here?”

Guan Yu was far better than his brother at keeping evidence of emotion off his face, but seeing the way Yun looked at him, contempt and rage behind his determination, made the corners of his mouth sag beneath his mighty beard. “It is my order,” he said simply. “I don’t expect you to understand, Lord Zhao Yun.”

“The only thing I do not understand is why you choose not to break free of Orochi and help rescue our lord!” Yun blazed at him. “How does your honor not burn within you? How does your heart not break at the thought that we have to destroy each other!”

Guan Yu looked away sharply, averting his gaze to the polished wooden floor. “I cannot do that. Not yet.” He raised the tip of the Blue Dragon until it faced the Dragon Spear head-on. “If you think you can destroy me, then do so.”

The Crimson Fang slid into position beside its companion as Yukimura edged in beside Zhao Yun, standing like his twin in his silver and white armor. “He will not do so alone. God of War or not, we must bring you down!”

At either end of the line, Zhou Yu and Magoichi likewise brought their weapons into position. Guan Yu nodded approvingly and whirled the Blue Dragon around as if to show off. “Then come.”

This time, there was no doubting that it was Zhao Yun’s right to face this foe, though he did not turn away Yukimura’s assistance. The two of them had not had the chance to fight side-by-side on the battlefield in what felt like ages, but their teamwork had not at all suffered for the long break. Their spears moved together as paired blurs, doubling the strength of their attack and then moving to hit in sequence, one after the other, forcing Guan Yu to move quickly to block them both. There wasn’t a great amount of room to move on this floor, the corridor was wide but it was still an enclosed space with ceilings not much higher than the reach of a spear, and on top of that, Guan Yu refused to be moved from his spot. He had clearly been ordered to prevent anyone from getting through the doors behind him at all costs, and he was large enough that he merely needed to plant his feet and fend off all comers in order to do so. He had no reinforcements to assist him, they were all on the lower floors – he was the actual last line of defense, and a solid one at that. Seeing as they couldn’t get a cut or a shot in edgewise, Zhou Yu and Magoichi turned to guard their comrades’ backs, preventing any of those reinforcements from coming up the stairs after them. It was up to the pair of spearmen to wrestle Guan Yu into submission somehow, pushing past their weariness from previous battles to find a second wind.

Way out beyond the outer ward lay Edo Castle’s true secret, a collection of outbuildings whose nondescript exteriors hid additional troops of Orochi soldiers, primarily those brought by Da Ji as a secondary unit. They had managed to stay silent even as the Shu Resistance rode past, ignoring the structures as mere storehouses while they focused on their own strategy to assault and sack the castle proper. From where they hid, Da Ji and Zhuge Liang were able to see much of what was going on with the battle, though the reports from a sharp-eyed sentry with a spyglass helped. They needed to know what was going on in the main keep, and were receiving signals from a soldier two floors down from where the battle currently raged. Hearing the report passed along from one to the next, Da Ji clapped her hands eagerly. “It’s working! They’re fighting amongst themselves!”

“Patience, my lady,” Zhuge Liang cautioned. “Let the situation play itself out before judging the plan on its success.”

She pouted at him for spoiling her fun. “So much for all that vaunted Shu benevolence. When it comes right down to it, they’ll kill each other rather than stand down for honor or whatever. I love it.”

Liang did not rise to her taunt, but rather turned to give orders to his sentry. “Prepare to signal the archers. If we get the report that they’ve gotten past Guan Yu, the next ploy must be ready to launch immediately.”

The soldier flashing signals with a mirror slinked up the stairwell as far as he dared so he could see. So far, it appeared that Guan Yu was successfully maintaining his blockade, but that could change in an instant and he had to be ready. He could hear the ringing clash of polearms above the din of battle and confusion, even if he couldn’t see much between the two officers standing guard at the very top of the stairs. Zhao Yun and Yukimura were not failing, though, they were holding their own in this fight and starting to wear their foe down. As a result all three were starting to get past each other’s blocks, and wherever armor did not cover them they were vulnerable. Guan Yu could not protect his less-armored left arm when one or the other of the swift spearmen moved to draw him to his dominant side and left the other side open for a strike from the other. Zhao Yun was well protected everywhere but his thighs, which were much harder to get to, and Yukimura was the most protected of all of them. Yet he, too, had a few rips in his sleeves and the spots where the Blue Dragon had struck his chestplate or pauldrons ached from the force of the hit. He was the first to stumble, as he was still worn down from fighting Zhang Fei, and ducked as the huge pike came at him in a sweep and hit him in the shoulder, bowling him sideways through a shoji wall. Zhao Yun did not falter a single step even as his comrade went down, and then he felt someone sweep up on his right and smelled the lingering tang of gunpowder – Magoichi. The tall rifleman was definitely nowhere near the size or muscle of the famed God of War but he plunged into the fray without hesitating, wielding his gun like a staff and clubbing with the butt or jabbing with the bayonet. The latter was truly effective, he got in right past Guan Yu’s defense and scored it up the length of his left arm. Yu let out a bellow of pain and immediately whirled the Blue Dragon around to strike the one who had bitten him deep, crashing up against the shaft of the Dragon Spear instead. The force of it nearly flung Zhao Yun right into Magoichi, but both of them held firm. By that time Yukimura was up again, moving a bit more slowly but still able to contribute a strike or two here and there. Guan Yu disengaged from one spear to block the other, but he knew what guns could do and was not about to let himself get shot right here when the fight was getting good. He focused on the spearmen for a bit but kept Saika in the corner of his sights, noticing him moving back as if to get room for a clear shot. For the first time Guan Yu left the protection of the door and lunged after him, swinging the blade at him first and then, when it was dodged, following with a counter of the pommel end. Magoichi swung himself around to guard with his left side, but he only had a light bracer on his arm as he raised it to take the hit head-on. Everyone in the room heard the crack as the lacquered bracer caved in and the blow fell full on his forearm. Magoichi gritted his teeth, seething in pain, but showed no sign of slowing down, angling his shoulders in order to bring his Marksman’s Pride up in his right hand alone and point the barrel full into Guan Yu’s face. In the heartbeat which followed, all four of them knew that he could have very well pulled the trigger and destroyed one of the greatest men to ever wield a polearm, but Saika deliberately waited. Yu shoved him off with a second blow to that same spot on his arm and let his eyes follow as he tumbled onto the floor. Not even both spearman attacking him again from the right could sway his keen eyes, he blocked them while still staring at Magoichi’s trembling left hand. His arm was clearly broken, but he pushed himself up with his other elbow and looked like he intended to get to his feet and keep going. “Stand down!” Guan Yu implored. “You do not need to die!” His gaze shifted to Zhao Yun, who was straining against the Blue Dragon, dangerously close to him. “Retreat now, and live!”

Yun glowered at him for even daring to make that call, but Magoichi came up fast, spinning the rifle in his one good hand and aiming again. “Sorry, but I have no intention of dying – or stepping aside.”

“I will never back down so long as my lord is captive!” Yun added.

The stoic scowl on Guan Yu’s face began to crack, his eyes were wild with confusion. His warrior’s spirit could keep fighting them as long as they wanted, but the faithful heart of the Tiger General almost couldn’t stand looking into their eyes as they clashed. They were so bold, so fierce, and he believed Zhao Yun entirely – he would not give up, the only thing that could ever stop him from knocking down every obstacle between him and Liu Bei would be a blade through his chest. Guan Yu had the strength to deliver one, but did he have the will? He could keep them in stalemate until all of them dropped from exhaustion, but he had not forgotten that Zhou Yu was standing right over there, and at the very moment he glanced to where the Wu strategist held the line, a ruckus on the stairs alerted him to more reinforcements coming, and out of nowhere Sun Ce barged straight in. Guan Yu was forced to throw off the spears and back up against the door, bracing himself with the Blue Dragon across his scratched chestplate. “Who have you brought…?” he breathed in surprise.

Sun Ce looked around to gauge the situation and then braced himself in turn, bringing his tonfa up. “The gate’s clear, Lord Zhao Yun,” he reported. “So this is is why it’s taking so long.”

Zhao Yun was panting hard. “I will not say no to a little assistance.”

Guan Yu threw his head back for an inarticulate roar and then plunged toward them, his pike singing as it swept toward all of them at once. Yukimura deflected it first, Magoichi dodged to get around behind the wielder, and then Zhao Yun and Sun Ce were standing at each other’s shoulders, forming a combined block to stop the blade where it was. Their single-minded foe was now far enough from the door that everyone could join in, and so they did: Zhou Yu swept in to cut past him, daring him to disengage, Yukimura jabbed straight in with the Crimson Fang, slamming it into Yu’s armored torso, and when he staggered and went to one knee, Magoichi appeared right behind him with the rifle cocked and held to his head. Even if he refrained a second time from pulling the trigger, Zhou Yu had his blade against the man’s thick neck and then the Dragon Spear came up pointing into his face. Guan Yu might have had the strength to bring the Blue Dragon up and cleave them all through the middle, even from that position, but he would have had three blades in his throat and a bullet in his head in payment for even twitching a muscle. To make sure, however, Sun Ce kicked down the pike’s blade and stepped on it. Without flinching, Guan Yu closed his eyes. “I yield.”

Yukimura leaned down to wrest the pike away from him, at which point Zhao Yun drew back a step. “Forgive me,” he implored, and then struck with the shaft of his Dragon Spear, knocking his old friend unconscious. Sun Ce whistled, impressed and disturbed, at the way the mountain of warrior collapsed on the floor, which creaked beneath him. Yun had no time to follow it up, though. “Quickly, to the rescue!”

Zhou Yu guarded their backs as the rest of them moved to break down the doors which Guan Yu had been blockading with his own body, and they passed through to see that they weren’t quite at the top. There was a short staircase leading to an open room right under the eaves of the castle keep, and as they pounded up, they found a once-elegant room now turned into a prison, the fine trappings of a warlord’s personal quarters long since ransacked and removed and in their place, several iron-barred cells. Only one was occupied. Zhao Yun eagerly ran to it, but even halfway there he could tell that the occupant was not Liu Bei. The man inside was much bigger and broader, and clad in red and black. He was already up on his knees and straining against the bars of his cell, but looked up when he heard the racing feet thudding toward him on the wooden floor. His eyes met Zilong’s first, not recognizing him, but then Yukimura let out a gasp. “Lord Ujiyasu!”

Hojo Ujiyasu stared hard at him. “Well, I’ll be damned. Is that a Sanada boy?”

“So you’re Lord Ujiyasu,” Sun Ce said, coming over to join them. “My father sends his blessings.”

Ujiyasu studied him – the red brocades, the tiger skin – and then broke into an astonished grin and a chuckle. “You’ve got to be Jian’s boy. You idiots, why did you come all the way up here for me?”

“We came to rescue anyone held by Orochi,” Zhao Yun replied curtly. “Please, can you tell me – is anyone else being held here? Anyone at all, even if they’re not in the keep?”

Ujiyasu shook his head while the others started hunting for a way to unlock or bash open the cell door. “Just me, right now. But you walked right into it!”

“What?” Yun had barely breathed the gasp when they heard a fresh clatter and thunder on the stairs, and a whole new unit of Orochi soldiers clamored up from the floor below. “No! A trap!”

Zhou Yu was closest and turned to meet them, cutting down several in the first wave as they reached him. “Where did these ambush troops come from?” he complained aloud, as Magoichi came to his side and shot into the pack, felling several of the poorly-armored men.

“I tried to warn you,” Hojo shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter.” Sun Ce gave up trying to find a key and simply pounded his tonfa against the bars. The iron clanged loudly but wouldn’t even dent. “We’re getting you out. Any ideas?”

“Here! Zhao Yun, Yukimura, take over for me!” Magoichi called out. The spearmen did so instantly, while he backed off and then came up to the cell door. A quick inspection of the lock made him grin confidently. “Stand back, both of you, and watch your eyes.”

Ce and Hojo both ducked as Magoichi raised his gun, rested the end of the barrel against the hasp of the lock, and shot it clean off. Shards of twisted metal blasted away and then clattered to the ground, and the cell door swung open. Despite his long captivity and general weakness, Ujiyasu clambered to his feet and lunged out to freedom. “Find my cane,” he implored them.

Ce looked around, noticing an ornate cane resting on a dusty table in the corner, and fetched it for him, figuring he might need it to walk. Yet, before their eyes, Ujiyasu took it in both hands and pulled a sword out of the housing. An approving growl in his chest made Ce laugh brightly. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” he complimented.

Inside the storehouse, Zhuge Liang murmured, “The ambush has been sprung.”

“Suckers!” Da Ji cackled. “Get rid of them, will you?”

“Very well.” Liang raised his arm to signal the sentry in the window. “Set fire to the castle.”

The wave was passed from one sentry to the next, and up in one of the windows of the southern keep, an archer suddenly appeared, his bow bent and a flaming arrow fitted to the string. No one at any of the three gates below saw him, nor did Shimazu ever find him in his search of the keep. The fire missile streaked from the smaller to the larger keep and struck the wall in a particular spot under the eaves, where oil and powder had been laid. It took only a second, and then the entire grounds of Edo echoed with a _boom_.

The explosion was right against the far wall of the top floor where the Resistance officers were still fighting off the ambush, knocking everyone off their feet for a moment. It hadn’t injured them, but the flames leaped up in an instant, the oil catching with a roar and then the dry wood of the roof and inner paneling following. Zhao Yun jerked to his feet first, eyes wide in horror. “No!” Yukimura gasped beside him, pushing himself up on his spear.

“We have to find a way out,” Zhao Yun cried, “fast!”

“Move!” Zhou Yu demanded. “Don’t stop to battle, everyone out!”

The ambush troops faltered as well, gawking at the flames and slowly coming to realize that their lives were forfeit as well, the surprise fire attack had been launched with them inside the keep. They heard Yu’s cry and turned and fled, foregoing any idea of continuing to battle the Resistance. The cluster of officers followed on their heels, Sun Ce taking it on himself to make sure Hojo could keep up with him, which was definitely doubtful. He had stood well, but now that they had to run, his legs weren’t quite ready for that kind of demand on their strength and he stumbled on the stairs. Ce ducked under his arm and shouldered him without missing a beat. As they reached the next floor down, Zhao Yun stopped short – Guan Yu was still lying dazed where they had left him, though he was starting to come around. Yun asked no one to help but dropped to one knee and yanked on Guan Yu’s arm to get him up. Magoichi noticed that he had fallen behind and stopped to yell at him. “What are you doing? Come on!”

“I will not leave him to die like this!” Yun shouted back.

Heaving a sigh, Saika turned to join him, but Yukimura beat him to it with a quick admonition over his shoulder. “You only have one good arm – use it, Magoichi.” He joined his comrade in picking up Guan Yu with his weapon, and together the two of them hauled him bodily down the stairs. The fire was coming quickly down from above, licking along the wooden pillars that joined floor to floor, so they couldn’t stop for anything. As they went, they found small groups of their own soldiers standing as if to relay them from one to the next, securing their retreat and then following behind them. They had let the Orochi troops run, but the Resistance side stood their ground even though more than one looked up with fear glimmering in his eyes, hearing the rush of the fire stealing through the keep. When they reached the main floor they were met by Nobuyuki, likewise staring in alarm but holding his composure much more handily. He could hardly believe the sight of his brother and their lord shouldering the immense bulk of Guan Yu himself as they came around the corner from the stairs, and gestured with his naked sword to get them to hurry. The wide open door was just ahead, and they could see snow falling more thickly in the dim gray gloom beyond. The urge to breathe that cold, clean air drove their fatigued legs on, and together they all staggered across the bridge and out into the snows. There, Guan Yu was finally alert enough to withdraw himself from their aid and throw himself onto the frosty grass, heaving for breath while all around him soldiers and officers coughed the smoke out of their lungs.

From where they waited and observed, the commander and her strategist could not see the door on the far side of the keep, all they knew was that the fire attack had gone without a hitch and their scout had disappeared from the window in order to flee. “You are as cold as ice,” Da Ji snickered to the man at her side. “Slaughtering your own men like that, and a captive prisoner while you’re at it.”

“It is simply the most effective means of reducing the enemy’s capacity to fight,” Zhuge Liang intoned, lifting his fan close to his chest. “The best strategy here is efficiency.” 

“I knew there was a reason I liked you,” Da Ji cooed as she watched the tall keep of Edo burn, the flames bright and red against the gloom of the advancing snowstorm.


	63. Chapter 63

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the battle at Edo Castle, and the incredible consequences as a result.

The officers of the Resistance sat or crouched in the courtyard behind the Edo main keep for a few minutes, taking great gulps of cold air and letting the snowflakes kiss their heated faces, mindful that they were still in the middle of a battle but needing a brief rest first. The castle was burning, but even as they took a moment to collect themselves, they saw some of the soldiers from the Orochi side run back in, trying to douse the flames. Magoichi boggled at them. “What are they doing? Don’t they know…?”

“That we didn’t start this fire? Probably not,” Sun Ce answered. “Damn, but I’d hate to see this castle burn again. Orochi tried a fire attack, too, but Lord Ieyasu put it out before it could raze everything.”

“Then let ‘em try to put it out,” Saika sighed tiredly. “Lady Ina probably doesn’t want to see it burn, either.”

Ce growled a bit under his breath. “Luring us in and then trying to burn us to death. This smells like Zhuge Liang’s work.”

Nobuyuki looked to where Zhang Fei still sat bound, looking concerned at his brother’s state of health, while their men surrounded both and kept them under guard. “I wonder. Would he be behind the overall tactic of pitting officers of Shu against one another, as well?”

“Easily,” Zhou Yu said darkly. “He is a strategist not given to falling victim to personal feelings. Unlike these two…” His gaze drifted to the sworn brothers now in their clutches. “…who are suffering the same as my lord did while his father was Orochi’s captive.”

When he had caught his breath, Zhao Yun moved in to bind Guan Yu, who still sat hunched but at least was able to sit. He looked up as Zilong handled him and then bowed his head again. “Why did you save me, Lord Zhao Yun?”

Yun straightened and turned away from him. “If you have to ask me that, then I weep for the state of our kingdom and our friendship.” There was still some anger in his voice, but less heat. “Since you are unable to, I will see to it that our lord is rescued.”

He left them to silently stew over that parting shot and rejoined Sun Ce, who had his tonfa tucked under one arm while he waited. “So,” he huffed. “Lord Liu Bei wasn’t here after all. What do we do now?”

“This battle isn’t over,” Yun answered firmly. “There is still someone pulling the strings who needs to be stopped before anyone else can be sacrificed. If he isn’t the one in command, then we have one other against whom we can turn our sights.”

“Could be anyone,” Ce warned. “Da Ji, maybe, or maybe Lu Bu or Date. I don’t know who else would be in a fit state to command anymore.”

“Whoever it is must be defeated for us to be able to claim Edo Castle for the Resistance,” Yukimura reminded. “Though I’m of a mind to capture Zhuge Liang. There’s a lot he can tell us.”

Zhao Yun nodded crisply. “Since we lost out on our opportunity to get information from Da Ji when she was Lord Cao Pi’s captive, we must turn to any other available source. He’ll do.”

“If she is here,” Zhou Yu broke in, “we can attempt to capture her again.”

The idea seemed to really appeal to the others, but they were mindful of not getting ahead of themselves again. Hojo stepped up among them, using his cane for its intended purpose. “You kids don’t mind if I come along? I know I’m a bit slow but I’ve got a real burning need to repay Orochi for his hospitality. Uh.” He glanced up at the keep still on fire above their heads. “No pun intended.”

“If you can keep up with us, by all means,” Zhao Yun agreed. “Your clansmen are allies of Shu, I want to be able to give them good news when this is over.”

That made Ujiyasu blink and then nod in approval. Nobuyuki looked to one of the others among their number. “You might as well, Lord Ujiyasu. I think everyone is pressing on, even when they’re injured.”

Magoichi sniffed and tried to shrug it off. “I’ve had worse. You can’t stop me, Lord Sanada.”

Nobuyuki made a face at him for playing with honorifics at a time like this and waved for their men to move out. A small unit would remain to guard the prisoners, but everyone else had work to do. “Whoever is commanding, they’re not in the castle itself,” Yukimura noted. “Where should we look to find them?”

“Let’s regroup with the others, first,” Zhou Yu advised. “They might like to know we aren’t being roasted alive.”

Those who knew Edo well enough from past experience knew the quickest way to the center of the compound, so they thankfully didn’t have to go back through the gate and all the way around the outer wall. They passed through a gate in the inner ward wall and skirted around the keep itself, heading for a door ahead which opened out onto a courtyard and yet further inner wards. As they ran, an eerie mixture of snowflakes, ash, and embers from the burning keep drifted around them and settled on their clothes, and the fire itself lit the sky like a beacon, the red glow fierce and bright against the darkening curtain of thick storm clouds. At last, they could see the sentries positioned on rooftops to spy on their actions, and though Magoichi raised his rifle to try to snipe a couple of them, they guessed that it was too late. All that mattered was finding their own people, though, so they followed the lead around through the inner ward to the wide, paved courtyard between the two towers.

This time, Da Ji did not need someone else to report, she heard the sentry call down from where he stood watch and turned on Zhuge Liang. “They’ve escaped from the keep!” she snarled. “What happened to your amazing strategy? They were supposed to die in there!”

Liang held up his free hand. “Do not concern yourself, my lady. My next plan is already in place.” He gestured with the fan to the sentry, who nodded and signaled back to their men still in the field. “Those units I took from you earlier are about to spring an ambush on them from inside the castle.”

“Ooohhhh…” Da Ji immediately ceased her freak-out and leaned back, grinning wickedly. “You _are_ a genius. There’s nothing you haven’t thought of!”

“Everything on the battlefield is in the palm of my hand,” Liang assured.

“Which really makes me wonder why you failed in the last two battles we conducted,” she said, giving him a sly look. “I can blame Yamazaki on Sima Yi, but what about Wuzhang?”

Kongming only shrugged in response. “My strategies were flawless. It was our strength that was lacking.”

Da Ji harrumphed and turned to wait, keeping an eye on that sentry up on the wall with the best vantage point. “Then as long as our strength is enough here, this should work perfectly.”

“Indeed.”

Zhao Yun found the majority of his army spread out across the courtyard, cleaning up any Orochi stragglers who dared to try to flee the castle in one direction or another. Shimazu Yoshihiro reported to them that he hadn’t found anything in the smaller keep, but his son was standing guard over a pair of officers they had captured. Zhang Bao and Guan Xing were breathing hard from exertion, but clearly having the time of their lives, having no idea that their fathers were currently sitting in a rather sorry state on the far side of the ward. Zilong did not tell them, not yet. Yueying still sat astride her horse, having held the eastern gate the entire time and defeated Sun Qian herself. “One more push,” Zhao Yun encouraged everyone. “The keep was only a ruse. Our true goal is nearby, possibly where they can watch us. We…”

The doors of the outer ward wall slammed open and snake demons poured out on them from interior portions of the castle, out of barracks and armory yards, startling the entirety of the Resistance army. Yet, they were in a perfect position to counter; had they still been scattered all over the castle compound, the ambush might have had greater success, but they had been allowed a minute to cluster together in a knot, so all they had to do was turn with weapons out and they were ready to meet the ambush on all sides. Spears and blades slashed out this way and that, and the demons quickly found themselves falling onto weapons with no way to retreat back out of it. The officers were all pushing far beyond their limits, but they had no choice. Then Magoichi, who had drawn back against Yueying’s horse to protect his broken arm, spotted something with his keen eyes. “Hey. Up there! Those sentries…”

“I see them,” Ina said, running to his side and drawing a handful of arrows. “Shall I…?”

“No, don’t shoot ‘em yet. Look.” Saika pointed with his bayonet. “Look which way they’re looking.”

“They’re sending someone a signal,” Ina realized, and then started with a small gasp. “The storehouses on the edge of the yard!”

“That’s it,” Magoichi realized, and then raised his voice. “Zhao Yun! We got ‘em!”

Yun’s head whipped toward him. “Where?”

“Out the east gate,” Ina called back, “and then south. Those buildings, there!”

Yueying breathed an angry growl. “We rode right past them and didn’t think of searching them.”

“I didn’t think they would be anything but storehouses, either,” Ina assured.

Zhao Yun was not about to let this battle end without his say, so despite his fatigue, he shook the snowflakes out of his long hair and raised his spear. “Onward, to destroy the enemy commander! If you see Zhuge Liang, or Da Ji, make every effort to capture them!”

“Go,” Shimazu bellowed, turning to swing his hammer through ranks of demon soldiers and send them flying. “We’ve got this! Boys, you’re with me.”

Xing and Bao shouted their agreement and fell alongside him, and this time, Nobuyuki remained with his retainers to fight until his arms ached from swinging his swords. Hojo stayed also, finding it very useful to plant his bulk right there on the road and slash his sword at everything that came at him. The Wu reinforcements followed Zhao Yun and Yukimura, and Yueying chose to ride with them as soon as he heard her husband’s name spoken. Ina, as well, though Saika only followed at a distance. His arm was starting to become a hazard, but he needed to see this through to the end. The sight of that many officers with a healthy contingent of soldiers trailing them charging en masse toward the buildings southeast of the walls was the only warning they got, the sentry on the wall yelped his alert and then leaped down to join the soldiers waiting inside the building. Da Ji’s moment of delight faded as she turned back to Zhuge Liang, but the strategist was already moving. “Hold here,” he admonished. “I have one more trick up my sleeve.”

“You’d better!” Da Ji snapped at him. “They weren’t supposed to get past Guan Yu! If they get past you, _you’ll_ be the one I throw to Lord Orochi for failure instead of Sima Yi!”

Such a threat hardly ruffled Liang’s feathers, but he inclined his head to indicate he understood and strode toward the door, intending to beat his enemies to the punch. At his command the side gate swung open and he strode out, urging the last Shu soldiers ahead of him. He could see the two spearmen running toward him as expected, but the cluster of Wu troops with their lord at their head took him completely aback. His strategy had relied entirely upon silent signals instead of field reports, so he had not yet received word that the reinforcements for the resistance came from Wu, nor that Sun Ce himself was there. It was of more interest to him than seeing his wife riding toward him, though she pulled up short behind the line as Zhao Yun and Yukimura moved to strike first, not even shouting a challenge as they came on. Kongming dodged artfully to one side and then the other in order to avoid being run through, through the Crimson Fang caught the edge of his robe and tore it. He whirled around to make sure they couldn’t hit him from behind, raising his fan to hide his face. “I knew you would make it this far,” he said sagely.

Yun skidded on the damp grass and spun to face him, shifting his outrage at being forced to take down the brothers onto the man who gave them their orders. He also had not forgotten Xin Di, and the thought that Zhuge Liang had lured him to Edo with the same gambit a second time frustrated him. Before he could attack again, he looked past the regal strategist to verify that the other officers were closing in – Ina had a bead on him, Ce and Yu stalked from one side, and Yueying dismounted on the other, taking up her pike. All of them seemed to ignore the foot soldiers also taking the field, but their own could handle that just fine. Zhuge Liang was now surrounded, but he didn’t seem particularly concerned about it. In fact, as Ce sprang from his place to lead the attack, he simply raised his fan to direct his sorcery. Lightning bolts danced in a storm around him on all sides, keeping everyone back by several paces. Zhao Yun gritted his teeth, his stance tensing. “Why do you continue to do this?” he demanded to know in a low hiss. “I want to know your reasons. Tell me!”

Kongming tipped his head to the side in a single shake of denial. “I can say nothing. There is no reason for words, Zhao Yun, let your spear speak for you.”

Seeing he had no choice, Yun bit back any further retorts and charged, spear held low. Yukimura matched him yet again, and for a while the two swept in and out, doing their best to strike while Zhuge Liang blocked them, using his fan as often as the shielding spell he had become adept with. Any time anyone else attempted to interfere, he managed to fire off more magic to keep them back, light and lightning and even wind. Whether he had been practicing or was merely finally revealing what he could actually do, he seemed far more capable of dodging spears compared to their last fight, swishing in and out between them as they circled and swung. It might have gone on forever had Liang not turned at the right moment and flung out his hand to send another beam of light straight at Yukimura as he came in close. It hit him in the chest and knocked him several feet back, sliding on the icy grass. Zhao Yun snarled as he whirled in place and spun the Dragon Spear at its full length, slamming it sideways into his opponent and throwing him a fair distance himself. Liang came up in a crouch only to find another weapon-shaft at his throat, and followed its length to see Yueying standing over him, her face uncertain but her hands on the pike firm. There was a moment in which they gazed at each other, and then Zhuge Liang moved, knocking the pike away with a blow from his fan and whisking himself to his feet. It was as if he knew she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him, and Yueying saw it in his smirk as he turned to go after Zhao Yun instead. That struck her, and she quickly raised the pike into an attack stance. “Do not turn your back on me!” she cried. “Not again!”

Liang turned enough to regard her while still keeping the Shu commander in his peripheral sight. “Can you overcome me, my lady?” he wondered.

“She shouldn’t have to!” Zilong plowed into him from behind, shoulder-pauldron first instead of his spear. The tackle knocked him off balance and back into Yueying’s path, allowing her to take a few swings at him. Kongming dodged one and then brought the fan up over his chest to block the rest, though the momentum pushed him back along the slippery snow-covered ground. When he had the chance he turned her attack aside and shifted the fan to blast her back with wind spells, only to find Zhao Yun already inside his reach, the spear leading in a thrust he couldn’t block in time. It scored along his shoulder and would have pierced his throat or his chest if he hadn’t thrown himself backwards fast enough. The Dragon Spear’s blade still traced a line along his collarbone and ripped through his robes, laying them wide open down to the skin. Zhuge Liang had no other option left, he simply fell onto his back and let the fan fall from his hand. He lifted his eyes through the falling snow as Yun dove in and held him pinned with the spear-blade aimed at his throat. “Yield,” he demanded, “or I will let my spear have the final word.”

Liang’s eyes drifted closed. Between the exertion and the pain he heaved for breath, which steamed around his face in the cold. “You are not finished yet,” he murmured. “She is still here.”

“She,” Yueying repeated hotly. “Da Ji!”

“Thought so!” Sun Ce said – he was close enough to overhear. “Let’s drag that lying fox out of her den and show her just what it really means to have us as enemies!”

Zhao Yun nodded, but as he turned to do so, his knees went weak and he nearly stumbled. He had been fighting at full intensity for so long, he had nothing left. He quickly jabbed the spear into the ground to hold him up, and then looked around at his companions. “Please, Sun Ce…lead the way,” he said quietly.

Ce held his gaze for a moment and then nodded. “You got it.”

He didn’t need to go far. Da Ji had watched them drop her only remaining faithful retainer onto the snow-slick ground and came charging out to finish this herself. The remaining Resistance officers turned to her and met her halfway, starting with several arrows shot rapid-fire by Ina that threw the demon strategist off her stride in order to dodge them. She barely got her orbs around to block as Sun Ce slammed into her from one side and Yukimura the other. Da Ji managed to fling Yukimura back again, as he was quickly reaching the same limit as Zhao Yun, and then turned to the Wu interlopers who had the audacity to show their faces around her. “You haven’t learned your lesson, have you?” she barked at them. “Very well, I’ll just have to issue your punishment myself!”

“Don’t speak as if you still have any sort of authority over us,” Zhou Yu said coldly as he closed in.

Da Ji brought an orb up to block his Ancients Sword and then, with a flick of her wrist, had the other diving in for his head. “Don’t get cocky. I don’t see all those extra officers you had with you last time. You’re no match for me alone!”

“What makes you think they’re alone?” Magoichi strode up in full view from downfield, rifle resting over his shoulders. He carried himself in such a way as to hide his injury, looking completely ready for a throwdown.

Ina walked next to him, three arrows simultaneously fitted to the string of her bow. “As long as we are united, you have no chance. Surrender.”

Da Ji gave them both a savage look, leaning forward to spit her words at them. “Make me.”

Sun Ce bashed her orbs out of his way and advanced on her, full of the same fire which drove his ally. Seeing Zhao Yun driven to the brink of exhaustion without being able to fully claim victory lent him the strength he needed, and Zhou Yu with him. Yueying joined them as well, easily dashing past Zilong and ducking an orb to get in close and swing the angled blade of her pike in a raking motion that nearly tore through Da Ji’s flank. It was looking ugly for her, and as she found herself unable to fight back, needing to keep her orbs in front of her as shields, she appeared to be looking around for a way out. They pressed her without pause, all three in front hitting one after the other with intervals between covered by arrows and rifle-shot, not giving her a single chance to summon a spell or teleport herself away. She had to focus on all five at once just to stay alive, and that was far too much. The instant Da Ji turned to put some distance between herself and them, Ce lunged and hit her hard in the side with a tonfa, the punch sending her flying several feet to crash into the ground. Her orbs disappeared, she had no more energy to maintain them after such a hit. They were coming at her again, all three closing in fast, when she heard that calm voice call out from behind her. “Quickly, my lady! Over here!”

Da Ji looked sharply up to see that Zhuge Liang had regained his feet and, left unattended, had run back past them to the door of the storehouse. He beckoned her from there, giving her the faintest glimmer of hope that he had some kind of backup escape plan just for them. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down!” she gasped as she scrambled up and ran toward him, doing her best to outpace her pursuers. They all heard a renewed cry of anger from Zhao Yun as he forced himself to give chase, desperate not to let either of them escape, and Da Ji looked back to find him charging past Yueying to get to her. She very nearly made a face at him in taunt, but as soon as her feet crossed the threshold of the building there was a bright flash of light, and she let out a scream as it surrounded her and she felt the tingle of mystical energy all along her skin, through her body, down to her marrow. She collapsed there just inside the building, crumpling into a ball as a sigil appeared beneath her as if etched into the ground by pure light. The display of sorcery stopped the Resistance attack short, their steps faltered and they slowed to a halt in bewilderment. The answer to their growing questions came as Zhuge Liang stepped out from the shadowy interior and circled around the ring of glowing energy as if appraising it. Da Ji pushed herself up on her hands and shot him the kind of hate-filled, vicious glare she had so far reserved for the likes of Sun Ce, Oda Nobunaga, and Cao Pi. “How could you?” she raged at him.

Zhuge Liang was still as cool and collected as ever, but this time, his superior, knowing gaze under heavy-lidded eyes was turned upon her instead of the Resistance. “Simple,” he replied. “You finally dropped your guard.”

The demon strategist’s lips drew back to show her fox-fangs. “You were waiting for this chance!” she suddenly realized. “You were loyal to a fault, you did everything for me. You _killed_ for me…”

“It was merely part of a larger plan to get close to you. You see….” He swept in closer, daring to stand as close as he physically could to the column of light now surrounding her, brushing his fan close to his chest. “…you know where my lord is being held. And for the record, I think you will find it difficult to find anyone I have actually killed, as of late.”

Zhao Yun could hardly believe this twist, all he could do was stand there, his labored breaths rasping in his throat in the cold and the snow. All of that pain, anger, and desperation, had it all been part of Zhuge Liang’s plan all along? He stared, even as the great strategist wilted in place; his wife was there behind him in an instant, still carrying her pike but having an arm free to catch him before he could faint. After a moment, Sun Ce said what they were all thinking: “…you got her? You got her!”

“Forgive me…” Liang looked to him, and then around to Zhao Yun. “It was imperative that she not suspect a thing.”

“Can you manage?” Yueying asked worriedly.

“For now.” Liang nodded toward the sigil and the sorcery now containing Da Ji as if behind a force field. She reached to try to touch the walls of light and then jerked her hand back with a hiss. “This will hold. She will not be able to escape.” He looked back toward Da Ji, and his eyes narrowed in a sort of smirk. “It will last far longer than the seals Lord Cao Pi used. Clever, but not permanent. But then, they lacked the full knowledge of the mystical arts needed to contain a demon of her level.”

“Which you learned in her service,” Yueying breathed in awe. “Brilliant…”

“Is this for real?” Zhao Yun lowered his spear and finally crumpled to his knees. It was too much, his weary body couldn’t handle the shock. “Is this really happening?”

“It looks like it,” Zhou Yu gently assured, stepping up beside him. “Come, my lord, raise your head. You’ve won.”

Yun looked to him, and to the hand he held out, and then took it to allow himself to be hauled to his feet. Sun Ce was there at his side as well, and then Yukimura, leaning on his Crimson Fang but capable of lending a hand all the same. Zhao Yun turned to the latter and leaned against him, glad to have him there even if neither of them had managed to deal the final blow themselves. “Then,” he said, still breathing hard, “we must…”

“Call it a day before the snow gets any worse,” Magoichi wryly finished for him.

Before they could move to do so, Zhuge Liang pried himself out of Yueying’s hold on him and stepped over in order to drop to one knee before Zhao Yun. “You have excelled beyond my wildest imaginations,” he murmured, keeping his head bowed. “I know I have asked for your forgiveness, but I will understand if you hesitate to give it. Nevertheless, Lord Zhao Yun…please. Accept this offering as a token of my truest loyalties.”

The offering in question seethed and gnashed her fangs at them, but could offer no protest. She was well and truly caught for the second time, and the one human she thought she could trust had turned on her. Zhao Yun gazed down at Kongming and felt a bitter response rise on his tongue. “And how am I to trust you?” he said sadly. “How am I to accept without looking over my shoulder in constant fear that you are using it to get into my own good graces, and will turn on _me_ as soon as I let down my guard?”

Zhuge Liang nodded once. “You are wise not to give in to your heart’s desire so easily. I fear I had too much of a hand in provoking you, I deserve your mistrust. If it pleases you, my lord, let us retire into the castle where we can discuss it at length. If you still do not trust me, I will go as your prisoner rather than your retainer. But, you will need me to keep Da Ji in her prison.”

Zhao Yun felt a hand on his arm and looked to see Sun Ce prodding him with his eyes. “That sounds like a good plan for now, if you ask me.”

Yun bobbed his head slightly in agreement. “Very well.”

It wasn’t far to walk back to the nearest gate, but it was a journey that seemed to take forever for the exhausted and injured, hiking in agony through grass and mud rapidly growing slippery with the falling snow. It was coming down in huge, wet flakes now, the skies so dark that it felt like evening was coming on far more quickly than it should. There was less light to see by, as the fire atop the main keep was starting to go out, but it still cast a red glow on the paving stones of the courtyard below and the rooftops of lower buildings around it. Leaving some of his own soldiers to guard Da Ji, Zhuge Liang simply left her inside the seal of magic right in the threshold of the storehouse while he went with the others to have his wounds tended and discuss the outcome of the battle. When they arrived inside the castle grounds, he called an order to anyone still fighting, claiming that the Orochi forces had surrendered and anyone still there was now a prisoner of the Shu Resistance. The snake demons didn’t believe him, but rather than concede, they dropped their arms and fled. If any attempted to rescue their true commander, they would find themselves burned by the mystical energy of her prison and unable to do anything except run into the teeth of the snowstorm and try to make their way back to Bai Di with no assistance or supplies. Seeing as the main keep was still aflame in places and otherwise ruined, Zhao Yun retired to the smaller southern keep, dispensing orders to have all prisoners brought to him shortly and all the injured seen to before stepping into one of the nicer rooms and collapsing against a wall. His strength was gone, he had nothing left to even hold himself up. He felt hands on his arm and looked up to find Yukimura trying to help, though he too was beyond his limit and looked about to faint. Sun Ce came over and took each of them by an arm, steering them over to a corner where some cushions lay scattered on one of the tatami, possibly recently used by the Shu officers holding the castle. “Sit,” he implored them. “Let somebody take care of you, both of you.”

“If you must still give orders,” Zhou Yu added, “say the word and Lord Ce and I will carry them out for you. Though…” He nodded as Yueying came in after them. “…her ladyship seems capable as well.”

“Forgive me, Lord Zhao Yun,” Yueying said quickly. “I had to see to him, first, but I should not divide my attention.”

“It’s all right,” Yun assured, wilting against the wall with a cushion beneath his legs. “I wouldn’t dare hold such a thing against you.” 

Medics hustled in on Yueying’s orders to see whether either of the spearmen was injured. Both had taken numerous blows, though their armor protected them well, so any bruises or worse were still hidden beneath layers. Magoichi appeared in the doorway behind them, his wet hair drooping over his forehead in a decidedly less-suave manner than usual. “Did I see all that right? You two really fought _both_ Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, and then had enough left over to go after the two commanders?”

“Hush!” Yueying implored with a quick smack to his arm. “Zhang Bao and Guan Xing don’t know…”

The instant she hit him, he grimaced and let out a growl of pain. It was such an uncharacteristic reaction, she reached for his arm and only then realized with an astonished stare that he was that badly injured. The shattered bracer had fallen off earlier, and just a tug of his sleeve showed a dark bruise spreading across his forearm where the bone beneath was broken. Yukimura nodded toward him. “See to it that Master Saika’s arm is treated. He sacrificed himself to save us both.”

“Where is Lord Hojo?” Zhao Yun put in. “He must be tended as well.”

“Still thumping about out there, I think he’s just happy to be able to walk freely again,” Ce replied. “I’ll make sure someone looks him over.” He passed a hand gently over Zilong’s head, brushing half-melted snowflakes out of his hair. “Worry about yourself for once, would you? It’s all right, we’ve got this.”

Yueying made Magoichi sit down with the other two, right there, and get his arm wrapped and bound up. The others excused themselves to let them have a moment’s peace and quiet, since they weren’t likely to get any for the rest of the day and night. In the privacy of this sitting room, the healers busted Zilong and Yukimura out of their armor and peeled away clothing from all three in order to tend to their more serious injuries. Yukimura had been knocked down more than once, and the bruises to his chest and flanks showed where he had taken those hits. The rush of adrenaline was ebbing and the reality of the battle’s conclusion was starting to sink in, so while they sat there silently processing everything, Zhao Yun slid his hand over and grasped Yukimura’s. Both their fingers were cold, but they clutched one another desperately to keep each other grounded. Yun looked to his comrade, but didn’t know what to say; Yukimura smiled faintly for him and likewise said nothing, needing only his presence. Magoichi watched them from a few feet away with a knowing grin on his lips: he’d always suspected. The room remained quiet until after attendants brought them fresh, hot water to wash and hot tea to warm them, along with the supplies that had been left back at the staging ground which they would have had to use for an encampment had they not taken the castle. It was to their good fortune that they had, given the storm moving to smother them in snow and ice. Inside their packs they had extra clothing, brought primarily for warmth but also exceedingly useful when their tunics and kimono had been ripped and dirtied in battle. Only when they had washed, changed, and sat for a while nursing cups of tea until their fingers were warm again, did Magoichi break the silence. “You up for this, Zhao Yun? That battle took a lot out of you.”

Yun was tired, he felt it all the way down to his bones, but he nodded. “I must. There is a lot to settle, and it falls on me to take care of it.”

“You have all of us to assist,” Yukimura assured. “Even Sun Ce, it seems like.”

“I’m so glad he came. He was invaluable to us, today.” Yun softened and glanced at his companion. “Are you all right?”

“I’m sure I’ll be sore in the morning,” the young samurai smiled, “but yes, for now I’m fine. Just tired.”

“For the record, I’m fine, too,” Magoichi said dryly, “but you two go ahead and keep making eyes at each other.”

Both of them averted their eyes shyly, making him laugh out loud. “Sorry,” Yukimura said sheepishly.

“I’m just teasing!” Magoichi insisted. “Really, I’m not even surprised. I had a feeling it was like that. I’m happy for you guys, you both deserve it. But you might wanna put a lid on it while we do this official business.”

They managed to pull away from each other just in time, as Yueying returned to see if they were ready to hold official audience and sort out the prisoners. They were, and consented to assistance from the attendants to get them to their feet in their present state. Yueying blocked the doorway for a moment longer, her eyes serious. “I’ve managed to keep Guan Xing and Zhang Bao in the dark,” she warned them, “but it’s time they knew.”

“Yes. Please, summon them along with everyone else. This is the sort of meeting that should not go on behind closed doors – everyone needs to know the outcome.” Zhao Yun let her lead the way, up one flight of stairs to a much more opulent sitting room on the next floor where everything had been set up for them. Ina and Nobuyuki were already there, sitting patiently on one side and speaking quietly with one another while the rest of the Sanada retainers lurked behind. As commander, Zhao Yun took up his place of honor in the center, but was quite glad to have Yukimura on his right and Sun Ce with Zhou Yu attending to his left. It was like Hulao all over again, but in a much nicer room – warm and dry and well-lit. Once all of their own officers had arrived and taken their places in the three-sided ring, the call was given to bring the prisoners in. Zhuge Liang came first, tended and re-dressed in undamaged robes, his eyes kept demurely low, and immediately after him, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who had asked to be bound again after having their injuries looked after. Their sons both let out huge gasps, nearly cries, and had to restrain each other from jumping up to their feet. They managed to stay seated, though, and poured out their outrage in hard stares for their fathers as they were lowered to their knees. The rest of the Shu officers forced to defend Edo – Fa Zheng, Ma Su, Ma Liang, Sun Qian, Mi Zhu, and Zhou Cang – were shuffled in behind them and left standing along the far wall, primarily to witness and hear their fate without any say in it for themselves. Zhao Yun flushed a bit, seeing how many of his own countrymen had been caught up in this, but he swallowed his anger and forced himself to stay calm. After all, the sudden and welcome betrayal of Zhuge Liang had changed everything. “Soldiers of Orochi,” he said sternly, “I claim Edo Castle in the name of the Shu Resistance, and as such, you are all in my hands now. I will decide what is to become of you. But know this: this is not a negotiation. None of you will be returned to Orochi after today. No one will be able to bargain for you.”

“Thank heaven,” Ma Su whispered, hoping no one heard him. Fa Zheng shot him a quelling look.

Zilong held up a hand to quiet any reactions. “You have two choices. You may abandon Orochi and be brought into the Shu Resistance, under my command. Or, you may refuse, and be shut away in Chengdu as a prisoner until Lord Liu Bei is liberated and can decide your fate for himself.” His eyes swept across the line, cold and authoritative. This was the Tiger General speaking, now, the man of great strength of will; his gentle heart was hidden behind walls to keep it from breaking at the unfairness of this crossroads. “I should hope that each one of you would find it prudent to atone for your faithlessness by working to save your lord instead.”

Most of them kept their heads low, unable to meet his eyes. Only Zhuge Liang was able to look up from where he knelt across from the victorious commanders. “It was my order to bring these men here to occupy this castle, and to prepare this defense in anticipation of your assault,” he said quietly. “My fate is yet to be determined, but for them, I would ask that you allow me to release them to you, Lord Zhao Yun. Please show them mercy, and take them into your service. They only did as they were told, though I know that more than one has wanted to speak out against me and ask me for answers I could not give.”

Yun regarded him for a moment and then looked past him to the officers at the back. “I have known most of you long enough to know that you all have minds of your own. In order for us to unite against Orochi, you must choose to do so with your own heart. Is this what you wish? Or would you rather be imprisoned to be kept away from Orochi?”

Sun Qian was the first to drop to a knee. “I wish to fight against Orochi, my lord,” he said urgently. “I have always wished this.”

Ma Su bowed next. “I am tired of being seen as a servant of Orochi. I hate that serpent with every fiber of my being.”

One by one the rest joined them, though Fa Zheng was last and had nothing in particular to say. He seemed to be more concerned about what Zhuge Liang would do, but in the end he had no protest to becoming a Resistance fighter. It was good enough for Zhao Yun, who ordered that they be taken out and shown to quarters near to where Shimazu and the Sanada would be housed. That left the three highest-ranking officers alone with their captors, a necessary precaution since words might get heated with families and friends in the room with them. Yun wanted them to be able to speak freely rather than put on an act for their own retainers who had followed them to this far end of the world and obeyed their orders. Once they were alone, Zhao Yun took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying not to wilt from exhaustion. “If you have anything to say to me,” he murmured, “speak now.”

Zhuge Liang looked to the brothers to see if they would start, but when they didn’t, clasped his hands in his lap and bowed his head. “I have said all I can. The rest is in your hands, Lord Zhao Yun.”

Yun shook his head slowly. “I am no strategist, and cannot pretend to understand them sometimes. I will gladly welcome you as one of the Resistance, Zhuge Liang, if that has indeed been your true aim all along. Yet, you have caused not only me but a good number of our countrymen, your own wife, and even Lord Liu Shan, great pain. It will take more than just a willingness to rescue Lord Liu Bei and put an end to Orochi to atone for that.”

“Do you really think he feels the guilt necessary to begin atonement?” Guan Yu grumbled, lifting his head slightly. “The Sleeping Dragon has never regretted a single move, even those which destroy people who thought they could trust him.”

“That is not entirely true,” Liang said gently. “Though you do have a point.”

With the ice broken, Zhao Yun turned his dark look on the God of War. “Explain to me, then. Why exactly have you been a faithful servant of Orochi all this time?”

Guan Yu met his eyes at last, a sour look on his face. “Our brother is held hostage. There is no other reason. If we wish to keep him safe, our only lot is to do as his captor demands even if it means forfeiting our own lives.”

“It’s not as though we’re exactly enjoying it,” Zhang Fei muttered under his breath.

“I understand your position,” Sun Ce said, turning eyes to him instead, “but at the same time, I can’t approve. I too was held in thrall for the exact same reason, but I came to understand that Orochi had no intention of ever freeing my father. I expect it’s the same with Lord Liu Bei. As long as you continue to serve him, he will never let you see your brother. Lord Liu Bei will _never_ see freedom that way.”

Yun glanced to him as well, glad that he was able to speak so frankly about it. “As Wu united to free Lord Sun Jian themselves rather than wait for Orochi to revoke his empty promises, so must we of Shu unite to free Lord Liu Bei. It won’t be done by obeying Orochi.” He leaned forward toward the brothers, growing suddenly intense. “If you want to ever see him again, join me!”

There was a moment’s pause, and then Zhang Fei looked sharply to the man on his right. “He’s right. No, think about it!” he quickly added as Guan Yu bristled at him in outrage. “If we stay on this course, nothing is going to change! Xuande is going to stay in Orochi’s prisons no matter what we do. If they take us back to Chengdu as prisoners, we won’t be able to help him no matter what! Unless you want to fight your own friends and our own sons to escape, and for what? To keep on kowtowing to that snake?”

“How can you say that?” Guan Yu snapped, rounding on him. “Do you care nothing for our brother? If we turn our backs on Orochi, we will be putting his life in danger!”

“Ease your mind, Guan Yu,” Zhuge Liang said patiently. “Our lord is quite crucial to Orochi as a hostage. No harm will come to him for now.”

Yu glared at him for interfering. “How can you be so sure?”

“Da Ji did not trust the majority of her followers, but she trusted me,” he replied. “I know more of the inner workings of the Orochi army than anyone, more even than Lord Cao Pi or his head tactician. As of the most recent reports I received before this battle began, it will be extremely difficult for Orochi to lay a finger on him…” Kongming shifted his gaze to the Resistance officers facing him. “…when he is marching across this land, rather than sitting in any of his fortresses.”

Though most of them were up to date on that rumor, it still made more than one startle and stare back. “So it’s true,” Yukimura breathed.

“Indeed.” Liang turned his sage gaze back on Guan Yu. “If you want to have any hope of freeing him, it is as Lord Zhao Yun says. It cannot be done through Orochi, you must rise up and use your own two hands.”

For a long time, no one said anything in response. Guan Yu wrestled with it, his face crumpling with the pain of the thoughts racing through his head, and then bowed deeply, resting his bound hands on the floor in front of him to drop as low as he could. “I have been blind,” he said softly. “Even my own sons know better than their father. Zhao Yun…no. Lord Zhao Zilong. Please, allow us to join you in this quest.”

Heartened, Zhang Fei mirrored his actions. “That’s all we’ve wanted, is to save him.”

“That is all I have wanted,” Zhao Yun said, his voice wavering only a little, “ever since the day Lady Xingcai and Lord Shimazu freed me from my own prison.”

Fei’s brow twitched, hearing of his daughter. “What the hell’s been going on out there?”

“The rest of us have been giving our all to fight against Orochi!” Zhang Bao suddenly burst out, unable to contain himself any longer. “Every time we met a prisoner we freed them. Every time we found Orochi’s beasts harassing the innocent, we stopped them! There were long days and nights where we didn’t even have a place to lay our heads but we still fought!”

Guan Xing laid a hand on his arm to hold him back, but he also wore a stern frown for his own father. “Whether it was Oda Nobunaga saving my brothers’ lives and taking them in, or Lord Zhao Yun rescuing Lord Sun Ce, or any number of other situations, the Resistance has worked together from the very beginning to save one another and build a force capable of destroying Orochi.”

“Lives have been sacrificed in order to chip away at his power,” Yukimura added boldly. “It is important that you understand what your comrades have been through, even if you haven’t personally faced them on a battlefield until today.”

Zhao Yun’s face was still set firmly, but his eyes began to show the yearning to accept his friends back into the fold. “In order to rescue our lord,” he said seriously, “we must be truly united. Not just as an army, but as friends. Our hearts cannot strive against each other. Can you imagine how distressed he would be if he learned that we were fighting amongst ourselves?”

Guan Yu had not raised his head at all, and in the silence which fell as Zhao Yun stopped speaking, those in the front were suddenly aware that he was weeping as only a strong, stoic warrior could, tears silently dripping onto the wood floor. “Lord Zhao Yun,” he said in a broken tone, “I beg you…please. Forgive us.”

Yun bit his lip and then let out a gasp, ducking his head and raising a hand toward the officers at the far ends of their circle. “Raise your head, Guan Yu! Zhang Fei! Someone, please, cut their bonds.”

Shimazu Toyohisa moved in to set the two mighty generals free, and when they had use of their hands, both bowed low enough to touch their foreheads to the floor. Zhuge Liang sighed softly, then. “It seems that even a man of my station has a lesson or two to learn, yet,” he said, looking toward Zhao Yun and then likewise lowering himself in a bow. “I advised you not to let your heart rule your head, but it is your heart which has led you this far. Your love and compassion have done what a thousand years of scholarly wisdom could not. For that, I willingly bow to your authority, Lord Zhao Yun. Please accept my request to join under you and follow your lead. If you cannot forgive me for wounding you so deeply, at least know that you have my sincere promise that it will not happen again. Orochi is my true enemy, and the time for me to oppose him openly has come.”

Zilong’s hands rested on his knees, but they were shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then nodded. “I accept.”

With those two words the tension in the room broke, and the three new officers sagged with relief. Sun Ce rested a hand on Zhao Yun’s shoulder. “One step closer,” he encouraged.

“Can we finally get the information we’ve been searching for, for so long?” Yukimura wondered. “Master Zhuge Liang, do you know where your lord is being held?”

Kongming shook his head slightly. “I have never been allowed to have that information. Yet, I have my best guesses made through process of elimination. I turned my efforts toward luring Da Ji to a place where I could capture her because she does know, and I can get that information from her. It may take time, for she will be extremely unwilling, but I have my methods.”

“Where, then, do you think she has kept him?” Zhou Yu asked, his tone implying that he already had some of the same suspicions.

Zhuge Liang’s face tightened with a genuine expression of concern. “Orochi’s own home, Koshi Castle.”

“Just what we were thinking,” Yu affirmed.

“If she confirms it, then Da Ji can be forced to lead us there,” Liang continued. “It is a long and difficult journey from what I understand.”

“If it’s true, then Oda Nobunaga is correct to want to unite our separate forces,” Yueying mused. “We will need that kind of strength to be able to assault a stronghold like that. Even the wildest rumors we’ve heard make it out to be nearly unassailable.”

“I have not been there myself,” Liang confirmed, “but…”

“It’s true,” Guan Yu broke in. “I have seen it. Koshi Castle is dangerous and well-defended. You will need every ounce of strength you can gather.”

“All the better that we have you, then,” Zhao Yun said, beginning to faintly smile.

Guan Yu drew himself up, his tears dried and his face set in the deadly glare of the God of War. “If I have to tear those gates open with my bare hands, you will have me at your side, Lord Zilong.”

“And me, don’t forget me,” Zhang Fei agreed.

“I would appreciate a full briefing on the current state of the Resistance, but it can wait,” Zhuge Liang said. “I must first see to the long-term confinement of our prisoner. I will not allow what happened when she was in Lord Cao Pi’s hands to happen again.”

“There is far too much to tell, right now,” Yun agreed. “I’m afraid it will take the entire journey back to Chengdu and then some.”

“We’ve got time,” Magoichi said wryly. “I had a good look at the skies outside. I think we might be stuck here a few extra days until the snow lets up and it’s safe to travel again.”

“That will at least allow everyone time to heal up,” Nobuyuki noted. “We can also make arrangements to keep Edo in Resistance hands after the rest of us return to the other strongholds.”

“Man, if we’re stuck here,” Ce said with a shake of his head, “there’d better be wine. I feel like raising a toast to all the good things that came out of this.”

Zhao Yun found a laugh bubbling up out of him, through his shattered composure. “Yes, I think we need to celebrate! Splended idea, Lord Sun Ce.”

There wasn’t much more to be said, so when he rose to his feet, his new recruits did likewise, and at last Zhang Bao and Guan Xing sprang from their places and went to tackle their fathers, and though both winced at the pressure on their own injuries, neither turned down the chance to reconcile with their sons. Yueying moved up alongside her husband, and Kongming turned a glowing smile to her, pleased to see that she wasn’t holding his past antagonism against him. At the far side of the room, Ina leaned against Nobuyuki in order to whisper to him. “It seems this jaunt was all about reunions.”

“Every one of them was worth the price,” he murmured back, laying his hand over hers.

Despite his incredible weariness, Zhao Yun agreed that if they were going to celebrate, it had to be that night, so he forced himself to stay awake for the evening meal and the excitement to follow. The main keep was too damaged to use at all, though the fire had been extinguished, so they set everything up in the southern keep, not just quarters for all the officers old and new but a feast where all of them could gather without fear of being cast aside for their past associations. Sun Ce had more energy than anyone even after all the fierce fighting, and chatted up everyone from Hojo to Guan Xing, swapping tales over cups of wine. Some were more subdued than others, but eventually Zhang Fei had enough to drink to get him just as loud as anyone from Wu despite his condition. Guan Yu remained quiet, in contrast, and sat to listen to everything his son had to tell him about the whereabouts of Ping and Suo. With the wind rising and howling in the rafters above, the feast inside was even more cozy and welcome, as everyone had their fill of warm tea, hot soup and fresh meat to ward off the chill and sat together as night drew on, enjoying the warmth of so many people convened in one place. Yet, after a time, Zhao Yun had no choice but to rise and excuse himself. He couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, he almost nodded off right into his cup. To no one’s surprise Yukimura left with him, though all that awaited them in the officers’ quarters was a comfortable bedroll piled high with extra blankets. Edo had been kept well-provisioned against the endless winter, at least for its human guardians.

While the others were deciding whether to roll off to bed themselves, Zhuge Liang made his way down to an outbuilding within the castle walls, having already had their prisoner moved there and wanting to check the arrangements one more time. The seals Ishida used were a common means of warding spirits, but there were too many drawbacks to such a method, whereas the sorcery he had learned was enough to keep the demon strategist sealed even while he was asleep or unconscious. Da Ji sat crouched within the confines of a purely mystical trap, unable to move except to shift her legs now and then. She saw him approaching from the doorway and glared, while he merely inspected the prison of light and pronounced his preparations satisfactory. He looked up as the wind banged a shutter somewhere outside. “I trust it isn’t too cold in here for your liking,” he murmured.

Da Ji merely glowered at him. It was just cold enough to make anyone slightly uncomfortable. “What do you want with me?” she grumbled at him. “Was this all for Liu Bei?”

“As a matter of fact.” Liang gave her a cool look, and for once she believed she saw actual dislike deep in his dark eyes. “Everything I have done, and everything I have said, from the moment Orochi pushed my face into the dirt outside the gate of Luo, has been for my lord.”

“Even forcing your men to fight their friends?” She took some measure of evil glee in that. “Baiting Zhao Yun and destroying his hopes? What about all the battles you supervised, all the civilians who got trampled in Orochi’s conquest with your help? All the Resistance idiots who fell to your strategies?”

“All of it,” Liang admitted. “I knew precisely when you began suspecting Cao Pi of being willing to turn and made sure that my own motives were hidden much more deeply. All of us intended to betray you from the very beginning, Da Ji, the only difference was how and when we chose to do so.”

Da Ji’s smirk vanished off her face. She considered the last two battles, how he had preserved their forces fleeing Yamazaki and even saved her from being captured by Oda, only to reveal his plan here and now. He had strung her along completely so that she would be entirely in his hands at the right moment. She snarled openly at him, stretching as close as she dared to the mystical force field. “You’re not going to get anything about Liu Bei out of me! I’ll never tell you!”

Kongming’s eyes narrowed. “You will. Not only will you confirm where he’s being held, you will lead our armies there. Maybe not tomorrow, but in time.”

“Lord Orochi –”

“Lord Orochi is in no position to care about the present fate of his last remaining prisoner,” Liang pointed out. He was more than up to date on all of those reconnaissance reports, and had already given Zhao Yun a quick briefing on it. “He is closer to our position than to Koshi Castle, and even then, it will take time for him to even hear a report that the brothers no longer belong to him. I assure you, we are no longer capable of being taken by surprise.” He tipped his fan to cover his face for a moment. “Orochi can move to attack, but he will find us more prepared this time. We have lost our fear of him.”

Da Ji had nothing else with which to taunt him, so she shrank back and curled her arms around her knees, sulking in the center of her prison. “If you came here to gawk at me and make fun of me, you can just turn right around and go away. I don’t want to hear it.”

“I merely came to verify that the seals will hold.” Liang turned away smoothly. “And they will.”

He stalked off toward the door, content to leave her with that warning. The storm currently laying a thick blanket of snow over Edo would serve him well, delaying messengers as well as the fleeing Orochi army stragglers. Orochi would not find out about his strategist’s second captivity until it was too late.


	64. Chapter 64

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsunari and Cao Pi have a moment; Wei and Oda learn of the results of the battle at Edo; Nobunaga and his retainers muse about the future of Orochi's world.

In the days immediately following the Resistance victory at Edo, the other leaders and their followers remained busy preparing their armies for the possibility of meeting Orochi himself on a battlefield, whether sooner or later, and the inroads made by Oda toward uniting all four continued to bear fruit. They might not have known, yet, of the new twist in their fortunes, but they could not remain idle in the meantime. While Sun Ce was abroad on his errand, Sakon and Lu Meng assisted Sun Jian and Quan to keep Hefei well-fortified and supplied and sent letters all over, to Xiapi even if it belonged to Oda and to Xin Di to form a vague sort of alliance with the Chosokabe. Oda himself kept abreast of all the developments going on around him while he ordered his forces from Honnoji, having so many under his command now that even the wintering force holding Guandu in his stead was larger than usual. Fan Castle was full to bursting with the Takeda-Uesugi army, who made themselves comfortable and welcomed any remaining stragglers who had been hiding around that area after Naoe’s disappearance. With them there, Oda could pull all of his own forces away and redistribute them between Xiapi, Kanegasaki, and Honnoji. It was clear by now that his interest in Bai Di was not merely from a pride standpoint – he did need need a fortress of that size just to house his army. However, with rumors of Orochi soon to arrive, he refrained from preparing that campaign just yet.

A cool, peaceful night lay over Xuchang, where the weather seemed to be turning toward autumn and a bright moon in the clear sky glazed the tiled rooftops and dark stone walls with silver. Aside from the ever-vigilant sentries the fortress remained still with everyone else comfortably asleep, all except for one room. Only a couple of candle-lamps remained lit, pooling golden light in the corner surrounding the bed where two naked figures curled around each other and adjusted the blankets to only partially cover them so they could cool down. It was their first time fully indulging since Mitsunari’s injury; while he still had bandages wrapped around his left shoulder, it didn’t seem to hamper their nighttime activities at all, and even now he couldn’t even roll completely over because he had Cao Pi pressed up against his back, lazily drifting his lips across the nape of his neck and planes of his shoulder blades. They were a mess of tangled sheets, loose, long hair, and sweaty limbs, but both were quite content despite their state of dishevelment. Mitsunari dropped his head onto his arm and groaned a little but decided to remain reclined exactly like that and let Pi come down at his own pace, however he liked. “You make a very persuasive point,” he murmured, continuing some banter from before they began.

“I figured you would see things my way,” Pi cooed over his shoulder, gently avoiding pressing against the bandages and nestling his chin against Mitsunari’s neck instead. “No trouble?”

“Not even a twinge,” Mitsunari assured, breathing a soft sigh. “You can stop treating me like I’m fragile, now.”

“Oh, I know you’re not.” Pi eased back, leaving one arm draped over his companion’s waist. “But I wouldn’t want to give you a reason to complain at me for being too rough.”

Mitsunari laughed in spite of himself, letting it fade away to a knowing snicker. “There’s no such thing as too rough.”

Pi made an extremely interested noise, at that. “Good to know.”

Finding himself a bit less smothered, Mitsunari rolled to the side and relaxed against his lord’s chest, as Cao Pi lay beside him still, and reached to thread his fingers through the long ebony tresses that had slipped loose from Pi’s ponytail and hung over his shoulders now. He certainly was a beautiful man, with those cold blue eyes and the sultry smirk on his lips, Mitsunari could hardly believe his luck. As they had come to trust and then rely on one another, he would have been content merely admiring from afar, but here he was with the Lord of Wei in his bed showing no indications of an intention to get up and leave anytime soon. Again. He chose not to question it, he simply accepted it and reveled in the attention. He tugged at one of those loose locks to pull him down and stretched up at the same time, meeting him halfway for an appreciative kiss that lingered for a bit. “Probably shouldn’t stay up too late,” he mumbled with his lips against Pi’s. “Lots to do tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow can wait,” Zihuan murmured back, gingerly closing his teeth on his lover’s lip before withdrawing to look him over. There was no denying how taken he was by Ishida with his pouting lips and coppery hair, an exotic treat offered to him so willingly that he knew he could never turn it down. He chuckled softly at the fingers curled in his hair and then reached to untie it completely, seeing as enough of it had already come loose that it was pointless to leave it that way. The way Mitsunari purred at having it all tumbling down over them both was reward enough. Pi curled around him and stroked fingertips along the un-bandaged portion of his chest. “Even after all that, you’re still thinking about work?”

“I’m willing to bet, so are you,” Mitsunari challenged. “I won’t lie, though, you did distract me extremely well, there.”

Pi breathed a soft laugh. “If only I had worn you out as well, so you could get that sleep you seem to want so much.”

“I didn’t say I wanted it right _now_ …” Mitsunari gave him an impish look. “But you know that if you don’t occupy my mouth, I’m going to start talking again.”

“Aha, I see.” Pi leaned down to him, his long hair cascading down around both their faces, but only hovered above his lips, dropping his voice to the quietest growl. “Maybe this time I’ll simply let you.”

Mitsunari’s eyebrows went up, but the idea was extremely appealing. He and Cao Pi already spoke together enough, though it was mainly about the business of ruling and commanding the army. If he had gotten Pi in the mood to indulge more than just the desires of the flesh, he would take advantage of it. He slipped a hand between them and ran it down the man’s cheek to his lips as if to keep him from interrupting. “Even if I ask you something terrible?”

Zihuan gave him a daring smirk in response. “Just how terrible do you think you can be right in this moment?” His own hand roamed down under the blankets, grazing down the length of Mitsunari’s flank to his hip and then inward, the heel of his palm brushing against his cock where it lay at rest. It wasn’t so much a warning as a tease, a suggestion that if he genuinely didn’t want to entertain a conversation, he had ways of derailing it. Mitsunari breathed a soft gasp and then grinned back at his audacity. Message received. Content that he was understood, Pi’s touch glided all the way back up along his abs, playing against each one, and emerged from the blankets to trail over his chest again. “Really, Mitsunari,” he said more gently, the smugness fading out of his tone, “you know there is little I would deny you.”

“You can say so all you want,” Ishida countered, “but it still takes some getting used to.”

Pi grunted an acknowledgement and tossed his head to throw some of his loose hair over his shoulder. “Then, try me.”

It always went better when Mitsunari could be sure he wouldn’t be rebuffed for asking questions. He eased into it with his touch first, curling his hand against Pi’s cheek so he could dig his fingers even further into his hair. “Really, I just want to know how you are. We’ve been so busy with everything else, the only words you and I have said to each other in days have been work-related. Until about an hour ago, anyway.”

Cao Pi leaned against his palm, closing his eyes. “I know. I have no real excuse to make, since you’re more than aware of how busy we both have been.”

“So busy that you have to sneak away from your quarters in the middle of the night and come to mine,” Mitsunari smirked. “Yeah, I know. Really, though.” His eyes sobered as he gazed up at his lord. “We’ve had enough time, now. Your father…”

He trailed off without actually asking a question, but Pi knew what he was getting at and heaved a short sigh. “Tell me, Mitsunari,” he said instead, “what do _you_ think of him?”

“Me?”

“As you say, we’ve had time. He and his forces have settled in and we’ve worked to incorporate them. He makes himself more than enough of a presence at both war councils and mealtimes. What do you think?”

Ishida bit his lip in thought, rolling his eyes away from Pi’s piercing gaze, and decided to be nakedly honest. His gaze returned, his brown eyes heating with an undercurrent of annoyance. “I think I want to go back in time, to Yiling at least, maybe earlier, and smack all of your retainers for going on and on about how you compare to your father. They’ve been blinded by memories and sentiment and couldn’t see the good thing they had right in front of them all along.”

Pi’s brow twitched in interest at this declaration. “Are you sure you aren’t speaking from your own place of sentiment?”

“Maybe I’m not exactly objective,” his strategist admitted, tipping his head to the side, “but neither are they, so it’s fair. I never had the benefit of actually knowing you or being related to you, I had to get to know you from a stranger – and an adversary, at that.”

“True,” Pi agreed. “And given that for the longest time I made no effort to actually charm you, you made your way here into my bed through hard work and effort.”

“Excuse you, it’s _my_ bed,” Mitsunari retorted with a flash of a grin before growing serious again. “Really, though. I obviously mean no disrespect to Lord Cao Cao, but I’m not exactly one of his fanboys. Even after getting to know him.”

“Really.” Zihuan stretched out against him, lowering himself so that they laid against each other in order to drape his arm over Mitsunari’s chest and rest his chin on his hand. It gave him the appearance of being extremely intrigued to hear and share gossip. “Do tell.”

Mitsunari rolled his eyes so high it tilted his head back against the pillow. “Come on, we were supposed to be talking about you.”

“We can talk about me in a moment, I want to hear this.”

“Ugh, fine.” The young strategist scuffed a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face, and met his companion’s gaze again. “I may not be as well-read about the history of the Three Kingdoms as some, but I still know enough. Cao Cao’s ambition is legend, and now that I’ve had the slightest whiff of it, I can’t help but compare him to Lord Oda. He’s exactly like the man – he hasn’t come out and said anything of his personal intentions, or his goals beyond Orochi, but I can hear the truth in the silence between his words. He wouldn’t simply destroy the serpent to bring peace to the land, he would set himself up in Orochi’s place. I can see the way he chafes every time you deflect his attempts to talk about what happens after Orochi is brought down, I _know_ he wants more than just ‘peace.’”

Cao Pi’s icy eyes were alight with keen interest. For Mitsunari to have read his father so capably, either Cao Cao was being too obvious about his ambitions or the strategist was simply that good. “What, then,” he demurely wondered, his gaze drifting to the side, “do the history books say of Cao Pi?”

Ishida was forced to shake his head slightly. “As I said, I haven’t read up on it,” he murmured in reply. “The only thing I know for sure is that…the three kingdoms were still separate until well after your reign.”

It was enough for Pi, who smiled modestly. “So. Neither my father nor I were the great unifiers the land wished for. Interesting.”

“What _do_ you want for your kingdom? Did you want, I guess, since right now it doesn’t matter…”

Pi mulled it over and then gave him the most sincere gaze Ishida had ever seen him wear, eyes locked on his. “Peace. That is enough, isn’t it? What is the point of bringing all kingdoms under the emperor’s fist when the people have nothing but sorrow to show for it? They’re the ones who bear the costs of war, not the imperial court. They’re pulled away from their fields to hold a spear instead of a rake, their blood stains the ground while noble retainers sit safely on their horses at the back of the battlefield.” He grimaced briefly, his jaw clenching. “I may not be as soft-hearted as Liu Bei, but I understand the bigger picture. Yes, in my father’s youth the Han still had all those separate provinces under one rule, but there’s a reason it fell apart. Until the rot which consumed it from the inside can be cleaned out, there’s no sense in obsessing about making it all one again. If the worst that can be said about my administration of Wei is that there wasn’t as much war being made within our borders as before, I should be content.”

Mitsunari let out a breath in awe, and soothed his irritation with another brush of his hand through Cao Pi’s hair beside his ear. “Now that’s a warlord I can get behind.”

His brief humor successfully diverted Zihuan from sinking into a deeper irritation over the differences between his dreams and his father’s, and his expression eased at the same time his mind did. “You _are_ quite terrible, Mitsunari, getting me to talk about this.”

“It’s enough, you don’t have to say any more,” Mitsunari assured. “From the beginning, I’ve always known there was more to you than what you let anyone see. It’s why Da Ji never saw it coming, you know.” He smirked at the raised eyebrow that earned him. “She must have thought you were like your father, too, and that’s why she stuck me with you to keep an eye on you. Joke’s on her, it only served to put her two biggest traitors in touch with one another.”

Pi captured his hand and dragged it closer to his lips, all the better to press a kiss to his palm, his eyes shifting to lock on Mitsunari’s as he did. “I suppose we should all be grateful that you were able to see through me, and join me rather than hinder me.”

Mitsunari laughed softly at that. “It wasn’t easy. It took me way too long to finally do so.”

“Since you’ve been such a faithful co-conspirator…” Pi let him go and stretched to comb through his hair in turn, filtering the auburn strands through his fingers. “I’m glad he is alive. Yet, you’re right to keep an eye on him. He won’t stand in my way so long as Orochi is still a threat, so if you were worried, don’t be. My father won’t try to usurp control of Wei for the time being.” He lowered his eyes shyly. “Our relationship is complicated. I respect him, and in some sense I suppose I do care for him, but at the same time, I know precisely how dangerous he can be. He may think he’s being subtle, attempting to plant seeds in the minds of others that might lead to them questioning my long-term strategy, but I see through him all the same. He’s never been a position where he has not had absolute control of his army, his retainers, and his land – all he can do is watch as I issue the commands to his faithful retainers and they obey. I’m sure it chafes at him, and that’s why he needles me in the small ways he can.”

Mitsunari let him explain and then nodded. “If you’re not concerned, then I’ll back down a bit, but…”

“Your loyalty is what I need, right now,” Pi admitted. “You give it freely – as you said, it doesn’t come from an expectation or tradition or anything else, it’s your choice. I wouldn’t say to back down, you can stay as alert as you wish. I trust that Zhang Liao and the others won’t rebel against me unless I gave them a reason to, but all the same, if I were to become blinded by my efforts at staying a step ahead of my father and miss the signs, I need you there to catch them for me before it’s too late.”

“Got it.” Mitsunari stretched his arms over his head, wincing a little at the strain to his injured shoulder, and then draped them over Cao Pi’s shoulders. “That’s all I really wanted to know – whether you were bothered, for real. I could sense a bit of tension, but it’s nothing that anybody else has really noticed.”

Pi moved to slide fully on top of him, curling an arm under his good shoulder to gather him up. “In that sense, I suppose you’re right. It does bother me, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” He bent his head to favor Ishida with a slow, gentle kiss, and then kept their faces close so he could murmur in secret. “Knowing that you feel the same is very encouraging, you know.”

“If you’re not going to be jealous that they’d rather lavish all their praise and attention on Cao Cao, then I’ll be jealous on your behalf,” Mitsunari chuckled, his breath whiffing warm across Pi’s wet lips. “Idiots. You’re too good for ‘em sometimes.”

“Sadly, I’m somewhat used to it,” Zihuan sighed. “At least, right now I don’t begrudge them a little fawning. After all, they’ve believed for months that he was dead. But if any of them start openly wondering why he doesn’t take command of Wei, I trust you will be the first to step in and remind them who’s really in command.”

“In a heartbeat,” Ishida vowed. “I get that some of ‘em have deep reasons they served him in the first place, but in this land, that sort of sentiment can get you killed. It nearly destroyed Wu.” He drew his arms forward until he could gather up handfuls of Cao Pi’s gorgeous hair and brush the backs of his fingers against his lord’s cheeks. “My personal feelings aside, that’s why I haven’t flittered back to Lord Toyotomi.”

“Oh, is that all?” Pi smiled contentedly under all that hands-on worship. “So you’re saying I don’t need to come creeping into your bed to keep you here with me?”

“You don’t _need_ to,” Mitsunari smirked back, “but I really do enjoy it. Quite a bit.”

“Mm. I will remember that.” Pi brushed one more kiss across his lips and then rolled to his other side, pulling half the blankets with him. “I think, though, I should sleep on this side and spare your shoulder.”

Mitsunari blinked a bit, finding him nestling down against his right flank and resting his head on his strategist’s shoulder. None of their trysts so far had ended in the young lord spending the night with him. “Are you…sure?” he couldn’t help but wonder.

“No one will notice,” Pi assured, closing his eyes. “My lady has her own quarters, we don’t spend every single night together. I’m allowed to sleep wherever I feel like it.”

The rush of heat through his body had Mitsunari tilting his head back into the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut. Was this really happening? He wanted it so badly, and here it was being offered to him. Forget the war, forget Orochi, if the world didn’t end when they had their final victory, he knew he wouldn’t be going back to Toyotomi. Not any longer. His loyalties were one thing, but his feelings were another. He glanced down to Zihuan making himself rather comfortable against him and bit it back to keep from being accused of being some kind of romantic sap deep down. They had been talking so long that the moon had moved across the span of the window, and a sliver of its silvery-blue light now fell across the bed where their legs lay intertwined beneath the blankets. Mitsunari took a deep breath, and at that precise moment one of the candles burned itself out, dimming the remaining light in the room so that they could sleep. It was exactly what he needed, and with one arm wrapped around Cao Pi, he did exactly that.

True to the young lord’s word, no one even noticed that Cao Pi had not spent the night in his quarters, nor that he emerged from Mitsunari’s in order to traverse the corridors to his own to get dressed. It was business as usual, the daily routine of meals and meetings and audiences conducted in perfect order with no one the wiser. Cao Cao was in fact enjoying a modicum of popularity around Xuchang, and though at first he had professed to being content with sitting back and letting someone else do all the work, it was already starting to wear on him. He couldn’t not command, it was simply instinct, and though he had to be reminded – several times, openly, by several people – that he wasn’t in charge of the Wei army right now, he still offered up opinions at war councils and insisted on being briefed on everything. It didn’t help that his Xiahou cousins championed him directly, though Yuan at least had the presence of mind to make sure the rest of their clan obeyed Cao Pi in all matters. When the bulk of the day’s messages and scouting reports had all come in, the officers gathered in the war room for their usual daily council to go over everything and see if they needed to make any moves in reaction or retaliation. There didn’t appear to be any remaining goals to accomplish in the short term, much of their work went toward preparing to meet Orochi himself, though from time to time Cao Cao brought up a reminder of the existence of Luoyang. Now that its location had been confirmed, even Cao Pi wondered about removing there, but its position was every bit as out-of-the-way as Edo and right now, splitting their army even further to man yet another stronghold was the height of idiocy. Any time Luoyang came up in council, he patiently reminded his father that He Fei Castle also still remained in Orochi control, and if anything, they should be more concerned about stripping that advantage from their enemy than in occupying a familiar piece of home. Today, he had Ishida and Guo Jia going through scouting reports while he looked for anything of interest. There was a letter addressed to him, and as he took it, he noticed that the makeshift seal had “Shu” traced in it by hand, alongside the written name of Zhao Yun. Pi knew from past reports that the Shu commander had been abroad on some mission again, so he hurried to break the seal and read the missive to find out what they had been up to. The news contained within made him openly gasp, and as all heads turned his way to see what could provoke such a reaction out of the self-controlled Cao Pi, his shock melted into a sly, approving smile. “Well, well,” he said aloud. “Good work, Zhao Yun.”

“What is it?” Mitsunari asked, casually glancing up from a scouting report.

Cao Pi relished the chance to simply state the information as blandly as if he were making note of the current weather. “The Shu Resistance has taken control of Edo Castle, liberated the brothers of Liu Bei from their slavery, and captured Da Ji.”

Anyone who had dared to look away too soon whipped their heads back toward him and all eyes widened in stunned surprise. “You’re kidding!” Xiahou Yuan exclaimed.

“What?” Mitsunari shoved into his lord’s personal space to look over his shoulder and read the letter for himself.

“How?” Zhang Liao demanded.

Pi brushed his strategist aside to silently request that he wait until he had read the rest in full. “I was just getting to that. Ah…even better.” He smirked all over again. “The Sleeping Dragon has finally raised his head. It is said that he has a type of sorcery at hand that is holding her securely.”

Mitsunari made a disgruntled noise under his breath. “That bastard.”

“Now, now,” Pi cautioned, “you couldn’t hardly have asked him to teach you that sorcery without revealing your hand, Ishida. Interesting, though, that he seems to have played his role through to the last minute.”

“Yes, he was at Yamazaki, was he not?” Cao Cao remembered.

“And behaving quite capably to Orochi’s benefit,” his son affirmed.

“The letter from Oda Nobunaga mentioned seeing him at the Wuzhang Plains, as well,” Guo Jia noted. They, at least, had already received that report, much to Cao Pi’s chagrin as he realized Takeda had played him all too well. “I can only imagine what must have happened at Edo for him to finally show his true colors.”

“Lord Zhao Yun seems to be short on the gory details of battle,” Pi said as he skimmed the rest of the letter and finally handed it to Mitsunari to devour. “I’m sure we can ask later. The important thing to note is, the Orochi army has lost their head strategist for a second time, and with her, the rest of the Shu officers still being forced to fight for the snake. The letter mentions a total of ten officers, ranked from Guan Yu on down, who have turned to the Resistance.”

Xiahou Dun’s head came up sharply at that name. “So,” he grumbled, his good eye narrowing, “the God of War has finally seen the light.”

“Shu’s forces have just exploded, literally overnight,” Xu Shu said, impressed.

“What does this mean for us?” Zhang Liao asked. “Or is it too soon to know?”

“There are a few things I can say for certain,” Cao Pi replied, setting his hands on the map table in front of him. “When Orochi finally comes, he won’t have Da Ji to assist him. Not unless he attacks Shu directly to free her, which is something we cannot allow to happen. He also no longer has the cooperation of the last of his conscripts, meaning they are no longer going to allow Liu Bei’s life to be held against them. Further, that means that the only human officers of any regard still loyally fighting for Orochi are Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, Date Masamune, Maeda Keiji, the ninja Fuuma, and Sima Yi. I expect that if we have not been able to turn any of them away from their serpent master as of yet, we will not be able to until he is destroyed.”

Cao Cao grumbled a bit over the idea of Sima Yi being loyal to a demon. “That imbecile, what is he thinking? There is no reward but death down that path.”

Pi gathered who his father meant. “I’m not surprised that he chooses whatever small scraps of glory he attains from Orochi over sitting at my feet again,” he sniffed, “but even so, he has tasted defeat at the hands of every Resistance leader at some turn. For him to prefer Orochi still is, indeed, ridiculous, and he will suffer for it.”

“You won’t sway the others,” Mitsunari confirmed, finally raising his head from the letter. “Dong Zhuo is being paid too well and the rest, well, they have some kind of deep belief in Orochi that none of the rest of us can understand. They won’t turn on him.”

“Then, the best we can hope is that we face them at some point and can capture them,” Jia Xu reasoned, “so as to whittle down his forces even more.”

“It is as we’ve discussed before,” Pi agreed, “if an opportunity arises to take either an officer or a castle from Orochi’s grip, it must be done. Preferably before he arrives.”

“We’re running out of time on that one,” Mitsunari broke in. “Zhao Yun’s letter confirms it – Zhuge Liang has told them that he knows for sure Orochi is coming, he’s already on the move and it’s only a matter of days, now.” He glanced at the letter in his hands and then added with a pleased harrumph, “good, they’ve freed Hojo, too. That leaves Liu Bei as the only known prisoner still in Orochi’s clutches.”

“Then, what chance do we have to make any further dent in the Orochi army before that happens?” Xiahou Dun pressed, likewise leaning on the table in his eagerness.

“We shall see,” Cao Pi patiently replied. “At this point, I will be content making sure the other Resistance armies aren’t wiped out – that Orochi doesn’t divide and conquer as he did before.” He didn’t mean to glance at his father as he said so, but he did. “If we must send reinforcements to back them up, or keep the pathways safe for them, so be it. I will not plan a grand campaign against one of Orochi’s last castles only to have him arrive on our rear with no assistance secured from our allies. Placing ourselves in his path to be mowed down does no one any good.” He glanced around the handful of officers and full cadre of strategists at hand. “I know some of you are chafing for action, you didn’t get enough of a taste at Yamazaki. It will come in due time. I ask for your patience, and as a reward, I will give you Orochi himself.”

Zhang Liao nodded curtly. “I can accept this. I look forward to it, my lord.”

The rest didn’t say as much, but let Wenyuan speak for them. It was enough for Cao Pi. He still had his retainers firmly in his grasp, it seemed, his worries over his father’s meddling could be temporarily assuaged.

Not far from them, the message had also reached Honnoji to Oda Nobunaga’s great glee. He didn’t hold anything personally against the Wei army for being unable to hold Da Ji, but somehow he felt he could expect that Zhuge Liang would be able to keep her for far longer. With Takeda overseeing his own army at Fan Castle, he couldn’t consult the warlord directly on this development, but he made sure that information was sent to them immediately. Some part of him was privately proud of Zhao Yun for such a remarkably successful venture, it seemed the shy young general had truly come into his own as commander. Even better, Oda still had most of the officers of Shu in his employ with him, as they had been part of the force at Wuzhang which had withdrawn alongside him to Honnoji. He read the letter from Zhao Yun in the private company of only his strategists, and then asked to have the officers in question sent to him so he could give them the news personally.

“As you know,” he said to preface as Ma Chao, Ma Dai, Guan Ping, and Guan Suo stood before him, everyone else having been sent out, “your comrades from Shu were already on the march on a mission to Edo Castle while we were engaging Da Ji at Wuzhang. I have just received the report from there.” He paused for dramatic effect as he was wont to do, and then found the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “While Lord Liu Bei was not there, certain others were. It is Lord Zhao Yun’s report that Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and the Sleeping Dragon Zhuge Liang have defected to the Resistance, along with all of their men.”

All of them recoiled in open-mouthed surprise, and then Ma Chao’s passion spoke for all of them. He tried his hardest to restrain himself and show dignity in front of his commander but it was too much, he shook his fists in the air and let out a shout of joy. “Yes! At last!”

“My father…?” Ping blinked, stunned, and then turned to Suo, who was almost breathless with excitement. “He’s not with the snake anymore. Suo, our father…!”

“He’s safe!” Suo cried, falling onto his brother’s sturdy shoulder.

“This is incredible!” Ma Dai added, turning to smack Ma Chao hard in the arm. “All of them, really?”

“Yes, really,” Oda dryly replied, failing to stifle a grin as Chao punched his cousin back in the same manner. “I figured you would all like to hear the news.”

“Thank you, Lord Oda!” Ma Chao slammed his fist against his palm and went down to one knee in gratitude. The sheer force of his kowtow inspired the others to bow as well. “I do not regret battling at your side instead of theirs, but it is good to know our friends are safe and were successful!”

Nobunaga received their honor with a cool smile. “There is more, if you care to hear it.” He waited until they had all calmed and gazed eagerly at him before continuing. “Thanks to the sorceries of Zhuge Liang, they have also captured Da Ji for a second time. I expect this means that very soon, they will finally know the true whereabouts of Lord Liu Bei.” He kept right on smiling knowingly as their eyes widened again, as the words sank in. “And when the Shu commander knows, I will also know.”

The four of them seemed to hold their breaths, wondering if he would say more. “When that happens,” Guan Ping chanced, “will you…I mean…can we…?”

“I reserve my judgment for that time, when that information becomes known,” Oda cautioned. “Yet, I have a suspicion that I will not need to send you to assist your comrades – for we will all be marching to that rescue.” He let them consider that and then tipped his head demurely. “Yet, if that turns out not to be the case, I’m sure I can spare you for a time.”

The Shu officers erupted with grins and another round of smacking each other excitedly on the arm, then thanked him yet again before taking their leave. They had celebrating to do, and messages to write to Huang Zhong and the others to let them know. Nobunaga was certain that he didn’t need to call anyone to have this news retold again, by nightfall the entire compound of Honnoji would know.

After dinner and the usual nightly routine of watches and sentries needing approval, Oda retired to the veranda of his private quarters to sit and drink to the fading seasons and the rising moon. He never requested company but sometimes he had it anyway, tonight in the form of Takenaka Hanbei, one of few officers who could get away with engaging the warlord in casual chatter. His flippancy and disregard for keeping up appearances was welcome to Nobunaga on a night like tonight, for it kept him from thinking about all the work they needed to do the next day. While Hanbei sprawled next to him along the porch, reclining with his hat as a pillow, Oda sat with his back against one of the pillars supporting the eaves, a cup of sake cradled in one hand and the half-empty bottle at his knee. He had his head tipped back as if to watch the sky above darken from twilight to full night, the great span of the courtyard beyond affording him the best view of the stars and eventually the moon, though warm lamplight spilled from the room at his back and grew stronger as the day faded from the sky. “I suppose,” he lazily remarked to Hanbei, “winter will even find its way here, sooner rather than later. Where ever shall I go to escape the chill?”

“It was never that terribly cold in Kyoto,” Hanbei scoffed. “I’m sure you’ll be just fine here, with lots of fur-lined blankets piled high and hot tea with every meal. Though maybe that would be a good time to bring her ladyship back to keep you company.” He tipped his head to give his lord an impish grin. “She would keep you warm.”

Nobunaga met his look with a raise of his eyebrow. “True, her fire would likely scorch me before I could even complain of being cold. But I suppose there are alternatives in the meantime.” He raised the cup to take a deep drink, the sake helping to loosen his tongue more than usual. “Not that there’s time for that right now.”

“Shame, isn’t it? Orochi keeping us so busy we don’t have time for the finer things in life.” Hanbei settled back against his hat, turning his eyes to the first stars beginning to wink to life in the cool blue twilight. “Though I guess that begs the question, which will come first: autumn and then winter at Honnoji, or Orochi’s defeat? The latter will make all the difference in whether you’ll even need to consider new wintering plans.”

Oda made a small, thoughtful hum deep in his throat. “Do you know,” he said after a long pause, “there was something Date said that caught my ear. It was after we had already defeated the Orochi army, when he confronted us. I cared nothing for all of his bluster about Orochi’s greatness and power, but then he said, ‘without Orochi, this land will end.’”

“End…?” Hanbei looked toward him again. “You’re sure about that?”

“Quite. Like I say, it got my attention, because it was entirely different from everything else he had said to boast about Orochi. It makes me wonder.” Nobunaga glanced down to his cup and the reflected lamplight shimmering like fire on the surface of the sake. “What, then, truly will happen once Orochi is defeated?”

Hanbei eyed him. “Don’t even begin to claim that you haven’t once thought about what you’ll do after that.”

Nobunaga snorted a laugh. Naturally, a man of his ambition and ego had let his mind drift toward scenarios of how to set himself up over the other warlords and kingdoms once the serpent was out of the way. “I would not be a liar if I said I had not made any plans. Idle thoughts only. But this throws a new twist into it, if only because it’s the first time I’ve heard one of Orochi’s vassals say so.” He raised his cup, but didn’t quite take a sip. “I have thought from time to time, that it would be so. It makes the most logical sense. Orochi created this world, why wouldn’t it die with him? But then I get distracted wondering what I would do if the world didn’t end, and those thoughts are enough to keep me from dwelling on the alternative.”

The idea made Hanbei sit up in interest, swiveling around to curl his legs beneath him. “That would be something, wouldn’t it? To struggle all this time, fight the long fight, win the war, and there we are, standing over the corpse of a demon, and then boom, the world crumbles from beneath our feet and…what then? Do we all die on the spot as well?”

“Not exactly the reward for surpassing the serpent I was looking for,” Oda sniffed over the rim of his cup.

“I mean, it isn’t the only possibility. Maybe the world ends but the gods intervene and whisk us back to our right time and place. Ha!” Hanbei grinned widely. “If that’s the case, the historians might be all put out of a job, since we could write the biographies of the heroes of the mainland ourselves now.”

“There is much that remains uncertain,” Nobunaga noted with a glance toward a sense of movement at his other side. At that moment Mitsuhide glided silently through the room to join them, though he merely went to stand at the far end of the porch and take a deep breath of the cool night air. “After all, we don’t understand the depths of his demonic power, which he used to create this world. We know nothing of how it works, how it even happened at all. How would we know whether it is actually bound up with him? Is its lifeblood tied to his? Or did he merely bring it to being and then step back to become a simple resident like the rest of us? Can we say for sure that his death would cause the entire world to unravel like cutting the strings on a loom, or is there anything to compel us to expect – as others have said – that there will be a world ripe for the conquering with Orochi gone?”

“You’re talking about what Date Masamune said, at the close of our battle,” Mitsuhide realized. “It’s such an uncertain thing, there’s no way to know for sure what will happen – or even if he’s right.”

“The possibility’s there, though,” Hanbei said sagely, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “I hadn’t wasted a lot of thought on it, but Lord Nobunaga is right that we don’t understand the first thing about the immensity of the demonic power needed to create a world like this. We don’t even know where in time and place we really are – are we a thousand years in the past when the Three Kingdoms existed, or in our own future? Are we in heaven, or hell, or some plane of existence in between the two?”

“Such a great mystery,” Nobunaga mused, lowering his empty cup but holding back on pouring himself more just yet. “One I doubt we can solve unless one of the demons were to gladly sit down to chat with us about the nature of their sorceries.”

Hanbei rested his chin on one hand and smirked at the warlord. “You would never slow down even if the end result was the destruction of this world.”

Oda smirked back, but it was Mitsuhide who responded, his tone cold. “This world is unnatural. It shouldn’t exist. Yet, I don’t think there’s a single person currently in it who would hasten its destruction so long as our own fate is unknown.”

“There’s no way to know that, either,” Nobunaga said loftily, finally reaching for the bottle beside him. “Ideally, some scholar or sorcerer would discover a way to unmake it without accidentally blasting us all into oblivion in the process. We could all go back to what we were doing before Orochi interrupted us. I’m not about to sit and wait for it, though, and neither will Orochi. Moreover…” He filled his cup and then raised it as if to divine the future in the rippling surface of the heady wine. “…he will not simply go down to defeat. He will force us to kill him in order to stop him. The end may be inevitable.”

Both his retainers nodded slowly. To some degree they already knew to expect that, but it needed to be spoken and heard. Orochi had shown them no mercy to date, he would expect none in return. Not that there was even a way to capture and imprison him, but even if they were to turn their efforts toward that outcome in order to spare the end of the world, the serpent lord himself would not let it come to that. He would not stop fighting them until he had no more life left in him, that much was clear to anyone who had felt his bite. “It’s possible we could be very wrong about this,” Mitsuhide noted, leaning on another pillar. “Perhaps Orochi’s life is not bound up with the existence of this world. Perhaps Date was merely being poetic and tragic.”

Hanbei couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “That’s no surprise at all.”

“As ever, you have a point, Mitsuhide,” Nobunaga purred, gesturing to him with his cup. “Say Date is wrong, or merely misled. It is just as important for us to have contingency plans in place, in the event that the world goes on without its creator. Perhaps not right this instant, but I’m sure I can prepare something before the day in which I find myself face to face with the serpent again.”

“You expect you will?” Mitsuhide challenged with a sly smile. “I believe there are no less than a dozen others who see themselves taking on that role.”

“Then they can form a line,” Nobunaga smirked back. “Perhaps I will let them all go first and wait for my chance to make the killing blow myself.”

Hanbei laughed; Mitsuhide squinted down at them both. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Hm…” Oda picked up the bottle next to him, swished it a bit to let them all hear how little was left in it, and then tipped it toward his retainer. “About that much.”

“As I thought.” Mitsuhide merely looked back up at the stars beginning to glitter against the indigo of the deepening night sky. “Wine makes all men brave. Not that I doubt your intentions one bit, my lord, but I have a feeling you won’t be so generous when in the sober mind of battle.”

“We’ll just have to remind him what he said,” Hanbei snickered. “So generous, Lord Nobunaga, letting everyone else get their hits in first!”

Though he was tipsy enough to find all of this amusing, Oda was in full command of his wits and his memory, still. The sake merely made him a lot more talkative. “You say generous, I say strategic.”

“Ah, I see,” Hanbei retorted. “You intend to let them soften him up, so that your own fight will go smoothly. I see how it is.”

Their lord was still smirking, but Mitsuhide turned a shade serious. “It isn’t as though Lord Nobunaga has never faced the demon before. He must have learned well from his last fight.”

“You haven’t told me much of anything about that.” Hanbei sat back on his hands, stretching his legs out along the veranda. “Which, come to think of it, is something you really should do if you intend me to help you out with that strategy for defeating him a second time.”

Nobunaga gulped back his entire cup and immediately moved to fill it again. “Ah, but I haven’t yet defeated him the first time.”

Hanbei stilled his fidgeting and stared. “…what?”

“Because I am alive, you think I won that battle at Mikatagahara.” The warlord shook his head slowly, his cool half-smile hiding his true reaction. “Alas, Hanbei, it was a sound defeat. I barely escaped with my life, thanks to Mitsuhide here. My lady was captured, most of our men were driven off and a fair lot suffered grave injuries. I lost nearly everyone, I had only Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi at hand when I recovered enough to begin my counter-assault against Orochi.” He gestured with the cup to his retainer standing tall over them every time he said his name. “It was they who managed to regroup enough of our men to make something you could vaguely call an army. In fact, we had hardly come together when we came upon Orochi’s forces attacking an unknown troop at a lonely castle and decided to intervene. It was there I first let my enemy know that Oda Nobunaga would stand against him, and how Guan Ping and Huang Zhong came into my service.”

“Hmm.” Hanbei folded his hands and twiddled his thumbs idly, a sign that he was thinking. “Then, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll leave the actual fighting Orochi part to you, my lord, and concentrate on the part where armies have to fight each other.”

“I’m sure that will be enough, Hanbei,” Oda smirked at him.

“I want to say it’s too early to speak of such things,” Mitsuhide mused, “but I expect it isn’t at all. We may face that chance sooner than expected.”

Oda glanced up at him, that sly grin still firmly in place thanks to the sake. “At least this time, you will not have the Little Conqueror to contend with.”

Mitsuhide made a face at the reminder, which only made Hanbei match his lord’s grin. “Oh? Did you have a hard time against Sun Ce, then, Mitsuhide?”

“I had never seen him before,” the graceful retainer said petulantly. “I was unaware who it was until it was too late.”

“It’s a good thing time heals all wounds, then, and frees the prisoners and all that.” Hanbei stretched his arms over his head, and then snatched up his hat and got to his feet. “It’s getting late, and my bed is calling. We’ll save the real war talk for the morning, hm?” He actually bowed to them, wished them goodnight, and drifted off swinging his arms as he walked to the door and let himself out.

Mitsuhide smiled at his retreat and then lowered himself to sit beside his lord. “That isn’t the only thing that has changed since Mikatagahara. We’re in far better condition, now.”

“Come now, Mitsuhide…” Nobunaga rapped on his knee with the back of his hand. “You heard the man. Save it for tomorrow.”

“If you insist.” A moment later and his eyes were on the hand still on his knee, now resting there warmly and caressing against the fabric of his hakama. The growing night hid the blush rising into his cheeks. “My lord…?”

“Hanbei did something terrible before you came in,” Nobunaga complained. “He brought up my wife. And now I can’t stop thinking about how tense I am.”

Mitsuhide privately rolled his eyes. “You are hardly tense with a whole bottle of sake in you.”

“You know what I mean.”

Mitsuhide did indeed. He leaned back and then closed in toward Nobunaga, but stopped short of so much as touching him. His voice dropped to a playful whisper. “I think you need to sleep it off.”

“Oh? Are you going to make me?” Oda leaned toward him in turn, but his retainer pulled back out of the way before any contact of lips could be made. He groaned in complaint, particularly as Mitsuhide snuck the bottle away from him and finished off the last of the sake in it for himself. There really wasn’t more than a swallow left. “Your manners leave much to be desired,” Oda scolded him.

“And you reek of alcohol,” Mitsuhide said smartly. “Come, let me put you to bed, and _no_ you may not trap me there to share it with you. I mean it, I would rather not deal with you in a surly mood from a hangover.”

All the pouting and cajoling in the world wouldn’t get through to him, he simply ducked under Oda’s arm and pulled him up along with him, guiding him into the room where his bed had been laid out for him and bidding him go to it. The warlord was already out of armor, he tended to only go about in his fine clothing while inside the grounds of Honnoji, so he peeled away the rest of it and sat down on the bedding, trying one last time to tempt Mitsuhide, grabbing his hand as he passed and drawing him close. Mitsuhide wisely resisted, though, and went to draw some of the shoji closed for his lord’s privacy. “So cold, Mitsuhide,” Oda grumbled as he stretched out.

“You’ll thank me in the morning.” Akechi gave him an impish smile through the door before sliding it closed with a click. Sentries were already in position, both out in the gardens and within the temple quarters, he had no concerns about his lord’s safety. Yet, for a moment he paused and rested his back against the wall beside the door, taking a breath to calm himself and bring his blush under control. It wasn’t unusual, particularly for Lord Oda, and he had serviced him before. But he didn’t want to be the man’s drunken comfort when his wife and all other options were far away, it was too crass. Smoothing his hands down his surcoat, Mitsuhide took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then continued on his way down the wood-paneled corridor. Some other night, perhaps.


	65. Chapter 65

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shenanigans with Wu, as Sun Ce and Ina return from their mission; the Shu army makes it as far as Ueda, where a letter is waiting for Yukimura.

The village surrounding the fortress at Hefei rang with the sound of hammers and other tools, as the peasants recently relocated from Changban got busy repairing fences for livestock and fixing rooftops and walls, as well as the second re-construction of Xiaoshi Bridge. Among them were the stout warriors of Wu, flexing their muscle as easily with tools as they would on the battlefield. The civilians were quite pleased to have the likes of Taishi Ci, Ding Feng, and Cheng Pu hauling huge timbers on their shoulders, shirtless and sweaty and doing so much helpful hard work for them. From her vantage point high in the fortress, Lady No rather enjoyed it, too. It was warm, so she sat in one of the upper windows where a breeze might come in, idly waving a fan to assist. All of her favorite eye candy was out in the fields happily exerting themselves to the people’s benefit, and as she watched, she noticed one more proudly shouldering his share of the weight, moving in alongside Zhou Tai to brace logs against a wall so the house’s owner could strengthen it and repair damage from past battles. “My,” she remarked to others in the room nearby, “Lord Sun Jian certainly has healed quickly, hasn’t he?”

Shangxiang was pretty bored with Ina still on her way back from the errand to Edo, so she was hanging about the parlor; coming to the windows, she peered down and then smiled. “That’s my father, all right. It’s probably better for him to exercise like that, he really needs it.”

“It does become him,” No purred, hiding a smirk behind her fan. Sun Jian still had a shirt on, but its collar was loose and the sleeves were short, revealing how rapidly he had filled out from good food and rest and a little roughhousing with his retainers. His broad shoulders and thick neck were putting muscle back on quite nicely, though he still bore at least one sign of his long captivity.

“His hair, though.” Shangxiang leaned on the windowsill with her chin in her hands. “It turned gray really fast from being in Orochi’s prisons.”

“It only makes him all the more handsome,” No assured. “I do so love a silver fox.”

The Lady Sun cast her a quick roll of her eyes. “That’s my father you’re talking about like that.”

“I’m well aware.” No smirked back, and then swept the fan away, resuming its gentle flutter. “Don’t give me that look. He’s capable of making his own choices, and besides – I do love my husband very much.”

“And yet you won’t go back to him…”

“He’s busy with his war,” No shrugged. “It will keep him occupied for quite a while. I’m not fussed, I’m getting all the action I could want here. And not like you’re thinking,” she added with a roll of her eyes right back.

“Yeah, you just keep right on looking instead of touching,” Shangxiang sniffed, turning her gaze back to the tableau below them. Her expression changed after a moment, though, as she privately fretted about something that hadn’t really come up until they were talking about Sun Jian’s hair.

Lady No noticed. “Something the matter?”

“No,” Shangxiang quickly answered, but then sighed. She didn’t have anyone else around to talk to about it at the moment, so she gave in and murmured, “I wonder if he’s going to go gray as well…”

The lady observed her for a moment and then glanced away out the window. “Your husband, you mean. I suppose, there’s no way to know. The poor man’s been locked up how long?”

“Longer than my father,” Shangxiang said sadly. “But he’s younger, too, so…maybe it won’t be so bad.”

“We may find out in the next few days,” No reminded her, “if Lord Ce was successful.”

“If they managed to free him…he’ll probably go back with Shu,” Shangxiang noted with another sigh. “But I guess you’re right. Ce will tell me what he’s like.”

Lady No decided to distract her from thinking about it by going right back to her flirtations. “Your brothers are both fine men as well. Lord Ce has his wife, but what about Lord Quan? I haven’t seen any ladies around who might belong to him.”

Shangxiang laughed under her breath. “No, Quan’s not married, not yet. Last I heard he had a court full of concubines but I don’t know what ever came of that – or if they’re even in this world.” She shot the older woman a quick look for talking so frankly about her brothers. “Still. Ew.”

No’s smile back was catlike and cool. She could talk all day about the gorgeous men of Wu all around her, they were such brutes sometimes but so nice to look at. “Some women enjoy arranging flowers or embroidering dragons and tigers. I enjoy men. I’m not ashamed.”

“Clearly not.” Shangxiang straightened up and then started to stretch her arms over her head. “Maybe I’ll just go down and join them. They look like they’re having fun, sort of.”

“If you tell them to put their shirts on, I’ll be quite cross with you, young lady,” No said sharply toward her retreating back. Shangxiang waved over her shoulder but kept right on going, fully intending to go down and join the hard-working men to get a little exercise of her own.

Sun Ce and his contingent were due back any day now, and everyone was eager to get the full story of their exploits. Messengers had gotten out through the snow to at least bring the basic news that Da Ji had been captured again, but nothing was said of Shu and its people. Shangxiang hadn’t wanted to get her hopes up, and even now didn’t know if there was no news of Liu Bei because he hadn’t been there or because her brother wanted to tell her in person. She threw herself into training and working alongside the other officers to keep her mind off it, and there was more than enough work to go around for everyone who wanted it. She came down from the fortress and joined in with the others helping the farmers who had relocated from Changban, they wanted to reinforce and repair the storehouses so that all the grain, rice, and other supplies grown and gathered all summer long would not spoil from rain and rot. Hefei looked to be settled into a comfortable autumn, but the nights were not yet too cold and the real rains had not yet come, but the weather and season could change on them at any moment, they had to be prepared. The size of the Wu army encamped there, now, with Lord Sun Jian administrating, needed a considerable amount of supplies to stay fed and provisioned, to say nothing of the peasants returning to make Hefei’s village habitable. Not a single grain of wheat or millet or rice could be wasted. The powerfully-built warriors of Wu were mainly hauling timbers and putting their shoulders against walls to brace and support, but even officers Shangxiang’s size could find work to do, tying down crosspieces and nimbly climbing onto roofs to make sure there were no leaky holes in the thatching and shingle. Sun Jian stood back to take a moment’s break and marveled at it all, at the way his children had grown and come into their own, at the way his faithful retainers had become Ce’s and then Quan’s, growing more wise and strong in their own time. They all did well to look after each other in this strange land, and now that he knew what they had all gone through on his behalf, he was determined to rebuild his own strength so as to stand shoulder to shoulder with them on the front lines the next time a battle-call was sounded. When that might be, no one could say, but they weren’t about to let Orochi come rolling across the fields with another unstoppable army. He was certain they were ready, this time, and his long imprisonment in the demon lord’s clutches had done the opposite of instill fear into him. He was not only ready to oppose Orochi to his face, he was eager for it. Something about his brief stint in Koshi Castle had given him the impression that the demon lord was not, in fact, invincible. Yet, he hadn’t discussed it with his children or the army yet. It was merely a half-formed impression, strengthened by the sight of Da Ji and her armies breaking like waves against the stout rocks of Wu. Ce had spoken openly of being ready and excited to fight Orochi, but that too seemed like a half-formed suggestion, a wish or a dream rather than a plan. Sun Jian mulled it over and then pushed it aside, stretching his arms over his head to keep his muscles from tightening up before going back to work. Those storehouses wouldn’t roof themselves.

Toward the end of the day, their outermost sentries sent in word that someone was approaching, it seemed to be Sun Ce and his party returning home. The alert reached Hefei fortress in time for everyone to put down whatever they were doing and come out to meet them, so that when the knot of soldiers and horsemen approached the bridges, they were already presented with a welcoming gauntlet, peasants first and then their officers closer to the fortress. Shangxiang was not surprised that there was no one from Shu with them, but she couldn’t help a tiny twinge of disappointment to see it for herself. Yet, it was a joy to see Lady Ina again, and as their eyes met across the courtyard, Ina gave a wave which brought a smile back to her face. Ce himself was grinning broadly already, and as he spotted his father and brother among the welcoming throng at the fortress gate, he leaped down from his horse and jogged to meet them. “It’s about time,” Jian teased him. “We received your letter, but it was a bit stingy on the details.”

“Sorry about that,” Ce laughed, “we were short on time. Besides, I figured you’d want to hear it all from me directly.”

“It’s true, then,” Quan said, trying his best to keep his tone level despite the rising glee within his chest. “You captured her.”

“Yep!” Ce moved to clap him powerfully on the arm. They had suffered so much at the hands of the demon strategist that he wanted to share his joy directly with his brother. “I mean, it was mostly Zhuge Liang’s doing but she _is_ captured and she _will_ be held by Shu! You should have seen it, Quan, I’m so glad I was there to witness it with my own eyes. She didn’t slip out of our clutches this time! It felt like real payback for everything she’s done!”

Quan grabbed his muscled forearm in both hands and gripped tightly, meeting his eyes and seeing the vicious delight in them. “Yes! I wish I could see it but I’ll take your word for it. What happened when Zhuge Liang turned on her, did she scream at him?”

“I’ll tell you the whole story over dinner, I promise,” Ce grinned. “All the juicy details like Father wants. It was a hell of a battle, let me tell you.”

“What of Lord Liu Bei?” Lu Meng wondered from behind his lords.

Zhou Yu stepped in to join them, then. “He was not there, it was yet another ruse by the Orochi army to lure Lord Zhao Yun in. But he was ready this time, and it turned out to our benefit all the same. Not just Zhuge Liang, but Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have defected, and brought with them the rest of the conscripts of Shu. The Orochi army no longer has a single conscripted officer to its name.”

The strategists, more than anyone, understood the impact of that development and Lu Meng even let out a little gasp. “No kidding,” Sakon said, impressed. “That’s a hell of a lot of work you got done, there.”

“Come on,” Shangxiang implored, hooking her brother by the arm and dragging him away. “We’re never going to hear the whole story if you keep standing here bragging about it.”

The entirety of the officers piled into the fortress after them, giving them a few minutes to settle in and change into something less trail-dusty while the preparations for the evening meal were completed, and in no time at all they were all bellied around the long trestle tables that populated the dining hall of the Wu fortress. The Sun family sat at one end all together, with Zhou Yu attending, and held an informal audience with Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ina in their midst so that all the battle-stories could be told in full. Ce left nothing to the imagination, he told them everything he had seen and experienced, and let them draw their own conclusions at the end. Either way, it was clear that what had transpired at Edo was every bit as ground-shaking for both sides in the war as Cao Pi’s conquest at Odawara. And, for the Resistance, a true triumph. “There’s one more thing,” Zhou Yu added, reaching into his tunic to pull out a sealed message scroll. “My lord, this is for you. Lord Hojo Ujiyasu asked me to deliver it to you personally.”

Sun Jian beamed widely as he reached to take the letter. “My deepest thanks, Zhou Yu. How did he look, is he well?”

“A little ragged around the edges, but I got the feeling he’ll bounce back as quickly as you did, Father,” Ce said with a laugh. “I can see now why the two of you hit it off.”

“Captivity makes companions of the most unlikely,” Jian said wryly, holding the scroll in both hands to admire the crisp characters making up Ujiyasu’s name on the outside of the paper but refraining from opening it and reading it there at the table. “I’ll have to read up on his adventures later. I hope he hasn’t forgotten that I invited him to drink under the plum blossoms if we ever see a spring, here.”

“Oh, he hasn’t forgotten,” Zhou Yu said wryly with a glint of mischief in his eye.

“He returned to Shu, then?” Ieyasu asked, keenly noting everything.

“Shu’s had the rest of his clan under their protection for a couple of months,” Ce reported. “Most of the strategists here are aware of that, I think it was mentioned in some letters in the past, but I know more about it now. They rescued the Hojo a while back, and now they’re helping hold Xiliang some distance south of here. Lord Ujiyasu was pretty keen on going there to meet up with them, and Zhao Yun’s guys have all the information, so yeah, he went with them.”

“Understandable,” Jian said with a sage nod, turning somewhat businesslike. “What of the castle, then? What were Lord Zhao Yun’s plans for it?”

“Actually,” Zhou Yu responded, “they have requested our aid on that front. As you know, it is a considerable distance from most Resistance headquarters, but it is a large castle and can be easily defended. Shu has a temporary occupation force there now, but Lord Zhao Yun’s intent was to send someone from Chengdu to manage it. It was proposed that we also send a force to assist, equal to theirs, so that Wu and Shu would hold it jointly.”

Sun Ce turned his easygoing smile on one particular man across the table from him. “And I know just who to recommend.”

Tokugawa met his gaze, almost surprised, and then grunted a small chuckle. “You thought of me even at such a time. I am flattered, young master.”

“The castle keep will need considerable repairs,” Ina said seriously. “The fire was extensive. But it appeared that the Orochi army had ransacked it and moved most of the valuables into storage or the southern keep, so it’s mostly structural damage.”

“Damage can be fixed,” Ieyasu agreed. “The important thing is, the castle itself survives, and is no longer a prisoner of that foul snake. I would be pleased if I could wipe away the soot with my own two hands and bring it back into its glory.”

“If you’re willing, that saves me having to decide who to send there,” Ce said brightly. “I know things are kind of cramped here at Hefei, especially when we keep bringing in more officers and wayward units. Would the men of Mikawa like to go back home?”

“I would be indebted to you for the opportunity,” Ieyasu said humbly. “It is less about logistics than it is pure sentimentality, but you do bring up a good point. There would be room to spare at Edo, and we would be poised to ride as a flanking unit for both Wu and Shu from there.”

“If the Lady Ina wishes to stay here for a time and assist Lady Sun,” Zhou Yu diplomatically suggested, “I would offer to send Lu Su or Han Dang to assist you.”

“That doesn’t need to be decided here and now,” Tokugawa assured, “but the offer is worthy, I will remember it.”

Ce perked up, suddenly remembering something else. “Sanada Yukimura told me to tell you something. What was it…? Oh, right. Ina’s father.”

Ina smiled demurely, knowing exactly what he meant, while Tokugawa startled. “What? He has news of Honda Tadakatsu?”

“That’s the guy,” Ce nodded. “He said they’ve brushed up against him a few times, most recently at Xiliang. Apparently he’s been staying hot on Lu Bu’s trail, and that’s his plan for now. That’s all he really said, but I think the Sanadas know more if you want to send them a message.”

Ieyasu looked to the young lady at his side, finding her smiling warmly. “Yes, my fiancé told me everything he knew. My father saved his life at Xiliang, and left them to continue after Lu Bu. I am so glad to hear it, that is precisely what he would want to be doing in a land like this.”

Shangxiang made a sly face at her, though they had talked about their respective betrothals considerably in the past. “Oooh, your fiancé!”

Ina met her look with a matching one to promise to tell her all later. Sun Jian chuckled gruffly. “Sounds like it was the kind of mission that paid for itself ten times over. Orochi’s right hand captured, prisoners freed, a castle captured, alliances deepened…what _haven’t_ you done, my boy?”

Ce’s smile tightened with a shade of regret. “Set Lord Liu Bei free,” he admitted, “but we’ve got the best leads on that front, now. I promised Zhao Yun I’d assist him right up until we actually found him, so our alliance with Shu stands. But then, if Zhuge Liang’s right, they’re going to need not just us but everybody in the Resistance.”

His father met his eyes, and though he still looked jovial on the surface, there was the same light of cold dread in his dark eyes. “Don’t tell me. He thinks he’s still in Koshi Castle.”

Zhou Yu nodded slowly. “That is his expectation.”

“Ah, damn.” Jian took a deep breath and let it out in a gust. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. But he’s right – if he’s still there, all the ninjas in this world won’t be enough to spring him. It will take a full assault on Orochi’s own seat of power. That will take all four Resistance armies banding together. But then, from our correspondence with Oda,” he noted, “it sounds like he’s already sort of planning for that eventuality.”

Sakon was nearby to have overheard the entire conversation, and only broke in now. “Of course he is. He’s been planning ever since he caught his breath after his first fight with Orochi. But then, I’m pretty sure in our heart of hearts, all of us have sort of expected it to come to that in the end, once we heard of this Koshi Castle.”

“Perhaps not to liberate Lord Liu Bei,” Yu concurred, “but to destroy Orochi, yes, at the very least.”

“So be it, then.” Jian set his empty cup hard onto the table with a deliberate thunk. “I am more than ready to return to the field, and when I do, these tiger’s claws will find Orochi himself. Make no mistake. I won’t be left behind.”

“If anyone has a right to face him, Father, it’s you,” Quan said confidently. “Though I imagine we’re not the only ones who want a bite out of him.”

“If we were to line up everyone who needs a hurt redressed, it would stretch for days,” Ieyasu sighed. “And I doubt he would suffer himself to stand still long enough to let all of us have our own turn.”

“It would be satisfying to be the one to end him,” Ce said with barely-hidden bloodthirst, “but all that really matters is that he goes down. I don’t care who does it, it just has to happen. And then maybe we can go on with our lives.”

There was no argument to his sentiment at all, and most of those at the table raised their cups to officially toast to an end to Orochi. The rest of dinner was absorbed in the re-telling of battle tales old and new, and eventually everyone broke up to head to their quarters. Ina had been quartering with Shangxiang for so long that the two women were eager to get to their room so Ina could rest and tell her own stories, the kind Shangxiang wanted to hear even after getting her fill of the fights and conquests. She sat cross-legged on her bed while Ina changed into a more demure kimono and spent some time combing out her long hair. “What happened? What did he say? Was he happy to see you?” Lady Sun pressed.

“He was,” Ina said innocently enough, though she was having a hard time keeping the smile out of her voice. “I didn’t even think about the possibility that he would be there, but then suddenly there he was before my eyes.”

“Did Shu’s army even know? No, they couldn’t have,” Shangxiang decided for herself. “We didn’t send them word of who all was going, we didn’t even decide until the last minute. So that means he was there…”

“…with no idea that I would be arriving, yes,” Ina finished for her, finally turning toward her while unpinning her hair. “He was as stunned as I was.”

Shangxiang pounded her fists in her lap eagerly. “I want to meet him! After everything you’ve said about him, I’m so curious! I remember his brother from their attack on Jieting, but he wasn’t with them…I don’t think.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Ina assured. “You would know Lord Nobuyuki if you saw him. He is older than Yukimura, and just as fair, but his hair is silvery and his face is less hard.” 

Her companion gave her an impish grin. “Did you cry?”

Ina met her look with a quelling stare. “I did not!” She feigned offense for a moment and then added, more slyly, “He did.”

Shangxiang squealed in joy and fell over on her bed. “That’s so cute! These Sanada brothers, I can hardly believe them.”

“Were you not already promised to Lord Liu Bei, I would introduce you to Yukimura,” Ina smirked. “He is a brave warrior with the single-minded desire to prove himself in battle. I think you would make a fine pair.”

“Well, I still want to meet him,” Shangxiang declared, picking herself up from her delighted flailing on the bed. “Even if it’s not for that purpose, and I don’t mean meeting him across our weapons. I mean.” She shrugged shyly and then wondered if Lady No wasn’t rubbing off on her. “He _did_ look handsome. From a distance.”

Ina finished with her hair, left it cascading down her back, and strolled over to plop herself onto Shangxiang’s bed next to her. “It’s fair to look,” she admitted. “I am close friends with Yukimura, and even I can admit that he is a handsome man. But he’s a samurai to the core, I expect he will probably never marry in order to stay devoted to his lord, his family, and his purpose.”

“There’s guys like that on all sides,” Shangxiang agreed with a nod. “I mean, look at Zhou Tai.”

Ina reached to clasp her comrade’s hands in hers. “I wanted so badly to find your husband for you, but Lord Ce is right. We’ll all work together to free him, and then I can finally meet him, too.”

Shangxiang wilted against her. “I worry about him so much, especially now that my family is safe. Before, I had so many people to worry about that I had to spread it out, but now it’s all concentrated on Xuande and I’m so afraid for him. When Orochi finds out how many of his slaves have turned on him, even the two brothers, he could carry through with his threats and execute him.”

Without hesitation, Ina petted her hair to try to soothe her. “I can only tell you what Master Zhuge Liang said to us. He is absolutely certain that Orochi will not kill him – he says Liu Bei is too valuable to be killed. Why, or how, I don’t know, but if a man like him who was as close as close can be to the inner workings of the Orochi army is so confident, I believe we can take him at his word.”

“…that’s good, I guess.” Shangxiang pried herself up and decided to change the subject back to Ina’s own love life. “What else did Lord Nobuyuki say? Anything interesting?”

Ina accepted the shift with a tiny smile. “I’m sure our strategists would be more interested to know that he’s holding Ueda Castle, his family’s own – they took it from Orochi. But more important to me is that he is safe, and recovered from an injury he took against Lu Bu…”

Shangxiang gaped, eyes wide. “Lu Bu! Really?”

“Really! He survived just fine, he’s doing well, his father is safe, _my_ father is safe…it is all good news, on our end.” She squeezed Shangxiang’s arm. “Don’t worry, I plan to stay here with you until we see the end of this war and your husband’s safe return. Lord Tokugawa has plenty of men to assist him, and then some.”

“Are you sure? That’s sweet of you,” the Lady Sun said warmly. “If you insist, I won’t say no. At least that way, Lord Nobuyuki will know exactly where you are.”

Ina laughed gently. “You need not play matchmaker, Shangxiang, I am already betrothed to him.”

“Do you think you’ll marry him here? I mean…” Shangxiang shook her head. “I’m getting ahead of myself. We don’t even know what’s going to happen when Orochi falls, if we’re all going to be returned to our rightful times or not. It’s probably not worth thinking about.”

“It would be nice if we had at least a little time to say our farewells, if that’s the case,” Ina mused. “But you’re right, we don’t know, and in that case I would not want to make wedding plans too early. Then again.” She tipped her head in a little shrug. “We could hold a battlefield ceremony _before_ we go to meet our doom against Orochi.”

Shangxiang cooed a little; many soldiers decided to get married before a fateful battle just in case, it would certainly not be unusual. “If you do, I want to be your attendant.”

“Deal.” They held each other’s gaze for a moment and then broke into giggles. For all their reputations as battle-hardened warriors with more of a mind on weapons and strength than the typical things ladies of their status tended to be interested in, they still enjoyed a little bit of love-gossip and wedding dreams. They had been each other’s closest companion for so long, often unable to rely on anyone else but each other to keep their spirits up, worry together in private, and talk about things which certain brothers and lords didn’t really consider in their own day to day management of the army. Even now they were inseparable, and as the rest of the fortress around them drifted away to sleep, they sat together on the same bed and held each other and did their best not to fret too much about poor Lord Liu Bei. Soon, perhaps, they wouldn’t have to worry at all.

  


Zhao Yun’s forces made it as far as Ueda before taking a break, since a portion of their strength originally came from there in the first place. The snowstorm had blown itself out the day after the battle, and it wasn’t so bad that the Shu army felt the need to delay more than one day before setting out. It had been agreed that Ma Su and Fa Zheng would remain at Edo with a small garrison until they could send someone from Chengdu to take over maintenance of the massive castle compound, along with those promised reinforcements from Wu. Zilong would have taken them all back with him, but the castle needed to be held securely against any retaliatory assault from the Orochi army and he couldn’t spare the higher-ranked officers. Too many of them were hurt as it was, including most of the new recruits, and they didn’t dare travel in the open for so long with a prisoner in their midst, lest it tempt the Orochi army to try to take her back. Ueda made a fine stopping point on the way back to the Shu capital, it would allow the injured to take a much-needed rest and Zhao Yun to send out more messages that weren’t so hastily-scribbled and short on actual information. Nobuyuki was quite proud to be able to put them all up in his own family’s castle as guests rather than prisoners, and led the way along the causeway to the main keep with the gentle peasants waving a welcome to them all up the road. It seemed that in a very short time, the Sanada forces had picked up Sima Zhao’s efforts to keep the peace, and the result was a territory that looked almost as though war had never touched it. All those in the company knew it wasn’t true; the recent battle to retake it from Sima Yi notwithstanding, Zhao Yun and Zhang Bao remembered their captivity here all too well. They wisely refrained from talking too much about it, since it was no longer something worth dwelling upon. Ueda was now a shelter for the Resistance and a safe place for commoners to till the fields and support their protectors.

When they reached the main courtyard of the castle and Sanada attendants came to take the horses, one of Nobuyuki’s lesser retainers let them know that messages had come for them from Chengdu in the meantime, sent ahead by Jiang Wei in his prudence so that they would receive them sooner. Lord Sanada suggested to Zhao Yun that they go and have a look, if anything was that urgent that it needed to reach them on the road rather than wait at headquarters for them, so they headed to the study on the main floor where Nobuyuki took care of official matters. Yukimura remained behind for a bit, organizing the rest of the officers and making sure the attendants secured quarters for all of their distinguished guests, as well as a prison for their captive, and then drifted off to join lord and brother to see what was new. He found them standing together beside a desk, casually perusing missives and scouting reports; noticing his entrance, Zhao Yun perked up. “Oh, Yukimura. There is a letter here for you.”

“For me?” The younger Sanada crossed to them and reached to take the scroll Yun held out to him. “Who would have cause to write me…?”

Even as he was speaking, his eyes drifted to the seal on the letter and brought his thought process to a screeching halt. It was hastily made, a character scratched into the wax by hand as if the writer didn’t have his proper tools along at the time (which was precisely true), but Yukimura still recognized the symbol. Only one man signed off on his letters with that character. His mouth fell open in shock. “No…”

His brother glanced up at the whispered word, and frowned curiously as Yukimura tore open the letter to devour the words within. “What is it, who is it from?”

Yukimura held up a hand to beg him to wait, he needed to read it first to be sure. The elegant writing was unmistakable, so familiar and so welcome, he couldn’t believe he had it right there in his hands again after steeling himself for the possibility of never seeing it again. He read hungrily, an astonished look dawning on his features as joy overtook his surprise. “It’s…Kanetsugu,” he finally said to give an answer to satisfy them.

The other two gawked at him. “What, really?” Yun breathed. “Lord Kanetsugu…!”

“You’re kidding,” Nobuyuki said with a bit of a relieved laugh. “See? I told you he was alive!”

Yukimura only nodded vaguely, not even registering what he said. All of his attention was on Naoe’s letter and the very intricate story it was telling, there was a lot to take in and he was going over each line two or three times to make sure he understood. Yun left him to it for the moment. “Hopefully it’s good news,” he murmured to Nobuyuki.

“It is good that he’s in contact,” Lord Sanada noted. “Maybe he can explain…”

A thump to his side caught his attention, and both glanced to see that Yukimura had collapsed onto his knees on the floor. Startled, both moved toward him at once, and Zhao Yun knelt beside him to take him by the shoulders and make sure he was all right. As he leaned in, he noticed Yukimura’s eyes shimmering with tears and the hands holding the letter shaking. “Yukimura!” he fretted.

The young samurai was still for a long moment, and then he caught his breath with a gasp, trying to swallow his emotions. It was too much all at once, the news in black ink on the page before him punched him in the gut no matter how skillfully Naoe had worded it so as not to shock him. Without even raising his head, Yukimura whispered what words his lips would form before the others started to panic. “…he’s alive…”

Yun’s brow knit anxiously. “Who…what?”

It took him a minute or so more before he could explain, taking a few huge, deep breaths in an attempt to control himself, but then Yukimura looked up past him to his brother. “Lord Takeda. Lord Takeda is alive!”

“What – no!” Nobuyuki rushed to join them, stumbling and then going to one knee beside his brother. “How?!”

“It’s what Kanetsugu said!” Yukimura shook the paper in his fist eagerly. “Does it matter how? He says they aren’t dead, none of them are dead after all!”

Nobuyuki shook his head slowly from side to side and murmured to himself, “That can’t be…”

“What happened?” Yun frantically wondered. “Was it merely a mistake, did someone give the wrong report after the battle or…”

“It’s…it’s complicated, I haven’t gotten through all of it yet, but…” Yukimura laughed weakly, and a tear escaped down his cheek before he could stop it. “It’s true! Kanetsugu wouldn’t lie. It’s a miracle, Zilong! We’ve been hoping for miracles and here it is!”

Still holding him by one shoulder, Yun dared to smile and believe. “What luck! Your lord…”

“Let me see, Yukimura. Please!” his brother begged. The letter was offered to him, so he hastily skimmed it until he found the passage relaying this news and let out a gust of a breath in shock. “He’s right. By heaven and hell, he’s…they’re both…” He reached a hand out, bracing himself against Yukimura’s shoulder.

“Both Lord Takeda and Lord Uesugi?” Yun asked urgently.

“And everyone with them.” Nobuyuki relayed what he was reading. “I see. It was a ruse – it was to fool the Orochi army and allow them to escape and plan their return. They had to lead us all to believe it…”

He lowered the letter and handed it back, and then quickly pressed that hand to his mouth as if to stop himself from saying anything unbecoming in his startled relief. Yukimura took it and briefly clutched it to his chest with both hands. “It doesn’t matter. They’re alive, I don’t care about anything else.”

He wilted and had Zhao Yun right there to lean in and support them both, as he had before, though he pressed his head against Yukimura’s to share his warmth and excitement. “I’m so glad that it turned out for the best. What else does Lord Kanetsugu have to say, are they well?”

“It sounds like it,” Yukimura replied, practically glowing with the knowledge that he no longer had to suffer grief or consider vengeance, that he had his lord and his family, his clan, his friend, all of it back where it belonged. “He says they joined Lord Oda in battle and came through safely.”

Nobuyuki huffed under his breath. “Lord Naoe begs our forgiveness for having to lie to us…”

“How could I not?” Yukimura said ruefully. “He sounds very eager to make it up to me.”

“I suppose they had to,” Zhao Yun reasoned, though he was missing a fair amount of the details regarding this ruse. On the surface he had to wonder about prolonging such a cruel trick, letting word spread far and wide so that the Orochi army would have no reason to doubt it, but he was already well aware that others had to hide for far longer, alive or dead, for the same purpose. He still had a lot of air to clear with the officers from Edo but he could no more begrudge them their long and dangerous ruse of loyalty than he could begrudge Takeda the need to fake his death. Then, as he knelt there supporting the Sanada brothers as they found their strength and clutched at one another, he let out a sudden gasp of his own. Something came to mind: the last he spoke with anyone about the battle at Nagashino. Honnoji, Lord Oda, and Ma Chao. “It can’t be…was that what Mengqi was keeping secret all this time?”

The brothers looked curiously at him, but he didn’t explain, so they returned to bolstering one another in their joy. “I need to write him back,” Yukimura insisted. “Before we even leave for Chengdu, I need to let him know I understand.”

“Yes, and ask him to pass along tidings of our doings to Lord Takeda,” Nobuyuki added. “I must get in touch with him myself, let him know about our father…” He gasped yet again. “We must write Father! He must know, and if this means Uncle Nobutada is well also…”

“It does!” Yukimura cried eagerly. “You write Father, I’ll write Kanetsugu.”

The news was truly sinking in, allowing them both to sit up straight and then help each other to their feet. Yun rose with them and clapped them both on the shoulders in solidarity. “I will leave you to it, those are important letters to be written.”

Yukimura swiftly grabbed for him, taking his arm first and then clasping his hand. “Hope continues to shine against the darkness, my friend,” he encouraged. “Can you see it? Hope is alive, Zilong!”

“I do see it,” Yun laughed softly. “As your sorrow was my sorrow, your joy is my joy, Yukimura.” He set a hand warmly on his comrade’s neck, smiling for him, and then withdrew, giving them a moment to revel in this great news as brothers ought to, without an interloper. He excused himself to check on the other officers and drifted out of the study, heading down the corridor a few steps before reeling into the wall and bowing his head into his hands. He couldn’t show any wavering in front of Yukimura, not with such amazingly good news at hand. It was, indeed, fantastic to know that Lords Takeda and Uesugi were not killed at Nagashino after all, and they were back to assist the Resistance in the final hours of the long war against Orochi. Yet, all Yun could think about was Ma Chao and Ma Dai being forced to hide the truth, to help them to believe the ruse, and on top of that, Zhuge Liang baldly and unfeelingly lying both to Orochi and to his own countrymen all this time. Leaning on the wall, Yun curled his fingers angrily into his hair, nearly tearing it out of its queue in his force as he tried to quell the anger rising in his chest. So many lies, so much darkness, how could any of it be left to stand? What would Lord Liu Bei think to hear all of this? It took a few long moments to finally beat down the emotions, but now Zhao Yun was as shaken as the Sanadas for completely different reasons, and pushed himself away from the wall to totter down the hallway. There was only one thing that could truly ease his mind, now.

The castle guard of Ueda happily led him up to the floor of the castle where the officers would be quartered until they departed again for Chengdu, assuming he was looking for his own, but Zhao Yun dismissed them and went to Zhuge Liang’s instead. The rooms were all sectioned off securely with paneled shoji, giving everyone their own private quarters; Yun hesitated for only a moment before raising his hand to rap on the wooden frame in warning before sliding the screen open to let himself in. Liang was there, at the window, looking out as if appraising the sunshine and quiet landscape. He barely twitched at the intrusion, only tipping his head to acknowledge the fact that Zhao Yun was standing in the doorway. Yun remained there for a moment, shoulders squared, and then stepped in, wearing an expression of mingled confusion and concern. He wasted no time on pleasantries or formalities, brusquely asking, “Was it easy for you to wear that mask for so long?”

Kongming made a subtle face of surprise at the nature of the query. “What brought about such a…”

“Answer me,” Yun demanded. “No more questions after questions. I want to know, Zhuge Liang. What went through your head when you faced me, and her ladyship, and Jiang Wei, and Guan Ping, and everyone else you’ve held at arm’s length all these months?”

Sighing, Zhuge Liang turned toward him, moving to rest his fan on a table and then step closer. “My lady does not ask me these things.”

“Yet I’m sure you still see the look in her eyes when she turns them to you,” Zhao Yun said curtly, “wondering if there’s anything else you’re hiding from her, wondering why she couldn’t see through you and whether that means anything.”

Liang winced slightly; clearly, the commander had become far more astute under pressure, he was able to see such things without ever needing words to pass between people. He held out a hand to invite Yun to sit with him, as the room was still set up with tatami for the day. He had gotten quite used to the manner of Wa during his time with the Orochi army, rubbing shoulders with the warriors of that land and living in their castles, and had no problem lowering himself to his knees in the center of the room. After a moment, Zhao Yun followed suit, but there was a tension in his shoulders that did not go away. “I know some about your exploits, Lord Zilong,” the strategist said respectfully, “at least from the way the Orochi army saw them. While I do need to earn the trust of everyone who serves Lord Liu Bei, I feel that to you…I owe the truth.”

Yun bowed his head briefly. “To think that I am more eager and willing to accept Cao Pi when he turns than you, when you have been a companion and a trusted servant of my lord for so long…”

“It’s not so strange,” Liang assured. “Cao Pi is Lord of Wei, and for much of our time together, an enemy. When you lose the ability to believe in someone close to you, someone whose mind you thought you knew, whose heart you thought was aligned with yours in loyalty to the same lord, it becomes a thousand times more difficult to relearn trust.”

Yun looked up, his eyes hardening. “In my mind I know the reason for the lies. My heart will not accept it, it only remembers the hurt. You could not have even passed us a message in secret? Any means of letting us know that it wasn’t what we thought?”

Kongming took a deep breath and let it out slowly, lowering his gaze. “By the time the opportunity even presented itself, it was too late. I had already faced you so many times that I knew you would not believe me. Such was the nature of my gambit. The Orochi army had to have no doubts whatsoever. I saw for myself when Da Ji began to suspect Cao Pi, I could not allow her to think the same about me, or I would never have been able to bring about the right opportunity in which to capture her.” He turned his hands palms-up on his knees, an open gesture he hoped would be understood. “I make no excuses for bending my every effort toward maintaining the charade. I knew of no other way to expose a path to rescue our lord. Yet you must know, Zhao Yun, that it was not something I did easily or without pain of my own.”

Yun studied him for a moment. “You chided me for letting my heart rule my good sense…”

“That was the message you were hoping for, by the way,” Liang said wryly. “I wanted you to put aside your anger long enough to think rationally, perhaps you would have known that I would not have genuinely turned my back on our lord. When you knew it was me in command at Xin Di, you should have known that I would not have played jailer to him in person.” He lowered his shoulders into a bow before Zhao Yun could get annoyed with his superior explanation. “But you have always followed your heart even when your good sense would have told you otherwise, and it has yet to lead you astray. I know without even having to ask you where you have been and what you have done, that your love for our lord is the core reason the Shu Resistance is so powerful, and the reason why all of us are alive. You have such an easy time showing how you feel, something I envy greatly.”

Yun blinked at that. “You…envy me?”

“In my position, I have never been able to wear my heart on my sleeve,” Liang said gently, his face sobering. “You have the freedom to show your passion, both your joy and your anger. It isn’t so for me, doubly so when attempting to keep the army around me from even having the slightest suspicion that I am not what I say I am. My grief has been private, but that isn’t to say I feel none.”

“…then you have suffered as much as the rest of us.” It took hearing those words for it to become clear, and Zhao Yun bowed his head again. “A different suffering, but there all the same.”

“It is as you say,” Liang breathed, and for once, there was genuine emotion in his undertone. “Whether you believe me or not, Zhao Yun, I will say what you need to hear: I took no joy in what I did to you, at any point.”

Zhao Yun let out a sigh of his own. “If it is still a lie, it is one I can live with.”

Zhuge Liang nodded his understanding. He could tell them all what they wanted to hear and even if it was true, they would need time to accept it as such. His actions going forward would have to be the proof his compatriots would need. “Has something happened? You were in a far more pleasant mood when we arrived.”

Considering all of their army would know by the time they united for the evening meal, Zhao Yun decided it was a good time to share the news. “A letter was sent to Lord Yukimura. Lord Takeda Shingen and Lord Uesugi Kenshin, who were presumed killed, have resurfaced alive. They, too, were forced to live an extended lie in order to protect their army and prepare a counter-offensive against Orochi.”

Kongming let a quiet smile slowly return to his lips. “Ah, yes, that. It was quite a surprise to see them alive and well at Wuzhang. That one even took me aback, I had not expected it.”

“It is true, then,” Yun realized. “Why did you not say so…?”

“The subject had not yet come up, since I joined you,” Liang reasoned easily. “Had Lord Sanada mentioned it, I could have informed him earlier, but I expect such news would have given him a shock. What is this, then, about an extended lie?”

Zhao Yun frowned a bit. “The rumor of their deaths had been a ruse on their part, all along. They faked their deaths and slipped away safely even while the battle was still raging.”

Liang couldn’t help but nod his approval of such a strategy. “I see. They deliberately misled the Orochi army to believe they had been killed, and their own allies in order to keep it believable. Clever.” His brow furrowed. “Are lies your concern today, Lord Zilong?”

“No, not as such,” Yun answered with the slightest shake of his head. “I know in some cases, the ruse is necessary. And I don’t begrudge those who have to spin the tale and prolong the impression, since it clearly has saved lives and turned the tide of the war against Orochi. Yet, where does one draw the line?”

“Only time can bear witness to that,” Liang said sagely. “If you must, worry about those for whom lies come easily and regret is never found. They are the truly pitiable.”

Yun nodded slowly; such advice was truly wise. “If you have seen Lord Takeda, then…could you tell Yukimura what you know? It isn’t that he doubts the letter sent by Lord Kanetsugu, quite the opposite, but I think he and his brother would enjoy good news of their lord.”

“If you wish,” Liang said patiently. “In the meantime, have I assuaged your mind, Lord Zilong? Or is there anything else you need from me?”

Yun’s eyes searched the floor as he thought and then closed briefly. “No, I think that will do. Forgive me for intruding on you with such a topic.”

“I am not offended,” Liang assured. “When all you have by which to judge a person is their words, and they change what they say so suddenly, it can be difficult to accept which ones are actually true. I will not begrudge anyone if they feel they must hold my failings against me until such a time as my actions bear out my words.”

“I’m sure it won’t be as bad as that,” Yun said lamely, although his presence there and his questions stood in direct opposition to that reassurance. He rose and bowed slightly before excusing himself to take care of practical matters around the castle. Zhuge Liang watched him go without twitching a muscle, his practiced mask sliding back into place for a different reason, now. He would not let any of his comrades suffer further by seeing his true grief and regret, he wouldn’t want them thinking that their misgivings hurt him. Ironic, that he should want to protect them by the very same means that had put him in this position in the first place, but such was the life of a strategist.

In the end the only great news among the messages sent ahead to Ueda which was shared openly among the entirety of their forces was that great news of Takeda and Uesugi, since it lent an extra energy to the Sanada residents and gave them reason to celebrate. There was plenty more known to Zhao Yun and Nobuyuki, but it was the kind of information they merely needed to be up on – sharing could wait until the Shu forces at large returned to Chengdu. The exuberance at the dinner table lightened every spirit, including the commander’s, though he sat observing with a quiet peace, his worries mostly assuaged and his heart content to see Yukimura so happy. Not many at table with them from Shu had even met Kanetsugu let alone Takeda, but they knew enough to know what a great miracle this truly was. A massive army had, essentially, been built in secret and now revealed itself at a crucial time when matters were becoming more dangerous. They didn’t have to know any of the officers personally to share the joy, though the Sanada clan, its retainers, and Magoichi were enthusiastic enough for the whole. Once things wound down, the officers scattered to their small duties, anything they wished to do or see at Ueda before sleeping since the larger part of their force would be departing in the morning, Shimazu’s small vanguard to Odani and the rest to Chengdu. Though he questioned himself on the prudence of such a move, Zhao Yun decided he wanted to take a walk down into the lower part of the castle keep, to have a look at the place where he had once been imprisoned. He didn’t know the way, but figured he could find it with just a little exploring. Sure enough, as he came around a corner the corridors suddenly became recognizable, and at the far end he was sure that was indeed the room. But the heavy portcullis which had trapped prisoners was gone, Nobuyuki had overseen its removal under the belief that Ueda would not and should not serve as a dungeon for anyone, not even Orochi forces. Da Ji was being held elsewhere, closer to Zhuge Liang so he could maintain the mystical barriers keeping her under control. Zhao Yun came to a stop at the wall where his Dragon Spear had been held captive while he languished behind the bars; even though they were gone, he didn’t want to step any further. It didn’t hurt quite as much as he expected, but it still bothered him to see that place again. The memories were no longer fresh, but some part of him felt that it would be temping luck if he were to take even two steps further and enter the dark room.

So much had changed since then. Ueda itself had changed, it had gone through the control of multiple Orochi retainers before falling back into Sanada hands, languished in darkness until finally becoming clean, and here stood a good example. Zhao Yun stared blankly into the dim depths of the room where he had been held, not even noticing that there were a few drops of someone else’s blood staining the wood flooring, both inside and outside the former cell. His thoughts were entirely inward, searching his own mind for any residual impressions of the darkness and the nightmares, delicately poking at them so as not to provoke them to return. Ever since he and Yukimura had come together, he had enjoyed months of blissful nightmare-free nights and was not in a great hurry to change that back to the way it had been before. He was so wound up in his own deep thoughts that he didn’t hear the heavy tread coming up behind him until it was almost upon him, at which point he startled and whirled around as if expecting to be shoved into the prison cell. But no, the shape which melted out of the shadows to greet him belonged to Guan Yu. Tall and broad though he was, he did not give off the air of threat even in a place like this. Zhao Yun stood down quickly, brushing down his surcoat to compose himself. “Guan Yu…”

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” the venerated warrior said gently as he came fully into the light. “The sentries said you had come down here.”

“It’s quite all right,” Yun assured. “Is there something you need, my friend?”

“I might ask you the same thing.” Guan Yu stepped up alongside him, though his eyes were cast down to the floor – he did see the bloodstains, which resisted all castle staff’s attempts at cleaning them. “This place, I noticed it in my inspection earlier. No one is stationed here, it is unimportant…at least, now.”

Zilong was not at all surprised that Guan Yu would want to personally walk the length and breadth of the castle to personally verify that everything was in order, even if he did trust the Sanada to have a firm grasp on security. So, he had seen this place. Yun turned to gaze back into the dark corners of the room. “This is were I was held,” he admitted without preface. “After Orochi captured me, at the fall of Chengdu.”

Guan Yu turned and stared at him. “Here? How long.”

“I don’t know,” Yun breathed. “I lost track of the days. Weeks, at least, maybe months.” He lifted his head to the ceiling, as if to gaze at the rest of the keep above them. “Ueda was held by Orochi’s forces, then. The demons, with Wei’s help.”

Yu couldn’t take his eyes away from the tiny room, now, wondering at what might have transpired in there during those weeks, and whether any of the blood was Zilong’s. “I’m sorry,” he said heavily, “that I was not there. Perhaps even I would not have been strong enough to overcome Orochi and allow our people to escape, but I would have at least shared in your torment.”

Zhao Yun shook his head. “I would wish that on no one. I had thought us all captured, until after Xingcai rescued me and I learned that most of our forces had been scattered. It wasn’t until I faced him myself that I even knew that Kongming had…well…”

Guan Yu turned swiftly to him and laid a hand on his arm. “You are the bravest among us, Zilong. To fight so hard, and then suffer here, and not let either fate break you. Not even the God of War can compare to you right now.”

“Come, now…” Yun laid his hand over the one on his arm in gratitude. “I am hardly your measure, Guan Yu. If I am commander it is only because no one else was there to be…”

“Because I failed. I and my brother failed,” Yu said harshly, letting go of him before he could accidentally squeeze his arm too tightly. His shoulders sagged in grief. “Your words are kind, my friend, but you don’t know. You simply do not know how badly I’ve failed you and my dear brother. Lord Sun Ce was right, we let ourselves be cowed by Orochi’s demand and did not have the courage to raise our heads and break our shackles as he did.”

“You can hardly say the situations were the same!” Yun protested. “Yes, his father and our lord were both held and both used as blackmail to keep Wu and Shu from rebelling. But he was given a chance to free his father, one you never had.” Though, as he spoke, he noticed Guan Yu shrinking even more, his great head bowing and his helm hiding his eyes. He looked to be growing more and more distraught. “…or, am I wrong? What don’t I know, Guan Yu?”

The mighty warrior heaved a deep sigh and then straightened up, raising his head and squaring himself to meet his comrade’s gaze. “Immediately after the cataclysm,” he began, “Zhang Fei and I found ourselves at Fan Castle. Yet, parts of the grounds and the village to the south had been changed, and we knew something was strange. We had not been at Fan a moment before, and yet there we were. The first scouts we sent out came back saying that just beyond the ridge, Jing Province sort of ended, and a different land lay beyond, one they’d never seen before. We consulted and agreed that we should strike out for Chengdu to make sure everyone else was all right.” He frowned deeply to himself. “We never made it, as I’m sure you know. We got lost. Nothing was the same, Chengdu was no longer simply west of Jing by so many days. We wandered for a long time until we came across someone who could tell us what was going on. They were merely peasants, fleeing from Orochi’s wrath, but they were able to tell us that Luo Castle had been sacked and the armies of Shu laid low. And then my heart was crushed to learn that our dear brother had been captured by the enemy. I confess that…” For a moment his gaze dropped, as if in shame. “…I lost control. Zhang Fei was more rational than I, for once, but even he agreed with me that we had no choice but to seek Orochi and visit our vengeance upon him.”

Zilong stared a bit, rapt with attention. There was much he didn’t know about the movements of his current companions in the days before the resistance began, and this tale above all was completely unknown to everyone except the brothers and perhaps Zhuge Liang. “Just you two, alone…?”

“Yes. We had a handful of soldiers with us as our vanguard, no more.” Guan Yu plucked up his courage and lifted his chin until his beard bristled. “Whether good or bad luck, I cannot say, but we stumbled upon Orochi’s trail in almost no time. He was making his way slowly back westward, I gather now that it was after he defeated the warlord known as Oda Nobunaga. We reached their camp at night and could not hold back our burning spirits, we rode straight in calling out our challenge. The demon army roused itself to fight, but there must have been some command, for they stood down and allowed us to pass to the center where Orochi himself waited for us. To this day I know not if he was amused by it or annoyed, but he accepted our challenge.” His face fell, his mouth behind his beard drooping sadly. “It was a complete rout. I would like to say we lasted as long against him as we did against Lu Bu, but it would be a lie. As Zhang Fei and I lay in the dust, Orochi put his foot on my neck and gave me a choice. If we wanted to see our brother alive, we had to serve him. If we said no, he would behead us both on the spot and then execute Xuande as punishment for our refusal.”

Zhao Yun’s expression went cold. “Then, the same as the Sun family.”

“Perhaps at the core,” Yu said darkly, “but I am shamed that I cannot match Sun Ce’s courage either. He served in body but not in heart, and looked every day for his chance to break free. Whereas I…” He turned away again, and the grief began to creep back over him. At least he was in the presence of the one person he could trust with his tale, at this place and time. “…I gave in to despair. I saw no hope, no chance of reprieve. Not when we were shown that Kongming was working for him as well, and he in turn refused to show us the slightest shred of regret. For all we knew, he was a willing servant and not merely being blackmailed into it, and at that my heart broke. I could see no way of changing our fate, either immediately or long term, and I gave up.”

Disturbed, Yun remained quiet to let him say as much as he needed to, and then wrapped his arms around himself as if to ward off a sudden chill. Standing there in that spot, talking of despair within feet of the cell in which he, too, had nearly given up, was beginning to feel like a bad idea. “If I had known…”

“There was nothing you could do, Zilong,” Guan Yu assured. “I might not have realized at the time, but I can see now that Orochi was keeping the two of us far from the possibility of running into anyone who might have been able to rescue us. Meeting my son at Tong Gate was an accident, we were traveling to another stronghold when Dong Zhuo came across us and demanded that we accompany him to pursue Oda Nobunaga. After that, we were given duties to hold castles and guard prisoners that kept us far away from the Resistance. Crucial duties to Orochi’s success, but still.”

Zilong shook his head again, ruing the complexity of it all, and the pain each of them had to endure in their own ways. He couldn’t understand why Zhuge Liang would not trust the brothers with his overarching plan, but then, there was no way to say whether sharing it with anyone would have compromised the efficacy. As such, he could only mourn the bruises to their minds and souls and hope that they could find healing in the days to come. “Do not think me somehow better than you, for not giving in to despair,” he said softly, stepping away from the wall and trying to unfold himself. “I nearly did myself, several times over. I simply had help at those moments when I needed it most.”

“Yes,” Yu said with a wise air, reaching to set a hand on his shoulder, “and where I might have thought myself strong enough to handle it myself, you accepted that help and became stronger for it. Brave or not, wise or not, strong or not, you made the right choices and I did not. That is why you became commander of the Resistance and I remained Orochi’s slave until you opened my eyes.”

Zhao Yun looked up to him and allowed himself a small smile, finally unwrapping his arms and reaching to reciprocate the supportive touch with his hand to Guan Yu’s arm. “I am glad to have you with us, at last, my friend. I have no doubt that you will show Orochi how strong you truly are, when you have your family and friends at your back.”

The God of War nodded his approval, the frown easing from his face. “So it shall be. We faltered once, but never again.” He looked to the side, to the dark little room at the side of the corridor, and gave Yun’s arm a squeeze. “You are free of this place, my friend. It cannot hold you. Please, step away from it and leave it behind you, and I will leave my own failures behind me.”

Yun drew back and faced the room fully, and then gave it a nod. “It has no power over me. Lord Nobuyuki has removed the cage, it is nothing more than a storeroom now. It should hold wine and rice and other good things.”

“We could all do with a little more wine in the storehouses,” Yu said wryly.

He waited until Zhao Yun turned away from his former prison and strode back up the corridor toward the warm and well-lit areas of the castle and fell into step behind him, accompanying him back to the levels full of life. They withdrew to the residential floor where all the officers were quartered, and Zhao Yun went to find Yukimura. They were rooming next door as they always did, but he had been told that Yukimura was literally staying in his own room in Ueda, so as he stepped through the door, he was relieved to find him already there. Yukimura was idly checking all the straps on his armor to make sure they hadn’t gotten too much wear and tear in the cold and snow, and looked up with a bright smile at the interruption. “Ah, there you are. I was wonder…”

He was cut off by Zilong immediately going to him and wrapping arms around him in a powerful embrace. “I don’t care if anyone sees,” he murmured against Yukimura’s neck, “I need to be with you tonight.”

“Zilong…?” Yukimura gladly accepted the tight squeeze, but was understandably confused. “Are you all right?”

There was a long moment before he responded, but then Zhao Yun eased up just enough to be able to rest his brow against his lover’s. “I had a long talk with Guan Yu about what he’s been through, and I need to get it out of my mind or else I will never sleep. Your bright-burning flame always keeps my fears away.”

Yukimura could only guess at what Zhao Yun now knew, but rather than ask, he simply hugged him back and nuzzled against his cheek. “My bed is roomy enough for two. And I’ve shared yours often enough at Luo that it really is your turn to share mine.”

“I am honored to be in your own room, your actual home,” Yun murmured, clutching him close for a moment before easing back and beginning to undo the toggles on his surcoat. “It will be home to me, too.”

Yukimura pressed a hand to his cheek and smiled for him. “You are terribly sweet,” he said wryly. “Come, then, I was just about to get ready for bed.” He turned and let his hand slide down Yun’s arm to clasp his hand, and was pleased to be able to lead him right to his own bed and welcome him in. No matter what the reason Yun needed his companionship so badly, he was willing and eager to give it. After all, he was still riding high on the miracle news, he had more than enough joy for both of them.


	66. Chapter 66

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Orochi elite fret about their overlord's return and what he'll order them to do; various officers in Wei's service chat about their own issues and the problems facing them when Orochi arrives.

As he stood on a parapet overlooking the courtyard at Bai Di Castle, Sima Yi had to admit that things were not looking good. While he had been away preparing and executing the plan to draw out Cao Pi, only to have it blow up in his face, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai had finally dragged what remnants of the Jin army they still had control over out of the wilderness and into a stronghold, so while he was glad to have his own men to reinforce him, he was incensed that the Shu Resistance had grown so powerful as to be able to wrest Ueda from him. Then, Maeda came back injured from Wuzhang with the awful news that Takeda and Uesugi had pulled off the ruse of a lifetime, and after that, Da Ji and Zhuge Liang had simply disappeared into the mountains around Edo. It took some days for the stragglers of the Orochi army to finally return to headquarters with the bombshell report which left even Fuuma unable to react for the monumental size of the shock. Da Ji getting captured again was bad; Da Ji getting captured because Zhuge Liang betrayed them all after being one of few to learn every secret of the Orochi army was far, far worse. Sima Yi himself was not at all surprised that Kongming revealed himself to be a backstabbing traitor, but it filled him with rage to know that even he had been fooled by the famed strategist’s cool demeanor. He had played his role a little too well, everyone up to and including Da Ji and Orochi trusted him, and all along he had been silently, skillfully gathering information and using them all to fulfill his own purposes. Sima Yi would have liked to say he had seen through it, but he hadn’t. Most of his griping about Zhuge Liang was due to his ceaseless grudge, not actual suspicions born out of logic and fact. So, he refrained from any “I told you so”s around Bai Di, because there was no time for sniping. They had a real problem on their hands: how in the world would they explain themselves to Orochi now?

The Resistance only knew that time was short. Sima Yi and the others hunkered down at Bai Di knew that time was already gone. Orochi was due to arrive within the day, tomorrow at the latest. Given the struggle the snake demons had gone through just to get back to Bai Di with a report, the strategist knew that it was too late to strike back – Shu would have wasted no time spiriting their prisoner away to a much more secure location, and with Wu sending its own commander to provide reinforcements, they had no chance of simply rescuing Da Ji with another ninja raid. Yi watched the scrambling of demon soldiers in the yard below with his irritation and fear carefully hidden behind a solid frown. They were too stupid to know the real danger they were in, but they panicked over the smallest things anyway. Fuuma could be seen storming around maintaining defenses; he had said very little in the past few days, but his fury was evident in the long strides he took and the tension bunched in his shoulders and back. The only good thing to be said about the army’s current state was that Dong Zhuo was recovering from his wounds at He Fei Castle instead of the main headquarters – Yi didn’t have to deal with him. All missions had been called off after Wuzhang, all distant contingents had been pulled back. They couldn’t afford to lose anyone else, and after Keiji’s defeat it was clear to Sima Yi, at least, that the Resistance had no qualms about incapacitating an officer if they could not be captured or lured away. Keiji would be up and about a lot sooner than Dong Zhuo, but not soon enough. Yi mulled everything over but with no conclusions to draw. They were well and truly screwed, and he had no way to even begin to make a report to Orochi, but it seemed that he would be spared the duty with Fuuma around. The ninja captain was technically still field commander, moreso now that Da Ji was out of the picture, so all of the responsibilities fell on his shoulders. Perhaps, Yi noted to himself, that was why he spoke little and stomped a lot. He was afraid. They all were, but to see one of the trusted commanders desperately trying to hold back his panic actually bolstered his own courage a little. After all, he was the last remaining strategist of any consideration among the Orochi army. Chen Gong? Hah! A small-time scholar who tried to ride on the coat-tails of Lu Bu and failed. Sima Yi alone had the intelligence and experience, and the long-time successes, required of a strategist to attend Lord Orochi. Yet, as he considered this, he frowned even more. Being the only strategist of any capability meant that if a strategy failed, it would be his head on the chopping block.

A commotion near the gate caught his attention, and as he looked to see what the sentries were freaking out about now, he witnessed the huge roan horse and its equally-huge rider plow through their ranks, knocking them aside. _Ah, Lu Bu answered the summons after all_ , he noted to himself. That had been in little doubt, since Lu Bu was one of the demon warlord’s favorites, but it was good to see him actually show up ahead of schedule. He wasn’t alone, however; riding behind him by a short distance at a much less urgent pace was Dong Zhuo, rousted out of his convalescence to attend to the summons as well. As much as he wasn’t wanted around Bai Di, it was for the best that he didn’t stand Orochi up at a time like this. Shaking off his deeper contemplations, Sima Yi turned away from the parapet and went down to see what he could stick his nose into.

After roaring for someone to care for his horse, Lu Bu stomped into the main hall of the fortress to find Fuuma in particular, expecting to be caught up on current news. By the time Sima Yi reached the same hall, Date Masamune had also joined them, and the three were already head to head speaking in urgent, hushed growls about their plans. “That is all we can do for now,” Fuuma was telling the others, looking warily from one to the next and then up as Yi approached. “If he asks you a question, answer it plainly – no excuses, no dissembling, and nothing more than he asks. Lord Orochi will be far more displeased with weak babbling and flimsy excuses than he will with the overall state of things.”

“You’re sure of this?” Masamune asked, clearly doubting the tactic. “Because somebody’s going to die for letting Da Ji get captured again.”

“None of us were there,” Sima Yi reminded him as he joined the conclave. “If our lord wants to lay blame on a neck in order to chop it, let it be one of his idiot serpents who stood by and watched as Zhuge Liang raised his hand against her.”

“That sounds just fine to me!” Lu Bu blazed. “I will not stand before him and allow someone else to blame me for their failure.”

“Now is not the time to assign blame in any fashion,” Fuuma warned them. “Pointing fingers will only make him angry and lead to all of us sharing the punishment.” He eyed Sima Yi in particular, since he had been a part of at least one of the recent battles in which their army met defeat, and since the other strategist partially responsible for the plans for that battle had betrayed them and fled, there was no one to speak for it besides Yi. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll all keep your mouths shut unless Lord Orochi asks you to speak. Understood?”

“What about Dong Zhuo?” Date snapped, deciding that the miserable tyrant ought to share in this scrutiny, injured or not. “And Keiji, I guess.”

“Lord Orochi will not care who is injured,” the ninja captain assured darkly, “he will request that all officers present themselves.”

“Good.” Keiji’s gruff response came from behind him as he made his way to join them, dressed down in a rather sedate kimono and hakama, the bandages around his ribcage visible through the overlapping collar. “I’m ready. I’ll face him, no problem.”

“You sure you’re up for it?” Masamune asked him, concerned. Maeda had ridden back from Wuzhang refusing treatment, claiming he was fine, but his bout with Toshiie had actually left him with several broken ribs which eventually forced him into bed rest when he couldn’t hold himself upright or breathe properly any longer. The healers were beside themselves with panic, afraid that he would damage his organs by going around with broken ribs, but the pain caught up to him and he took their assistance in the end. This was actually the first Masamune had seen him on his feet since their return to Bai Di.

“You know me,” Keiji assured, clapping a hand to his shoulder. “Can’t let a little thing like a few broken bones slow me down.” He tipped his head in a manly nod to welcome Lu Bu back into his presence, though something in his sneer still looked confrontational. Lu Bu only glared back and said nothing.

Sima Yi breathed a noisy, irritated sigh. “In that case, we had better all prepare. Lord Orochi will not be pleased with what he finds, no matter how quiet we keep. Our duty from the beginning was to crush the Resistance, and it is far too clear that we have failed.”

“We all know that,” Date said angrily. “Admitting it in front of Lord Orochi won’t change anything.”

Yi sniffed, refusing to agree with him on principle. “I just hope he’s brought enough troops with him from Koshi Castle to make up for it. It wouldn’t do for him to come all this way just to find himself defeated by the Resistance as well.”

Date rounded on him rather abruptly. “How dare you even think that! Lord Orochi can _not_ be defeated, not by anyone in this land!”

“Stop with this childish belief in _perfect_ Lord Orochi and open your eyes!” Yi shot back. “At least the one you have that still works! The outcome of this war is no longer certain, we cannot simply sit back and wait for him to come and rescue us!”

Masamune’s face turned downright ugly at the crack about his eye, and were he armed he probably would have shot Sima Yi on the spot. “Imbecile! How can you even consider that Lord Orochi is so weak that he could be defeated by anyone?” he raged, nearly choking on his own words from the sheer force of his fury. “Have you lost your faith, you pathetic dog? Lord Orochi will single-handedly turn the tide of the war, just you wait and see! I don’t care how big Oda’s army is or anyone else’s, they still pale in comparison to what Lord Orochi is bringing with him! If you dare doubt his strength, then you can wallow in the dust with the rest of them when he crushes them all under his heel!”

The other three extremely tall warriors stood back to watch this exchange, none of them had any interest in breaking it up. It was highly entertaining, if shrill, to watch them fight. Sima Yi simply stared down the much shorter Date, tipping his chin up in superiority. “ _You’re_ the imbecile, ignoring the obvious signs right in front of you. If the Resistance has no trouble taking down Da Ji, what makes you think any other demon in this land can stand for long against them?”

“Don’t compare Lord Orochi against the likes of her!” Masamune argued, pointing furiously. “He’s so far above her level, you don’t even know! You’ve been in his presence, Sima Yi, you _know_ how powerful he is! But go ahead, tell him he’s not strong enough to handle the Resistance. I’ll happily stand by and watch your head roll!”

Yi bristled at him. “Do you really think I’m that stupid? Don’t get ideas far above your station, Date Masamune! Leave the thinking to a strategist like me, you’re not cut out for it.”

“Hey, hey…” Keiji finally stepped in, less to defend Date’s honor and more because he spotted a sentry rushing in from the door. “Take it easy before both of your heads explode. We got company.”

They managed to step back from each other just in time, as the sentry dashed up to them and dropped to his knees. “My lords…they’re here.”

A ripple of apprehension passed through the group of officers, but all of them set their faces grimly and accepted it without a word. Fuuma sent the sentry back to his position with a wave and called someone else to summon all the officers present at Bai Di – those lounging in bed and those keeping busy with menial tasks, who had not already come down to the main hall. If they wanted any chance at not being massacred by their demon lord, they needed everyone who could even claim to hold a rank to stand with them in a show of how much force still existed among the Orochi army. Harrumphing arrogantly, Lu Bu turned and led the way, the only one out them who might be able to say that he was not at all afraid of this meeting.

The bulk of the army had been left back at the outlying garrisons, it was too large to bother bringing all the way to the castle since hardly any of them would be housed within its walls anyway. Even the great chariot had been set aside, the demon lord and his new crop of officers advanced the rest of the way on foot. Sima Yi wisely held back to make some semblance of order out of the lesser retainers belonging to Dong Min and Katakura Kojuro, not that they needed his supervision but he was the least interested in showing his face at the gate. There were too many already wanting to behold their overlord first, he didn’t feel the need to be counted among them. As it was, three towering, bulky warriors standing abreast nearly filled the gate on their own, before taking Date into account. He shouldered through them so he wouldn’t be overlooked and stood between Keiji and Fuuma, shoulders thrown back in pride. Before them, the road running up the gentle slope toward the castle gates was thronged with the advance guard, and striding at their head was Orochi himself, at long last returned to the central regions of the world which he devised and conquered. He walked with deliberation, carrying his great mystical scythe low, and it was difficult to tell whether he was even wearing an expression at all. Behind him marched demons the foursome at the gate had never seen before, not even in their travels to Koshi: giants with tusks, something alike to boars or bulls, and agile, smooth-bodied creatures wearing masks and helms so that their true visage could not be seen. The four humans held still, faces grim, until Orochi came within hailing distance, and then all four bowed low in their own fashions. His minions held back but Orochi kept coming until he stood immediately before them, and even with their heads still down and backs bent, the waiting officers could see him rest the end of his weapon on the ground as if to lean on it. For a long moment no one said a word, as the officers weren’t sure it was their right to speak first, but they could feel Orochi’s gaze on their necks. “Rise,” he finally said, “and move.”

The four straightened and eased out of the way, backing a step or two into the castle grounds and then parting to let their lord past. Orochi continued on into the courtyard, and as he did, one of the long-legged masked creatures and one snake captain broke from the waiting mass of demon soldiers and tagged along after him. Fuuma knew to join as well, and the rest fell in behind him, striding back across the courtyard to the castle’s main fortress. “What may we do for you, Lord Orochi?” the ninja captain murmured, not bothering at all with wasted pleasantries.

“Assemble your men,” Orochi said plainly in his echoing voice. “I will look at what you have.”

It had been a very long time since the demon lord had been at Bai Di, himself, but he remembered enough to know exactly where he wanted to go. Fortunately, thanks to Sima Yi whipping them all into shape with his fan, the rest of the officers had already been gathered and stood waiting in the main hall doing their best not to fidget. When it wasn’t Lu Bu or Fuuma or Date who entered, but Orochi himself, every last one of them froze in terror and mustered themselves into rigid lines. Even Dong Zhuo, who had been complaining that he needed to sit in a chair, shut his mouth and agreed to stand right where he was, leaning on a pillar. As Orochi came to a stop before them, the four human officers who had followed from the gate streamed past and lined up in front of their men, beside Sima Yi, and put on their bravest faces. None of them, not even Lu Bu, chanced a look in the demon’s eye as he surveyed the assembly, pacing slowly in front of them, his mismatched eyes scouring them for visible information. He silently counted them, and then came around to stand in a central position from which he could address them all, directly opposite the throne on the dais behind the lines of terrified human officers. “Pathetic,” he said, almost boredly. “Is this truly all you have left?”

He looked to Date and Fuuma, but it was Lu Bu who answered directly. “My lord,” he said with uncharacteristic solemnity, “there are more officers at He Fei Castle, under my own control. I left them there to hold it against incursion while I answered your summons.”

“Your men, I take it,” Orochi said coldly, turning away from him. It didn’t matter the actual identity or country of origin of the men at He Fei, what he meant was that there was no one from Wu, Shu, or Tokugawa’s conscription left among them. He was already painfully aware of this. “I see Da Ji has not answered my call.”

His dangerous gaze landed on Fuuma, who was forced by his own advice to answer. He twisted his face into an appropriately disgruntled frown before doing so. “We have been betrayed again, my lord. Zhuge Liang rose up against her and captured her.”

Orochi seethed a low growl which made many of the weaker men at the back of the line tremble. “Did he. Even knowing that I hold his lord’s life in my hands.” He turned sharply away and began to slowly pace the room. “How long ago?”

“While you were in transit. A week, perhaps. Maybe more, maybe less, I cannot say.”

Orochi fixed him with a suspicious peer as he passed. “And why, then, can you not say, Fuuma?”

To his credit, the ninja captain did not flinch at the demon’s interrogation. He maintained his dark veneer as if sharing his lord’s displeasure fully. “Not a single person present before you was at Edo Castle when it happened, my lord. The demon captains which Da Ji had under her control have all massed at He Fei instead, three or four of them were there and brought us the news.”

Orochi turned slowly and paced back toward them, coming to a stop again before Fuuma, Date, and Lu Bu. “Then we have lost more than just Da Ji. Tell me. Who led the assault which ended in such massive failure?”

“Da Ji herself,” Date quickly reported, his tone sharp. “She gave me the order to return here and took only her snake captains and Zhuge Liang to Edo. It was her idea.”

He held firm with chin up as Orochi stared him down, his one-eyed gaze affirming that he spoke nothing but the truth. Orochi seethed under his breath again and pulled back, resting the scythe against the floor. “Then let her suffer for her foolishness for a time. I will give you all the benefit of the doubt, that you heard this news too late to do anything about it.” Even as he said so, he glared at Fuuma and Sima Yi. “This ends now. I will not tolerate further failure. Anyone else entertaining thoughts of desertion and betrayal will be found out and executed. I will deal personally with my captains, they are no longer the responsibility of anyone but myself. I have come to punish the Resistance for daring to push back against my rule, and from this moment, our efforts will be bent toward their destruction.” He never raised his volume, or even spoke with any sort of inflection – his toneless, flanged voice was chilling enough to get the point across, he didn’t need to yell, sneer, or emphasize a singe word. “I will kill them all – Nobunaga, Cao Pi, every last one of them. I allowed them to live once, I will not do so again.”

Everyone in the front row straightened up at attention to accept the order. “We are your faithful servants,” Date said seriously. “As you command, Lord Orochi, so shall it be.”

Orochi seemed to ignore him, or at least simply absorb his devotion silently. He stopped in front of Keiji. “Maeda. You are injured.”

“Just a scratch. Won’t slow me down at all, Lord Orochi,” Keiji vowed.

“What about me?” Dong Zhuo grumbled from somewhere behind him. “I’m injured, too!”

He didn’t mean to bring the demon lord’s eyes directly to him, but that was exactly what he got. Orochi stared hard at him for a long moment until he began to sweat under the attention. At last, Orochi’s mouth turned down in an actual frown. “Your gold is on a wagon waiting at the garrison,” he said curtly, showing absolutely no concern for the man’s injuries. In fact, he turned his back on Dong Zhuo without a care in the world and crossed to the center, at which point he gestured with the scythe to demand that the ranks of officers part to let him through so he could reach the throne. They obligingly shrank out of his way, clearing a path up the center of the room. Orochi strode to the dais and settled himself down in the throne before dispensing his final order for the day. “Fuuma. Date. Sima Yi. You will remain here to tell me everything you know. The rest of you begone from my sight.”

The lower-ranked officers eagerly fled without needing to be told twice. Dong Zhuo wisely held his tongue until he was outside the main hall before grumbling about being made to stand while injured, but the report of his payment still being made even in the present climate had him greatly mollified. The only one truly unhappy was Lu Bu, for he wasn’t used to being sent away by their overlord without being given a real order first. He and Keiji both waited for the rest of the room to clear before departing, at nearly the same time through the same door. It hadn’t been until Orochi had mentioned it that Lu Bu even noticed Keiji’s state of health, and once they were out of earshot of anyone else, he grumbled, “Just what happened to you, anyway?”

Keiji glanced at him with a smirk; there was no caring in the question, he and the mighty warrior were not remotely friends, but it was interesting that he even asked. “Family squabble,” he grunted in reply. “Like I told the big guy, it’s nothing. I’m ready to fight.”

“Doesn’t look like it to me.” Lu Bu reached out and gave him a hard rap to the side, making him hiss in pain and stagger to a stop. “You’ll have to work harder to be ready for what’s to come. Maybe you should just go back to bed.”

He began to move past, but Keiji retaliated with a quick punch to his shoulder, enough force in it to send Lu Bu wobbling to the other side. “Don’t go poking me there, asshole! You wanna go, right now?”

Lu Bu recovered his balance and lunged back at him, grabbing handfuls of kimono and shoving Keiji up against the opposite wall. “Why don’t we?” he challenged, his sneer growing into a truly savage grin. “We’ll see just how weak you really are, Maeda!”

Keiji seethed a gasp through his teeth at the hit to his back, but he got a good grip on Lu Bu’s shoulder plate and then shot the other hand in to clench around his unprotected throat. “I heard you got your ass kicked up and down Kanegasaki,” he said with a dangerous laugh of his own. “Should’ve known you couldn’t take Honda!”

The reminder of his defeat and the man who continued to pursue him made Lu Bu snarl in rage, pushing his face even further into Maeda’s. “What do you know of it?! Who said anything about defeat?”

“Date saw it with his own eye, jackass,” Keiji reminded him. “If you don’t want the army spreadin’ rumors about your own weakness, don’t let yourself get beaten down where everybody can see!”

Lu Bu shoved himself fully against Keiji, elbows grinding into his broken ribs, and then relented with a shove, backing off just enough to pull himself out of the other man’s grip. “You know this Honda, then?”

“Yeah, I do.” Keiji needed a moment to catch his breath from the pain, and then gave Lu Bu another slug in the shoulder just to make sure he stayed backed-off. “Should’ve asked me, I coulda told you a long time ago.”

“Who is he?” Lu Bu demanded. “Tell me!”

Keiji’s frown darkened. “Honda? He’s the most famous samurai of our time. They say he’s never even gotten a scratch in battle, that’s how powerful he is.”

Lu Bu contemplated that declaration, eyes narrow, and then began to smirk all over again. “Hah!” He straightened up fully. “That is no longer true, I can say that much for our battles. I’ve given him more than just a scratch.”

“Battles…” Keiji rubbed at his sore chest. “You’re tellin’ me you’ve fought him more than once?”

“Three times, by my count.”

“He kick your ass every time?”

Fortunately, he saw the punch coming before Lu Bu could even make a fist, and ducked to let the blow crunch into the wall where his head had been a moment before. “You shut your mouth!” Lu Bu blazed at him. “From the way you talk I’ll bet you’ve never even faced him, let alone defeated him!”

Keiji slid away from the wall and straightened. “On the battlefield? No, can’t say that I have,” he admitted. “Not by choice, I’ve just never been in a battle where he’s been on the field somewhere. Can’t fight a guy who isn’t physically there, y’know.”

Lu Bu folded his arms importantly over his chest. “Hmph! Excuses. You’ll get your chance, I’m sure, if he keeps shadowing me. I might even let you have a taste before I take him out.”

“Hah! Big talk for someone who hasn’t bested him yet,” Keiji snorted. “Don’t go giving me any charity if you can’t even save some for yourself.” He didn’t admit that the thought of Honda actively pursuing this single warrior made him the tiniest bit jealous. What did Lu Bu have that the rest of them didn’t? He gave him a shove in order to get past him and continue on down the corridor. “At least there oughta be some hefty battles ahead of us. Lord Orochi’s clearly not playing around, he’s gonna knock some heads all right.”

That, at least, Lu Bu could agree with, and as he fell into step alongside Maeda, he grunted in eagerness. “And he will need us to do the knocking. Good! I’m tired of sitting back and watching as those insignificant ants from the Resistance scurry around in fear. Da Ji was a fool, she should have been employing us all along – we are better suited for battle than guarding castles.”

“Yeah, well, her mistakes have finally cost her.” Keiji glanced over his shoulder at the distant door to the throne room where their serpent lord was holding court with his informants. “Orochi doesn’t even wanna go rescue her, that’s pretty telling.”

Lu Bu followed his gaze and growled his agreement. “That’s what she gets for fooling around and not actually using any military strategy to combat her enemy. She wasted her time tormenting the Sun children and Liu Bei’s people, it only served to provoke their rebellion.”

“Like you wouldn’t have done the same,” Keiji sniffed.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lu Bu eyed him grouchily as they walked. “Sun Ce, Guan Yu, they are all men like us, who live and die for battle. They would not be broken by underhanded meddling or sorcery or any of her trickery, the only way to truly break them is to defeat them soundly in battle and then take their heads. As I’m sure you would know,” he added with a bit of a sneer. “Did Sun Ce even lose a single battle since he turned his back on Lord Orochi?”

“From what I hear, he did, but now I’m not so sure about that,” Keiji grumbled. “It was against Cao Pi, and we all know now that he was just looking for a chance to turn traitor himself. So maybe it wasn’t really a defeat.”

Lu Bu harrumphed magnificently at the thought of Cao Pi. “That worthless brat. Slinking around here the whole time, false to the core, waiting for his chance to strike. Just like his father, that sniveling imperial sycophant! At least we took care of _him_ , the right way.”

“Uh.” Maeda didn’t realize that news hadn’t been passed to their other holdings. “Cao Cao’s not dead, you know.”

“What.” It came out as a low grunt with no questioning inflection.

Keiji frowned to himself, ignoring the furious eyes boring into him from the side. “Sima Yi reported it. He showed up outta nowhere at Yamazaki, fell in with the Wei army like it had been their plan all along.”

Lu Bu seemed to stop in the middle of the corridor, but as Keiji kept walking, he glanced back to see the mighty warrior simply taking a moment to bash his armored fist into the far wall, cracking the stone. “Can they do _nothing_ right?!” he blazed, storming to catch up to his comrade. “You were there, weren’t you, Maeda? How is it he was not killed?!”

“Whoa, easy there!” Keiji yelped, sliding out of his way before he could be grabbed and thrown into the wall again. “Take it down a notch before you get yourself in trouble!”

“What do you mean?”

“Shut up!” Keiji glanced furtively down the corridor, but they were far from the throne room now, it was likely no one even heard the roar of outburst. Still, he waved Lu Bu down and then grabbed for the dragon sash covering his armored chest to haul him in closer so he could drop his voice and tell him the bad news. “Unless you wanna get caught badmouthing Lord Orochi himself, shut your mouth and don’t complain!”

Lu Bu’s eyes widened in rage, but he knew he couldn’t say a word against their demon overlord. Hearing that rattled his otherwise unshakable confidence in Orochi’s strength. “How is it he could not have known whether his blow had killed Cao Cao?” he hissed.

“Your guess is as good as mine!” Keiji hissed back, letting him go. “Just. Let it go, all right? That was a long time ago and it doesn’t matter anymore, now that Cao Cao’s back with his people. Just like Takeda and Uesugi, it seems nobody’s actually been killed by our army this whole time.”

Lu Bu straightened up and threw his shoulders back, a dark glare gathering on his features. “I will destroy them all,” he vowed in a low tone. “They will know his true strength, and mine. And if you are worth any of your boasts, Maeda, you will join us and not let yourself be brought down a second time.”

While he didn’t actually hold anything personal against the Resistance, individually or as a whole, Keiji’s pride was all he needed to spur him to agree. He nodded briskly. “I’m loyal till the end, don’t you worry your pretty little head-feathers. They’ll have to kill me to stop me.”

“Worry. Hah!” Rather than shove him, this time Lu Bu simply turned away and strode off down the intersecting corridor toward the outer courtyards. “I don’t like you enough to worry for you, Maeda. Just don’t disappoint Lord Orochi, or you will find _me_ facing you across the battlefield.”

Keiji breathed a hard sigh as he watched the giant warrior head away, most likely to go knock some peons around and blow off some steam. Despite his broken bones still mending, he didn’t want to go back to his quarters and stay in bed any longer. With Orochi there, in the flesh, the aura of his darkness already seemed to be filling the castle with a new energy. For the lesser soldiers, both human and demon, that energy was born of fear, but for Keiji, it was an eager determination to show that Orochi’s faith in him had not been misplaced. Unlike their conscripts, their hired thugs and mercenaries, and their browbeaten officers who simply had no loyalty or love for anyone in the Resistance and nowhere else to go, Maeda, Lu Bu, and Date believed in Orochi’s greatness, and each had his own reasons for that belief. It did look somewhat grim from where he stood, clinging to that belief despite the growing concern that the Resistance did actually have it in them to prevent a second destruction, but Keiji really did want to see how far his chosen champion could go. He had never been around anyone with so much power, no human could match the demon lord in that regard, but was demonic power enough? What truly would happen, who would meet their end first? He wanted to know, he wanted to see it through to the bitter end. He knew he had to keep his doubts to himself, though, for any wavering on anyone’s part now would be met with execution. The game was long over, Orochi was here to deal with his foes without mercy. No one would be captured and forced into service, no one would be spared for choosing honor over loyalty. If it was as Date saw it, the coming battles against the Resistance would be hell incarnate, the fields would reek of blood and every castle would burn like a funeral pyre for those inside. Keiji simply couldn’t tell which way it would go, and so he had to stick with what he knew. This was Orochi’s chance to really prove his strength, and he wanted to be there to witness it – to see if he would behead Tokugawa instead of enslave him, this time, to see if the great serpent would crush Oda instead of allowing him to flee. The only way to know was to be there at his side to see for himself. And, he reminded himself as he turned away and trudged toward the interior of the castle, to walk the length and breadth of it and show their soldiers that he was ready to return to battle, he couldn’t let Date get himself killed for his faith. The kid was in way over his head, and if no one else could rescue him from a dire fate, maybe Keiji could be there to snatch him out of the abyss.

  


Of all the officers who had not been sent away from Xuchang to one of Wei’s other holdings, two in particular had to wonder why they were afforded room and duty at the Wei headquarters instead of somewhere else. Not that anyone particularly wanted to end up at Chencang, far from the front lines, but Gan Ning and Huang Gai were certain that with Cao Cao back, the place was going to turn into an all-Wei party and there would be no place for them at Xuchang. Neither would have minded being sent to Odawara, it sounded like a nice place with a headstrong woman in charge, and even Jianye would have made sense, but no. In the days following the family reunion, Cao Pi pushed off some of his top people to the other castles, including some of those who came with his father, reserving only Dian Wei to serve his rightful duty as Cao Cao’s bodyguard. Some of the Xiahou clan were encouraged to bolster the forces at Odawara, while Zhang He and Xu Huang were named top commanders at Jianye. Clearly, the Lord of Wei knew things his officers didn’t, but it still left the two mighty warriors of Wu a bit perplexed. The same evening that saw Orochi taking control of Bai Di and terrorizing the long-time residents with his mere demonic presence, Gan Ning stood at the top of one of the parapets looking out across the fields surrounding the fortress, washed in gold and red from the setting sun. There wasn’t anything troubling to be seen for miles, even as he turned his gaze south and wondered about the rumors of their serpent enemy. Huang Gai found him there with a foot up on one of the stone battlements, and let out a gusty chuckle. “Never thought I’d ever see such a thoughtful look on your face, pirate.”

Ning glanced at him and shrugged; it was good to have someone else from Wu around, particularly when nothing else made sense. “Too much thinking and not enough drinking, old man,” he said gruffly. “I don’t care how competent Lord Cao Pi is, he doesn’t party enough for my taste.”

Gai conceded that with another laugh, coming alongside him and leaning an elbow on the battlements. “Same goes for all of us, I’m sure. You’re not thinking of going back to Wu already, are you?”

“Dunno.” Ning took his foot down and turned to lean his back against the battlement instead, letting the remains of the sunlight fall on his bare shoulders. “I don’t really got a reason to go or a reason to stay, either way. His princelyness has been decent to me, though, so it’s not like I’m itching to leave.”

“Something else is on your mind, though,” Gai noted. It was too easy to tell, for someone as boisterous as Gan Ning to be so subdued. “Not enough to fight?”

Xingba tossed his head in an idle shake. “It ain’t that. What, you trying to get me to spill my guts, old man?”

“Better than watching you mope.” Huang Gai paused to let a sentry pass them by in his usual route and then reached to give Ning a rap on the arm. “I don’t need to hear your deepest feelings, either, so don’t feel like you gotta get all mushy on me.”

Ning huffed a laugh under his breath and folded his arms over his tattooed chest. “It’s nothin’ like that, don’t worry. Just not really sure what to do with myself.” He looked around for eavesdroppers and then looked straight at the veteran warrior. “I mean, what’re we still doing here, anyway? I don’t wanna get my hopes up that it means he’ll want us on the front lines next time it comes to a fight, but what other reason is there to keep us here?”

“I couldn’t say,” Gai admitted. “Lord Cao Pi doesn’t even let his own retainers in on his plans, let alone some outsiders from Wu. Your guess is probably closer to the mark, though. He knows our strength and how best to use us, every bit as much as his own men.”

“As long as he does use us, and doesn’t just keep us here as the rearguard,” Ning complained, since that had been their role when the main force moved on Da Ji at Yamazaki. “He oughta know I’d just as soon hike back to Hefei if that’s the way it’s gonna be.”

“He knows.” The reedier voice which intruded on their chat belonged to Mitsunari, who was making the rounds for a breath of fresh air. He walked towards them with the azure-tinted coat fluttering around him in his wake, cool and casual. “What’s the matter, Gan Ning, need something to fight? You’ll get your chance, don’t worry.”

Xingba made a face at him but didn’t move from his place leaning on the battlement. “Who’s worried? I ain’t worried.”

“What brings you by, Master Ishida?” Huang Gai asked.

“Nothing, just passing through.” True to his word, Mitsunari walked past them and only then paused. “If you’re eager to spend some energy doing something useful, I can always suggest you for scouting duty. Lord Zihuan likes to keep his best men close for the real battles but if you’d rather roam far and wide, there’s that.”

Gai raised an eyebrow at that. “He lets you use his style name? Wow. That’s either impressive or audacious of you.”

Mitsunari glanced over his shoulder with a wry smirk. It had been an accident, but he went with it, covering it with smooth smugness. “My offer stands.”

“Yeah, you know, maybe I’d like a piece of that,” Gan Ning answered with a manly nod. “You know I’m good for it.”

“I’ll mention it to him tomorrow.” That was all he had to say, Mitsunari gave them both a nod and continued on his way.

“I still don’t understand that guy,” Huang Gai murmured as soon as the strategist was gone. “He’s from Wa, but the way he struts around you’d think he and Lord Cao Pi were childhood buddies or something.”

“Dunno much about him,” Ning said, “but he ain’t all bad. Talked Lu Bu out of fighting, so he’s gotta be pretty smart.”

Gai stared at him. “No kidding? Damn. Anyway – you really wanna go out scouting?”

“Sure, why not?” the pirate shrugged. “Better than sittin’ on my hands here, and if it means I’m the one to spot Orochi first, you better believe it.”

“Oh, I see how you are, now.” Gai punched him in the shoulder again. “Have fun, then. Sniff us out a snake so we can go and take it to ‘em.”

“What about you?” Ning wondered, returning to their earlier topic. “No itch to go back to Lord Sun Jian?”

The veteran warrior breathed a long sigh. “Oh, there’s an itch, all right,” he confessed. “I thought it would be enough to know he’s safe and sound, but no, the more time goes by, the more I feel like I need to rejoin him. But Lord Cao Pi spared my life three times, that’s a debt that needs to be repaid first.”

“Ah, yeah, that. Guess I can’t really argue with that.” Ning looked away across the fortress and its walls within walls and huffed softly. “Wonder if Gongji’s found his way back there by now, too.”

Aha, so that was it. Huang Gai’s eyes crinkled with a faint smile, hearing what was truly on his comrade’s mind. “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. Word passes between the different armies regularly, now, someone ought to mention it.”

Xingba grumbled to himself. “Idiot should’ve waited for me, but no, goes off and nobody knows where. He better not have gotten himself killed.”

“You’ve had no word at all?”

Thinking about how long it had been made Gan Ning close up tightly, his face turning stony and his gaze remaining shifted away. “Nothing.”

Gai read him well enough to know that no platitudes would help in the moment, so he generously chose to look the other way himself. “Lots of people mixing in with different armies,” he grunted. “Like us. Commanders oughta share their rosters or something, if everyone’s staying put and waiting for the big snake.”

“Think that’s what it is?” Ning wondered, seizing on the new topic of discussion. “Orochi, and everybody wanting to fight him.”

“No doubt,” Gai said confidently. “We all know he’s coming. He’s probably bringing the fight to us, and nobody wants to get caught with their pants down like last time. Hell, I woudn’t be surprised if Master Ishida’s ‘scouting’ is actually sending someone to form an alliance, so we’re all ready to move in to back each other up.”

Gan Ning scoffed openly at that. “That won’t be enough. Last time? Yeah, we had a big pile of reinforcements from Wei, and it still came to nothing. I had Wenyuan himself at my shoulder and it wasn’t enough. It’s gonna take more than an alliance if we wanna win this time.”

“All right, all right,” Huang Gai conceded with a wave of his hand. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s not for the likes of us to worry about, that’s all in Lord Cao Pi’s hands now.”

“Yeah, he better not forget,” Ning groused, kicking his foot back against the stone. “That was all Cao Cao’s plan as far as I know, so _he_ better not forget either.”

“Come on.” Gai straightened up from where he leaned and beckoned with a sweep of his hand. “I got you all riled up, that means I’d better beat some of that energy out of you before you go start a fight with Wenyuan.”

The idea of an evening spar appealed greatly to Gan Ning, he also pushed off the stone and stood cracking his knuckles in anticipation. “You’re on! I need a good workout if I’m gonna sleep good, may as well beat your head in, old man.”

“All right, but I call no weapons,” Gai warned. “Bare fists only.”

“Sounds just fine to me!”

Not too long after, much of Xuchang was treated to the sight of the two great warriors of Wu duking it out in the inner courtyard, the pirate’s raucous shouts goading on his opponent echoing off the stone walls around them. It was late and darkness was coming on fast, but they still fought without hesitation, lit only by torch and lamplight. At least they didn’t add the ring of weapons-clash to their session, it was noisy enough just with Gan Ning’s taunting and his bells. Off-duty guards and soldiers hung around to watch, making a thin ring of spectators around them, which only served to draw even more attention to the match. From above in the palace, several of those still awake were drawn to the hubbub and peered out a window here and there to see just what was going on. Zhang Liao had a great vantage point from one of the main halls, he could see who was responsible for the late-night ruckus and sighed to himself. As he watched, he heard someone pass through the hall just behind him, and then a suave voice wonder, “What _are_ they doing?”

“Fighting,” Liao answered simply, edging to the side to allow Guo Jia to join him at the window. “For fun, I would guess, given who the fighters are.”

“Hmm?” Jia leaned against the edge of the window and then laughed softly. “Ah, I see. Those muscleheads from Wu sure do like their fights. Well, more power to them, so long as they don’t keep everybody up all night.” He eased back and gave Zhang Liao a wink. “Some of us have better things to be doing with our night-times.”

Wenyuan deadpanned back at him. “There are only two women left in this castle and surely you wouldn’t be so foolish as to hit on either one of them, Master Fengxiao.”

With Nene commanding Odawara, Oichi and her husband backing them up, and Cai Wenji removed to Jianye to assist there for the time being, that left only their lord’s wife and Lu Bu’s wife, both prospects which would lead to Guo Jia’s untimely demise if he even dared. Still, he smiled impishly at the suggestion. “Who said anything about women, or hitting on them? Or hitting on anybody, really,” he sighed comically. “A joke truly is wasted on you, Lord Wenyuan.”

“Perhaps if the joke was better told, I might laugh,” Liao snorted.

Jia faked a wince as if hurt by that stroke. “Masterful comeback, my friend. Still, you can’t blame a man for wanting more out of his quiet evening than watching those two idiots beat each other to a pulp.” He turned away from the window and leaned on the wall instead. “In a way, I’m almost thankful that we seem to be careening headlong toward a direct confrontation with Orochi. This war will not end until he does, and so long as it lasts, our prospects for entertainment and the finer things in life look bleak.” 

“Even those of us proud of our strength and capability look forward to peace and an end to the fighting,” Zhang Liao murmured thoughtfully. “To a day when the only fights are ones like the one going on down below us.”

“It’s possible that Orochi’s end will be ours as well,” Guo Jia warned. “If he created this world, its survival may depend on his. But if the opposite is true, do you really think everyone in the four Resistance armies will lay down their swords and spears and join hands as friends?”

Liao drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It sounds as though your wish for entertainment and fine things may not come true either way, Master Fengxiao.”

“Ah, but squabbles between rather human warlords, that’s something I am more than qualified to handle and still have time on the side for wine, women, and song,” Jia said smartly. “There are far more egos in this land, now, and if it outlasts its creator, they will come to clash in time. A wise man would do well to keep an eye on them now, and happily discard any contingency plans should the world fall apart instead.”

“Ah. You do have a point.” Wenyuan could think of a few of those egos already, one of whom was contentedly abed in the palace behind him. “Yet, there is much ahead of us we cannot be certain about. Which of us will even survive the confrontation? Will any of Orochi’s servants outlive him?”

Jia’s brown eyes focused keenly on him, seeing right past his ambiguous wonderings to his true concern. “Any strategist of Lord Cao Cao’s would be relieved to see Lu Bu ended for a second time. Yet, in a world like this where the dead are given a second chance to live, it isn’t so easy to speak of the destruction of anyone, even our most formidable enemies.”

“Yet you know as well as I do that if we all come out on the other side of this war with our lives, Lu Bu will hardly be content with suggestions of peace. I have no way to tell what he will think of his new lord being taken out, how he will react.”

Fengxiao matched his rueful sigh with one of his own, all flippancy vanishing from his expression. “The lovely Lady Diaochan is hopeful that we can beat some sense into him. I don’t wish to let her down.”

Liao shook his head. “Nor I, but even I can hardly say what Lu Bu will do after Orochi has been well and truly defeated. Or if he would even give his life for Orochi.” His eyes hardened, and though they were still cast through the window down to the match between the warriors of Wu below, he didn’t see them at all. “He has always been unpredictable, but Orochi has made him even more so. I have never seen him cast his lot in with another like this, he was never even half as loyal to Dong Zhuo.”

Guo Jia studied him and then reached to press a hand to his arm in silent solidarity. “This world has made fools of all of us, some more than once,” he said sagely. “Right now as we stand at the crossroads, all we can do is hope that those opposing us come to their senses before a blade has to be put through their hearts. Their fate is not yet sealed. Not even Lu Bu’s,” he admitted with a wry twitch of an eyebrow. “You are a good man, Wenyuan, proud and strong. For you to still think of him in this situation is a credit to your compassion.”

Wenyuan closed his eyes. “Compassion, is it? I am hardly asking anyone to spare his life. I myself am willing to end him if the battle calls for it.”

“It’s less his life and more his soul that you consider,” Jia noted. “I think I understand you right. It would be better for a man to go to his death by his own choice, and not under the influence or shadow of a demon lord.”

“Yes…” Liao looked to him. “You do understand.”

A cheer from the courtyard below turned both their heads; it was difficult to see details in the darkness, but it looked like the fight was finally over and the spectating soldiers were lauding the outcome. Whoever had won – if there was an actual winner – clearly had been their favorite. Zhang Liao would have guessed his old rival Xingba. “Ah, looks like they’ve broken it up for the night,” Jia noticed. “I’m sure they’ll be in here looking for a drink next, if I know men of Wu like I do. Remember, Wenyuan,” he added for his comrade, “right now we can only speculate. There are no guarantees, no givens. Anything could happen from here on out.”

“Of course,” Liao acknowledged, stepping away from the window and giving him a polite nod to bid him good night. Guo Jia breezed past him and headed off to perhaps see whether anyone was planning to break open a cask of wine, since that sounded like the sort of entertaining pursuit he was desperate to find right about now. Liao watched him go and then turned to head the other way, to his quarters. Of all the officers of Wei, he was one of the least likely to dwell on what-ifs and lament tragedies that had not yet occurred, but from time to time his mind did turn to his former lord, particularly with Diaochan present around the fortress. She had been holding up well since joining Wei, she got along well enough with Lady Zhenji and had no reason to suspect any of the stoic officers in Cao Pi’s service would bother her in any way – not even Guo Jia, for as charming and single-mindedly interested in women as he was, he valued his health and well-being enough not to go beyond a charming smile around her. Zhang Liao had found himself looking in on her from time to time, for though he wasn’t good company for anyone wanting conversation and a smile, she trusted him fully and he in turn wanted only the best for her. If only he could have assuaged her concerns about whether her husband would come to his senses. At this rate, Liao doubted that even the sight of his beloved wife opposing him on a battlefield would be enough to shake him, but that left him at a loss for what, if anything, _could_ actually get through to him. With so many wanting to challenge and even defeat the mightly Lu Bu, and more than enough warriors at hand on all four sides with the strength to do so, Liao’s only real worry was that he wouldn’t even be able to get near enough to allow his former lord a chance to repent before battle was joined and someone else put an end to his ambitions first. He paused in the corridor near to the officers’ main quarters, considering checking up on Diaochan again, but then an alternative sprang to mind. She reminded him too much of Lu Bu, and his head was too full of the topic of the man to allow him a good night’s sleep. If the warriors of Wu were going to end their night with a drink, perhaps he should join them. That would surely push down all those dark thoughts long enough to allow him to sleep. Turning on his heel, he trudged back to the main hall to see if he could shock Xingba by offering to drink with him. _Stranger things have happened around here_ , he reminded himself with the slightest smirk.


	67. Chapter 67

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunions and strategy sessions at Chengdu; Wu makes some plans as well; Orochi finally learns that he didn't actually kill Cao Cao.

The sight of the bamboo-clad hillsides of Chengdu sloping up toward the great gray stone walls of Luo brought great joy to the hearts of the Shu army, particularly their new recruits who had gone so long without seeing their homeland that the green forests and familiar pathways brought tears to their eyes. Zhao Yun had sent word ahead from Ueda about the rescues and their prisoner so that everyone would be prepared, and he wasn’t at all surprised to see most of the city turn out at the gate to welcome them home. There was no grudge against the two brothers for their long absence, only forgiveness and joy, and though he kept a stone face as he rode in, Guan Yu’s eyes shone and his jaw twitched from the force of holding back his emotions. He mastered himself rather well until they reached Luo Castle and were met in the courtyard by Liu Shan, with Xingcai serving at his side. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had met their fates when this young man was but a lad, so seeing him grown now, from a different time, but wearing his father’s patient and kind expression, both mighty men lost the ability to stay composed. Yu dropped to one knee before him and remained there, shaking slightly, until Liu Shan came to touch him on the shoulder. “You’re both all right,” the young lord breathed softly, as if only able to believe it now that he saw it for himself. “Thank goodness. You’ve had us all so worried.”

“Is that all you can say, my lord?” Guan Yu muttered brokenly, keeping his head down.

“That’s all that needs to be said.” The touch came again, silently imploring him to rise. Both brothers did so, and found Liu Shan smiling brightly to see them. “Welcome home. Ah, but…where is Lord Zhuge Liang?”

“He had to move to secure our prisoner,” Zhao Yun replied as he dismounted and came to the fore. “It was urgent that he get her into a place where she can be kept, he is in control of the sorcery which binds her.”

“Excellent work, Lord Zilong,” Shan said encouragingly. “I only know about this demon woman from what others have said, and from what you’ve told us in the war room. I understand that she is a valuable prisoner.”

“The utmost, short of Orochi himself,” Yun affirmed. “Lord Kongming will come to see you when he has taken care of that errand.”

As they milled about the courtyard letting the rest of their officers catch up and the castle attendants take the horses to be stabled, Zhang Fei did his best not to meet the keen, cold stare of his daughter as she stood at her lord’s side. “So, uh. I know we had a victory party after the battle, and another one at Ueda, but we’re getting another celebration tonight, right?”

Xingcai’s gaze hardened, but before she could scold her father about his drinking, Liu Shan clapped his hands eagerly. “Yes, indeed! I think this is exactly the sort of occasion that calls for it, don’t you?”

“Celebrations and good times have been hard to come by, up until now,” Guan Yu said solemnly, the beginnings of a smile pushing past his uncertainty. “We could all use it.”

Guan Xing and Zhang Bao came up around their fathers, beaming broadly enough to put anyone at ease, at which point Xingcai could only sigh and stand down her irritation, turning to lead the way into the castle. “Come along, then, your quarters have already been prepared. Welcome back, Lord Zhao Yun.”

The brothers glanced at each other, sharing a worried look, but Zhao Yun passed between them, clapping each on the shoulder as he went. “Give it time,” he implored them softly before continuing on his way to settle in.

Guan Yu nodded his agreement, waiting until most of the others had passed before making an observation of his own. “Lord Zilong was generous, to be so forgiving so quickly. I would not be surprised to find others a bit more wary.”

Zhang Fei heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head. “I ain’t worried. This is still loads better than having to kowtow to the snake.” He gave his sworn brother a quick flash of a grin. “She turned out all right, didn’t she? And Liu Shan…kid really looks like his father, doesn’t he?”

Yu smiled fondly. “So much so that I feel my heart burning within me to set him free, so he can see for himself how his son has grown.” He glanced to Xing as he and Bao went past them into the castle. “It seems all of our children are something to behold.”

They lingered a bit before heading to their quarters, needing no guidance from castle attendants to find them, for they were exactly as they should have been in Luo. In due time everyone began to gather back down in the main hall, curious and eager and interested in the reunions if not the party soon to come. Liu Shan had returned to his imperial garb and coronet for this occasion, and sat in a chair below his father’s seat to await further formal audiences, though most of the officers of the Shu army milled around paying him no heed. They stood in small knots here and there, chatting amongst themselves and passing around what news they could. After some time Zhuge Liang finally joined them, striding elegantly up the center of the hall with his fan cradled delicately in his left arm. Fresh, clean robes hid his injuries suffered at Edo, and he looked truly none the worse for wear. All eyes went to him at his entrance, and though one or two lesser officers peered suspiciously at him, no one denied him entry nor access to Lord Liu Shan. After all, Lord Zhao Yun was right there, casually hanging about at the side of the carpeted aisle talking with Wang Ping. Much of the idle chatter hushed as the famed strategist reached the young lord sitting in ceremonial command of the castle and bowed deeply. “It is good to find you well, my lord,” he murmured in greeting.

Liu Shan’s eyes were alight with the thrill of getting to see another of his guardians alive and well and in his prime again. “Master Kongming,” he acknowledged, practically sparkling. “It has been so long. Please, rise, and know that you are welcome here.”

“That is very kind of you to say so, young master,” Liang said, lifting his head and squaring himself in assurance. There was never any sort of submission in his posture, not even among those who had genuine authority over him. “Yet, I am sure there are more than a few here to whom I owe apologies.” His eyes flicked to the side at the sensation of movement, and those observing this exchange followed his glance to find Jiang Wei standing just inside the door on the far side. “In fact, I believe I see one now.”

Jiang Wei knew full well what had happened at Edo, he had been instrumental in making the preparations to move forward after Zhao Yun’s messages reached them, yet it didn’t prepare him for seeing his mentor standing there, accepted back into the fold despite all things. He froze where he was, an uncertain look on his face, unable to even consider whether he could back out of the hall gracefully when a fair number of people had already noticed him there. As he stared, Zhuge Liang bowed again to Liu Shan and then turned to make his way over, at which point most of the others around the hall turned back to their own conversations, since the interesting part was over. It left Liang free to approach Jiang Wei without any interference or nosy spies paying too much attention. Wei blinked and then lifted his chin proudly as they came together, forcing down his reaction and trying his hardest to put a brave mask on. “Chancellor…” he breathed.

“Young master,” Zhuge Liang greeted him respectfully. “You look well.”

Wei held his gaze for a long moment, almost as if studying him, and then frowned in a mix of frustration and confusion. “After all this time, and everything you’ve done, that’s all you have to say to me?”

“I thought it would make a good start.” Kongming lowered his eyes, a gesture of genuine respect. “I assumed that coming straight out with compliments for your hard work in this army, however sincere, would not go over so well if I did not ingratiate myself first.”

Jiang Wei’s jaw clenched tightly for a moment, and then he let go of his tension with a soft sigh. “No. You know me, chancellor, you know that I would seek your approval no matter what, even if you had truly gone over to the demon’s side. Even now, knowing what you have done, a part of me only wants to hear useless platitudes from your lips as if nothing had ever happened.”

Liang shook his head. “That sense of normalcy will return on its own, sooner or later. We need not pretend in order to bring it about. If you have anything you wish to say to me, young master, say it. Speak the truth and hold nothing back.”

“What can I say that you don’t already know?” Jiang Wei’s frown deepened, as if disappointed that he should have to confront someone who gave off an air of supernatural omniscience. Why speak when his words would be predicted by the man intended to hear them? “I’m sure you will tell us all your reasons for serving Orochi all this time, so it’s useless to ask. There will be reasons, perhaps even good ones, and we will move forward to continue to strive against him and rescue Lord Liu Bei. A charade of words does neither of us any good.”

“Then, you intend to cling to your hurt, and leave it unsaid,” Liang noted. “Why?”

For a moment Wei’s face contorted in a genuine scowl, teeth bared and seething, but he shook it off. “Do not speak to me of my own feelings!” he demanded, keeping his voice low but still intense. “If I ever was hurt, what does it matter? So is Lady Yueying, Lord Zhao Yun, and anyone else who ever had to face you. No one of us is more or less important than the other and you are already fully aware of what it’s like to meet on the battlefield in such a way. You’re wrong, anyway,” he said boldly. “I do not feel the same now as I did when you saw me at Xin Di. Why should I? Things have changed, and I have no need to hold on to such feelings.”

Zhuge Liang was quiet for a moment, and then dipped his head again. “Even in this, you have exceeded my expectations. I like to think myself as much a student of human nature as a student of the art of war, but you and Zilong both have showed me I am not nearly so clever as I think.”

Jiang Wei’s eyes saddened slightly. “It was important both for my own sake and for the Shu army that I not dwell on any heartbreak, that I stand strong and move forward. As should you, chancellor.”

Kongming closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Am I then allowed to praise you, if I mean the words truthfully? Or are such words, like the rest, unnecessary?”

Wei’s solemnity crumbled, and for a moment his gaze wavered. “I should like to hear such things from you, my lord.”

“Then you shall,” Liang vowed, straightening up and putting on his mentorly air. “I am nothing short of impressed at how you’ve managed, my young protégé. Even knowing that my dear wife was here to assist, I am able to see your mark on all of Shu’s efforts. You served as field commander often and came through victorious every time. Lord Zhao Yun is a wise commander and knows his strength is in all of his men, but that means he needs a capable and clever tactician at hand at all times, which you have clearly been.” His eyes crinkled with the slightest smile of adoration for his student. “Attacking Xin Di from the sea was a masterful stroke, I knew it then and I still proclaim it now.”

Jiang Wei nearly wilted on the spot to be showered with such compliments, and for a fleeting moment perhaps he rued his harsh words for his teacher back then when that particular battle had ended. “I cannot take credit for that idea,” he demurred, “Lord Chosokabe suggested it.”

“But you took his advice, rather than deciding that your own wit was superior,” Liang noted. “Do you know, Jiang Wei? My self-proclaimed rival, Sima Yi, is an intelligent man and an excellent strategist. But his downfall is that he believes himself superior to any others, and refuses to take anyone else’s word that any way other than his own could be right. Even I, at times, can be guilty of letting my own greatness run away with me. While I dislike seeing you think so little of your own talents, your core humility is an asset. Do not lose it.”

As much as he really wanted to rail at Zhuge Liang for being the reason he doubted himself, Jiang Wei decided to save that argument for another time and simply accepted the assessment with a quick nod. “I…thank you, chancellor. I will treasure these words from you.”

He reached to clasp Liang’s left hand, which was poised within reach as he held his fan cradled in the crook of his elbow, but the unexpected movement made the famed tactician flinch. “Ah…sorry,” he assured Wei. “I took some heavy hits from our powerful commander and his twin bodyguard, I am still a bit sore.” He repaid the gesture with his right hand, crossing over to lay it over the one resting on his left. “My words were not meant to sound empty,” he murmured. “It really is good to see you looking well.”

Wei swallowed a pang of emotion, pressing his lips together to keep himself in check. “Welcome home, Lord Kongming.”

Far across the hall, Magoichi stood leaning on the wall near one of the doors, his arm still bound up to heal properly. For once, the robust reunions were a bit much for him, but he didn’t exactly leave to be a nuisance elsewhere. There was a sense of movement near his injured arm, drawing his attention, and he looked to find Xingcai coming up alongside him. Her eyes were focused on her father across the room, currently ribbing her brother as they stood amidst a laughing knot of friends and family, so for a moment she didn’t realize who was beside her or what state he was in, even as she murmured, “Some things never do change.”

“What’s the matter?” Magoichi drawled, startling her with his unexpected presence. “Family troubles?”

“No, no, it’s just…” Xingcai turned to him and her eyes widened, seeing the sling tying his arm against his chest. “What happened to you?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Saika responded breezily, smirking to himself at the hint of worry coming from her. “Just took a direct hit from the God of War over there, no big. I’ll be fine, really.”

“Lord Guan Yu…?” Xingcai gaped at him, envisioning him fighting the famed general head-on and somehow coming out of it with only a broken arm. “What in the world happened at that castle? Lord Zhao Yun’s letter said there was a battle but…”

“I’m sure you’ll hear all the best stories tonight,” Magoichi assured with a shrug. “There’s a lot of ‘em. Your brother kicked a bit of ass himself, he and Guan Xing really shone.”

Xingcai looked back across to where Bao stood grinning in the presence of three Tiger Generals, even though the observers had no idea what they were so excited about. She considered the question of whether he had to fight his own father, and wondered at the way he looked now. Had he faced that challenge and come through without having his heart broken? Or was there more to it that she didn’t know? She turned back to Saika, and after a moment’s thought, rested a hand gently on his injured arm. “Can you still shoot, like this?”

Magoichi bit his lip to keep from cooing out loud at her touch, but he still preened under her attention. “Oh yeah, don’t worry about that. In a pinch I can shoot one-handed, I’ve trained for times like this.”

“That’s so smart,” Xingcai complimented, withdrawing as quickly as she moved in. “Well, that’s good, then. We’re going to need all the manpower we can get, from here on out. Take care of yourself, Magoichi.” She headed off to take care of other matters, leaving him swooning to himself that he rated so highly in her eyes.

The celebration that evening was as boisterous as a Shu party could manage to be, though more than one among the company kept a more sedate pace, talking quietly amongst each other rather than join in the toasts and enthusiastic tales of brave deeds done in battle. Zhao Yun did his best to set duty aside for just a few hours and focus on the relationships between his countrymen and their families, but he never really could stop thinking of the greater tasks at hand long enough to truly relax. He at least agreed not to make any decisions until the following day at the earliest, when scouting reports and a full debriefing could bring him up to speed on the state of affairs all across the Resistance-held lands. It seemed there was just too much awaiting his attention for him to clear it all out of his mind, not even Yukimura’s constant, comforting presence at his elbow was enough to steer his thinking away from the many preparations he needed to attend to. At least Yukimura was capable of getting him to his room and into bed to sleep, falling to their old standby of sharing a bed in order to ward off dark thoughts and encourage a restful night. The young samurai laid awake long after his companion finally drifted off, gently threading his fingers through dark, silken hair to keep him relaxed. Making sure Zilong took care of himself was hard work, indeed.

There was much awaiting the commanders of Shu in the war room the next day, and their conference this time included Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu, both of whom were eager to turn their desire to be useful to the Resistance into action. Zhao Yun went through everything that had come into Chengdu while they were traveling, and then verified yet again everything Zhuge Liang could relate to him which seemed immediately relevant so that Jiang Wei and the others could hear it for themselves. The confirmation that Orochi was coming to launch a fresh campaign against the Resistance was no surprise, but it did turn the mood sour for a bit. “Given the timing, he’s probably already here,” Jiang Wei mused seriously, “wherever ‘here’ is to him. Bai Di, most likely.”

“The Orochi army only has three main castles left to their control,” Zhuge Liang confirmed. “Osaka, He Fei, and Bai Di. Yet, there is more to consider than castles. They have a foothold at a number of outposts, and still more lay unclaimed by either side, lying open for travel and battle alike.” He glanced aside to where Zhao Yun and Yukimura stood together at the head of the table. “As you no doubt gathered when you captured Jieting, the Orochi army has set up supply depots and weapons caches at some of these fields, figuring that the Resistance would only care about large fortresses and ignore other places.”

“Which is both true and false,” Yueying said wisely. “When considering prisoners, we thought only of large castles, but the fight has been taken to Orochi wherever we find his snakes. The mountain passes, the river valley of Tedorigawa, the fields of Shizugatake…”

“Wherever they gather, even in small pockets, we find them and put them to rout,” Xingcai agreed. “The king of the Nanman is out doing exactly that.”

“Good, the Nanman have been an excellent resource on that front,” Zhao Yun said confidently while sorting through his messages. “With Lord Cao Cao back among his people and Lord Sun Jian ruling Wu, in addition to the return of Lords Takeda and Uesugi, it feels as though each army has enough resources at hand to meet whatever fresh assault Orochi is preparing to throw against us. Yet, I feel more strongly than ever that Lord Nobunaga is correct, and we must make solid commitments to work together as one. We are spread out across the land with great distances between us, it would not do well to have one of us facing a crisis with no way to secure backup from the others.”

“That will take more than simple delegations and promises made to each other, this time,” Jiang Wei cautioned. “You’re talking about actual allocation of resources and manpower to move in to reinforce our allies. That will take hard work to have ready quickly, but it can be done.”

“The sooner, the better,” Yun sighed. “It all seems so overwhelming, but what can be done must be done. We need to send an occupation force to Edo to join with the Wu reinforcements and allow Ma Su and Fa Zheng to return here, plus there is the Hojo to consider. I would also like to personally meet with Lord Cao Pi, to confirm our alliance.” He lifted his eyes from the papers on the table to meet the various gazes of his cadre of strategists at hand. “I know it seems like a foolish errand when the same can be accomplished through letters, but letters can be lost or delayed. This is something I feel the need to do, and I will do it myself with only Yukimura as my bodyguard if I must, so as to free up our officers for more important tasks.”

“You just got back,” Yueying cautioned. “Will you not even rest for one moment, Lord Zhao Yun?”

“I cannot. Not when Orochi is just over the next hill, preparing goodness-knows-what,” Zilong replied warily. “An assault on Chengdu, I fear, in order to free his strategist.” 

There was a moment’s tense pause as the assembled officers looked from one to another, and then Zhuge Liang set a hand on the table before him as if to reach for one of the many parchment messages or maps scattered about. “I cannot be said to know the mind of the serpent,” he began carefully, “yet I have noticed enough patterns in his army’s advance and retreat to make some guesses. He may turn his eyes toward us sooner rather than later, but it will not be as swiftly as you fear, Lord Zhao Yun. Riding by yourself like a messenger, you may indeed outpace his plans and still return here in time to defend our home. Yet, if you would be willing to take my advice, it would be better for your own plans and our defense for us to move to meet Orochi on a different field.” His eyes clouded briefly as he shifted them away from anyone in particular. “To see his shadow looming over Chengdu a second time is the last thing I wish. It would be better to make our stand elsewhere, and leave Chengdu as the final fallback in case all else fails.”

“I agree,” Jiang Wei said heavily. “This is not a campaign for land or power, he is here to lay waste to us for existing. If we hole up inside Luo Castle, it will not save our people or our allies.”

Magoichi leaned over to draw one of the maps to him. “Recent scouts have reported activity in a couple of places that don’t add up,” he noted. “If the big snake is massing his armies to launch major assaults on the four different Resistance leaders at their headquarters, then there shouldn’t be so much movement around these places.” His thick finger traced an arc around Chengdu, indicating the nearby lands into which his scouts frequently made their forays. “Meng Huo’s been in and out of Shizugatake, we’ve had our eye on it ever since we picked up the Hojo there, so he’s keeping the snakes from sliding back in and getting a fresh foothold there. Instead, they’ve been drawing off this way, toward Mikatagahara.” He tapped more firmly on that spot and sat back, rubbing at his injured arm. “Far as I know that area’s been abandoned since Oda escaped from there ages ago, so the fact that there’s so many snakes around there makes me real suspicious.”

Hojo Ujiyasu was sitting in on the conference, as it was his right as a visiting lord, but he merely sat and listened until now. “And how far off is Xiliang, where the rest of my clan is?”

Magoichi gestured to the map. “Fastest way is to cut across this open territory south of Wuzhang, otherwise you run too close to where Orochi’s setting up shop.”

“That is another of my priorities, Lord Hojo,” Zhao Yun assured. “You will have as much of an escort as you need to join them.”

“So I gathered,” Ujiyasu said gruffly with a glance at Yukimura across the table from him, “but there’s a more important question to be answered, then. What do you want the Hojo to do once I get there? It’ll be a long haul for me to go there and bring ‘em back, it’s not worth the wasted time.” He peered up at Zhao Yun with a small smirk. “I’m ready to take orders, and lead my people into battle in whichever direction benefits you best.”

Yun blinked a bit at his eager agreement and chanced a small smile. “Actually, I have been thinking about that. I would much prefer that the Hojo remain near Xiliang, not just to protect the civilians settled there but to be prepared to move in any direction to assist – south, to Nanzhong, north to reinforce Wei or Oda, or even east to reinforce Wu. Like the Sanada at Ueda and Shimazu at Odani, it is better to keep our reserves in position to move rather than draw them all back here.”

“Wisely reasoned,” Zhuge Liang quietly complimented him.

Like their commander, Guan Yu preferred to stand so he could get a good look at the big picture. He laid his hands on the table to lean in and survey everything for himself. “So. You’ve driven Orochi’s forces out of every other small pocket and now they’re collecting at this Mikatagahara place. It is strangely distant from any castle he might be curled up in.”

“This is a new development even for me,” Kongming admitted. “I had heard of no plans for that territory.”

“Sounds like the perfect job for my brother and myself,” Guan Yu said proudly, straightening up. “You’ll need more than mere scouts to sort out what’s going on there. A larger force with us in the lead will also serve as a fine distraction so that Orochi will not notice the commander of the Shu Resistance traveling in secret on his own errand elsewhere.”

Zhao Yun wanted to agree immediately, but he looked to Yueying and Jiang Wei for confirmation first. “Yes, perhaps that would work,” the former said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. “I can imagine you and Lord Zhang Fei are eager to get out there and not simply sit on your hands.”

“I will join you,” Jiang Wei decided. “If we must draw Orochi’s eye toward us as well as pull down whatever they may be trying to accomplish there, you will need a great show of force, including a tactician.”

“There are many officers within Chengdu who are eager to see action themselves,” Zhao Yun noted. “Master Musashi and his swordsmen, Master Pang De, and the like. Take whomever you need.”

“Consider it a testing jab at Orochi’s flank,” Zhuge Liang added. “This is no time for small vanguards or scouting forces, take a full army.”

“Yes, chancellor,” Wei nodded. “That was my plan.”

“How soon are you gonna move out, Zhao Yun?” Magoichi asked of their commander.

Yun met his eyes and then searched the papers on the table as if the answer were written on one, bold and plain for his eye to see. “I will wait until Lord Guan Yu’s force advances,” he decided. “Then, I will ride, and hopefully Lord Cao Pi will be prepared to see me. It would not do to have him away from Xuchang again.”

“Time to send more letters, then,” Xingcai said smartly.

Yun glanced to the man beside him. “I will trust you to keep me safe.”

Yukimura smiled back. “I will repay that trust with my life.”

“Good,” Ujiyasu grunted. “Decisions. I like decisions, especially when there’s not a lot of idle talking before you get to ‘em. Good work, my friends.”

“Considering who’s all in this room,” Magoichi said wryly with the subtlest of glances between Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei, “it’s a miracle there wasn’t more talking.”

At the same time, far across the landscape, the fortress at Hefei which served as the headquarters for Wu had finally been set up properly with a main hall to receive official visits and a war room that was more than just an unused parlor off to the side of a well-trafficked corridor. As much as their sentimental hearts desired to settle into a true castle at Xin Di or locate one of their other beloved strongholds, they were fine launching their war efforts from this stout little fortress. The village surrounding it was growing healthier by the day, and the massed forces remaining there were well provisioned and armed. Tokugawa and the men of Mikawa had already removed to Edo Castle to unite with their allies and provide a northern foothold for the Resistance, though their loyalty remained with the men of Wu who had sheltered and guided them this far. On another front, negotiations with the Chosokabe at Xin Di were going well; in fact, the sailors of their clan were proving to be excellent scouts and with no firm loyalties to any one lord, were content sharing what they discovered with Wu as easily as anyone else. As Sun Ce strode into the war room to see what new news awaited him that day, he found Zhou Yu already hard at work, brow furrowed as he studied another letter from Motochika which had just arrived ahead of his lord. “Don’t let me interrupt you,” the young lord said brashly as he noticed the telltale expression on his sworn brother’s face.

“There’s nothing to interrupt,” Yu assured as he finished and lowered the page. “But I do regret having to cut your leisure time short, my lord. We’ll have to call in the others.”

Ce’s casual grin slid off his face. “What, what’s the problem? Is it Orochi?”

“What else would it be?” Yu retorted. “But not in a direct sense, at least not yet.” He rose from his seat and moved things around on the map table to make room for this new information. “The Chosokabe clan reports that there has been an increase in ship movement along the Jiangdong, further inland. They’ve been keeping an eye on the river for miles upstream since it runs past a number of valued Resistance territories, and they don’t like what they see.”

“Ship movement…” Ce frowned, uncertain where this was leading. He leaned his hip against the table and folded his arms over his chest. “What would Orochi’s army want with ships? I never saw any of the snakes as the type to really like the water.”

“Orochi does still have humans in his army,” Zhou Yu said wryly. “That isn’t the point, Ce. The ships are headed for a particular destination: Chi’bi.” He reached to pull other reports to him. “There have been reports mentioning the place for weeks, now, but there had never been much to say aside from the presence and movement of troops to and from it. Now, though, it appears the Orochi army is trying to establish a supply base or something there. The Chosokabe report that the fortifications on the bank are being rebuilt and it seems like supplies are being brought over land from He Fei Castle.”

That sort of news made even Sun Ce straighten up sharply in urgency. “That means, unless there’s been a change in orders, Lu Bu’s people are sending those supplies,” he recalled. “This isn’t good.”

“As I said, it’s time to call the others in and work on a response.” Zhou Yu moved past him toward the door to do so. “It may be early, but if we can put a stop to whatever they’re doing before they get fully established, we may put a significant dent into Orochi’s plans.”

Strategy sessions now lacked Lu Su, who had gone with Tokugawa to represent Wu at Edo, but included Sun Jian and Sun Quan, who had plenty to offer even if it was just a patient listening ear. Like Ina, Hanzo had not accompanied his lord on the relocation, preferring to see his loyalty to Sun Ce through to the end of the war, but his Iga clan took his place, freeing him to be present for such battle preparations. Zhou Yu shared the new reports and the overall speculations he, Lu Meng, and Sakon had been putting together over recent weeks, and it was generally agreed by everyone that they ought to send their own scouts to have a closer look. Today, without delay, no less. It was hard to say exactly what a supply depot at Chi’bi would avail Orochi when he had much more secure castles at hand, but Lu Meng had been fretting about the possibility that anyone who could board a ship at the bay could take the river all the way to the sea and conquer from the water, so if that turned out to be the case now, he wanted to nip it in the bud. At the very least, letting anyone from the Orochi army just sort of gather and hang about Chi’bi looked suspicious and it needed to be broken up. They came away with complete agreement on this plan, and Sun Jian authorized his sons to begin raising their troops for a real assault. They had been idle far too long, it was time.

Long after the sun had set and most of the fortress had quieted down to sleep, a lamp still burned in Zhou Yu’s quarters, as he sat awake at his desk jotting down notes and compiling information from the various letters he had received. He didn’t even hear the door open, he was so focused, and jumped, startled, when Sun Ce’s hand fell on his shoulder from behind. It made Ce forget what he was going to say and stop to double over laughing for a minute. Yu bristled at him like a bird with ruffled feathers. “Don’t be so ridiculous!” he complained, hurriedly dropping his brush into the ink to keep from dripping it everywhere. “What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?”

“Making up for not interrupting you earlier, I think,” Ce said, still laughing.

Yu gave him a quelling look, not that it did anything to stop him. “You’re impossible,” he complained. “I have a lot of work to do…”

“Gongjin, it’s almost midnight,” Ce countered before he could start listing off all the things he wanted to accomplish. “Most sane people are already in bed. I know you’re a workaholic but c’mon.”

Glancing at the wick in the lamp, Yu noticed he was right – it was late, he had lost all track of time. “Then, why aren’t you asleep?” he wondered.

Leaving aside the implication that he couldn’t be counted among the sane people, Ce simply gave him a cute little smile, folding his arms over his chest. “Checking up on you, what else? I had a feeling after that big long session today that you’d be up to your elbows in work you’ve made for yourself. And look, I was right.”

Zhou Yu rolled his eyes a bit and settled a deadpan expression on his face. “And I suppose you have decided that it would be your duty to do something about it.”

“Damn right.” Ce sauntered back toward him one slow step at a time. “I mean, I could go easy on you and just tell you to go to bed, but I know you won’t listen. You just won’t relax unless someone makes you relax.”

“And just how do you propose to do so?” Yu wondered suspiciously, arching an eyebrow.

His sworn brother didn’t answer immediately, as he meandered past and circled around behind him. As he did, he trailed one hand along the back of Yu’s shoulders. “Nothing too complicated,” he finally said. “It’s not a good night for anything too exciting. How about…” He stopped and eased the other hand onto Yu’s shoulder as well. “…something like this?”

Yu sighed and gave in, though if it was going to be like this, he would make himself more comfortable to start. He brushed Ce’s hands away for a moment and reached to loosen his collar, undoing the knot and ties and peeling away the top layers of his outfit. Ce purred appreciatively under his breath as he watched Zhou Yu elegantly drop his surcoat off his back and then sweep his long hair out of the way. “You may try,” Yu sniffed. “But if you’re too rough…”

“I won’t be too rough,” Ce assured, easing his hands back onto Yu’s shoulders and giving him a good squeeze to start. It was the perfect move to have Yu wilting under his touch instantly; apparently, he needed that more than he thought. Ce’s hands were powerful but gentle as he kneaded his sworn brother’s shoulders, and then worked from his neck down the center of his back. “Wow, this is worse than I thought,” he said with some amusement. “You’re all twisted up in knots, Gongjin.”

“It’s not…” Yu’s denial was swallowed by a low moan as those strong hands pressed hard into the knots along his spine.

Ce chuckled at the reaction. “Maybe I should have you move to your bed so I can really get at it. But then, I think that might keep you up even later.”

Zhou Yu blushed in spite of himself; such innuendo wasn’t as subtle as Ce would have claimed. “Not tonight,” he breathed softly, keeping his face turned away. “Another time, Ce.”

“I know, I know.” Sun Ce moved his touch back up to his shoulders and worked his thumbs along his shoulder blades. “I mean it, though, about you taking some time to rest. You’ve been working so hard for so long, and I know you…I know you just can’t help it. You never rest unless someone makes you.” He leaned in close so that his whisper fell directly on Yu’s ear. “Well, I’m making you.”

Yu shivered a little at his closeness, and then let out a soft chuckle of his own. “Is that a direct order, my lord?”

“Hey, don’t tempt me,” Ce grinned. “If it takes making it an order before you finally listen, I’ll do it. You think I won’t?”

“No, no…in fact, I’m positive you will.” Yu tipped his head to look back over his shoulder and give his sworn brother a graceful smile. “If you insist, I will rest. But…”

“No buts.” Ce slipped one hand up through his hair to comb his fingers luxuriously through it. “I know there’s a lot of work to be done, even more now that we’re planning a counter-assault on Orochi. It doesn’t have to be done right this second, it’s not like we’re moving out tomorrow.” He scuffed his hand through Yu’s long hair for a moment and then returned to the massage, thick thumbs pressing in deliberate, soothing circles down Yu’s back. “I’m not even gonna tell you to take some time off and let Lu Meng handle it, because I know you won’t. Just take it easy. When everybody else stops for dinner and bed, so should you.”

Zhou Yu received the admonishment with a little huff under his breath. Ce’s hands were definitely making it hard to want to stay awake and keep working, anyway. “I want to go along,” he said quietly. “I know nothing was said at the conference about who would be going, yet, but…”

“I figured you would.” Ce didn’t sound worried at all, and his hands never ceased moving. “If the battle takes place there, you’re the best man for the job. You don’t think I’d stand in your way, do you?” He laughed lightly. “I want to see it for myself.”

Yu’s shoulders tensed slightly under his grip. “I agree with your father,” he murmured. “You should stay here.”

“What? Why?” Ce actually stopped at that, coming around to the other side of the seat and setting his hands gruffly on his hips in challenge.

“It isn’t a commentary on your strength, at least not like that,” Yu assured, raising a hand to give him a calming wave. “Your father believes in you, above and beyond everyone here. If you ride to the front with him, and something unfortunate were to happen, it could set back our efforts all the way to the beginning.”

“Unfortunate,” Ce repeated. “Like both of us getting killed?” Zhou Yu did not answer directly, but the way he lowered his gaze away from those keen, searching eyes, the reply was clear enough. Sun Ce let out a deep breath and then lowered himself to crouch facing his sworn brother. “I get it. I know, the Sun men like to think they’re invincible, and all it takes in any battle is our determination. But if anything, being here in Orochi’s world, suffering under his thumb, I get it now. Determination and heart isn’t always enough, positive feelings can’t block a sword.” He set a hand on Yu’s knee. “If you think it best, I’ll listen.”

Yu blinked at him a little, and then set a reciprocating hand on his head, ruffling his loose bangs. “Will wonders never cease? I never thought I would be able to get you to agree without an argument.”

Ce smiled impishly up at him. “Hey, I’m not _always_ a thick-headed idiot. Only sometimes.”

Yu bent down to favor him with a kiss on the top of his head. “You still have the power to surprise me. At least, you will still be busy in command here – particularly if anything goes wrong, and Orochi’s forces begin to move toward Hefei.”

“Yeah, I know. Let’s not talk about that right now, though.” Ce pushed himself to his feet and stepped back to finish what he started, gliding a hand along Yu’s shoulders. “That still counts as work, and you’re supposed to be relaxing. Are you feeling sleepy yet, or do I have to give you a little extra-special back rub?”

Zhou Yu lowered his head, smiling to himself. “I think, if you show me this extra-special treatment, that should absolutely guarantee me a good night’s sleep.”

“Done and done,” Ce said brightly, closing his hands in another squeeze right on the top of Yu’s shoulders that had him almost sagging into a melted lump on the spot. Certainly, by the time he finished with a genuine massage, Yu would be so relaxed he would have no choice but to tumble straight into bed. All part of his nefarious plan, clearly – not that Zhou Yu was complaining. Quite the opposite, in fact.

  


News of Cao Cao’s return had gone out while the battle at Edo Castle was taking place, so all of the Resistance factions were up to date on everything including the true status of Wei’s patriarch, but it was a much different story among the Orochi army. The human officers knew, of course, because Sima Yi had been there to witness his grand re-entrance to the world stage in person and shared that information once everyone had regrouped after Wuzhang, but springing this on their demon overlord was a matter of catching him in the right mood, and these days he was never in the right mood. The first few days of his reign from the seat of power in Bai Di Castle were filled with orders and troop musters, as he took his army into his control and sent it out as he best saw fit, and other things took far more importance. He seemed to care nothing for Da Ji’s current fate, and needed only the briefest consultations with Fuuma and Date to know exactly how best to deploy his remaining forces. The lack of human conscripts didn’t seem to bother him much aside from the lack of respect and loyalty shown to him – the actual numbers were of no concern, for he had more than enough demon soldiers at his command to more than make up for it. It became very clear to Sima Yi and Guo Huai both that Orochi’s intention was to move on what he considered the weakest Resistance cells first, and he had already set up reserve camps, supply depots, and secure routes of travel toward that end. Far from the clumsy, tattered remnant of an army it looked like just a week ago, Orochi’s forces appeared to be prepared for this campaign and only needed to bring those who had been out in the world at large up to speed. Unlike the humans, he ruled from a throne at all times, demanding their attention and obiesance by his mere position and telling them what he wanted rather than consulting them on their opinions. As he knelt alongside Date, Sima Yi kept his fan angled so that the tips of the black feathers hid his face from their lord’s survey in order to conceal his wariness. It would not do to even _look_ like he wanted to question Orochi’s wisdom. The great demon did not gesture as he spoke, laying out his plans for the coming assault, his hands remained still on the arms of the throne and his face never changed from its usual dispassionate expression. “I do not choose the Shu kingdom first out of any desire to rescue Da Ji,” he said coldly. “They are simply the weakest. Without their lord to give them courage, they will fall easily.”

Date quivered with fear that he should have to speak up to contradict his lord, but he knew that such a reading on Shu was incorrect and no one else would do it. He kept his head down so that his helm hid his face. “My lord, your information on Shu may be out of date. I have faced their leaders, the lack of Liu Bei hasn’t hurt them in the slightest.”

Orochi turned an imperious look on him, but there was no anger in his reaction. It was entirely possible that his scouts had not kept him informed of current changes among the Resistance. “You speak of the man…Zhao Yun, is it? What of him? He is insignificant.”

“Perhaps he was when you first imprisoned him,” Date acknowledged with a quick bob of his head in respect, “but he has grown over time into a dangerous leader. Da Ji wanted him dead but was never able to even find him to face him on the field and make it so.”

Beside him, Sima Yi grimaced angrily with a memory of battles waged in Nanzhong and the pass of Hulao. “I have faced him numerous times as well, my lord. He has forged some kind of alliance with the commanders of Wu, I expect that is how he managed to take Edo Castle.”

Orochi regarded them both shrewdly. His confidence was instinctive, he simply knew himself to be superior to any human as a statement of fact, but he was not so foolish as to disregard such information. After all, for the Resistance to have grown the way it did, perhaps the humans were not as weak as he believed them to be the first time he conquered them. He moved for the first time in an hour, raising one hand to curl into a fist to rest his chin upon. “Wu is my second target. Sun Ce and his family must die for their betrayal. I have already begun the groundwork for that assault, but if they have allies ready, then Shu must be destroyed first in order to deprive them of reinforcements.”

“Well played, my lord,” Sima Yi complimented him. “Your plans are already in motion, the preparations at Chi’bi are going as well as can be expected, but I caution against laying too much stock in the water assault.”

Orochi stared him down. “Explain.”

Yi breathed a quick sigh and pulled his fan in even closer to his face. “Lord Cao Cao met a massive defeat there because he was too confident in his plans. The armies of Wu deceived us, certain men in our employ turned on us and set fire to the ships from behind our lines. It is that easy to destroy any assault force approaching by water, even if we launch from Chi’bi and manage to make it down the Jiangdong to the sea. It is still a cunning and noble plan,” he quickly added, “the only adjustment I would make is to place the larger quantity of your forces on land rather than the boats. Use the boats to deliver reinforcements, rather than the opposite.”

“Hm.” Orochi appeared to genuinely contemplate his advice, and then nodded. “It shall be so. I will not make the same mistakes as Cao Cao, for he was weak.”

Yi noticed movement out of the corner of his eye – Date had turned his head to shoot him a glance, as if silently wondering whether he was going to spill the news about Cao Cao right then and there. Sima Yi did not acknowledge his look at all. “By all means, my lord. You will easily assault Wu from two directions, then, and catch them by surprise.”

“And when they have been decimated,” Orochi vowed, “the son of Cao Cao shall be next. Cao Pi has proven himself the worst traitor above all of them, and I will destroy him as I did his father.”

Date’s head twitched again, and this time, Sima Yi gritted his teeth angrily. He would not be forced to bear Orochi’s wrath! But before he could even consider how to phrase it, Masamune beat him to it. “We have received unpleasant news, Lord Orochi,” he said in warning. “It seems Cao Cao is not dead.”

Both of them could feel the sudden wave of anger rippling off the demon lord. “What.”

Silently cursing Date for forcing him into it, Sima Yi cleared his throat. “It is true. I saw him with my own eyes.”

Orochi growled darkly. “How is this possible?”

“I cannot begin to guess,” Yi confessed. “For all we know, Cao Pi has been sitting on this secret all along.”

“Then I will destroy them both,” Orochi declared with as much anger as he would allow himself to show. “I will not allow either of them to live thinking they had bested me in any manner.” His fist came down on the arm of the throne. “Arrogant fools! I will simply have to take their heads in order to guarantee their deaths, this time.”

Yi huffed under his breath, inwardly giving thanks to whatever gods still existed among them that Orochi took the blame for his own mistake rather than take it out on his underlings. “Cao Pi has been a thorn in all our sides, all along,” he said to encourage that line of thinking. “He used his cunning and flattery to fool even Da Ji into thinking she could trust him at his word, and look where it got her.”

Orochi seethed another low growl and then relaxed his fist, gripping the arm of his seat tightly. “He will pay for his treason, make no mistake. But his army is larger and capable. We must remove his rearguard before we move in to attack him directly.”

Masamune lifted his head slightly. “Da Ji seemed to think all the kingdoms were forming alliances, including Wei. Removing Wu and Shu should go a long way toward making sure he has no backup but his own men.”

Sima Yi frowned darkly at that. “Cao Pi, humble himself to work with Wu and Shu? Never.”

“Dong Zhuo said he’s got a couple of Wu generals in his ranks already.”

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“Enough.” As usual, Orochi didn’t need to yell to get their attention. The two retainers shut their mouths immediately. “You have the plan, that is all you need to know. I will begin my assault on Shu by moving to join my rearguard as they approach Mikatagahara. From there, we should have no obstacles between us and the city of Chengdu. Once that is complete, I expect you, Sima Yi, to have carried out my orders at Chi’bi to prepare to assault Wu in due time. Leave Cao Pi and Oda Nobunaga for later. I will deal with them thoroughly, one and then the other. That is all.”

The two officers lowered head and shoulders into a full kowtow against the floor and rose just enough to back away and get out of the room without incident, though Orochi’s eyes remained locked on them until they vanished through the nearest doorway. Once there, they straightened up and glowered at one another before turning and heading away. “Think he’s serious about taking Dong Zhuo with him to beat down Shu?” Date wondered under his breath.

“Dong Zhuo has long outlived his usefulness,” Yi complained right back at him. “It’s a wonder Lord Orochi still agrees to pay him. He’s recovered enough to travel, but I won’t be disappointed if Shu manages to actually kill him this time.”

“Nor I. That idiot deserves every hit he gets.” Masamune frowned to himself, though, as he walked briskly up the corridor. “But if he’s going, I don’t feel right recommending Keiji to go with him. Two injured men never looks good on the front line.”

“Lord Orochi will be taking one or the other with him from now on, Maeda or Lu Bu,” Yi reminded him. “I don’t think he’ll complain much if Lu Bu gets this first mission.”

“Keiji will,” Masamune sighed, “but I can placate him by promising he can go out against Wu. He’ll be glad for that, he’s had a thirst to tear down Sun Ce for a long time.”

“So be it, then,” Sima Yi agreed. “Collect your rifle corps, Date, we’re going to need them sooner than later.”

“Already done,” Date sniffed. “You just make sure what’s left of your underlings is ready to go.”

“Believe me, they’re ready,” Yi snarked back. “Now if we can just keep Fuuma from running out and causing chaos on the battlefield, we might actually get this accomplished with minimal setbacks.”

The two of them nodded curtly to one another to agree that this would do for now, and split to go their separate ways. Date had more than enough responsibility to be getting on with, while Sima Yi went directly to the wing of the castle where the remnants of his army were housed to verify the set of orders from Orochi with his own retainers. Guo Huai nodded sagely to hear them, it was exactly as he had suspected. “As long as our lord is fully up to date on all the assets Shu holds, he should be able to move against them wisely,” he said, stifling a cough in his fist.

“If Shu thinks they can hang onto all those castles with what manpower they’ve got, they’ll be spread so thin it’ll hardly be a challenge,” Yi sniffed. “That, at least, is none of our concern. Lord Orochi already knows who he’s taking along on this expedition, and it most likely won’t be any of us. But don’t get comfortable – I intend to bring us out against Wu, since I know everything there is to know about Chi’bi and plan to launch the attack from there before anyone in the Resistance even catches wind of it.” He gestured curtly, then. “Zhong Hui, you’re with me. I have some other things to take care of, you’ll do nicely to assist.”

“Yes, Lord Sima Yi,” Hui said eagerly, always pleased to be called upon by his lord. He followed immediately on Yi’s heels as he turned hard and strode right back out of the room, leaving Guo Huai and Deng Ai to sigh and share a look with one another.

Once he was certain the others had gone, Huai turned his gaze toward the window and looked out across the rugged spar of the mountain which lay across would-be paths north of the castle. Beneath those rocks lay twisting caves used by the castle inhabitants to stymie attackers; being as it was a Shu stronghold, it would have been wise for Orochi forces not to allow anyone from that faction of the resistance to approach and reveal its secrets. Yet, the security of the various routes into Bai Di was not Guo Huai’s concern in the least. “I’m not sure how much longer I can take this, my friend,” he murmured to Deng Ai. “Our lord is eager to prove himself to his master, and with good reason, but the more intense he gets, the less I find myself caring about whether Orochi wins or loses.”

“You still have it in you to care at all?” Ai grunted, leaning on the side of the window frame in order to keep this conference secret between the two of them. “I don’t think I can say I was ever interested in Orochi’s success.”

“Only so far as it keeps Lord Sima Yi from suffering a gruesome death,” Huai noted, for no, he had absolutely no love or loyalty for the demon. “I owe Lord Zishang that much.”

Deng Ai heaved a long sigh, lowering his head. “At least we know the brave brothers are alive and well.”

“Indeed. I am ridiculously grateful to that brainless retainer of the Katakura who brought us the report of a young man matching Lord Ziyuan’s description beating them down at the Wuzhang Plains.” Huai chuckled to himself; it had taken all of his acting skill to look sympathetic and disappointed rather than elated at the tale of the well-armored, dark-haired officer with the long rapier who single-handedly held a firm defense at the bulwark gate. “It only confirms what Lord Date had to say about the two of them fighting Lu Bu at Kanegasaki. It seems they really have fallen in with the Oda, after all.”

Ai stood there fidgeting, his thick fingers toying with one another. “Can you see any possibility of us being able to escape to join them? I know we’ve made a promise to them, to look after their father, but at some point there will be nothing more we can do.”

Guo Huai shook his head sadly. “In the short term, no. Once Orochi moves out to take care of his problems westward, we may be able to give it another look, but for now, it’s doubtful. The demon army is on the lookout for any potential traitors, there would be no way for us to slip away from this castle.”

“Then I suppose all we can do is wait and hope we are in fact sent to the front lines to fight,” Ai grumbled. “Then maybe we will have an opportunity to be captured by the enemy.”

“How nice it would be to find ourselves stumbling into the ambush pit of our young lords,” Huai mused. “It would be fitting, I think, if ironic. Then again, there is already some element of irony to their decision to serve the man who beat us down at Kawanakajima.”

“Lord Sima Zhao is an excellent judge of character,” Deng Ai reminded him. “Perhaps he knows more than we do about the situation.”

“I should hope, then, that we get the opportunity to ask him,” Huai sighed. He looked toward the door, but there seemed to be no sign of either Sima Yi or Zhong Hui returning, thankfully. In truth, none of the retainers of Jin were loyal to Orochi, save for Yi himself. The rest had merely tolerated the position in order to keep from being decimated themselves, and by now most of them actively loathed the demon and regretted any part they had to play in keeping him in power. Even Zhong Hui cared nothing for Orochi himself, he was only interested in ingratiating himself to Sima Yi and receiving praise and responsibility for his faithful actions. If Yi’s orders to him were to assist rather than resist Orochi, so be it. It meant that if Guo Huai and Deng Ai were to finally reach the end of their rope and decide to leave, they could not include him in their plans. Yet, both were extremely mindful of their promise to the Sima brothers. No matter how awful it looked right now, they couldn’t just flee and leave Sima Yi to a darker fate. If they were to escape, they had to somehow drag him along, kicking and screaming the whole way most likely. It was an unpleasant situation to be in, and Guo Huai knew he would have to keep his sharp eyes open for even the slightest chance. He straightened up and placed a hand on Deng Ai’s thick arm. “Who knows. Perhaps a few too many hours staring at Orochi’s sour face and our lord may find it in himself to seek a more refreshing view.”

“I don’t know how you keep hope alive so easily, Master Guo Huai,” Ai muttered. “I will trust your lead, because I can’t see a way out of this situation besides a tomb.”

Huai smiled thinly. “I have spent far too much of my life preparing a tomb that it seems I will never lie in,” he said dryly. “Life goes on, my friend. And so must we. If you trust me so, I will not let you down.”

Ai nodded and managed to meet his smile with a faint one of his own. “So be it. I will not lie down and die too soon, either.”

“That’s all we can do.” A cough overtook Huai and cut off anything else he wanted to say, and for a few minutes he hunched over, hacking until he could finally breathe again. Deng Ai remained with him, silently guarding him and watching to be sure that all that talk of tombs hadn’t jinxed them. The rest of their day, it seemed, would be spent making sure Guo Huai got the rest he needed.


	68. Chapter 68

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle of Mikatagahara brings about several surprises both for the vanguard of Shu and their enemies.

Mikatagahara was the perfect illustration of the true passage of time in Orochi’s patchwork world. Months ago when the demon lord moved against Oda Nobunaga on the fir-clad slopes of the foothill territory, thick snow had hampered both attacker and defender and many of the snakes refused to leave the shelter of the outlying garrisons because of the cold. Now, it lay under the warmth of a summer sun and lush green grass covered the paths which had once been trampled down to bare stone by demon feet. Seasons had changed at least twice and the mountain snows were long gone, leaving much of the wildnerness of Mikatagahara ripe and fresh, with fields of towering wildflowers in place of the ruined fence lines which had once failed to hold back Orochi’s advance. The supply houses which Oda had attempted in desperation to use as garrisons to house his troops in anticipation of the demon lord’s onset had been empty for some time, but in recent days the slow-moving rearguard of the Orochi army had stopped there and rebuilt it as their own supply depot. Contrary to some beliefs among the humans, the demons did need some sort of foodstuffs and other supplies to live and encamp and arm themselves, and those wagons were lagging far behind the main army as it plowed toward Bai Di in the central regions of Orochi’s world. Their overlord had agreed to it, and the abandoned garrisons of Mikatagahara seemed as good a place as any to shore up their supply line between the occupied castles and Koshi far to the west. Yet, they didn’t consider its proximity to the holdings of Shu – Jieting, Odani, and Chengdu itself – to be worthy of caution. Orochi’s assessments placed Shu as the weakest of his four main enemies, thanks to their benevolent hearts and careful defensive stance. He had no idea just how powerful this kingdom really was in Zhao Yun’s fist.

With Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in command and Jiang Wei leading the strategy, the army which moved out from the capitol in order to root out the truth behind the Orochi troops massing at these storehouses had to be large, formidable, and ready to launch an attack at a moment’s notice. Miyamoto Musashi and six of his seven comrades were honored to be a part of it, riding at the behest of the God of War himself, and most of those who likewise joined the party would not be outdone by the famed swordsmen. Shimazu sent his son Toyohisa from Odani, Nobuyuki sent a couple of Sanada retainers who hadn’t seen enough action lately, and even Wei Yan came down from Jieting to be included. Meng Huo and Jinhuan Sanjie represented their people as well, making for an army rife with power hitters. Jiang Wei ordered their strength as best he saw fit, not wanting to lose sight of strategy, speed, and other tactical advantages as well. Over everything else, they had the benefit of advance warning, while the Orochi soldiers quietly working to reinforce storehouses and set up sentry lines were completely unaware that anyone should want to attack them yet. The garrisons were stout enough and the great temple which once sat on a mountainside overlooking the valley served as a decent headquarters, and supplies were already being put up into storage so as to be ready to start funneling food and arms to wherever the army might be making its first sorties against the Resistance. This, then, was what the Shu army found as they came into Mikatagahara, and it only took a brief consultation between commanders and strategist to agree that the time to attack was already at hand. There was no reason to wait for the Orochi army to receive reinforcements, this little endeavor of theirs needed to fall before it could become firmly entrenched. Jiang Wei ordered their troops into three units along two ridges on adjacent sides of the valley, and down they rode into the fray, startling the Orochi troops and driving in toward the center to locate commanders, supply caches, and other valuable targets.

The battle progressed throughout the day at a steady pace, as those pushing ahead of the front line were able to identify which storehouses and garrisons housed the troops and the supplies, as well as the movements between them indicating where captains and officers might be. Zhang Fei’s unit wasted no time smashing through the gate of a palisade at the northern end of the ridge and completely disrupting the soldiers’ attempts at shifting supplies to another location before they could be taken. Musashi and his fellows burst in on one of the main storehouses and decided that Jiang Wei’s orders included raiding said supplies, capturing the access points and throwing open gates in order to pave a clear and unimpeded path straight through to the Orochi officers at their main camp. Poor Tao Qian, given this duty because he was still too injured to be of any use in a real battle, sent out a cry to retreat and barricaded himself with the low-level demon captains at hand into the temple on the far hillside. They had already lost over half the supplies to the Resistance onslaught, but they still had their lives and a free escape path through the wooded foothills to call for reinforcements. Completely losing Mikatagahara would mean their executions at their overlord’s hand, so they blocked themselves in with the remaining supply cache and prepared for a siege. A fair number of Orochi troops still flooded through the valley, taking the winding and confusing paths back toward their camp and continually running into Resistance at every turn. Guan Yu himself rode to lead his eager troops, Blue Dragon cutting through anyone not quick enough to get out of his way. “They are vulnerable!” he exhorted Toyohisa and Wei Yan as he joined them. “Sweep through them, do not allow them to retreat and regroup!”

Jiang Wei rode with him, fighting his way through as he kept an eye on their movements and which positions had already been captured. The Sanada retainers there at Nobuyuki’s behest knew this land well from their time serving Takeda, and had already apprised him of the best ways to approach that temple to which it seemed the Orochi troops were falling back. There were at least three, but it was an uphill slog each way and depending on how well the defenders had prepared, there could have been ambushes at two of the points. They needed to clear each one out and be sure, and not get out too far ahead of themselves. He checked at a crossroads of rocky pathways and waited for his men to bring him reports from the front line, looking up and down each direction. The battle was taking a considerable amount of time, they had already been at it for hours, and though he didn’t enjoy the slow tempo, it was necessary. They weren’t even taking time to transport the captured supplies back to their own camp, but it took time and effort to root out the units of Orochi troops from every last corner and dead end, lest they find themselves with reserves flanking them or cutting them off at the rear. The time frame worked for Zhao Yun’s plans as well, so Jiang Wei maintained a firm hand on the pace, directing the units this way and that as he saw fit. As he waited for reports, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei rode up to touch base with him, reporting their own successes in the center of the valley. “If they didn’t already know, they sure do now,” Fei said with a sharp laugh as they came. “Pretty sure knocking over their storehouses and cutting off their lines is the very definition of treason against Orochi.”

Guan Yu grunted his agreement, though with a much more sober expression. “I can only hope that Xuande is not punished for our actions…”

“Yeah, I know,” Fei sighed, “I’m worried about him, too. But it’s still better than being on their side.”

Yu nodded and lowered his great pike as they came to a stop beside their strategist. “Master Jiang Wei. How does it look from your point of view?”

Wei gestured with his trident up the path to his right. “I’m waiting on the scouts to come back from where I sent them. It’s taking more time than I would like, but we aren’t in any sort of hurry.”

“No chance of Orochi army reinforcements?” Zhang Fei asked.

“I wouldn’t say none, but there are likely to only be more of these rank-and-file soldiers anywhere nearby,” Jiang Wei reasoned. Prior to setting out they had received no word that anyone from further east was heading in that direction, but he didn’t know that there was a good reason for that. They could only assume that the other small battalions of troops Saika’s scouts had seen here and there between Shizugatake and Odani were the only ones within a desperate cry’s earshot. “Still, they are extremely undermanned for a major supply depot. I don’t like it. Orochi is not so much of a fool as to leave them with so little assistance.”

“But if they’re planning something sneaky, you’d think they would’ve sprung it on us already,” Fei suggested. “They’re not gonna be able to turn the tables on us now, momentum is with us.”

“We have taken most of their garrisons, all that’s left is the main camp in the hills,” Guan Yu added.

“I’m aware of that,” Jiang Wei cautioned. “Please leave it to me, my lords. We will progress with whatever haste we can mange, but I need that report from the front line before…”

Even as he was speaking, he turned his eyes up the indicated path and trailed off when he spotted a knot of men on foot running back down towards him. It wasn’t the entire force he had ordered that way, but he couldn’t tell if they were racing down in a panic or in simple haste. The other two followed his gaze and waited with him as the scouts tumbled into their presence, all of them out of breath. The first one to be able to speak quickly banged his fist against his palm and almost dropped his spear doing so. “My lords! There’s…it’s…Lu Bu!”

All three recoiled instantly, eyes wide. “No!” Guan Yu roared angrily.

“Lu Bu?” Jiang Wei repeated. “Where did he come from? There was no indication he was anywhere near here!”

“It is him,” another scout confirmed, straightening up though still panting. “Sir, we left the rest of the unit in hiding, they dare not approach. He came out through a gate just ahead of us and stopped to look around, so we pulled back before he could spot us.”

Zhang Fei swore thickly. “Hell of a reinforcement unit. Lu Bu himself…!”

“Easy, brother,” Guan Yu said frmly. “We have bested him before, we can do it again.”

Fei waved a hand at him. “Don’t get me wrong, here! I’m not afraid of the likes of him. But that’s one hell of a roadblock just when we thought things were going smoothly.” He glanced to their strategist. “Any ideas?”

Jiang Wei’s expression grew grim, but he held his head high. “It seems we have no choice but to send you two in against him, my lords. If you need backup, I will have to pull Master Miyamoto away from the eastern path.”

“I have every confidence in our strength, but at the same time, I will not consider myself invincible,” Guan Yu said, raising his pike and bracing the butt in his stirrup. “We will not be able to lay siege on the main camp with him around, he must be taken down. Prepare reinforcements if you must, Master Jiang Wei – better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them.”

“Precisely.” Wei gathered the reins in his free hand and turned his horse swiftly. “Stand firm, my friends! I will ride to muster our officers and send you what assistance can be spared.”

He galloped off down the road the brothers had come from initially, and they in turn followed the breathless scouts back up the path to where they had spotted this new and unwanted foe. They had to see for themselves that he really was there before taking the fight to him. Yet as they came on, charging up a hill and over a spur of rock that lay between them and their goal, the second surprise of the day flashed into being right before them. There was a swirl of light in the center of the path, and both yanked their horses to a screeching halt, for a moment fearing it was Da Ji since she tended to use magic that looked just like that. But no, she couldn’t have escaped! Fortunately, the figure in the center resolved itself before either could truly fret. Reed-thin and swathed in white robes emblazoned with Taoist auspicious symbols, he squinted up at them as if knowing they had almost plowed over him with their horses. “Brothers of Liu Bei,” he said gently, bowing to them. “Forgive me the interruption. I have come to offer you what help an old man can give.”

The pair stared down at him, as their men grouped up behind them, peering past their horses to get a load of this strange man who just blinked into existence in the middle of the battlefield. It took a moment, but then Guan Yu thought he recognized him. “Is that…? Are you Master Zuo Ci, the mystic?”

“Ah, my reputation precedes me,” Zuo Ci said with a pleased little lilt. “Well met, brothers of Liu Bei, but the time to exchange pleasantries will have to wait. There are some rather potent enemies standing in your way, it would be best to remove them before we sit down to tea and chats.”

“Enemies?” Zhang Fei repeated, seizing on that word. “Besides Lu Bu?”

“Indeed.” Zuo Ci’s wrinkled face hardened with a dark look. “He is only the vanguard. You will soon have Orochi himself to deal with if you do not make haste.”

The Shu assault was about to fall victim to unfortunate luck. Orochi’s move toward them had already begun days before, and as they came they made sure to take a route less obvious than when they first passed through, though any scouts unfortunate enough to stumble on them never returned to their armies to report it. As a result, a rather large army was conveniently within hailing distance when the first messenger from the Mikatagahara main camp left to seek any reinforcements he could find. The raid had already started, but Orochi was prepared to move in. He had other officers at his command and pushed them to quicken pace, wanting to reach the temple in order to mount a counter-assault, but he dispatched Lu Bu ahead of them to strike first and strike hard. Zuo Ci with his unfathomable mystic knowledge was aware of all of this, but he did not explain it to them right on the spot. Guan Yu brandished his Blue Dragon with a dour look of his own. “Then we must not stand around here, and take this fight to Lu Bu as he no doubt wants,” he declared. “You may accompany us if you like, master.”

Zuo Ci’s eyes narrowed. “The mighty Lu Bu appears to have lost none of his power. Any rash attempts to stop him will not end well. Would not evasion be the wiser course?”

“Wise or not, it is not our course to take,” Guan Yu replied. “We cannot leave him to rampage across the battlefield, or he will be inside our main camp in no time.”

“That’s right!” Zhang Fei put in, giving his Serpent Blade a twirl. “Let’s show ‘em what real warriors can do, eh brother?”

“Indeed,” Guan Yu grunted. “Let us fly!”

He jabbed his heels to his horse’s flanks and both were off like a shot, thundering up and over the ridge. Zuo Ci watched them go, then heaved a put-upon sigh to himself and strode off to follow, his legs carrying him rather swiftly in their wake. “I believe it’s time I showed _them_ what this old man is capable of,” he murmured to himself, ignoring the Shu soldiers staring at his back, wondering at just what this _old man_ was up to.

On the other side of the ridge, at the bottom, a gate lay across the path denying access to the next hill over and the temple which served as the Orochi forces’ headquarters in this valley, and before that gate Lu Bu awaited them, sitting astride Red Hare with his halberd poised to meet any threat which might come his way. If anyone dared to try to breach the main camp by heading along this path, they would meet him head on, and most thought as Zuo Ci did: that it wasn’t possible to best this mighty warrior, that even stumbling into his presence would end in defeat and even death. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were under no such delusion, they were more than ready to clash with their old foe. Lu Bu looked up at the flicker of movement along the edge of the trees and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he didn’t make his move until they drew close enough for him to identify them. He bared his teeth and then bellowed a sardonic laugh. “Guan Yu! Of all people, you choose to challenge me? What nonsense is this?”

Guan Yu’s eyes were fierce but not angry as he approached. “And I do not do so alone! Do you remember what happened the last time we faced you, Lu Bu?”

Lu Bu’s gaze flicked to register Zhang Fei at his brother’s side, and then he grinned widely in pure bloodthirst. A jab of his heels to his horse’s flank and he was on his way up to meet them. “Come, then. You should be worth the effort!”

“Then brace yourself!” Yu dared, swinging the Blue Dragon into position. The ring of their clash was so loud that the other contingents of both armies could hear it all across the valley, and both were immediately picking themselves up from where they had been knocked off their respective horses in order to rejoin the fight. Zhang Fei missed his chance to get an extra hit in for the first round, but he swung down and pressed in on foot, so that when his brother regained his feet and charged, both of them together were able to hit Lu Bu at the same time. He held them off, bracing the Sky Piercer in both hands, but as he met their gazes over the crossed shafts of their three polearms, the eager grin slid off his face. Even without Liu Bei to assist, these two were powerful, and for a moment, Lu Bu questioned himself. Would it end like Hulao? No, he had to be stronger, now. He was in his prime! He was ready for this, and determined not to let history repeat itself. He shoved them off and immediately came in for a counter-attack, swinging hard and driving them back so as not to let them control the momentum.

First one and then the other tried to land a blow only to be blocked and then thrown off, and even when they worked in tandem it still wasn’t enough. Lu Bu kept them both in his sights so he could predict their moves and head them off before they could even make them, shifting easily this way and that to bash their polearms aside with minimal effort and then swing the Sky Piercer to get past their guard. None of them could land a hit for some time, but the constant dance of three fighters around one another wore them down and increased the chance that one might falter at any moment. It seemed Zhang Fei was the unlucky one, first; he over-reached as he came in hard toward Lu Bu’s left side and missed, and the great warrior countered by slamming the butt of his halberd into Fei’s side. The golden pommel struck him right where his chestplate didn’t cover him, and Fei tumbled to the ground with a shout of pain. Lu Bu whirled his halberd around to land a much more deadly blow while he had the chance, but Guan Yu was there to block him. In his haste he sacrificed balance, and the force of the swing nearly hurled him straight into his brother. Yu skidded across the ground and caught himself at the last second before toppling over, while their foe gloated over them. “And you think you actually have a chance against me?” he gruffly mocked them.

Zhang Fei lifted his head and glowered at him. “Laugh it up now, while you can. We'll see who laughs last!”

Guan Yu still had his feet, the blade of the Blue Dragon lowered toward the ground as if to balance himself, as he panted for breath. “This is not good.”

“There is still time to escape,” Zuo Ci noted, his voice a mere flutter in their ears from behind them. “I may be able to create enough of a diversion.”

“No,” Zhang Fei grunted, pushing himself up to his feet. “I won’t run! We’ve gotta take him down, it’s up to us to show our guys that we’re not weak.” He stopped short of openly wishing for reinforcements, though he did wonder what was taking Jiang Wei so long. Straightening up, he nudged Yu with an elbow. “Ready, brother?”

“Once more into the fray,” Yu agreed, rolling his shoulders and bringing his polearm up. They had lasted fifty rounds before, this was only what, two or three so far? He led the charge again, his gaze focused solely on the great beast blocking their path.

Not far from their position but separated from them by the jumbled crags of rock and underbrush that formed much of the valley, Jiang Wei had in fact reached the rest of their forces, and after a quick explanation of what faced the other units, had Miyamoto Musashi eagerly running back along the winding paths to go and throw himself at a legend for the sheer thrill of it as much as assisting their commanders. Everyone else had gathered to drive up what appeared to be a straight shot toward the Orochi main camp, with only a weak gate standing between them and the temple grounds, but they were waiting for orders. Jiang Wei took control of the situation as he best saw fit. “The presence of Lu Bu means that things have changed,” he warned the rest of their officers. “The Orochi army has received reinforcements. We don’t yet know who else may be inside that camp, so besieging it is no longer our best option. If we press on and try to take it, we may be able to secure it without Lords Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, leaving them free to handle Lu Bu. We may even be able to pincer him between us and attack him from inside his own camp.”

“Sounds like a job for me and the eloquent fellow here,” Toyohisa said with a grin, thumbing toward Wei Yan at his side. “You need these gates battered down, Master Jiang Wei? We’ve got it.”

The two of them rushed and threw their powerful shoulders at the gate, not even needing halberd and axe, and with a groan the wooden latch and hinge gave way. The Shu soldiers streamed uphill toward the temple, which still had gates and doors of its own barricading it from outside intrusion, but an officer on a horse maintaining those barricades spotted them coming and yelled for assistance in a voice too many of his foes recognized. “Where are those reinforcements?! Keelback! Get out here and grind these fools into dust!”

Jiang Wei reined in with a little growl under his breath. “Dong Zhuo too? This is completely unexpected!”

The temple gate opened enough to permit a cadre of demon soldiers to exit, their captain screeching, “Leave it to us! Our lord is watching, we will protect him!”

“Good!” Dong Zhuo snapped at him as he rode past to get back inside. “Better late than never. They’re all yours!”

Keelback led his demons downhill toward the opposing army, and with Wei Yan and Shimazu Toyohisa in the front line roaring their way up toward them, it looked to be quite the clash. Jiang Wei held back, however, reserving himself and his trident for more important matters. He had heard the exchange between enemy officers, and his heart was already sinking. _Their lord…is Orochi here? We cannot…no!_ He frowned worriedly, but said nothing to the others yet, waiting to see how this played out. Yet, the knuckles of his hand clenched on the shaft of his trident were white with strain and fear.

Yet another round against Lu Bu ended in stalemate, and this time as the three warriors stood back from one another, they all glared at each other, no one certain whether this would end anytime soon. Sweat dripped from them all and soaked their silks, and each sported more than a few superficial cuts, but none looked ready to call this fight over yet. Before he could even move a step, though, Guan Yu heard the thunder of hooves on an adjoining path and looked up, expecting Jiang Wei and whoever he had managed to secure as backup. A voice called out to them, making him stare in complete shock. “Guan Yu! Put your back into it, man, you’re going to make a fool of yourself!”

Zhang Fei’s head came up sharply at the call. “What the hell? That isn’t who I think it is…”

“It can’t be,” Yu breathed, still gaping. “Yet it is.”

The voice belonged to Xiahou Dun, who showed himself clearly as he rode up at the head of an entire column of Wei soldiers, accompanied by Li Dian and Huang Gai. Lu Bu growled savagely at their interruption, but as he was likewise winded, he held off on attacking them on the spot. Dun drew to a stop and stared imperiously down at the brothers in their wilted state. “What’s the matter?” he mocked them. “Can’t master this animal without your precious third brother at hand?”

“What are you doing here?” Guan Yu demanded, ignoring the taunt.

“What do you think?” Dun drew his podao and brandished it in Lu Bu’s general direction. “The young master is well on top of things, he and his strategists noticed Orochi on the move and decided to be proactive.”

“You mean Lord Cao Pi.” Zuo Ci melted out of the shadows of the trees at the edge of the path and focused a stern look up at the Wei officers in their saddles. “This is an unexpected break, and a welcome one.”

Dun noticed him and glared hard; the mystic was no friend of Cao Cao, and therefore, no friend of his. But he didn’t have time for mystics when there was a far more important figure on the field ahead of them, gathering his strength and raising his halberd for another go. “Consider this an official response to the request for our armies to unite as allies,” Yuanrang said gruffly, gesturing for the other officers with him to dismount before he did the same. “I have a particular interest in this battle. If you require a third in order to defeat him, then I shall be your man.”

The past conflict of interest which brought Guan Yu into and then out of Cao Cao’s service was still fresh in the minds of both men, but Yu found it easy to brush any feelings of animosity aside. He straightened up to his full height and twirled his polearm around into attack position. “With you at my side, Yuanrang,” he said solemnly, “my blade feels sharper still.”

“Save the sentiment for another time,” Dun grumbled as he stepped up shoulder-to-shoulder with the pair of brothers. “Just don’t let me down, here.”

“Oh, are you joining their side, Xiahou Dun?” Lu Bu called out from his side of the field. “Good! More traitorous necks for me to hack!”

“Shut up and fight!” Dun snarled back, bringing his Qilin Blade up and squaring himself. He got exactly what he wished for, as Lu Bu recovered himself and barreled towards them, swinging his halberd in wide arcs at the end of its full reach. The three split up and dodged to different sides before closing in again, finding fresh strength from the good news of unasked-for reinforcements.

The rest of the Wei troops stood down and waited, having no further orders yet. Li Dian looked at the stragglers from the Shu unit also clustered at the edge of the trees, trying to identify an officer who may be able to give him some information. All he found was Zuo Ci watching the proceedings with his aloof, heavy-lidded gaze. “This can’t be it for your assault forces…” he worried.

The Taoist shook his head slowly. “Young Master Jiang Wei is leading the rest nearby. Whether or not they need us or we need them more, I cannot say.”

“We will all need each other,” Huang Gai said darkly. “We come with a warning from Lord Cao Pi. Lu Bu is not the commander here, there are worse enemies behind him.”

Zuo Ci did not take his eyes away from the battle before them, though they narrowed in displeasure. So the men of Wei knew what he knew. “Then we cannot let this go on all day.”

With Xiahou Dun circling around them and darting in between them to add his strength to the rain of blows, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei felt like they might actually be able to defeat their foe. Lu Bu was having none of it, though, beating back their attacks and shrugging off hits like they were nothing more than raindrops against his armor. He had every confidence in his own strength and every reason to succeed here, not even considering that the heads of these two traitors would make nice gifts to the demon overlord behind him. They were wearing him down, though, and no matter how much he ignored his fatigue or how quickly he moved to counter all three of them one after another, it was all taking a toll. He moved to block Zhang Fei and had Xiahou Dun cutting past his exposed flank, then shifted to chase Dun and had Guan Yu in his face instead. Around and around they went, until one particularly hard swing from the Blue Dragon screamed up the length of the Sky Piercer and knocked Lu Bu off-balance just enough to have him staggering back, all his weight on one foot. It was the chance they were all looking for. Without warning, Zuo Ci was suddenly there in front of them, the jifu cards splayed in one hand and the other making mystical signs before him. He was too fast for anyone, ally or foe, to stop, and all felt a rush of something around them as an aura flared around him. Lu Bu was still catching himself on his back heel when the old man rushed to meet him, drawing back a fist and then punching it forward. It didn’t make contact, but the sorcery contained within that fist blasted straight into the legendary warrior’s chest and sent him flying bodily through the air. Dun, Yu, and Fei stood gawking as Lu Bu soared several yards backwards, crashed through a pine tree trunk, and hit the ground still moving from the momentum, leaving a long score in the dirt until he finally came to rest within a foot of the gate he was supposed to guard. Zuo Ci took a deep breath and let it out in a gust, and the aura of stunning power faded as the talismans flew back into his hand. Zhang Fei shook his head like a dog shaking off water. “What the…?”

“I don’t mean to cut your fun short,” the mystic murmured, “but there is more awaiting you behind that gate, I suggest you do not dawdle.”

“That’s right, you said Orochi himself was coming,” Guan Yu remembered. “Are you certain of this?”

“He’s right,” Xiahou Dun grunted. “That is why we were sent.”

“Lord Cao Pi’s orders are to not let Orochi obliterate Shu,” Huang Gai added as he joined the group. “And he did mean Orochi himself, not just his army. We’ve been charged with that information.”

Zhang Fei was not satisfied that the blast of sorcery had really taken down Lu Bu, so he moved forward with his Serpent Blade held low in defense, guarding himself until he could get close enough to verify that their foe was truly unconscious. As he did, the Shu and Wei forces turned to regard one another. “Then, I thank you,” Guan Yu said humbly, nodding to Dun and his men. “Support from unexpected sources cannot be turned down.”

“It isn’t anything personal.” Xiahou Dun shook his head once, still wearing his perpetual frown. “Lord Cao Pi did not know who would be on this field, his scouts simply reported that an army from Shu had left Chengdu on an intercept course with Orochi’s vanguard. I came because your army needed my strength.”

“Nevertheless,” Guan Yu said patiently, “you have my gratitude, Yuanrang. For assisting in defeating Lu Bu, if nothing else.”

Dun sniffed arrogantly. “I’m not letting anyone else take you down – that pleasure is reserved for me and me alone. If you die now, you rob me of that chance.”

“Oh, is that all,” Zhang Fei retorted as he rejoined them. “Looks like the big guy’s down for the count. What the hell did you do?” he added toward Zuo Ci.

The mystic merely raised an eyebrow. “As I said – whatever an old man can do.”

At that moment, some of the Wei soldiers bristled at something coming up behind them, but a quick word from Guan Yu had them backing down to let the threat pass through. It was Musashi, finally catching up to them on foot. “Aw, don’t tell me I missed the fun,” he complained as he came up and beheld the scene. “Master Jiang Wei said Lu Bu was here, but it looks like you got him without me.”

“Yes, thanks to reinforcements sent by Wei,” Yu explained. “But there is plenty more to be had, Master Miyamoto. We have word that Orochi himself is here.”

Musashi’s eyes widened. “Is he? Well then.” The awe gave way to a thirsty grin. “Good thing I am, too.”

“The rest can wait until the day is won, or we are all dead at the serpent’s hand,” Zuo Ci said grimly. “Let us take our chance while we can, all of us together.”

Leaving Lu Bu where he was with no one to spare to even attempt to capture or hold him, the combined Shu and Wei army battered down the gate and passed through, spying the temple atop a hill further away and the dust and chaos of armies fighting off to one side of the walls. Their other units had already reached it and started the fight, so Guan Yu and Xiahou Dun led their respective men up to join them. Jiang Wei was riding back and forth at the rear edge, which allowed him to spot them coming first and turn to meet them. “You made it!” he called out in relief, and then noticed the extra swell of troops behind them. “Wait…what is this, now?”

“We come at the order of Lord Cao Pi of Wei,” Huang Gai answered as their assembly rode up at full speed. “You’re going to need all the help you can get just to leave this hill alive.”

“Lord Cao Pi…?” Jiang Wei frowned curiously but did not mind the intrusion at all. It was extremely interesting to see Xiahou Dun in command, riding alongside his rival, though the young tactician mostly wondered that Cao Cao was not the one giving orders. “You’re just in time. Dong Zhuo has ordered the snake demons into battle to prevent us from besieging them, but there is a chance Orochi…”

“Orochi is indeed here,” Zuo Ci said, striding out from between the horses. “I was aware of it and came to help. These men of Wei have confirmed it.”

Jiang Wei paled and pursed his lips in an anxious expression. “I was not prepared for such an event.”

“Do you really need a strategy to fight Orochi?” Xiahou Dun said gruffly. “You throw every ounce of strength you have at him and see what comes of it. What more is there than that?”

Wei nodded contritely. “Yes, I suppose that’s all we can do.” He turned his attention to the mystic now standing immediately beside his horse. “You must be Master Zuo Ci. Lord Zhao Yun told us what you did for him, and now you’re here…”

“Indeed,” Ci acknowledged. “My reasons are my own and not necessary to go into right now. Suffice it to say, I am willing to do what it takes to make sure your people leave here alive.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Zhang Fei brandished his polearm high in the air. “We’ve got a big snake to take down!”

Musashi was in complete enthusiastic agreement, but Guan Yu and Xiahou Dun faced the prospect more dourly. “Through Dong Zhuo and on to his master,” the former said darkly. “Let’s go!”

Keelback’s troop had already lost control of the gate and battle was already being waged right in the doorway, but they were doing a decent job of keeping the Shu fighters out for now. Rather than attempt to force another gate, Guan Yu reassembled his men and drove them in a wedge into that same spot, overwhelming the defenders with their might and shoving them completely into the temple grounds beyond. Dong Zhou was bellowing orders from behind the front line so as to keep himself out of it, demanding that the snake demons tough it out and get in there rather than flee like cowards. With their lord at hand, the demon soldiers could not run, they knew the price for cowardice and that he would deal it to them immediately if they even so much as backed away from the Shu invasion. They swarmed on the Shu and Wei troops, but were no match for the concentrated effort pouring in through the gate. The battle spilled into the courtyard and swept all the way to the far side, at which point the shoji whipped open with a snap and the last contingent of Orochi troops poured out to try to push them back, and at their heels, the great demon himself darkened the doorway with his hulking shape. He ducked his head to get through the gap and then straightened up, regarding the battle cluttering up the temple yard with a cold, dispassionate stare. The wave of Shu troops running to meet the fresh onslaught screeched to a halt and then backed away from his presence, until the only ones standing before him were their lead officers. They knocked aside the rank-and-file enemies to clear the way and then beheld him across the open courtyard, meeting his heavy gaze with determination. Orochi, in turn, studied each one in sequence, though his expression never changed regardless of whether he recognized any of them or not. In the end, his mismatched eyes settled on Guan Yu at the fore. “There is no greater crime than treachery,” he said with the slightest touch of irritation. “How fortunate that I am able to deal the sentence unto you. Guan Yu. Zhang Fei.”

The sound of their names on his lips sent a shiver through all the officers assembled. The God of War faced him without flinching, eyes blazing beneath his heavy brows. “It will not go as it did before, Orochi. You take a great risk showing yourself like this. I will gladly teach you of the foolishness of this decision.”

Orochi’s eyes swept the line again, taking them all in. He didn’t know Musashi, or Xiahou Dun and his men, or even Jiang Wei astride his horse behind them, but he didn’t seem to consider that important. “If you will fight me,” he intoned, “then fight as befits men condemned. Perhaps you will achieve what you wish in death.”

“We want our brother back!” Zhang Fei challenged him. “We will not die before we see him free!”

Orochi’s face eased into a cool, knowing smirk. “Then come. Face me.”

Guan Yu hesitated only for a moment, turning his head slightly to regard those around him and behind him. “Jiang Wei! Take Dong Zhuo, leave Orochi to us!”

“What?” Jiang Wei looked from him to where Dong Zhuo was cautiously waiting out the advance of his commander, hiding behind his own front line.

“He was injured recently,” Xiahou Dun reported, speaking in a low tone over his shoulder without taking his eye off Orochi. “At Lord Cao Cao’s hand, I was there, I saw it. He may still be recovering.”

Jiang Wei scowled to himself at the insinuation that the only officer he could handle was an injured one, but given the choice between facing Orochi directly and managing to take down Dong Zhuo, he decided the latter was not a terrible choice. “Right,” he said shortly, jabbing his heels to his horse’s flank and charging off after the Han tyrant. 

With that small detail taken care of, Guan Yu turned his attention fully back to Orochi. This would not be pretty, but he had the benefit of several powerful fellows at his sides, not just his brother. If fortune was on their side, this would in fact turn out differently from the last time he and Zhang Fei threw themselves on the demon overlord. He squared his shoulders just in time, as Orochi seemed to fly right off the portico and into his face, the scythe screaming in a great arc. Yu met it with a mighty swing of the Blue Dragon, and though he could feel the give in his arms at the clash of their weapons, he held firm. They blocked each other at stalemate for a moment, and then Orochi lowered the gnarled head of the scythe toward the ground. The instant it hit the dirt, a shock of dark energy radiated outward and flashed toward the feet of every warrior standing his ground before the demon. Several of them were knocked off their feet, Li Dian even went flying back several feet to crash into a wall, but it was not enough to completely wipe them out. Meng Huo, Shimazu Toyohisa, and Wei Yan reeled back, caught themselves, and then roared their defiance, even as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xiahou Dun, and Musashi plunged in to take the fight straight to Orochi.

In all his battles against humans during his conquest, Orochi had never faced a challenge like this. He had batted aside crowds of weak, insignificant soldiers with ease and when confronted by officers of greater power, had never battled more than two at once. He now had no less than ten in his immediate vicinity, swarming on him, though only seven or eight could attack him together at risk to hitting each other rather than their foe. His snake-like face remained blank as he twisted to face each swing and jab that came at him, moving fluidly and without stumbling, though it seemed that had his weapon not been so large, some of those hits might have gotten through. Swords clanged off the great blade of the scythe while he blocked with the heavy shaft and pommel, as the officers fell into a sequence that allowed them all to get their chance while sparing one another the friendly fire. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei beat on him in tandem with their polearms, then Dun and Musashi with their mighty swords, then axe, volgue, club, and fists, each after the other, left and right and circling all around. It took a few rounds but at last Orochi’s expression began to change, his eyes glittering, brow furrowing, and at last, he bared his fangs angrily. This battle was not going at all like he planned, they weren’t falling, weren’t dying! He ignored the shriek of agony off to his left when Jiang Wei’s trident blade tore through Dong Zhuo’s armor and dealt him a blow that drove him to his knees, and didn’t care at all when Keelback cried for help after being beaten down by Li Dian. Zuo Ci flitted about the temple yard here and there, cleaning up any remaining Orochi officers who tried to mount a defense, but with Orochi himself completely occupied attempting to swat down his enemies, there was little any of his men could do to stand up against the Resistance forces. They dared not retreat with their lord right there in their presence, but none of them could so much as hold their ground, let alone battle back and turn the momentum back to their side. Only a few stray infantry remained to throw themselves at Jiang Wei and Li Dian, none could get close enough to even try to attack the others from behind or distract them from their purpose. The whirlwind of blades and polearms continued to circle Orochi, and though he showed no sign of flagging with his demonic stamina, he could not manage to remain untouched forever. Zhang Fei scored the first hit across his fanged shoulder pauldron, knocking him ever-so-slightly off balance. The others saw it, and it was as if a ray of light dawned on them all at the same time. They knew he was not untouchable, and redoubled their efforts to prove it.

The warriors’ instincts which made them so formidable against one another allowed Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Dun to duck in and out around each other in order to press their attack, and occasionally step back to let someone else take the upper hand. With so many at their sides to assist, no one person had to bear it all alone, wearing themselves down or suffering too many injuries. As it was, Orochi had hardly cut any of them, though his demonic energy proved effective, whether a smash to the ground with the head of the scythe to jolt them all or a burst from his hand at close range toward a specific target. He could also phase in and out of corporeal solidity, though all it really did was allow a weapon to pass harmlessly through him, and as the battle wore on he became less capable of using that particular move. Zhang Fei’s strike was followed in turn by a double-hit from Musashi, swinging both swords one after the other as he darted past the demon’s flank, and then Huang Gai managed to smash his club hard into Orochi’s other side, under his arm, when he over-reached to swing at Guan Yu’s neck. The Resistance fighters were shifting from merely battering at Orochi in sequence to making use of one another’s skills, one blocking so another could attack for him. Orochi, on the other hand, had lost control of the fight and was simply doing his best to keep them from cutting him, though his segmented carapace served as armor and deflected most of the actual damage. Frustrated, he let out a roar and slammed his scythe to the ground once more to blast them all with a shockwave of dark energy, and this time it effectively threw all of them backwards out of his way, clearing a space around him for him to breathe. He stood with shoulders low, the scythe blade brushing the ground, looking around him warily as they picked themselves up. “Is that all you have?” he dared them, the slightest tremor of anger in his flanged voice.

Guan Yu pushed himself up on his polearm and swiped it around into a provocative stance. “Hardly! It will take much more than that to stop us this time, Orochi!”

“Ooh, I really felt that one,” Huang Gai muttered as he dusted himself off.

Orochi seethed under his breath, seeing all of them managing to rise again, though Toyohisa leaned heavily on his axe and Musashi wiped blood off his lips with the back of his arm. “You have no chance against me,” the great serpent muttered. “I will take all of your heads, one after the other. None can last.”

“Big talk for someone who hasn’t taken a single head yet,” Xiahou Dun said brashly, shouldering up alongside Guan Yu. “Not even my lord Cao Cao’s!”

The reminder of his oversight brought a genuinely ugly expression to Orochi’s face, his lips drawing back to show his fangs and mismatched eyes gleaming with true rage. He suddenly rushed Dun with the head of the scythe held like a battering ram, his speed truly like a striking snake, but something flew between them just in time and knocked it away with a ring. It was Musashi, and he wasn’t done with just one hit. He brought his second sword up inside Orochi’s guard and slashed it across his chest, drawing it straight across the spot where his armor gapped and mystical eyes seemed to peep out from his chest. It didn’t cut deeply, but it jarred him hard enough to knock him back a few steps. Dun wasted no time standing there staring, he brushed past Musashi and landed a hit of his own, and as he pulled aside Meng Huo was there to slam an armored fist hard into the same spot both swordsmen had cut. The others gathered themselves to renew their sequence, but they didn’t need to. No sooner had Meng Huo drawn back and the air around him was filled with lightning, the bolts raining down from the blue sky and dancing all around Orochi. Three or four of them hit him, sending him staggering even further back, but none touched the Nanman king. Several officers turned to see Zuo Ci in their midst, unfurling his talismans to call down the elements and direct them at their foe. Bolstered by his presence and the power he displayed, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei raised their polearms and ran together toward Orochi, ready to deal a tandem blow. Blue Dragon and Serpent Blade slashed toward him from opposite directions at the same time, but Orochi lifted his head just in time and threw himself backwards, taking a great leap out of the way to let the blades whiff harmlessly past him. He landed in a crouch at the foot of the steps of the portico and looked up from under the teeth of his snake-headed helm to regard them all with a ferocious glare, and then drew the scythe in a sweep across his body to guard himself. It was clear, now, that this battle would not end well. He could win, perhaps, if he could hold out long enough to let the humans succumb to fatigue, but that was hardly a satisfying victory and he was no longer certain he could achieve it without taking damage, now that a sorcerer had entered the fray. His eyes narrowed, studying Zuo Ci where he stood behind the sturdy wall of thickset fighters, jifu talismans fanned out for his quick use. He should not have been able to be there, yet he was. Orochi had not the teleporting abilities of Da Ji, but he did have other powers yet to display, and after a moment’s consideration, rose straight up into the air and alit on the roof of the temple outbuilding. All the officers still ready and willing to fight bristled and moved into ready stances with weapons at the fore, but he was now out of their reach. Orochi sneered at them, but had no more taunts for them, not now that he had to leave the field without a true conclusion to the battle. He looked down to see blood in the dirt where Dong Zhuo had last been and the snake demons of his own unit fleeing out the side gates of the temple yard, and knew he had no choice. Without a word he turned and walked across the rooftop, rising to the peak and descending down the other side.

“Wait,” Zhang Fei breathed, “is he _leaving?_ ”

“I believe so,” Zuo Ci murmured. “Still, do not let down your guard until we can be certain.”

A few shouts among the demon army changed their haphazard scattering into a true retreat, as the remaining soldiers picked up and mustered themselves to move off, abandoning the temple like rats from a sinking ship. Jiang Wei roused a couple of the officers who didn’t look quite as battered to help him investigate to be sure, and in no time at all he returned with the confirmation: Orochi had retreated from Mikatagahara. Dong Zhuo’s men had dragged him off, the snake captains were holding the rear on the hillside behind the temple to ensure complete escape, and there was no sign that Orochi himself was going to try a different tactic. The news came as a relief to the exhausted officers of the Shu Resistance, though they remained wary. “I do not like this location,” Guan Yu decided. “Let us withdraw to the garrison in the center of the valley, it appeared far more defensible and we would have a good view of approach from all sides.”

Most of them still looked over their shoulders the whole way as they trooped back along the trails to the garrison which had been funneling supplies across the fields of Mikatagahara up until their interference that afternoon. The sun was going down, and though the wilderness appeared to have been rid of snakes, there still remained plenty of signs that a battle had taken place there, broken weapons and equipment cast aside and dead bodies here and there. Lu Bu had also disappeared from where they had left him, which was no surprise but did fill Guan Yu with additional trepidation, and as a result he ordered a significant increase in sentries overnight. While their men went about setting up the garrison as a camp and clearing away any bodies and refuse inside the wooden walls, the officers gathered in the center to discuss their next move. “He can’t have possibly just up and retreated,” Toyohisa fretted. “That was Orochi himself!”

“It sure was,” Musashi said darkly. “He’s every bit as powerful as I expected. My swords barely scratched him.”

“It is possible he is merely regrouping,” Xiahou Dun warned. “This outpost does not seem important enough for him to want to defend it, but knowing what we know of him, he cannot be satisfied with simply leaving us to flaunt a victory over him.”

“He has more reason to resume battle against us than the mere taking of territory,” Guan Yu sighed. “You heard him. He knows full well, now, that Zhang Fei and I have betrayed him. I would not be at all surprised if he comes for us directly, to destroy us personally.”

“Unless he decides to take it out on our brother,” Zhang Fei worried.

“Orochi needs your lord as a hostage,” Zuo Ci reassured them. “He is not foolish enough to kill him. The time may come when his life is in danger, but that time is not yet. The ones in danger of death right now are you, and all of Shu.” He looked around the circle of brave warriors. “If you lose heart now, you will lose your lives, and if you are gone, who will save him?”

Fei lifted his chin stubbornly. “That’s right. We have to stay strong and committed in order to save him.”

“Indeed,” Yu grunted. “Our brother is counting on us.”

“As is Lord Zhao Yun,” Jiang Wei reminded. “If we fall here, Orochi could turn on him next, or on Chengdu itself.”

“Then we dig in, and stand our ground,” Meng Huo said brusquely. “Right here, right now.”

“That seems our only choice, tactically,” Wei agreed. “We must stand as the front line, to prevent Orochi from advancing on our people.”

“Then we will make camp here, and await whatever Orochi plans to bring us next,” Guan Yu decided, making it an order for all of them. “We will make him rue the sight of Mikatagahara. If he wants to get past us, he will have to destroy us to a man.”

“Speak for yourself,” Xiahou Dun grumbled. “Our orders from Lord Cao Pi are to keep you from being destroyed.”

“Does that mean that you will be joining us for the long siege?” Jiang Wei asked.

Yuanrang folded his arms over his chest with a heavy sigh. “I suppose we have no choice. If we get called back to reinforce our own army, that will mean Orochi has broken off his campaign here anyway. Not that I really want to while away the days in the company of Shu, but orders are orders.”

“In other words, we would be glad to add our numbers to your ranks for the time being,” Huang Gai said more diplomatically. “I’ve already been able to deal a blow to Orochi in person to begin to repay him for all he did to my lord, so if there’s more opportunities ahead, I can’t complain.”

“Lu Bu escaped, so even if Orochi is down a few officers,” Musashi reasoned, “he still has more than enough strength at hand to give it another go.”

“Then let us tend to our wounds and get some rest,” Guan Yu exhorted his men. “We may be back in the thick of it again at dawn’s light. Be strong, my friends, we have already seen Orochi’s back once – we may be able to pull it off again.”

His cautious words were meant to keep the entirety of the army from getting too excited about having driven Orochi off. Most of the officers were wary enough that they didn’t let it go to their heads, but the soldiers under their command were quite happy to have witnessed something they never expected. Those who had seen the serpent demon at his first conquest were stunned that he could even be vulnerable to defeat; those who had never seen him in person before and only knew rumors of his greatness were quicker to brag about how he wasn’t so tough after all. As the camp quieted for the night, a doubled sentry unit on the walls looked out across the valley on all sides, waiting and watching for any tiny movement, any suggestion that demons were on the prowl. The darkness and the light mists in the lowest hollows of the valley did not ease their minds at all, they kept watch with trepidation and had to stay alert to keep one another from startling and sounding an alarm at the flight of an owl or the tread of a hunting fox in the brush. The officers slept uneasily, but they did sleep, weapons close to their hands.

In the dead of night, when he could be certain no one would witness so much as a flap of his robes, Zuo Ci ducked into one of the supply tents where he could be alone and used his sorcery to open a portal and slip through to a new destination. He wasn’t going far, and it was for a good purpose, but he preferred that the others not know of his mission. He had to time it well, it wouldn’t do to have a spear between his ribs for reappearing at the wrong time and place. He didn’t know exactly how far away Orochi’s camp was, but as long as he focused on the demon lord’s dark energy, Zuo Ci could place himself inside the camp and likely inside Orochi’s tent. That was exactly where he stepped when the mystical energy dissolved, and was not at all surprised to hear shouts of alarm and the clatter of weapons being hurriedly grabbed. His talismans formed a whirling wall around him to protect him in an instant, and then he heard Orochi’s guttural demand from a few feet away. “Hold. I want to hear him speak before you kill him.” 

Zuo Ci wore a faint smirk as he regarded the command tent in chaos, snake demons with their spears cowering on all sides, Lu Bu at his lord’s side looking ready to tear him in two, and Orochi lounging in a palanquin-like chair at the far end of the tent. The demon sat up sharply to see who had rudely intruded into his camp, but otherwise remained seated, glowering at him. Zuo Ci collected his jifu and lowered his arms to his sides to show he was not going to attack. “I come bearing only a message, Lord Orochi,” he said patiently in his light, reedy voice. “I warn you to withdraw from this place, and not consider attacking the Shu army a second time.”

From the way Lu Bu flinched and Orochi’s eyes widened slightly, he presumed that he had guessed right, and they were considering another round. “Is that so?” Orochi intoned, his voice flat once again. “And if I refuse?”

“You will be humiliated a second time,” Zuo Ci noted. “You should know that you are facing a determined defense, and it is not even a third of the whole Shu Resistance. They can call reinforcements easily, while yours are some distance away. You’ve lost everyone except Lu Bu, and while he is strong, he is only one man.” The smirk ramped up for a moment. “And, they have me, now.”

Orochi’s gaze narrowed at him again, as it had that afternoon. “You,” he said somewhat thoughtfully. “How can you be here? I erected a barrier to forbid heaven’s mystics from intruding in my territory.”

“So you did,” Zuo Ci said just to be irritating. “I remember, when you defeated them. The barrier went up so quickly after they fell, I knew you must have been planning for it.”

Orochi frowned at him. “That does not answer my question. You were there. Why are you now here?”

Zuo Ci smiled knowingly to himself. “I assume your barrier is meant to forbid immortals from sharing the same land as you. The answer is quite simple: I am not yet an immortal.” He went on airily, ignoring the way Orochi’s eyes bored into him in fury. “Soon, I expect, given the levels at which my powers are now operating, but no, I had not attained immortality before devoting myself to assisting Masters Fu Xi and Taigong Wang. And so, when you threw them out of your dimension, as a human, I did not fall victim to the same. It has left me here to thwart your plans whatever they may be, and so, here I am.”

Orochi’s rage was quiet, but those of a spiritual nature in the tent began to shrink away from the roiling negative aura around him, all except for the infuriatingly calm Taoist standing at the center. “What, then,” the demon challenged. “Have you come to tell me this, to taunt me?”

“Merely to tell you the truth,” Zuo Ci corrected. “The mighty wings of the dragons of Shu have been unleashed. I have come to watch them soar, and to assist them as I may. Feeble old man I may look, but surely from the taste you had today, you know full well just how powerful I am. Do you dare to risk what’s left of your vanguard against me, in a doomed attempt to destroy the brothers of Liu Bei?”

Orochi sat up, leaning almost all the way out of his chair as if to confront the mystic. “You are protecting them, then.”

“Me, protect the God of War?” Zuo Ci chuckled. “No, no. I am simply on their side. They are uninjured and ready to fight again, but it is my own prudence which drives me to visit you tonight. I do not foresee them falling, Orochi, and if your true intent is to capture the city of Chengdu a second time, I warn you that you will need far more than what you have here right now.”

Silence fell, as the snake captains wisely kept their mouths shut and Orochi sternly contemplated this development. After a minute or two, Lu Bu drew himself up and harrumphed loudly. “Do you really believe this old man, my lord? He is nothing! I could snap him in half right here and be done with it!”

“What, did I punch you so hard that you forgot I even did so?” Zuo Ci taunted with an arched eyebrow.

Lu Bu nearly pounced on him right then and there, but Orochi held him back with a mere raise of one hand. “Stand down, Lu Bu,” he ordered. “Human he may be, but I sense it. He is close to immortality.”

“All the more reason to kill him while he is still mortal!” the great warrior blazed.

Orochi gave him a look for speaking out, content when his faithful servant backed down, though he still ground his teeth angrily. “This is not the time nor place for a battle of sorcery,” he murmured, turning his attention back to Zuo Ci. “This land means nothing to me. Chengdu is my goal.”

“You will have an extremely difficult time reaching it,” Zuo Ci assured, his smirk vanishing and a deadly serious look replacing it. “If you reach it at all, with only this handful to assist you. If by some miracle you manage to struggle your way there, you will find dragons perched at every gate, prepared to throw you down.”

For some reason the mention of dragons made Orochi bristle in spite of himself. He stared long and hard at Zuo Ci, until he could stand the Taoist’s gaze no more and shifted his eyes to Lu Bu at his side. True, he had lost Dong Zhuo to severe injury, and Lu Bu’s faith was not enough to overcome the sheer numbers remaining on Shu’s side. “Your warning has been received,” he said irritably. “That is all. My decision will be my own.”

“As I would expect.” Zuo Ci bowed slightly and then left the same way he had come, disappearing into the magical mists and popping back out inside the Shu camp. He knew, now, how far away they were – still too close for comfort, but he had every reason to believe that his warning had not fallen on deaf ears. Orochi may have been thirsty for blood and conquest, but he was also prudent, never throwing himself into something he could not win. Having to leave the field that afternoon had been a massive blow to his pride, and by twisting the knife in that wound, Zuo Ci was certain they would find nothing in the morning but an empty, deserted camp. He would wait to see for himself, but he believed fully that Orochi would take the chance and depart before suffering any more losses. Once it was clear, word needed to go out to all the other Resistance cells. An actual Orochi defeat, now that was news!


	69. Chapter 69

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao Yun and Yukimura reach Xuchang, where many reunions are had; another ship begins to sail; Oda Nobunaga sets his plans for the upcoming battles in motion.

In order to reach their destination swiftly and without being spotted by the enemy, Zhao Yun and Yukimura rode with only a small unit to protect them, guided by one of the Saika Renegades who had been to Xuchang before and knew the best route. Rather than meander their way with infantry to serve as a vanguard, they took cavalry only and rode with all haste, galloping in a more or less direct line from Chengdu to Xuchang. It still took them a few days, by which point their army had already met Orochi away to the northwest, and their own messages to Cao Pi had barely reached him before they arrived on his doorstep, running into Wei scouts roaming further afield from the fortress and agreeing to be escorted in. Since he had been heading up the scouting runs more often than not lately, Gan Ning met them at the front gate to see what they had hauled in this time, and broke into a wide grin to see who had turned up. “Wow, you didn’t waste any time at all,” he chided them with a bold laugh as they dismounted and allowed attendants to take their horses. “Good to see you guys! It’s been a while!”

“It has indeed,” Yukimura said warmly, stepping up and saluting him with a genuine, well-practiced fist over heart. “Fancy seeing you here of all places, Master Gan Ning.”

Ning was so surprised and delighted by the kowtow that he forgot to return it, and only stretched out a hand to clasp Yukimura’s forearm in welcome. “Yeah, hell of a twist, ain’t it? Lord Zhao Yun,” he added as the other came up.

“It’s good to see you again, Master Gan Ning,” Yun greeted him, both bowing to one another. “I take it my message was received, then.”

“Yeah, Lord Cao Pi’s got all the scouts keeping an eye out for the likes of you, so.” He turned and waved for them to follow. “C’mon, I’ll walk with you.”

He proudly led the way through the courtyard to the inner gate, his very presence vouching for the importance of his charges, and continued on up the grand steps to the palace of Xuchang. Zhao Yun looked around as they walked, marveling at the lava formations cluttering the outer yards and bulging the side walls, and couldn’t help but be a little amused by the thought of himself as a representative of Shu being escorted by a famed Wu general through a Wei stronghold. The guards in indigo at the doors of the palace let them through without hesitation, and though neither Lord of Wei sat in the throne to receive them, Gan Ning had a good idea where to find the more important one and strode on, bells jingling softly with every step. Sure enough, Cao Pi and Ishida were in the war room just beyond, head to head in serious discussion. Both looked up at the interruption, at which point Pi set aside his papers and straightened up, shoulders square. “You brought them here?” he said coolly to Gan Ning. “You should have sent word ahead, I would have prepared a more fitting welcome.”

“It’s quite all right, Lord Cao Pi,” Zhao Yun said, edging in front of his escort. “We come as fellow warriors, not lords, a formal audience would feel strange to me.”

“Nevertheless…” Pi strode to meet them, dropping his chin in the slightest bow. “Welcome to Xuchang, Lord Zhao Yun. If you will come with me, we can at least have a comfortable and civilized meeting.”

“Want me to be a part of this?” Mitsunari quietly asked from where he still stood, hands full of reports and maps. His eyes went to Yukimura and did not waver.

“Of course,” Pi said smoothly with the smallest glance over his shoulder. “You know more than anyone in this army besides myself, Mitsunari. In fact, with you there, I feel no need to call any of the other strategists.” He nodded to the pirate just inside the door. “Thank you, Gan Ning. Dismissed.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Ning pointed toward Yukimura. “I’ll catch up with you guys later, eh?”

“I look forward to it,” Yukimura said brightly.

Cao Pi drifted through them and led the way through to a parlor off to the other side of the throne room, where they could sit at ease and even take refreshment, which the young lord called for before gesturing to the chairs and then taking one himself. His guests both sat facing him, while Mitsunari came to stand behind him. “I received your message,” Pi assured them to start off. “You are correct, this is a long overdue meeting, though I am curious as to why you decided to make the journey now, when your armies are facing Orochi in your absence.”

“Facing Orochi…?” Zhao Yun’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

Cao Pi shared a look with the strategist behind his chair, as if silently confirming something they had discussed before. “I was afraid you hadn’t gotten that reconnaissance,” Ishida murmured. “It’s true. We found out after he’d already left Bai Di, but Orochi himself went on the raid. We don’t know what he was aiming for, but our scouts found him headed straight for the same area as your army.”

Zhao Yun paled a bit, but remained sitting straight with his hands curled into anxious fists on his knees. “Then it is a good thing Lord Guan Yu was in command. If anyone can stand up to him…”

“I took the precaution of sending reinforcements to their aid,” Pi noted, his tone still smooth and superior. “Though if you sent Guan Yu, I wonder if putting Xiahou Dun in charge of that unit was a good idea.”

Yun breathed a quick sigh of relief, his eyes lightening. “Thank you, Lord Cao Pi. I don’t know what I’ve done to earn your willing assistance without even needing to ask, but that eases my mind. Even if it is the two of them on the field, I expect they will know to put their differences aside for the sake of surviving against Orochi.”

Pi smiled vaguely at his gentle faith. “Xiahou Dun’s orders are to report to me as soon as possible, so long as he isn’t dead, so if you wish to know their fate, perhaps it would be best if you remained here a few days until we know.”

“I would appreciate that,” Yun acknowledged. “As curious as it is to be a guest of Wei…”

“Think of it not on those terms,” Pi reasoned, relaxing and crossing one leg over the other. “We will all be fighting directly against Orochi, regardless of our kingdoms.” He nodded toward Yukimura. “And we all have members of other loyalties in our ranks. That said…” He gestured idly, lifting a hand in the air. “A formal alliance between our armies is necessary, if only because relying on kind gestures is no way to build a force capable of destroying Orochi.”

“Agreed,” Yun nodded, “though my purpose in coming in person is less about the alliance itself, and more about forging…a relationship, I suppose.” He lowered his eyes slightly. “I have only ever been someone’s retainer, not a commander. If there is a better way to go about it, I would not know. But in my dealings with Sun Ce and Oda Nobunaga, I found that seeing their faces, hearing their voices, and simply being in their presence went further toward understanding their positions than any letter could have done.”

Cao Pi laced his fingers together on his knee. “There are many I deal with both within my kingdom and outside it to whom I would never say such a thing, at risk to stroking their egos and making them even more insufferable. But you, Zhao Yun, appear to be immune to arrogance, so I will say it: you have done incredibly as commander of the Shu army, in the absence of your lord. You rose from a prisoner to a leader in almost no time, and kept your men safe whether they were living on the road or in their own homeland. Very few can say the same for themselves. So, do not fret over your reasons. You have the instincts of a leader. Your idea is sound.”

Yun blinked at his compliments, and even Mitsunari behind him gave him a look of incredulity. “I…thank you,” Zilong stammered. “You already know so much about my situation…”

“It is a matter of necessity,” Zihuan demurred with an elegant tip of his head. “When I was allied with Orochi, it was crucial to know the movements of my enemies, but now that we are no longer on opposing sides, that information is useful in other ways. Yet, I’m willing to bet you know next to nothing of my own situation.” He spread his hands wide. “You are free to ask. I am here to build your trust, and the simplest means of doing so is pure honesty.”

“You would hold nothing back?” Yukimura wondered, slightly wary.

“I wouldn’t say nothing.” Cao Pi glanced at Mitsunari, and finally gestured to implore him to sit with them instead of standing there like an attendant. “If there is something I feel too sensitive to share, I will at least warn you.”

Mitsunari eased into a chair and tapped his gloved fingertips on the arm of it. “First, though, I have to ask. Da Ji is secure, right?”

Yun nodded firmly. “Lord Zhuge Liang is undertaking personal supervision of her. I don’t know the specifics of his sorcery, so I cannot really say how.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Ishida sighed. “His method is obviously something I never would have been able to pull off.”

“We are mindful of the report you sent about the Fuuma raid, here,” Yukimura interjected. “None of us want to see that happen again. Lord Zhuge Liang is bent on giving everything he has to make sure she does not escape us before she can confirm the whereabouts of Lord Liu Bei.”

The castle attendants drifted in silently with wine for them all, and left it with them before hastily departing. Whenever Lord Cao Pi was holding audience with anyone, he preferred his privacy and they were quick to give it to him. He paused in their discussion to let them all take a cup. “And you trust him?” he asked pointedly over the rim of his cup.

Zilong cradled the cup in his hands, though his gaze remained fixed on the Lord of Wei. “I have asked myself many times, what would be the point of capturing Da Ji right in front of me, only to set her free later? Tactically or otherwise. For what reason would he perform this act only to turn on me later? As of yet, I haven’t found an answer to that question, so yes – I trust him.”

Pi nodded in approval. “So be it, then. Am I correct in assuming that you will share whatever you find?”

“Of course. You would have done the same for us,” Zhao Yun said hopefully.

Mitsunari closed his eyes briefly with a soft chuckle. “Da Ji was right, you’re a very trusting man.” He held up a hand before Yukimura could leap to his comrade’s defense. “No, it’s not necessary. You’re right. I did try to interrogate her before we lost her, but it came to nothing. You’d better hope Zhuge Liang has better luck than me.”

The floor was open, then, for both sides to query the other, so for a while they sat, drank, and talked, though Zhao Yun never asked anything about Cao Pi’s reasons for joining Orochi. Even if he had gotten an answer, knowing it would not have changed any of his plans, it simply wasn’t worth it to even ask. Mostly, they discussed the logistics of moving reinforcements to the right places and how best to scout the movements of the Orochi army so as to be ready for the demon’s appearance. In comparing the size and strength of their armies, Cao Pi could not completely hide how impressed he was at the sheer size of Shu, once the clans allied to them were taken into account. No wonder they had room to spare the commander and his right-hand retainer and still be able to field a large assault force. By the time the young lord of Wei called an end to the conference for now, Zhao Yun was certain that he was trustworthy, that whatever secrets of strategy he still kept close to him were not important enough to needle at. Given Cao Pi’s suggestion earlier, they were shown to guest quarters and allowed to freshen up before being summoned to dinner with all the officers of importance in the castle, and for the first time since news of his death had spread across the land, beheld Cao Cao in the flesh, looking quite hale and as arrogant as ever. Lord Mengde, in turn, eyed the visitors with some suspicion, mostly over having to share the honor of lordship with one of Gongsun Zan’s least interesting retainers. Whether it was genuine or simply out of a need to have something to hold over his father, Cao Pi treated Zhao Yun with all the respect due his station in command of all of Shu, giving him a place of honor at his table and willingly discussing with him the military victories which had made him one of Da Ji’s most hated enemies. Zhao Yun, on the other hand, was humbled and a bit flustered by all of the attention, and though he handled himself well in the presence of former enemies, he downplayed his own part in his kingdom’s successes and eagerly talked up those from other armies who had helped him along the way. This was the first opportunity for many in Cao Pi’s army to truly face him, since the majority of his battles had been against other members of Orochi’s forces, though there were a few who had battled against him early in their time as Orochi’s subordinates and remembered full well. Cao Ren was quick to seek assurance that nothing was held against him for serving as Zhao Yun’s jailer at Ueda so many long months ago, and Xu Huang and Zhang Liao both were full of compliments for the pair of spearmen and the way they fought together. Cao Cao listened to his men laud the strength of this young Tiger General and his comrade but did not interrupt, his eyes keen. Clearly, much had happened in the world while he was recovering from his grave injuries, and the stories already told to him of his retainers’ exploits hadn’t even scratched the surface.

When things were breaking up and many were going their own way, Gan Ning made good on his promise to spend time with the two of them, ready to reminisce about much better days at Odani, but Yukimura excused himself to take care of something else first. Ishida was about to duck out of the hall, and he wasn’t about to let him just escape without a few words. He strode quickly and caught the strategist at the door, moving into his path. Mitsunari glanced up at the intrusion, though his eyes weren’t nearly as hard as they once were facing Kato Kiyomasa. “Something you need, Yukimura?”

“Just…a moment,” Yukimura replied, easing back. “It’s been so long, and so much has happened. I merely wanted to ask how you were.”

“Me?” Mitsunari blinked a bit. Everyone else wanted a piece of him, none had ever asked after him personally. _But of course Yukimura would_ , he said to himself, _he’s just that way_. “Fine. Never better. Well…sort of.” He glanced vaguely off to the left. “Took a hit in battle a little while ago, couple weeks before your exploits at Edo.”

“Oh…are you all right?” Sanada pressed, looking all kinds of concerned.

“Yeah, it’s mostly healed.” Mitsunari no longer held his left arm stiffly at his side to protect it, but it still twinged now and then. He didn’t feel the need to go into that kind of detail, though. “I don’t really have much to tell you, Yukimura. Why don’t you go and hang out with Gan Ning like he wants? Keep him out of my hair for a night.”

Yukimura took a breath and let it out slowly, steeling himself to say what was on his mind, first. “You don’t have to put up a wall in front of me, Mitsunari. If we were ever friends, then you know you can trust me with anything. For now, I’m just glad to see you and I hope everything is going well for you.”

Ishida blinked at his forwardness, and then edged closer by half a step in order to drop his voice and speak sincerely. “There’s nothing about me that you need to worry about,” he assured. “Thanks, but…really, I’m fine. Lord Cao Pi is actually a pretty capable leader, I like serving him. This is a good place for me.” He lifted his eyes to meet Yukimura’s, to let him see that he was hiding nothing. “I told Lord Hideyoshi the same thing.”

Yukimura smiled comfortably. “You got to speak with Lord Hideyoshi? That’s good.”

“So stop fretting already.” Mitsunari rapped his knuckles against the silvery chestplate of Yukimura’s new set of armor. “If we have time before you guys head back to Chengdu, maybe we can talk more. For now, though, just be content with that.”

“It’s enough,” Yukimura admitted, stepping aside to let him go. “I’ll hold you to that, though.”

“Yeah, I bet you will,” Ishida muttered over his shoulder as he continued on to his own dealings.

It was fortunate that there was one familiar, friendly face around Xuchang, or Zhao Yun might not have known what to do with himself while taking Cao Pi up on his hospitality. Gan Ning might have stood as the odd man out around the grim, dour warriors of Wei, but he was exactly what the two guests needed that evening. He knew how to wheedle an extra jug of wine out of the kitchen staff and had the freedom of access to the best areas of the palace, including a high parapet near one of the well-guarded rear entrances to the compound where they could sit and enjoy the last breath of evening and pass the jug around while the stars silently winked to life over their heads. There, they caught up on anything that hadn’t already been brought up at dinner, particularly since their own personal interests did not always lie parallel with reconnaissance and information on the world at large. “I’m sorry,” Yun said kindly as he leaned on the wall, accepting the wine passed to him from Yukimura, “I haven’t seen him. I did not realize that when you disappeared from Odani, you did not disappear together.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ning sighed, flopping his hands into his lap. He sat beside them in a low spot on the battlement wall, which left him still at eye level with them as they stood. “Just thought I’d ask in case you heard something. You’re commander and all, maybe you might’ve heard something nobody else did.”

Zhao Yun considered anything anyone might have told him in his journeys, particularly his encounters with the other Resistance armies. “I admit, Lord Sun Ce and I did not really speak much about who was or wasn’t with his army,” he mused, belatedly taking a sip of wine and passing it on. “So there is every chance he might be there. But when Lord Ma Chao and I last spoke, he mentioned that there were several officers from every kingdom in Lord Oda’s service – he didn’t say who but he did say he was getting to know men from Wu and Wei as he never had before.”

Gan Ning accepted the assessment but since he wasn’t at liberty to travel too far, he couldn’t actually go looking in either of those places for Ling Tong. “I don’t care where he is as long as the jerk isn’t dead,” he grumbled, taking the jug and downing a huge gulp of wine. “It’s the not knowing that’s bugging me.”

“If we hear anything, we’ll make sure to let you know,” Yukimura promised.

“Yeah, you guys are good like that.” Ning reached to give Zhao Yun a punch to the shoulder. “We’ve sure come a long way, huh? You’re all supreme commander of Shu and all, I’ve been around and about and now I’m with Cao Pi of all people…”

“Lord Takeda will be pleased to know that you looked after Lord Azai for so long,” Yukimura assured, accepting the wine as it was handed his way. “And I thank you, as well.”

“Yeah, now that he’s alive to even hear about it,” Ning laughed. “Man, let me tell ya! That was a real punch in the gut when we heard about that. Good thing it all worked out in the end, but it looked real dark there for a while.” He pointed smartly toward Yukimura. “Tell the old man I said hey.”

The young samurai laughed. “I will, next time I write.”

The wine made another circuit of their circle, and then Zhao Yun breathed a contented sigh. “At least it is a fair night, good for enjoying the company of friends. I did not expect to enjoy myself so much in a Wei stronghold.”

“Yeah, well, lucky for all of us, Cao Cao isn’t much for socializing,” Ning said wryly. “Not that I see much of anybody now that I’m on main scouting missions, but even when I was stuck just cooling my heels here, I didn’t see a lot of him.”

“It is astonishing how much he reminds me of Oda Nobunaga,” Yukimura noted. “In the eyes, mostly, he has that same piercing look like he’s trying to run a spear through your heart with just his mind.”

Xingba snorted. “That a good thing or a bad thing?”

“I had the same thought when we met Lord Oda,” Yun said. “To be honest, I would much rather deal with him. There is far too much history between my lord and Cao Cao for me to be comfortable around him. The sooner we can finish our errand and get back, the better.”

“Here’s hoping Guan Yu is just as strong as everybody always said he was,” Ning shrugged. “I’ll do what I can for ya, I’m probably being sent out first thing in the morning on a new scouting run, to see what’s come of Orochi. If anyone’s gonna find out what happened in that battle and bring it back here, it’ll be me.”

“First thing? Should you be up late with us drinking, then?” Yukimura wondered.

Gan Ning grinned widely. “Ain’t no hangover in the world that can keep me from doing my job. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Yukimura, I’ll be fine.” It was his turn with the jug of wine, and he took an extra-deep gulp as if to spite the very idea that he’d be too drunk to ride. As he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and passed the jug along, he nodded to the two spearmen standing side by side with him. “So what’s goin’ on with you two, anyway? You sworn brothers now or something?”

Fortunately, Yukimura had not taken a drink yet or he might have choked on it. His eyes went wide behind the lip of the wine jug, and Zhao Yun froze with an uncertain smile. “Ah…what do you mean?” he asked before saying the wrong thing in reply.

“C’mon!” Ning said brashly. “I see the way you two look at each other. You’ve obviously been hangin’ out together enough to get close, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you took after Liu Bei and made an oath of brotherhood or something.”

Yes, Liu Bei; Yukimura seized on that bit and ran with it. “We haven’t, but I can see how that would be…erm. An idea.” He looked helplessly toward Zhao Yun for a better explanation.

Zilong met his gaze with a little shrug. “I actually hadn’t considered that. But, you do have a point, Master Gan Ning. We are the closest of friends.”

He waved off the wine, figuring he’d had enough, so it went back to Ning, who drained most of it and then snickered. “Closest of friends or closest of something else, eh? Don’t look so scandalized, geez,” he added as they both stared at him. “We all know this sort of thing goes on between swordbrothers sometimes. I ain’t gonna spill your secrets if you got ‘em, I’m just bein’ nosy on account of, I got nothin’ else going on around here.” He waved a hand in a huge, dismissive gesture. “Only women around here are all married to someone I ain’t about to cross and the only other option is goodness knows where…”

That sounded suspiciously like an admission of something, so Yun felt it safe to respond in kind. “I wouldn’t know how to say it, it’s…a very personal thing. But…maybe you aren’t seeing something that isn’t there.”

Ning nodded slowly like it was sinking in. “Right, right, I get ya. And you’re all honorable and keep personal things private, right? No sweat. Just, y’know, remember, way back when we met that first time?” His query was for Yukimura, he shifted to gesture enthusiastically toward the young samurai. “I kinda had to wonder about you and Naoe, you guys looked at each other the same way I see you and Zhao Yun trading looks.”

“Ah…” Yukimura blushed almost as crimson as his headband, though the twilight darkness around them covered it for the most part. “Well. Yes, I suppose there is that. You’re very observant, Master Gan Ning.”

Yun glanced at him. “Naoe…?”

“I’ll explain later,” Yukimura assured with a gentle touch to his arm, and then shot the pirate a look. “Privately.”

Xingba tossed back his head and laughed loudly. “Don’t want me sticking my nose in on your pillow talk, eh? Hah! Nah, it’s okay, I get it. Might as well go with it, really. Any little shred of something good you can find in this messed-up world, you grab onto it and hold on with all your might. Don’t let Orochi or anyone else take it away from you.” He hopped down off the parapet and set a heavy hand on each man’s shoulder, and they were sure now that he was just drunk enough that he needed to steady himself as much as impart a manly pat to each of them. “Hang onto it, all right? Don’t let it go, or you don’t know when you’re gonna see it again. Now, I’m gonna go sleep this off so I can get to scoutin’ in the morning. That should give you guys all the privacy you could want, yeah?”

He passed between them and went weaving his way toward the stairs around the corner. Yukimura and Zhao Yun shared a look, a sigh, and a resigned smile. So Gan Ning could tell what they were all about. Could others?

At the same time, gazing up at the same stars which glittered over the battlements of Xuchang, another pair of fast friends sat enjoying their own moon viewing at Fan Castle, though there wasn’t much of a moon yet that night. It would be rising later, so for now, Ma Chao and Naoe Kanetsugu were enjoying the other benefits of such a party: good companionship and a light drink of their own. Technically, Ma Chao had been sent on an important errand from Honnoji, but as long as he was there, the two of them took the time to sit and cultivate their friendship, sitting out on one of the upper causeways of Fan above the river, listening to the water churling against the foundations of the castle below and watching the sky grow darker and the stars sharper like diamonds against it. “Isn’t it incredible?” Chao mused with the cup held up to his lips. “Despite the war raging across this world, it still manages to press on the way it should, uninterrupted and undamaged. The sun still rises and sets, the stars still shine, the grass grows and the river flows.”

“So poetic, Ma Chao,” Kanetsugu murmured in approval. “And so true. It makes the squabbles of men feel even smaller, when we can see that the world will live on after we are gone.”

“And yet, what kind of world will it be? Our small squabbles can still leave it scarred.” Chao gestured vaguely to the open ground just beyond the river’s edge which they could see from their vantage point. There were none of the lava flows or charred pits of coal immediately visible but they did exist just below the hills. “It is much like how Orochi’s influence scarred the land, when he first created it. We have still been able to live and thrive in it, but it has been changed by his hand.”

“We all strive in our own ways to leave it a better place than we had it,” Kanetsugu sighed, “though most of us will never live to see whether or not we were successful.”

Chao nodded slowly over his cup. “So true, my friend. We can only live with justice and honor and hope that it will prove itself in the end, for our children or their children.”

Kanetsugu smiled softly, glancing over to him. Both were without their helms, and each considered the other so much younger and gentler-looking without it. Only a little torchlight from the walls reached them here, gilding the tips of Mengqi’s spiky blond hair. “Have you any children, Ma Chao?”

Chao met his gaze with a vague smile of his own. “Ah, no. Not yet. Perhaps someday, but that would require finding a wife, first.”

“Yes, that does help,” Kanetsugu chuckled. “Am I to take it that you’ve simply been too busy on the battlefield for such matters?”

“Ah…” Chao lifted his eyes to the stars to cover his embarrassment. “Is it that obvious?”

“I don’t know about obvious, but I feel as though I’ve come to know you well enough to guess. Mind you, it’s not a criticism,” Naoe quickly added. “In our time, many samurai must place duty and honor before all else. But I believe in love, and how it can find a way to reach everyone, no matter who they are or who they serve.”

“Love…” Ma Chao thought of his last visit home, and his chats with Zhao Yun, and lowered his eyes again, this time to the wine left in his cup. “It would be ideal, wouldn’t it? Especially in a place like this, where we could use all the love we can get. Alas, I see no chance of that in my future. Duty and justice will have to suffice.”

“No chance at all? I don’t believe that.”

Chao looked to his comrade, and though he itched to ask what he meant by that, for a moment he was caught by the gentle smile in Kanetsugu’s eyes. Without the great helm shadowing it his face was softer, framed by the hair too short to be pulled up into his topknot, and he seemed to be much more inclined to smile without any sternness. Chao sat back, putting a hand behind him, and coyly turned his attention back to the stars. “Are you a dreamer, then, Kanetsugu?”

“Perhaps, a bit.” Naoe drained his cup and set it down, amused when Ma Chao immediately shifted over to take the jar and pour him some more. “I have devoted myself to the god of love, whereas my Lord Kenshin serves the god of war. I find the samurai ideals of love and beauty in all things to be truly worth seeking.”

Mengqi nodded. “I have heard some about samurai, from Lord Mitsuhide mostly. I find it fascinating. To know that honor is still worth something a thousand years later, to the point that warriors aspire to it, become part of a great tradition…”

“Ah, yes. Lord Mitsuhide is well-practiced in several arts, including poetry. He would be a fine source for understanding the nature of samurai codes of honor.” Taking up his fresh cup, Kanetsugu held it close to really scent the aroma before taking a sip. “Lord Hideyoshi, also, he was not born a noble and yet still attained greatness. Among Lord Oda’s retainers, you will not lack for men of high stature to ask all about it.”

Chao breathed a hint of a laugh. “I need no men of high stature, only a willing friend.” He shot Kanetsugu a smile, which was easily returned. “Sanada Yukimura, he is also a samurai, if I recall correctly.”

“Yes, and a very dear friend of mine,” Kanetsugu admitted, “even though we serve lords who are each other’s enemy. I take it you have met him, recently.”

“Several times, yes. He is a good man, I am glad Zilong has him at his side.” He chose his words carefully in order to protect his own dear friend’s secret. “Even if your lords are at odds, I can see that both he and you are men of great honor. Does he, then, share the same beliefs?”

Kanetsugu held his gaze, already curious about his line of query. “In most things, yes, but as far as I know he is not eager to serve any god. He has always been a warrior, while I spent a brief time studying with the priesthood before choosing the way of Aizen Myo-ou. But that is neither here nor there.” He lifted his cup until a tilt of it caught the starlight in the reflection on the surface of the wine. “We are the same, and agree on a good many things, particularly the way of honor.”

“I see.” Even if he didn’t know the first thing about the Buddhist gods, Ma Chao could understand, and it put his mind at ease that Zhao Yun was involved with someone so right for him. He finished his drink and set his cup aside, waving off a refilling for now. “Tell me, then, Kanetsugu. To you…what place does love have in a dark and cruel world such as this?”

There was only a moment’s pause before Naoe replied, impassioned as ever. “Why, love has even more of a place in a world like this than anywhere! Orochi is the very face of cruelty and evil, and though we may resist him openly with our blades and spears, we must also resist him in our hearts, by choosing to love and share rather than embrace his darkness. To close ourselves off from one another is to hand him weapons to use against us. Our love for each other, whether a retainer for his lord, a lord for his people, siblings for one another, or brothers-in-arms for the cause of justice, is what makes us stronger. Orochi has tried to use these things against us, to divide us, but it has only united us and given us the strength to press on.” He hesitated, and then shifted an inch or two closer, his gaze intent on his comrade. “And I do mean all kinds of love, not just fealty or friendship or family. There are bonds between warriors that run even deeper than some trivial alliance made on paper.”

Chao was growing more certain he knew what bond, specifically, was meant, but he didn’t want to guess at it in case he was wrong. It would not do to offend his newfound friend. “It is not uncommon for the savagery of war to bring men closer together,” he suggested. “So it may be, here.”

“In that case, would it really be so difficult for even Ma Chao the Splendid to find it?” Kanetsugu leaned toward him, murmuring cautiously. “Can he even come to know it in the form of another man of honor?”

Worded so delicately like that, Chao could not help but be convinced. He sincerely liked Kanetsugu, the man was very much a mirror to him, a twin from a different time period. They agreed on so many tenets and he felt like Kanetsugu truly understood the burning need to pursue justice and uphold honor that drove him so fiercely through life. They spoke each other’s language, in a sense, and when no one around them could empathize, they knew each other’s minds so easily. As he searched the young man’s face for any sign that this was all a dream, Ma Chao found him genuinely handsome. The distant light of torches down the causeway and the starlight above gave his face a softness and his eyes a keen gleam. He lowered his eyes shyly away from that searching gaze. “I believe he can,” he said quietly, almost under his breath.

Kanetsugu took his chance, then, leaning in even further and tipping his head in order to brush his lips against Chao’s temple. “Even if not,” he encouraged in a quiet tone, “he can at least try. Neither would be a lesser man for the experience.”

“Yes…” Ma Chao raised his chin, took a moment to really look at Kanetsugu, searching his eyes and then his lips, and closed the gap for himself, kissing him fiercely with the same determined eagerness as he would display on the battlefield. It was brief, but fiery, and left them both gasping at the sudden energy of it. Both chuckled, and then Kanetsugu slid a hand over Chao’s, lightly clasping his wrist. “I am not good at courtship,” Chao warned. “And duty does still come first.”

“As it should,” Naoe agreed. “Who knows when it will allow us to even ride together, again? But I am not asking to court, only to let what may happen, happen. You are like a brother to my heart, Ma Chao, I would see where it leads.”

Chao opened his mouth to agree, and then found himself admitting something else entirely. “My name is styled Mengqi. You may use it, if you wish.”

Kanetsugu wisely gathered that he was being afforded a great honor and a sign of comradeship, and nodded eagerly. “Then, Mengqi. What do you think?”

“I think…it is long past time that I allowed myself to truly live.” Chao inched closer himself and pulled his hand free in order to reach up and run exploring fingertips along Kanetsugu’s brow. “Even if this world crumbles and falls apart when we finally undo Orochi, I will have at least known happiness, even for one fleeting moment.”

Naoe dropped his gaze shyly at the touch and then raised it again to meet the warm brown eyes across from him. “If I am to be that happiness, then I will pour my heart and soul into it,” he murmured, leaning in to press their heads together.

They sat for a long time in the darkness, spending most of it looking at one another rather than at the stars or the sliver of rising moon as it peeped above the treetops. They finished off Kanetsugu’s last cup of wine together, sharing it between them, and then silently paid their own homage to beauty and honor through little affections, entwining fingers callused by long years of weapons-handling and letting their lips test one another’s faces and necks for sensitive spots. By the time the moon rose it was quite late, and they parted as easily as they came together, picking themselves up and gathering up their moon-viewing refreshments to take back into the castle with them. Several sentries had known their plan to go and enjoy the night, but none of them had witnessed it for themselves, so for now, the development between them remained their secret alone. And yet, as he walked with Kanetsugu back toward their quarters, chatting breezily about plans to write one another, Ma Chao knew that as soon as he returned to Honnoji, his cousin would want to know everything. He could hardly deny Ma Dai the chance to get excited about something, particularly something so splendid that was happening to him. Dai had always been his personal champion, wanting the best for him; maybe he would be even happier for Chao than he was for himself. No, he thought as he paused at the door to his guest quarters for another warm press of Kanetsugu’s hand into his, that couldn’t be possible, because he was happier than he had ever been in his life. Even if it was just an infatuation, it didn’t matter. He could ride to meet death at Orochi’s hand, now, and not regret it.

  


The fallout from the determined Shu offensive at Mikatagahara would not be widely known for a few days, but once their own scouts verified that the Orochi army had, in fact, packed up their camp and returned eastward the way they had come, Guan Yu wasted no time in sending missives back to Chengdu as well as abroad. His hasty letter to Zhao Yun arrived at Xuchang the same day Gan Ning and his hardiest scouts rode back in with the same news, that Orochi had been driven away from Chengdu and apparently decided to return to his own territories to think up a new strategy. Their army was still on the move, but it seemed roughly headed toward Bai Di, though there was a lot of land still east and south of Xuchang which lay vulnerable to his passage, so all strongholds under the control of Wei and Oda went on high alert until they could pick up the exact location of the traveling force. Cao Pi and Zhao Yun stood together in the main hall to receive the report directly from Gan Ning, and then compared it to the message sent straight from Mikatagahara. “Then, Guan Yu is right, and Orochi decided to break off his assault after facing them,” the latter said incredulously. “I did not think it possible for the demon to admit defeat.”

“It may be more than you think,” Cao Pi cautioned. “Your letter mentions that the mystic Zuo Ci joined them, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched to expect that his presence is why Orochi withdrew. It won’t be as easy for whoever is next to face him, if they don’t have a sorcerer in their midst.”

“Zuo Ci.” The dark grumble came from their right, as Cao Cao trudged into the hall to overhear that much. He looked thoroughly disgusted. “That fool is in this world? You would be better off casting him out of your midst, Zhao Yun. Never take up with a Taoist trickster, he will bring you nothing but trouble.”

Zhao Yun straightened up sharply at being addressed directly, by name, by Lord Cao Cao, though a frown quickly knotted his brow. “Master Zuo Ci was responsible for setting me free from Orochi’s prisons and setting me on the path that has brought me to where I am,” he countered. “I appreciate your advice, Lord Cao Cao, but I will handle my affairs as I see fit.”

Cao Pi did his absolute best to suppress a smirk at the sight of anyone talking back to his father, but a hint of it slipped out. “I am grateful you chose to share Guan Yu’s report with me directly, Lord Zhao Yun,” he said airily in an attempt to cover it. “It was extremely enlightening, and combined with Gan Ning’s information, I feel well-equipped to prepare our next move. If they have not already begun to ride, you may send Xiahou Dun back to me.”

“Of course,” Yun said more calmly, turning back to him. “I thank you, again, for the reinforcements. If there is anything you need from us, say the word.”

“You will be the first to know,” Pi agreed. “Will you be returning to Chengdu, then?”

“I believe it best not to delay. Gan Ning’s report is clear that the Orochi army is no longer in our way, so Yukimura and I should be able to return safely and swiftly.” He nodded to acknowledge the pirate, who gave him a bold tip of his head back.

“Very well. If there is anything else your allies in Wei can do for you, you know where to find me.” Cao Pi called out orders for his attendants to supply their visitors with whatever they needed for the return trip and saddle their horses, and then offered to escort them personally to the gate. He was aware of his father’s eyes on his back as he did so, but kept his cool, knowing smile up until they had left the palace and started down the steps. There, he finally felt the freedom to speak openly and honestly with the Shu commander. “Stay on your guard, when you return to the capital,” he said quietly, clasping his hands behind his back beneath his cloak. “I hope it is as obvious to you as it is to me that this is only a momentary victory. Orochi cannot be so weak as to be bested by any of us so easily, even Guan Yu.”

Zhao Yun shook his head. “No, I agree. I remember what it was like to have his blade at my throat and his claws in my chest…he is not that easy to defeat. With or without Master Zuo Ci’s help.”

“Good. You are no fool, Zhao Yun – I like that about you.” Cao Pi walked with them across the courtyard to wait for their horses and supplies to be brought to them, chatting idly about less urgent things as he went. “This world certainly has made fools of us, hasn’t it? To think, that I should find myself so eager to cooperate with you. Perhaps that is why Da Ji wanted you destroyed.” He gave Yun an easygoing smirk, even though both spearmen looked back at him with curiosity and concern. “You are just as charismatic as your lord. I always said there was a reason people flocked to him, even if we couldn’t tell what it was. I think some of that has rubbed off on you.”

“You flatter me,” Yun said modestly, “and I still don’t know what I have done to earn such kind words from you, Lord Cao Pi.”

“I am a man prone to speaking his mind,” Cao Pi noted. “It just so happens that once in a while, that means I can find it in me to say nice things about my former enemies.” He nodded to Yukimura hovering just on Yun’s other side. “Believe as you like about why I would say anything to you all, it doesn’t matter in the end. What matters is that the foundation you wanted to lay has been laid. Our alliance is solid, as you wished. Is that not to your liking?”

Zhao Yun lowered his eyes briefly. “No, it is. I thank you, then. We will meet again, and soon, I believe.”

“If I may add one thing,” Yukimura broke in, even as the castle guard led their horses up. He faced Cao Pi squarely and bowed. “Whatever you have done to strengthen Ishida Mitsunari, please, continue doing it. I have not seen him so content with his life in a long time.”

That finally took Cao Pi aback, enough that his eyes widened. “What I have done?”

“He is a friend,” Yukimura explained, “and yes, I believe it is thanks to you that he looks so happy. As his friend I thank you, Lord Cao Pi.”

Pi regarded him for a moment, keeping his face neutral, and then nodded once. “As you wish, Lord Sanada.”

They made their farewells quickly from there, and in no time at all the two spearmen were riding for home as fast and as hard as they dared to push it. They could get quite some distance before nightfall without running their horses into the ground, and so they did. “I’m surprised,” Yukimura laughed as they rode with their faces toward the westering sun. “I was expecting him to be far more…ah, sharp, I suppose.”

“I have never been treated so kindly by someone from Wei,” Zhao Yun admitted. “You saw the way Lord Cao Cao reacted to us? I was expecting more of that. At least,” he added brightly, “your friend seems to be doing all right. That was good to hear.”

Yukimura smiled broadly; he had gotten his chance to catch up with Mitsunari in earnest, and while he felt his friend was still holding some things back, that was just the way he was. Everything he heard and saw in Mitsunari, including his day to day behavior as Wei’s top strategist, was good news. “It is indeed. Now, if we could just find some good news for Master Gan Ning, I think everyone will be in a better place.”

Remembering that, Zhao Yun resolved to ask the next time he sent a letter to Sun Ce. “We need all the good news we can get, if we’re right about the battle we’re going to be facing soon. We may face a true darkness, then, so we will need our hearts steeled against it.”

Even with everyone hedging their bets against anything Zhuge Liang could find out, it sounded like nearly everyone with some understanding of Orochi’s ways was certain that Liu Bei was in the demon’s stronghold, Koshi Castle away to the west where the lava was still fresh and the smoke-filled skies never let the sun through. Zhao Yun was starting to set his mind toward it, preparing himself for that day. If he thought being a captive at Ueda or facing his comrades as traitors was darkness, it was nothing compared to what likely lay ahead. Yukimura grunted his agreement. “That time will come. For now, we must keep our eyes closer to home. I think Lord Cao Pi is right, we have to be prepared in case Orochi’s defeat only strengthens his resolve to destroy us. To that end, we must hurry home.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Yun smirked, and then clapped his heels to his horse to urge it on even faster.

Oda Nobunaga likewise had a close eye on their mutual enemy and scouts poised to run to deliver his orders to any of his other strongholds, should their intention be to attack one of his units rather than retreat to Bai Di. He had been aware of Orochi’s arrival all along, thanks to his own spies keeping watch on the enemy headquarters since the first day he had idly mentioned the idea of attacking it to Mitsuhide, which meant that he knew even before Wei that Orochi was making his first move of many. Fortunately, his trust in Cao Pi’s capability was rewarded in that he didn’t need to send any of his own men out to assist the other resistance armies, but he still demanded daily updates on what his scouts could find and the maximum preparedness out of his own army. Sending Ma Chao to coordinate with Takeda and Uesugi had been but one of Oda’s crucial moves to ensure that he was ready to handle whatever may come, he had several others also in motion and prepared still more to be launched at the right time. Upon his return to Honnoji he had reinstated the use of the large room with the splendid porch as his map room and official audience chamber, as it had been before the taking of Guandu, and spent much of his time there going over new reports and picking the brains of his cadre of strategists. Hanbei had slid easily into the role of primary strategist as he had been in Oda’s early career, but given his propensity to prefer naps to work, there were always others with him, onto whom he could pawn the most onerous of duties if he really wanted to. It was too easy to get Lu Xun to acquiesce, the young Wu tactician was eager to please and be of even the slightest assistance, but not so much with Sima Shi – he was too wise to Hanbei’s tricks already. And Kanbei surely knew better, only going along with Hanbei’s wishes if he begged hard enough or simply felt like it. The day the messages from Xuchang finally reached Honnoji with the unheard-of news that Orochi had essentially been defeated, they were all gathered with their lord and Mitsuhide in the map room and passed the letter from one to another so they could all verify that there was no ambiguity in the written words. “It is sparse on details, but the core truth is what is crucial,” Nobunaga pointed out as Shi stared at the page. “The reason that army passed back through so quickly was not due to Shu’s loss, but their triumph, it seems.”

“Well, good for them!” Hanbei said brightly. “I knew it was a possible option but I guess I was being too pessimistic to think it could have been the right answer.”

“I expected he might have smelled out a more tempting target,” Kanbei murmured pensively. “Else, had he bested the Shu army there, he would have continued on to Chengdu.”

“Whatever part Cao Pi and his men played, it did the trick,” Lu Xun said with some relief, “or so it seems. I would be interested to hear the full version of the story when it comes out.”

“I’m sure we will, in due time.” Sima Shi finished inspecting the missive and passed it back to Mitsuhide. “The reports from this morning have that army moving at a reduced pace. Something is slowing them down.”

“Whether he returns to his safe tower in haste or at a leisurely pace, it does not matter,” Oda remarked, “so long as we determine whether that is in fact his destination. If he continues on, several Resistance targets lay beyond that path, both ours and Wu’s.” He clasped his hands behind his back and stepped down to look more closely at the map table, which all of them sat around. “The serpent is more unpredictable than I anticipated. We cannot simply rely on our usual expectations when he is involved.”

“Guandu is still vulnerable, he will be passing near enough to it soon,” Kanbei pointed out, gracefully sweeping a hand toward the map. “In the past he did not let cold and snow stop him from launching an attack.”

“Unless he cuts through the mountains,” Mitsuhide countered, murmuring from behind a hand as he contemplated all their options. “He could come out above Xiapi, take a shortcut through Kanegasaki, or even move on Wu directly from that direction.”

“But what if he just goes and holes up in Bai Di again?” Hanbei complained. “Then there’s not much we can do either way.”

“I am not interested in the hypotheticals,” Oda broke in with a curt shake of his head. “I only want to know where Orochi is going, so I can move accordingly. If what we have is not enough information to go on, then get me more. Send out as many scouts and spies as we must, I will not be caught wrong-footed because we couldn’t track him fast enough.”

Kanbei nodded. “Yes, my lord.”

“One other thing. Hanbei.” Nobunaga turned swiftly toward him. “Whatever came of that investigation into the source of the gold being paid to Dong Zhuo?”

Hanbei made a sour face. “Not much, Lord Nobunaga. I managed to get someone tracking one of the shipments, but they lost the trail in the pass of Sishui Gate during a blizzard. By that time, everybody was already talking about Orochi coming in person, so I don’t think there’s going to be anything else to find.”

Oda scowled to himself at the fruitless endeavor, and then let it go with a heavy sigh. “Very well. Let us focus our efforts on what is happening and what is to come. Allowing the snake to slither across this land with impunity will lead to our undoing, he must not be afforded the freedom to come and go as he pleases. He may have created this world,” he added darkly, “but he no longer possesses it.”

He dismissed them with every intention of taking advantage of the fine weather to go and enjoy the gardens, to clear his head so he could more rationally consider his options and make the right decisions, but before he could completely escape, a notation on the map caught his eye, reminding him of something he had been plotting but hadn’t yet carried out. Without looking up, he called back one of the men streaming past him. “Lu Xun. A word.”

Lu Xun came to a halt and turned swiftly, letting the others pass him by. “Yes, my lord?”

“There is something that concerns me,” Oda murmured, eyes still fixed on the map. “Something I believe you may be able to assist with.”

“Me?” Xun looked back to verify that no one else had been held back, all the others were long gone, and then edged closer. “What can I do for you?”

Nobunaga finally pulled his eyes from the map and turned to face the young tactician squarely. “You’ve been keeping up to date on the reports from Chosokabe, as regards Chi’bi, haven’t you?”

He meant it less as a question and more as a knowing statement, since Lu Xun had brought him the latest reports that morning – again, it wasn’t the first time. Xun raised his head to meet his gaze and did his best not to shrink back; his temporary lord still had the power to fluster just by staring down any of his retainers, particularly when he was just so _tall_. “I have been,” he admitted. “Master Takenaka suggested each of us take a focus, with so many different frontiers to keep track of, and mine has been the supply routes at Chi’bi.”

“Ah. And I would imagine, whether or not you yourself have fought there, the tale of the Battle of Chi’bi which has echoed down through time would be an important course in the training of a strategist of Wu.” Nobunaga tipped his head toward the map. “Now that I have a moment, I would hear your assessment. Not just the scouting reports, I want to know what you think.”

Lu Xun was never not surprised when Lord Oda genuinely wanted his opinion, he always felt outclassed by the other intelligent tacticians in the warlord’s service whether it was true or not. He took a deep breath for courage and put on his business face, brow knitting a bit in seriousness. “It has been obvious for some time now that the Orochi army is building up to something there, but this morning’s report has me concerned. The encampment there has grown too large to ignore, and the number of boats they’ve managed to secure from elsewhere and bring up the Jiangdong to meet there is troubling. Yet, it’s so distant from any of our holdings that it isn’t feasible for us to be the ones to go in there and put a stop to it.”

Nobunaga studied him for a moment and then turned slightly to the side, so he wouldn’t continue to loom over him. “When we first received word about this troop movement at Chi’bi, I requested that Chosokabe send everything he tells me to Wu as well,” he reminded. “I’m sure they’re aware of it. Still.” He frowned to himself. “You are correct. Leaving it be is no way to stand up against Orochi. Even if it is just a supply depot or a waypoint on their transport route, it benefits him and could be trouble for us.”

“If Lord Sun Ce has this information, then he’s probably already moving to handle it,” Lu Xun reasoned. “Lord Zhou Yu would never let this much activity at Chi’bi go unsupervised.”

“Would you like to assist them?” Oda made the offer first and then slyly glanced his way again to gauge his reaction. “I have no doubts about Lord Sun Ce’s competence, but a little extra assurance goes a long way, for all of us.”

Xun blinked in surprise. “I…are you sure, Lord Oda? I mean, I know the army is large and capable of anything, and you have Lord Ma Chao coordinating something with Lord Takeda, but…” His brow knit again, contemplating the consequences of any and all possible actions. “Sending manpower away to other errands might not be wise if Orochi’s path leads to one of our doors.”

“I am aware of the risk,” Nobunaga assured. “I have calculated it and decided it would be worth it, to ensure Wu’s success and survival. At this very moment, none of us may know exactly where Orochi is headed, but in the coming days that should change. I would prefer to have my pieces already moving across the board to counter him, rather than attempt to play catch-up after the fact.”

Xun nodded slowly in understanding. “Very well, then. I accept, Lord Oda. What are your orders?”

“Orders are up to you,” Oda said shrewdly. “You are a fine strategist, Master Boyan, surely you can decide what best to do when you see the situation for yourself. But I do suggest that you take a couple of officers with you. I believe I can even spare Toshiie at a time like this.”

The compliment as well as the respectful use of his style name made Lu Xun flush as red as his hat for a moment, and he repaid it by clasping his fist sternly and properly. “As you wish, my lord.”

Oda regarded him with cool confidence. “I also suggest you not delay for even one more scouting report. I will ensure that anything of importance is sent to you in the field, while Hanbei collects all the insignificant information he’s been pawning off on you.”

Xun smiled awkwardly and nearly stood up for Hanbei – he did like the tiny strategist, after all, and didn’t see his preparations or focus as pawning anything off – but he let it go with a quick bow before excusing himself to head off and get a start on travel preparations.

No sooner had Nobunaga left the map room and he found Mitsuhide falling in beside him, appearing out of nowhere and tagging along as if he meant to all along. “It is in motion, then?” he quietly asked as they strode together down the corridor toward the door.

“It is,” Oda confirmed. “Have we heard from Ma Chao?”

“I have just been to the gate,” his retainer answered smoothly, “to see to that alert from our guards. It was him, he has returned with Naoe Kanetsugu and Uesugi Kagekatsu in tow.”

“Prompt as ever. I like that about him,” Oda purred. “Excellent. Our move still depends on collecting that information I asked for, because we cannot step a foot outside our fortresses until it is absolutely clear that we are in Orochi’s blind spot. In order to do so, I need Orochi’s attention turned elsewhere. If Lu Xun is correct and his countrymen are already on top of it, our reinforcements will only add to the size of the bait. If not, I’m sure he knows exactly how to plead with Zhou Yu to get them to make a show of force that Orochi cannot resist.” He stepped through the doorway and down the stairs to the gravel path below, turning to follow it toward the inner gardens. As he did, he shot Mitsuhide a quick look. “I don’t suppose you have it in you to convince Chosokabe to give them a hand as well.”

Mitsuhide paled briefly and then shook his head. He had, in fact, been handling most of the return correspondence with his friend, and knew more than most about their status at Xin Di on the coast. “Lord Motochika is adamant about staying out of the war,” he said heavily. “It doesn’t matter what I say, he will not move. Watching the river and reporting on what they see is already beyond what he would have been comfortable with.”

Oda clucked his tongue in disappointment. “He will not be able to remain neutral much longer. My patience grows thin, and I can imagine, so does Orochi’s. If he would prefer a friendly ally on his doorstep rather than a demon, he ought to stop playing coy.”

“I already know you won’t allow me to ride there and see to it in person.”

“It isn’t that I don’t trust you, Mitsuhide,” Nobunaga said dryly, with the slightest implication that maybe he really didn’t, “simply that I cannot spare you when we’re planning such a large assault. Once I have completed my task, then we shall see.”

“I’m sure,” Mitsuhide sighed. “That was all I had to report, that the announcement of an arrival was Ma Chao as we hoped.”

“What, you don’t want to join me in the garden?” his lord teased him, smirking darkly. “It’s such a nice day for it.”

Mitsuhide countered his smirk with an exasperated look. “Not if you want this venture to go off without a hitch.”

Nobunaga chuckled to himself and came to a stop at the next gate. “Very well, blame work if you must. If I am needed, I will be here, making the most of what’s left of today. If all goes according to plan, this may be the last chance I get to rest in a long while.”

Akechi was completely in on all of his lord’s plans, at the moment, and considered his warning carefully. “I suppose, you have a point. I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you, though, the Uesugi representatives may want an audience with you.”

“It can wait,” Oda assured, pushing the gate open. “I leave everything else to you, Mitsuhide. Tell the men they disturb me at their own risk.”

Mitsuhide waited until he had ducked inside the quiet bamboo garden and then turned on his heel to head off to handle all the work he now had piled on his shoulders. He had already greeted Uesugi and Naoe, given Ma Chao permission to stand down, and saw to the other minutiae of his position. Yet, as he contemplated his lord’s expectations for the future of their endeavor, he decided to take one more task upon himself before he could call it a day. There was someone in Wu who deserved a letter and an update, and if Oda was too busy to do it himself, Mitsuhide would see to it for him. It wasn’t that they needed reinforcements, necessarily, but if some showed up anyway, it could only work to everyone’s advantage. He simply had to word it correctly, and as he strode back across the temple compound, he was already composing the letter in his head.


	70. Chapter 70

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the other armies hold tight, Wu moves to attack Orochi's forces at the infamous bay of Chi'bi.

The army which rode out of Hefei was about the same size as the one which earlier flew across the land to rescue Sun Jian and Sun Quan, though this time, the rightful Lord of Wu was going as the commander rather than some refugee. They had not even delayed to wait for word from their allies far away, they were already on the move when the letter from Zhao Yun arrived to apprise them of the situation at Mikatagahara. The news of Orochi’s retreat was astonishing and filled the Wu army with optimism for their own adventures, though at that time they had no idea just what kind of direct bearing that defeat would have on their planned assault. This was no small errand for Sun Jian and his army, they had every expectation that they would meet heavy resistance at Chi’bi, up to and including Lu Bu himself if his men at nearby He Fei Castle had been supervising the activities there. Thus, their army was large and well-armed, and he rode with Taishi Ci as his bodyguard and Zhou Yu himself leading the strategy. Their combined knowledge of the terrain made them the perfect force to go and roust out anyone attempting to claim a foothold at the famed riverside cliffs, though they were accompanied by Sakon, Hattori, and Kunoichi. Shima Sakon had asked to join this sortie, to give Zhou Yu some backup if nothing else, and since Sun Jian had taken a liking to the big, gruff ronin, he was all too happy to let him come along. The two ninjas were merely extra manpower; since Hanzo had remained with Sun Ce rather than return to Edo with Tokugawa, Ce made sure he had plenty to do to keep him busy, including going out to do battle regardless of whether or not his ninja skill set was needed. They moved across the land at a steady pace, aiming straight for the bend in the Jiangdong which now opened out onto a wide bay below the red cliffs, hoping to reach it before the Orochi army could regroup and make good on whatever sinister plots they were hatching, there. By now Zhou Yu was convinced that they were storing up for an assault on Wu, one way or another, and like their allies in Shu, no one wanted to wait around for Orochi to darken Hefei’s doorstep before they got up to do something about it. They would rather take battle to him elsewhere, and if they could get so far ahead as to demolish his army before he could even join them, so much the better.

While they made their way inland, Sima Yi found himself forced to make the trek to Chi’bi in person, in order to carry out the demon warlord’s demands for him to manage their preparations there. Word came to them late of his thwarted efforts westward, but he was over-late in returning to Bai Di, leaving the strategist with no choice. Leaving Date in charge at Bai Di, he took the Katakura rifle corps with him, as well as Guo Huai and Deng Ai just to be sure. Halfway there, their scouts brought the first warnings that a large force had moved up from Wu. It was frustrating news, but Sima Yi was not inclined to roll over and let them have Chi’bi just as they had in a previous time and place. Without Cao Cao there to gainsay his recommendations, and Zhuge Liang clear on the other end of the map at the moment, he had every confidence that he could manage, this time, to do what he could not before. He arrived to find that the troops currently holding the supply depot and the large fleet anchored at the base of the cliffs had no idea that they were about to be the target of an assault, and took great pleasure in whipping them into shape. There was no sign as of yet of the Wu army, so he deployed the Katakura along with his own men before sending out a call for reinforcements from He Fei Castle. If Lu Bu himself was still out in the wilderness with Lord Orochi, Yi would take anyone still at the castle. He was determined to prove himself, here, even without the stigma of Cao Cao’s legendary defeat hanging over his head. Defending Chi’bi was personal, but gaining a significant victory for Orochi was crucial to keeping his head on his shoulders as well as turning the momentum of the war against the Resistance. There was too much at stake here for him to get ahead of himself, so Sima Yi ordered the defenses and tightened the supply lines between his location and He Fei, just in case. The one thing he didn’t do, contrary to all advice given, was bring Maeda Keiji along. Even if he was healthy, now, Yi had left him behind and even now, with new information at hand, did not request such elite backup. Whether it would be to his advantage or his ruin, he neither guessed nor cared.

While the players moved toward one another on the game board of Chi’bi, the other Resistance cells were not content to rest on their laurels and assume that Orochi’s loss against Guan Yu meant that he was weakened as an opponent and easier to battle against. Zhao Yun and Yukimura wasted no time, riding hard across the land to return home and receive a full report on Mikatagahara from their officers directly, even if it meant asking them to tell their entire tale for at least the fifth time over. Guan Yu certainly didn’t mind, and even though he shared everything at the official audience, he wasn’t surprised when the topic came up again in a more informal capacity. Dinner was over and most of the officers had scattered to their duties or to bed, but he sat with Zhao Yun for a while, privately discussing the nuances of the battle and the simultaneous conference at Xuchang. “Of course I was surprised,” the God of War grunted, waving his half-empty cup in a wide gesture, “none of us would have expected Orochi to just walk away from a battle like that. If you ask me…” He paused to look both ways around them, hunting for eavesdroppers – or one in particular, at least. Satisfied that no one was around to catch him, he leaned in closer and finished his sentence quietly. “…if you ask me, Master Zuo Ci had something to do with it. I’m almost positive.”

Zhao Yun shook his head slowly. He had been quite pleased to encounter the mysterious priest upon returning to Luo Castle, and thanked him profusely for saving his comrades’ lives the way his own life had been saved. Some part of him knew there was more to the mystic than any of them could understand, but he didn’t question it. “If so, then we owe him yet again. But I expect he has had enough of my gushing gratitude and just wants to go about his business unmolested.”

“Perhaps so,” Guan Yu acknowledged, “but if he’s going to stay here at Luo and join himself to the cause of Shu, he’ll have to be prepared for nosy questions. You are the commander, and as such, cannot allow anyone to just do as they please on a battlefield with no regard for strategy or personnel.”

“You would suggest I attempt to give orders to a mystic of his regard?” There was humor behind Zhao Yun’s incredulous question, but under the surface it was true: they had all heard the tales of how the Taoist enjoyed harassing Cao Cao and getting away with it, his reputation for capricious behavior preceded him. “It isn’t just that I owe him my life,” Yun went on, sobering. “Every last person here at Luo, everyone who considers themselves part of the Shu Resistance, owes their safety and life to Zuo Ci in some way.”

“Because he rescued you from that prison beneath Ueda Castle,” Guan Yu reasoned.

“It’s more than that.” Yun glanced briefly to where Yukimura sat close by, silently attending him while the Tiger Generals talked. There wasn’t a single flicker of emotion on his fair face at the reminder that his family’s castle played host to such an unpleasant scene. “Master Zuo Ci did not simply unlock a prison door. He gave me back my spirit. Without him telling me that Lord Liu Bei was alive and needed me, I might have succumbed to despair and allowed that captivity to break me. He gave me back a reason to live, a reason to fight – and for that I have been forging ahead without stopping, ever since. Without that, we would never have become a resistance cell with the strength to go on, never would have rescued prisoners or protected the Nanman from destruction. Yukimura might have followed through and destroyed our own people right here, never knowing that he had been deceived. Even if Lord Liu Bei still remains Orochi’s prisoner, it is because of him that we have come this far, and it is because of Zuo Ci that my feet were set upon that path in the first place.”

Yu regarded him with a deep, sagacious clarity and nodded once in understanding. “Make no mistake, my friend. I am glad to have him in our ranks, too, even if I find him mysterious and am not sure how to deal with him. But he saved you in order to save my brother, so perhaps you’re right: I do owe him.”

“I’m not asking anyone to become friends, here,” Yun said gently, his smile returning. “Simply that so long as he wishes to be counted among us, we will have him, and work together as we have with everyone from the Sanadas to the Nanman to Pang De.”

“It could be that we will have great need of his sorceries,” Yukimura put in, “now that we’re facing Orochi himself. It’s possible that all of us who wish to run a blade through the demon will not be able to do so without a mystic’s help.”

“I had not thought of that,” Guan Yu admitted, stroking his beard. “By all means, then. We move forward together, as one.”

Zhao Yun nodded. Since the brothers had returned to them, Guan Yu had immediately stepped into his usual role as a general without any fuss, he had the peoples’ trust and the confidence of both comrades and underlings without needing to work for it. For him to agree with his commander’s assessment was a sign that Yun had nothing to fear – his army, and his people, were in this until the end and ready to follow him anywhere. He glanced back at Yukimura to share a quick smile with him. “As one. We will gain everything we seek, I believe it more today than I ever have.”

It seemed easy to say so, at least from his perspective, but Guan Yu did not disagree. Zhao Yun did not need to stand in front of the serpent demon himself in order to know whether or not he was strong enough to overcome him. And, from the stories told, it sounded like he had, once, every bit as much as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had. Zilong’s confidence was hard-fought and hard-won, no one could gainsay it. Yet, even as he sat smiling warmly at the two friends bumping forearms in solidarity for their long-running goal, Yu found himself hoping against hope that it wasn’t just hopeful words, that they really did have the strength to finally do it. Orochi’s loss to them was being lauded across the land as the first of many miracles for the Resistance, but he knew first-hand the truth of it. It hadn’t been a clear-cut victory or defeat, the enemy had simply withdrawn in the night and no one could say for certain that it was their doing. It was equally possible Orochi had received word from one of his other strongholds of a more dangerous threat or a more tempting target, and decided to pursue it instead. He had said as much to Zhuge Liang when they returned, but it couldn’t completely stop some of the rank and file from getting excited about the possibility that Orochi really could be ended, and Guan Yu wasn’t the one to quash their hopes. Even if it was overly optimistic, he preferred that their soldiers cling to optimism and set their sights on defeating Orochi rather than fear him. That, more than anything, was what mattered to the army’s morale, even if he and the other generals, strategists, and their commander himself knew the true outcome of the battle.

At the same time, in the now-deserted pass above Tong Gate, Dong Zhuo was lying on a pallet in his tent, groaning loudly. Moments before, his brother had warned him that Lu Bu was heading toward them and looked to be in a powerful temper, so Zhuo made sure he looked and sounded like he was in considerable pain so that when the mighty warrior threw open the tent flap and barged in, he got more than an earful of his former lord’s complaints. “Is there something you need, Lord Lu Bu?” Min implored as obsequiously as he possibly could, keeping his head tucked down against his shoulders like a turtle. “My lord is extremely unwell – surely you can hear…”

“I don’t care how much pain he’s in,” Lu Bu growled. “Lord Orochi has orders and will not tolerate disobedience!”

He shoved Min out of his way and blustered through to the inner chamber of the tent, making the whole canvas structure tremble as he shouldered through the doorway. He turned his vicious glare on the rotund man writhing around on his pallet, at which point Zhuo gave up overemphasizing it and simply laid there, unwilling to even greet him by sitting up. “Do you really think I’m going to fall for this kind of intimidation?” he grumbled up at his ex-retainer. “No amount of glowering down at me is going to heal my wounds, Lu Bu.”

He had learned long ago of his fate at this man’s hands, there were more than enough of his own retainers around whispering about it from whom to learn the story, so Dong Zhuo had ceased to be civil to Lu Bu quite some time ago. The only reason they still managed to work together came through a few shared retainers, though direct orders from Orochi had also kept them far apart for much of the war so far. Likewise, Lu Bu had not regained a shred of respect for his former lord in the ensuing time, so he viewed Zhuo wriggling like a worm on his sickbed as nothing more than mud on the bottom of his boot. He drew himself up to his full height, the feathers of his headdress scraping the ceiling of the tent, and ramped his savage glare up as high as it would go. “Lord Orochi is not at all impressed with your excuses,” he seethed angrily, clenching his hands into fists at his sides. “If you are so badly injured that you would slow him down, I might as well kill you right here to put you out of your misery!”

Zhuo finally sat up in alarm, but the sudden movement did genuinely strain his injuries and have him hissing in pain, wrapping an arm over his middle. Jiang Wei had cut him across the same spot Cao Cao had hit, reopening the wound and worsening it. Yet, the one thing he did not want in all the world was death, so even pain would not stop Dong Zhuo from protesting. “Don’t even think about it! Lord Orochi is short on manpower as it is, and I don’t think he’s given you orders to do any harm to me!”

“He will if you become completely useless to him,” Lu Bu threatened darkly.

Zhuo gritted his teeth and forced himself to match his glare. “Does he not understand that I’m too injured to fight right now? You’ve seen the medics treating me, you know it isn’t just a little scratch.” He pulled back the blanket and opened his shirt to show the bandages. “Does he have a problem with this?”

“He does when it slows us down,” Lu Bu countered, only briefly glancing over the evidence before fixing his glare back on the tyrant’s bearded face. “At the end of this road is Chi’bi, and beyond that, our assault on the Wu Resistance. If you are not capable of assisting him with this campaign, you are every bit as worthless as a dead man – or worse, a traitor.”

Dong Zhuo flushed in fear. It didn’t matter that Orochi was still paying him as requested, he was convinced that if he ever decided the gold wasn’t enough, his severance pay for leaving the Orochi army would be a sword between the ribs at best. Terror of the alternative was as much a motivator as the gold itself, and they were currently far away from his hoarded boxes of shiny compensation. “Then leave me behind!” he begged. “I will return to Bai Di from here and send someone else in my place.”

Lu Bu sneered at him. “Do you really think Lord Orochi would simply let you go? You would use the opportunity to desert, and you know what that means. I would take great pleasure in ending you with my own hand a second time.” His eyes flashed in the dim darkness. “That joy never gets old.”

Frustrated and terrified, Zhuo grabbed for the nearest item next to his bed and tried to throw it at his tormentor. It turned out to be a clay cup, and Lu Bu simply thrust out his chest and let it shatter against his armor. “Do you think me that stupid, that I would run away knowing full well that he’ll hunt me down and gut me like a deer?” Zhuo blazed. “I will swear on my ancestors that I’ll go back to Bai Di and wait for him!”

Lu Bu’s eyes widened; that was a dangerous thing to say, but if he said it, he meant it. Taking him at his word, the tall warrior simply scowled at him in disgust. “It would be better if you simply remained here,” he said sternly, “but we may not pass back this way.”

“Good, because it’s too damn cold here,” the tyrant muttered.

“Then tuck your tail between your legs and crawl back to Bai Di,” Lu Bu went on, raising his voice so that everyone near the tent could hear. “But your retainers are coming with me. We have need of them in the coming campaign against Wu. You can keep your pathetic brother, he should be enough to get you back to headquarters alive.”

Dong Zhuo sat up to protest again, but the searing pain across his abdomen shut him down and left him wilting in surrender. “Fine!” he snarled back. “If that’s Lord Orochi’s order, then so be it!”

Lu Bu tipped his chin up in superiority and gloated over him. “Lord Orochi’s order was for me to see if there were any way to hurry you along. This is a much better solution than dragging your sorry carcass behind my horse. He will be rid of your complaining and we will still have enough men to attack Hefei from land and sea.”

Zhuo peered up at him. “He’s still going through with it, then? After what happened at the hands of Guan Yu…”

“That was a minor setback, made worse by your failure,” Lu Bu reminded him. “As well as mine, but Lord Orochi has accepted my contrition. I will make up for it by ripping Sun Ce’s head from his shoulders, at least.” His eyes narrowed as he regarded his former lord once more and then turned on his heel. “You, on the other hand, are good for nothing but retreating and holding the rear for us. I should be glad to be quit of you and your whining.”

He yanked the canvas flap out of the way and let himself out, shoving Dong Min bodily aside as he departed. Behind him, Dong Zhuo could only grind his teeth and flop back down. His writhing wasn’t all acting, he really was in considerable pain and as such, his portion of the army was already lagging behind the main, slowing them all down as they crossed through the mountains. These new orders should have been to his liking, he was being allowed to beg out of the next battle and quietly make his way to a secure castle to rest, but his ego refused to be content with that. Especially when those orders were delivered by Lu Bu himself. He would get no satisfaction tonight, he had no choice but to roll over and sleep and accept that when the main army moved out in the morning, he and his brother would be left behind.

  


Another day was waning and another sunset washed the land in gold as the Wu army came out from under the eaves of a thick wood to find themselves near enough to their destination that they had to halt. Shima Sakon and Zhou Yu were in agreement that they needed to approach Chi’bi with as much stealth as they could manage with an army that size, it wouldn’t do to tip off the defenders mustered at the garrison on the far bank that trouble was in the air. While their scouts went ahead to get an accurate and updated view of the layout of the Orochi supply depot and the gathered ships, Sun Jian gave the order to take a rest and allowed his men to have a meal, though they were not allowed to light fires for cooking, nothing that would give away their position. The sun ahead of them was sinking into thick banks of cloud, robbing the sunset of its usual red and turning it into a pale warning beacon of unpleasant weather ahead tomorrow. “Then we had best carry out our plan tonight, rather than wait for it to pass,” Zhou Yu mused as he sat with his lord and the other officers. “A night attack is to our advantage anyway.”

“Everyone is ready,” Taishi Ci affirmed. “They’ve been ready since we left Hefei, and I have every confidence that even a short rest here will be enough to keep them fresh to fight.”

“Good,” Jian murmured, “because this could be a tough one. Zhou Yu is head strategist, but I trust Sakon to give you your orders every bit as much.”

“Wow, how’d I end up rating so high?” Sakon said, genuinely surprised. He had figured he was only along for the muscle rather than the brains unless there was some emergency, even if he and Yu had cooperated to form their current plan.

Jian gave him a sly grin. “I know talent when I see it. I would never waste talent.”

A stifled cry nearby raised their heads, but it quickly dissolved into a sheepish chuckle, and then two figures appeared moving through the soldiers, swiftly and without making hardly a sound. The officers quickly grasped that the ninjas had simply startled the camp sentry when they arrived from their scouting. Hattori palmed his fist before dropping to a crouch to share his report, while Kunoichi stood over him, looking mostly pleased with herself. “They appear to have gotten wind of us,” Hanzo murmured. “Defenses are tightening.”

“What if we were to attack tonight?” Zhou Yu asked.

Hanzo nodded. “Wise.”

“They’ve got a lot of boats all over the place,” Kunoichi added. “Some on this side of the bay, a bunch more on the other. There’s even a couple bridges between landings.”

Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly in the vaguest hint of amusement. “So. They haven’t learned. That will come in handy.”

“Then we attack when the last light leaves the sky,” Sun Jian decided. “Good work. Rest, and eat. Everyone should be ready.”

“If you don’t mind having some food brought to them,” Sakon offered, “I’d like to step aside with these two and get a complete picture of what they saw before Zhou Yu and I finalize our plans.”

It was generally agreed, so the strategists withdrew a little further from the rest of the officers and sat down with a lantern and a map, taking everything the ninjas could tell them about the layout of the boats and bridges at various points along the shoreline and re-drawing some of their assault plans. Food was brought while they were still in the middle of it, and Kunoichi was all too happy to lean over Sakon’s heavy shoulder and point when her mouth was full so she could still help. In the end, when the ninjas were dismissed to get ready to launch the attack, Zhou Yu sat back and smiled coolly at his companion. “You’re quite the arsonist, I see.”

Sakon grinned widely back. “There is no greater compliment than hearing that coming from you. I’m not stepping on any toes here, am I?”

“Not at all. I believe it will be rather effective, especially with so many snake demons on hand.” Yu’s eyes lit with a grim sort of amusement. “They certainly have no love for fire.”

“As long as we can nail the setup.” Sakon rubbed his face as he looked at the sketches Hanzo had made of the harbor, indicating where the ships were tied up. “It won’t do to just have one boat on fire, it’s got to spread to the others. Don’t suppose we got anyone on hand who can take up the role of one Zhuge Liang in this scenario, do we?”

Yu gave him a curious look. “The complete tale of our victory at Chi’bi truly has passed down through the ages, hasn’t it? You know everything, right down to the prayer for the wind.” He shook his head. “Unfortunately, whatever arts Lord Zhuge Liang possesses are not common among our own army. We will simply have to make do with what we have.” He reached to give Sakon an encouraging slap on the knee. “I have come to know you as a strategist who knows how to shift and move with the terrain. If we get there and the field does not favor our plan, we will try something else.”

“That’s all we can do, really,” Sakon admitted, gathering up their papers and making to get up and stretch. “There’s no backing down now, we’re in for it all the way.”

He rose to his full height and then pulled Zhou Yu up after him, and together the two went to lay out their basic plan for Lord Sun Jian and begin to order their officers into position. The last pale breath of twilight was rapidly vanishing from the sky above as the clouds began to completely overtake them, shrouding the entire forest and the rocky slopes leading down to the river in full darkness. The night went calm around them, it was perfect for this kind of assault. The Wu army stealthily covered their weapons and made their way down as close as they dared to the Jiangdong before their officers dismounted and tied their horses on the bank. Here, at last, they could see for themselves what Hattori had described; similar to times past, there were long, flat-bottomed boats anchored in two spots along the bay, some close to where the Wu forces spilled out of the wilderness and more on the north side below the cliffs. Because of the cataclysm from forming this land, however, some things were different – a few sand spits and small tussocks of land were dotted around the shallow ends of the bay, and it was obvious that the Orochi army had accidentally run a couple of their boats aground on them. Not to be outdone, they took advantage of this mistake to connect bridges between the boats for ease of loading cargo, since it was faster to haul it straight across the water from boat to boat than to ride or walk all the way around the far edge of the bay on land. It wasn’t exactly as Zhou Yu remembered, but it was close enough to still allow their primary strategy to work. As he dismounted and tied his horse beside Sun Jian’s, though, he looked out across the black expanse of water to the lanterns twinkling at the corners and bowsprits of each ship and wondered. Surely, if Shima Sakon the ronin from a thousand years in the future knew and understood every nuance of the battlefield of Chi’bi, there could just as easily be someone on the other side who knew just as much. Or more; what if Sima Yi was there? He would know full well of the Wu tactics which played out in Cao Cao’s defeat, and be prepared to stop them. All he could do was worry about it to himself, there was no way to stop their forward momentum now. If Sima Yi had it in him to prevent their attack, they would have to do just as Sakon said and find another way. He pulled his Ancients Sword from its scabbard lashed to his horse’s saddle and ventured forward on foot, striding up to the scouts who had just confirmed that the boats on this end were stable enough to board. The first warning cries in the darkness were their signal, Zhou Yu gestured with his sword to where the soldiers manning and guarding the Orochi fleet had spotted them moving in. “First wave,” he ordered, “we must take the boats! Swiftly, now, do not delay! And do not let them pass word to the Orochi army on the far bank!”

Regardless of whether they had lost the element of surprise, overall, they certainly had taken the guards on this end unaware. Sun Jian held back until they knew the outcome, letting his officers handle this first task of many. The Wu soldiers streamed up the ramps and sprang from boat to boat with ease, taking advantage of the connecting walkways the Orochi army had already laid out for their own convenience and swarming over the smaller half of the fleet on this side of the river. A couple of demon officers were overseeing the nighttime change of watch shifts, putting up more resistance than expected. In the end, though, Wu was victorious and drove the survivors onto shore instead of letting them flee across the bridges to the sandbars and the next set of boats beyond. It would take longer for them to reach the main camp at the supply depot from that direction, delaying the enemy’s response. Yet, even as he came to the bow of one of the foremost ships and looked out at the cluster of lanterns and torches marking the camp, Sakon already expected that they’d be in the thick of it shortly. He began to share some of Zhou Yu’s misgivings, but the mark of a true strategist was in not showing any doubts he might feel. He had to forge ahead with the plan while laying out additional plans to rescue their forces if and when the first one failed. He had gotten more than his share of exercise in the first round, he went right in with the soldiers and fought alongside them, with the ninjas and Zhu Zhi assisting. Now, though, he had a much better picture of the so-called field, and waited until Zhou Yu came alongside him to pick his brain about it. “We weren’t as quiet as we wanted to be,” he chuckled as the slender strategist joined him. “I’m almost positive the Orochi army knows something’s up.”

“All the better, actually,” Yu murmured. “It would not do to have them all waiting in their camp for us to approach, we need them to start getting onto those ships.” His eyes narrowed, then, as he attempted to gauge certain things in the darkness. “Is it just me, or are those particular ones in front sitting lower in the water?”

It was hard to tell with only faint torchlight here and there, but Sakon leaned forward and squinted. “You’re right. Almost like they’re heavy-laden.” His head turned swiftly toward his comrade. “You don’t think…?”

“They’ve already loaded them for transport,” Yu concluded. “That entire fleet is already prepared.”

“You mean, they were getting ready to launch their attack on Wu.” Sun Jian overheard their speculation as he approached, one hand resting heavily on the hilt of his sword. “I thought this depot was still in progress, they hadn’t gotten that far…”

“It seems our scout reports were a bit out of date,” Yu sighed. “That means we absolutely must end their gambit here and now. If they’re already this prepared to set sail and attack Wu from the sea, their land forces may also be in place. That camp…”

“This is going to be a much bigger battle than we expected,” Sakon warned.

“A decisive victory here will do more than just end Orochi’s plans to attack Wu,” Sun Jian reasoned. “I will be relying on both of you to get us that victory.”

“Already on it, my lord,” Sakon assured.

“We’ve taken their southern fleet,” Zhou Yu explained, “so the next step is to cut off the number of paths they have by which to reach our position. Rather than set fire to these ships, we should use them as our own base of operations. We can control the road as well as the bridges.”

“If you ask me, those bridges need to go,” Sakon broke in, pointing across the water. “Limit the number of paths they have is right, we should narrow it down and not give them multiple points on which to come right back across to us. Fighting on the water is harder, but I’m not about to let them cut any of those ships free and sail off into the night – that’s just asking for more trouble downstream.”

“Agreed,” Jian said darkly, stepping back from them and drawing his sword. “Say the word, I’ll have our men moving immediately.”

It took no time at all for the two strategists to consult and agree – the bridge on the left connecting the boats to a sandbar and the one toward the center leading to a platform with a tower built onto it had to go. The sandbar made it too easy to link the ships, and the tower looked to be both a lookout post and a cargo ramp, with a rope and pulleys for lifting and moving heavy items like cannons. It implied that the Orochi army had already been using it to stow supplies and ammunition for their impending invasion of Wu, and thus absolutely had to come down. Their men undertook a quick investigation of the boats immediately upon seizing them and brought their report to their lord and his tacticians: some cargo had been put on these ships, yes, but it was incomplete. The ones anchored beneath the red cliffs had to be the ones already prepared to launch, meaning that the supplies were being loaded from the south – supplies brought directly across land. All the officers understood in that instant just how lucky their timing was, hitting Orochi’s preparations before they could be completed, and thus how crucial it was that they achieve complete and total victory tonight. Nothing short of completely razing this fleet would do. The mechanism for doing so was already in play, but Sakon needed things to happen in a certain order before he could pull it off. First, the bridges, cutting off the enemy’s advance and narrowing it to either the shore itself or a single bridge left between the furthest ships on the far right, the latter of which would be a choke point and any Orochi officer daring to advance on that front risked being caught in the bottleneck and annihilated. On the river’s shore, they could only control so much of the landing area at the same time as manning and capturing boats, so Zhou Yu advised that they tighten their defense literally at the base of the ramps belonging to the boats touching the shore, and not allow any Orochi forces to actually board the ships. Taishi Ci, Sun Shao, and Zhu Zhi worked to pull down the other bridges as ordered, and at last Sakon had the setup he was hoping for. He still had his loyal engineers with him, the same which demolished a wall with explosives at Odani, and set fire to the fields of Changban before that. They had weathered every storm with him and been serving in the Wu army ever since Sun Ce’s defection, and now it was their time to shine once more. With Hattori and Taishi Ci holding the path for them, they ran up the last remaining bridge between fleets just as the mingled men and snakes of the Orochi army came into the light and the full extent of their forces revealed itself onboard the northern ships. Masses of bodies could be seen moving to and fro in the flickering torchlight on every one of the lead ships, and at the choke point, a tall man with a buckler strapped to his arm cried out an order, and riflemen popped up from beind crates and behind wheelhouses. The Katakura rifle corps had been lying in wait, and the shots from their first volley echoed along the length of the bay of Chi’bi. Two of the engineers went down instantly, and the others staggered back even as Sakon rushed forward to check on their safety. “No, no!” he fretted. “Damn it! They were onto us all along!”

He bodily dragged one of his wounded men back to the shelter of the boat’s thick wooden railing, as more shots peppered them from the other side, and breathed a grateful sigh as Taishi Ci carried the other one to him. They were badly injured, but not dead. The other engineers clustered around him. “What do we do?” one asked urgently.

Sakon looked from him to Taishi. “We need this fire attack to succeed,” he growled. “The Orochi army has taken the bait, they’re all clustered on their ships and vulnerable to fire. But these guys can’t get close enough to set it up.”

“Then we will have to clear them a path,” Taishi Ci said determinedly. “With our bodies if we must.”

“No bodies,” Sakon huffed. “We’ll do it by force but I don’t want any foolish sacrifices. Not here, not now.” He craned his neck to peek over the railing and then ducked again when a bullet splintered the wood just inches from his ear. “It’s Katakura. If he’s on this end, I really hope that doesn’t mean Date is on the other.”

A handful of Orochi forces had gotten just to the end of the bridge when it collapsed, leaving Sun Shao laughing boldly at the looks on their faces when the path disappeared from underneath their feet, and a couple floundering in the water after being dropped straight into it. He held this end for the advance of Zhou Yu and Sun Jian, who were carefully monitoring the movement on shore and looking to see what sort of counter-offense might be launched on them in turn. Fortunately, there was no sign of Date, no riflemen at all – they were all clustered at the far end, blocking the Wu army’s advance and holding ground for the rest of the Orochi officers to catch up from other points. There wasn’t much activity on the riverbank itself, but there were worn paths and lit braziers, suggesting that the occupying army had been recently active in this area and planned to be again. The snake demons seemed to melt rather abruptly out of the darkness, making no cries as they came out of the trees to the west and dashed down the embankment toward the Wu soldiers bracing for impact at the base of the boat ramps. Yet, before the two sides could meet, someone else cut across from the southwest, appearing just as suddenly as the demon soldiers but clearly not on their side as they slammed into the attackers and drove them shrieking back toward the supply depot. The infantry bore tokens and colors of several different armies, and as the three mounted officers leading them turned and rode into the light, Zhou Yu let out a cry of delight. “Lu Xun!”

With Ling Cao and Maeda Toshiie backing him up, Lu Xun rode right up to the ramp and sprang off his horse, managing to get a quick kowtow in before Zhou Yu came up to him and clasped his forearm in welcome. “We’re not too late, I take it?” he said warmly. “Lord Oda has sent me, I am here to provide whatever service I am able.”

“What excellent reinforcements,” Zhou Yu said happily. “Just in time, I would say.”

“Lord Oda sent you?” Sun Jian strode down the ramp to join this party, and smiled knowingly as Lu Xun’s eyes went wide in preface to his much deeper and longer-held bow. “That man, I swear he’s up to something. But familiar faces are always welcome.”

“Lord Sun Jian!” Ling Cao breathed before sliding out of the saddle and bowing low as well. “I am so glad to see you well!”

“And you, my friend. Just you, though? Your son isn’t with you.”

“Ah, not this time. Lord Oda has him busy about other duties.”

Lu Xun gestured to the third man with them. “This is Maeda Toshiie, one of Lord Oda’s own trusted retainers.”

Toshiie raised a hand. “Yo.” He knew full well he was witnessing a heartfelt reunion, but didn’t want to interfere. Besides, there was a battle going on. “What’s the story, what are we in for?”

“The Orochi army has prepared a fleet to assault all Resistance holdings along the Jiangdong and the sea,” Zhou Yu informed them. “We only just discovered how ready they were to launch, we must destroy this fleet right here, tonight.”

“That’s all I need to know.” Figuring his horse wouldn’t be anywhere near as happy to be on a boat as any of the others, Toshiie dismounted and let a soldier take it to be tied with the others at their retreat point further down. “Point me to ‘em, I’ll hack my way through anything Orochi-like.”

“We heard gunshots not long ago,” Yu said, stretching an arm out to point to where the reports had sounded, “so it’s possible Sakon is having a tough go down at that end.”

“Oh, you brought Sakon? Then I’ll be happy to go and back him up!”

As Toshiie jogged off, Lu Xun came forward. “What else can we do?”

“Be ready for anything,” Yu sighed. “I believe our earlier estimates were low and this army is quite large. We’re going to need every man no matter who he is or how he fights.”

“Then, if we join our forces directly to yours, you should have enough strength,” Xun realized. “So be it. We are yours to command, Lord Zhou Yu.”

Yu smiled softly to see that things had turned completely around from when he had to wound this brave young officer at Changban. He reached to grip Xun’s shoulder in encouragement and turned to Sun Jian. “I still want to hold these points to prevent any more Orochi soldiers from getting around behind us, but with the soldiers Oda has sent, we should have enough manpower to begin to push along the shore toward their camp.”

“And pincer the entire army between us and Sakon’s attack, yes, I see,” Jian said wisely. “Do it.”

Since their horses would be just fine progressing on land, Lu Xun turned to mount back up, but then he felt something hit him hard from behind, and a bright laugh stopped him in his tracks. “Finally! You’re back!”

“Zhu Ran?” Xun turned swiftly to verify that it was his young friend who had tackled him, and laughed back. “Zhu Ran! It’s so good to see you! But how…? No, it’ll have to wait.” He straightened up and lifted his chin. “I’m here as an emissary of Lord Oda, I need to take charge.”

“Then I’ll ride with you on this assault,” Ran decided. “Just to be able to fight alongside you again.”

Xun beamed happily and nodded before turning to finally mount up and join the group heading northward along the shore. He hadn’t formed any expectations before arriving on the scene, having no idea what exactly an Orochi supply depot forming below the cliffs of Chi’bi would actually look like, but now that he was on the river’s edge looking out across the bay at the lamps on the boats and the blazing light of the main camp on the north shore, he could see that Zhou Yu’s assessment was correct. This was going to be a hell of a battle.

Sakon was still working out the logistics of charging head-first into a rifle line with Taishi Ci when some of the soldiers behind them gave a shout of warning that someone they didn’t recognize was approaching, but one of the uninjured engineers waved them off. “Lord Maeda! Where did you come from?” he called out.

Toshiie jogged up, the poleaxes still strapped to his back but his barbed sword bare. “Oh, just passing through,” he joked. “Nah, I’m kidding, Lord Oda sent you some reinforcements. Looks like you could use ‘em, eh?”

Sakon straightened up and leaned heavily on his Wrecking Blade. “Of all the faces to just appear out of the darkness in front of me…”

“Nice to see you too,” Toshiie grinned. “What’s the matter, Sakon, stumped?”

“No, just wondering who I wanted to sacrifice to the Katakura rifle corps. Lucky for me, you showed up.”

Their snarky banter hid just how relieved they were to see one another, and technically Sakon had a point – Toshiie wore a cuirass of solid bronze, exactly the kind of armor that would endure a few shots even at close range without becoming compromised. He looked to Taishi, then, who likewise had a solid breastplate and some pretty sturdy-looking pauldrons and hip guards, as well as his helm. He couldn’t have asked for two better battering rams. Toshiie let out a gusty laugh. “Katakura, huh? Sure, if he’s in your way, I’ll give him a nice target.”

“You’re not going alone.” Sakon gave Taishi a manly nod. “What do you say, up for it?”

“Anytime,” Taishi agreed, shouldering one of his huge pugil sticks.

Katakura Kojuro lacked for nothing with his rifle corps even with his lord Masamune absent from this particular battle. He still had his son as well as Date Hidemune along, serving as backup, but they were currently in the rearguard serving as extra units for the additional forces which had just arrived. Kojuro had this ambush well in hand, barking out orders to reload and reform the rifle lines as quickly as they could in order to keep up a near constant stream of fire on the Wu forces, pinning them down just beyond the bridge. Any lengthy gap in their onslaught would leave the enemy time to advance and possibly get in to cut down his men, as they had at the Wuzhang Plains. Another squad had just reloaded and raised their rifles to fire when Kojuro saw something bright-burnished leap up out of the gloom beyond the torchlight and barrel right for him. The shots went off, and bullets ricocheted off the glaring bronze target, leaving it scratched but the wearer unharmed. It took the men aback for a moment, just long enough for Toshiie to gain ground on them. Roaring in glee, he turned straight for Katakura and brought his blade up in a sweeping cut, forcing Kojuro to twist and bring his buckler around to protect himself. The blow shook him and nearly broke his arm, but he held, drawing his pistol and aiming for Toshiie’s head. So engaged, he didn’t see Taishi Ci right on the heels of his assailant, shrugging off the shots as if they were no more than flies swarming around him and then plowing through the rifle lines with his great heavy weapons, knocking men sprawling. Maeda ducked the shot and then shoulder-checked Katakura as hard as he could, throwing him into the rail of the ship. While the two of them worked to clear the way, Sakon smacked his remaining healthy engineers on the shoulders, ordering them forward. They darted between stumbling, disarmed riflemen and headed back toward their original destination, pulling things out of their satchels and pouches as they ran. It was up to them to finally get this fire attack started, Master Shima was counting on them. No sooner had they passed the scattered riflemen and turned a corner to cut across a gangway to the next boat over and someone very large got in their way, swinging a massive lance and knocking them sprawling. Sakon lunged forward without thinking, instinctively going to their aid, but it was too late. Even Katakura turned to see who had interrupted, throwing himself back from Maeda to gain some distance for a better shot. “What are you doing here, already?” he snapped accusingly at the interloper.

Deng Ai came into the torchlight, his eyes sweeping keenly across the scene to understand exactly who was attacking who and how. “Lord Sima Yi has deployed us to assist the front line,” he grunted. “He grew concerned after the bridges collapsed.”

Kojuro huffed under his breath, pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose with a swipe of his free hand. “We must keep them from advancing,” he warned. “If you’re here to help then help push them back!”

With only a placid nod of understanding, Deng Ai waded into the fray, eager to take up with the two very large and powerful warriors already making mincemeat of the Katakura rifle corps. On the other side, Sakon hefted his Wrecking Blade onto his shoulder and made to join in as well, but Toshiie skidded back a few steps in order to sheathe his sword and pull his poleaxes instead. “No, Sakon – go, take word to the others!”

“Are you kidding?” Sakon argued. “You’re gonna need every ounce of manpower over here!”

“They’re not getting past us,” Toshiie assured with a bloodthirsty grin. “It’s more important that your lord knows what we all just heard.”

It wasn’t just that the fire attack had been thwarted, Deng Ai had confirmed that Sima Yi was running the show on the other side. That information was, indeed, important for Zhou Yu to know, and he was far on the other end of the line of ships. As much as he could have just sent a messenger with the news, Sakon knew it was faster for him to go himself, and consult directly with the head strategist. Giving Toshiie a quick nod, he turned sharply and hustled off across the deck, heading for the line of gangways connecting all the ships together. Maeda and Taishi turned back to the task at hand with fresh energy, pushing the riflemen all the way back past the center of the ship and giving the injured engineers a chance to be rescued. Even with Katakura and Deng Ai in their faces, they did not give back a single inch.

The western arm of their forces had not run into any real trouble yet, just a few scattered squads of demon soldiers running this way and that along the riverbank, but as they reached a bridge spanning one of the smaller streams which fed the Jiangdong, they could see a much bigger problem lying ahead of them. The wide river which had slowed and pooled to form this large bay at the base of the cliffs of Chi’bi did not terminate here as many maps suggested, but rather continued on, bending to the west and then onward into the night. The Orochi main camp and supply depot on the far shore was actually on the opposite shore, there was no way to get there on land after all. The collection of joined ships had not just been for ease of loading cargo, it was the way the Orochi forces were actually crossing the river to reach their secondary fleet at the southern end of the bay. Rather like the Wu defenses behind them, units of Orochi soldiers, man and demon alike, were massed at the spot where the embarking ramps met the shore. Cutting through them in order to use the ships to reach the main camp was suddenly a much more daunting task than even Sun Jian had expected. He drew his troops back at the bridge to discuss their options just in time to find Sakon jogging up from the eastward end. Zhou Yu blinked at his unexpected presence. “Sakon, what…?”

“Orochi forces put a dampener on my fire attack,” he answered without hesitating. “Their guys are out in full force, and I just heard from one of ‘em that Sima Yi’s in charge.”

Jian made a bit of a face, while Yu frowned darkly, eyes narrowing. “Of course. If anyone would anticipate a fire attack and know how to counter it, it would be him. He would never let us pull that trick on him a second time in the same place under the same conditions.”

“A fire attack?” Lu Xun broke in as he came over. “What happened, maybe I can help? Fire attacks are kind of my specialty…”

Sakon boggled at him as came into the light. “What the…? Of all the people he could’ve sent, it’s you! I’ll be damned.” They were too far away to meet with too many people in between, so he settled for a warm smile and a tip of his head. “Good to see you again, kid.”

“And you, Sakon,” Lu Xun practically gushed. “It seems Lord Oda was right to send me, indeed. Let me help.”

“I’ll take any help you got,” Sakon said with a rueful shake of his head. “Katakura and his rifle corps took down most of my engineers, and Sima Yi’s officer got the rest. I’m short on men and don’t know how the hell I’m gonna get ‘em past that solid wall of muscle over there.”

“Leave it to me. Zhu Ran,” Xun added, turning to call over his shoulder. “You’re with me! You’ve got your usual fire troops around, right?”

“Always!” Ran yelled back.

“Group them up and have them come with me. Get up high, we’re putting a fire attack plan into action!”

“Another one?” Zhu Ran had been well aware of the one planned between the main strategists, but it appeared that that one was no longer happening. Lu Xun dashed to him and hurriedly began explaining his idea as they ran together to grab Ran’s unit and give them orders.

Zhou Yu smiled faintly as he watched them go. “Your idea is in good hands, Sakon.”

“No doubts there,” the big ronin sighed, “but I feel a bit like I let you guys down already.”

“No such thing until the battle is over and the dust settles,” Sun Jian assured. “Save your regrets for later, my friend, we’ve got work to do. Those kids aren’t going to get through that Orochi blockade without a little help from us muscle-heads.”

“You are hardly a muscle-head, my lord,” Yu snorted.

Jian gave him a rakish smile and just turned to mount up and lead the way back into the thick of it. He had regained all of his lost strength, and no longer wore a helm into battle, letting the world see his new grizzled appearance. It certainly made him look more tiger-like as he brandished his sword and called his army to him. “The Tiger of Jiangdong has come to his hunting grounds!” he bellowed out in challenge. “Forward, and show mercy to no snake!”

Seeing as he was already on that end as well, Sakon joined their assault rather than go back to assist the others, trusting that Hattori and Kunoichi flitting about the battle in their own ninja way would catch on and head over to back up Toshiie. It gave him a good vantage point from which to watch Lu Xun work when he was merely carrying out a strategy rather than commanding the entire battle. Xun put together a small unit of a dozen men and held them at the ready, waiting until the advance line of Wu cut far enough into the Orochi defense to give them one single clear path up onto a boat. He and Zhu Ran ran up first, battling their way through packs of enemy soldiers as if they, too, were part of the front line assault, only to break off as soon as they got the chance and cut across the foremost ship to find where it was connected to the next. Ran sprang lightly onto the bowsprit and then up onto an awning built to shade the deck, disappearing into the darkness that swiftly, while Xun continued on, directing his men with shouts and short jabs of his Eagle blades. They were making do with whatever they could find, grabbing lanterns down off their posts and dumping the oil out onto any scrap of cloth they could come by, picking up loose scraps of wood and piling it all together against ropes before moving on to do it again in another spot, building as many flammable points as they could. For his part, Shima Sakon moved to prevent any of the Orochi soldiers from noticing what they were doing and interfering, putting himself between the main line and the fire team and hitting everything that moved with his massive blade. He was just getting into a rhythm when Lu Xun appeared at his elbow again. “Master Sakon! Do you have any black powder on you?”

Sakon used the flat of his blade to swat a couple of demons aside and then grabbed for something slung around his neck. He had picked up one of his engineers’ satchels after rescuing them, and was simply hanging onto it just in case. “In here,” he said shortly before turning back to the attack.

Xun raced off, bag and all, and rifled through it to find several packed powder charges as well as flasks of raw black powder. It was just too perfect, it was a shame the actual engineer hadn’t been able to use any of it. He made good on the man’s preparations, handing some of the charges to his men to distribute and then pouring heaps of powder out of the flasks onto some of their flash points. They had a chain set up along the bows of at least three ships, by now, it was all they could do with the resources at hand but it would be more than enough. Beckoning the men of Wu to retreat, he rejoined Sakon with blades out and then called out above the din. “Zhu Ran! Now!”

Zhu Ran was still nothing but a willowy ghost in the darkness, but the Wu army marked his position by the flaming brand at the tip of his arrow as he rose up to a crouch and aimed it across the ships. The fiery missile streaked over his comrades’ heads and found its first mark close by, a pile of scrap doused in oil. It went up with a roar, the flames leaping up high and licking at the rigging. Without even a second’s pause more fire arrows flew over them, one after another, some skittering harmlessly onto the deck but most hitting precisely where Lu Xun’s men had placed a flash point. A pile of black powder went up with a hiss, igniting some nearby crates, and then a black powder charge exploded. The Wu army hadn’t even gotten the chance to cheer his success when a massive gust of wind suddenly raked across the entire bay, tearing at their clothing and whipping dust and grit into their faces. The flames rode with the wind and blew up instantly into an inferno, screaming across the decks of the first three ships and sending sparks flying onto the further ones to set those aflame as well. A few seconds after the initial windburst came the thunder, and everyone on both sides looked up to the sky. A storm had crawled in over them in secret, the dead calm had deceived them all while the clouds thickened and charged, and it was finally upon them. The core of it was still a distance off, but the timely wind had come down out of the storm’s advance and roared down onto their heads, propelling the fire ahead of it. Even Sakon had to stand back and watch the flames charge on out of control, dumbfounded and relieved. Zhu Ran hopped down from his station and backed up behind the ronin’s bulk where it was safe. “Couldn’t have timed that better myself,” he laughed. “Looks like I’m going to have to cut back, though. No arrow is safe in a wind like this.”

“Just do what you can,” Lu Xun encouraged, looking around to see that he didn’t even need to swing a sword right now – the Orochi forces were fleeing back across the boats, trying to find a route not already cut off by flames, and the snakes were screaming in fear. It was everything they needed, and more.

Not far from them, Zhou Yu watched the carnage with some satisfaction, though he also took note of where the enemy was regrouping or otherwise not in the path of the flames. “That ought to have taken care of most of them.”

“There’s still plenty more behind them,” Sun Jian noted with a flick of his sword to point. “Now’s our chance – all forces, move in!”

The second and third waves of Wu soldiers waiting for their chance clambered up onto the boats and charged in, not at all concerned about the fire or the thunder. Lightning flashed above them, an impressive display which lent them an aura of power which only fueled the fear in the demon troops scattering every which way. Some areas of the boats did not catch fire as quickly as others, leaving winding pathways by which anyone could make their way forward, backward, or sideways, but some of those paths were closing off and still other sections of the boats were completely engulfed. No one would be going through the center, now, the huge ship at the fore was going up rather quickly and once it sank, a good portion of the battlefield would be taken with it. Anyone attempting to cross lengthwise across the ships would have to either retreat to the Wu side or press forward onto Orochi-held land to do so. It also cut off the eastward arm of the Wu troops from the rest of their army, but their only duty was to hold that bridge against incursion, and the fire worked to their advantage as much as anyone else’s. Still, as they completed their rout of the Katakura troops and even sent Deng Ai stumbling back to regroup with the rest of Sima Yi’s forces elsewhere, Toshiie had to whistle at the sheer size of the conflagration. “Boy, they really did it, huh?” he remarked to Taishi Ci and Zhu Zhi. “Look at that. The Orochi ships are going up like dry kindling!”

“It’s going to reach our position in almost no time,” Taishi fretted. “We have to decide now what we’re going to do – are we going to back up, or go forward?”

Zhu Zhi hustled the last of their injured men back across the bridge and turned to answer him sagely. “We go forward, always. If we take down the bridge behind us, no Orochi troops will be able to pass back this way to get through to safety.”

“Chances are good we won’t be able to get through the fire safely either,” Toshiie warned, “but I’m with you. Let’s give ‘em hell, we…” He trailed off, then, noticing a cluster of Orochi soldiers fleeing onto the last boat where they stood and instantly falling to hacking at the mooring ropes keeping the ships joined. “There. That’s what I was afraid of. C’mon!”

He still had his poleaxes out and charged head-first into the troops, knocking them sprawling before they could free the ship. It was clear to all of them, then, that even if these boats weren’t completely on fire yet, it was more important to keep the Orochi army from cutting them apart to save them and their cargo. This group might have even been trying to escape the fire on the ship. Taishi Ci backtracked to slam his pugil sticks into the bridge, crushing it and sending it into the dark water below. All of them turned, then, to work together in the mot dangerous task of the night: guarding the ships at the end so that no one could disconnect them, until all of them were on fire and it was too late to save them. It meant risking their lives, staying until the last second, but as lightning flashed above and illuminated their grim, savage faces, it was clear they were ready and eager for it.

The battle on the other side was going well, and even the strategists were in the thick of it, cutting and slashing and taking down any of the enemy who dared to cross their paths. Zhou Yu had his eye on the flames and guided his men so they could get around them while still pressing forward toward the north shore, aware that the commander had to be waiting there for them and looking forward to seeing the defeat in Sima Yi’s face yet again. It was a sight worth savoring. As he got out ahead of Lord Sun Jian and the others, he turned to find one of Sima Yi’s men from Hulao Gate flying at him, determined and ready to do battle but with a cold light of fear glittering deep in his dark eyes. He launched himself fully at Zhou Yu, and as his arm-cannon clashed against the Ancients Sword, holding it at bay, he leaned in close to breathe an incredulous whisper. “What have you done?! Do you have any idea what’s on that ship?”

Yu’s brow furrowed at this warning. “What do you mean?”

“The center ship, in the front line,” Guo Huai hissed urgently. “It’s full of cannons and ammunition! You fools are going to destroy yourselves along with us!”

Yu’s eyes went wide, but then his face darkened again with determination. “There is nothing that will stop it now! Evacuate your men if you care about whether they live or die. The storm is on our side, it is driving the flames faster than we can run!”

Guo Huai was breathing heavily with exertion, and a gust of smoke only made it worse, doubling him over with a coughing fit. His opponent simply disengaged, remembering him well from their last encounter and certain that he did not want to harm this man. Huai pushed himself up with his weapon and pressed his free hand to his chest to try to calm his lungs long enough to be able to speak. “A masterful gambit once again, Lord Zhou Yu,” he panted. “I commend you.”

“If you make it back to Sima Yi, tell him we are coming for him,” Yu warned. “And this time, we do not plan to let him escape, not even for Sima Zhao’s sake.”

Guo Huai shook his head. “It is not Lord Sima Yi you need to worry about,” he said worriedly. “Lord Orochi…”

No further word from his mouth was necessary, for at that precise moment, the barrels of black powder in the hold of the troop ship exploded. The deep-throated boom echoed powerfully from the cliffs and the shores of the bay, louder and more fierce than even the closest peal of thunder from the oncoming storm, and the shockwave tossed all of the ships, knocking soldiers off their feet and sending all of the remaining boats rocking wildly on rippling waves. An enormous plume of smoke lit with flame mushroomed up from the source of the explosion, and moments later bits of wood rained down on their heads. The blast had torn the ship asunder, and now fiery embers were falling on all the rest still anchored north and east of the explosion, setting them ablaze as well. Troops from both sides scattered wildly, and some even threw themselves onto the burning decks of neighboring boats when smaller explosions began to pop inside the inferno. Both Zhou Yu and Guo Huai had to pick themselves up, and stood for one more moment eyeing each other as opponents. “Go,” Huai begged his rival. “If you want to escape here alive, I suggest you collect Lord Sun Jian and get moving. Our fleet is finished, you can see…”

Zhou Yu shook his head once. “There is no going back. We aren’t just here for the fleet.”

“Then I wish you all the luck,” Huai said grimly before turning and dashing back across the burning deck, grabbing his long robes up with his free hand to keep them from catching on fire as he ran. Zhou Yu looked to the remains of the exploded ship for just a moment before turning as well and cutting across to find Lord Sun Jian. He did need to warn his lord what they were up against. The successful fire attack would not be enough to daunt the demon Orochi, they had to prepare for the worst.


	71. Chapter 71

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the Battle of Chi'bi, which results in several surprises for both Wu and Orochi.

There was no missing the explosion on either side of the battle, nor for many miles around Chi’bi for that matter. As Zhou Yu wove through the crowds looking for his officers, he guessed that Guo Huai had in fact done more than just warn him moments before the explosion, he might have even warned all of the troops, friend and foe alike, as he came toward the front line. It was too late, the fire had gotten down into the hold and there was no stopping it, but they could avoid being caught in any further explosions by taking care. Most of the Wu army had retreated back to the very first ship against the shore, the only one upwind of the flames and therefore mostly intact, and he found Sun Jian there waiting and counting heads. He was equally relieved to see Zhou Yu unhurt, but as they came together and the tactician murmured his new information to his lord, Jian’s face went stony. He stood silent for a moment, eyes glittering in the firelight with anger and determination, and then he turned to rouse his troops. “One more push should do it!” he exhorted them, raising his sword. “Come, brave soldiers of Wu! The ships were only one part of Orochi’s plan for us, the rest of it is below Chi’bi. Let us press forward and sweep them all away!”

The army cheered and formed up into units in order to move out as ordered, but Jian quickly pulled his officers close to share with them what Zhou Yu had just told him. “Do not inform the men,” he added even as Sakon’s face went cold and Lu Xun recoiled in fear. “If the demon shows himself on the battlefield, allow me. I owe him several beatings as payment for his hospitality.”

“Aim for Sima Yi, and any other officers he has protecting him,” Zhou Yu advised. “If their lord is here, he will be behind whatever last defense Sima Yi has prepared.”

“You received word as we did of Shu’s battle against the demon?” Ling Cao asked to confirm. “He is not invincible, but it will take all of our officers, everyone we have.”

“We’ve lost contact with our other units,” Yu said concernedly, “I can only hope they can get a messenger to us so I can bring them to join us.”

“Leave it to me!” Kunoichi said brightly, and dashed off before anyone could call her back. Sakon looked about to, but Hanzo stood at his elbow and simply raised a hand to silently tell him to hold back his worries. She was a well-trained ninja, she would have no trouble flitting through the flames and reaching Taishi Ci and the others.

“Right, then,” Jian said, drawing himself up and taking a deep breath. “Let’s move out. I will go through as many Orochi snakes as I have to in order to get at the big one.”

The Wu army had a relatively easy time finding their way off the burning fleet of ships, as they had the pleasure of being able to stand back and watch which way the enemy soldiers fled, and then follow directly in their footsteps. Yet, they had to hurry, not just because of who or what might be awaiting them in the main camp, but because the explosion earlier suggested that more could be coming, if the other ships were also laden with powder, ammunition, or oil. And the storm was still coming, it wouldn’t be long before it erupted on them as well. It would make for a much more precarious battlefield in the pouring rain, but even Sun Jian had no delusions that they could finish this before the clouds opened up. As they streamed forward across the ships in the rear line, which hadn’t seen as much damage yet, they found an entirely new phalanx of snake soldiers charging toward them, led by new captains who hadn’t been seen in this particular battle yet. It verified the fact that Orochi himself had come, these were his own reinforcements. Yet, their fear of fire made them hesitate before boarding any ships, giving the Wu army a split-second in which their momentum carried them successfully onto and through the front line. In no time at all the battle spilled onto land and the confusing crush of the nighttime melee was all around them. They could see, now, the fences and tents of the large compound that had been serving as the Orochi supply depot, preparing the munitions and provisions for the extensive invasion plan to conquer Wu from land and sea. The Chosokabe’s information had all been correct and timely, it was all as they had warned. There was no need for direct orders any longer, every last member of the Wu army made that camp their target, fighting through scores of confused and angry demons as well as men of all historical eras and allegiances, from the rear unit of the Date rifle corps under Hidemune’s command to Han soldiers loyal to Dong Zhuo. Around the time Kunoichi reappeared, proudly leading Maeda, Taishi Ci, and Zhu Zhi back to their comrades, the thunder and lightning reached their peak and the storm burst, the rain pouring down in sheets. It would likely extinguish some of the fires, but by now the fire attack had done exactly as intended and there was no need for flame when water would do just as well. Sun Jian regrouped his core officers and prepared them for what might rise up out of the camp and come toward them when all of them heard a too-familiar voice bellow above the rolling thunder: “I need a _real_ challenge! Who will dare to stand before me?”

“Oh, no,” Zhou Yu sighed.

“That _is_ who I think it is, then,” Sakon muttered.

Some of their men scattered as Lu Bu rode out from around the palisade fence, barreling across the muddy ground. It was dark enough that he couldn’t identify specific individual officers as he came, but his fierce eyes swept the crowds anyway. Sun Jian squared his shoulders and raised his sword, but Toshiie thrust out an arm to hold him back. “Now this looks like fun. Allow me, my lord.”

Sun Jian didn’t know this Oda officer, but considering he was loaded for bear, it seemed likely he wasn’t just being foolhardy and reckless. Still, Jian shot Lu Xun a quick look to verify, and the young man nodded eagerly – oh yes, Maeda Toshiie could give Lu Bu a hard time, indeed. Jian relented with a quick wave, letting him plunge forward through the throngs of soldiers and charge right at the big roan stallion galloping their way. Toshiie whirled his poleaxes around his wrists as he came on, making himself rather visible amidst the throng, and grinned eagerly to see that it worked. Lu Bu veered his way, and the Sky Piercer swung low off the side to meet the attack, which hit him with more force than anticipated. The double-smash of the two axes knocked the halberd wide and threw the great warrior right off his horse to land in the mud. Infuriated, Lu Bu shot up to his feet and gripped his weapon hard, turning to face the man who had unseated him. “I don’t know who you are,” he growled, “but if you wish to face me, then you’ll get that wish!”

“You wanted a challenge, didn’t you? I’ll give you one,” Toshiie responded, giving the axes another whirl and crossing the shafts. “I took down Keiji, I can handle you.”

Lu Bu’s heavy brow twitched. “ _You_ are the one who wounded Maeda? I see.” He swept the Sky Piercer quickly around into a threatening attack position. “Then I think I _will_ actually enjoy this.”

With that obstacle occupied, Sun Jian and the rest of his men cut to the side to give them a wide berth and then resumed their strike toward the main camp, plowing through scores of demons in wave after wave before finally coming up against the last few humans remaining in the Orochi ranks. Date Hidemune had a handful of riflemen still capable of fighting, but the pouring rain wet their powder and flints and as the Wu forces met them, they were forced to swing their rifles like clubs instead. They were only a setback for a minute or two, and then behind them came Sima Yi with Guo Huai at his back, both of them stumbling in sodden robes but more than capable of battling back against the Resistance. Huai in particular looked completely pathetic with the rain streaming off his soaking-wet hair and robe, his hollow eyes distant and melancholy as he forced himself into the fray one more time, while Sima Yi flew at them in pure rage. That they should dare attempt a fire attack, let alone succeed, drove him completely mad with frustration. Without a word Zhou Yu cut in front of his lord and flung himself onto the Orochi strategist, sword whistling through the rain. They ran headlong into each other, and Yi garbled in rage. “I should have known it was you!” he blazed at the Wu tactician.

“It wasn’t,” Yu said slyly, “but really, when a strategy works…”

Yi snarled and threw him off, making enough room for him to cast a spell and blast Zhou Yu with wind and ice. It knocked him back even further, but he caught himself and plunged right back in, recalling such moves from their fight at Hulao and steeling himself to avoid letting it happen again. Guo Huai attempted to move in to assist, but something flashed past Zhou Yu’s elbow and he glanced, startled, to see Kunoichi fly in and bodily tackle the officer. Zhou Yu had been battling for some time but he still felt energetic enough to take on Sima Yi alone, all the better to allow his lord and the rest of their officers get past and head for the real commander. Yi only had eyes for him, anyway, he did not seem to see the Wu lord jog past with his retainers bunched around him. The closer Zhou Yu stuck to him, the more enraged Sima Yi grew, and the more mistakes he made in his calculations. Wind was countered by the storm-winds, lightning was pointless when the real thing streaked across the sky and lit the battlefield with its vivid glare, and the famed Wu tactician was too fast with that blade to let himself get cut by threads of ice a second time. He drove in close and stayed there, forcing Yi to physically block his sword with the fan and preventing him from getting a hand free to make the necessary gestures to cast a spell. The only thing Sima Yi seemed to do right was plant his feet so as to prevent himself from being shamefully felled by tripping on his own robes. Yu seemed to have no problem with the muddy ground, he flashed around his foe on one side and then the other, a red blur in the darkness, striking almost out of instinct rather than sight. It took longer than he expected to finally get a cut in, but once he slashed at Yi’s right arm, the rest of his hits seemed to find their mark without fail. The momentum had been against Sima Yi from the start, but as soon as his dominant arm was wounded, he lost control of any ability to fend off the fiery onslaught. Zhou Yu flew straight at him, then, taking him head-on and hammering at him with the kind of powerful, unrelenting assault more suited to his sworn brother. He backed Yi up against the palisade and with one more cut sent the fan flying into the darkness, leaving the strategist wide open for a mortal blow. Yu shifted at the last second, though, jamming his elbows into Yi’s ribs instead and then pressing the blade of his Ancients Sword against the man’s throat. Sima Yi refused to be forced down, he desperately tried one last thing, thrusting a hand up and grabbing a handful of Zhou Yu’s wet hair. “Never!” he declared, gasping painfully for breath. “You will never best me!”

“You have already lost!” Yu cried into his face, ignoring the yank on his hair and pressing the blade until it drew blood. “If you wish me to destroy you, I will!”

He ground his elbows further into Sima Yi’s chest, pressing his scale armor into bruised ribs underneath until Yi began to vocally rasp with every breath, sputtering on the rainwater that ran down his face. Yet, even in that moment with the thunder screaming in his ears and the chaos in the darkness on all sides, Zhou Yu could not forget Sima Zhao’s amicable smile. He drew his sword away for only a second, deftly flipped it in his grip, and smashed the pommel hard into Yi’s diaphragm, taking the wind out of him. Sima Yi collapsed in the mud, convulsed a few times, and then managed to roll himself over, clawing at the ground until he could finally regain the ability to breathe and then choking on the rain still cascading down into his wide-open mouth. Zhou Yu knew this was no time to second-guess his decision, but leaving Sima Yi to his own devices went against every ounce of wisdom in his mind. Guo Huai appeared like a ghost at his elbow right at that moment, likewise breathing hard and holding one arm over his chest. His weapon was missing. “I will take it from here,” he whispered, clearly in no shape to speak with any kind of strength.

Zhou Yu did not look at him as he turned on his heel. “Consider it a favor from Lord Sun Ce,” he muttered before dashing off to go and catch up to his lord.

Sima Yi was truly down for the count, cut in several places, battered, and bruised. He could hardly breathe, and as he tried to steady himself with a hand flat against the ground, couldn’t even raise himself up out of the mud. When a dark shape descended over him, he was certain that either Zhou Yu or Orochi himself had come to kill him, but then Guo Huai’s ragged voice sounded in his ear. “Stay still, my lord. Help is on the way.”

Yi grimaced with his face to the ground. “I don’t need help,” he seethed back, “I need to get up and finish that wretched Zhou Yu…!”

“I’m afraid it won’t be so,” Huai intoned softly. “Not tonight.”

He was content to protect his lord with his body if necessary, but he had already seen a shape stumbling toward him in the darkness, leaning on a heavy lance. As soon as Deng Ai reached him, they could work together to do what none of them could do alone: stand up and flee. Guo Huai was certain that they would not be noticed in the darkness and the storm, would not be missed until it was too late.

Zhou Yu pushed his way through crowds of soldiers shifting this way and that, as uncertain as the splashing waves lapping at the boats and the shoreline in the storm, trying to find Lord Sun Jian before he got into trouble. He found someone looming up on his left and spun to find Sun Shao joining him. “Where is my lord?” the tactician shouted into the storm.

“I don’t know!” Shao yelped back. “I was just trying to give that man of Oda’s some help, he looked like he was struggling against Lu Bu but he told me to go ahead.”

“No…” Yu glanced back, but between the darkness, the slanting rain, and the sheets of wet hair smacking him in the face, he couldn’t see a thing. “We can’t have Lu Bu at our backs and Orochi before us…”

“There’s nothing for it, my lord,” Sun Shao encouraged, hooking him by an arm to keep him from racing back. “We must keep going, or else Orochi will be the death of us.”

Gritting his teeth, Yu turned back around and kept forging ahead, to the end of the fence line and the gate into the enemy’s main camp. He knew Ce’s adopted son was right, but his heart raged at potentially sacrificing one of Oda’s best to the beast behind them.

Toshiie was fighting his hardest, but since he had already cleaved his way through so much of the Orochi army and was too close for comfort when the ship exploded earlier, he lacked the stamina to keep up with Lu Bu for as long as he wanted. His bronze armor dented, his arms cut up and down their length, he forced himself to keep fighting with a poleaxe in one fist and his notched sword in the other, even though blood ran into his eyes from a cut on his scalp and the rain stung his other wounds. He felt as though the water streaming down to wash his open wounds was draining his strength away with it, but still he swung and slashed at Lu Bu, fending off the Sky Piercer with great swings of his weapons. He had lost the momentum of the fight, and now was merely keeping the legendary warrior busy long enough to allow Sun Jian to finish the battle elsewhere. It was like looking into the face of a monster, standing there at the lake’s edge with the lightning flashing behind Lu Bu’s head, occasionally illuminating his fierce glare and gnashing teeth. It was only a matter of time before he went down, Toshiie knew it, but still he fought, his spirit burning within him as fiercely as any samurai of his time. It was too much to hope that his wayward nephew might be shaken to hear of his death on the battlefield, but surely Lord Oda would mourn him. _Maybe he’ll even give Orochi one extra hit in my honor_ , he thought as he tangled his axe’s head with the halberd and tried to force it to the ground. Lu Bu roared in rage that he couldn’t just knock over and best this fighter, wrenching himself and his halberd to the side to try to disengage him. Toshiie managed to keep his grip on his weapons, but the force of the move threw him to the ground on his shoulder. He lifted his face to the storm to watch death fly down at him, only to see Lu Bu standing over him with halberd raised high – stopped, frozen in that position. He wasn’t looking at his opponent, but rather away to one side, and another flash of lightning revealed the fury and fear on his face. Something was coming at him from the direction of the smoldering ships, and he didn’t seem to be happy about it. In a heartbeat he forgot all about beheading Toshiie and raced off instead, bellowing into the teeth of the storm. Stunned, Toshiie pushed himself up on his injured arm and looked to see the most amazing sight of the night riding towards him as if spawned by the thunder itself: the huge, hulking shoulders and antlered helm of Honda Tadakatsu.

No one stopped to question where the hell Honda had come from this time, his appearance was simply the miracle they needed right at that moment. Toshiie even laughed weakly to himself to see it, seeing as he couldn’t manage much more than that any longer. He was spent and he knew it, but this looked to be a fight he wanted to see for himself. He got up and threw another slash of his sword at a retreating Orochi soldier to keep him at bay and then turned to watch Lu Bu launch himself with wild abandon at the intruder. Honda slid from his saddle while still crossing the deck of the ship and met him halfway, the two of them slamming into each other with the force of two typhoons meeting. “You are not welcome here!” Lu Bu howled at his foe, spit flying from his lips, as their polearms met. “This time you die!”

“My time is not yet!” Honda proclaimed boldly, drawing back his Tonbo-giri in order to smash it against the Sky Piercer a second time. “But you, Lu Bu, are finished!”

“Never!” Driven to madness by his rival’s interference, Lu Bu threw him off and then went on the attack, bowling him across the still-burning deck of the ship. Honda righted himself quickly and clashed with him again and again, disregarding the flame at his feet and the thunder in the sky. Those who had often likened seeing these two meet in battle to a clash of gods had never seen it like this. Toshiie found his knees going weak as he watched them fight, the great polearms swinging and whirling and hitting and screeching as the blades raked across one another, the massive wielders backlit by fire and lightning at the same time. There were simply no words in either of their languages for what he was witnessing. The boards beneath their feet creaked from the strain of their power crossing back and forth across the deck, it seemed likely the ship itself would collapse under them before they even got close to deciding a victor. Only when he heard hooves in the wet turf behind him did Toshiie rouse himself and turn to defend, but he quickly noticed it was the rest of Honda’s clan riding past, cutting around Tadakatsu’s battle and tearing into the Orochi flank which was already in disarray. No one in Wu needed to fear Lu Bu coming back to his lord’s aid, now.

The rest of the Wu officers under Sun Jian’s direction stayed with him as they threw aside the last, pathetic defenses and entered the main camp. Under Zhu Ran’s direction some of the remaining engineers attempted to set fire to the storehouses and tents, but nothing would catch under the driving rain. Then, a flash of lightning revealed the grim specter standing amidst the camp waiting for them, a sight which had most of the soldiers behind the officers instantly quailing in terror. It was, indeed, a fearsome scene: Orochi standing tall and unmoving, giant scythe in one hand, eyes nearly glowing in the darkness, the lightning’s reflection dancing on the sharp ridges and planes of his segmented armor. Lu Xun felt his heart plummet into his toes, but he kept going with the others, bolstered by the endless determination of the Tiger of Jiangdong leading them all onward. No matter how they felt, every single one of them – Hanzo, Sakon, Taishi Ci, and all the others still on their feet – continued on relentlessly, striking aside any pitiful snake driven to stop them and cleaving a path toward the demon lord. Orochi simply watched and waited, having no reason to call out a challenge or waste words on them at all. Everyone knew what they were there for, and when they were within an arrow’s shot of him, Sun Jian broke from the pack into a run, raising his Tiger Sword high and roaring a wordless battle cry. They all leaped to keep up with him, taking up his cry and hurling it at Orochi as they came. He remained motionless until they were within the reach of his scythe, and then swept it in a mighty swing outward. Ring after ring showed where it glanced off their weapons, each man shifting to block and then resuming the charge as soon as the blade was past. Jian himself plowed right in and struck at Orochi’s armored forearm, which he raised to block instead of his weapon. The demon’s mismatched eyes narrowed at him. “You are not worthy to face me,” he growled.

Jian put both hands on his sword’s hilt and shoved it against that forearm. “Yet face you I will,” he said fiercely, “and all my friends with me. You will have neither Wu nor me!”

Orochi glared at him and thrust the butt of the scythe toward him, only to have it battered out of the way. With all of his strength back, Sun Jian could finally show his captor just how much of a match he really was. He swung to hit Orochi anywhere he could, ducking another swing of the scythe and hearing the clash of its blade coming up against Sakon’s Wrecking Blade on his other side. The others were moving to join, the smaller and quicker among them plying their abilities to work in tandem with the big, heavy hitters. Orochi had to move to block first Sakon, then Taishi Ci, only to find something streaking out of the darkness at him and dodge to the side to let Hanzo’s sickle glance off the fanged shoulder-guard of his armor. Lu Xun sprang off the flat of Sakon’s immense sword and launched himself into a spin to bring his paired blades down in the same spot, sending the demon lord staggering even further sideways. He caught himself and whirled the scythe around, at which point Sun Jian called out to his men. “Watch the knob-end! Don’t get hit with his sorcery!”

It was already in motion, swinging to jam against the ground, but the Wu officers heard and obeyed, leaping back just in time as a crackle of energy, red and angry purple, coursed outward in a halo across the ground. Orochi was not finished with that simple attack, he instantly phased out of corporeality and flashed toward Sun Jian, re-materializing in time to have Taishi Ci plow into him from the side with both pugil sticks. Orochi had learned from his previous scuffle with the men of Shu not to let them surround him, it wasn’t as much of a detriment for them all to be attacking at the same time as he would have expected. He moved around and between them, looking for openings, cutting at them with the enormous scythe blade and purposefully shifting to face Sun Jian at every turn. Despite the power and determination of the gnats buzzing around him, the Wu lord was his true target. He might not have had the same grudge against this man as he did against those who had betrayed him, but Orochi was not about to let a former prisoner wipe the field with him. At the same time, Jian wanted nothing more than to keep the overlord’s attention on him, divert it away from his men and take the blows upon himself if he could. He didn’t interfere in anyone else’s strikes, though he knew they were trying to protect him from Orochi. He appreciated the loyalty but he didn’t need their sacrifice. No one, he determined, would sacrifice anything for him from now on. He concentrated on bashing the scythe away so it couldn’t deal another jolt of dark energy to any of his men, making openings for them if he could, and as Zhou Yu returned to his side and slid up near him, he directed his tactician with a nod to go ahead and do as he pleased. Zhou Yu flashed past him, then, and went to back up Lu Xun, who was fast and agile but could not hit nearly as hard as the others against a foe this size. Not that the larger men were doing much better, Taishi and Sakon could hit but not overcome the demon so easily. The latter drew back for a moment, panting hard behind the defense of his Wrecking Blade, and then whirled to put himself back to back with Sun Jian as Orochi circled around them again. “Only one thing for it, my lord,” he breathed over his shoulder, blocking another hit so powerful his arms nearly gave.

“What’s that?” Jian murmured back.

“Don’t know if he has a weak spot, so let’s make one.” Sakon threw off the scythe and pushed his shoulders against Jian to keep him from facing the attack while they consulted. “Everyone has to hit the same spot, over and over!”

“Right.” Jian pushed back against him, bouncing off him and zig-zagging through his men, appearing to flee from Orochi’s direct assault but really passing a simple command to each of them: hit his right arm. They didn’t need to know more than that, though more than one understood the tactic. It might have been his dominant arm, they couldn’t be sure, but more often than not he swung it so the blade was on the left and the pommel on the right, plus that shoulder pauldron was less complex. Orochi’s armor had many jagged edges and superfluous shapes which added to his defense, but on that side the shoulder was rather simple, no snake-fangs against which a weapon could get caught or easily deflected. Zhou Yu understood perfectly and relayed the message as well, so that within moments they were all ready to turn and face their enemy with a new plan. Sakon had held off the scythe blade for those few seconds needed, but now it threw him back, and even as he stumbled, Sun Jian vaulted over him and swept his sword in toward Orochi’s right shoulder, which was helpfully facing him directly at the moment. Orochi had over-reached in his effort to knock Sakon aside, leaving him open. He took the hit without flinching, and stared in perplexity as Sun Jian immediately dodged to the side and Hattori Hanzo followed his same path, slicing with his sickle at Orochi’s arm. It scored off the snake-scales but then bit deeper, catching just the right spot. Hissing, Orochi whirled to chase them, thrusting the weapon straight out to try to hit them with his dark energy, but then Zhou Yu and Lu Xun were right up beside him, and three more blades crashed into that same arm. He let go of the shaft of his scythe and swung his arm, elbow-first, at them, but they evaded it without trouble. He was starting to gather what their intention might be, but his unwavering confidence in his own strength meant he did not consider it any sort of troublesome strategy. He didn’t even change his own pattern, moving among them with ease and pursuing Sun Jian the whole time. “That’s right,” Jian muttered to himself as he ground his heel into the mud and pushed off to stay on the run, “follow me, Orochi. I’ll lead you into hell…”

Every time Orochi turned, there was another Wu officer there to strike him, and though several missed and banged off the pauldron instead, most hit their mark. Hanzo’s tiny cut between scales began to widen, and the next time Taishi Ci got him with both pugil sticks, Orochi’s arm actually gave and his grip on the scythe dropped to one hand alone. It was just the opening one lithe little warrior needed. In the momentary pause before Orochi could swing the scythe back around, Zhu Ran sprang up out of nowhere with his bow drawn taut, flying straight into Orochi’s face with the arrowhead aflame. The firelight glinted in Orochi’s demon eyes, and those still close enough to him were shocked to see him actually hesitate and recoil. Apparently not even someone of his level liked having a fire-arrow primed to shoot point blank at his nose. Before Zhu Ran could loose the shot, there was a ring of metal and chains lashed around Orochi’s right arm. Hanzo took advantage of the distraction to loop them round and round, the sickle at the end coming up tight against the coil and latching on fast. Orochi started to move toward them, to bat them both away, but Zhu Ran twisted and then shot, the flaming arrow screaming directly past the demon’s eyes, momentarily blinding him. Hanzo dug his heels in and yanked back on the chain, pulling it taut. “Now!” he called out to his allies.

With Orochi’s arm restrained, even briefly, they all had their target laid out for them. One by one they leaped in, struck, and then dodged so the next could follow, with Sun Jian at the last. His sword cut deep, scoring all the way up Orochi’s exposed arm from the chains to the shoulder bell. The great demon snarled and dropped his scythe, turning in place to thrust his other hand out, fingers splayed, and shock them all with his sorcery. Sun Jian took it to his right shoulder and was flung back into Hattori, but the others escaped easily. Orochi staggered away from them, letting the chain unwrap from his arm, and then clapped his hand over the wound. It was more pain than anyone, up to that day, had dealt him. The assembled front line of Wu faced him across the gap made by his retreat, ready to take advantage of his new weakness forced by their efforts, and though he was slow to get up, Sun Jian rose behind them, and Hanzo reeled in his sickle for another try. The storm above them was starting to lighten, the rain easing and the thunder quieting some, but not enough to lessen the darkness or make it easier to fight. They were all soaked through, water running in rivulets down their armor and bleeding drops from their hair, but none were prepared to yield yet. Orochi regarded them all, and then thrust out his hand again, this time using his power to call his scythe back to his possession. It vanished from the ground and reappeared in his hand. He glanced to one side as if to look for someone to give him a report, but there were none of his soldiers left around him, to a man. Snakes, humans, they had all fled in scattered directions. He did not fear the weak infantry of Wu, but that cluster of officers staring him down had already changed the momentum too much for him to overcome. The lack of support, more than anything, incensed the demon lord. He fought on his own and needed no one, but the fact that they had abandoned him struck him as the height of betrayal and insolence. The risk was too great, so for the second time, he floated up into the air over his enemies and then swept away, gliding through the air back toward the ships. Sun Jian and his men could only watch in astonishment, he was gone that quickly. 

The battle between Lu Bu and Honda was still going on, even though nearly everyone else had vacated the area. The ship on which they fought was the only one still structurally sound enough to carry them, though large parts of it were crumbling away, the deck falling in and the railing tumbling into the water. The two great warriors seemed not to notice, or at least not to care, the only thing that mattered was throwing themselves at each other again and again, polearms crashing with a deafening ring. The only one watching, still, was Toshiie, and though his fists were white-knuckled on his weapons, he was certain he knew which way the tide of battle was flowing. He could see it in their trembling muscles, the splash of blood on the deck and the grimaces on their faces, and allowed himself to feel hope. Honda had this, no doubt. No sooner had he drawn that conclusion and the Tonbo-giri ricocheted off the shaft of the Sky Piercer and jabbed straight in past Lu Bu’s guard to bash against his chestplate, shredding the dragon sash covering it. The blow threw Lu Bu off his feet and sent him skidding across the burning deck of the ship, though he tried to slow himself by digging his halberd into it, throwing up chunks of wood and embers as he went. It wasn’t the first time either of them had been knocked down, but this time, he was much slower in getting up. Honda stood where he started, shoulders heaving with every panting breath, his pike held low and waiting. The rain streamed down his silvery samurai armor to give him the look of a river dragon newly-risen from the water. “Get up!” he demanded of his opponent. “We are not finished!”

Lu Bu had both hands on the halberd, trying to push himself up. His armor was battered and a strap or two had been cut loose, and he sported more cuts to his arms than his foe. This wasn’t like being bowled over by unexpected sorcery, he and Honda had battled each other to exhaustion and the mere glimpse of defeat standing over him with Tonbo-giri at the ready had him in turmoil. The pure insanity which drove him to start this fight had been drained away by the pouring rain and the ache in his limbs, this battle made him feel more human than he wanted to admit. His urge to destroy Honda was being hampered by his fatigue, it didn’t matter how much he wanted it if his body wouldn’t respond. “Shut up!” he roared, finally getting to his feet with tremendous help from his weapon. “This is not over, this is never over!”

“Then come, Lu Bu, and show me!” Tadakatsu shouted back, brandishing his polearm.

Lu Bu took a step and stumbled, going to one knee again. He clenched his teeth, willing himself to get up, and lifted his head to shoot Honda a glare. As he did, he noticed something in the sky and startled. It dropped down to land beside him with barely a tap of clawed feet on the damaged ship deck, and a huge hand closed on the thick band over his right shoulder holding his armor up. Without a word, Orochi looked down at him, then across at his opponent, and shot Honda a deadly glare before rising up and this time, carrying Lu Bu with him. Lu Bu only wriggled a little, reserving his protest because this was essentially the same as a direct order from his lord, which he would not refuse, even if it left him humiliated. Honda watched them go until he was certain they were actually retreating and not regrouping, and then left the treacherous footing of the burning ship to find the rest of his men and the victorious army of Wu.

With the rain still falling, the remaining fires on the ships were soon put out on their own, but the fleet as Orochi had envisioned it had been decimated. His forces were scattered in the darkness, his lead officers left wandering, and one completely vanished in the night. Everything he had brought with him over the mountain pass directly to Chi’bi had been routed along with Sima Yi’s original defense force. On the other side, the Wu army was nursing a lot of hurts but no one had been lost, and as Sun Jian returned to the shore to see what had become of the great demon, he met the unexpected reinforcements who had held the rear in order to keep any of the snake demons from rejoining their lord. First there was Masanobu and the boys, still astride their horses, and then came Tadakatsu himself, supporting the exhausted Maeda Toshiie. Everyone gathered together in the fading firelight from the slowly-extinguishing ships and beheld one another, and Sun Jian frowned darkly. “Orochi. Did he…?”

“He took Lu Bu with him and fled,” Honda reported.

“It’s true,” Toshiie put in, leaning on his axe. “I saw it with my own eyes. I didn’t know the bastard could fly.”

“That took us by surprise as well,” Sakon sighed, and then straightened up, putting his Wrecking Blade on his shoulder. “As did you and your boys, Lord Honda.”

The great samurai bowed deeply. “Honda Tadakatsu,” he introduced himself to the men of Wu, “and I am here to finally join myself to the Resistance in name as well as deed.”

“Honda!” Zhou Yu softly gasped. “We have heard of you, from Lord Tokugawa.”

Hattori stepped forward from behind the bulk of much larger officers. “Lord Ieyasu is not here at present.”

“Oh, Hanzo!” Tadakatsu said with some relief. “Then, it seems I have fallen in with the correct Resistance army.”

“You have indeed,” Jian said. “Wu welcomes you.”

The camp at the base of the famed red cliffs was in complete tatters, thanks more to the storm than the battle, but it was still serviceable enough that the Wu army could commandeer it and turn it to their use for the night. They found absolutely nothing of the Orochi army remaining behind except the supplies which hadn’t yet been loaded onto any boat, which they claimed for themselves. The rain finally began to taper off enough for them to get tents up and get a few braziers lit to give them light in the complete blackness of the dead of night, and as much as the lead officers wanted to consult on their next move, they had no choice but to wait until morning. The storm had drenched everything, it was better just to rest and tackle all of the sticky logistics after they had gotten a little sleep. In the interest of haste, several officers agreed to just pile all into one tent and sort out arrangements another time, and as a result the reinforcements from Oda were absorbed in with the rest of them. While others tried to figure out the efficacy of bedrolls laid on wet ground, Sakon came up and clapped a meaty hand down onto Lu Xun’s shoulder. “Great job with the fire attack, before,” he said amicably. 

Lu Xun looked up at him and smiled wanly. “Not at all. I only succeeded because you laid the groundwork and prepared the men.”

“Me? Nah, I only helped a little.” Sakon’s warm look twisted into a bit of a smirk, his eyes crinkling. “Should’ve known you’d be nothing but humble about it. If only your present boss could take a page from you.”

Xun’s eyes widened slightly. “You mean…Lord Oda? But…I don’t…”

Sakon laughed. “Don’t tell him I said that! It’s all right. My point still stands – you did real good, whether you want to admit it or not.”

“Still,” Zhou Yu said quietly, listening from where he stood nearby supervising, “it was a lucky break that the storm hit when it did.”

The ronin turned to give him a sly look. “Yeah, well, I just had this feeling. You know.”

While they worked to find the least wet and crowded way to bed down, three figures limped away from their position in defeat, or more specifically, two figures transporting the third. Most of the Orochi army had retreated upstream along the Jiangdong, a handful had been stranded on the southern shore after the destruction of the boats, and still more had tried to climb up the winding paths of Chi’bi toward the heights and the wild roads beyond. Downstream was more difficult with the river swollen with rain, but it was most decidedly in the opposite direction from the rest of the army – both of them – and as such, Guo Huai was determined to keep that path. Sima Yi had passed out from his injuries and fatigue, so Deng Ai carried him while Huai carried their heavy weapons. They had no light at all by which to see and only the churning sound of the river beside them to keep them from wandering too close to the water. Neither officer had enough strength left to keep going all night, but they agreed to press on for as long as they dared, to put as much distance between them and Orochi as possible. When Huai could no longer manage to put one foot in front of the other, they drew back from the river’s edge and shoved their way through dripping, sodden underbrush to find somewhere to shelter. Working by feel alone, Guo Huai found a thicker stand of bushes covered over in vines, underneath which the ground was a little more dry. It would still be a cold and miserable night, and he doubted either of them would sleep at all. He crawled in first and then helped Deng Ai to maneuver the limp form of their lord into the shelter where he could lay at rest, and when it seemed like they had taken up all the good space under the vine-roof, Ai decided to sit in the wet grass at the edge of the hollow and deal with it. “I’m already wet through,” he murmured to his companion, “it can’t get any worse.”

“Speak for yourself,” Huai grumbled, stifling a cough. This damp would not do for his constitution at all. He squinted down through the darkness at Sima Yi’s pale, slack features and sighed. “I fear what it will do for our lord, as well. I have nothing with which to bandage his wounds. I’m afraid he may catch a fever.”

“Keep an eye on it, that’s all we can do in this state,” Ai said sadly. “I am afraid that this defection was not well-planned.”

“You think I don’t know,” Huai said wryly. “What other choice did we have? For our lord to even show his face in front of Orochi, now, is to guarantee his death. At least he has a fighting chance against a fever.”

“I don’t mean it as criticism, my friend,” Deng Ai assured, shifting to rest his back against a tree. “Merely a statement of fact. I understand completely.” Rather than try to find the two of them in the darkness, he lifted his head to the sky, trying to determine whether the storm had really passed and how soon the clouds might break. “Lord Sima Yi will be furious when he awakes.”

“Oh, yes. Quite,” Huai grunted. “I don’t expect anything we say will even placate him. But he is severely injured, he will have no choice against two able-bodied men as us.” The sarcasm in his tone was veiled, but present. Deng Ai didn’t seem too badly beaten but Huai was weak and they all knew it. “A part of me believes that if we were to go slinking back to the Wu army, they would take us. Lord Zhou Yu mentioned young master Zishang to me. But knowing Orochi’s plans as we do, I think the safer route would be to go into hiding for a time.”

Ai glanced toward the sound of his voice in the blackness. “You have been with Lord Sima Yi in the demon’s presence. Do you think, that even after this…?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Huai said grimly. “He will not be discouraged by this. He will move against Lord Cao Pi and Lord Oda as planned, the only questionable factor is how quickly. He will discover that he has lost another strategist and several officers, he will need to regroup to make full use of his resources before launching his next attack. But make no mistake.” His voice dropped several levels in volume. “He will continue to attack. He knows nothing but destruction, and if thwarted, will only try again and again until he completes his goal.”

Deng Ai could draw only one conclusion. “We were right to escape when we did.”

Guo Huai hummed an affirmative response. “Lord Sima Yi might not agree, but there it is.”

“Unfortunately, we left Zhong Hui behind,” Ai noted. “I fear how he may fare without us.”

Huai laughed a little, cold and humorless. “Master Zhong Hui will be fine. In fact, I fear he may enjoy himself too much in Orochi’s service.”

Ai grunted a little but said no more, settling himself down to brood in the darkness. It was wet all around him, a tree branch was steadily dripping water down the back of his neck, but he took it as a helpful means of keeping awake for the rest of the night. Whether or not Guo Huai could rest, he would take it on himself to remain on watch for all of them. Arms folded over his thick chest, he listened to the water dripping from leaves all around them, a light and scattered sound that occasionally rose in intensity when the wind stirred the branches, and waited for anything to disturb that quiet symphony. His lance was at his side, and he hardly relaxed all night, ready to grab it and leap up to attack anything that dared come sniffing around for the scent of the blood staining Sima Yi’s robes.

Dawn came chill and gray, as the clouds behind the storm lingered, but glimpses of blue further west assured all parties on all sides that better weather was on the way. The Wu encampment was still muddy and dreary, but at least some things had dried enough to become useful again, and the soldiers were ready and capable of doing their duties. Some went out to find what was left of the ships after the fire attack, and reported that one was still serviceable as a bridge to get them to the far side of the river. The other ships they had claimed at the start of battle were still there, the fleeing Orochi forces had not bothered with them, so a squadron was formed to raid them of any supplies while their leaders consulted on whether to scuttle them. Everything that hadn’t been damaged by the fire was now theirs, they thoroughly scrounged everything down to ratty old tents and cast-off weapons and armor. The officers gathered with Sun Jian in the center of camp as watery sunlight broke feebly through the clouds around midmorning, so they could clean up after the battle in logistical terms and plan their follow-up. With introductions made and connections understood, Honda Tadakatsu bowed respectfully to the Lord of Wu to reaffirm his intention. “My prey is and always has been Lu Bu,” he explained, “but now that he has been pulled back to serve directly at Orochi’s side, I can do no more on my own. I had been prepared to join the Resistance all along, for some time now, but it needed to be at the right time. To think, I need not search for my lord at all, he is part of your faction! That is truly a good sign.”

“Lord Tokugawa is manning Edo Castle, jointly with forces from Shu,” Sun Jian informed him. “As much as I would enjoy having you in the ranks with my sons and my retainers, if you wish to join him, I believe he would be pleased to see you again.”

“He has spoken often and highly of you, Lord Honda,” Zhou Yu added.

Tadakatsu nodded slowly. “I will consider it. I am eager to see my lord but I go where my Tonbo-giri is needed most.” His expression darkened, brow furrowing. “I saw with my own eyes last night that there is one even more powerful behind Lu Bu, so even if I am able to finally best him, there is more and worse waiting beyond. It seems important to prepare for that.”

“What about you, Lu Xun?” Sakon asked the young tactician, standing on the other side of their circle beside Ling Cao. “Are you hanging around or going back to Oda?”

Lu Xun shook his head slowly. “We were not given the freedom to just leave at this time. This was supposed to be an alliance mission, nothing more. But if there is anything you wish me to take back to Lord Oda, I will gladly do so.”

Their conference was interrupted, then, by a shout from the far side of the camp. Since all the officers were already together, they drifted after Sun Jian to respond to the alarm in one large knot, wondering what “something on the water” actually meant. Their sentries stood bunched at the water’s edge, looking downriver all as one, and when the commander joined them, pointed to a pair of flat-bottomed boats similar to the ones they had commandeered and burned making their way up toward them. Everyone’s first thought went naturally to their enemy, given the location, but then a standard unfurled from the foremost ship, and Toshiie laughed in relief to see it. “That’s the symbol of the Chosokabe!” he assured the others.

“Well,” Sakon snorted. “This trip’s just full of surprises, isn’t it?”

The two Chosokabe ships were being rowed upstream by cadres of strong sailors and pulled right up to the shore alongside the burned-out remains of last night’s battle with the grace and expertise of the Sea Devil himself. Motochika sprang over the railing and landed neatly on dry land right in front of the cluster of men waiting on him, giving a cool smirk to Maeda, Honda, and Shima Sakon. “You’re late,” Toshiie teased him.

“Late is still better than not coming at all,” Motochika retorted, tossing his hair arrogantly. “Who, then, is commander of this army?”

“That would be Lord Sun Jian,” Zhou Yu said crisply, indicating the broad-shouldered man beside him.

The one-time pirate pulled back his attitude and humbly bowed to the Lord of Wu. “Chosokabe Motochika, head of the Chosokabe clan. I gather by the sights that you were victorious here, my lord.”

“Thanks to your people and your warnings, yes,” Jian acknowledged, bobbing his head in return. “What brings you here, Lord Motochika? Was the hospitality of my people’s castle no longer to your liking?”

Motochika smiled slyly. He liked this Wu lord already. “Our gratitude to the people of Wu for trusting us with the care of their fortress,” he replied diplomatically with a slant of his head. “We knew you were heading out to take care of the growing threat here at Chi’bi, but I learned almost too late that we would have been one of Orochi’s targets along the way toward your stronghold. I had no intention of interfering in your battle, but by the same token, I believe it is time we got up and joined this fight directly.” He nodded toward Honda standing head and shoulders (and antlers) above everyone else save perhaps Taishi Ci and Sun Jian. “Clearly, you already had more than enough reinforcements for the battle itself, you didn’t need us anyway.”

“Nevertheless,” Zhou Yu responded, stepping forward, “it is a pleasure to meet the one I have been corresponding with. Your assistance has been crucial to Wu’s success.”

“Ah, so you must be Zhou Yu, then.” Motochika glanced to the side as his grown sons hopped down to stand with him, though he had no need of a show of force. “I’ll be interested to hear what went on, here, if you’ll be willing to tell me.”

The others had more or less already concluded their business, insofar as the aftermath of the battle and their plans to return to Hefei were concerned, so they headed back into the camp proper and consented to sit with the Chosokabe and tell them all about the fire attack and the appearance of Orochi. The latter news came as more than a shock, and though it was clear the Wu army had driven him off somehow, Motochika did not look at all pleased to hear that the demon himself was so close. “And you don’t fear that he might regroup his forces and strike again?” he fretted.

“It’s a bit early to be completely confident,” Sakon admitted, “but our scouts so far have reported nothing Orochi-like in the vicinity. His troops have disappeared into the wilderness, there’s no sign of them gathering anywhere within striking distance.”

“It is strange,” Sun Jian mused. “We wounded him, yes, but he still had one good arm, two good legs, and a hell of a lot of magic power left in him. Why would he retreat, and not even consider a counter-attack? I can’t imagine that losing Sima Yi would have stripped his army of that much power.”

“You’re certain, though, that he _is_ lost?” Honda asked warily. “There is no chance he simply retreated by a different route and will catch up later?”

Zhou Yu shook his head. “I admit it is only speculation, but it is based on good faith and knowledge. Lord Sun Ce and I were at hand when his son Sima Zhao defected from the Orochi army, and mentioned forming a plan to try to save his father if he could.”

Tadakatsu started. “Sima Zhao? Yes, I have met him! He and his brother fought against Lu Bu themselves, I witnessed it. Brave young men…”

“He didn’t tell us _that_ when he visited,” Sun Jian said wryly, suitably impressed.

Yu looked down to his hands folded in his lap. “I was approached in secret by one of Sima Yi’s retainers, whom I know to have conspired with Sima Zhao on his plan. The words he passed to me lead me to believe without a doubt that they have spirited him away and will not return to Orochi. At least,” he added with a wary look around the gathered circle, “if he tries, they will not go with him. I injured him severely, I expect it will take him some time to even have the strength to try.”

“I’d rather have him convalescing somewhere out of reach than at Orochi’s side, either way,” Lu Xun reasoned.

“Lord Sun Jian’s point still stands,” Zhu Zhi noted. “Can any of us say we know of the serpent’s thoughts well enough to understand why he would have retreated and not come back for revenge?”

“For all we know, he got some bad news overnight and had to return home,” Taishi Ci shrugged.

“I’d love to know why as much as the rest of you,” Sakon said dryly, “but I’ll be content with the fact that he did. It means we won, and we won big. We’ve destroyed his fleet, and any chance he had at easily cutting across the eastern territory to attack Wu.”

“Send word of this immediately to the other Resistance armies,” Sun Jian ordered. “Orochi has suffered another defeat and with it, the loss of a major advantage. If they are to move in to weaken him further, it should be now.”

Messengers were assembled and given their orders, and while the newcomers were settled in to the increasingly-secure encampment, Motochika sent Nobuchika to help the Wu soldiers oversee the handling of the stolen ships. It was the Chosokabe recommendation that they not destroy these, but rather take them over to their own use. Ships in general were hard to come by in this world, at least so long as war raged and builders could not be found to make more, so hanging onto them for Resistance use was better than scuttling – not that they mourned the loss of the rest of the fleet. In fact, Motochika was rather impressed at the carnage.

While everyone else took care of their duties, Lu Xun found himself sitting alone, watching his own army scramble around him even though he himself was not, at the moment, a part of it. It felt strange, he wasn’t sure he liked it. But Oda had requested that they return to Honnoji when finished, so he didn’t feel right just giving in and staying with Wu either. Zhou Yu noticed him there and quietly prowled up alongside him, brushing his arm gently to let him know he was there. “I am glad you came,” he murmured, “and not just because you pulled off a magnificent fire attack for us.”

Xun looked up to him, eyes conflicted. “Really? Because I was thinking that the fire attack was the only good reason for me to even be here. If that hadn’t succeeded…”

“But it did,” Zhou Yu insisted. “Sakon made a valiant attempt, but his timing was off. Why deny the truth, Lu Xun? Your efforts turned the battle to our advantage and accomplished the first objective we set out to do. I appreciate your humility,” he added with light humor, “but there is such a thing as too much. What happened to your confidence?”

“I don’t know.” Xun had his hands clasped on his knee, and tapped his thumbs nervously together. “I’ve fought alongside Lord Oda just fine, it’s just. Being here, with my comrades, but not part of the army, I guess. Standing on a battlefield trying to duplicate a winning strategy with the original winner standing right next to me? It’s a little daunting.”

Yu’s eyes saddened to hear that, and he turned so that they could speak closely in confidence, perching himself on the corner of the crate which served as Lu Xun’s seat. “The battle last night was not some re-creation of our victory over Cao Cao. It was an entirely different field, with a different army and commander. The enemy moved in different ways. You didn’t have any expectations, you read the field as any intelligent tactician should and carried out the correct strategy based on what you saw, not what you remembered of my stories of Chi’bi. I mean it, Lu Xun.” He reached to rest his hand over the fidgeting thumbs and quiet them. “You did exceptional. We owe much to you. Lord Sun Jian wishes to commend you, as soon as he has a moment to himself.”

Lu Xun lifted his head to meet his eyes. “…he does?”

“I would not lie to you, my friend.”

It took a moment before Xun found himself smiling wanly, as the thought sank in and took root. Not just the glory of a commendation, but the truth of what Zhou Yu saw in him. “I will try to remember that, my lord.”

“Please, young master…” Yu kept his hand resting where it was. “Let’s not with the honorifics. I have been so pleased to see how well you’ve grown, how much you’ve learned, Boyan. You do me proud. And…” He finally moved, reaching to brush the backs of his knuckles along Xun’s arm from his shoulder down. “…I am glad to see that my blade did not leave lasting damage. I am so sorry I had to hurt you.”

Xun’s brow twitched with the painful memory, not only of having his mentor’s sword turned against him but of the weeks afterward in which his injury hampered his ability to defend himself, dogging him all the way to Xiapi. It had ached so much for so long, but only now, with Zhou Yu sitting next to him and gently soothing the spot of the wound with his touch, did he realize how much time had passed since he last felt that hurt. “I’m glad I got the chance to fight alongside you, instead of against you,” he murmured back, permitting the touch and almost leaning into it. “Changban is long past. You and Lord Sun Ce are doing better, and so am I.”

“It will not be the last time we fight together,” Yu promised. “Am I right to guess that you are close to Lord Oda, and assist with strategy?” Xun nodded briskly. “Then, you know as well as I do that it will not be long before we unite. There will be no lines between factions, then. You, Ling Tong, all of you will be back with us to fight.”

Xun reached to capture his hand and then clasped it between both of his. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right. I look forward to it.”

“I know it isn’t much consolation for the time being,” Yu said warmly, “so if you are lonely, I understand. But you need not feel lonely with your countrymen around you.” He leaned in even closer, then, and chuckled under his breath. “Zhu Ran is quite happy that you’re here, as well. Why don’t you go and spend some time with him while you can?”

“He’s not too busy…?”

“Ran? No,” Zhou Yu laughed. “If he’s making himself a nuisance around the camp or doting on his father, that can hardly be called ‘being busy.’ Go, Boyan. Find him and get him to sit down for five minutes, he’s worse than Sun Ce sometimes.”

“I…yes, right,” Xun said with a soft exhalation. “You’re right, Zhou Yu.” He looked out across the camp, and happened to spot Zhu Ran right at that moment, his vivid flame-patterned garb standing out even among all the russet-reds of Wu mingling in the camp, bright against the gray skies and muddy grounds. Ran almost seemed to feel eyes on him, for he turned and looked around, and then chanced a goofy little smile when he saw the two strategists talking together. Zhou Yu gave Lu Xun a pat on the shoulder to excuse him, and watched as he strode off with renewed energy in his step. All of his tactical protégés were valuable to him, he wanted to see them all happy, especially here where they could all be together without lamenting someone’s too-early death. Right now, it did his heart good to see the two young officers reunited; ever since Sakon had safely escorted Zhu Ran back into their service, he had always happily chattered about Lu Xun and all the great things they had done together, in their own time as well as here, such as protecting the refugees at Changban. It had been so long since the two had seen each other, Zhou Yu watched them embrace and then talk excitedly with one another from where he still sat. It was like one of those fire arrows had struck Boyan’s heart and given him life again. Yu smiled to himself to see it, and then thought fondly of the rest of their comrades back home in Hefei who would get their chance to welcome him home someday soon. Very soon, if he had anything to say about it.


	72. Chapter 72

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobunaga begins his assault on Bai Di Castle while Orochi is away.

A sizable army rode down from hidden paths in the hills toward the forested slopes surrounding Bai Di, and for once, it did not belong to Orochi. While his allies were busy with their battles elsewhere, Oda Nobunaga had finally put his long-desired plan into motion, deliberately taking advantage of the Wu assault further east of their position to divert Orochi’s attention away from his home base at this precise moment in time. Once he was certain that Orochi had not and would not return to his headquarters but instead, had gone to deal with Wu, Oda moved out on the spot, pressing his army so that they would make the best of their timing. They had a much smaller window for success than they had when taking Guandu, they could not afford to let a single soldier’s foot slip on their new path. Confident but wary, he asked Ma Chao to guide them, relying on his knowledge of the Shu stronghold to choose an appropriate launch point for their assault. Both Ma cousins looked a bit rueful at having to expose Bai Di’s vulnerabilities and secrets, but they were well aware that it was necessary in the current environment. “Just don’t go using this information to get back at Shu,” Ma Dai playfully warned as he rode near the commander. “All the same, I’d rather see it in your hands than Orochi’s, Lord Oda.”

“Then maybe after we get rid of Orochi, you should make sure Shu reinforces these weak points,” Hanbei teased back. “Nothing like changing up your castle defenses to confuse any future incursions, you know.”

Oda’s lips curled in a subtle smirk. “We can deal with who controls whose castle later. The important thing here is that we drive the Orochi forces completely from this territory, I want every last serpent dragged out of every last hole.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his snaky face when he comes back from playing with the tigers to find that his home isn’t his home anymore,” Hideyoshi grinned. “What a nice surprise we’ll have for him.”

Naoe Kanetsugu rode out in front with Ma Chao, keeping him company while he scouted ahead. “I am concerned that our army isn’t going to be enough to take this castle,” he murmured to his comrade. “Even with Orochi himself elsewhere, can the castle truly be that undermanned?”

“It isn’t the attack that concerns me, but what happens after,” Ma Chao responded in a similar low tone. “We take the castle, and then Orochi’s forces which have been away dealing with Wu return. Can we keep our hold on Bai Di when he counter-attacks? That, I think, is less certain than our invasion itself.”

Kanetsugu pursed his lips into a thin, tight line. “I see your point. But then, you know this castle well, right? Perhaps Master Takenaka is right and we should prepare to turn the defenses against him.”

“Perhaps so. But it doesn’t matter until we actually have control of Bai Di. To that end…” Chao reined in and raised a hand to halt the army behind him.

Oda passed along the order with the same gesture, but continued forward himself until he was beside the Tiger General. “What is it, Lord Ma Chao?”

“See for yourself.” Chao had stopped on the crest of one of the ridges that looked out across the shallow vale surrounding Bai Di Castle, giving them a moment to espy the fortress at a distance. They were coming out of the wilderness on the northwest side of the castle itself, near to the spur of the mountain which blocked access to the north gate. Very little could be seen of the small details at this distance, but they could clearly see Bai Di itself rising up out of the trees on its little knoll, nestled with its back against the rocky outcrop which protected it. Ma Chao allowed his fellow officers a moment to take in the view before explaining the last leg of their journey. “This is the spot I mentioned when plans were made. We can easily reach two of the three gates as you requested, Lord Oda.”

“And the third?” Nobunaga wondered.

“The east side of the castle wall. We cannot make a direct assault on it from here, it would mean going the long way around through the sentry points and likely far too much resistance.” Ma Chao nodded to the rocky ridge to the north. “The same caves which protect the north gate also make it impossible to get around to the far side from that position.”

“Then we’ll focus on the two like we planned, and play the third by ear,” Hanbei reasoned, shading his eyes with his hand in order to see further. “We’ve got plenty of time before sunset, might as well go for it.”

“Precisely,” Oda said with some satisfaction. “We strike now, and surprise the occupants. Siege the two gates, and proceed from there.”

With a few shouts the officers directed their men into units and prepared them to advance as the strategists had laid out. Hanbei was in charge, but he had Sima Shi as backup again. Thanks to their greater familiarity with the land and this particular castle, Oda had chosen to bring the Ma cousins and the Sima brothers, along with the reinforcements from Uesugi and his usual bodyguards. Their forces were spread between all of his holdings, and with Lu Xun and Maeda away on their errand, he had to keep Kanbei back at Honnoji with a healthy contingent to hold it. Even with a couple of lesser-ranked officers at hand, Oda’s assault force here was smaller than that which took Guandu, out of necessity. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he needed a large army to take this prize, it was merely equally important to keep all of his strongholds well-covered. Still, he had complete confidence in their strength, and with the strategies laid out by his tacticians to make the most of their resources, he was not terribly worried about their chances. There was no such thing as a guaranteed victory in any battle, but between the element of surprise and the reduced forces inside the castle, it was more than likely the Oda army could succeed. He sat astride his horse watching his army assemble and prepare, and then drew his sword and raised it to give the signal.

There were several roads around Bai Di connecting the outlying garrisons, but at Ma Chao’s direction, the Oda army focused on only one. The bulk of their forces followed him down from the hills to strike the road just behind one of the guardposts, sweeping in and overwhelming the sentries stationed there before they could raise an alarm. Once through that obstacle a portion of the army split off to go with Ma Dai into the maze of caves, following his lead to safely navigate through to the entrance that came out right behind the north gate of the castle. The rest continued onward, expecting to sweep straight down the fence-lined road to the next guardpost, but the instant they came into sight there was a barrage of gunfire, and more than one horse reared in terror. Ma Chao managed to keep from being unseated, but not without nearly dropping his spear in order to wrestle his steed into submission. Ahead of them the path was completely blocked by lines of riflemen, the first rank already on their knees hastily reloading while the second stepped up and aimed. Mitsuhide cried, “Down!” just in time, dropping off his horse and shoving the nearest of their men out of the way as the next volley passed through them, winging several soldiers and ricocheting off armor. The rifle corps was well-ordered, their firing lines spaced out so that there was almost no gap between shots, but the Oda Resistance was not about to let this obstacle stop them so quickly. The firing and reloading pattern was easy to read, and when they got back around to the first rank, the heavily-armored Toyotomi, Ma Chao, and Uesugi Kagekatsu charged on foot, withstanding the hail of bullets pinging against their plate armor in order to get up close and start mowing through the rifle ranks. No sooner had they ripped into the front line and the rest of the corps collapsed, darting every which way in order to find a clear spot in which to stand and fire at the enemy for as long as they still had the capacity to hold their guns. The battle rapidly dissolved into the sort of chaos Oda could appreciate, he regrouped his men and drove them in to follow Toyotomi’s lead, to take advantage of the lack of leadership to pick apart the rifle corps, chasing them down man by man if they had to and preventing them from reforming their solid lines. Oda himself batted away weapons with his blade and then grabbed one hapless gunner, twisting him to serve as a human shield as he advanced. More than one rifleman was too slow to realize what he was doing, trying to hastily draw a bead and take a shot only to have their own men hit. It was this ruthless tactic that allowed Nobunaga to advance far enough to find the corps leader and take him down, at which point any riflemen still standing broke and fled down the road. Akechi came to his lord’s side as they watched the injured and the disarmed stumble away, marking the direction of their retreat. “Your orders?”

Oda frowned to himself. “I did not expect a surprise so soon. There may be more.”

“But no officers,” Mitsuhide noted. 

“Not yet.” Oda accepted the reins of his horse as one of the soldiers towed it to him, mounted up, and then raised his voice and his blade to his army. “Their defenses are paper-thin,” he admonished. “Rip through them!”

The other officers likewise collected their mounts and resumed the assault, agreeing with his assessment. Even if they hadn’t expected to meet resistance until much closer to the castle, that resistance was weak and easy to throw down. The next obstacle appeared right on the heels of the first, as soldiers hiding in the brush upslope attempted to roll rocks down onto their enemy. Ma Chao had anticipated this and held up their lines before directing someone exactly where to cut up through the trees to find the masterminds of this little diversion and cut them down. It didn’t slow them down for long at all. The true test of their advance waited ahead of them, where the paths converged. The riders at the fore led the way down the road to a point where another path curved off closer to the foot of the castle, at which point Ma Chao reined in to wait for the commander. “We cut off here,” he advised with a gesture of his Silver Stallion. “It’s quicker, and…”

A shout somewhere in the midst of their soldiers interrupted them, and their men whirled about as an ambush erupted from the brush-tangled hillside at their right. More figures sprang over the fence on the left, and Oda himself swung his sword at a sudden movement in his peripheral sight. His humming blade met the claws of Fuuma Kotaro, who gave him a wicked smirk before leaping back out of the way of an infantryman’s sword. The hapless soldier was doing his best to protect his lord, but Fuuma simply dodged him and then shoved him onto the ground with one powerful slam of his hand. Battle exploded all around them as Fuuma’s clan, with the stragglers of the Date rifle corps, did their best to stop the advance right there at the crossroads, while the officers of the Resistance mustered their units and turned to counter-attack. Nobunaga spun his horse and slid out of the saddle to confront his assailant. “So,” he purred, facing the ninja captain directly. “This is where you’ve been skulking about, lately.”

“Your audacity will be your end, Oda Nobunaga,” Kotaro taunted back. “You shall not pass, here.”

Oda spun his blade in his grip and slashed it at him to clear space for their duel. “We shall see.”

At the same time, Ma Dai’s group was deep in the maze of caves serving as a natural defense to the upper gate, making their way slowly and carefully from one torch-lit chamber to the next. The horses balked at the darkness so they were being led through rather than ridden, which slowed them down even more, but as Dai explained, it was crucial so they could find the correct path through. “Is it simply a confusing labyrinth?” Sima Shi wondered as he, his brother, and Wang Yuanji followed their guide. He was more than familiar with the idea, more from his time assisting at Kawanakajima than anything else, though the maze there had been the forest itself. “Or do we have to worry about Orochi army defenses, like sorcery?”

“I don’t know about sorcery,” Dai answered warily, “but it isn’t exactly a normal maze, no. If they’ve added sorcerers to the mix, well then, we’ve just got a few extra things to watch out for.”

“What do you mean, not a normal maze?” Sima Zhao worried. He didn’t like the close darkness, and the noise of their marching feet and horses’ hooves echoed eerily off the stone walls.

“Well, you see…” Before he could explain fully, the echo of their passage was drowned out by a low grinding noise, and Ma Dai turned a corner to find a dead-end chamber, the solid wall stretching across their path. “…the walls move,” he finished with a sigh.

“What?” Shi demanded, thrusting his horse’s reins into his brother’s hand and going to examine the wall for himself. “You’re saying this wasn’t here a moment ago?”

“They must have heard us coming,” Dai grumbled. “You can’t move them from this side, we have to find our way through and then block the mechanism from the other side.”

“How do we get through, then?” Yuanji asked.

“Well,” Dai said wryly, “there’s kind of a trick to it.” Shi shot him an impatient look over his shoulder, so he scratched the back of his neck and went on quickly. “There’s somebody in a scouting position, relaying our movements to the others to block off the walls as we go.”

“And they can hear us moving through, I’m sure, so once we’re trying another route, they move the walls again,” Yuanji realized.

“Exactly. Now, it takes a bit of luck and really good timing, but if we can find that scout, and get to him before they can move the wall to cut us off again, we can take him down so he can’t issue commands. That should give us at least one open path through to the end.” Ma Dai gave the wall a look and then turned, waving for the others to follow him. “Come on, we need to backtrack and try another way.”

“Wait.” Shi came back to them, retrieved his horse from his brother and pulled his sword to have it at the ready. He lowered his voice to a murmur so it wouldn’t carry. “I will hold here,” he told the others. “Draw their attention elsewhere. Once the walls move again, I will attack whoever is on the other side.”

“Oh…smart,” Dai smirked. “I like it.”

“It shouldn’t take long,” Yuanji sighed. “These two will make more than enough noise for all of us.”

Sima Zhao and Ma Dai looked at each other, realizing she meant them. They had hit it off rather well during their time in Oda’s service and pretty much couldn’t deny her assessment. “All right, then!” Zhao said brightly. “Men, let’s move out! Look for another route!” He nodded to his brother, who smartly returned the gesture, and then shooed their soldiers off to follow Ma Dai. They had to backtrack a short way and try another turn, while behind them, Sima Shi waited in silence, sword bared and held low. The flickering light of torches mounted all throughout the cave made his weak eye twitch, but he didn’t need to watch so much as listen. He would know, as soon as he heard that grinding sound again, that the wall was about to disappear from in front of him and he needed to move.

The melee at the crossroads had reached fever pitch, as several of Oda’s retainers desperately attempted to cut their way through the ambush forces to reach their lord before anything could happen to him at Fuuma’s hands. They didn’t need to worry, though, he seemed to have things more or less in control. His sword threw off purple sparks with every hit as he fended off Fuuma’s claws in rapid sequence, never losing composure or backing down from the determined assault. The ninja captain’s smirk had faded by now, replaced by a grim stare as he zipped back and forth, trying to find or force an opening in the warlord’s stolid defense. Nobunaga’s eyes were dark and his face hard as he kept up the rhythm, this was not a fight worth enjoying. He needed to win, he would not have their assault cut short by a successful ambush here, but more than that, he needed to vanquish Fuuma and not let him escape. He was sure the ninja was in command at Bai Di, with Orochi away, so if they could capture or injure him here and now, the castle would be theirs for the taking. The rest of the battle raging around him meant nothing to him, Oda didn’t seem to notice friend or foe as he concentrated on his opponent. Neither even said a word as they fought, darting one way and then the other, claws never able to pass the sword. That didn’t stop Mitsuhide from fretting as he slashed and cut his way through ninja forces and stray riflemen from the Date corps, for as much as he trusted his lord to take care of himself, none of them wanted Fuuma to have any sort of success, here. A quick look told him Ma Chao, Naoe, and Uesugi all had their hands full, so he turned swiftly the other way. “Hideyoshi!” he barked out.

“Kinda busy!” Toyotomi shot back as he rapped the ends of his tri-part staff across the heads of several soldiers in one swing.

Mitsuhide huffed under his breath – he’d have to take care of it himself. He ducked a blow and jammed the pommel of his sword into the side of the man who tried to hit him, clearing himself a path to Oda through the center of the throng. And none too soon, he thought, as he lifted his head to find the combatants locked with Fuuma’s clawed hand closed around Nobunaga’s throat. Katana held low, Mitsuhide dashed with all his might to reach them, only to see a look of shock and rage abruptly widen Fuuma’s eyes. It was difficult to see from that angle, but in the close space between foes, Oda had brought up his sword and drove it into the ninja captain’s gut through his sash. He must have found the exact spot where his leather scale armor ended, for the blade was already sunk deep enough that blood ran down the edge and dripped into the dust between their feet. Kotaro’s face suddenly contorted with fury and he shoved Oda backwards, dislodging the sword and putting distance between them. “You think that will slow me down?” he challenged.

Nobunaga flicked the blade to the side to clean it and raised it between them. “Do not waste your breath, ninja. If you want my head, come and get it.”

Akechi stood back as Fuuma charged again, throwing himself into the fight with renewed energy despite the blood pouring from his side. Oda met him easily, deflecting his fists and then driving in to jab toward Fuuma’s shoulder. This time he missed but barely, the blade screeched across the shoulder pauldron and hummed too close to the ninja’s ear. Kotaro dropped his stance and rushed in to tackle the warlord, foregoing all technique and talent to simply bowl him over. They landed in a heap and the Demon Slayer bounced from its master’s hand, but before Fuuma could take advantage and slit his enemy’s throat, a new and different blade came screaming at him from the side. He threw himself out of the way, rolling off Oda and coming up in a crouch to find Mitsuhide guarding his lord, shoulders low and stance ready for anything. Nobunaga lunged to grab his sword, and together both of them stood confronting Fuuma, who looked to be having trouble picking himself up. He remained crouched and wary like a cornered animal, though his eyes never left the faces of the two officers. They stared him down in turn for only a moment before Oda charged again, refusing to give his foe even a second in which to contemplate escaping the battle. Fuuma seethed as he forced himself to meet the attack, pushing through the pain and fighting back with both arms swinging, clawing ferociously in sequence to fend off any more hits from that sword. Akechi circled around them both, trying to find a means to join the fray but failing, as the two battled without pause. It seemed like it would go on forever, despite the many other things they needed to accomplish before they could consider this assault a success, but then all three of them heard a strident shout coming from somewhere behind Mitsuhide: “My lord, duck!”

Oda did not even look to see who had called out such a demand, he simply slashed once more with his blade to disengage from Fuuma’s claws and threw himself backwards. Mitsuhide whirled around only to have a blur of white streak past him in turn, a swirl of robes and a glint of gold. Fuuma himself turned to look, but it was already too late for him to counter. None of them heard or saw the spell which Naoe Kanetsugu had just used, but its effect sent a shockwave rumbling across the ground, aimed toward the ninja captain, who stumbled and lost concentration for a moment. A moment was all Naoe needed, as he planted his feet and drew his hands apart, sword in one and ofuda in the other. The signs he made with both were known only to him, but the sheer power of his sorcery became clear in an instant, as he swept his blade to the side to complete the spell and release it. The ofuda seals ripped themselves out of his other hand and spiraled upward on an invisible wind, bursting into flames as they went, and returned to earth as long lances of light which slammed down all around Fuuma Kotaro and the spot where Oda had been standing a moment before. With his ninja speed Fuuma was able to avoid some of them, but not all. As one of the lances struck him in the shoulder, Naoe burst from his place and dove in slashing, trusting his own power not to hit him in the process. His sword ripped through the leather cuirass and cut the strap holding Fuuma’s stronger armor to his side and shoulder, an opening which Nobunaga could not resist taking. He was at Naoe’s shoulder in a flash, his humming blade striking at that exposed spot and stabbing deep. Fuuma screamed at the burning pain piercing between ribs, but refused to relent, throwing one gauntlet to the length of its chain. It hit Kanetsugu squarely in the chest, then bounced off his armor and raked across his face as he recoiled. Even with that last hit it wasn’t enough, Oda was already inside his guard and followed up his cut with a blow from his own plain gauntlet, backhanding Fuuma across the face and finally knocking him completely down. Mitsuhide rushed in to cover him with his blade even as Oda stepped on Fuuma’s left arm and pinned him down. The ninja writhed on the ground in pain and rage, but before he could reel his weapon in and use it again, there was a katana at his throat and Kanetsugu’s sword hovering over the two wounds dealt by the Demon Slayer. “Stay down!” Mitsuhide demanded.

“There is no need to go soft on this traitor!” Naoe snarled, eyes blazing beneath his silver helm. “Behead him and be done with it!”

“Is that your heart or your lord’s speaking, Lord Kanetsugu?” Nobunaga chided him from over his shoulder. “As commander of this army, I demand his life to do with as I see fit.”

Naoe sucked in a sharp breath and then shook his head, though his hand and his sword never faltered. “Forgive me, Lord Oda. I…you are correct.”

Oda raised his voice to call to his men, most of which were finishing up with the ambush now that its commander had been routed. “Bind him! We must keep this prisoner and not lose him.”

Mitsuhide oversaw that order, though Fuuma still glowered up at Oda from where he lay sprawled in the dirt, bleeding profusely. “It is too soon for Orochi’s chaos to end…” he seethed.

“Yet sooner or later, it will end,” Nobunaga said sharply, glaring down at him. “If you are in command here, call off your men. Bai Di will be ours.”

Fuuma laughed harshly, his breath rasping in his throat and blood spotting his lips. “Bai Di is not yet yours, Demon King. You will need more than borrowed sorcery to take it.”

For a moment Oda held his gaze, only one eyebrow lifting in curiosity, and then he turned swiftly away. “Report! What is our status?”

Ma Chao turned and saluted him with his spear. “The ambush has been wiped out, Lord Oda! We should have a clear path to the castle’s main gate, now.” He strode over and cast a wary look down at the massive ninja captain bound at their feet, dirt in his braids and blood soaking his clothing. “What will you do with him?”

“I hate to take someone away from the main assault, but we absolutely cannot let Fuuma escape,” Nobunaga said curtly. “He is the closest thing to Orochi’s right hand that I know of. He has information, but more importantly, if he is allowed to continue to roam free, he will visit more of his vaunted chaos on every one of the Resistance armies. I will not let this opportunity slip through fumbling fingers: capturing one of Orochi’s best and holding him will cripple the serpent further.”

Fuuma overheard him and burst into a maniacal cackle. “You think capturing me will slow Lord Orochi down? Fool! Wallow in your idiocy, while this age of insanity continues!”

Oda barely suffered him a cool look in response and then turned back to his men. “Who has the strength to manage this burden?”

“I will,” the big, broad-shouldered Uesugi Kagekatsu replied, pushing his way past the soldiers to present himself. He jammed one of his massive axes into the ground to free up a hand and pounded it against his chest proudly. “Leave it to me, Lord Oda.”

Nobunaga nodded, vaguely impressed. “You’ll do nicely, Master Uesugi. He is in your control, though you and he will be coming along to the gate – I will not leave him out in the open where any of his fellows might be able to free him.”

Most of the Fuuma clan who had been part of the ambush seemed to have gone down fighting, but there was ever the chance that some escaped or had been held back to defend another part of the castle. Keeping their prisoner in their midst was prudent – and a healthy blow to the morale of the enemy, should they see him. Still, Oda could only spare one officer of merit to guard him, and Kagekatsu seemed perfect for the job. He went to where Mitsuhide was still standing over their prisoner and bent to pick him up bodily, butting his shoulder against the stab wound in his side where his armor dangled free. Fuuma hissed and tried to kick him to no avail, and then found himself being thrown over a saddle and tied securely down. Kagekatsu added insult to injury by taking his confiscated gauntlets and tying them onto one of his axes, carrying them in plain view as proof that there would be no taking them back and escaping. He grabbed Fuuma by the braids and yanked his head up to scowl at him. “I have no love for your master,” he noted, “but a betrayal of the kind you’ve shown him deserves death. I’ll be content to watch you suffer under Lord Oda’s hand instead.”

Gathering that he meant Hojo, Fuuma simply sneered back at him with a curl of his lip. “Such is the fate of Fuuma,” he rasped. “I lament it not.”

The rest of his officers rounded up their scattered horses and in due order they were all galloping down the side path Ma Chao knew well, coming out from the shortcut in a spot primed to spoil yet another ambush waiting for someone to come up the main road instead. The army swept over it like a tidal wave and pushed it aside, the commander and his officers didn’t even need to dismount this time. As they turned toward the bend in the road which would lead them up the broad causeway to the castle’s main gate, Oda glanced to Toyotomi and Ma Chao near him, raising his voice to make sure Fuuma heard him. “Commanding officer or not, for him to come all the way out here and attempt to attack me directly so far from the castle, he must have been worth wasting,” he noted. “They must still have several powerful officers in there, if he could be spared to run such a foolish errand.”

“Well, they won’t have him as backup now,” Hideyoshi said smartly. “One down, who knows how many more to go.”

The scouts ahead of them came to a sudden stop, necessitating that Ma Chao ride ahead to see why they checked. He, too, drew up and then scowled up at what he saw before returning to meet the rest of the vanguard. “We must proceed with caution from here,” he warned.

“They’ve got arbalests,” one of the lower-ranked officers explained incredulously.

“Arbalests?” Oda rode to see for himself, and sure enough, the grant front entrance to Bai Di was now being guarded by no less than four sets of the great arrow-firing machines devised in ancient times to mow down as many soldiers in one shot as possible. In order to damage or disable them, they would have to do it one by one and place themselves at risk of being shot by the one further uphill. Nobunaga gave them a narrow-eyed stare as if they were just as offensive and ridiculous as enemy sorcery. “I don’t suppose you know the trick to disabling them, Lord Ma Chao?”

Mengqi set his face determinedly. “No, but I do know that they have a limited range. They can only shoot straight ahead, so as long as we slip around to the side, we can set upon the engineers working them. There is no need to destroy them so long as we prevent them from being fired.” His expression briefly twisted into one of seething rage. “Long after Lord Zhuge Liang has left their army, they’re still using his devices and tricks.”

“Then we shall make them pay for stealing his ideas,” Mitsuhide said bravely, gesturing with his blade. “Find the men working the mechanism, and do not approach them directly from the front!”

It seemed so simple and took much of the terror and mystery out of the arbalests, once their men realized they could just not walk right in front of the parts that shot the arrows. Hanbei laughed to see them skirting along the side of the trail and leaping on the hapless Orochi soldiers loading and firing the machinery. “Maybe they’re stealing Zhuge Liang’s ideas,” he said as he rode alongside Naoe, “but they’re implementing them all wrong. If they really wanted to block us from advancing on this gate, they would have put all of those arbalests side by side, not one after the other like that.”

Kanetsugu blinked at his assessment. “Can it be some kind of trap?”

“Not likely,” Hanbei snickered. “Consider our men had to stop and back off before they could be fired upon, so the threat of them is still pretty impactful. But once you reveal the secret, it takes all the wind out of their sails, so to speak. The real trouble is going to be up there.” He nodded once toward the wall at the top of the hill and its immense gate facing them. “Lord Nobunaga’s right, Fuuma wouldn’t have gone off on his own if he didn’t know that the castle was being held by someone he could trust to put up a good fight.”

“Then forward,” Naoe admonished, “and let us see who it is!”

Even with the creak and clunk of the wood gears priming and firing and the whistle of hundreds of arrow-feathers in the air all around them, the arbalests had lost their mystery and the Resistance army made short work of their efficacy. As long as anyone who looked like they knew how to operate the machinery was taken down, there was no need to waste time dismantling or destroying the siege weapons – as soon as one fell silent, the bulk of the army advanced freely up to the range of the next, and rather rapidly made their way up the road until the final arbalest ceased firing. At that point, however, everyone could finally see who was openly standing guard at the gate of Bai Di. It only took a handful of men to disable the arbalest, but they were very nearly taken down themselves by the guardian force which streamed down to prevent them. Real battle was joined right behind the last arbalest, and Ma Chao drove in himself to ensure that the weapon was taken out of commission and their army could complete its journey to the castle wall. Yet, even as he swung his spear to clear the way and take out the final engineers, he lifted his head and met the eyes of the huge, formidable figure sitting astride his storm-gray horse right in front of the doors. As yet he had not moved, but they could all see him there. “Isn’t that the man from Wuzhang?” Chao wondered under his breath.

“Yes. Maeda Keiji,” Oda answered him as he rode up alongside. “It looks like his defeat there wasn’t nearly enough to slow him down, if he’s ready to face us again.”

Ma Chao brandished his spear, his horse dancing beneath him from the energy shared between them. “Allow me, my lord! I feel like I may be his match, I would not pass up this chance!”

He clapped his heels to his horse before Nobunaga could say yes or no, but was not called back. Keiji spotted him coming and let out a huge, raucous laugh before spurring his mount to meet this challenge. As he sat there in the saddle, Nobunaga lifted a hand and brushed his fingers delicately across his throat as if to check for any visible damage from Fuuma’s hit. As much as he knew Ma Chao to be the type to enjoy testing himself in battle against a mighty foe, he knew the real reason he was being asked to sit back. But then, if he and Hanbei were both correct, he would need to conserve his strength to meet whatever was still hiding inside the castle. Perhaps taking a moment’s rest and allowing the Tiger General to strive against Keiji was a wise idea after all.

The mysterious stone maze of the northern cave also seemed to be a fairly easy problem to solve. It only took a little fumbling and both Ma Dai and Sima Zhao making a lot of noise to get the hidden sentries to finally shift the walls again, so as to block them off but also open one directly in front of Sima Shi. The two men pushing the mechanism from their side startled when someone rushed in at them, and then they were down, unable to respond to further orders to change the configuration. Shi easily found the main sentry giving the commands from there, and in less time than expected they were back on course, all the walls opened to let their men stream through and Ma Dai eagerly leading the way to the exit. They found themselves coming out onto a path which led straight up the hill to the rear gate, but it would not be easy going for them, either. There was only one arbalest up at at the top of the slope, practically on the castle’s doorstep, but beside it barking out commands stood Date Masamune, with the last vestiges of his rifle corps arrayed around him to prevent anyone from getting close enough to disable the arbalest. The lead officers hadn’t mounted up yet, they were still leading their horses, so they simply dropped everything to keep them back and held their men clustered behind them in the mouth of the cave to disguise their numbers. “That man,” Sima Shi said darkly, narrowing his eyes. “It must be Lord Date, I heard enough about him from Father – the description is apt.”

All of them had gotten just enough information on the Date rifle corps during briefing meetings that they grasped what they were up against, and on top of that, Yuanji let out a small gasp of recognition. “He was the one in command when we set upon them at Kanegasaki. I remember him.”

“Watch those guns, then,” Ma Dai advised, “I mean – on top of the arrows already flying at us. This is going to be rough.”

Like their compatriots at the other gate, they cut to the side of the path and charged up along a route which seemed to be arrow-free, though the narrow nature of the road here meant they almost had to go single-file in order to reach the top unscathed, and even then they still had bullets flying past their heads. Though Shi was the most heavily-armored of them, Dai went first out of sheer self-sacrifice, keeping his polearm up across the parts of his chest and face that weren’t covered and doing his best not to flinch at every report of a rifle that echoed through the narrow valley. He kept his left shoulder with its protective plate forward and his face hidden behind it, peering through the small gap between the brim of his hat and the edge of the plate to zero in on the shooter and aim straight at him. It wasn’t the officer at the crest of the hill, but rather his bodyguard, the small ring of elite riflemen protecting him as well as the integrity of the arbalest. A bullet ricocheted off Dai’s shoulder piece, screaming past his ear, but he didn’t falter a single step until he got close enough to strike. Even as the huge brush swung in a wide sweep to take out all of them at once, they fired back and one clipped his right arm. He still followed through with the attack, quite literally brushing all of them aside in one move, but the last one tipped his firearm and used it to block instead. The jolt had Ma Dai hissing at the pain, and his arm gave way, allowing the rifleman the chance to push him back. He had at least made a gap for the others following him, and Sima Shi flew in from right behind him with his rapier leading, intending to set upon Date himself. Masamune recognized them on the spot and snarled as he drew back and blocked Shi’s strike with his saber. “You! You traitors! What are you doing here?”

“Exactly what it looks like!” Sima Zhao retorted as he swept up to back up his brother.

Date deftly knocked the rapier blade aside and swiveled to aim and shoot point-blank at Zhao, forcing him to duck rather than fight, and in those few seconds of dodging and recovering the rest of the rifle corps swarmed on them from behind the arbalest, bringing their firearms to bear with a chorus of clicks. Shi body-checked his brother out of the way just in time as bullets hit his armored chest, knocking him backwards and preventing him from countering. Zhao managed to catch himself before he could stumble in front of the arbalest and came back in swinging, and for a few moments he and Ma Dai were stuck battling back against the gunners to keep them from interfering, while Masamune drew back a few steps to gauge the threat and decide who he’d rather shoot first. Shi made that choice for him, recovering his feet and coming in low to engage the saber rather than the pistol. They fought sword-to-sword for a few moments, holding each other off rather masterfully, but Masamune was only waiting for his chance to do more than block. He let Shi get into a rhythm and then abruptly swung to parry the long rapier aside instead, leaving himself with an opening for a point-blank shot, and brought the pistol up swiftly straight into Sima Shi’s face. Shi froze, eyes going wide, as he knew he had nothing to prevent it. There was a flash of movement beneath Date’s arm, then, and both of them looked to see something – some _one_ – slide on their knees under his reach and right into his personal space. There wasn’t even time to register her presence, let alone react to block, before Wang Yuanji was inside Date’s guard and jabbing upward with one of her knives held like a dagger. There was no way getting past his solid chestplate, but she struck him hard all the same and sent him wobbling backward to get out of her way. Yuanji swiftly followed, springing up and closing in before he could recover, slashing at his unprotected arms and throat with clusters of the knives in both hands. She caught him on the downswing a few times, ripping his sleeves and cutting into the underside of his arms while he flailed in order to try to fend her off. The knives were too small to block with his saber, he had to use the broad, bronze-plated sides of his guns instead, though the more she managed to scratch him the harder it became to stop her with just the Dragonhunters in his fists. She closed in fast, and he took a chance, twisting to let her strike his chestplate so he could keep his arms free and then lunge at her to tackle or grab, dropping one pistol in order to get a hold of her and drag her closer. Yuanji flicked one knife up as he did so, missing his biceps and hitting his shoulder plate instead, and then she heard the click of the other pistol as the barrel jammed up against her ribs. “You should have stayed clear of me,” Date growled into her face.

Yuanji flexed and writhed her other arm, trying to break free of his grip, but before he could squeeze off the shot, there was a massive crash off to the side and both startled and glanced to see Sima Zhao with his shoulder against the back edge of the arbalest, fully lifting and pitching the wooden crate over onto its face. The distraction was all they needed, for Yuanji felt the rush of someone else coming up behind her and instantly dropped to her knees, not caring who it was but taking herself out of the pistol’s range that easily. Masamune turned back just in time to have the shaft of Ma Dai’s giant polearm smash into his chest and fling him bodily into the solid doors of the gate. The instant his back hit the gate, the brush swiveled around and jammed head-first into his chestplate, pinning him there. He rasped and heaved for breath, but Dai had him held down securely, pushing into him even though his injured arm twitched a bit. “You’re no match for all of us,” he warned, his usually cheerful voice cold and hard for once. “Stand down!”

Date gritted his teeth angrily. “I will never yield!” he spat back, raising his pistol once again now that he had a target immediately in front of him. There was no hesitating this time, he let off the shot and forced Ma Dai to dodge to the side to avoid it, though it whizzed past his ear a little too close for comfort. The polearm eased just enough for Date to shove it aside and drop to pick up his other pistol, coming up inside Dai’s reach with no way for him to whirl his weapon back around to strike. The others all converged, then, Yuanji flung two knives to distract him, both of which glanced off his armor, and as he turned to try to shake them off, Sima Shi plunged in and went for his throat. Masamune raised his arm out of instinct and managed to successfully bat the blade aside so that it pierced his shoulder instead, just beneath the protective plate. Dai reeled his polearm back into a reversed grip and rammed the pommel into Date’s chest, knocking him flying yet again. This time he landed flat on his back with a yelp of pain and both Shi and Dai moving in to kick away his pistols and hold him down. He still raged at them but there was no denying it, he had been defeated.

Yuanji stepped up between her comrades, tucking away her knives for a moment. “He won’t stay down unless we bind him. We’ll come back for him later.”

Figuring they had him covered, Sima Shi went to the damaged arbalest and reached inside to cut away some of the ropes from the mechanism, which he could use to lash Masamune’s wrists and feet for the time being. The rest of the rifle corps had disappeared after being beaten, likely fleeing into the caves to escape, leaving him all alone. Once that was done, Sima Zhao checked Ma Dai’s arm. “Are you gonna be able to keep going?”

“Yeah, this is nothing,” Dai assured. “Let’s get those doors open, we’ve got a job to do and there’s no stopping for a little scratch.”

Yuanji gave him a dubious look, certain that his injury was worse than it looked, but he was still on his feet and raging to go. She gestured to the three men with her to get to it, they were bigger and apparently had enough enthusiasm to make up for any lack of strength. Zhao and Dai put their shoulders against the door and shoved, getting it open just enough to let the latter wedge his polearm into the gap. Orochi forces on the other side startled and moved in to stop them, but they already had it open enough that when Shi and the rest of their men slammed up against the doors on either side, they couldn’t be stopped. Anyone who dared to show their face in the rapidly-widening gap had to duck one of Yuanji’s knives. With a last heave it was open and the Oda Resistance successfully claimed the north gate, placing themselves in the entrance and fighting off waves of castle defenders who came running to the site of the disturbance. Then, they heard someone call out above the battle din – not one of their own, but the enemy. “Reinforcements to the eastern gate! Hurry!”

Sima Shi glanced at Ma Dai. “But this is the north gate, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah…” Dai craned his neck, but he couldn’t see past the outbuildings to the gate in question. Soldiers ran wild here and there, uncertain whether to meet the threat rumored to be to the east or the one already through the gate in the north. “But we didn’t send anybody that way, did we?”

“No,” Shi confirmed. “That wasn’t part of the plan. Unless plans changed while we were in the caves.”

The clash at the main gate had been worthy of a story of the ages, maybe a poem or song or two, but it was rapidly nearing its end as the two great warriors began to wear down. Nobunaga had made sure none of his men interfered, though once or twice it looked as though Hideyoshi really wanted to go to Ma Chao’s aid. It was probably for the best that Keiji was still slightly hampered by the lingering effects of his injuries sustained the last time he faced this army, otherwise he might have bested the Tiger General, but Mengqi refused to be cut down no matter what, rising no matter how many times he was knocked back and diving fiercely into the fray once more. The rest of the army behind him had successfully swept the path of any other Orochi forces, which had no choice but to flee down the road in the opposite direction, seeing how their way back into the castle was blocked. Oda was mindful of them regrouping at a distance and returning to assault the castle again, but without a capable officer to direct them, they would not likely even think of such a tactic let alone carry it out. He merely stood and watched the duel between Stallion Spear and Ogre Horn with arms folded, blade sheathed, giving it his due diligence and attention as befitted the two warriors going at each other without pause. Even he couldn’t say who had the upper hand until Ma Chao masterfully spun the spear with such agility that even the eye could not follow, bringing it around in wide circles to beat on Keiji’s weakening defense until he finally broke it, striking the pike aside and bringing the butt of his spear around to slam into the unprotected part of Keiji’s chest just below his throat. A blow like that knocked the wind out of him and sent him crashing to the ground, at which point Ma Chao leaped onto him and forced him to yield, stepping on his arms and kneeling on his previously-broken ribs in order to bring the blade of the Stallion Spear over his foe’s throat. Keiji heaved for breath and writhed beneath him, but he couldn’t throw off the pin no matter what he did. He reached to try to grab Ma Chao’s leg, but Hideyoshi’s staff was suddenly there in between, batting that hand away and then pinning it as well. Maeda looked up, meeting Ma Chao’s fiery eyes for a moment before his gaze slid past him to the great, towering shadow looming over them all from behind, as Oda stepped up to verify the situation with his imperious gaze turned sourly on the wild man who had once been a retainer of his own, alongside his uncle. For a moment he simply looked displeased, and then finally gave an order. “Tie him down, like the other one. I will not have Orochi’s elite officers returning to him today.”

For a moment Keiji stared at him, outraged, and then they were piling onto him, grabbing him and rolling him over and trussing him up like a slaughtered deer. He shot a look to where Fuuma hung limp over a saddle, having gone quiet and insensible after losing too much blood, and realized the predicament they were in. His face appropriately darkened with a glare. “Too good to fight me yourself this time, eh, Demon King?”

“A beaten man has no right to speak like that,” Ma Chao snapped in response, stepping back but still carrying his spear like he wanted to run something through with it. “Are you not satisfied that I was enough to take you down? I will gladly go another ten rounds with you after this battle is over.”

“Easy,” Mitsuhide admonished, touching him gently on the arm. “There is much work yet to be done today, Lord Ma Chao.”

“Precisely,” Nobunaga murmured, passing them and drawing his sword again to give the order. “Tear down these gates! Bai Di Castle must fall!”

Uesugi Kagekatsu was more than content to stand guard over both captives, particularly someone who ought to have been working alongside him rather than against him, so the rest of the officers threw their might against the towering main gate. One of the arbalests had been damaged, providing them with a beam of wood that they could wield like a ram, putting a collection of their soldiers into it and driving them forward. The gates shuddered with each blow and then gave way, opening as if permitted from within to let them all spill right into the main courtyard of the castle. There was nothing waiting immediately behind the doors for them, nothing but an empty space in the yard ringed by barracks and outbuildings, but as soon as Toyotomi and Naoe jogged in toward those buildings, there came a cry from within and an ambush force poured out on them, led by one of the few snake-demon captains Orochi had not taken with him. Snakes and men streamed out from their hiding places, and Oda wisely drew them in, collapsing his forces to the center of the courtyard in order to fend off the ambush on all sides all at once. The captain, Boomslang, was not put off by the swift and organized response to his attack, he charged in all the same with his spear held low. “When we’re finished with you,” he taunted the first officer he spotted, “you’ll look like a pincushion!”

That officer happened to be Mitsuhide, who shifted effortlessly to block him and then cut down a flight of arrows whistling toward him. He wasted no jibes on his enemies, preferring to let his katana do the talking for him. His counteroffensive was so effective that it only took a few hits before Boom slang faded back and grabbed some of his underlings to throw in the path of that sword in order to allow him the chance to escape and try someone less powerful. Not that there was such a thing among Oda’s army. The lead officers were staggered around their circle, backed up and surrounded by their units, all of whom worked to keep both their commander and their prisoners at their center so as not to risk them being taken by the enemy. Nobunaga refused to be simply walled in and protected, though, he worked his way to the perimeter and appeared wherever a gap opened in the line, standing with his men and fighting back only to melt away and reappear somewhere else a moment later. The Orochi army swarming around them broke on their defensive wall like waves against the rocks, driven back by determined and faithful soldiers taking their lead from enthusiastic officers who cut in and out to stem the tide wherever it rose up. Ma Dai’s group had fallen right in with them as the ambush was sprung, and he eventually made his way back to his cousin’s side to support him despite his own injuries. Ma Chao glanced to assure himself that Dai still had all his limbs and then gave him an approving nod – that meant their plan had worked, and they had successfully breached the castle walls at multiple points. They had already reached their goal, now they simply had to take it for themselves, if beating down and driving off scores of Orochi soldiers could be called “simple.” The entire courtyard was filled with battleclash from one gate to the next, as every last man in Bai Di was turned out to deal with the invasion. Some of their defense forces ran crazily from one threat to another, confused by the reports that someone was working to breach the east gate and indecisive over the best way to handle it, given that the bulk of the Oda Resistance was already inside the castle grounds. The reports finally reached Oda’s ear, and though it did not cause him to falter in his assault, he wondered. Who was at the east gate, if he had not ordered anyone that way? All the more reason to work quickly to take control, just in case. He breathed orders to his men as he flitted this way and that among them, and with one great shout had them turned to bear down on the weak point in the offense, a section where archers took the place of infantry and had hardly anyone to defend them from close-range attacks. Hideyoshi and Sima Shi went straight for them with the Ma cousins folding in behind them, and in seconds flat they had turned the momentum outward, storming through the archery lines and ripping them apart with no heed for the arrows zipping past their ears and deflecting off their armor. From there they turned to either side and swept around, encircling the ambush forces and pincering them between arms of their own forces. Even weakened as he was, Ma Dai was flinging spindly snake demons into the air with huge sweeps of his polearm, and Toyotomi bounded around them, leaping and twirling and springing onto soldiers’ backs only to break apart his staff and whirl it around to bash as many as he could. Nobunaga himself then screamed through the gap with his sword humming, grabbing enemies with his free hand and throwing them out of his way. He laughed as he slaughtered them, and soon enough his bloodthirsty grin had even the demons scattering, throwing down their weapons and running to and fro, desperate for some kind of command. Boomslang had been cowering behind several lines of protection, but seeing the formations changing like the swirl of a raging flood around him had him bursting through his bodyguards, shaking his spear. “What’s taking so long?” he demanded of his underlings. “Send them to hell!”

“Sir!” someone human cried back at him. “We don’t have enough! Where are the reinforcements we were promised?”

“Captain!” a demon screeched. “They have Master Fuuma!”

“What?!” Boomslang whipped around to address this report, but Ma Chao was suddenly in his face, with Sima Zhao a half-step behind him, the Cloudburst singing as it flew at the demon captain’s head. He should have been strong enough to handle both of them, but Boomslang was exactly like most of his compatriots – left in command on his own, he preferred the safety of his own scaly hide over the success of the battle. He squealed as the Stallion Spear raked across his armor-plated chest, and gave a strangled yelp as a follow-up hit from Zhao’s sword flung him bodily into the nearest storehouse wall. All he could do from there was bellow for help, and while his own unit ran amok around him, his plea was actually answered. A flurry of swords came at him from the side, knocking Zhao’s broadsword aside and forcing him to back away. He looked with alarm to the source of the familiar weapons-strike while Boomslang nearly wept in relief. “Master Zhong Hui!”

Zhong Hui had been left behind again, in essence, they had demanded he hold the reserves waiting inside the castle itself, but that gave him a vantage point from which he could watch the battle unfold and fall apart. Leaving this mess in Boomslang’s claws was going to cost them the castle, so Hui made the decision on his own to turn out the last of their reserves and enter the fray himself. He hadn’t seen exactly who Oda had brought in with him, but even as his flying blades struck the Cloudburst aside, he steeled himself to face his own future lord. Fury rose in him as he realized both Zishang and Ziyuan were on the field; whatever loyalty he eventually owed them, right now they were nothing more than traitors in his eyes, fools who abandoned their own father out of cowardice or fear or whatever. Hui’s ego had been stroked by their desertion, for if _he_ was far more loyal to Lord Sima Yi than his own children, how much better did that make him? That superiority turned to rage, now, seeing them there, and as Zhao drew back with the broad blade covering his vitals, Zhong Hui called back his swords and held them fanned out, ready for another round. “How dare you show your faces here?” he spat at Zhao, and Shi coming up rapidly on his brother’s left. “I will see to it your father is avenged for what you did!”

“Zhong Hui, wait!” Zhao yelped and leaped back to block as the swords rammed against his block in rapid sequence. “My father! Where is he?”

Hui pressed on without pause, bringing his swords back around for another go and unleashing them right away. “Assisting Lord Orochi with the conquest of Wu!” he shot back, dashing to close the distance between them. Before he could get too close, though, Sima Shi came at him from the side and disrupted the momentum of his strikes with one wide sweep of his lightning rapier. Hui disengaged and slid back to defend, the light swords clustered around him. “I will destroy both of you, he will be so pleased to find out when he gets back!”

Where Zhao was bright and full of desperate energy, trying to make sense of it all, Shi was cold and dark, his eyes firm and focused on Zhong Hui alone. “Leave our father out of this,” he said bitterly. “This is just you and us, Zhong Hui. If you would protect Orochi’s interests over your own good sense, then show me so with your blades and not your mouth!”

Hui respected Shi almost as much as his father, so his betrayal had been more of a blow than Zhao’s. The young officer faced him directly, snapping to attention and bringing his swords to bear in a fan-shaped formation. Both of them were fast and agile and went at each other in a flurry of swings and strikes, circling and whirling around each other, sparks flying wherever their blades made contact. Zhao left them to it and went after Boomslang again, but it didn’t take more than one more hit before the serpent demon was on the run, finding that some of Oda’s men had cut around to block egress back into the castle. The only escape route was through the open gates north and south, and many of the Orochi forces were already heading for them. His retreat left Zhong Hui as the only capable man in charge, with Fuuma and Maeda captured and Date defeated. He fought with everything he had, but in their time apart it seemed Shi had gotten even stronger. His rapier sliced wide arcs through the air, cutting down archers and fence posts and anything else that got in the way of his target as Hui attempted to dodge and put some obstacle between them to buy him time. At last they clashed face to face, he brought all his light swords together in his fist into one bunch and slammed them against the Lightning blade attempting to cleave him in two, and for a moment they strained against each other. There was a chance, if he moved fast enough; Hui brought his other arm up as if to brace himself but instead, grabbed one of the slender blades by the tasseled cord hanging from its pommel and whipped it out of the cluster to swing up under Shi’s arm. Shi slid one foot to the side to open his stance and drew his sword-arm back, allowing his scale armor to take the hit. The blade skittered off the scales, losing all its power, and then Shi borrowed a move worthy of his brother, bracing his free arm behind the rapier’s edge and shoving the entire long sword forward like a battering shield. It threw Zhong Hui off his balance just enough to allow Shi to flick his wrist and plunge forward with the rapier. Hui was heavily armored as well, but the piercing blow caught him between segments of plate right below his chest. While he was still falling, staring in shock at the winning hit, Zhao came in from the side with a two-handed blow of the Cloudburst to ensure that Hui went down hard enough to stay down. Both brothers closed in on him to hold him at bay while his flying swords clattered to the dirt all around him, one dropping point-first to skewer the turf right next to his shoulder. Hui lay gasping from the pain searing along his ribs, and the cry of victory that went up all around him pierced him worse than the rapier blade. His fall, it seemed, was the seal of failure for the Orochi army. No one else was standing to defend the castle, the dust of the mayhem settled around them and revealed the might of the Oda Resistance towering over their defeated foes.

Nobunaga strode among his men to verify that each officer had maintained his unit and his own task in the fight, and circled around to stand between the Sima brothers, looking down at the wounded Zhong Hui. “Is this all?” he wondered acidly.

“Date Masamune fell at the north gate,” Shi reported, his voice still low and angry as he pinned Hui to the ground with his eyes. “So yes, I believe Zhong Hui was their last remaining officer. But I would hardly say he was the one in command,” he added bitingly.

Oda harrumphed under his breath. “Fools, putting their commanders on the front line too soon. I can’t complain about taking the castle so quickly, but the pathetic defense they put up leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” He turned away with a swirl of his cloak and strode back to the center. “Clear the courtyard of every last snake and press into the castle to make sure there is nothing else waiting for us there! Meanwhile – Mitsuhide. See what this noise about the eastern gate is all about.”

Because of the rumored attack on the third gate, the Orochi forces had not been able to escape out that way. They had kept the gate barred and a very small force led by an aging Han officer had done its best to hold their position there, but once the Oda army took down their commanders and claimed victory in the center, there was no one left to assist them in that task. They crumbled and fled as Akechi and Hanbei advanced on them, dropping their weapons and trying to hide between the outbuildings until they could sneak away and reach one of the open gates. They were almost too late, as the Oda army began to move to close and barricade those gates against further assault, but the order to clean out the courtyard and castle of enemy presence meant they had to let such forces escape if they didn’t want to battle further. Satisfied that he had put the last defense to rout, Mitsuhide strode to the gate and saw it opened before him, at which point a handful of Orochi serpents just outside fell bodily into the gap, thrown off by the door abruptly being pulled open behind them and furthermore knocked down by whoever was attacking from without. The fighting outside ceased immediately as the attacking force recognized the tall samurai, and in the moment’s pause after the last weapon lowered, he straightened up in interest to see who was prowling up to him, stepping over bodies with her long, sensuous legs. All the soldiers with her bore the russet reds of Wu, but Lady No was resplendent as ever in her purple kimono and jingling hairpins. A feline smile curved her lips as she beheld her lord’s right-hand retainer. “There you are, Mitsuhide. I was beginning to wonder.”

“My lady,” he said formally, bowing deeply. “I see you got my letter.”

“Yes, I did. And I’m glad I took your advice,” she purred, raising one of her claw-clad hands and flicking the blood off the razor-sharp edges. “This battle has already been such a delight. I can only imagine what kind of hell on earth it will become once I join my husband.”


	73. Chapter 73

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oda has taken Bai Di, but Orochi arrives to take it back.

Only a few days before, Akechi’s letter had reached Lady No where she impatiently lounged around Hefei hoping for some action, and after a brief consultation with Sun Ce, it had been agreed that if she wished to return to her husband, now would be a good time for it. Ce did not fear that one officer would make the difference between victory and ruin should Orochi somehow get past his father and march all the way to Hefei, he felt it safe to let her go with all the friendship of Wu. He sent two of his own men with her, lower-ranked officers who could be spared with the admonition that they return as soon as they had delivered their precious charge to her proper army, and enough of a vanguard to serve as reinforcements in the event battle broke out. No one knew better than she what Oda would be up to, she anticipated the battle with such eagerness that she pushed her protectors to reach Bai Di in time to actually participate in it, and so far had not been the least bit disappointed. It was their surprise reinforcements who had caused all the alarm at the east gate, and now that it had been opened for them, she sashayed in like she owned the place herself, keen eyes hunting down the dark-clad shape she most longed to see. The clearing of Bai Di was progressing with all haste, so the only soldiers milling about in the courtyard belonged to the Oda Resistance, an interesting mingle of his own loyal forces, Shu warriors under the Ma cousins, Uesugi reinforcements in white, and a handful of other Han and Honshu soldiers who had had nowhere else to go. Lady No noticed them all, but her real attention was on the commander, finding him standing with his sword still bared, directing everything with quick, sharp gestures. Toyotomi spotted who was coming first and let out a happy whoop, which got his attention; Nobunaga turned to see what he was looking at and went quiet on the spot, shoulders dropping, back straightening, eyes alighting as if with fire. “No,” he acknowledged in an amazed murmur as she reached him. “I did not expect see you here…”

“Of course you didn’t,” she said flippantly with a tip of her head that sent her hair ornaments jingling all over again. “I knew you weren’t the one who requested my presence, but all the same, I have come. You _know_ I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

Nobunaga’s face melted into a rare smile, though it was still tinged with darkness. “Forgive me, my love. I am terribly glad to see you, it is in fact time that we made beautiful war together.”

In full view of all the soldiers and officers, Lady No prowled up to him and grabbed him by the feathered collar of his cloak, pulling him down and kissing him fiercely – and from the way he met it, it appeared that if she hadn’t initiated, he would have. Hanbei laughed while more than one of their officers stared, taken aback by the display of affection in the middle of a battle. It was the kind of kiss that made them all blush and look away. When they broke apart, the lady chuckled throatily. “Better late than never, I’d say.”

Oda matched her feral grin with one of his own and then turned back to his waiting army. “Now that we have possession of the castle, we must regroup. This was too easy, even with the strong officers they threw at us – they may come around for another shot at us. Close and bar the gates, I want sentries…”

The order was interrupted by a sudden roar as Maeda Keiji lunged to his feet and used his shoulders to barrel into the men standing guard over him, knocking them this way and that. Uesugi Kagekatsu came at him instantly with an axe leading the way, but Keiji deftly rolled his shoulders to let the blow glance off his arms in just the right spot to cut the ropes binding him. It sliced across his less-protected arm as well, but the ropes came free with a snap and he threw his arms outward, free and ready to fight. He spun in place and grabbed Kagekatsu as he overextended on the back-swing, snagging his arm and then throwing him into the soldiers racing to try to pull him down. Uesugi had to let go of his axe in order to keep from cleaving his own men in half as he tumbled onto them and flattened them all, and then Keiji leaped over him, charging the lone man holding his pike and wrestling it away from him with almost no effort. Wounded and winded as he was, the captivity had allowed him to rest long enough to recover the strength needed to break loose. One good wide swing with the Ogre Horn blasted another round of soldiers out of his way, and then he saw what he most wanted: Oda Nobunaga, standing right there in front of him. Keiji roared again as he charged, heading straight for Oda, heedless of his naked sword and the entire army prepared to get in his way. He brought the pike down in an overhead swing toward his target, and to his credit, Oda did not flinch. He stood waiting for it, looking up at Keiji’s massive form bearing down on him, and right at the last moment Toyotomi’s staff clanged into the pike, knocking it away. He slid right before his lord to protect him, eyes curiously savage beneath his sunburst helm, and then Ma Chao joined him, spear at the ready. As enraged as he was, Keiji knew better than to engage the entirety of the cadre of officers, all of them were running in from various points to join the fray. He swung his pike again to clang off the tri-part staff and long cavalry spear as if to warn them to stay out of his way, and then whistled shrilly. The great gray Matsukaze thundered toward him from wherever he had been patiently standing throughout the battle, and Keiji caught the saddle as the horse sped past him, swinging into it with just one arm. “Don’t think you’ve won just because you got into the castle!” he bellowed at Oda as he seated himself and grabbed the reins.

Nobunaga was not about to let such a valuable prize get away from him, he moved immediately to counter, elbowing past Hideyoshi and chasing after Maeda. “Do not let him escape! All forces, take him down!”

Those closest to where the great gray stallion danced under its master’s control swerved to meet him there, but the pike came around to fend them off, batting Ma Dai’s polearm away and then descending to slice at Wang Yuanji. Sima Zhao threw himself into the path just in time, grunting hard as the pike slammed into his broadsword and held. One of Yuanji’s knives managed to take a lock off of Keiji’s massive mane of hair, but he laughed it off and spun his horse to prepare to engage Mitsuhide next, as he was rushing in hard and fast. The report of a rifle froze several soldiers in place, and Mitsuhide screeched to a halt as the bullet clipped a plate of his shoulder armor. Another gunshot cracked across the courtyard, echoing from the walls, and this time they all looked to see Masamune well inside the north gate with a spent rifle at his feet and both pistols out and firing. The officers scattered and Oda leaped in front of his wife to keep her from feeling the bite of a Dragonhunter, buying Keiji the moment he needed to spur his horse past them and elude them. Date’s distraction had worked, and he kept firing until his pistols were empty, driving away the interference for as long as he needed. He flung up an arm as Keiji galloped toward him, caught it, and pulled him onto the horse behind him. They bowled over the soldiers trying to barricade the north gate and blew past them, thundering away down the path beyond.

Oda huffed angrily as he found himself bested by their desperation. “Your orders, my lord!” Mitsuhide demanded as he recovered himself, one hand on his katana’s handle.

“No, leave it,” Nobunaga replied, holding up his free hand to keep his men back, though many of them started to chase after the fleeing officers. “We must not waste resources on that pursuit. Focus on the castle, we came here to take it and now that we have it, I will not lose it. Damn,” he added under his breath as he turned to his wife. “I meant to collect them all…”

“Maeda and Date,” Lady No said pensively. “What a time for the two of them to truly find their strength. But I see you still have one.”

Nobunaga glanced to where Fuuma had been left. He seemed to have come around, but he was in no shape to assist the pursuit, and Keiji had not bothered to try to free him. “Yes, I suppose I shall have to content myself with that. But if the two of them can regroup with their forces already outside the castle, I have no doubt that they will strike back. They won’t stay down for long.”

“My lord!” someone called from the direction of the east gate, which still stood open. “Enemy reinforcements from outside!”

Oda glowered as if that report made his point precisely. “Stop them in their tracks. I will not have Orochi forces picking us apart as we did to them. All units, front and center! We must hold this castle against any attempted intrusion!”

The reinforcements in question were being led by the bandit Yan Baihu, who had been abroad collecting scattered forces loyal to Orochi. He was late in returning to Bai Di, and seeing it now held against him, browbeat the snakes into launching an attack on the exposed eastern gate. Hanbei was still nearby, though, and simply ordered the unit around him to close the door before the reinforcements could reach it. He was still making faces at Yan Baihu as the space between the doors narrowed and then shut with a slam, barring their way. The Orochi forces were still looking at one another wondering how they were going to fight back when archers made it up to the walls and rained arrows down on them, driving them back. One at a time the gates were closed and barred, and archers on the walls set fire to the arbalests from above, replacing the dangerous obstacles with a slightly different one. Oda Nobunaga was certain the battle had not ended even though they had successfully taken Orochi’s headquarters for their own – he expected that the demon lord would want it back, and there were undoubtedly two officers now free on the field to make it happen.

Keiji rode straight into the cave maze without thinking, and though Matsukaze kept its head and didn’t balk, he reined in quickly. “The hell is this?” he snarled. “I didn’t know this was here.”

“It’s a labyrinth meant to keep enemies out,” Date explained, panting hard from the mingled pain and exhaustion. “Damn Oda, he brought men from Shu who must have known the secret to getting through it.”

Keiji eyed him over his shoulder. “Then how are we supposed to get out?”

“The same way they got in, idiot!” Date pointed to the torches along the walls. With their own defenders down, there was no one working the trickery to close any of the routes against them, all they had to do was follow the open pathway out. The horse’s hooves clattered noisily on the stone, echoing throughout the caves, but nothing stood in their way and soon enough they emerged from underground into a rough pathway that cut up toward the roads which Masamune knew well. He had been in residence at Bai Di long enough to know all of its main roads and paths, so he directed Keiji this way and that to circle around to where most of their fleeing forces would come out. Any which ran off into the wilderness were lost to them, but he knew a greater number had turned southward, and sure enough, as they rode they overtook a large knot of their own men, who had no choice but to turn back and regroup in the presence of two of their commanders. Both were seriously injured, though, and Date’s hand shook from fatigue as he reloaded his pistols. There were no horses at hand for him to commandeer, so he slid down from behind Keiji and determined to lead on foot, swallowing his strain and barking orders at the soldiers to get them to stand and listen. Maeda glared them all down from atop his horse, and if any showed signs of trying to sneak off again, he rode them down and beat them with his pike until they returned. At last Boomslang showed up, limping very slightly, but upon seeing Date alive and Maeda free, he leaned on his spear and exaggerated his injury. Masamune was having none of it. “You idiot! Don’t even think of begging off this counterattack, it’s _your_ fault we lost the castle and you will take it back or I’ll kill you on the spot!”

Boomslang twitched at his demand. “Or you’ll what? You can’t kill me! Lord Orochi will have your head for even laying a finger on me…!”

His braggadocio died in his throat as Date cocked a pistol aimed straight at his round, bald head. “Lord Orochi will be the one to take your life if you crawl back to him and admit that you lost Bai Di Castle. Is that what you really want?” His tone was thick and dangerous, seething with blind rage, and his eye flashed beneath his helm. “At least if I do it you’ll be spared his torture, maybe you can consider it a mercy killing.”

The snake demon captain raised his hands as if to plead for his life, but he never got the words out. Another great horse came rather suddenly around the corner of the road and intruded on this scene, its rider yanking back on the reins so hard that the powerful roan steed reared and pawed the air. Keiji grunted angrily but said nothing even as Lu Bu came to a full stop in their presence and beheld the scene, one of their top officers holding a gun to the head of another. “What in all the hells is this?!” he roared at them.

Masamune swiftly lowered his arm and his pistol, and Boomslang cowered, throwing himself on the ground. “Master Lu Bu, it’s you! You’re back already! Date lost the castle!”

“What?!” Date rounded on him again and this time, did not hold back from kicking him in the side. “It isn’t my fault! You demanded control of the tactic, but _you_ were the one who sprang the ambush too soon!”

“You were the one who lost the gate and let them in!”

“Silence!” Lu Bu’s mammoth bellow shushed the entirety of the army milling about at that crossroads and sent birds flying in terror from nearby trees, twittering anxiously as they rose into the air. Lu Bu’s hand white-knuckled on the reins and the shaft of his halberd as he swept a vicious glare around all of them, including Keiji. “You mean to tell me,” he went on in a much quieter but even more terrifying tone, “that while we were away, you let the castle fall? To whom?!”

For a moment, no one wanted to answer. Then Keiji murmured, quietly and solemnly, “Oda Nobunaga.”

Lu Bu bristled as he was wont to do, but it was a strange combination of rage and fear that quivered his whole body and made his eyes bulge. There was plenty to be angry about, but at the same time, he feared what their lord would do when he heard this news. If there was anyone to whom he would not want to lose his very headquarters, with all of their intelligence information, supplies, and necessities, it was Oda. For a moment Lu Bu was torn and it showed, but after a bit he roused himself and brandished his halberd. “No matter! They can have the castle, for we can take it back any time we want!”

“What do you mean?” Boomslang fretted.

Lu Bu clucked his tongue in annoyance. “Fools. Do you even realize what my presence here means?”

Date and Maeda caught on at the same time, though it was the latter who said what they were both thinking. “Lord Orochi is here? It’s about time!”

Masamune remained uncertain, peering warily up at the warrior on his horse. “What happened, why are you already back from the assault at Chi’bi? His orders said he was headed there to take charge himself, what happened to the campaign against Wu?”

Lu Bu’s face went sour in an instant. “Never you mind!” he retorted. “Lord Orochi will brief you later when we have our stronghold back. First and foremost, you must gather yourselves to make another go at it. He will not allow you to rest until you’ve taken it back – and neither will I.”

The only one with the courage to speak out against him in that moment was the man who could be his match. “Gonna be kind of hard,” Keiji warned. “Half our forces are down, we lost Fuuma to them, and Masamune and I are both a bit wrecked.”

Lu Bu regarded him imperiously. “Then it’s a good thing I’m here, isn’t it, Maeda?” he taunted. “And Lord Orochi behind me. If you are all so weak, then get out of my way and watch me do what you could not.”

Up at the castle on the hill, Oda had his forces working fast to secure their new prize, barricading the doors with more than just a latch and sending sentries up to the walls and parapets to have a look out to see where their enemies had gotten to, if they were regrouping or just running as far and fast as they could. Yan Baihu’s reinforcements drew off down the road, but there was a good chance they were just circling around to a different gate. While Ma Chao took charge of a group to sweep the interior of the castle and root out any hidden spies or lingering enemy forces, some of the others took advantage of the break to cluster around their own reinforcements and welcome them in. “That was both kind and wise of Lord Sun Ce to send us some troops in this hour,” Mitsuhide noted with a nod to them, “given that we in turn sent reinforcements to aid him.”

“We don’t really know what’s going on at Chi’bi,” one of the men said, “but if you did, then we thank you, my lords.”

“Yes, well,” Lady No broke in, leveling a knowing look on the elegant samurai, “if not for you, Lord Mitsuhide, I might not have even gotten the inkling that my dear husband wanted me back. Was it all just a ploy to get reinforcements, then?”

“Not at all,” Mitsuhide assured. “My words to you were sincere. The more this war rages, the harder I must work to see to my lord’s needs.”

No smirked coldly. “You’re such an obedient little puppy. One of these days, that’s going to get you into trouble.” She turned sharply away from him as he flushed with embarrassment and shifted her focus to Toyotomi instead. “It’s so good to see you, Hideyoshi, you’re looking well.”

Toyotomi blushed as well, but for totally different reasons. “Ah…so are you, my lady! I expect those boys in Wu have been treating you well?”

“Quite,” she acknowledged with a knowing smile. “Yet, isn’t it strange? That it took some strapping tigers from Wu to liberate me from my prison rather than a crafty monkey. I thought about you all that time, wondering where you and Mitsuhide were…”

Hideyoshi went from blushing to sweating under her heavy-lidded gaze. “Uh, I…er, I was unavoidably detained, you see. Just ask Mitsuhide!”

Akechi’s eyes went wide as if to beg him not to drag him back into this. Lady No shook her head slowly, tutting at him. “Don’t worry, I’m not angry with you. I’m just…” She paused for dramatic effect and then spoke her last word with a sultry down-turn. “…disappointed.”

Several of those listening winced, and even if they didn’t quite know what to make of their interaction, Ma Dai and Sima Zhao shared a scandalized and amused look. This wife of Oda’s seemed to be more than a match for anyone, and a perfect compliment to the man. Sima Shi, on the other hand, considered it wiser to ingratiate himself, bowing to her. “I take it you will be joining us on the front line, then, my lady.”

No looked him over and then turned. “You must be one of my husband’s random acquisitions. He does so like to pick up what others have discarded. At least you have the good sense to see the obvious – yes, if there is more to this battle, you will have to include me.”

Shi did his best not to fluster while his brother and Dai had to hide their giggles behind their hands at seeing him so swiftly and elegantly put in his place. Hanbei strolled into the midst of this with his hands clasped behind his neck. “I’m sure this is fun and all but I don’t think we’re going to be sitting down to have a victory party in the castle anytime soon.”

“What makes you say so, Master Takenaka?” Naoe asked.

Hanbei winked at him. “Strategist’s hunch. Well, that, and…” He pointed to where one of the scouts was hustling down from the wall and over to them.

Nobunaga rejoined them as the scout ran up and sank into a crisp bow. “My lord! The Orochi army has received even more reinforcements!” He expected a response, but only got a beckoning gesture to continue, so he took a breath and spilled his full report. “The enemy approaches from the southwest. It isn’t clear whether they have joined up with the remnants of the castle guard but we have looked and verified – this new contingent is being led by Lu Bu!”

Everyone who heard him startled, and even Oda narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You are certain?”

“Extremely, my lord. I would know that great horse anywhere, it is the like to Lord Guan Yu’s own.”

“What is Lu Bu doing here?” Mitsuhide wondered urgently. Reports from their allies had not indicated whether he was with Orochi or not, as far as he knew.

“Getting ready to take back this castle, I would guess,” Hanbei said flippantly. “He’s got great timing, showing up so swiftly after we just took it.”

Oda noted the suggestion behind his tactician’s joking comment. “Whatever he was doing up until we put this battle into motion,” he said warily, “he was close enough to come to the aid of his army in the nick of time. This is hardly what I would call good news.”

“If he is fresh, it will take all of us to bring him down,” Ma Chao warned. “We are all spent and even if we weren’t, there is a reason Lu Bu’s name is spoken with such fear and reverence among us.”

“I’m aware.” Nobunaga looked from one to the next, gauging their more obvious injuries, and then turned to call for his horse. “This is no longer about holding a castle against intrusion, life and death are in the balance. We cannot simply bar the doors and hope that will be enough to fend off a man of his stature, or anyone else who may be coming up behind him.”

“Are you going to meet him, then?” Lady No asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.

“Who better?” Oda gave her a slight smirk before facing the others. “Everyone still capable of standing and holding their weapon will come with me. Hanbei, remain here with Ma Dai to maintain our defenses – the gates must hold no matter what kind of reinforcements they manage to scrape together to try to tear them down and get in.”

Hanbei did not look the least bit disappointed at being asked to hold the rear, despite not even being remotely winded. “As you wish, Lord Nobunaga.”

“Collect your units and have them standing by.” Oda strode to where someone held his horse for him and mounted up, drawing his sword. “This is more than just the lot of us attacking Lu Bu personally. There are others behind him, including our escaped captives. Consider this round two, and if we cannot best them where they stand on the field, we do not deserve to make it back to the castle.”

His ominous words were hardly inspirational, but the blunt truth of them drove his point home more effectively than any flowery speech of optimism. Sitting tight and waiting for Lu Bu to knock was not the way to keep Bai Di in their control. Ma Chao whistled for his horse to come to him while the others had theirs towed over by their soldiers, and in short order the majority of the officers led their units back out into an all-new fight. Wang Yuanji wisely stayed behind to look after the injured, though she did not begrudge her husband and brother-in-law the chance to face the mightiest of foes a second time, this time with the confidence of real backup. Kagekatsu likewise stayed back to manage his remaining captive, finding it paramount not to let Fuuma go the way Maeda had. Toyotomi and Akechi rode immediately behind their lord, looking more than ready to meet this threat, while the rest ranged in a line after them, Ma Chao and Naoe first, then No with the Simas to the rear. Kanetsugu glanced to the man riding beside him. “I have not yet faced this legendary warrior,” he muttered. “Is he truly so formidable?”

“If you have not seen him, then you could not know,” Ma Chao replied darkly. “In our time, men would hear rumor of his name on the battlefield and immediately turn tail and run. His reputation is entirely earned from his fearsome power, it is no mere fancy.”

Naoe faced forward, ducking his head to hide his grim expression in the shadows of his helm. “Understood. I will not take this lightly.”

“Be careful, Lord Kanetsugu,” Chao implored. “I would not see anyone fall to the likes of Lu Bu in a place like this.”

“And you. Your cousin would be very upset if I didn’t look after you out here.”

For a fleeting moment a doting smile flickered to life on Ma Chao’s lips, and then it was gone as the serious nature of the battle crashed back in on him. He would not let himself fall against Lu Bu, even if his fight with Maeda had taken a lot out of him, but by the same token, he had to look out for all the others no matter what. This wasn’t time for claiming glory or a single duel, they all had to work together to make sure the beast did not succeed.

With the rest of the Orochi army both old and new mustered behind him, Lu Bu had ridden as far as the crossroads just around the bend from Bai Di’s main gate, so the front line riding in Oda’s wake did not have far to go before encountering him. He spotted them coming and slapped his heels to his horse’s flanks, charging right in without heed for exactly who he might be fighting, besides the very obvious commander at the head of the column. “Hah! Is this all we are faced with?” he challenged as he came on. “Puny weaklings! This will only take a moment of my time!”

The Sky Piercer came up fast, ready to bowl them all out of their saddles as he rode past, but Lu Bu did not anticipate the first blow to be struck against him. He didn’t notice Hideyoshi pulling his feet from his stirrups or gathering himself in his saddle, though to be fair, neither did the men on Oda’s flanks. Just before their horses clashed, everyone was startled to see a body hurtle through the air in a neat tuck-and roll and slam feet-first into Lu Bu’s chest. He hit the ground with a thud with Toyotomi on top of him while his horse blazed right on past them all, though all Hideyoshi did from there was spring off him and land neatly on the ground while whirling his staff around, ready to follow that up with a real attack. Oda and his men drew up quickly so as not to trample the both of them, but where their lord smirked to himself at the effective tackle, the others were completely surprised. So was Lu Bu, judging by the growling as he pushed himself up and had to take a moment to decide whether to pursue the monkey who had landed on him or go straight for Oda the instant he dismounted and moved in. The Resistance officers had their target swiftly surrounded, but then the rest of the Orochi stragglers caught up, taking courage from having a new commander on the field and launching themselves at the invaders with fresh energy. Their fresh assault drew some of the soldiers away to deal with it, but Oda still had several officers at his back ready to go against this legend, and as of yet there was no sign of any other Orochi officers joining him in the fray. Lu Bu was too focused on his target to even notice that Date and Maeda had not followed him this far. He decided to ignore Toyotomi in favor of the commander, and in that moment the choice was made, his fate was sealed. Nobunaga had rested enough and was ready for this, and with Mitsuhide on one side and Ma Chao on the other, the fight was on. Kanetsugu held back to watch them clash, and the sheer force of his halberd meeting the Stallion Spear shook the ground he was standing on. “Incredible,” he breathed as he pulled a fresh set of ofuda from under his coat. “He is truly a monster.”

“Don’t let your guard down,” Sima Zhao advised as he swept past to block a few of the enemy soldiers from interfering. “He’s big but he’s not unbeatable!”

Naoe slid easily out of his way to let him take charge and then circled around him, sweeping from behind him to slash at another contingent trying to flank them. “Then let us all fight, with everything we have!”

While they circled around to drive off the additional reinforcements, Lu Bu shoved against Ma Chao to try to push him aside and clear a path to Oda, but the Tiger General held firm, straining against him. He had been too young to assist his father when the coalition forces met this legend at Hulao, but he could more than make up for it now even with his strength sapped by fighting Keiji in the same way earlier. They beat on each other for a bit and then Chao gave way to let Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi attack from both sides at once, distracting Lu Bu and forcing him to divide his attention between them. They assumed he was fresh and stronger than all of them, but after a few minutes and a handful of passes Ma Chao could tell that things weren’t exactly as they seemed. Toyotomi was landing far too many hits with ease, and the mighty warrior was leaving too many openings as he moved to combat one or the other. Oda must have noticed as well, for he suddenly burst past Ma Chao and joined the fight himself, striking rapidly with efficient swings of his blade that had Lu Bu backing off abruptly, holding the Sky Piercer across his chest to block all of them. All three clashed against it, and then he threw them off all at once, shifting to swing the halberd wide and attempt to cleave them all straight through the middle. Two blocked, but Akechi dodged instead and Lady No took advantage of the gap to rush in and slice up Lu Bu’s extended arm as she darted past him. He roared at her and brought the halberd around to chase her, but Hideyoshi stepped in with his staff, taking a hit so hard it jarred him and rattled his teeth. Nobunaga came in just as quickly as his wife on the other side, then, aiming for the tiny gap between Lu Bu’s long shoulder guard and his vambrace. Had Lu Bu not raised his elbow just in time, he might have had his arm taken off at the elbow by the humming blade, but in evading the direct hit he fell victim to a glancing blow instead, as the blade bounced off the shaft of his halberd and cut up under his vambrace. Oda stayed in close to press his advantage, whirling in place as the halberd came back at him and sliding his back along its length until he had circled completely around Lu Bu and hacked at his exposed back. His heavy armor was the only thing keeping Lu Bu from being completely worsted on the spot, these generals of Wa were fast and skilled and kept moving around him. He snarled and tried to go after Nobunaga as he desired, but then Ma Chao was back, clashing with the Sky Piercer and forcing its blade down to the ground. They tangled and held, at which point Lu Bu stared him straight in the face. “I commend your efforts thus far,” he muttered, “but you will have to bite much harder to have any chance against me!”

“Then so we shall!” Ma Chao challenged right back, giving him a shoulder-check to dislodge their weapons and give himself the opening to swing his spear back up and around, tearing straight across his foe’s chestplate.

It would not do well, Oda thought to himself, to allow this beast to toy with them all day. Even with five of them swirling around him like leaves in a tempest, it was taking too long to bring him down. The small cuts he bore weren’t sapping his strength enough, only a decisive move would do; as he said himself, they needed to bite harder. He moved back around as No and Toyotomi pestered Lu Bu on all sides, keeping his attention diverted and irritating him, and then saw it in the pattern of their attack – the opening he needed would come, but he needed someone stronger to force it. He drew back to murmur his idea to Ma Chao, and then clapped a hand to his back to send him in at the right moment. Chao waited until Lu Bu had the shaft of the halberd across himself again and then lunged in, ducking between his comrades with shoulders low and moving as if to pierce the enemy straight through the middle with the point of his spear. Yet, instead of landing a hit, he brought the spear straight up, knocking the shaft of the Sky Piercer upward and with it, Lu Bu’s arms as he gripped tight to keep a firm hold on his weapon. Ma Chao felt Oda brush against his flank as he charged in for the real hit, swinging his Demon Slayer at the warrior’s exposed flank. He aimed for the belt, the only spot between chestplate and hip guards that could be vulnerable, and felt his blade sink straight through leather and silk and cut deep along Lu Bu’s waist. About to swing his halberd down to decapitate Ma Chao, Lu Bu instead staggered to the side and then went down hard, losing his grip on his weapon and slamming onto his left arm, twisting it beneath himself. Ma Chao followed through, whirling his spear around and thrusting the butt into Lu Bu’s side, just above the cut and right in a spot his armor didn’t quite cover. They were all on top of him, then, Hideyoshi kicking the Sky Piercer aside and then stepping on the broad blade to keep it on the ground, No grinding the single slat of her geta into his leg, and Mitsuhide sweeping in to put his sword against Lu Bu’s neck. Seething hard for breath against the pain of that cut, Lu Bu strained to find a means to rise again but they were all around him, and he felt the cold nick of steel on his throat. He heard the order from somewhere above the crowd of officers: “I have no wish to execute such a powerful man, but if he moves, Mitsuhide, cut his head off.”

Nobunaga knew he was gambling dangerously with Lu Bu’s ego, but if he was right in his assumptions, the legendary warrior would not want to die at his hands at this moment. He didn’t have much choice but to yield, with the wound in his side so fiery and deep that blood already soaked his girdle and splashed across the massive lion-head belt buckle. They rolled him onto his back and disarmed him, and then there was a call for something to bind him securely. Having yet another powerful member of Orochi’s top line at his feet filled Nobunaga with smug pride, but he didn’t have much time to gloat. No sooner had the Sima brothers brought up the ropes than a scout from their own forces came running towards them from the southbound road. “Danger! My lord!”

Oda lifted his head at the panicked cry. “What is it?”

“Have you located Date Masamune and Keiji?” Kanetsugu asked urgently.

“It’s far worse than that!” The scout screeched to a halt and dropped to his knee, pounding a fist against his chest. “Forget about them, my lords, it’s Orochi you have to worry about!”

Oda’s dark eyes flashed, but before he could remark, Lu Bu let out a gust of a laugh. “That’s right. You were so busy contending with me, you didn’t bother to realize that _he_ was here, too.”

Hideyoshi made sure to accidentally step on his twisted arm. “Damn, he got back here fast. Wu didn’t keep him entertained for long.”

“No…but don’t you see, Monkey?” Nobunaga’s eyes swept around the ring of officers. “Just like when we heard the news that he had moved away from Shu rather quickly, now he’s left off from Wu and returned here. It may be too soon for our tastes, but it means the same as it did for Shu.” He looked down at Lu Bu, lip curling in a sneer. “He lost. Again.”

Lu Bu attempted to rage at him, but was cut off by the pain that racked his body, making it hard to do anything but lay there and try to catch his breath. “You know nothing!” he spat.

Lady No chuckled darkly. “I do believe you’re right on the money, husband.”

“There is only one thing for it.” Oda looked from her to Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi. “We must go to meet him before he can completely regroup and prepare. Take it to him while he’s still moving.”

“To do so is suicide,” Ma Chao muttered under his breath. “Yet what choice do we have? I will not hole up in the castle like a fox and wait for him to dig us out.”

“Once more into the darkness, my friend,” Naoe said gently.

“I owe him for keeping me locked up so long that I grew so _bored_ ,” No said with a cutting bloodthirst to her tone. “I will follow you into hell, my love.”

“Then we shall dance together, even if it be our last,” Nobunaga purred to her, letting her graze the back of her bronzed claws down his cheek before whirling away and going to call his horse. “Now, while we still have the momentum with us!”

They all turned to obey when yet another scout’s cry halted them there. Someone was coming up the side road, and at all haste, so they stopped to meet the threat in the likelihood it was Date or Maeda coming to free Orochi’s greatest champion. Yet, that wasn’t at all who met them on the road. More than one Oda soldier gasped at the mirror image of their lord riding up toward them, and Ma Chao growled harshly to himself, pounding the butt of his spear into the dirt at his feet. The two horses leading a column of troops on foot drew up to a stop so that the foremost rider could smirk down at what he was seeing. “It looks like we aren’t too late, then.”

“So…” Nobunaga breathed, lifting his head to meet those sharp eyes. “The legend appears.”

There weren’t many of his retainers with him, only Dian Wei as faithful as ever, but Cao Cao looked ready for action all the same. He relaxed his hand on the reins and regarded the scene coolly, his eyes narrowing only briefly to see Ma Chao standing there at Nobunaga’s side before tipping his chin up haughtily. “Allow me to add my men to your forces, if you wish to make it through today alive. We had received intelligence suggesting that Orochi was on the move toward your position, so I came to assist you myself.”

“So you intend to live up to your reputation, Hero of Chaos?” Oda’s challenge was wrapped up in a calm, knowing inflection; he could not pass up reinforcements no matter where they came from, given the news they had just received. “Indeed, your timing could not be more perfect. We have secured the castle only to have its previous occupant come knocking much sooner than anticipated.”

Cao Cao’s expression shifted subtly, concerned and angry for only a moment before he mustered it back into serious and superior. “To see one Demon King pitted against another. This is turning out to be an interesting day.” He nodded to indicate his bodyguard. “Dian Wei and I will fight alongside you, then.”

“We must not delay any longer,” Mitsuhide insisted, bringing their horses up. “To let Orochi get himself settled and his defenses ordered is to whittle away at our victory.” 

“Indeed. Let’s go!” Oda swung up into the saddle and turned without a second glance at Cao Cao, leading the way himself down the road from whence the scouts had just come.

The Wei reinforcements let the Oda Resistance pass before falling in behind them. As curious as he was about the other officers tagging along – not just Ma Chao but Sima Yi’s sons? – Cao Cao only had eyes for the man at the lead. “I have heard great things about this man,” he murmured to Dian Wei. “It is time we get to see if any of them are true.”

“He really is your spitting image, my lord,” Dian Wei grunted. “But I’m sure he’s no match for you in any other way.”

Cao Cao huffed a laugh at his bodyguard’s eternal devotion to him and simply tugged the reins to turn his horse and fall in behind the Oda officers. They were about to find out just what it meant to face Orochi a second time.

There was a bend in the road ahead where it curved away from Bai Di, and there just beyond was where the scouts had spotted Orochi himself, moving in with the remnants of the serpent-demon army which had been routed at Chi’bi. Word had only just reached him, in turn, that they were coming back to find their own castle held against them, but he had not yet been able to take the time to consult with his remaining officers and prepare the troops for a major assault. He had sent Lu Bu ahead of him, intending for him to gain the upper hand against Oda’s unknown officers and certain that this time, with Honda far behind them on a different battlefield entirely, he would not face defeat. When it was not his prize general returning to him down the road but rather the Oda Resistance coming at him, Orochi was forced to forego any sort of planning and simply rise to meet him. The demon soldiers were exhausted and sore, they had only just gotten here and hadn’t even been allowed to sit down for a minute before battle was thrust upon them. It was difficult for any of them to say they could guess at their lord’s mind, for Orochi strode off to meet his enemies without a word, his face as impassive as ever. He carried his scythe in his right hand as if whatever wounds he had sustained against the combined might of Wu weren’t bothering him at all, and his eyes flickered like flame in the late-day sun as he turned them on his most hated rival leading the way. Oda Nobunaga wasted no time, sliding out of the saddle while his horse was still at speed and hitting the ground running, with Toyotomi less than a second behind him. This was no time for casually prowling up to start the fight, he dashed straight to it and struck first with a wide swing of his charged blade that practically demanded that Orochi move to block it, or else get cut right across the middle. They clashed and held, and Oda was certain he saw the demon overlord’s arm tremble from the force of it. In that moment Hideyoshi leaped at his head, only to be thrown backward by a handful of dark energy blasting into his chest. Oda disengaged and flitted to the side to try a new angle as the rest of his men caught up and dismounted, clustering in search of a means to join the fight. Seeing them all, Orochi turned a baleful stare on them and only threw his arm out to place his weapon just-so to block blindly. “Show me why I have not slaughtered you all, yet,” he complained at them, and then his gaze fell on the last of the officers dropping out of the saddle with sword at the ready. He knew what his retainers had told him, but to see it with his own eyes…. “ _You_.”

Cao Cao likewise did not bother with witty quips as he ran to the fore, his great broadsword bared and ready. Seeing nothing and no one standing between him and Orochi – no Da Ji, no Lu Bu, nothing – bolstered his confidence, but he was mindful that he wouldn’t be able to just go in there and take this fight for himself. A one-on-one duel with Orochi was bad for everyone except Orochi anyway, he had learned that the hard way, but on top of that, he was certain Oda would not permit anyone to steal the right to that fight from him. Orochi himself was not about to let him have the satisfaction of a hit, either, he swung the scythe down and sent that burst of dark energy exploding outward along the ground, throwing everyone back out of range. Sima Zhao had paused to help Toyotomi sit up, at which point they both watched this development and privately fretted. “Stay out of the way of that,” Hideyoshi muttered. “That’s no joke.”

“You all right?” Zhao asked.

“Well, I…” As much as Hideyoshi was thinking he’d gotten to the end of his stamina and wanted to sit this one out, he looked to the side and noticed the rest of the Orochi army starting to swarm up on them like a cloud of locusts. “…I think we’re gonna have our hands full either way.”

Zhao followed his gaze and groaned under his breath. He knew full well that if they just left the army unchecked, they would all be pulled down from behind and Orochi wouldn’t even have to vanquish them with his own hand. He leaped up, dropping a hand to let Hideyoshi pull himself up as well, and turned to call out to the others. “Shi!”

His brother looked his way, noticed the problem, and immediately cut to the side to evade Orochi and assist them instead. Mitsuhide also disengaged and followed, the better to rout the army and prevent them from assisting their overlord, calling their units to move in with them. The Wei soldiers also cut to the side, they would be far more useful against the massed army than the demon himself.

Nobunaga, No, and Kanetsugu arrayed themselves to meet Orochi, and as Cao Cao and Dian Wei joined them, Ma Chao went to Naoe’s other side, placing himself as far from his nemesis as possible. Naoe noticed but made no remark, there wasn’t time for it. Orochi seemed unable to decide which of the two warlords he wanted to target first or most, and after a few testing swings Oda realized it and made the wisest move he could. He darted to the left past his wife and placed himself directly opposite Cao Cao in the ring beginning to form around the demon lord, so that Orochi would have to decide to focus on one and leave himself open to the other, to say nothing of their additional officers ranged between the two. Dian Wei hit every bit as hard as anyone else, perhaps harder, and a particular rage gleamed in his eyes as he faced the demon who had nearly killed his lord once. He was not ignorant of how powerful Orochi could be, on the contrary – he had been bowled back by that strength once, he refused to go down a second time. The assembled Oda retainers also remembered Mikatagahara well, and were determined that no one should be captured or driven off this time. In contrast, Ma Chao had never met the demon on the field before, but he shoved aside any thought of Cao Cao and instead, reminded himself that this was the creature who had Lord Liu Bei and dangled his life as blackmail before the whole of the Resistance. That was enough to drive him into the fray, sweeping around with huge, acrobatic swings of the Stallion Spear that surely demanded that Orochi’s scythe come to meet it at every turn. All of them were fatigued after so many repeated and terrible fights throughout the battle, but none so much as tripped over one another as they ringed Orochi and traded blows. As furious as he was to be facing these two lords, Orochi stood his ground capably, eyes narrowed and a cold darkness radiating off him as he deflected and parried, turning in place to see where each of his foes stood and making his decision in due order. Cao Cao was fresh, Nobunaga was not. Orochi spun unexpectedly and threw himself bodily at Oda, bringing the scythe in so hard and fast that the blow of their weapons meeting to block sent Oda skidding backwards across the ground for a good three or four feet until the heels of his boots caught on a tussock and he finally held. He looked across the blade of his sword to the demon eyes glaring at him from just a foot away, as Orochi shoved against him in an attempt to force him away from any of his retainers. “Such a joy to see you again,” Nobunaga growled darkly. “I was thinking I might never get the pleasure of facing you a second time.”

“Do not waste words, Oda Nobunaga,” Orochi muttered back. He thrust his arms out in one hard, swift blow forward, nearly knocking Oda’s sword into his own face. But he had no chance to capitalize on the opening, for Dian Wei came from one side with his axe screaming toward the demon’s neck and Ma Chao closed on the other, thrusting his spear right for the gap below Orochi’s raised arm. Orochi phased out of corporeality for the briefest flash, letting their weapons whiff harmlessly through his being, and then came back with a massive swing of the scythe toward Dian Wei’s exposed flank. He wore nothing to protect his vitals, only shoulder and arm guards, and had over-extended on the backswing of his axe. Oda plunged back in right in the nick of time, slashing downward at Orochi’s arm with his humming blade. He scored a direct hit on Orochi’s scaly bracer, driving the blade of the scythe downward enough for Dian Wei to leap over it, though he had to do an ungainly twist in mid-air to make it without hurting himself. Ma Chao followed up with a backhanded swing of the shaft of his spear into Orochi’s side, coming up against him as if hitting a wall and grunting from the force. Orochi pulled that hand off his weapon and threw it outward, missing Oda but successfully punching his arm sideways into Ma Chao’s jaw and knocking him sprawling. Kanetsugu was there to make up for him in an instant, hacking at that arm with his sword in the same spot Oda had hit. They were surrounding him like biting gnats again, Orochi could see the tactic forming and resolved not to let it happen for a third time. He dropped that shoulder and plowed the great fanged snake-head pauldron into Naoe’s chest, breaking past him and out into the open. He only got a couple of steps before whipping back around to swing the scythe in another wide sweep, forcing Lady No to stop short lest she be cleaved in half as she tried to pursue. It forced the Resistance officers into a new formation to deal with him, fanning out but no longer surrounding him. Kanetsugu dropped a hand to haul Ma Chao to his feet as they closed in, stalking the serpent warily, even as he jammed the gnarled head of the scythe downward again, firing his demonic energy along the ground to keep a clear space between himself and his foes to stall them even for just a moment.

Oda glanced to see where Naoe was and crossed behind him, muttering a quick order as he went. “Tell me you have a spell that will immobilize him.”

“No,” Kanetsugu breathed in answer, “but if you clear some room, I have something almost as powerful.”

“Done,” Nobunaga grunted, sliding off and giving Ma Chao an encouraging nod as he repositioned at the end of the line. Together he and the Tiger General lunged forward to engage Orochi, while Cao Cao and Dian Wei did the same on the opposite end, so that all four met in the middle. Orochi brought his scythe up to block all four at once with the shaft, but then his right elbow dropped ever so slightly. The twitch drew Oda’s eyes immediately, and confirmed what he had seen at their first clash of blows – that right arm was weak for a reason. Without even stopping to think about why or what it meant, he took it for the evidence of an opening that he needed and dropped his shoulders in order to let his Demon Slayer screech along the shaft of the scythe until it slid underneath. So focused on landing a hit, he didn’t see the serpent lord’s eyes widen in shock at the glowing blade darting forward to score across his injured arm. It was an imperfect hit, lacking momentum, but it exposed Orochi’s weakness dealt to him by the combined forces of Wu. He reacted by twisting away to guard that arm, bringing the scythe-blade around and trying to hit all of them at once, one after another. The tip of the scythe glanced off Dian Wei’s axe, missed Ma Chao completely, and then drove sideways into Nobunaga’s shoulder, denting the overlapping plates of his armor and throwing him to the side to land on his back in the dirt. It was Orochi’s best chance at a killing blow, he ignored the others and fell upon Oda with the scythe raised high to bring down straight onto his neck, but Ma Chao was just as fast and drove the butt of his Stallion Spear into the demon’s side and then followed it up with a long swing to bring the blade-end around and hit him again in the same spot. Even as he did, he saw a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye and hissed angrily at the sight of Cao Cao closing in to cut Orochi’s unguarded flank as well. Mengqi had to pull his strike in order to not hit Cao Cao, as much as he really would have been happy with that kind of collateral damage, and his hesitation gave Orochi a moment to drop his arm and take the hit to his fanged shoulder guard instead. There was no time to stop and berate his rival in the midst of the battle, he had to keep going and keep hitting as best he could. He drove the head of the spear into the dirt and used it to launch himself bodily into the air, kicking out and landing a hit squarely against Orochi’s chest as he turned to deal with them, but it did little to slow the demon down. He rushed them and grabbed Ma Chao the instant his feet touched the ground, holding him down so he could bring the scythe around and deal another jolt of dark energy at point-blank range. It was Dian Wei who saved him, putting his own body between Chao and the scythe and raising a fist to punch the weapon out of the way. For a moment Orochi’s weaker arm was hovering out there with nothing to protect it, and that was the very moment in which Nobunaga reappeared, bringing a mighty two-handed slash of his sword down onto it. It cut just deep enough to make the demon roar and let go of his other victim, at which point Oda bellowed, “Get clear!”

Orochi spun to take up his scythe in his left hand instead, thrusting out the right with fingers splayed directly into Oda’s face, prepared to unleash his sorcery on him instead, and though Dian Wei hesitated, Ma Chao used the shaft of his spear to shovel the big warrior out of the way as ordered. The two of them tumbled aside to make the clearing Kanetsugu wanted, and he was already prepared with ofuda arrayed in a fan in his left hand. He quickly made the closing sign of the spell with his other and beams of light shot outward, aimed straight at Orochi and anything around him. The ofuda burned themselves up as he expended them one after another, but the light-spears kept coming and Orochi kept reeling backwards with each hit until the last spell-card vanished in a wisp of ash. That was when both Nobunaga and Cao Cao charged in ahead of their bodyguards, swords simultaneously held off to their sides and then coming up in a tandem swing. Each aimed for a different spot, Oda for the arm and Cao Cao for the flank, and there was no way to block them both. Orochi grimaced and threw his right hand downward to grab for the humming purple blade, arresting it mid-swing but letting Cao Cao’s broadsword slice across his flank instead. His scaly armor blunted the force of it but it still bowled him back, his clawed feet raking long lines in the dirt as he fought to stay upright. He landed in a crouch and lifted his head to get a read on their motion before flying to meet them, but before he could spring, Mitsuhide and Sima Shi alit on him from the side, having cut down enough of his army to allow themselves to disengage and return to assist with this battle. He phased again, evading them, and then lunged at the two warlords, springing into the air and kicking with his claws. He hit Nobunaga in the damaged pauldron and knocked him squarely down, landing on him, and this time it looked like he could get the strike he wanted, but he now had several officers at his back and they all closed at the same time. Cao Cao whirled with a deft stab that mirrored the one Shi was able to make with his longer blade, and Oda willfully ignored the sharp pain in his shoulder in order to reach up with his gauntleted hand and close it over the visible wound in Orochi’s right arm. His sharp fingers jabbed directly into the cut by sheer chance, and the surprise of such a vicious and dirty move kept Orochi from dodging the hits coming at him from behind. Both the rapier and the imperial sword rebounded off his scales, but their presence forced Orochi to let go of his prey and attempt to get clear. Oda had him, though, and even if it put him at supreme risk of an instant beheading, he refused to let go, letting Orochi drag him to his feet and into position to hit him again. His right shoulder had been injured by the repeated hits, so his dominant arm was weak, but he still had enough left in him to swing his sword up hard and fast inside Orochi’s guard. Cao Cao attacked at the same time, and managed to parry the scythe just long enough for Oda to jab his blade into the gap running down the center of Orochi’s chest, into the baleful demon eye staring at him from the demon’s flesh. He wasn’t able to bite deep enough before Orochi roared again and pulled himself away from all of them, staggering to the side and then phasing several times as the others tried attacking him. It seemed he could not strike back while incorporeal, but it saved him considerable damage until he could take advantage of Mitsuhide’s miss and shoulder-check him into Lady No. It gave him the moment he needed in which to slam the head of his scythe to the ground one more time, and this time he successfully blasted all of them back several feet. Seething, heaving for breath, Orochi glared them all down as they recovered from his hit and then took off running, jerking to the side and whisking past all of them. His demon captains stood in a line just beyond the Resistance officers, leaning on their spears and looking rather abused but holding their ground until their lord could pass them, and then they all melted away back toward the wilderness they had only just come from. Hideyoshi and Sima Zhao had still been fighting them, but stopped short as the entire line collapsed into a retreat to evade them. They looked to their commanders, bewildered, but it was fairly clear. Orochi had been damaged enough that he decided to exit the field rather than risk his limbs yet again.

No one from the Resistance was not surprised at his disappearance, but more than a few grew suddenly angry in the absence of a foe, and the rest looked to one another in relieved uncertainty. They could understand the reports from Shu, now – was he really gone, would he return, could they rest or was there more? No wonder Guan Yu’s tale hedged on the outcome, for it was difficult to know what to think right in that moment as the dust settled around them and the snake demons scattered, leaving only panicked shrieks and the clatter of discarded weapons behind them. Oda stood panting, holding his shoulder with his opposite hand, glaring at the spot where he had last laid eyes on the demon, but his anger wasn’t harsh enough to push past his good sense. He was spent and he knew it, it had taken all of his strength to come out on top of that battle and though his injuries were minor in the broad sense, he had not come through unscathed. He tipped his head slightly to the side to verify that it was, in fact, Cao Cao at his shoulder, likewise breathless and roughed up and sharing his same dark look. Even if it was good for their health and survival that Orochi chose to break it off and retreat just then, neither could be satisfied with such an uncertain ending. Behind them, their men were far more happy about this turn, judging by the way Dian Wei hefted his axe in the air and whooped, hurling taunts at the fleeing army and calling their courage into question. Oda straightened up as his wife came to his side and propped him up under the guise of cuddling against him. “What of our other foes?” he asked those around him. “Did we manage to keep a single prisoner?”

“We’ll have to go back and check on who’s in the castle,” Hideyoshi replied, “but I won’t be too terribly surprised if we go back along this road and there’s no Lu Bu waiting for us.”

Nobunaga scowled to himself but conceded the possibility. He had wanted to capture all of them, but he was certain at least two of the three major officers were injured. It would have to be enough. “Return to Bai Di, then,” he ordered his troops. “We have a new headquarters to settle into.” While they moved out, he turned to the men of Wei. “What of yourselves, have you ridden heroically to the rescue and will now ride off into the sunset with the pride of a job well done?”

“That depends,” Cao Cao said imperiously, sheathing his sword. “If you are feeling hospitable enough, Demon King, I would not turn down a night inside a castle in favor of sleeping on the ground again.”

“As you please,” Oda said noncommittally, turning and accepting Lady No’s assistance to get him back to his horse. They had drifted out far from the castle in order to meet Orochi before he got too entrenched, they had a distance to ride to return. As they went, they discovered that Lu Bu had indeed escaped, but at least the roads all the way back to the castle walls were completely empty of Orochi army forces. The castle, too, was in good shape in the firm grasp of the Resistance, and everyone inside was rather surprised and alarmed to hear that the reason for the delay in their return was not Lu Bu but rather Orochi himself. No wonder it had taken so long for them to get back, and now that the sun was setting, it was up to those who still had an ounce or two of energy to secure the walls and byways, tighten their defenses, and get a meal set up for tired and hungry soldiers.

The Oda Resistance had managed two crucial triumphs that day, news of which would soon be sent to their allies. They had successfully taken Bai Di and with it, so much of the Orochi army’s information, plans, and supplies, and they had retained a hold of Fuuma Kotaro. His clanmates had wisely retreated with the rest of the Orochi forces, rather than attempt to free him while outnumbered and outgunned, so he remained a prisoner of Oda for now. He was in no shape to change that status on his own, either, his injuries were extensive and he had been drifting in and out of consciousness all afternoon from the blood loss. No one present had any love for him at all, but Uesugi Kagekatsu was mindful of the ties between the Hojo and the Uesugi, so he personally laid his honor as collateral for the ninja’s life, requesting that he be treated rather than left to die and charge of him placed on his own head. Nobunaga readily agreed, though arrangements for where to keep him for the duration of the war would come later. For now, one of the outbuildings in the courtyard was designated the prison and Kagekatsu gladly stood guard even after night fell and crickets filled the yard with their song.

Naoe stood aside once their victorious army had fully retreated into the safe confines of the castle wall, and then wandered over to join Ma Chao. The latter stood glaring from under his helm at Cao Cao, who had just entered behind them and been given all the respect and assistance due to a lord of his stature visiting an ally – attendants took their horses, others came to show him to the main hall where everyone was temporarily gathering until all the rooms of the castle could be cleared. Cao Cao received it all with his usual arrogance, smirking to himself as he crossed through the one-time Shu stronghold and stepped into its halls as a welcome visitor rather than a conqueror. Kanetsugu had not missed the sparks flying between the Wei lord and his close comrade during the battle itself, so now that it was over, he placed a hand gently on Ma Chao’s shoulder in the hopes he could quiet him. “What is it?” he wondered.

Ma Chao seethed through clenched teeth. “That man,” he growled gutturally. “I have vowed to kill him with my own hands, and yet our situation means that I cannot. I can hardly suffer being under the same roof as the man who destroyed my entire clan!”

Kanetsugu recoiled with a small gasp, as if the heat of Mengqi’s anger had scorched him. He understood family bonds and oaths of vengeance as well as the next man, but this was no mere rivalry that could be set aside for the sake of the Resistance. He could feel it. “I…I’m sorry,” he stammered after a moment, his voice a dread whisper. “I was not aware.”

Ma Chao shook his head. “You need not apologize. But I cannot…I _will not_ …”

As he stood there quivering with anger, even the tip of his spear shaking, Ma Dai silently drifted up to them, his face similarly dark and drawn and his attention more on the column of Wei troops settling into the courtyard than on his friends. “Now that’s something I didn’t expect to see,” he muttered as he joined them. “Did he really show up to help, here?”

“So he says,” Chao answered his cousin. “Of all the possible reinforcements we could have received, it had to be _him_. He got in my way during the battle, he cost me a hit against Orochi.”

“I expect he will be staying here tonight, at the very least,” Naoe said with a frown. “I would understand if the two of you chose to find other duties to keep you busy tonight, rather than sit at a table with him.”

“I respect Lord Oda,” Ma Chao said crisply, “but I cannot accept the presence of Cao Cao. Not even for the sake of the alliance.”

“Nor I,” Ma Dai agreed. “I’d rather spend the night in the stable with the horses.”

Kanetsugu bowed his head to acknowledge their feelings. “As you wish. I will see to any questions that arise.” His hand moved to the inside crook of Ma Chao’s elbow, drawing him closer to be able to speak in confidence with him, though it was just as much for Dai’s hearing as well. “I cannot begin to know how you feel, and it is not my place to say anything noble about putting aside feelings for the sake of the alliance. We may all resist Orochi together, but that does not mean we have to open our arms to accept our enemies as friends. Please…have your wounds tended and then rest, no one would blame you.”

Ma Chao looked at him, and then placed a hand over his. “Forgive me if this puts you in any sort of compromising position.”

“It shouldn’t,” Naoe assured with a smile. “I am not as gentle a diplomat as some but I do know when to keep my mouth shut.”

“If anything interesting happens between Cao Cao and Lord Oda, do bring us the gossip later,” Dai said with a knowing grin.

Nobunaga retreated to one of the antechambers Da Ji used to prefer for holding secret meetings in order to have his shoulder tended, and by the time he came out, Mitsuhide had completed the sweep of the castle and already put their healthiest men to the task of removing anything damaged or tainted by demon hands, cleaning out the best quarters for their lord and his top officers as well as their visitors. Cao Cao had been silently patrolling around the main hall in the meantime, eyeing the throne like he wanted it for himself, but consented to whatever quarters could be spared for himself and his bodyguard. He might not have wanted to sleep in a tent, but his soldiers would, out in the courtyard near the barracks which were much lower priority in terms of repair and cleanup. The Ma cousins weren’t the only one staying clear of him, the Sima brothers also made themselves scarce, mainly because they wouldn’t know how to comport themselves around the Lord of Wei and master of their father. At least they came back when summoned to dinner, though it was quite late and darkness had fallen around the castle grounds when the officers all came together to eat and discuss the battle. The gathering was smaller than expected with Uesugi Kagekatsu standing guard over his prisoner and the Ma cousins very much elsewhere, but Oda was pleased to be able to sit at the head of the table with the rest of them, reserving the places of honor beside him for his own wife and retainers. Mitsuhide and Lady No had as much right to those seats as any visiting warlord. He still placed Cao Cao close enough, since they had a lot to talk about, and greeted him with a silent, cool smile as he joined them. It wasn’t until a decent dent had been made in the dishes passed up and down the table and a wine cask had been tapped that they began to discuss their long, hard day in earnest, the sweet millet wine loosening tongues that had been constrained by propriety and authority. “I am fairly confident that I kept my plans well under wraps, so that even Orochi would not anticipate my move,” Oda said slyly, turning to glance at his esteemed guest while still paying the utmost attention to his wife at his elbow. “And yet, you managed to sniff us out all the same. I wonder, how _did_ Wei come to know where to find me?”

Cao Cao met his look with a superior smirk of his own. “We have rather capable scouts,” he offered. “That said, my son has a strategist at his side from your time, who had a hunch that the Oda Resistance would be making a move if and when Orochi’s forces could be divided. His decision to advance on Wu at Chi’bi split his army between there and here, young master Ishida seemed to think it was a sign.”

Naoe looked up quickly at the name, but only smiled to himself and did not interrupt. Nobunaga thoughtfully rubbed his beard. “Ah, yes, I had heard that Ishida was there. He guessed well.”

“Mind you, no one spoke of slipping off to aid any ventures you might undertake,” Cao Cao went on, waving his half-empty cup idly. “Even my son was content to leave you to your own devices, until our scouts brought us the news that Orochi had been stymied yet again against Wu. We’ve had an eye on him since Mikatagahara, our army knows exactly where he is and which direction he is moving at all times. We saw no cause for alarm until he began to return this way, toward Bai Di, and knew that he would reach here in time to pincer your army between his forces inside and outside the castle.”

“And that’s when you decided, in your infinite wisdom, to come to our rescue,” Lady No teased him. “How quaint.”

Oda smirked to himself at her sharp tongue. “Yet, for such forces to move out and reach us so quickly, you must have been prepared.”

Cao Cao conceded that with a twitch of his brows. “It is the assertion of both my son and his tactician that we have our forces ready to move out to assist our allies at any moment. Jianye and Odawara are on alert as well, so that whoever is closest may provide reinforcements where needed.”

Oda was positive that Odawara was much closer to Bai Di than Xuchang, but he let the Wei lord have his pride. Surely, the lure of coming after Orochi in the flesh was too strong to resist. “I am entirely grateful that Lord Cao Pi is so prepared,” he said coolly. “I think we all know full well that without additional strength, we would not have been able to put Orochi to rout. Once he showed his face on the battlefield, there was no way to win the day without driving him off.”

“And that was after already receiving reinforcements from Wu,” Mitsuhide added.

“Ah, yes, that.” Oda favored his wife with a fond look. “Tell Lord Sun Ce we are grateful that he could spare you at such a time, when he’s dealing with so much.”

“Tell him yourself,” No retorted, swirling a painted fingernail along the back of his hand. “Do you really think that I only came to provide you some _reinforcements?_ ”

Nobunaga very nearly failed to cover his intense interest at this admission, biting his lip to keep from making any sort of happy noise. “Is that so? How unexpected, but not unwelcome. It has been far too long since we bathed the battlefields in chaos together.” He shifted his eyes to Akechi on the other side. “I wonder how word reached you so swiftly, to coordinate such a perfect reunion?”

Mitsuhide paled and covered it with a deep drink from his cup. Lady No saved him by leaning over and dragging her husband’s attention back to her. “Lord Sun Ce sends his regards. I am free to remain by your side, my love, all I have to do is send his men back to him as soon as we’re finished. And I do believe we are finished.”

Cao Cao arched an eyebrow to the heavens, watching the two of them interact. “You don’t believe Orochi will regroup and launch a fresh attack, tomorrow or in the days to come?”

Across from him, Hanbei tipped up his hat as if to see him more clearly. “I’d say it’s not a zero-percent chance, but the odds are against it. He’s lost Fuuma, that’s a pretty huge blow to his army’s strength.”

“Lu Bu, Maeda Keiji, and Date Masamune are also reduced in power,” Kanetsugu offered. “His army suffered losses in their defeat against Wu, so losing again here must mean they have almost nothing left.”

“I thought Lu Bu was looking a little tired,” Sima Zhao muttered, mostly to himself.

“Tell me, Hero of Chaos…” Oda turned a calm yet knowing look upon his guest. “If you had traveled far and fallen into a battle in which your forces were defeated, and you yourself had taken injury, and then upon returning to your nearest encampment, you found it held against you and your army was defeated a second time, would you be ready to fight again the next morning?”

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes right back; he had in fact suffered that scenario himself in the past, and felt like Oda knew it. How much did history tell of day after day of battling and running from Lu Bu at Puyang? “A mere human,” he answered tactfully, “even one so great as myself, might indeed be too tired and pressed to even think of a second round of combat. But Orochi is no mere human. Even if you were to strip him of every man at his disposal and leave him with only his demons, he would still have enough overwhelming power to manage capably. At least,” he added with a sly twist, “so my strategists tell me with varying degrees of dour looks.”

“Ah, true,” Nobunaga conceded airily. “I have said the same. What do you think, Hanbei?”

The only reason Hanbei was still at the table with a cup of wine instead of his bed was to watch this exchange between two extremely similar egos. It was the best entertainment he could hope for. He laid his cheek against one hand and hummed thoughtfully. “Demons or humans, it doesn’t matter, his troops suffer a loss of morale all the same. They run like headless chickens at the slightest change in the wind. Even with the big snake at their backs, I think he’ll find it hard to shove them onto the front lines again so soon. Like I said.” He waved his cup in the air in a vague gesture. “It’s not certain either way, but my money is on him withdrawing. He doesn’t have the resources to even siege us here.”

“Where’s he gonna go?” Hideyoshi wondered. “We took his snake den, what else does he have left?”

“He Fei Castle.” The answer came from further down the table, quietly, as if Sima Shi did not want all eyes to turn to him. He looked past Cao Cao to Nobunaga. “He still holds that place, and it is nearby – nearer than Osaka.”

Cao Cao still stared him down with keen interest, though not out of recognition. “He Fei Castle, you say?”

“It has been under Lu Bu’s charge for quite some time,” Mitsuhide broke in to explain. “The supplies being funneled to Chi’bi were coming from there all along.”

“You are familiar, I take it?” Oda asked, somewhat rhetorically.

“You could say that.” Cao Cao glanced to Dian Wei, but his bodyguard was far better at drinking than he was following an intelligent conversation. “It would be a wise choice, very defensible.”

“Either way, it’s nothing we need to worry about right this moment. Right?” Hanbei insisted with a prodding look at his lord. He really didn’t want to get down and dirty with the strategy talk, it was late and they had all been drinking, the two leading causes of stupid decisions.

Nobunaga guessed at his intent and smirked. “Quite right, Master Hanbei. I’m sure the morning will bring us even more information than we have right now, our entire view could change considerably after that. We shall see what the serpent lord does and move accordingly, after a good night’s rest.” He raised his cup to Cao Cao. “Our gratitude to the Kingdom of Wei for their protections.”

Cao Cao was content to accept the toast to his honor. “And mine to the Demon King for giving us a place to lay our heads.”

Oda nodded politely to acknowledge him, a cool smirk remaining on his face. Even at such a cordial affair, he could sense the underlying current of tension from the Lord of Wei. He had no doubts, now, that Cao Cao’s presence had everything to do with Orochi and nothing to do with alliances, something he considered mentioning to Cao Pi the next time they had to send out letters. For now, though, he simply let it be, deciding that it was the kind of night where everyone deserved to enjoy themselves and talk about their exploits, rather than worry. He was proud of all of his officers, they had done well. It was curious that the Ma cousins were not there, but he resolved to ask about that later.


	74. Chapter 74

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the Oda army resettles Bai Di, Orochi's forces try to recover, Zhuge Liang interrogates Da Ji, some family reunions are in store at Wu's stronghold, and Cao Pi writes poetry. Extra-long chapter!

The night had grown quite late and everyone was rested and content when the dinner gathering at Bai Di finally broke up, giving the officers the opportunity to wander off at their own pace and take care of their own business before bed. The Sima brothers walked with Wang Yuanji between them back to their quarters, glad to have escaped with very little direct contact with the Wei lord. “What happened to Zhong Hui?” Zhao asked his wife as soon as they were out of earshot of the others. “I wanted to talk to him…”

Yuanji shook her head. “The reinforcements which we drove back at the east gate came around to attack the main, and Zhong Hui took advantage of our distraction in order to escape. He broke free and ran while Lord Ma Dai and I were busy and got out through a service gate. I’m sorry.”

“It is no fault of yours,” Shi assured. “I know Lord Oda wanted to capture as many as he could, but I was honestly surprised that we were even able to hold one.”

“It took all of our remaining strength just to bar the gates against Orochi reinforcements and hold the castle,” Yuanji sighed. “At least everyone on our side is able to go on. I looked at Ma Dai’s injury myself, he’ll be fine.”

“That’s good,” Zhao murmured. “I wonder why they weren’t at dinner?”

“Idiot,” his brother huffed. “Do you not remember what Cao Cao did to the Ma clan in Xiliang?”

“Oh…right.” Zishang bit his lip. “Probably shouldn’t bring that up, then.”

Shi pushed the door to his quarters open to let them in. The rooms were smaller than in Guandu but all of them were being housed next to each other, so it was no trouble for them all to step into his for a moment while they finished their chat. “It is unfortunate we couldn’t convince Zhong Hui to join us. But I find it interesting that he was here alone.” He gave the other two a concerned look as he moved to shed his coat and drape it on a chair. “Guo Huai and Deng Ai were not.”

“You heard what he said, though. Father went with Orochi to fight against Wu, that’s probably where they are. But if that’s so…” Zhao’s brows knit anxiously. “…why didn’t he come back with the army?”

“Do not think the worst, brother,” Shi cautioned. “We don’t yet know what fully transpired there, we only have an estimation that Wu was victorious.”

“Come on, Shi!” Zhao fretted. “You can’t tell me our father was defeated in a battle and then in the same breath tell me not to think the worst! Why else would all three of them be missing?”

“Perhaps they retreated to He Fei,” Yuanji reasoned, her tone less comforting than he was hoping. “Or, perhaps they also deserted the demon.”

“If there is no information on them in the days to come,” Shi added, “then write to Lord Sun Ce. He considers you a friend, he would gladly tell you what he knows of the battle and their fate.”

Zhao met his eyes and knew he was just as worried, only hiding it behind his cool façade. He raked his hands through his hair and let out a long sigh. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll do that. It’s just gonna be hard to sleep, thinking about this, wondering…”

Shi deadpanned at him. “You, find it tough to sleep? I doubt that.”

There was a rap at the door behind them, and they all turned to find Ma Dai peeking in, having heard their voices. “Yo. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Oh, hey,” Zhao greeted him. “No, it’s fine. We were just catching up on things. Everything all right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Dai assured as he shouldered his way in. “I was just going to look in on my cousin and heard someone talking in here. Good work out there today, we were a pretty good team. Especially my lady.” He tipped his hat to Yuanji, who smiled demurely in acceptance. 

“Is Ma Chao already in your quarters, then?” Shi asked.

“Yeah, he tired himself out already and went to bed. Though…” Dai looked to Yuanji again. “Do you mind if I ask for your assistance, my lady? I’ve heard you have a firm hand when it comes to bandaging injured idiots who won’t let the healers touch them.”

Yuanji fixed him with a cool, knowing look. “Is Lord Ma Chao being as stubborn as these two, then? I suppose, if necessary I could see to him.”

Her husband looked away innocently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ziyuan and I aren’t hurt this time…”

“ _This_ time.” Yuanji turned that look on them and had them quailing out of her way as she strode past to join Ma Dai. “Let’s see to your young master, then, Ma Dai.”

Dai tried to grin away the awkward moment and then followed her out, stepping alongside her to lead just down the hall to where he and his cousin were rooming. “It’s not as bad as I made it sound,” he assured. “I managed to get him looked at earlier, but I have this feeling that he might have broken a rib or two fighting that guy, and with my arm as it is, well…” He sighed to himself, tipping back his hat. “You know he won’t just sit down, he feels that as long as he isn’t gushing blood from somewhere, he can still go about his duties.”

“It is ever the curse of our lot to be patching up the idiots,” Yuanji murmured, all of her ice melted away and a warm tone replacing it. “Especially the ones devoted to sacrificing themselves for their lords. He is lucky to have you, Ma Dai.”

“I do what I can,” Dai said modestly. He rapped on the door to warn his cousin he was coming in, and then pushed it aside. Mengqi was actually asleep, draped across a couch as if he wanted to wait for Dai to come back but just couldn’t keep his eyes open. Yuanji shook her head, but there was a hint of fondness about it, as Ma Dai went to him and checked him over. “Ah…maybe it can wait until the morning.”

“No, I can take a look,” Yuanji assured. “If you can assist me.”

Ma Chao was every bit as tall and bulky as her husband, and she had a hard enough time rolling Zhao over if he needed an injury looked at, she could only imagine. Ma Dai figured it would be easier on both of them if he simply woke his cousin up, though he did so gently, filtering his fingers through Chao’s unruly blond hair and then brushing them across his brow. Ma Chao came to with a soft sigh, blinking himself awake and then looking up. “…Dai?”

“Sorry, young master,” Dai responded. “I wanted to look at your bandages, and I brought Lady Yuanji to help this time.”

“Ah…” Chao pushed himself up to a seat and gave them both a humble look. “You didn’t need to drag her ladyship away from other important things, just for my sake.”

“Now, now,” Yuanji cautioned, coming to his other side and kneeling down. “Don’t give me that, Lord Ma Chao. The others are fine and Lord Ma Dai has a hurt arm, so you let me look at you. All right?”

The stern order underneath her gentle voice had Ma Chao obeying immediately. He lowered his eyes modestly and unfastened his robe to peel it aside and let her examine the wrapped bandages around his ribcage. “The healers did a good job, I feel fine,” he assured.

“So says every man trying to put on a brave face,” she chided.

Chao blushed and Dai chuckled. “She’s got you there, cousin.”

“You’re not helping.” Chao hissed suddenly as she prodded his side right where the wrappings were thickest. “They said…ah, it could be broken.”

“Yes, it is,” Yuanji affirmed. “But I think you’re right, and they did a fine job wrapping you. These shouldn’t need to be changed. But please, Lord Ma Chao – know your limitations. If it doesn’t heal properly, you will have trouble breathing and riding for the rest of your life.”

Breathing he didn’t care about, but anything that might hamper his riding struck fear into his heart. Mengqi nodded quickly. “I understand. I…had not thought of that.”

“I’m not surprised.” Her tone was dry, but only for a moment. When she looked up to him again, there was genuine concern in her eyes. In their time working together in the Oda army, those who should have been enemies had become friends and she really did like this powerful, noble general. He had gone above and beyond today, fighting the three most powerful beings in the land one after another, coming out of it with just a couple of broken ribs was a miracle. Yuanji set a hand on his knee. “Rest, then, and leave your chores to my husband. I’ll make sure he does all the heavy lifting that you two will find difficult until you heal. That goes for both of you,” she added with a quick glance at Ma Dai.

Dai couldn’t help but laugh. “Poor Sima Zhao! But I bend to your superior wisdom, my lady.”

“He’ll live.” Yuanji rose and bowed to them before taking her leave. “Good night, my lords.”

In the ensuing quiet, Mengqi tipped his head back to regard his cousin. “You were that worried about me?”

“When am I not?” Dai combed his fingers through his hair one more time and then moved to get out of his armor and dusty coat. “We’ve come a long way, young master, but if you want to keep going, do listen to her. Somebody else can clean the stables, surely you can be content brushing down the horses for now.”

Ma Chao had nothing to say to that, even though he knew his cousin to be right. He managed to push himself up to his feet with only minimal twinges of pain in his side, and then meandered toward his bed, though he caught Ma Dai by his good arm as he passed and leaned against him, gently running a hand over his injured arm. “I would not be where I am if not for you,” he said quietly, solemnly. “You never fail to look after me, cousin. Thank you.”

Dai patted his cheek in return. “You’re tired, Mengqi. Go to sleep. What if Lord Kanetsugu comes by and wants to check on you? You don’t want to be too tired to talk with him, do you?”

“Dai…” Chao flushed a little and ducked his head. “You make it sound as though I am a petulant child.”

“Sometimes you are,” Ma Dai pointed out, turning him with a gentle hand and giving him a small push toward the bed. “Sleep. Now. Or I’ll get Lady Yuanji to sit on you until you obey.”

“Do not insult the lady so…”

“Fine, then _I’ll_ sit on you.”

Chao stared at his cousin and fully believed that he would, so he made the wise choice and slid into bed. Dai nodded his approval and took to his own, content to finally put the long and trying day behind them.

  


The sun rose on a tattered camp that hardly could be said to belong to the greatest demon in the land and conqueror of his own world. During the night the last of their stragglers caught up and joined them, swelling the size of the encampment but not its overall strength. Some barely managed to get tents propped up and decided to just sleep in their cloaks with their heads pillowed on their armor, others sat awake all night at the sentry fires nursing their hurts and fears. Their forces were not any more injured or worn down than the resistance army they left behind, but their morale had been crushed so thoroughly that many could not sleep for fear that their overlord would unleash his wrath on them the moment they closed their eyes. It was an unfounded worry, though, for Orochi had his own problems and did not spare a single thought for the nameless, numberless infantry forces encamped around him. He remained brooding within the command tent until dawn, at which point he sent his demon guards around to summon his officers and make their plans. Nothing had been spoken among them the night before, the only words any of them heard him speak were the orders to muster and withdraw and that was it. Date was still clear-headed enough to put the camp in order and prepare the sentry lines and watch schedule, while the others had their injuries tended inside whatever tents were still structurally sound enough to be erected for the officers. Zhong Hui learned from the others who had returned from Chi’bi of the disappearance and rumored capture of his lord and fellow retainers, and sat by himself in a small tent, hands tearing at his hair in grief. He had fought his way free in the hopes of being able to rejoin Lord Sima Yi outside the castle on the wider battleground, expecting his valor to be lauded and his strength to be needed to retake Bai Di, but when he learned the truth, all hope shattered and he was left wondering what it all meant. Who was he, if not a follower of the great Sima Yi? How could he go on alone, when all others had failed or betrayed him? He did not think of fleeing, for he had no idea how to do so without being struck down by Orochi himself. No one would be able to get away, now. He had nothing left, and swallowed bitter tears by himself where no one could see. His face had taken on a cold, empty mask when he responded to the officer summons in the main tent, standing between Lu Bu and Yan Baihu. Date and Keiji were there, but none of the other low-ranked men of their era would join them to answer for their failures. Boomslang and the other demon captains also waited there, fidgeting considerably. Orochi ducked from his private chamber and stood facing them, weaponless and dour-faced, and the snakes were quick to drop to their knees. The humans bowed low and then held there, knowing better than to meet his eyes.

Orochi surveyed his faithful before addressing them, noting which ones trembled in his presence, which ones were still hale, which ones still had a shred of dignity to them despite their losses. “There will be no council,” he intoned, lifting his chin haughtily. “I need no advice, only your obedience. We break camp immediately and will withdraw to He Fei Castle.” His gaze settled on his most faithful retainer. “Lu Bu. Send word to your men there to prepare for our arrival.”

Lu Bu pounded a fist to his chest. “It shall be done, my lord.”

Orochi focused on Date next. “Have you received word in any form of Dong Zhuo’s whereabouts?”

Masamune’s head flicked up for a moment in surprise before he dropped his gaze again. “No, my lord. We received nothing at the castle.”

The demon lord’s low growl froze them all in their spots. “If he has betrayed me, I will gut him like the pig he is. That is all. Leave me.”

The officers hastily filed out of the tent and rushed to carry the orders to their men, the elite-ranked passing on the duties to strike their equipment and pack the horses and wagons to underlings. It was only tangentially due to their superiority, mostly it spared them having to exert themselves when they were all injured. Since they had only given each other disgusted, mocking glares before retiring the night before, this was their first chance to pause and consult one another on the situation. Lu Bu shoved through them, declaring his need to go and write a letter to Chen Gong immediately, leaving the rest milling about together. Maeda Keiji eyed his back as he went, noticing that he was trying to conceal a limp. “Yeah, I bet all the lowlifes holed up in He Fei are gonna love having us and Lord Orochi muscling them out of their cushy quarters,” he snickered to himself.

“Who is even there?” Katakura wondered. “Lu Bu’s officers, I take it, but what else do we even have anymore?”

“Some of the older daimyo from Lord Imagawa’s time,” Date muttered with some distaste. What few humans remained under their command tended to be from one of two types: daimyo who had been cut down when Imagawa was losing control of his shogunate and Oda Nobunaga was still a fresh-faced young commander, or generals of the Han who had been at their height when Yuan Shao’s coalition put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Men of such ilk on either side owed no loyalty to any of the current Resistance commanders and saw better chances for slaking their greed for lands, titles, and power through Orochi, seeing as there was no emperor from either country in this land to dole out such niceties under imperial etiquette. At least Date Masamune considered himself above them, for he wasn’t looking for gifts to be bestowed or old-fashioned titles which meant nothing. What he, Keiji, and Lu Bu wanted could only be attained through faith in Orochi. “I noticed a lot of Dong Zhuo’s men among the reserve troops that came with you from Chi’bi,” he added with a glance to Katakura, who had filled him in on everything last night.

Kojuro nodded. “He sent Dong Zhuo ahead to Bai Di because his injury was slowing down the army. But if he never made it…”

“I really hope that asshole deserted,” Keiji said with evil glee. “Because then we get to watch him get cut down, or maybe even get the chance to do it ourselves.”

“Lu Bu killed him once, I’m sure he’d demand the right to do it a second time,” Zhong Hui sighed. He turned to Katakura, trying not to let his inner despair show in his eyes. “Can you now tell me? What became of Lord Sima Yi after the battle?”

Katakura’s expression tightened. “I cannot say with certainty. I fought alongside Deng Ai for a time, but we were both driven back and I lost him in the chaos that was the fire and the storm. I had heard from some of the serpents that he had been defeated in battle, but I never saw him after that. Nor Deng Ai or Guo Huai.”

Zhong Hui nodded to accept his explanation and then took a deep breath, throwing his shoulders back and sticking his chin in the air. “Then, as the last remaining faithful officer of Jin, I will have to make up for their failures.”

Masamune eyed him warily. There was something about his haughty demeanor that reminded him too much of himself. “Don’t get too excited. Lord Orochi isn’t likely to be making any promotions or commendations after these two battles. He’s short on strategists and we’re down to just two castles.”

Keiji looked at him. “Who’s been stuck at Osaka all this time?”

“His own snake demons. Maybe one or two of the Han,” Masamune answered. “No one of consequence. Da Ji stripped it of anyone capable after Sun Jian and Sun Quan were set free.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Lord Orochi decides to pull everyone still abroad back to He Fei Castle, now,” Kojuro suggested. “Its location makes it vulnerable to attack from at least three of the four Resistance armies.”

“I’d say bring it on,” Keiji said heavily, “but first let me rest a little bit. That guy with the spear really gave me a beating, I think I broke all the same ribs again. He was really strong, I’m surprised I never heard of him before.”

Zhong Hui’s eyes narrowed angrily. “Ma Chao. He is one of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu, and a legend in his own right.”

He had seen the man in the flesh at Kawanakajima, and knew more than enough of his legend given how much the later Shu Han liked to talk about what they were lacking with the loss of their greatest generals. Keiji had at least heard the name before. “Whoa. _That’s_ Ma Chao? Damn. No wonder I got my ass handed to me.”

“You’d better stop being so happy about losing and starting winning a few battles,” Date suddenly snapped at him. “I don’t even want to _think_ about what Lord Orochi will do to us if a single battle goes the wrong way from here on out! All of you, I don’t care who you are – pick yourselves up and prove to him that we have what it takes!”

“All right, all right,” Keiji said, raising his hands placatingly. “Geez, Masamune, get a grip. It’s not like we’re not trying.”

“Imbecile,” Masamune seethed, turning on his heel to go back to his tent. “You heard Lord Orochi, we have a camp to strike. Get moving!”

In the few moments while he listened to the others talk around him, particularly his comrade’s mention of He Fei’s considerable vulnerability, Date found himself thinking dourly of the future and the direction the war was taking, and immediately got angry with himself and everyone else for letting their lord down. Surely, the only reason he wasn’t punishing them with a round of executions was because he actually needed their manpower, and that just looked even worse from where Date stood. He believed fully in Orochi’s strength, so to hear that he had been bested thrice in as many weeks struck a new and different kind of fear to his heart. How could he maintain faith if Orochi himself was actually capable of defeat? What could he, Date Masamune, offer to the war effort when he already knew himself to be so much weaker than their demon overlord? But he couldn’t, he just _couldn’t_ think of the war as going in favor of the Resistance, of Orochi as fallible, of their last two castles as being capable of falling as well. No, three – they did still have Koshi in the far, far west, unassailable and surrounded by chaos and magic. But the whole point of Orochi’s conquest had been to hold all of these lands under his sway, and now almost all of them had slipped through his scaly fingers. It left Date reeling from a crisis of faith and identity, and all he could do was take it out on the others and then go pack up his tent. He was aware of Katakura Kojuro faithfully following him, and though he knew his best retainer would listen to him without judgment if he needed to unburden his heart, he didn’t want to look weak and doubtful in front of him. He had to put on his best show, for him, for their sons, for all of the Date and Katakura rifle corps who were still healthy enough to hold their rifles. It was a lonely proposition, and though he clenched his jaw and swallowed his emotions, he thought of the fellow samurai scattered all across the land who believed in him, and wondered what they would say. No, he knew – particularly Naoe and Sanada. He knew they would beseech him to leave Orochi and join their side. Well, that just wasn’t an option, not when he had seen the deadly might of Orochi with his own eye, felt the cold hand of death closing on his throat and the clawed foot standing on his neck. _So why_ , he asked himself, _are we not seeing_ that _Orochi now?_ Had something changed? Were they weaker, or was the Resistance simply growing stronger? He couldn’t figure it out, certainly not with one morning’s musing. Masamune shrugged it off for now and busied himself packing away his bedroll and tent and getting ready for a long march toward He Fei. Once they were there, he was certain, Lord Orochi would take everything into his fist and order it all properly, and they would begin to turn the tide of the war. All he could do was hold out hope until they got there.

Behind the Orochi army, the Resistance force which now occupied Bai Di castle wasted no time in getting settled, and Oda was already talking about making it his headquarters until the seasons changed again and Guandu was more hospitable. He still had time the next day to see his guests off, putting aside his preparations and walking with them to where their horses were standing ready and their infantry waited in neat rows. “It seems a battle like that is only a taste of what is to come,” he mused as he watched Cao Cao climb into the saddle.

“Yes, I believe so,” the Hero of Chaos agreed, settling himself and gathering the reins. “I look forward to when we meet again, Demon King.”

“Hah…” Nobunaga’s lips curled in a wicked smile. “If you can stay out of trouble until then.”

Cao Cao met that smirk with a matching one of his own, as if the two were sharing some secret between them, and then wheeled his horse to start things off. Dian Wei saluted the watching might of the Oda Resistance with a raised axe and then followed, leading their men out of the safety of Bai Di’s high walls. Oda did not stay to watch them depart, he turned immediately and went back inside to resume his hard work.

Quick messages to apprise the other Resistance leaders of the fall of Bai Di had gone out already, even before Cao Cao had even suggested having their horses saddled, so their attention could now focus inward on putting the castle straight and maintaining the defenses. The Ma cousins assured that Zhuge Liang’s stone maze inside the caves was a perfectly good trap to keep, they might as well use it against enemy incursion so long as they understood its weaknesses, and at least half of the arbalests had not been destroyed so they could be repositioned and reused. Hanbei believed they would be better served guarding the outer garrisons rather than blocking the main road in a straight line, but speaking up to say so meant he got put in charge of supervising that work. In all the preparations, the escort from Wu was nearly overlooked, so Lady No saw to them herself, making sure they were well-provisioned before sending them home. Letters directly from one commander to another would be written later after the fallout from the battles had settled, so they took nothing else with them. She returned to the main halls of the castle to find her husband off inspecting the stone maze for himself and Akechi Mitsuhide in the war room with piles of loose papers and rolled scrolls in front of him. Their men had gone through and stripped every room of anything that looked like Orochi army intelligence and brought it all to him, so he now had the daunting task of sorting through it all and determining which was most recent and most important. Sima Shi assisted him, if only to speed things along by collecting and storing everything that was obviously long out of date. No prowled around and between them, studying both. “My, my. No rest for the weary. Is there anything I should be aware of? Any… _interesting_ acquisitions my husband has collected?” she added with a look toward Shi.

Mitsuhide looked up long enough for a placid smirk. “No one who could possibly take your place, my lady.”

“Oh, that’s not the kind I was wondering about.” She let her eyes linger on Shi until he blushed and then turned to her husband’s right-hand retainer. “You know, for all their rough-around-the-edges demeanor, the men of Wu are quite exciting. You have a couple around, I hear.”

“Master Lu Xun was sent as reinforcements to bolster Wu at Chi’bi,” Mitsuhide replied without looking up from the papers he was sorting. “Master Ling Tong is holding Honnoji for us at the moment. But if rough and rugged is your current appeal…” The smirk came back as he briefly raised his eyes. “…then you are in for double the disappointment.”

“It’s not my only appeal,” No assured, gliding around him. “My lord will always be my top choice, no one can compare to his darkness, his intelligence, his firm handle on everything around him…” Lost for a moment in simply thinking of Nobunaga’s assets, she trailed off until she could come to herself and remember what she was talking about. “But you know full well I like them beautiful as well. Isn’t that right, Mitsuhide?”

Akechi knew better than to allow himself to blush, but he looked up and shared a glance with Shi. Both looked very much like they didn’t want to be a part of this conversation, but at least Shi had a choice. Mitsuhide decided to let him escape out of pity. “Young master, I think I left some of my own correspondence in my quarters. We should add that to this list. Could you run and get it for me?”

“As you wish.” Sima Shi bowed and quickly made himself scarce, trying to make it look like he wasn’t rushing out of the room even though he absolutely was. 

No watched him retreat, leaning on the table to make sure she caught every step of his stride. “Now _that_ I could get used to. Delicate features, a cold stare like my lord’s…mm…”

“So the men of Wu weren’t enough to satisfy you,” Mitsuhide grunted under his breath.

“Come now, Mitsuhide.” Lady No lifted her eyes to him and fixed a dangerous stare on him. “You know my lord is the only thing I truly want and will have. The rest is simply flirtations and amusement. Which means I really should thank you,” she went on, gentling a little and straightening up. “You arranged my return, and though I don’t know why you chose _now_ , of all times, I am actually grateful that you did.”

“There is no need to praise me,” Mitsuhide murmured. “I anticipated my lord’s needs and moved accordingly. That is my duty and my purpose in life.”

“Oh, is that all.” No stepped up close to him and waited until he looked her way and found her right in his face. “Always so dedicated to what my lord wants, and nothing else. You _are_ allowed to think for yourself, you know.”

“What makes you think I am not?” Mitsuhide met her eyes with a level stare of his own. “It just so happens that what I want is the same as my lord wants, right now. Do not mistake like-mindedness for blind servitude, my lady.”

Unsure whether to believe him, No narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips doubtfully. “I wonder, then. Have you been seeing to his _needs_ in my absence?”

“Actually, no.” Mitsuhide kept his eyes on hers rather than the tempting cleavage she pressed against his arm. “Not this time. It is as I said in the letter, he has been entirely focused on waging war, but lately he’s been spending more time in the gardens than the war room. I know what it means.”

No’s expression softened and she backed away from needling him. “Has he, really?”

“Mm. Honnoji is beautiful right now, especially the gardens.”

“I see.” Lady No pressed her fingers to her lips, turning coy for the briefest moment. “My poor Nobunaga. How could you leave him cold like that?”

Mitsuhide rolled his eyes and sighed hard. He couldn’t win. “Because I prefer to keep my health and sanity.”

“You could join us sometime, you know.”

At last, she succeeded and Mitsuhide flushed a brilliant crimson. “M-my lady!”

“Ah, there you are.” Conveniently, or perhaps not, Nobunaga swept in at that moment at a good pace, but neither knew who he meant until he crossed to his wife and snaked an arm around her. “I trust you are settling in well, my dear?”

No gave him one of her catlike smiles. “It’s as though I was never away, my love.”

Oda snickered deeply and then tossed a sly look over his shoulder. “Why, Mitsuhide. You look awfully red. Something disagree with you?”

Akechi cleared his throat and swept up a stack of papers. “Nothing, my lord. I still have quite a lot to go through, here. This appears to be all of the Orochi army’s intelligence, Date’s and Sima Yi’s as well as Da Ji’s.”

“Keeping busy, as usual.” Oda swept his lady away. “Far be it from me to interfere. Come, my lady, shall we inspect the troops together? They did quite a fine job yesterday, I’m sure they would love to hear from you.”

“You know just what I like,” No cooed, allowing herself to be escorted from the room. She was sure he was just trying to keep her from disrupting Mitsuhide, but it was permissible. There was only so much entertainment on that front before she exhausted the fountain anyway.

Once the coast was clear, Sima Shi sidled awkwardly into the room, carrying a single parchment roll with him. Seeing that Lady No was gone, he slinked back over to the table and resumed what he had been doing. “That was very well played, Lord Mitsuhide,” he mumbled under his breath.

“I see you even found a letter to make it believable,” Akechi murmured back. “Well done.”

“It is only a note from my own personal effects.” Shi tucked it inside his coat. “Unless there really is something in your quarters you need?”

“No, not right now,” Mitsuhide assured, taking a deep breath and letting the tension and the fierce blush melt away. “Shall we continue?”

  


Luo Castle was well-built with all of the rooms and amenities necessary for a kingdom’s security and survival, including prison cells, though there was very rarely anyone in them. The only other to spend any time in the dungeon during this war had been Jia Xu, but now one of the cells was completely dedicated to keeping Da Ji from escaping. Zhuge Liang had it sealed on all sides with sorcery, and only he was permitted to cross the barrier which extended to the cell door. As a show of faith to keep anyone from succumbing to doubts about his faithfulness to Lord Zhao Yun, he kept the guards on standby rather than send them away, and did not mind anyone stopping by to observe. Today, as he exited the cell, he found Jiang Wei standing just outside, patiently waiting for him to finish and secure the room against any chance of their prisoner escaping. Zhuge Liang gave his protégé a gentle smile as he locked things behind him. “Any new developments?” Wei asked him.

Kongming shook his head. “No new information, I’m afraid. However, I feel as though I have taken a significant step forward in my endeavor.” He gestured with his fan for Jiang Wei to walk with him as they traversed the corridors back into the brighter rooms of the castle. “I told her of the information we received in that letter which arrived this morning, from Lord Sun Jian. It is rather ironic that I need not lie to her, at all. Orochi is handing us a truth which proves far more devastating and torturous than any lie could be.”

In the time since returning to Chengdu and locking Da Ji away, Zhuge Liang had been employing a careful tactic in order to break her enough to get her to cooperate. Knowing full well that pain and threat of death had no effect on her, he did the same as Mitsunari and used isolation instead, carefully choosing his times to interrogate her so that there would be no reliable pattern or expectation. If she showed too much defiance, he left immediately. When Guan Yu returned from Mikatagahara, Zhuge Liang had gone straight down to the prison to deliver the news of Orochi’s defeat to her, and knew from her reaction that he had found her weakness. From there it was simply a matter of needling her with Orochi’s defeats and the weakening of his army, and this morning Sun Jian’s letter contained a full description of the battle at Chi’bi, including a particularly potent weapon for Kongming’s use. “You did already tell her that he had lost a second time…” Jiang Wei noted, remembering the quick message that had come a few days earlier.

“Indeed. But now we know that they not only defeated his army, they wounded him.” Liang gave him a sly look out of the corner of his eye, demurely raising the fan to his face. “And now, so does she.”

Wei fought to suppress a smirk. “How did she take it?”

“Not well.” Liang tapped the feather-tips against his chin. “It seems my assessment was not far off the mark. Whatever else she thinks of his power and strength, she believes that the Orochi army is failing because she is not there with him. That if she could only get back to him, he would have what he needs to rise up and conquer us. That, my young friend, is going to be our key.”

“You are certain, then, that Lord Liu Bei is at Koshi Castle…”

“Indeed. There can be no doubt, even if she won’t say so directly. She cannot name another place, knowing that I know enough about her army’s doings to be able to tell if she’s lying, so instead she says nothing and allows me to draw the conclusion on my own.” He mounted the stairs to bring them up to the main floor of the castle. “I have decided to spend my efforts toward convincing her to lead us there, and now I think she will do it, given enough time to complete her despair.”

Jiang Wei kept walking with him, clasping his hands behind his back. “If so, it would be wiser to plan such an assault while Orochi is away, would it not? If he returns there…”

“Ordinary wisdom would agree,” Liang sighed, lowering the fan and resting it in the crook of his arm. He waited until they had gotten up to the top of the stairs and then moved to the side, to pause and chat with his fellow tactician while they had some privacy. Few others loitered about this area of the castle most days. “Because Orochi is a demon, we have all become accustomed to saying, he is not human and therefore will not behave the same as a human. Which, as we have seen, is true to an extent – the Resistance has built success on that assumption. But by the same token, it is not as true as we would like. These demons and spirits are not wholly strange creatures, they share some traits with humanity and as such, occasionally do act precisely as we might say Dong Zhuo or Cao Cao might act.”

Smelling a lesson in his preface, Wei stood attentive. “Ordinary wisdom advises a commander to plan his assault while the strongest part of the army is occupied elsewhere, demon or human. What, then, do you consider extraordinary about this idea?”

“Like a human,” Liang replied, “Orochi will watch armies march away toward his castle and then turn and fall upon their rear. We cannot carry out an attack on Koshi without the assistance of our allies, which would pull away the greater part of their strength from this land to head westward. I would expect that the instant we did so, Orochi would waste no time attacking every small defense force left behind to hold our castles and fortresses. It would be exactly as it was the first time he swept over this land.” His eyes darkened with the memory, as he had stood at the very steps just outside from their current position and watched the demon’s evil crawl up the hill toward him. “He would have half this land back under his control even with his dwindling forces, and though we would have Lord Liu Bei, we would have lost much in the venture.”

Jiang Wei’s eyes widened and then hardened. “That’s true. In attempting to avoid facing Orochi himself, we would set up a worse scenario.”

“Remember that, if we come to meet with our allies and any of them decide to berate us for not going after our lord while the serpent was away from home,” Kongming smirked, lifting his head and letting the light of wisdom come back into his dark eyes. “Your thought was not wrong, Jiang Wei. But you assumed that because he is a demon, he is so powerful that we should not be able to even pry open the doors of Koshi Castle so long as he stands behind them. I intend to prove that it is not so, that he is as fallible as any human.”

“After succumbing to Wu at Chi’bi, I believe you are already on your way to having that proof,” Wei said dryly. “But I am aware that such losses may be an anomaly. Time will bear out your theory, I am sure. As to Da Ji, I believe that once we receive a report from Lady Tachibana on her mission, there may be one more knife to twist in the wound.”

Liang smiled coolly to himself. “Yes, I have every hope that it will be so. Every mistake the Orochi army makes, every loss they suffer, works to our advantage. If I can get Da Ji so concerned about her lord that she will do anything to get back to his side, she will bend to my demand.”

“I know you have assured the others multiple times,” Wei said cautiously, lowering his eyes, “but…the sorcery _is_ secure, right? She cannot get out even if the door were thrown wide open for her…”

“It is,” Liang assured. “Her only means of leaving that cell is to acquiesce to my request and lead us to Koshi Castle. I expect she may attempt to escape us at that point,” he conceded with a small tip of his head, “so additional measures will need to be taken then. But that is in the future, yet. For now, we will play our hand carefully. Ideally, I should like to see Orochi forced to return to Koshi himself, so as to remove any threat at our rear, but so many things are currently in a state of motion that I cannot easily count on that factor.”

“Again, time will tell,” Jiang Wei said with a touch of confidence.

At that moment both heard shouting somewhere else in the castle, and as they turned to see where it came from, a castle attendant ran up the corridor and checked at the sight of them. “Ah, Master Zhuge Liang, Master Jiang Wei! There you are! A summons to the throne room – an important message has come in.”

He went running on to find more of the officers wherever around Luo they might be, while the two strategists ended their private consultation and headed to answer the summons. “I wonder if it’s the very word we were just talking about,” Jiang Wei murmured as they went.

They emerged into the great hall to find Zhao Yun already present carrying the rolled parchment with the message and a rider kneeling before him. It was a man of Shu clad in green, which told them nothing of the nature of the letter, but there was a certain excited urgency in Zilong’s demeanor as he gathered everyone in, including Lord Liu Shan who had been called away from lessons with Xingcai, hence his casual outfit rather than his imperial clothing. The only ones missing were those who had already set out on various missions. Zhao Yun verified that they were all present and held up the letter like a banner for them to behold. “This comes from Lord Oda Nobunaga. He has taken Bai Di Castle from Orochi!”

A ripple of surprise went through the crowd like a gust of wind, almost knocking them backwards. “What? How?” Guan Yu demanded to know. 

“Details are sparse,” Yun answered, “so I assume it only just happened and he dashed off an announcement with the rest to come later – as you did, and so did Lord Sun Jian. But it seems they attacked Bai Di while Orochi was at Chi’bi and are now in control.”

Even Zhuge Liang could not help but stare in awe. “This Nobunaga has always exceeded my expectations at every turn,” he breathed. “Such an audacious move sounds exactly like something he would do.”

“That was Orochi’s headquarters, was it not?” Yuan Shao asked.

“You’re damn right it was, old man,” Magoichi said with a laugh, ignoring the look of scandal from the elder statesman at being addressed so rudely. “I’m not surprised at all. I’d be willing to bet he’s been salivating over Bai Di like a dog looking at a bone ever since he took Guandu.”

Liu Shan lifted his eyes as if trying to swallow his emotions, but a mix of relief and sorrow clouded them. “Our precious castle is in good hands, at long last.”

“I spent considerable time at Bai Di, during my long wait,” Zhuge Liang informed him. “It was undamaged when last I saw it, but I trust that Lord Nobunaga will cleanse it of the evil that resided there.”

“An additional note was enclosed from Lord Mengqi,” Zhao Yun added for their reassurance. “He and his cousin are there, they wish to let their countrymen know that all is well and they will look after it for us.”

“Splendid Ma Chao!” Guan Yu complimented him. “This is excellent news, indeed!”

Zhao Yun gladly passed the letter around so everyone could see for themselves, while Zhuge Liang stepped aside and covered his face with his fan as he tended to do while thinking. Jiang Wei sidled up to him, his eyes still on the happy throng in the center of the hall. “I take it, it is too soon to use this information?”

“Indeed,” Kongming murmured. “I will save it for my next session with Da Ji. I have a feeling this will come as very shocking news indeed.” In spite of himself, a sly smirk curved his lips behind the screen of the fan. “Of all the people to take Bai Di, it is one of her most hated adversaries. She would rather see Koshi itself torn to the ground than suffer Oda Nobunaga to sit in her favorite chair in her own headquarters.” He allowed himself a knowing chuckle. “The only thing that would have been worse would have been Cao Pi.”

Jiang Wei smiled as well, but then Zhao Yun called him over for assistance drafting letters, and the strategists excused themselves with single nods to one another. There was still much to be done both inside Luo and outside Chengdu, and they had work to do.

Sun Jian’s letters to the other Resistance leaders had been sent while he and the Wu army were still in transit from Chi’bi, taking their time to secure all of the captured supplies and redirect their resources. They had been the first to learn of Oda’s victory, and decided to remain encamped in the wilderness an extra day or two just to be sure that the retreating Orochi army did not come back their way. Hitting them a second time while they were disorganized and hurting would have surely ended any dreams of conquest, but they saw no sign of any Orochi forces anywhere, not even stragglers, and so continued on to Hefei territory. Lu Xun and the others took their leave at that point, no longer concerned about any Orochi attack from behind and glad to know they could ride to meet the Oda army at Bai Di instead of going all the way back to Honnoji. The Wu army emerged from the woods onto the dusty roads to find the villagers already running to welcome them, and Sun Jian basked in the happy cheers of his people, reaching down from his horse to clasp hands with several as he rode by. In the train behind him were Honda Tadakatsu and Chosokabe Motochika, as the latter had agreed to come and pay his respects to the lords of the kingdom whose castle his clan had been occupying and whose rivers they traversed with impunity. His sons had stayed back at Chi’bi to handle the boats that had been captured and divert resources to various Resistance-held fortresses along the way. By now even those who had gotten more than a little roughed-up in the battle were healing well and showed no sign of the difficulty of the fight, even if some were hiding bandages under their clothing. Honda sighed happily at the vision of the stout fortress under the warm sun. “One thing I will say about joining myself to the Resistance,” he remarked to Taishi Ci beside him, “is that I will gladly accept the offer to sleep with a roof over my head for the foreseeable future.”

“It’s been that long, huh?” Taishi Ci laughed. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay at Hefei fortress. There is a party every night when Lord Sun Ce is around. Ah, and there he is now.”

They were coming over the last bridge and up to the main gate where a throng waited to greet them, and at its head stood Sun Ce himself, hands on his hips as he looked them over and decided he didn’t need to worry about anyone. He saluted his father properly as they reined in. “Welcome home, Lord of Wu! Now I know how it felt when you guys were waiting for me to get back from Edo.”

“Stayed out of trouble while we were gone, I expect?” Jian teased his son, dismounting and coming up to present himself.

“Father? Father!” A woman’s cry startled them and distracted them completely, as Ina suddenly burst from among the greeters and went running toward the horses. “It’s really you!”

Tadakatsu hit the ground just as fast and threw his arms wide to catch her, letting out a grunt as she tackled him hard even though he dwarfed her in both height and breadth. “My daughter! Lord Sun Jian said you were here but I am so glad to see you with my own eyes!”

Sun Shangxiang pushed her way to the front to see why Ina had rocketed off and grinned wryly at the spectacle. “Well,” she said smartly. “Looks like I’m not the only one with a dad twice my size.”

“Shangxiang my girl!” Sun Jian held out his arms to her, playfully taking a page from Honda. “So good to see you!”

“Father…hey!” She fought against his bear hug for a moment and then gave in. At least this close to him, she could see the dents and scratches in his armor and the rents in his sleeve. “You look like you took a beating out there.”

“Only on the outside,” Jian assured, letting her go and reaching to set a hand on Quan’s shoulder as he joined them. “Come, now, we have an army to settle in and stories to tell. And I brought a few extras with me.”

Ina gripped at her father’s armor, wherever she could get a hand between the plates, and leaned against him while he held her and actually wept for joy to see her. It took a bit for either of them to be able to say anything, at which point Ina lifted her head and beamed up at him. “Does this mean you’ve come to join us? You’re not going to run off after Lu Bu again?”

“Yes, I am here for good,” Tadakatsu said humbly. “The Lords of Wu told me Lord Ieyasu is counted among them, and so I fell in with them. See, I brought everyone…”

He straightened up to find that his sons and cousin already out of the saddle and ready to have their own reunion. Ina threw an arm around the necks of both Tadatomo and Tadamasa at the same time, dragging them down to her level, and they laughed to find her so strong and well. Masanobu bowed low to her. “Forgive us our long absence, my lady.”

“We’ve heard things were pretty tough for you,” Tadamasa said seriously. “But it looks like you came through it well.”

“We saw your fiancé at Xiliang!” Tadatomo added helpfully.

“Yes,” Ina said with a smile, “I have met with Lord Nobuyuki myself. He told me you all were well, so I didn’t worry, but I still longed to see all of you with all my heart.”

“And here we are,” Tadakatsu said gruffly, trying to sober himself up. “But I think this fine fellow is come to invite us in.”

Sun Ce approached them briskly and yet casually, grinning broadly for them and ignoring any tears. “So you’re the Honda I’ve been hearing about all this time. Come on, we’ve restocked the wine supplies and I have this feeling my father is going to try to make a large dent in them.”

Honda faced him squarely and then bowed deeply, placing a fist against his chest as he did. “And you are the Little Conqueror who rescued my lord from Orochi’s clutches, as well as my daughter. No, do not deny it,” he added when it looked like Ce was going to pass it off modestly. “Hattori has told me much along our journey back.”

Ce smirked wryly. “For a ninja, he can really run his mouth sometimes. I can’t take all the credit, Lord Ieyasu helped me out along the way, so it’s more like we mutually rescued each other. Other than that, I guess, yes, that’s me.”

“It is a great honor to be among such mighty men of legend,” Honda said solemnly. “And to be offered their wine.”

The tease almost slipped past Ce, but he caught it and laughed before turning to escort them in. There was a feast to end all feasts brewing, because genuinely driving Orochi off a battlefield and wounding him in the process was a cause for celebration. Then again, around Wu, everything was a cause for celebration. They outdid themselves this night, and it wasn’t just the officers inside the fortress – even the peasants tending the fields outside took a night off and feasted to their good fortunes around bonfires. The Sun men were soon roaring like their namesake tigers, either with laughter or in Jian’s case an enthusiastic and dramatic retelling of what it was like to face Orochi in battle. The party spilled out into the courtyard, where Ce drunkenly challenged anyone who would take him to wrestle, Motochika sat playing his shamisen for an eager audience, and the moon stood high overhead to mix its silver light with the gold of the lamps and torches. It was a mingling of Han and Wa that made Honda Tadakatsu smile to see it as he sat with his daughter on one of the flights of steps to take it all in from a safe distance, an enormous cup in his hand still half-full of wine. Finally out of armor, he had softened around the edges, looking less like a warrior-god and more like a doting father. Ina laughed to watch Kunoichi darting around Sun Ce, taunting him into chasing her even though he could hardly keep up. “It’s true,” she said to her father, “there is hardly a dull day around here. It isn’t only the Sun family, all of their people are genial, robust, and courageous.”

“Hattori did warn me,” Tadakatsu admitted, “and now that I see for myself, he was right. It’s no wonder Shima Sakon has tied himself to these lords.”

Ina followed his gaze to see that Sakon was now encouraging Lu Meng with hearty slaps to the back to go and take his lord’s challenge. Lu Meng clearly needed no help, he hopped down from his seat on a low wall and stripped off his tunic to make it easier to grapple with Sun Ce. “There is a reason their symbol is the tiger,” Ina said warmly. “I have never seen a people so well-represented. Despite all things, I am glad that I was able to meet Lady Shangxiang and be welcomed into their army.”

Honda’s face fell, as he realized what she meant. He sat quiet for a moment, swirling the wine in his cup to catch the moonlight. “Can you ever forgive me for being so far away when you needed me most?” he said quietly. “I know, it was not by my choice, but I still wonder how things might have been different had I not been away when Orochi moved against Edo.”

“I have never held it against you, father,” Ina assured him, resting a hand on his arm. “If anything, I feared that you had not been brought to this world at all, for I knew that if you had been aware of what was happening, neither heaven nor hell could have prevented you from riding straight to help.”

Honda sighed hard. “I was lost,” he admitted. “To this day I still do not know the name of the territory where I found myself. My only consolation was that Masanobu and the boys were with me. We set out in search of anything familiar, and I regret that I took my time surveying the terrain, for it was a long time before we even heard a whisper of my lord’s presence. By the time we reached Edo it was far too late, it was in the hands of serpents and I learned that my lord was assisting Orochi to suppress the land. My despair knew no limits. When I learned that you also were forced into servitude, I felt as though I could not go on.” He shook his head slowly. “You may ask Masanobu if you doubt me, but I swear I could not even get up from my knees. What good was the stout warrior when his lord and his family had been so decimated while his back was turned?”

“Father…” Ina fretted. “You could hardly blame yourself…”

“Could I not? I will carry that thought with me for a long time, Ina.” Tadakatsu sighed again and stared into his cup. “But at that moment, a cry came from the edge of the village where we had taken refuge. Some great beast was attacking and they needed help. They were innocent, mere farmers, so I took up my Tonbo-giri and pledged that if I could not even slay a beast, then it would mark whether or not I was truly useless.” He paused for a moment, remembering that day. “The beast in question was Lu Bu. He had come to raid supplies from the village to put to the Orochi army’s use. I stood to oppose him, and though I could not slay him, I did drive him off empty-handed. From that moment I understood my purpose in this world, and set my sights on him. Pursuing him allowed me to learn the extent of Orochi’s conquest and the state of the resistance armies springing up around the land.”

Ina gave him an understanding look. “Nobuyuki told me you said you were giving Lord Ieyasu time to atone, as well.”

“Yes, that too.” He cracked a smile for his daughter. “But the time has come, and I will now join him. Lord Sun Jian was right to bring me here, for now, but I know that it will not be long before I return to his side at Edo. After all, he does not have you or Hattori with him.”

“He has all of the other men of Mikawa with him,” Ina said wryly, “as well as our allies from Shu. He is not lacking for bodyguards and worthy fighters.”

Tadakatsu chuckled to himself and finally drained his cup in one gulp. “Then I will not be in too much of a hurry to leave you. Besides, Orochi is abroad in the land, and he is what I truly desire. If he comes at Wu again, I will be ready for him.”

“And Wu will be much the better for having you here, in that case,” Ina agreed. “Lady Shangxiang and I are eager to join that hunt, we have rested and recovered here long enough.”

“I am sure you have done me proud, my daughter,” Honda said fondly, smiling down at her. “For all that we laud strength in battle, it takes even greater strength to withstand what you’ve been through and come out with your spirit still whole.”

Ina leaned her head against his brawny arm. “I inherited it from my father.”

Tadakatsu’s lower lip quivered as he fought against a fresh rush of emotion. Leave it to his family to conquer him when no enemy could ever dominate him.

Hangover or no hangover, the might of Wu assembled the next morning for a quick debriefing, but not a single one of them complained when they heard the reason for it. Enough tales had been told at the feast that everyone knew every last detail of what had happened at Chi’bi, so it wasn’t that, and Zhou Yu had sprung the news of Oda’s victory on them at that time as well, since the messenger had turned back rather than continue all the way on to Hefei. That morning, however, another letter had come from Oda, and the strategists took the news like a splash of cold water. None of them looked to be suffering from a night of too much drinking when they faced the rest of the officers and the lords of Wu. “We placed ourselves along the route back from Chi’bi in the event that Orochi would move to retaliate against any of our strongholds,” Zhou Yu explained, “but it was merely meant as a deterrent. Even then, I had a feeling I knew where he would move to, and the letter from the Oda Resistance we received today confirms it: he has withdrawn to He Fei Castle. Which, fortunately, is not inside this territory where it should be, but it is still too near to us for comfort.”

“Particularly since it stands pretty much equidistant from strongholds belonging to three different armies,” Lu Meng added, not bothering to refer to any maps. “From there he could strike Wu, Wei, or Oda as he pleases. He could launch major assaults on us, Odawara Castle, or Bai Di, or he could move to take our smaller possessions as a means to cutting off our supply routes and distracting us from larger issues.”

“But if Orochi lost for a third time against Oda,” Sun Quan put forth, “what strength does he even have left to carry out any attack at all?”

“There have been troops in reserve at He Fei all this time,” Lu Meng warned. “Do not count him out just yet, my lord.”

“I would consider testing him again,” Sun Jian mused, “but we took quite a beating and I’d prefer to let everyone recover before going after him. We were taken by surprise,” he added with a quick look around the circle of faces attending him, “so what we managed to pull off is nothing short of a miracle. But all we did was wound him, he didn’t stick around to be defeated. After facing him like that, it is my assessment that in order to finally defeat Orochi, it will take even more manpower. Even our entire Wu army as it is here and now wouldn’t be enough, we’ll need everyone.”

“In which case, even waiting for everyone here to be healthy and whole before attacking He Fei is still not enough,” Zhou Yu confirmed. “It is my advice that we solidify our defenses in case his forces decide to make the first move, and whether he goes after us or one of our allies, we must be ready.”

“Then allow me to take the lead,” Sun Ce requested. “While we dig in, let me prepare a vanguard so that if something does happen, we’re ready to move.”

Lu Meng looked from him to Sun Quan and Sun Jian. “Any objections?”

Quan shook his head. He was definitely still hung over but clear-headed enough to listen and think. “My brother is the right man for this job. I will step up to be second, so that our father can hold Hefei if needed.”

“What about this cryptic report from Edo?” Sakon was going through the other reports which had come in while they were away. “What is Tokugawa up to?”

“I’m not sure,” Lu Meng had to admit, “but Lord Sun Ce trusts him so I’m inclined to let him administer as he sees fit. If there was anything troubling about it, Lu Su would send private word.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ce broke in with a wave of his hand. “Lord Ieyasu knows that castle better than any of us, he’s got it all under control. In the meantime, I hope you guys don’t mind that I gave Lady No an escort back to her husband.”

Zhou Yu looked up from the fresh letter with an impish smirk. “Yes, Lord Oda sends his gratitude for bestowing him with such a treasure. Our men are on their way back as well, but I imagine it will take them longer than a courier now that they have to give He Fei a wide berth as they travel.”

“She certainly brightened up the place,” Jian said, “I’ll miss her.” He caught a look out of the corner of his eye from Shangxiang and decided not to continue that subject. “Anyway. These are good plans. Let’s do it.”

When the same news reached Xuchang ahead of Cao Cao’s return, affirming that the reinforcements were a good idea after all, Cao Pi took it in stride. It had all been his idea even if the volunteer to lead was his father, but at this point in the war, he’d been proven right about his ideas so often that it wasn’t news. Knowing full well that his father would be back soon, perhaps within the day, he put aside any discussion of the battle and the victory until after Cao Cao could join in and decided to retire to one of the parlors in the palace where anyone in the household could find him if needed rather than sequester himself away in his private quarters. While Lady Zhenji sat in the window playing her flute, Zihuan amused himself practicing calligraphy, slowly and elegantly drawing out whatever character came to mind while he listened to the music. Several sheets of parchment lay scattered across the table to let the ink dry by the time her last song trailed off and Zhenji glanced his way to see what he was up to. The bold characters in strong black ink intrigued her, she slid gracefully off the sill and sashayed over to him, leaning over his shoulder to have a look. “That doesn’t look like poetry to me, my love.”

“Poetry did not seem to want to come so easily,” Cao Pi murmured, sitting back and tipping his head up to bask in her attention. “I wrote what I saw, or rather what I felt, hearing you play.”

Zhenji eased a hand onto his shoulder. “Oh? I see ‘willow.’ ‘Drifting.’ ‘Two clouds become one.’” She leaned fully over the chair to reach and pick up that last one, drawing it to her. “May I have this one to keep for myself?”

“That one?” Pi looked up at her, curious to see the way her eyes followed the string of characters flowing down the page. “Does it please you, my lady?”

“It does. There is something melancholy about it, but also beautiful, and speaks of love to me.”

“Then by all means, it is my gift to you.”

Zhenji smiled warmly and leaned back down to favor him with a kiss. “It may not be a complete poem, but I like it just the same. Especially if this is a vision you saw while my music filled your heart.”

Cao Pi eagerly met and then returned her kiss. “Mm, it was. Poetry or not, you inspire me, my dear. Are you finished already?”

“For now.” Zhenji eased around the chair and perched herself on the arm of it to be closer to him. “I was thinking. It’s been so long since we’ve really had some royal culture around here, even with your father in residence. He should be returning today, right?” She tapped the end of the flute against her cheek. “Perhaps I will play for a larger audience tonight. I expect I might even be able to get little Diaochan to dance as well.”

Pi’s eyebrows raised in interest. “Oh? I think quite a few of our men would enjoy that. Perhaps a little too much, now that I think about it.”

Zhenji smirked, knowing what he meant. “Master Fengxiao knows to look and not touch. It can be so much fun to torment him once in a while.”

The idea of subjecting Guo Jia to the torture of watching beautiful ladies perform and then leave him high and dry was entertaining; Cao Pi genuinely liked him and knew him to be wise, but he couldn’t pass that idea up. “By all means. Whether my father returns from his mission tonight or not, I think that would be lovely. We do indeed need more culture here.”

“It’s a shame Lady Wenji isn’t here to accompany me with her harp,” Zhenji mused airily. “You didn’t send her off on that other mission, did you?”

“No, I requested that she remain to hold Jianye with your other favorite person,” Pi replied, thinking of Zhang He enjoying himself with his own opportunity to dance for a talented musician there. “It was Lady Nene who took up the mission, she volunteered for it.”

“Oh, the ninja woman,” his wife sniffed, looking away to the sunlit windows and the wider world beyond. “I don’t know much about her, but if you think her capable, fine by me.”

“I know little, but Ishida approved. What,” Pi added, looking up to her again with a sly smirk. “Don’t tell me that even though you have my undivided attention, you are still jealous?”

“Hardly!” Zhenji protested, looking swiftly back at him with a scandalized gasp. “I know full well none of the other ladies can measure up to me. Have I ever once suspected you of even looking at Diaochan in all the time she’s lived here in Xuchang with us?”

“No, you haven’t. That much is true.” And Zihuan never did look at her, he didn’t seem to care much even though almost every other man in the castle with an eye for women couldn’t help but be distracted whenever the lithe young dancer walked by, including Xiahou Dun at least once – which earned him no end of teasing for a full day afterward. Then again, their lord had other things to distract him, primarily the war effort and staying one step ahead of his scheming father. Zihuan reached to take the paper back from his wife and inked his seal to sign it for her, so the gift could be complete. “I was only teasing, my dear. Here – now you may do with it as you like, frame it and hang it on your wall or fold it and tuck it into your bodice if you desire.”

“Don’t tempt me, I just might.” In fact, that was exactly where she put it for the moment, rolling it delicately and sliding it inside her dress. “You would like it if I had it here, wouldn’t you? And all I would have to do to distract you during a meeting is pat the front of my dress and you would know.”

Pi smiled wolfishly at her audacity. “You do know exactly what I like.”

She smirked back as he took her free hand and kissed it. “Likewise. But that shall have to wait until later.” She rose from her perch and sauntered across the parlor. “You had better hope I’m not too terribly tired after I finish performing. Mm, perhaps I’ll take a rest now, so that I have all the energy later.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea to me,” Pi purred after her, sitting back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other, enjoying a complete picture of her curvaceous form. Zhenji made sure to give him plenty to look at, pausing at the door and giving him a sultry look over her shoulder to silently promise him he could have all he wanted and more – later. He laughed to himself at the way she teased him, but waited until she had left the parlor to move from that position. The low table in front of him was covered in writing paraphernalia, not just the cast-off papers but inkstone, ink, brushes, and so on. He carefully swished his brush in a cup and dried it on a cloth, and then moved to collect all the scraps of paper with their random characters. Or not so random; he had indeed been inspired by his wife’s playing, but his thoughts wandered, and before turning his efforts to art he had managed a few disjointed verses on a page, but it was nothing more than idle drivel, word-doodles of a sort, half-formed ideas and wandering metaphors that couldn’t find a home. Cao Pi was just thinking of hiding that page at the bottom of a stack of more artistic calligraphy when he heard the swish of silken robes near the door and glanced up sharply, not sure who to expect but aware that someone had come by. His trepidation eased instantly as Mitsunari edged into the doorway, revealing himself slowly like a coppery shadow. “…is something the matter?” Pi wondered.

“No,” Mitsunari replied, stepping through into the parlor once he saw his lord was alone. “Lady Zhenji already left?”

“She wished to ask Diaochan if she would be interested in dancing tonight, and then wanted to rest,” Pi explained, gently moving a piece of paper to cover his failed attempts at poetry. “You need not lurk in the doorway, Mitsunari. This room is for everyone to visit. What, are you afraid of her?”

Chastened, Mitsunari eased his way across the room, almost slinking as he came. “Not afraid,” he clarified, even though he looked over his shoulder as if to expect her to jump out at him. “Just. A healthy respect that she could probably crack my head open with her flute if she wanted to, same as all of your men.”

Pi had to sniff a small laugh at that, for it was true. Even Xu Huang and Zhang Liao “respected” Lady Zhenji in that manner. “My lady likes you well enough,” he noted, “there is nothing to worry about.”

“For you, maybe,” Ishida said sulkily as he lowered himself into the chair adjacent to Cao Pi. “You’re the lord and commander, you get everything you want and no one can say anything against you. If she knew about us, I don’t think it would go so well for me as it would for you.”

“Why? Because it’s expected of me that I should have many wives and concubines?” Pi looked to him, and his expression shifted to one of deep understanding, as if he could see through Mitsunari’s tight, closed-off body language to the secret wrapped within. “You’re not _still_ jealous, I hope?”

“No!” Mitsunari answered a little too quickly, his head coming up sharply. He met his lord’s icy blue eyes and backed down instantly. “It’s more like, I don’t want to come between the two of you,” he finally admitted. “When I see you with her, I have to wonder what I could possibly offer to even hold your attention…”

Cao Pi gazed long at him, eyes softening. “Even after all the assurances I’ve given…”

“It’s my problem, not yours,” Mitsunari insisted. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. Besides.” He lifted his eyes and managed to give his lord a small smile. “How can I compete with a gorgeous woman like that?”

“It’s true, she’s very beautiful,” Pi conceded teasingly. He looked away, then, his eyes turning distant. “Have you ever seen a pond at the first snap of frost?”

Ishida’s brow furrowed at the random query. “…what?”

“When the water it still warm, so it doesn’t freeze, but dawn reveals that the grass all around the edges has been coated with a fine, feathery frost.” Pi grazed his fingertips along his own chin as he called this image to mind. “The water black and still, but not at all frozen, rather steaming in the air. The grasses are cold, edged in ice. But in the middle of the pond, there is a water-lily blooming, its petals undamaged by the frost because the water keeps it safe. Ice and cold all around, but there in the middle of the water, beauty unmarred. That is my Lady Zhenji.”

Mitsunari let out a soft sigh of wonder. He had been around Cao Pi long enough that he had read quite a few of the man’s poems, but to hear him declaim aloud on the spot with no preparation literally took his breath away. At last, conscious that maybe he should say something, he murmured, “That is…an apt description.”

“And yet,” Pi said wisely, “what is a man if he thinks the lily in the frost is the only thing of beauty to be seen or admired?”

For a moment Mitsunari dropped his gaze to his hand on his knee, but then it wandered to the papers on the table. No wonder he was in such a poetic mood, if he had already been trying to write. “I don’t doubt that you know how to admire beauty…” He noticed, then, what Pi seemed to be trying to hide, and reached to pluck it out from under the stack before he could be stopped. Short lines sprawled this way and that across the page wherever he had thought to jot them down before the words left him, no two seemed to be on the same subject. One referenced the ocean, another clouds covering the heads of mountains, still another the flowing Yellow River, and here and there he had simply written the names of colors as they came to mind. Cao Pi threw out a hand to stop him but missed, and had no choice but to sit back and wait for him to make some kind of comment. Mitsunari read each one out of curiosity, feeling like he had visual proof of how the young lord’s mind worked right here in his hands, but one passage in particular resonated with him. “‘Willows basking in the sun. Gold and silver fall from their shoulders, the river carries them away. Gold on his shoulders, silver on his breast…’”

He looked up slowly to find Pi looking up and away again. “I wanted to put in something about copper to carry along the theme, but I couldn’t think of a way to flow from one to the next.” He rested his chin thoughtfully against his knuckles. “The flutter of silk, the dance of firelight on bronze…”

Knowing those verses were about him, Mitsunari found himself soothed and then immediately chastened for feeling any sort of insecurity. “Spend too much time on poetry,” he teased, “and you’ll forget all about the war.”

Zihuan laughed low. “Not likely. It feels like this has been the first day in a long time that I have even had the luxury to let my thoughts turn to artistry rather than strategy.” He looked back, and shook his head at the way his comrade held that scrap of parchment. “Those are my mistakes and unfinished thoughts, they are hardly to be cherished.”

“In your eyes,” Mitsunari sniffed, folding the page and tucking it inside his kimono. “If you’re throwing them away, then there’s nothing wrong with me rescuing them from the fire, is there?”

“I suppose not.” Cao Pi rose and stepped in front of the other chair to pull Mitsunari up with him, and then bent his head to brush his lips across the young tactician’s jaw. “I have promised my lady tonight,” he whispered, “but there is still plenty of afternoon to while away.”

Mitsunari caught his breath and curled his fingers against Pi’s chest, dragging the backs of them across the knots closing his surcoat. “Would you read me more poetry?”

“It interests you that much…?” Pi inclined his head and then turned away. “Let me call for wine, and then you shall have all the poetry you can handle.”

Trained in the arts as he was, Ishida usually restrained his pursuits around the soldiers of Wei, figuring none of them would care about his opinions on music and literature. But in his lord he found a kindred spirit in so many ways, and the poems of Cao Pi were famous throughout the years. Getting to hear him recite them in person, in his own silky voice, was far more appealing to him right in that moment than physical intimacy. While the castle attendants brought them their lord’s favorite grape wine, Mitsunari sat in the window much as Zhenji had earlier, listening and critiquing as Zihuan gave him a performance of some of his own favorites as well as classics from his people. It was a perfectly innocent pursuit, but an exercise of the mind for both and thus, every bit as satisfying as the bed. That, at least, could wait until another time.


	75. Chapter 75

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another castle falls while Orochi digs in at He Fei, Sima Yi awakes, and Cao Cao has ideas.

Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, and Ishida Mitsunari had each spoken of a mission to which some of their faction had been assigned, but few outside of the top levels of command in their respective armies even knew it was happening. The idea had been Tokugawa’s initially, but while the Shu contingent assisting him at Edo suggested writing for reinforcements from the main army, word was also sent to Odawara, seeing as a rather large portion of Wei’s strength was now there and Ieyasu wondered if any of their officers could be spared. He wasn’t sure what sort of force he would meet if he launched his assault with only his own men, it seemed prudent to build a coalition from several armies for a little extra insurance.

Snake demons and other creatures of Orochi’s darkness fled in all directions from Osaka Castle, disappearing into the night with no means of regrouping or even finding each other in the chaos. The attackers had only needed to set a small fire in one of the outer garrisons in order to scare them, one they could easily douse before it ravaged the castle as a whole. The third time apparently proved the charm, as the beleaguered fortress finally fell into Resistance hands for good and the demon army was rousted from one of their last holdouts. Tachibana Ginchiyo and Nene stood at the top of the steps of the keep to survey their handiwork, lowering their blades, while Kato and Fukushima ran through the courtyard with the wonderful news that Lord Tokugawa and his men had secured the last of the garrisons and the castle grounds were now empty of enemies. “Good work!” Nene complimented her boys. “Isn’t it nice to be home again?”

It hadn’t hit Kiyomasa until that very moment, and as he looked up to the keep with the moonlight shining on its roof tiles, he caught his breath and tears started into his eyes. “It is!” he cried. “We’re alive, we’re free, and we’re _home_.”

“Are you crying?” Masanori sniffled.

“I’m not crying!” Kiyomasa insisted, slugging him in the shoulder. “ _You’re_ crying!”

Ginchiyo closed her eyes in exasperation and muttered to Nene, “They both are.”

Nene clapped her hands to get their attention. “We’re not quite ready to climb up to our rooms and rest yet. I need you two to go to the western gate and make sure it’s going to hold secure for the night. Nobody will have a good sleep if we have snakes slithering in through the gaps.”

“Yes, my lady!” both men said eagerly, drawing themselves up and pushing aside their bittersweet nostalgia in order to carry out the order.

As they hustled off, Tokugawa rode back from the main gate with his officers marching proudly behind him, entering the grounds as a conqueror even though he had worked hand in hand to deliver the castle to its rightful owner. He dismounted at the bottom of the stairs and presented himself to the ladies with a tip of his helm. “The main gate is barricaded and well-guarded. Osaka is ours.”

Tachibana accepted his report with a nod. “What of the outer wards, what did you find?”

“It is as Lady Nene suspected – as undermanned as they were, they appear not to have been using the outer wards for anything in some time.” Ieyasu strode up the steps to join the other two commanders of this raid, handing his weapon off to one of his men. “Most of the buildings were deserted and showed no sign of being used lately. We have cleared them and locked them down.”

“Then, most of the damage should be contained to the keep, which is of course exactly where we wish to live and sleep,” Tachibana sighed.

“The fire is out, yes?” Nene asked to confirm. “I trust that Kiyomasa made sure of it but it never hurts to double-check. We wouldn’t want a spark flying over to the cannon ward.”

Tokugawa gave a quick, amazed laugh. “The cannon ward is empty, too! The cannons are still in place, but they have not been fired in months. There is no ammunition in the depot at all.”

Nene clapped a hand to her forehead. “Then all the careful choreography to make sure we didn’t pass within range of them was for nothing!”

“It was extremely well-executed and made taking the castle gates easier,” Tachibana reassured her with a pat to her arm. “I wouldn’t say it was for nothing.”

“I have Terumori on it at the moment,” Tokugawa informed them. “All it takes is one functional cannon and any thoughts the Orochi demons had of sneaking back in to retake the castle will be for naught. They will find their bluff called.”

“I like the sound of that!” Nene punched the air triumphantly. “Excellent work, everyone! Now, let’s go and see if they’ve ripped our castle up the way they did Odawara and Edo.”

It was the habit of the Orochi army to plunder their conquests even though the demons had no use for luxuries and money, but in the Resistance’s experiences, it seemed they simply stored what they could not use like a hidden treasure in some warehouse somewhere on the grounds while items of actual utility were left out and abused by whoever occupied the castle. It wasn’t nearly so terrible where the conscripted and allied human armies had maintained control, and indeed, since Osaka had been in Wei hands for a while, much of what belonged to the Toyotomi had been properly cared for and gently put into storage so the demons would not defile the artwork, heirlooms, and personal effects. Nene sheathed her curved blades and wandered with her hands clasped behind her back, strolling through dingy, ripped shoji screens and down corridors where mud and dirt tracked in by demon feet had never been cleaned from the polished wood floors. It looked terrible, but she had a light smile on her lips all the same, though Ginchiyo walking beside her couldn’t tell if it was genuine or if she was using her ninjutsu training to successfully fake it to hide her true feelings. “Is this the first you’re seeing it since we all came to this world?” she wondered.

“No, actually,” Nene said airily. “After Fuuma captured me at Ji, we came here first. I got to meet the Lord of Wu! It was a little sad, but the folks from Wei who were in charge then put me up in my own room, so it wasn’t all awful.” Her smile definitely hid much darker thoughts and feelings, now, intensifying in the face of such a memory. “Funny, how I’m working for their army, now! Although I haven’t seen one of those dour Wei fellows. Pang De, that was it. I don’t know where he ended up, but I haven’t seen him in Lord Cao Pi’s company yet.”

“Pang De? Oh, he is with us in Shu,” Tachibana said idly, and then added in a grumble, “I suppose it is too much to hope that they left your room untouched after that.”

“Maybe, but it’s nothing a little spring cleaning won’t cure.” Nene gave her an impish smirk. “And I have just the guys in mind to put to work!”

Ginchiyo shook her head. “You work those poor boys so hard.”

“It gives them character, keeps them out of the taverns.”

They reached the top floor of the keep where once she and Sun Jian had been held, finding that some demon captain had indeed commandeered the finest rooms for himself after that time. Empty wine jars and a tattered mat were the only real detritus left, all the best furnishings were in storage. Nene inspected it and decided that it was too much work for anyone to do so late at night after a long battle, and resolved to find a better place for them to lay their heads that night. As the true lady of the castle, it was her responsibility while hosting visiting dignitaries, after all. The handmaidens’ rooms on a lower floor were mostly untouched, they would do. Tokugawa chose to lodge on the main floor out of respect, deciding that he could suffer to sleep on the tatami with only a few shoji around to form a room for him, and his men could camp in the courtyard. When Kato and Fukushima came in from completing their rounds and securing every last entry point around the outer and inner wards, they were all too happy to just collapse on the floor outside Lady Nene’s room and sleep in their armor. It was well after midnight by now and any patch of floor was as good as the next, so long as they could play sentry for their lady. With his great pike propped up against the wall close at hand, Kiyomasa settled down with his back against a pillar, facing away from the doors so as to be able to see any enemy coming up from the stairwell. “This is much better than the last time we were here,” he muttered as Masanori slouched against a second pillar on the other side of the hall from him. “I would rather lay my head on a stone while free than sleep as a prisoner in my own quarters.”

“Ain’t it crazy how far we’ve come?” Masanori said wistfully, lacing his hands behind his head. “It’s been a hell of a ride and it ain’t over yet.”

“Through hell and back, I’d say,” Kiyomasa sighed. “Though we aren’t the only ones. It really is good to be home.”

His comrade leaned over as if sharing a secret. “Hey, what do you think? Are we gonna be able to move here, now? Instead of staying at Odawara, not that I have any problem with Odawara but it just isn’t home, you know?”

“I don’t know.” Kato looked up at the ceiling and the shadows from the candles playing across it. “Lady Nene hasn’t said. I don’t even know which of our forces gets to lay claim to it, since this was a joint raid between Tokugawa, Shu, and Wei. Just because this is our home castle doesn’t mean we get to keep it right now.”

“Guess we’ll find out, after word is sent to headquarters and stuff.”

One of the doors behind them slid open and a pillow came flying out, winging one of Masanori’s arms as it stuck out from behind the pillar. “Naughty children need to _go to sleep!”_ came a snarl through the door before it slid shut again with a crisp snap.

Kiyomasa stifled a laugh, but the joke was on him as Masanori snatched up the pillow and tucked it between his head and the wooden pillar. “That’s right. Go to sleep, Kato.”

“ _You_ go to sleep.” Though, mindful of the noise he was making, Kiyomasa sat up and looked back, afraid that the next one to come out to scold them would be Lord and Lady Tachibana and she absolutely would _not_ use a pillow. It was in their best interests to actually settle down and go to sleep. They’d be hard at work scrubbing floors and moving furniture tomorrow.

The coalition of officers being supported by Wei, Wu, and Shu was the first real joint effort planned in advance for the united Resistance armies, for even though the reinforcements being sent to bolster one another were welcomed and put to good use, so far they had all come as a surprise to the attacking armies. Whether unexpected or well-prepared, either way, it was a sign that their alliances were solid and there looked to be little in the way of bad blood preventing them from all working together. Even if the Ma cousins would not eagerly join hands with Cao Cao, or Yuan Shao still side-eyed anyone not of imperial heritage, it was not enough to block the overall effort toward cooperation. There was no other situation in all of existence where the Sima children would get along happily with officers of Wu and Shu, or Gan Ning and Zhang Liao would actually tolerate one another’s company, or Takeda and Uesugi would while away the days in each other’s company at Fan Castle with no animosity toward their benefactor Oda. Some found it strange, but no one would say it was unwelcome. For once, adversaries were getting to know one another in a different light, and curious friendships were being formed among all the different armies and strongholds. Seeing that Bai Di was in the health of high summer, Nobunaga decided to make it his main base of operations while he could, since it helped to hem Orochi into his only remaining fortress nearby. He kept the Ma cousins with him to help put the castle back into its rightful state, but shuffled the rest of his forces around so that they would all be ready to launch the next assault he was considering. It was in the Resistance’s best interests to press Orochi while everything was going their way, but his best men were tired and injured, and he expected to find the same with Wu. Shu’s territories were further away, and after meeting Cao Cao, he was not in any hurry to find out how ready Wei was to join him in an attack. No, it was best if they all took a little time to rest and heal, even if it would allow Orochi’s remaining handful of officers to do the same. It didn’t matter how healthy Lu Bu and Maeda Keiji were if the entirety of the four Resistance armies met together to drag them out of He Fei for good. So Oda comforted himself as he took his ease at his new castle and shared correspondence with the others. He was quite surprised to receive word that the others had taken care of one small problem for him, that being Osaka Castle, but it was a pleasant surprise that raised his confidence in the alliance and in humanity’s chance at succeeding. If he indulged himself now and then in idle thoughts on what he would do with this land and these castles after Orochi fell, he could be excused. It was a fine time to be a Resistance commander, after all.

Things were not going so well for Dong Zhuo. He had been too slow to even return to Bai Di before it fell, he had been encamped in the wilderness when scattered, fleeing forces from there met him and told him of Nobunaga’s audacity. He had no choice but to turn aside to He Fei instead, and reached there just shortly before Orochi himself. He had only been back among familiar faces for two days when the bulk of the army arrived with the demon overlord in charge, so Dong Zhuo’s attempts at a comfortable convalescence were almost immediately thwarted. He was in better shape, capable of travel at least, but still too slow and weakened to hold a sword. Orochi ignored him for a time as he set up the castle the way he wanted it, calling every last straggler in from the wilderness and other holdings to swell their numbers there, but at last he had to deal with the actual defenses and the officers left to him. Even with their injuries Maeda, Lu Bu, and Date were hard at work, so that left the tyrant and his paid service. A fair-sized cache of the gold was there at He Fei, but not enough to really soothe Dong Zhuo’s aches and pains. He was just wondering how to send some of his troops out to collect the rest where he had hidden it when the summons came – he was to go to Orochi, now, no questions asked. He found the great demon resting in the throne in the palace at the far back of the castle compound, where it was dark and quiet and few soldiers dared to tread. No less than three of his more capable snake captains attended him, their beady eyes gleaming in the dim light. Dong Zhuo found it easier to go to one knee than to bend himself to bow, though his brother and the other retainers he had brought with him for support made proper obeisance to their lord. Orochi looked to be as cold as ever but less irritated than in recent days, his hands resting lightly on the arms of the throne. “Tell me,” he demanded, sounding like he already knew the answer before he even asked the question, “are you prepared to go into battle, yet?”

Zhuo gritted his teeth, hiding his grimace from his lord with his head bowed. “Uh. I’m afraid not, Lord Orochi. It seems I still have a hard time buckling my armor. It’s been damaged, you know – I need time and money to have it repaired so I can stand against those fools from the Resistance.”

Orochi’s baleful stare pinned him to the floor where he knelt. “I do not need your excuses. You are not dead, so until such a time as you are, you are still useful to me.” He lifted one hand and made a gesture as if to brush him aside. “I need only warriors here who are ready to fight. Since you are not, you will go to Koshi Castle instead.”

Zhuo looked up and stared. “Koshi, you mean your…your own castle? The one way out in the west with the lava…?”

“That is the one.” Orochi curled that hand into a fist and rested his cheek against it, looking patently unimpressed with everything in sight, including his own minions. “The Resistance dares to raise their heads and lift weapons against me. I warned them that if they did so, Liu Bei would suffer for it. You will go, you will take messages to my captains there and have them prepare my orders. You will _not_ execute Liu Bei of your own volition, that is reserved for my hand alone.”

The retainers behind him shuffled nervously, but Dong Zhuo had the poor sense to get annoyed at the order. “I am to be your errand-boy, then? That’s it?”

“Precisely.” Orochi’s flat tone robbed him of any right to get huffy. “You may take two retainers, no more. If you wish to be of more use to me, you can at least make an attempt to free Da Ji from where she is being held inside the Shu city of Chengdu. If you die in the attempt, I will not be disappointed.”

That fleeting wisp of anger melted away, leaving Dong Zhuo cold and sullen. “Only two retainers…?”

Orochi stared him down from his lofty seat. “You may also take as much gold as a wagon can carry. It is taking up valuable space in our armories where weapons and ammunition should be instead. Take it away out of my sight.”

That seemed to mollify Zhuo a bit, so he bobbed his head in acceptance and backed his way out of the throne room until he could get to the hall where his brother could help him to his feet with much grunting and groaning. It still wasn’t safe to speak until they had gone from the palace and were crossing the broad, stone-paved courtyard outside. “Curse that wretched serpent!” he snarled to himself. “Ordering me around like that! I don’t want to go to Koshi Castle, there’s nothing there aside from more demons!”

“But think about it, brother,” Dong Min implored as he slouched alongside him. “Lord Orochi is giving you your gold _and_ a way to gain favor with this! Chengdu is westward also, we’ll have to pass by there on our way to Koshi. If we can free Da Ji, do you have any idea how handsomely he’ll reward us?”

Zhuo screeched to a stop and rounded on his brother. “And just how am I to take a city the size of Chengdu with just two retainers? What with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei free, and that mongrel Zhao Yun in charge, do you really think there’s any way we can even get into the city?”

For once, Min didn’t completely grovel at his feet, but rather straightened up and faced him down – nervously, at that. “And you would pass up even the slightest chance at proving yourself to him? We can at the very least go to Chengdu and observe it for ourselves, and decide then. Even if all we get out if it is some reconnaissance that the ninjas or someone else in the army can use, it will still be our victory!”

“You mean _my_ victory,” Zhuo sneered at him. “If you want to protect me so badly then I will take credit for anything that happens along the way. Is that clear? Otherwise I’m leaving you here and taking Guo Si with me instead!”

Min reverted to groveling. “Yes, brother, that sounds more than fair. It shall be done.”

Enough time had passed by now that Orochi had written Sima Yi off as lost, possibly deserted, and did not care to find out the truth of how he had disappeared from Chi’bi. It didn’t matter, anyway, because deliberate betrayal and accidental capture meant the same thing to the demon overlord: one less officer to do his bidding, or in this case, three. Deng Ai and Guo Huai had too much to lose to risk wandering into any village where someone could turn on them, so they had located a lonely, abandoned farm sitting by itself out far from the nearest outpost of civilization and holed up there. There was no indication of who it belonged to, it appeared to have never been used since being brought to Orochi’s dimension along with the surrounding woodlands, hillsides, and country villages. The fields had not been plowed and nothing sown, but the small kitchen garden out back bore ripe vegetables and herbs which had grown up all on their own without interference, so between that and hunting, they did not lack for food. Other amenities were much harder to come by – there was no medicine or clean clothing to be had for any of them, they had to make do with whatever was on hand. Guo Huai gave up his own robe to his lord, to keep him clothed and warm, because Yi’s robes were shredded, dirty, and bloody beyond measure, cleaning and repairing them would be impossible. It left Huai with only a _zhongyi_ tunic to stay clothed, but he rarely left the small hut so it mattered little. Deng Ai did most of the heavy lifting and long trekking to find water and game, while Huai mainly tended their lord and cooked. It was a prudent strategy, for Huai’s weak constitution meant that if he exerted himself too much he might fall ill right alongside their lord, and then Ai would have to single-handedly tend both of them. It was an agreement they had come to early on in their sojourn, and it worked well to keep them all safe, strong, and prepared.

It had been more than ten days – almost two weeks at this point – since Chi’bi and Sima Yi was barely starting to improve. He had only regained consciousness for short spans of time, at first only long enough to take some water and then long enough to swallow the thin broth Guo Huai made for him to give him strength. So far Yi had not stayed awake long enough to ask questions or wonder where he was, and though his wounds were as clean and well-wrapped as could be with only rags for bandages and no medicines beyond herbs, he developed a fever as feared and drifted in and out of consciousness with almost no lucidity to show at waking. In his delirium, Huai caught him murmuring once in a while about Shi, but he never seemed to be aware of what he was saying. Today at least he seemed more quiet, and as Huai sat beside him to inspect his condition, he was pleased to find that the fever had broken, and Sima Yi was sleeping normally. His cuts were healing well, there was no longer reason to fear that he would succumb so long as he could fight off the infection and recover from his illness. Once Huai had changed the bandages and settled him back down, Yi’s eyes slowly blinked open and focused on the weary, lined face hovering over him. He moistened his lips and then murmured, “Guo…”

“My lord,” Huai breathed in relief, his eyes lightening just a bit. “Good morning. How are you today?”

Yi’s brow knit in confusion for a moment, and then he lifted his eyes to the low ceiling of the hut and the hearth fire toward the end of his pallet. “What…what is this? I don’t remember…”

“You were injured badly at Chi’bi,” Huai gently explained. “We had no choice but to bring you here to keep you alive. It may not be much, but this little place has served us well.”

The door creaked open to permit Deng Ai, who had just returned from a nearby stream with a bucket of fresh water. Hearing voices, he immediately set it aside and came rushing over to the low cot. “My lord! You’re awake! Oh, thank heaven!”

Sima Yi was still hazy but as he regarded his two officers kneeling beside him, happy to see him conscious, he began to put two and two together. “Orochi…” he rasped at them.

“Do not even begin to think about the serpent,” Guo Huai pressed him, dropping his eyes. “It is of no concern right now, my lord. You must rest and heal, so that you may be able to get up and go looking for your sons.”

Yi hissed under his breath, though he lacked the energy to really get angry. All he could do was turn his head away toward the wall. “Do not speak of my sons to me. How…how dare you, Guo Huai…”

“Please, my lord…” After spending so long keeping his thoughts to himself and calculating every word he spoke, Huai was done. His tone was still gentle, imploring, encouraging, but he held nothing back. “It is because of Lord Sima Zhao that you are here, alive, rather than a victim of senseless battle or executed by Orochi. He and I laid the plan many months ago, relying on the honor and generosity of everyone from Lord Sun Ce to Lord Oda Nobunaga to ensure that you would not be killed before you had a chance to escape. In fact, the only reason Lord Zhou Yu did not kill you in the mud that night was because he respects and admires Lord Zishang!”

Deng Ai did not even know about that, and gaped at him, hearing it. Yi turned his face back toward them with a deep frown. “Zhao. Planned this. Planned anything…”

“He did,” Huai said firmly. “It was all his idea, to show you with his own actions that working against Orochi was wiser and better than working for him. And then when you drove Lord Ziyuan out of your presence, he went because he knew you would not listen to reason and logic. They are in Lord Oda’s service not to spite you, but to do some good in this hellish world. I agreed with him and helped him, so if you must take out your anger on someone, I am right here. But, truth be told,” he added wryly, “I really would prefer that no one take anything out on anyone. I wouldn’t want you to strain your injuries.”

Yi stretched to grip his arm, finding that he really lacked the strength to even do more than curl his fingers into the sleeve of his tunic. “You took me away,” he noticed. “You two. Have you deserted the Orochi army, then?”

“Willingly,” Deng Ai admitted gruffly. “Orochi has been defeated again. We got clear of the cliffs before it was complete but we heard other fleeing soldiers say it as they passed us. Lord Sun Jian defeated him.”

“No…” Yi’s eyes widened in shock. “That can’t be…”

“It seems he is not the invincible lord we took him to be,” Huai added. “Sooner or later the Resistance will do more than simply take the upper hand. You can feel which way the wind is blowing, can’t you, my lord?”

Yi held his gaze for a moment and then turned away again, pushing against his arm. “Leave me. I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

Huai had expected a reaction like this, it was really only due to Sima Yi’s injuries and weakness that he wasn’t railing vocally against them and trying to get out of bed to go back to Orochi. He sighed softly and pushed himself to his feet, accepting a hand from Deng Ai, and both moved off to go about their morning chores. There was cooking and washing to be done, and Ai moved past their lord’s bed to stoke the fire and give it another log or two. They moved easily around each other by now, after so many days of practice, and spoke gently with light tones and light hearts to work together to take care of everything. After a while, Yi looked back toward them to watch them, his eyes following Guo Huai to the hearth fire and noticing that he was only wearing a zhongyi and trousers, which finally called his attention to the robe covering his bandaged chest. He moved a hand over the silk and felt the tight wrap beneath keeping him stabilized and comfortable, and though he showed no emotion on his face, his thoughts turned inward with the growing realization that the choice to desert had been made for him. His faithful retainers had saved his life, and even now were holed up in the safest possible place to allow him time to heal, with no apparent regard for their own sacrifices. Even now, Huai was humming a song while he cooked as if this hut and his hard work were more satisfying than serving the emperor himself inside the palace. To think, he had been conspiring with Zhao all along in order to strip support from Yi, and now looked so content to be in this hovel – Yi didn’t know what to think, who to call traitor, who to be angry with. He had his life, and though he was tired and sore, he knew he would eventually regain his strength, but to what end? What could he do, as the days passed by and it became less and less likely that he would be able to go crawling back to Orochi? But then, if Orochi was losing battles himself without being able to blame it on his army, what good could come of trying to rejoin him? Weak or not, injured or not, Sima Yi still had his pride, which would not allow him to simply accept the idea of changing sides and joining the Resistance instead. He didn’t know how long it would take him to be able to sit up and hold a weapon again, but at that moment he felt as though his body would probably keep him out of the war until it was too late, until things had irrevocably changed one way or another and choosing a loyalty became pointless. He looked around the one-room hut, at least what he could see from his position, and noticed his hat and his fan sitting together on a small table in a place of honor. Someone had cleaned the mud carefully from the black feathers, the war fan was as pristine as ever, but there were some small stains on the trailing veil of his hat. Bits of armor from all three of them were tucked away in any corner that could hold them, to keep everything out of the way so as not to interfere with the daily business of living. It was so strange and yet so serene, Yi felt as though he would be nothing but a spoiled brat if he complained about it. He resolved not to open his mouth for a while, to just rest and see what time would bring him of its own accord. Decisions could wait.

When they had a moment, Deng Ai drew his comrade aside near the door, out of earshot. “The nearest Resistance stronghold appears to be Xiapi. It is still several days away, especially without horses.”

Guo Huai shook his head slowly. “Our lord will not be able to move for at least another week or two, and even then I’m not sure he will be up for a journey that long. I think it best we sit tight and rush nothing.” He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Xiapi was in the hands of the Oda faction, I believe. Convenient.”

“But with no idea who is even holding it, nor what the situation will be like when our lord is finally able to travel again…” Ai set a grateful hand on Huai’s shoulder. “You’re right. We will make a go of it here, and see if anything is different when that time comes.”

Huai smiled and reached across to pat that hand. “I am thankful you’re here with me, my friend. We will survive together, and even if he spites us in the end, I know we have done the right thing.”

“At least he will not have cause to complain about your cooking,” Ai teased him, letting go and moving to clear a space for them to sit and eat together. Huai was making the best of their resources and doing quite well at it, so if nothing else, they could at least eat well even in this tiny, lonely hut far from the reach of Orochi. If that was the worst that happened to them while the war played out somewhere else, they could be considered the luckiest men in the world.

  


Cao Pi was aware from the moment he stepped out of his quarters dressed for the day that his father was up to something, but he wasn’t particularly fussed about it. Cao Cao had been even more businesslike than usual since returning from his mission, present at every briefing and keenly interested in every report the scouts brought in, but as of yet he hadn’t spoken out about anything in particular. The intensity was building, though, Pi could see it with every message that came in, so when his attendants informed him that his father wished all their officers to be present at the daily briefing, he was not in the least bit surprised. It would take no effort to make sure everyone answered the summons, very few skipped out on meetings as it was. He and Mitsunari were even first into the war room, looking over the recent scouting reports, when the others trickled in after seeing to their other duties. Cao Cao decided to make the most of a dramatic entrance, sweeping in last and striding right up alongside his son, but before he could even open his mouth Cao Pi headed him off, starting with their usual recaps and discussion of what came in overnight. At this point there wasn’t much news to be had from day to day, only continual verifications that no one had left He Fei Castle in the last twenty-four hours for any purpose whatsoever, but it meant that Orochi was not making any grand moves to begin to take back anything from the Resistance. Wei’s own forces were exactly where Cao Pi wanted them to be, so once he had concluded his briefing with no changes or new orders given, he patiently turned to the man at his left. “So, Father. What is it you wish to tell our army as a whole? I was told you had something important to bring up.”

Cao Cao regarded him coolly, almost marveling at how clever and controlled his son had become. “As a matter of fact, I do,” he responded, lifting his chin and sweeping a look around the faces crowded up to the map table. “I am here to put forth a plan to attack He Fei Castle and wrest it from Orochi’s hands.”

Cao Pi and Mitsunari shared a subtle, knowing glance while most of the others recoiled in surprise and interest. “A direct assault, my lord?” Zhang Liao queried.

“Naturally,” Cao Cao said. “I am given to understand from our reconnaissance that there is little, at this point, with which to lure the serpent out of his cozy den in order to take it freely without any chance of him being there to fight for it himself. After witnessing the conflict at Bai Di, I am certain that Orochi means to face us himself no matter where or for what reason, so we must go into any plan or tactic with the full knowledge that we will be forced to fight him. Thus, there is no reason to even consider a ruse, he will not fall for it anyway. We might as well simply go to him. We know precisely where he is, sitting as if with a target painted on his head.”

A few of the officers looked to Cao Pi to see what he had to say about this idea, but he remained silent and unmoved for now, listening patiently. Of the cadre of strategists he once had at hand, he had placated his father by retaining only two, in addition to Mitsunari: Guo Jia and Jia Xu, his father’s favorites. The rest were currently assisting at Jianye and Odawara as needed. Guo Jia seemed to have also anticipated this suggestion, though he spoke up to gather more information. “Is it Orochi you long for, my lord,” he asked smoothly, “or He Fei Castle itself?”

Cao Cao inclined his head as if to admit being caught having ulterior motives. “Where one is, so is the other, so it matters little. But you have a point, Master Fengxiao. He Fei Castle belongs rightfully to Wei, and it chafes me to leave it and watch it become overrun with snakes and worse beasts. Orochi has dug himself in there like a dragon in a cave, and doesn’t appear to be willing to leave it so easily. The longer we allow him to lick his wounds and regain his strength, the stronger he will be when he finally moves, and at that time he will dictate the terms of conquest. If he only consents to come forth when _he_ wills it, that ought to serve as mockery to the power of the Resistance. _We_ are the ones who should drag him out of that deep hole and make him fight on our terms, not his. It’s true that I want He Fei Castle back in our own control, but that is not the only reason I suggest this plan. It is not even the primary reason.”

“An assault of that size would take nearly all of our manpower,” Yue Jin mused. “Or, cooperation with the other Resistance armies and a two- or three-pronged attack.”

“By now he has to have gathered every last shred of his forces which had been abroad in the land to that one fortress,” Jia Xu agreed. “His army will be enormous. It may be that there have been men and equipment stored up there for some time, such that none of us would have even seen it to know to count it.”

“When Da Ji was still in control of the army,” Mitsunari offered, “she did in fact spread resources to all of the castles in Orochi hands, including He Fei. I never went there, so what might be lying in store is beyond even my knowledge.”

Cao Cao looked slightly displeased at the thought of calling in the other nearby armies to join his assault. “Our own army is immense as well. If we were to call up the reserves from Chencang to hit the castle from two sides, and turn out every one of our talented, borrowed officers from our other holdings, I’m sure it would be enough.” He ignored a sniff of doubt from Gan Ning far down the table. “We also have the advantage of knowing the castle better than those currently inside it, since we built it.”

“They will have all entrances and exits covered,” Jia Xu said slyly, “including the riverbank and the back passage closer to the foothills. It isn’t as though there is some sort of secret underground entrance to the castle.”

“Exactly what are its weaknesses?” Guo Jia asked, since he had been quite dead when the castle had been ordered and constructed in its original timeline. “That we must know before we plan an assault, no matter the number of soldiers and officers we have at hand.”

“You will have every scrap of information necessary to prepare, my friend,” Cao Cao assured. “It is never a pleasant thought, having to prepare a strategy to take a castle you know well how to defend, but this world has turned everything on its head. I have every confidence that it can be done, and in fact, it is high time we did so.” So long as he had the floor, he had a rant of sorts to unleash, setting his hands on the table in front of him and leaning on them so he could capture the attention of everyone at once. “The recent battles in which our allies have found themselves facing Orochi have been only by some stroke of unfortunate luck, and though they managed to beat the serpent back, they had not gone into those battles expecting to even see his face. Wei has stood quietly by, supporting but not marching on our own. The time is ripe for us to get up and take control of this war into our own fist – we go in full knowing that Orochi is there and face him deliberately, to push and see how hard he will push back. If he has, in fact, come to conquer, he cannot stay barricaded inside He Fei forever. In fact, I think he knows this.” He smiled darkly, brow lowering. “I think he knows he cannot rely on the same tactic he used the first time. We are not scattered and lacking in strength, we are united and organized with every officer ready to fight him. And so he hides and waits, perhaps hoping that the Resistance will begin fighting amongst itself, that the old animosities between Wei and the others, between myself and Sun Quan and Liu Bei, will flare up and we will destroy each other so that he can come among us and trample down what’s left. I say, that is not going to happen. We will go to him and unseat him, and force him to deal with us on our own home ground, on our own terms.”

He stopped short of demanding that they all adopt his plan on the spot or be considered traitors, but as he finally relinquished the floor, there was a moment’s silence while the officers regarded one another. Xiahou Dun peered at the two lords from halfway down the table. “What does Lord Cao Pi have to say about this?”

The air in the room seemed to turn to ice in the breath following his question, as more than one expected a classic butting of heads between father and son, but then Cao Pi lifted his head and gave Dun a placid look. “Actually, I agree wholeheartedly.”

Even Zhenji looked at him in surprise. “You do?”

“My father is quite correct on a number of points,” Pi conceded. “While small units of our army have seen some action, the bulk of it has been idle long enough. Orochi has chosen a poorly-conceived den in which to sequester himself, for he is surrounded on all sides with no clear path of escape. Now that we have seen Osaka Castle fall, he has literally nowhere else to go but his precious Koshi Castle in the burning lands, and yet if he tries to march that way, he will have Resistance armies falling on both flanks and the rear, shredding him from behind like a tiger on the deer’s back. I am concerned that in leaving him there, when he finally does choose to rise and move, it will be a desperation move that often proves extremely bloody and tragic, and successful for the desperate party. The Resistance has been built on strong pillars, it would be a shame to see them torn down by the eruption of Hell itself right in our midst.”

His acceptance of the proposal pleased Cao Cao, but inwardly he had to wonder just how much his son had anticipated, for he had already taken the upper hand simply by agreeing. All he could do was push his boundaries even more. “In that case, I would like to head the assault myself. I have convalesced far too long, it is time Orochi sees just what the Hero of Chaos can do.”

“As you please, Father,” Cao Pi said with a nod. “However, I strongly advise against turning out our own castles. Call up the reserves from Chencang, but we cannot leave Xuchang, Odawara, and Jianye unmanned. Odawara is too close to He Fei to abandon, lest he move there instead, and Jianye lies along one potential breakout path.”

At last, something on which to needle him. Cao Cao gave him a keen look. “You would have _me_ go begging to Oda Nobunaga for assistance, and what’s more, Sun Jian?”

Pi did not rise to the bait. “I said nothing of the kind. By all means, give Master Fengxiao the information he needs to plan a strategy and if he sees any gaps in our strength, we can decide on who to request reinforcements from at that time.” He tipped his head toward his lead strategist. “I have already discussed He Fei at length with Ishida, he is prepared to assist.”

Finding himself outmaneuvered, Cao Cao bowed his head to accept. “Then, we ought to retire to do so immediately. An assault of this size will take time to prepare, and we must not give Orochi too much time to rest and strengthen his defense.”

“My lord.” From beside Zhenji, Diaochan straightened up and spoke out boldly. “Is there any chance my lord husband will be there?”

“Lu Bu is one of the few officers still left in Orochi’s service,” Mitsunari replied. “I’d say it’s pretty likely that he’s there.”

Diaochan looked from him to Cao Pi. “Then you must take me. I will go, I will fight.”

Cao Cao looked at her with undisguised interest. “You would place your own life at risk, my lady?”

“My lord has risked his life to protect me,” she answered, “and there is no way to repay him except to risk my own in turn. I have only one wish in this demon realm, and if this is my one chance to fulfill it, then how can you keep me back?”

Cao Cao’s eyes widened, and Cao Pi simply bowed his shoulders to acknowledge her. “It shall be done, Lady Diaochan. You are perhaps the only one with the true right to face him, and I feel that between you and Wenyuan, the matter of how to stop Lu Bu is already handled. He is not the only strong officer likely to be inside that castle, but each will have to be taken into consideration.”

She grasped her fist and bowed deeply to thank him for hearing her out, for now she would be able to face her husband and make every attempt to liberate him from Orochi’s clutches. There wasn’t much else to be said in open council about the idea, so they ended it and split up to begin preparations, as Cao Cao clearly wanted to move out the instant they were ready and not a moment later. It would still take a couple of days, particularly if messages needed to be sent to their other holdings to summon officers, but this was not the sort of assault that would wait a week or a month to be carried out. As they walked away from the map room, Mitsunari chuckled softly under his breath. “You called it, right down to the arguments he made. I’m impressed.”

“Is it really so impressive for a son to know the ways of his father?” Cao Pi retorted dryly. “Particularly when it comes to his ambition.”

“Are you really going to let him have command?” Zhenji asked as she strode at his other side. “You know that’s just asking for trouble.”

“Why not? History has proven him a capable military leader.” Pi offered his arm to his wife, since they were all going the same way. “Whatever he may say to gain favor with our officers, I know his true intent. He desires to be the one to end Orochi with his own hand. While I believe that with the right plan and the right officers leading our men we can take He Fei Castle and drive Orochi into the wilderness, I am uncertain my father will be able to carry out that goal. Our men must be prepared to step in and prevent him from doing anything foolish in pursuit of his ambition, if he throws away every gain of the Resistance in order to seek his own personal glory.”

“I will say that I’m not the least bit surprised he got this idea into his head after brushing up against Oda Nobunaga,” Mitsunari snorted. “I’m half tempted to write to Naoe and find out just how that encounter actually went without any of the great, swelling words of official correspondence and diplomacy.”

“It’ll have to wait,” Pi smirked. “Give it an hour and you’ll be called in to work on the strategy. My father is intent on making this happen, so there will be no delays. As soon as Guo Jia is up to date on the terrain, he’ll be ready for your assistance.”

Mitsunari glanced at him. “Are you staying back to keep control of Xuchang, then?”

“Not if I can help it. Make room in the vanguard for me – and yourself.”

“Not me,” Zhenji implored. “I would follow my lord into hell if need be, but this sounds like an unpleasant conglomeration of men I have no interest in being around. Present company excluded,” she added with a sultry look to her husband.

Cao Pi drew her hand up from where it rested on his arm and kissed the back of it. “Will you take charge of Xuchang then, my princess?”

The idea had an indulgent smirk curving her lips. “Me, in charge of the imperial capital? Why yes, I do believe that suits me. When you return, you’ll have to pry me out of that throne.”

“Not that it’s very imperial these days,” Mitsunari chuckled.

“It’s the principle of the thing that matters,” Zhenji said slyly.

Cao Pi’s estimation was right on the mark, it really had been no more than an hour before Mitsunari was summoned to meet with Guo Jia, and found Jia Xu entering alongside him. It was time to get down to work, and the three of them were more than content to do so in private without lords and officers looking over their shoulders and offering unhelpful advice. They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the parlor near Guo Jia’s quarters, even having their dinner brought to them there, so they could focus without distractions. Twilight came on beyond the windows while they sat around a sketch of the castle grounds, nursing tea instead of wine to keep their minds clear and calm, Jia Xu perched on the windowsill while Guo Jia sat in a fine chair and Mitsunari knelt on the rug as was more familiar to him. “That should cover all of our potential setbacks,” Fengxiao murmured, lifting the cup to his lips. “It would be better if we had any kind of information on what might be inside that castle, but it can’t be helped. A strategist who cannot roll with the surprises is no strategist at all.”

“It’s a shame we’ll be coming at it from the other direction,” Mitsunari said thoughtfully, “with no way to make use of the river. I’ll be content keeping the defenders from using the shore to sneak around to our flank.”

“It’s good to know we have someone as reliable as you to verify that the river still runs past it, Master Ishida,” Jia Xu said smartly.

Mitsunari gave him a sly look back. He was starting to be able to discern the difference between cutting sarcasm and friendly teasing from the other wily tacticians. “The benefit of being inside Orochi’s inner circle – they had much better maps than the Resistance at that time. I made a point to know them well even if I never visited half the holdings myself.”

“I have to say, Master Ishida,” Guo Jia said airily, “I have come to really like you. You’re intelligent, well-informed, cautious, and have the young master’s best interests in mind. I can only hope Lord Toyotomi has treated you as well as our lord, to gain such loyalty.”

Mitsunari glanced at him. “It isn’t that I’ve given up my loyalty, so don’t think that,” he said to cut short any questions. “From the very start, when Orochi’s shadow fell over Odawara, I knew that this was no longer our world to claim. The struggles to raise up a capable shogun to govern under the emperor were of no consequence any longer, and anyone who tried to reinstate them was an idiot. There is only one enemy here – Orochi – and using our old petty quarrels as a means to prevent anyone from fighting against him is sheer stupidity.” He took up his tea and cradled the cup in his hands, letting the warmth spread to each fingertip. “It just so happened that Lord Cao Pi and I were approaching that end through the same technique, it was only natural that we work together. In the meantime, Lord Hideyoshi is doing just fine with Oda, there’s no reason to consider it an act of disloyalty for either of us to serve someone else for as long as we’re in this world.”

Fengxiao smiled easily. “I wouldn’t dare. Considering that most of us here have watched lesser men change loyalties as easily as changing a shirt, in our time, such dedication is admirable. The flexibility to know when you’re in the wrong situation and who is right to stick to is something that so few men have, I feel like so many of the tragedies and tears of our time would have been avoided if the crossroads of conviction and intelligence were less rare.”

“For what reason are you flattering him now?” Jia Xu broke in with a snort. “Is there something you want, or do you simply like hearing yourself talk?”

“What, I’m not allowed to compliment people, now?” Guo Jia laughed. “Perhaps I figured that as a man from another country and another time living in this place and brushing up against those of us who’ve been comrades for years, he might like to know that our lord isn’t the only one who appreciates his presence.”

“I don’t really need compliments or platitudes,” Mitsunari demurred, “but thank you, all the same.”

Xu leaned his shoulder against the frame of the window and turned his attention to the approach of night outside. “I can see why you and the young master work so well together. Not only are you of the same mind, you react much the same as he. Neither of you can be swayed by flattery, money, or power, and can hardly be distracted from your forward path. Together, the two of you are unstoppable. Why, I would venture to guess that if you put your mind to it, you could have this entire world of Orochi’s in your fist before the other Resistance leaders even blinked.”

Ah, there it was. Ishida sipped his tea and kept his eyes low, though he was aware of Guo Jia keenly awaiting his reaction. “What makes you think I would want such a thing? Do you have any idea of the responsibility required to rule an entire world? Not even Orochi could manage it, his conquest will be stripped from him in under a year’s time.” He sniffed a sardonic laugh. “If you actually believe that Lord Zihuan wants it, for that matter, then you’ve been listening to your old lord a bit too closely.”

The other two shared a knowing look and hint of a smile. The audacity of using his lord’s style name openly coupled with his keen grasp of what might have led to such a query amused and impressed them both. “Well spotted,” Jia Xu said, raising his cup to salute Ishida. “However, neither Fengxiao nor I are such sycophants that we should sacrifice our reputations in such a way. Lord Cao Cao _is_ curious, but we have both assured him that his son is not out to usurp his rightful title or throne. He won’t be satisfied without proof but such proof is likely impossible to show until after Orochi has been thrown down. If he can’t be content with our assurance, then he will just have to stew in his own doubts until then.”

Mitsunari’s stance relaxed and he eased back, sitting casually with his weight on one hand. He had wanted to like both of these tacticians, and now he felt free to do so. Gossiping with them sounded like a great way to unwind. “You originally fought against him before joining him, didn’t you?” he asked Xu. “I admit I haven’t read much about the fall of the Han but I do hear things here and there.”

“That is true,” Xu admitted with a vague nod. “It means I am aware of his weaknesses, faults, and failures, compared to some of his past advisors who continually told him how wonderful he was just to get some kind of reward. After all, he is Lord of Wei, not the Son of Heaven.”

“And I think all of us here know,” Guo Jia added sagely, “regardless of which emperor we’re familiar with, that Heaven likes to bestow its honor upon weak and unworthy fellows fairly frequently.”

“And here we are, soldiering on against the forces of Hell instead,” Mitsunari mused. “It makes me wonder if that isn’t somehow, deep down, why some of our people have gone over to him willingly. When everyone and everything else you’ve ever put your faith in fails you, why not turn to a demon overlord who successfully conquered what no one else could?”

“One would have to truly be in despair if Orochi is a better option than standing up for honor or justice or benevolence or whatever else you hold dearest,” Jia Xu murmured, taking his feet down off the windowsill and swiveling around to face the other two. “Though I suppose that’s easy for us to say, when we trusted that Lord Cao Pi had a plan all along even if we were not privy to it.”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t wonder once in a while,” Fengxiao chided him.

“Not as much as Xu Huang and Zhang Liao did,” Xu snorted. “I consider them the most faithful of our lord’s retainers and I don’t begrudge them a little concerned grumbling. So, I can hardly judge someone who has nowhere else to turn but Orochi.”

Guo Jia’s eyes shifted to Mitsunari as he finished his tea and set the cup aside by the map laid out before him. “Is there someone in particular you’re thinking of?”

Why he found it easy to discuss with them, Mitsunari didn’t know, but he went ahead with it anyway. “I have known Date Masamune for some time,” he confessed, “but I don’t understand his choices given what I know of him. The last time I was around him at Jianye he was full of an almost religious devotion to Orochi, but he wouldn’t speak to me of his reasons behind this change of heart, and I haven’t had the opportunity to ask since. I can only assume, like you say, Master Jia Xu – that something happened to completely devastate him, and leave him with no alternative.”

Discussing this was part gossip, part relevant to strategic purposes, so Guo Jia sat up and leaned toward him, his empty cup dangling from graceful fingers. “Did he have a lord to follow with that same level of devotion, back in your right time?”

“No, and that’s what confuses me the most,” Mitsunari answered. “Once he took complete lordship of his homeland, Oshu, he had designs on uniting the whole country, even if it meant going up against Uesugi, Oda, and even Tokugawa. It was only when he knew that he didn’t have the resources to take everyone on all at the same time that he joined himself to Lord Hideyoshi, but I knew he still harbored that level of ambition.” His lips twisted in a pensive frown. “He didn’t need to be beaten down in order to know who to serve, and he fought constantly for the stability and peace of Oshu. I know this, I saw it in him. I kept my eye on him because I knew that if my lord showed the slightest weakness or inability to unite the land, Date would have swept in to take his place without flinching.”

Guo Jia nodded. “So it isn’t as though he’s replacing a lord he’s lost, I see. No wonder it has been so difficult to come up with any kind of tactic to turn him away from Orochi’s service.”

“Our best bet is to capture him. Which, I think, will be one of my goals out of this assault.” Ishida bobbed his head toward both of his fellow strategists, one at a time. “I don’t expect that we’ll be able to kill Orochi on the spot. All of those generals will be there, though, which places them in a vulnerable position.”

“I will gladly join you in that venture,” Jia Xu decided. “If we can manage to drag just one officer kicking and screaming into our dungeons, that will go a long way toward placating Lord Cao Cao when his attempt to put a sword through Orochi’s chest falls short.”

“Do we all doubt that it will happen? Oh my,” Guo Jia teased. “Better not let him find out that we think so. If you’re going as secondary tactician, Jia Xu, do be sure that no gossip reaches his ear. It might make him sad.”

Xu snickered, and even Mitsunari smirked. “As long as we take the castle,” the latter reminded, “the basic goal will be satisfied and he won’t be able to complain. Take an officer and he might actually be content.”

“Now that he knows the reason he and Lord Oda were able to hit so hard was because Wu had already bitten through the serpent’s scales,” Xu added, “he is of a mind to prove himself all the more. We shall do our best as strategists to get him into position to attempt to bite him again. After that, we simply must make sure he isn’t genuinely killed this time.”

“I’m glad we are all of agreement.” Guo Jia pushed himself out of his chair and wandered across the room to his desk. “An occasion, I believe, which calls for a little wine so that we can put these thoughts out of our heads before bed. Tea doesn’t quite do the trick.”

The other two perked up, happy to learn that he had a jar stashed for his own use in his parlor, and Mitsunari moved to gather up their maps and papers and rolled them up to keep them from getting spilled upon. No matter what Cao Cao might have wanted from his planned assault, Ishida was still head strategist, so taking care of the logistics was still his responsibility. He wouldn’t indulge too much, so as to be ready in the morning for the next phase, but a cup or two with other like-minded scholars wouldn’t hurt. It might be the last taste they all could have until they were either toasting victory inside He Fei Castle or pouring funeral offerings in the darkness of another Orochi conquest.


	76. Chapter 76

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Cao leads an assault to take back He Fei Castle.

The Wei army moved into position with no time wasted, drawing portions of its strength from Jianye and Chencang to meet the main body marching from Xuchang. There would be no stealthy approach, Cao Cao wanted his enemy to know he was coming for him and arrayed his army accordingly. The encampments they made along the way were stout and well-defended, and they moved toward the castle lying separate from its original position inside Hefei territory with banners confidently flying the whole way. In the end Cao Cao had gotten his way and no official requests were sent to any of the nearby fortresses to ask for Resistance reinforcements, but traveling with that much pomp and ceremony, scouts from the other sides would pick up on their presence anyway. They reached their mustering point a safe distance from the outer walls of the compound and made camp there, not hiding their presence but setting up tight security at the perimeter to make sure that any enemy scouts who dared to approach would get only the impression of a very large army come to wage war and no details beyond that. They wanted the best opportunity for the battle to play out fully with no distractions or interference, so the plan was to get a good night’s rest and prepare their special tools, and attack in the morning. With the sun setting somewhere off behind the trees to the west, Zhang He approached Xiahou Yuan where he stood on the highest knoll around, which still wasn’t high enough to see into the castle but at least gave him an archer’s preferred view of the terrain around the camp. “I can’t believe it’s taken this long for us to finally be in a battle together!” He exclaimed, making his comrade jump. “At last!”

“Dammit Junyi, don’t sneak up on me like that,” Yuan grumbled at him before settling down and folding his arms resolutely. “Yeah, it’s been way too long, huh? I hear you weren’t into the whole Orochi thing at first, either.”

Zhang He rolled his eyes so hard he had to toss his hair to go with it. “It was dreadful, I tell you. I had half a mind to desert and leave Sima Yi in the jungle but Lord Zihuan got wind of it and dragged me back before I could. You and your cousin had the right idea, really.”

“Nah, we didn’t,” Yuan sighed. “Dun was just being a stubborn ass, he didn’t really have a plan. We didn’t do as much to protect people and whittle down Orochi’s forces all on our own – we told ourselves we were doing good work, but we really weren’t.” He heaved a short chuckle to himself. “Wasn’t expecting Dun to be proven right about Lord Cao Cao, though. That was a hell of a surprise.”

Junyi arched an eyebrow at him. “Did he seriously believe Lord Cao Cao to be alive?”

Yuan made a pensive face. “Believed…I don’t think so. Wished? Yeah, he really did. He wanted it so badly he was willing to ignore reality for it.”

“If you can call any of this reality,” He sniffed, nodding toward the sight of the outer walls of He Fei washed with the red light of the setting sun in the distance. “No matter how many demons I cut down or how many strange fellows from Wa I brush up against, I still keep thinking I’m going to wake up in Xuchang – the real Xuchang, not the fire-blasted version we have here – and find nothing more pressing than an invitation to the Prime Minister’s banquet waiting for me.”

Xiahou Yuan laughed for real this time. “That’d be nice, but this ain’t no nightmare, as awful as it is sometimes. Although if we see the big snake face to face tomorrow…” He nodded toward the castle as well. “I bet it’ll feel like a nightmare, all right. Probably look like one too.”

As loyal as they both were to Cao Cao, the thought of going up against Orochi had them as dubious as the strategists. Zhang He folded his arms over his chest and turned to face Yuan more directly, the better to drop his voice and gossip privately. “I know Lord Cao Cao faced him at Bai Di and sent him slithering away, but do you really think we can actually destroy him, here and now?”

“I dunno.” Yuan pushed his helm back in order to scratch under the edge of the cap. “Dian Wei told me they were pretty sure Orochi was already hurt, that time, but he’s had time to heal up since then. Leave it to Lord Cao Cao to make it even more of a challenge for himself than it needs to be.”

“If it goes wrong, he’ll still manage to come out of it safely and with his army intact,” He pointed out. “He’s rather good at that. As for me, I think I’ll be content so long as I can scratch Date Masamune’s other eye out. He’s such an annoying little brat, he deserves it.” He suddenly remembered why he had actually come out so far from the camp, besides chatting with one of his favorite officers. “Oh! Has there been any sign of our reinforcements from Chencang? Lord Zihuan wanted to know.”

“I haven’t seen anything,” Yuan replied, looking from the walls to the river falling into shadow on the east side of the castle. “Last I heard there was a report they were on the way, but might not make it before we launch the attack in the morning.” He waved a hand dismissively. “It’ll be fine! Look at all the officers we’ve got, we had to turn some back so there wouldn’t be too many. My son and some of the others from our clan wanted to join in, but they’re holding Odawara now so some of those guys can go and hold Osaka.”

Zhang He squealed a little and clapped his hands. “I can’t wait to see how much your son has grown! The last I remember of him back home he was still only, what, thirteen? It’ll be so interesting to see him as a man.”

“Interesting is right,” Yuan said with a grin. “It’s crazy, being in a place where people come from different times and some of ‘em aren’t kids anymore. It’s like everybody’s in their prime, no matter what year it was back home.”

“I suppose if one wants to fight as much as Orochi does, one would want to fight all his enemies in their prime,” He mused, tapping a finger to his chin. “Anyway. I guess the fun reunions will have to wait until after we’ve taken care of this business.”

“You ready?”

“Of course!” He flicked his ponytail over his shoulder. “I’ve been ready for ages. Sitting around commanding a castle is so not my style.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Yuan said wryly. “Well, let’s make it a good one. Bring back lots of heroic stories for Xu Huang and Zhang Liao so they can really get a feel for what they’re missing out on.”

“And no dying,” Zhang He said adamantly, poking him in the chest with a finger. “That’s not beautiful, not in a place like this. Save the beautiful death for the real world.”

“I’ m not gonna die,” Yuan assured him, pushing his poke away. “If Lord Cao Cao can escape death, then the rest of us have to live up to that.”

Satisfied with that sort of determination, Zhang He pivoted on a heel and sashayed back toward the camp, with Xiahou Yuan following. He had seen all he could see, there was nothing more to do but double-check his arrows and get a good night’s sleep.

Very rarely did the armies of Resistance and Orochi take the time to parley before heading into battle, and if they did it was usually because the commanders both belonged to a more civil time and place where it was only courteous to demand surrender in words first rather than the brandishing of swords. This was not going to be one of those times. Cao Cao was intent on moving quickly, everyone was aware of his haste and determination and they all stepped up so as not to let him and his plan down. He sat proudly on his horse with his army arrayed around and behind him until Jia Xu gave him the signal that all was ready, and at that point he led them out of the encampment and down to the main gate of the castle compound. He Fei had a stout city wall around its perimeter, but no town lay around outside it, only the wilderness – forest on two sides, hills to the back, and the river on the final border. The Wei army had no boats to bring across land to be used, so they had not factored the river into their strategy except to keep watch for their enemies to try to use it to get around behind them. A couple of smaller, flat-bottomed boats sat at anchor at the pier immediately outside the eastern gate, and Mitsunari already had his eye on them in interest. He sat with Cao Pi in the vanguard, prepared to be one of the first to go in, while the most famous officers of Wei surrounded them. In fact, only he and Diaochan had no original affiliation with Wei, the rest were all Cao Cao’s old guard save for Xu Huang and Zhang Liao, who had their own duties protecting Jianye and Xuchang. Most of them were on foot as well, leaving horses behind in the camp because once inside the citadel walls, they were sure to not need them, which left the two lords and their strategists and bodyguard in the saddle head and shoulders above their army. Cao Cao drew his sword and lifted it to command attention. “The time has come to topple the serpent from his throne, stolen from our very hands! Forward, and wrest it from his claws!”

The army as a whole cheered him, noisily enough to serve as the first warning to those inside the castle that they were about to be beset. Xiahou Dun turned his horse, brandishing his podao as well to call his own unit to him. “Our orders are to take the western city gate, let’s move!”

Cao Pi gathered the reins but did not yet draw his weapon. “Our lot is the main gate. Ishida, Yue Jin, Cao Ren – you’re with me.”

He spared his father only the briefest glance before charging in, the soldiers under him moving swiftly to batter the gate and force entry. Cao Cao nodded his approval that everything was in place, the only uncertainty in his plan was the exact time of arrival of their reinforcements from Chencang. They were on the way, that much he knew, but the timing would be up to chance. Fortunately, the bulk of his plan did not hinge on them. “We must attack the castle on three fronts,” he insisted, looking to see who else remained. “Zhang He, it’s up to you to get around to the water-side and open that gate.”

“On it, my lord,” Zhang He sang out, dashing straight off. “Join me, my lady, we will show these snakes a dance they’ll never forget!”

Diaochan ran after him, and their units streamed after, taking a path on foot along the base of the wall to slip around and skirt the edge of the river to get to the third gate. Sentries on the walls already spotted them and which way each force was moving, but the size of the remaining army waiting for the main gate to be taken out drove one soldier to run a message to the innermost chambers of the castle far across the valley. The Orochi army had already laid precautions in the event that anyone from any side decided to attack them, but seeing the Wei forces assembled nearby gave them time to put even more ideas into practice, such that He Fei would be impenetrable so long as their men fought and did not give in. The messenger found Orochi standing at the portico just outside the throne room as if observing the weather and the surroundings, with Date Masamune alone at his side. The rest of their officers had all been deployed throughout the compound. Upon hearing the news of who awaited him at the gate, Orochi’s face darkened with an irritated scowl. “Cao Cao…” he repeated. “One so weak does not deserve to live.”

“I take it you would want to kill him yourself, my lord?” Date asked cautiously, lifting his head to gaze up at him.

“Indeed,” the demon overlord seethed. “But for the sake of the army, he should not be permitted to reach me. If that chance comes, I will go to him. I will end his life this time and there will be no failure.”

“Understood.” Masamune laid a hand on the saber sheathed at his side. “What are your orders, then?”

Orochi appeared to consider it for a moment. “Call Boomslang and Mamushi to attend me. Other than that, do as you like.”

Masamune bowed and turned swiftly to head off, sending that same messenger to locate the two named snake demons and tell them to fall back to guard their lord. There were still seven others scattered around the castle, not to mention all of the human officers still remaining to them, his own Date and Katakura corps, plus Lu Bu and Maeda Keiji both. Date had been instrumental in arranging the castle resources to protect the gates and walls, so as long as everyone carried out their orders as directed, it didn’t matter to him how big the Wei army was – they could not succeed, as far as he was concerned. Being in Orochi’s presence so much over the recent days had reinstated his flagging faith and banished his doubts, and now he had every opportunity to prove his strength and cleverness to his lord. As he stormed down the steps and through the courtyard, he passed a grouchy Lu Bu, who called out to him. “What news, then?”

Date whirled mid-step and spoke while still walking backwards. “Stay here,” he ordered firmly. “I need to get a read on the size of their army, but you’re more valuable here than at the front. Keiji is already in place?”

Lu Bu nodded once. “He went earlier, as requested.”

“Good.” Masamune spun back and kept going, calling over his shoulder. “If they breach the gates, I’ll have new orders for you then. For now, _stay here!_ ”

He broke into a jog as he skirted the decorative pools in the courtyard and headed down the steps to the lower section of the castle where most of their forces were currently awaiting orders. A few quick words had some moving off but most staying put, mustering their units into solid ranks so that anyone who came in from without would find themselves faced with rows upon rows of infantry filling the yard from fore to rear and side to side. This castle was not at all undermanned, and though Date had plans in place to keep the enemy out, should they manage to enter, they would meet that daunting sight and know just how little chance they had to succeed. He dashed up the parapet steps to where his engineers were positioned on the battlements of the main castle compound overlooking the outer ward, verifying that the rest of his orders had been carried out with just a glance. One of the sentries on the wall looked anxiously to him. “They are attacking all three gates simultaneously,” he reported. “Signals from the front indicate that all three are in danger of falling.”

“I expected as much,” Masamune said curtly, scanning the grounds below for himself. “It’s fine. The city wall wasn’t going to keep them out for long no matter what, the real defense is inside. Everything is ready?”

“Yes, sir,” the soldier answered crisply, drawing himself up to attention. “All units are loaded and primed. Sidewinder and the others have moved into position and await your signal.”

“Good. Hold here until my mark.” Masamune turned and marched back down the stairs, heading to the opposite side of the castle’s main gate where he would have a better view of two of the gates. Timing was crucial to their plan to overwhelm the attackers in the center, and he needed to personally give that signal from a spot where his units could see. He reached his vantage point just in time, as the main city gate crashed open and Wei troops poured in.

Cao Pi held back until the soldiers on foot had swept through the gap and fanned out before spurring his horse and charging in, with Mitsunari on one side and Cao Ren on the other. He was not at all taken by surprise when two snake demon captains burst from the outbuildings leading an ambush, he and Ishida had expected as much and their units were already moving to counter. Sidewinder had expected to fall upon their flank as they passed, but the infantry spreading out along the inside of the wall and sweeping around them completely stymied that plan and had the ambush fending off resistance on all sides. Pi did not even dismount, he rode through the ranks with Pure Havoc in its single form cutting in wide swings to mow down the enemy wherever he went. He made sure to make his presence known so that the Orochi army would report that information back to whoever was leading the charge, as intended. In no time at all they had the serpent soldiers fleeing back toward the castle wall, breaking off to either the right or the left, only to find themselves set upon again as Xiahou Dun broke through the western gate and Zhang He breached the east. Pulling up, Cao Pi glanced to the strategist riding beside him. “As predicted.”

“Xiahou Dun knows to let them pass, right?” Mitsunari asked warily.

“Even in the heat of battle he will not lose sight of the objective,” Pi assured. “Particularly since my father’s safety relies on him obeying orders and not rushing off.” He raised his voice and his blade to bark out the next order. “Bring up the battering ram!”

Beyond the city walls, Cao Cao did not need a report to know that things were going off exactly as planned, he knew it when he saw the wheeled cart bearing the battering ram they had prepared being hauled in through the main gate. All the same, a lieutenant came running to inform him, “My lord! All three gates have been breached!”

“Excellent,” Cao Cao acknowledged. “All forces must gather in the center of the castle and attract the enemy’s attention. Xu Zhu,” he ordered the stout man standing near his stirrup, “now is when you move in. Go to the center and make sure the others follow.”

“Right on, Lord Cao Cao!” Xu Zhu said brightly, jogging off with his own unit in tow.

Another messenger came around from where the Xiahou clan had made their advance, running swiftly. “My lord! A problem! The bypath has been blockaded from above!”

Cao Cao frowned to himself, but Jia Xu beside him seemed unruffled. “Just what I expected. They have every entrance covered.”

“This battle hinges upon our sneak attack being carried out successfully,” Cao Cao complained. “We must secure that path.”

“I have it covered,” Jia Xu assured, gesturing for a horse to be brought to him. “Come, fellows, let’s move out.” The men who had responded to his signal were engineers he had prepared for just such an occasion, strong ones who could break down barriers and shrewd craftsmen with explosives and other tools. As one they all took off to circle around the wall to the west, led by the tactician.

Cao Cao gave them a moment to vanish around the corner of the wall and then looked to Dian Wei, his last remaining officer attending him. “That should be enough. Let’s move to support them.”

“So soon?” Wei queried. “You’re not gonna wait for them to report back?”

“I have a feeling that a barricade may be the least of their worries,” the Wei lord replied. “In any case, we are no longer needed here. My son has the enemy’s attention in the middle, right where we want it.” He clapped his heels to his horse’s flanks, not waiting for Dian Wei to verbally assent before moving out to assist the engineers.

In the center, Cao Pi remained mounted and very obvious to anyone observing from the walls or the ground as he called up the battering ram and supervised its usage. As he did, Yue Jin rode to coordinate with Xiahou Dun and Zhang He, who were supposed to make a feint toward the center until a certain moment and then turn back to their respective sides to make a secret assault on the two side doors. Everyone held their position as ordered to watch the ram work, burly soldiers rolling it into place at the main gate and then swinging it with all their might to bash at the giant iron doors. This gate would not be so easy to tear down, the mechanism was necessary, but it had a secondary purpose in drawing the Orochi army’s attention to the center and getting them to believe that they needed to concentrate their forces there. It all seemed to be going right until a shrill voice called out from the wall above them. “Ready! Fire!”

Mitsunari looked up sharply, knowing exactly who was giving that order. There was a creak and a snap and the loaded, primed catapults ranged along the parapet all fired at once, launching massive stones and rains of shrapnel on the entirety of the army massed around the battering ram. Cao Pi growled at the surprise and then yelled an order of his own. “Against the wall! Get out of their range!”

Not everyone heard or obeyed, some went running back through the outbuildings trying to escape being hit or use the buildings as shelter from projectiles. Cao Ren bravely raised his shield over his head and rode toward the ram, using himself to protect the soldiers there from being hit. The rest took their lord’s advice and shrank up against the walls where the catapults couldn’t reach them, though the defenders countered that as well by heaving loose stones down on them from directly above. Mitsunari drew up alongside Cao Pi with an urgent scowl. “It’s Date,” he reported. “He’s onto us, completely.”

“Then let’s keep his attention on us,” Pi murmured back, slashing with his blade to deflect a stone from hitting him. “Bring everyone in to the center, but watch those catapults!”

Ishida gathered the reins, foregoing use of his fan under the battering hail from the wall and galloping off to one side to find Zhang He and Diaochan and relay the orders, then all the way back to the other side to do the same for Xiahou Dun. The sneak attacks could wait, they needed to keep the catapults firing until they exhausted their ammunition. Trying to draw fire without being struck was a difficult task even for the skilled generals, Cao Ren’s shield rang with every hit as he tried to protect his men and the ram and even Cao Pi himself took a few small hits as he dodged and circled. It was safer close to the wall, so long as they looked up to see whether someone was going to drop a rock on their heads. Many of their men went down, at least temporarily, and then the battering ram itself burst apart with a crash as a huge projectile soared over the gate and landed straight onto it. Fortunately, the strategists had collectively anticipated a setback like this, and there was a backup ram already waiting just outside the city wall, ready to be wheeled in and take up where the other had left off. Two was all they had, though, and Cao Pi exhorted his men not to let this one be destroyed. The iron doors were already heavily dented, but it would take some work to finish the job.

Beyond the western gate, Jia Xu and his engineers raced up the bypath with all due haste in order to make the most of the distraction going on inside the walls. He trusted that they would keep all Orochi eyes away from this route and focused solely on his duty clearing the way, not even pausing to glance through the gate to see for himself how things were going. It was tempting, but he managed. He could see the barricade up ahead, a collection of timber, tree limbs, and loose rock heaped onto the short flight of steps which cut up the bank toward one of the rear gates to the castle. It was clever and prudent, he could appreciate it. If the Orochi army had no way to man every gate at the same time, particularly this one which opened straight out into the wilderness, it was better to block access and force attackers to expend men and energy trying to get through it. But he was prepared, and could see at a distance that it wasn’t so solid that they couldn’t just blow it up with a little black powder. That is, until something burst from the trees beside the path – a huge gray stallion bearing a dangerous rider. They rode out from hiding and placed themselves right in front of the blockade, and a small cadre of soldiers followed after, surrounding man and steed with spears out. Jia Xu pulled up at a cautious distance, silently calculating how quickly he could reach behind himself and yank his weapon free. “Well,” he said loud enough for his foes to hear, while gesturing to hold the engineers back. “Congratulations, you’ve managed to surprise me.”

Maeda Keiji didn’t look particularly thrilled to have ambushed one officer and a small pack of worthless peons, harrumphing under his breath. “Y’know, I’m not a big fan of using tricks and traps against the enemy,” he grunted, whirling his pike around and down. “I find that just smackin’ them in the face is way more effective.”

Xu huffed a sardonic chuckle. “You must be Maeda, then. Master Ishida’s description was spot-on.”

Keiji’s wild eyes went cold, hearing that name. “Is that so? Well, then, get ready for a smackdown, ‘cause you seem to want one.”

Jia Xu hurriedly yanked his sickle free from its sheath behind his back, letting the chain spool out on the ground beneath him, but before Keiji could even charge, both heard the thud of galloping hooves coming up the path, and then Dian Wei’s unmistakable roar of challenge. Xu yanked on the reins to turn aside and got out of the way just as the bodyguard blew past him and lit into the pack of foes. The spearmen scattered but Keiji whipped his pike around to block the giant battle axe with a clash that echoed off the wall at their side and made both warriors wince at the jolt to their arms. A second later, both were grinning hungrily across their weapons. “Don’t mind if I step in,” Dian Wei said with an eager growl.

“Ooh, now things are getting interesting!” Keiji shot back. “Pile on, everybody! Let’s have some crazy fun!”

Jia Xu glanced aside as Cao Cao pulled up, his sword drawn but in no hurry to take on this wild man blocking their way. “Excellent timing, my lord,” the tactician greeted him.

“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt,” Cao Cao said smartly. “I’m sure you would have enjoyed tackling this obstruction yourself, but you know how it is.”

“Oh, no, no trouble at all,” Xu teased back. “I believe Dian Wei is exactly the right man for this job. Thank you for bringing him.” The small vanguard with Keiji took his order seriously and rushed forward, away from the clashing riders, so Xu whirled his sickle at the end of its chain and lit into them, preventing them from injuring any of the engineers. Cao Cao held back to guard their soldiers and the retreat, but he watched Dian Wei struggle and strain against Maeda with keen interest. It seemed he was in for a real show.

The battering ram at the main gate swung and bashed over and over, while the catapults on the wall above creaked and snapped with steady rhythm as they were reloaded and sprung one after another. Which would manage to complete their work first was up to luck, though Cao Ren still stood braced on the ram cart with his shield up, deflecting as many stones as he could. When the crash sounded, it was Wei who let out the cheer of triumph – their ram had survived just long enough, the iron doors were open! Cao Pi glanced aside to give Xiahou Dun a nod, for that was their final signal to send the side units to carry out their sneak attack on the additional gates of the castle. The chaos around the wall allowed Dun and Yuan to slip away, weave through the outbuildings, and set upon the side door to the west, while Zhang He and Diaochan ducked to the east and made their way through the empty marketplace toward their own target. With that set in motion, Cao Pi mustered the rest of the army behind him, raised Pure Havoc high, and gave the order to enter the castle. His contingent was prepared for a terrible fight, as it was their duty to go straight through the middle and draw the enemy’s attention fully onto them, but they had no idea just how much of a defense was waiting for them. They poured in through the open gate to find three or four times the usual number of enemy soldiers filling the courtyard beyond, and at the first sight of the Resistance entering, no less than ten officers yelped out orders to fold in and beset the attackers. Ishida rode in ahead of his unit in a desperate hope to catch Date, but he was quickly surrounded and did not even spot the commander in the massive crowd. Even with Cao Ren, Yue Jin, and Xu Zhu backing him up, Cao Pi reined in hard at the sight of the melee awaiting them in the broad main courtyard, his eyes growing cold and his face hard. He couldn’t see an end to the soldiers, both human and demon, though the officers in command were of no worth to him – he didn’t even recognize the ones from Wa, and the Han were loyal to Lu Bu or Dong Zhuo before him. It was more concerning to find themselves so heavily outnumbered, at least until their other units carried through their part of the plan and were able to fall upon this army from the sides. “Spread out as when we breached the city wall,” he called out to his men, “and do not allow yourselves to be pinned in the center. Mitsunari!”

Mitsunari was already taking care of something on his own, he sprang from the saddle and ran up one of the parapet stairways to attack the troops manning the catapults. Cao Pi lifted his head to see him in action and watched him sweep like a golden shadow along the battlement, his fan whirling to cut down each man who tried to get in his way. Satisfied, Pi turned back and began to cut his way through the throngs, fending them off and refusing to let himself be surrounded and dragged down. He kicked his horse and squeezed through an opening to battle one on one with Gao Shun, one of Lu Bu’s loyal generals. They just had to hold out long enough, but even with Cao Ren’s stout shield, Xu Zhu’s giant club, and Yue Jin’s swift swords, it looked to be a daunting and exhausting task, and then there was still Lu Bu and Orochi beyond.

The Xiahous and Zhang He each encountered more or less the same obstacle when they broke through the side doors and pushed their way into the castle through garden corridors. Each way was decorated with stone fences and great crouching lion statues, each of which held a secret defense of their own. The Wei officers knew it well, but that didn’t make it any easier to get past. Most of the lions had open mouths, from which darts and flame could be shot at intruders. There was no time to destroy them, all they could do was dodge the projectiles and cut through the troops manning the weaponry in order to reach the inner ward of the castle. As they progressed, Zhang He darted confidently through the rank-and-file with astonishing agility, only to have something fly at him from the side and hit him with feet to shoulder, knocking him clear into the opposite wall. He sat for a moment shaking his head, trying to clear it and focus, and then looked up to see something new and different towering over him. Gray-skinned like the snake soldiers, it was taller and well-muscled with longer arms and legs. It wore almost no armor except for heavy bracers and metal-clad gauntlets and a strange closed helm that hid its face, save for a curious gleam where eyes should have been. “What the…?” Zhang He breathed, staring. “What in _heavens_ are you?”

“Lord Zhang He!” Diaochan had seen him take the hit and closed in fast, whirling her mace in anticipation of hitting the thing which had attacked him.

The enemy creature chuckled harshly behind its helm. “You will die here,” it intoned.

Diaochan came at it fast, but it shot out a hand and punched the mace away in mid-swing with a metallic crunch. She whirled gracefully out of it but held back, wary of taking this opponent lightly. Zhang He leaped to his feet, then, recovered enough to launch himself in a flurry of claw-strikes. The creature swung its fists to block with its hard gauntlets, every bit as fast and agile as Junyi. It looked like stone lions were the least of their troubles, if they wanted to get through to the main yard to join their comrades.

On the other end, Xiahou Dun and his cousin had come up against a strange roadblock of their own, one which stood taller than the rooftop of the ward itself, with an enormous club in one hand and tiny, piggy eyes squinting over its long tusks. “Well, this is new,” Yuan muttered. “Any ideas?”

“It doesn’t look that smart,” Dun grunted back. “Hit it until it goes down.”

Before either could move, that club came at them so fast and hard that both had to leap to the side and roll out of it. The club smashed right through one of the stone lions and then the wall beyond, raining bits of rubble on their nearby soldiers. “Hit it until it goes down,” Yuan sarcastically repeated as he came up on his knees and drew his bow to its limit. “ _Right_.”

All wings of the Wei army were entirely occupied with the castle’s staunch defense, so none of them were there to witness an unexpected development at the river’s edge save for a small unit holding the gate to prevent the Orochi army from circling around to their main camp. The soldiers looked behind them curiously and then with alarm as a flat-bottomed boat coasted up the river past the other ships moored at the quay. If it was the Orochi army sneaking upriver to their camp, they had no way to stop it. Yet, as they watched, the ship turned in near their position and ropes were flung out to dock it, and then the embarking ramp thudded onto the stone jetty near the gate. A brawny man strode into the gap to gauge the threat before them, only to have a flood of red-clad troops dash out from the ship on either side of him. Two more muscled officers backed up the first, and together all three strode down the ramp onto land, weapons at the ready. Seeing no Orochi soldiers nearby, they went straight to the contingent at the gate to present themselves. “We’re not too late, I take it?” Sun Ce asked brightly, twirling one tonfa idly.

The Wei troops startled, and then most of them saluted or bowed as their weaponry allowed. “Lord Sun Ce of Wu!” one cried. “What…why have you come here?”

“Oh, just passing by,” Sun Ce replied with a wink. “Figured I’d drop in. Where is your commander?”

“Lord Cao Cao is…well, I don’t know,” another answered. “The castle gates have all been breached, Lord Cao Pi is in the center.”

“Great. We’ll go look for him there.” He waved his tonfa to encourage the rest of his troops to follow him. “Cheng Pu, Xu Sheng, let’s move. Sounds like Lord Cao Pi could use a hand.”

The two officers with him raised their spears and followed him off, with their men trailing. The Wei soldiers could only look to one another, mystified at this turn of events. Did they really just receive reinforcements from Wu?

The melee in the center was completely out of control, the Wei generals and their opposing counterparts cut in and out of the masses of infantry in pursuit of one another, but no one looked to be retreating from that square in front of the main gate. The catapults were out of commission by now, so any remaining Wei soldiers who had been stuck outside had been able to safely work their way in, but as of yet there was no sign of the additional units who were supposed to be flanking on left and right. The Orochi forces clogged the plaza from wall to wall, having lost their cohesion but making up for it with sheer numbers. The teeming mass of living soldiers shifted constantly like the ocean in a storm, moving this way and that with every shift in momentum, pooling around officers and then spilling out when they broke through and took a fresh stand. It was getting hard to keep from accidentally cutting his own men, so Cao Pi had finally dismounted and went about on foot, whirling and charging through packs of the enemy who were all determined to bring him down, seeing him as the Resistance leader with a bigger price on his head than the actual commander of the battle. He evaded them expertly, though he was starting to flag and every time a hand closed on his cloak he was forced to spin around and slash at it to free himself. Mitsunari cut his way to his lord and backed him up, but the thick press of bodies all around made it hard to figure out where to move from there. They shared a concerned look but kept at it, having no choice but to fight on until no one was left. There was a sudden cry from behind them somewhere, and they looked toward the gate as some of their own started up a cheer of relief and shook their weapons in the air. The tide shifted yet again, this time sending a wave of soldiers rippling away from the main gate, and a moment later enough space cleared between bodies for Cao Pi to see why. He could hardly believe his eyes as the crush of russet red and tiger stripes cleared a path toward him, sending the Orochi forces scattering in all directions, and actually gasped under his breath as Sun Ce broke into the open by punching his tonfa straight into a snake captain’s gut and sending him skidding across the flagstone. He loped up to the Lord of Wei, a touch of smug confidence shining through his otherwise serious look. “Sun Ce,” Cao Pi greeted him, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice. “I don’t recall asking for your help.”

“I know you didn’t,” Ce said smartly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Then I won’t.” Pi’s expression softened for the briefest moment. “But thank you, all the same.”

Ce nodded manfully in acceptance. “What’s the story, then? Make it quick, this looks rough.”

“It is,” Mitsunari answered over his shoulder. “Let’s clear this courtyard and then we’ll talk.”

“Sounds good to me. Cheng Pu!” The Wu prince turned to call to his comrade, and then jabbed his tonfa toward a swirl of movement among the throng to the right. “Take care of that!”

Cao Pi bit back his amazement at seeing two more burly spearmen of Wu throw themselves in right alongside Cao Ren and Yue Jin, as Xu Sheng rallied their own men and Cheng Pu responded to the order, sweeping through the mess to liberate Zhang He and Diaochan who had finally appeared on the scene. Between the surprise from Wu and the wings finally folding in on the flanks of the Orochi units, it looked like they might have finally found the strength to push back and actually take down the scores of officers in the center. The Xiahou cousins were the last to join and looked rather roughed up, but they fell on the rear of the Orochi army from their side with savage energy, and at long last the momentum turned.

For his part, Date Masamune had pulled back from the main gate when it looked like it was going to fall, in order to reposition in time to send out a fresh wave of orders. It was he who sent Dodomeki and Gyuuki to the side wards to show their faces to the Resistance for the first time, expecting that they would be more than capable of stopping the sneak attacks, and then removed himself to the upper ward to supervise the battle. There were no reports from Keiji yet, but the upper gate of the palace was still tightly closed and well-guarded, so at least they had that going for them. Zhong Hui wanted to know the status of the melee in the center, so they discussed it and the possibility of the Wei Resistance getting through, at which point Lu Bu growled loudly and strode off toward his waiting horse. Date was still disseminating orders when he saw it. “Fortify the def…Lu Bu! Where do you think you’re going?”

Lu Bu swung up into the saddle with halberd loose in his hand. “Where do you think? Those fools in the center are not enough!”

“No, stay here!” Date demanded, rushing toward him. “Don’t be an idiot, get back here! You’re supposed to protect Lord Orochi!”

“I don’t take orders from you,” Lu Bu snarled at him, already riding off. “Do not tell me what to do!”

He was gone in a flash, leaving Masamune quivering with rage and Zhong Hui sniffing arrogantly. “Such legendary _rudeness_. How dare he abandon Lord Orochi?”

Date spun on his heel and stormed back up to the portico where Hui stood. “Tighten our defenses. If they get past him, we’ll have to pull Keiji back from guarding that path.” He didn’t even pause his urgent pacing, shouting over his shoulder at the other soldiers milling around. “And get me updated reports on the battle in the center! Now!”

Outside the walls, the question of whether or not Keiji would be able to assist the rest of the army was about to be answered. Whether or not his previous injuries and defeats slowed him down, he kept up handily against Dian Wei and refused to be budged from his position guarding the narrow stairwell that would allow attackers to get into the castle through an upper gate. He and his opponent had been unhorsed but continued to fight on undaunted on foot, the meeting of giant battle axe and pike producing a deafening barrage of rings that filled the little valley between citadel wall and trees. Jia Xu and Cao Cao had put the rest of the Orochi defenders to rout, so now they simply waited out the duel, ready to move in and take over should Dian Wei falter. He fought masterfully, though, moving more slowly than Maeda but hitting him with powerful blows that eventually started getting past the blocks and glancing along Keiji’s meager armor. Eyes blazing behind the makeup and wild hair, Keiji held his ground but just couldn’t knock this mountain of muscle down, no matter how hard and fast he struck back. All he could do was press the attack, shoving against the axe and circling around, finding himself met and parried at each turn until he felt something against his back and realized he’d been driven up against the city wall. Arms straining to hold his pike across his chest to fend off the attack, Keiji gritted his teeth and growled with the effort it was taking just to stay on his feet, to say nothing of preventing the enemy from getting past him. That was when he glanced just over Dian Wei’s shoulder at a movement in his line of sight, and realized he’d been pushed clear away from the blockade and the engineers were already in among the rubble pulling bricks down to expose the longer timbers they needed to haul out of the way. Keiji had failed his duty without being defeated. Enraged at their audacity, and perhaps at himself as well, he shoved his pike against the shaft of the axe to drive it into Dian Wei’s chest and then swept the Ogre Horn around to thrust with the two-pronged blade, but Wei swung around to knock the pike wide with one slam of his axe-blade. There came the slightest noise of cracking wood, and though the Ogre Horn did not split, the sound made Keiji pull back sharply to save himself and his precious pike. His back hit the wall again, and this time Dian Wei was ready, punching the butt of the axe into his opponent’s chest and then cracking him across the jaw with it. To his surprise, it wasn’t quite enough to actually drop Maeda Keiji – the pike, yes, but he remained on his feet, staggering and spitting blood. Keiji grabbed the shaft of the axe to keep it from hitting him again and snarled into Dian Wei’s face, his eyes wide and crazy and his bloodied lips breaking into a feral grin. “You’re quite the wild man yourself! But it ain’t over yet.”

“Damn right it ain’t,” Dian Wei shot back, doing his best to wrestle his weapon back under his control. Keiji was fierce, riding high on adrenaline and finding a second wind, so they pushed and pulled for a few minutes before the axe went flying and they set upon each other with their fists, grappling and then slugging each other. It was as knock-down and drag-out as a duel could get, nothing more than a brawl better suited to pirates and bandits than generals and samurai, but Keiji was beyond the need for technique and finesse and driven by anger and the thrill of the fight. Dian Wei was perfectly content to meet him on this battlefield this way, alternating between beastly growls and brash laughter at the way they pummeled and tangled. He didn’t even notice when the barricade on the steps had been removed enough to allow people to clamber through, only a sharp whistle from Cao Cao got his attention. He glanced to see why, and then gave Keiji’s fur collar one last ferocious yank. “Sorry, can’t play with you all day,” he retorted, raising his fist for a more direct punch.

“Don’t even give me that,” Keiji shot back with a savage, unstable grin. “If you wanna put me down then do it for real! Or are you too squeamish to kill me?”

Dian Wei cackled. “You think I’m too squeamish? Nah, I just don’t wanna ruin a work of art. You’re a hell of a wild man, let’s do this again.”

The haze seemed to clear from Keiji’s eyes, and his blazing grin softened. “You ain’t half bad yourself,” he admitted. “How ‘bout not the face, then?”

“Fine by me!” They both still had hands on each other, Maeda’s scrabbling for Dian Wei’s thick neck, but it didn’t take much manhandling for Wei to shift his stance and throw that fist into Keiji’s gut intead. It doubled him over, which made it easy to put him into a headlock and swiftly choke him to unconsciousness. There was no animosity in Dian Wei’s stance or his face as he tossed Keiji to the ground and left him there to sleep it off, and then picked up his axe before going back to his lord’s side. “Sorry about that, he was pretty tough. A lot tougher than he looked.”

Cao Cao stood aside as the engineers finished their work, dragging away the timbers and tree limbs to make the path fully clear without need for any explosives. “We’ll have to go on foot from here,” he said, not bothering to comment on the duel. “The horses will not take the stairs easily. But this should do fine – we are only a short distance from the side gate as it is.”

“Despite the size of the obstacle preventing us from reaching it,” Jia Xu noted, “I would not expect that the wild-haired man was the only guard. The gate is likely to be held well against us, given where it opens out.”

“I am aware. But I believe we have all we need to get through whatever unit is guarding it.” Cao Cao gave his bodyguard a keen smile. “I will lead – follow on!”

He turned to press on, climbing up the now-clean steps as if regally mounting the stairs to the imperial palace itself. The road continued on northward, cutting under the eaves of the wall of the innermost ward and then passing on into the wilderness beyond, but a track turned off to lead directly to the upper gate, which opened near to the very inner courtyard where Orochi himself was waiting. But Cao Cao’s plan was the kind any strategist could see through, even Chen Gong, so as soon as the vanguard came around the corner and showed their faces, there was a flash of movement between the buildings huddled up against the castle walls and the report of gunfire. The Katakura rifle corps zipped out from hiding and lined up in multiple tiers of expert marksmen, the rear line already reloading in order to take their shots in sequence when the others had spent their bullets. Katakura Kojuro stood leading them this time, calling out the orders to aim and fire. Cao Cao flinched at the unexpected sound, but Dian Wei remembered all too well from recent battles and thrust his lord out of the way with an arm, getting in front of him with his axe hefted like an enormous shield. “No one is gonna lay a finger on my lord until I’m cold in the ground!”

Behind his back, Cao Cao’s eyes darkened with a shadow for a fleeting moment, but he recovered quickly and set a hand on Dian Wei’s shoulder to let him know he was unhurt from that first barrage. Katakura faced them sternly, drawing his own pistol from behind his buckler. “A finger is not needed when a bullet will do.”

In the center, the reinforcements from Wu made all the difference between a long, painful afternoon of battleclash with no certain outcome and genuine progress. Cheng Pu planted his feet and swung his spear to bash away enemies while Zhang He flitted easily around him, picking off anyone who would try to attack from behind, while Xu Sheng fought with such energy that Xiahou Yuan found him a refreshing change from his cousin’s dour presence, and laughed along with him as they drove the Orochi army back in toward the castle interior. Only a couple of officers were still standing their ground – all human – making a last stand near the temple in the center, which didn’t afford them much shelter from the swarms of Wei soldiers piling down on them under Cao Pi’s direct command. It was going their way at last, he dared to hope, but then the ring of bronze-shod hooves on the flagstone of the courtyard and a wave of shouts warned him to look up just in time. Even if they knew full well that he was not invincible, the sight of Lu Bu was still enough to send many of the Wei and Wu soldiers into a panic out of instinct and memory alone. He rode like a thunderstorm into their midst, knocking bodies sprawling with his horse and not even caring whether they were allies or foes. His head turned this way and that looking for a specific target, and when he spotted Cao Pi near the dead-center of the courtyard, he yanked on the reins to head straight for him, raising his halberd to strike. Pi was not surprised, but braced himself with a wary scowl, unsure whether he should try to parry or just jump out of the way, when a tiger leaped between him and his stalker and swung a tonfa hard enough to clout him right off his horse. Sun Ce’s timely interference was a gift Cao Pi was not about to turn down, his arms were already aching from cutting his way through so many enemies and really wasn’t interested in testing his stamina against Lu Bu right this instant. He backed into a support position as Ce brandished his tonfa at the huge warrior already shooting to his feet to come after whoever dared to insult him so. “What is this?” he snarled, seeing the Wu prince before him. “What are you doing with Cao Cao’s pathetic army, Sun Ce?”

“What does it matter?” Ce shot back. “I’m here and I’m ready to take you down, Lu Bu!”

Lu Bu squared his shoulders and then dropped into a waiting stance with both hands on his halberd sliding further apart. “So you shall be my prey. Very well!”

There were still so many wayward soldiers of both armies swirling around them like leaves in a tempest, threatening to interfere, so Cao Pi took another step back and turned his attention to cutting a clear space around them, ruthlessly tearing through anyone not in Wei indigo or Wu red and making them regret trying to pile on anywhere near Lu Bu. In short order he had Cao Ren at his back to assist, and with their efforts they had the traffic of battle redirected around this central position where Sun Ce tore into Lu Bu with his legendary fierceness. Ce was more than just fresh, he hadn’t seen battle since defeating Da Ji at Edo and was aching to fight, so pitting himself against another top-level Orochi commander was exactly what he hungered for. Even with the huge swings of the Sky Piercer whistling through the air around and toward him, he was fast, springing over it or whirling past it and sliding up as close as he could get. He couldn’t land a body hit for a good while, but his tonfa easily bashed the halberd away from scoring a matching hit in turn. The more he circled and jabbed, the angrier Lu Bu grew, until he forgot all about destroying Cao Pi and turned his complete attention to the Wu prince. The only way to counter his incredible speed and agility was to draw back and utilize every inch of the Sky Piercer, shaft and pommel as much as blade, taking it in both hands and swinging both ends toward his opponent. It was blocked at every side, and though he could tell Sun Ce really wanted to get in closer, he couldn’t. Lu Bu needed him further away to really power up his swings to where he could overcome such resistance, and abruptly changed the rhythm with one good thrust forward of the halberd’s blade. Ce quickly brought his tonfa up before him, crossed to form a solid defense, and took the heavy strike which drove him back, his leather-soled shoes scraping across the flagstone for a few feet. No sooner had he come to rest and looked up over his block to gauge what kind of attack was going to come at him next and he felt a light step spring off his shoulder, and for half a moment his mind actually believed his graceful sister had just run up his back. But no, it was Diaochan, using him as a springboard to launch herself into the air and dive in over the halberd’s reach with a forward flip. Lu Bu was not expecting the flash of pink in his line of sight at all, and instead of parrying her off him, he simply hopped back in surprise, letting her maces clang off the shaft of the halberd and knock it aside. “Diaochan!” he grunted, brow furrowing. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You said if I insisted on fighting against Orochi, we would meet again,” she said boldly, alighting on the flagstones with the softest pat of her dancing shoes and placing herself between her husband and Sun Ce. “And so we have. You promised me, my love, that you would show no mercy. I expect you to keep your end of the promise.”

Sun Ce rose to his full height and prepared to go in again, to spare her, but he felt a tap at his arm and glanced to see Cao Pi back at his side. He said nothing, but shook his head in warning. It was exactly as the lady wanted from this fight, they could not interfere unless it looked like Lu Bu really would kill her. As for Lu Bu, his face spasmed as if he were trying to decide which emotion to feel first and most deeply, and his eyes darkened as he settled on rage. “I never lie,” he blazed, whirling his halberd back into position and squaring his shoulders once more. “No mercy, then!”

He came at her with a hard charge, but she fluttered out of his way, even faster than Sun Ce and a thousand times more graceful. She was not at all his match and she knew it, but she needed to face him for his own good, so she did what she excelled at – dancing and causing a diversion. Now and then one of her sparkling maces bashed against his weapon, and though she did not have the strength to directly parry it, it was more of a warning blow that she was getting closer and closer to him with every pass. Lu Bu pressed his advantage of power and jerked an arm back to strike her as she came around him again, jabbing an elbow at her without moving his hand off his halberd. She blocked it with a quick crack of the mace that rapped his elbow hard. He had a read on her, though, he was pushing past his twisted emotions to a core of cold anger that allowed him to learn her pattern and remember how she moved in other more pleasant situations in order to anticipate her. Diaochan suddenly gasped as he turned swiftly and caught her with the pommel of the halberd right in the side, jabbing back-handed to knock her down and then spinning to finish the job. That was Sun Ce’s cue, he leaped between them and slammed both tonfa end-first into Lu Bu’s gut. He unknowingly struck the healing wound hidden beneath the belt and layers of silk, and Lu Bu nearly crumpled to his knees in agony. Diaochan picked herself up and valiantly dove in again, taking advantage of her husband’s reeling to swish up and deal him another blow in that same spot. He roared in rage and pain with such gusto that many of the serpent demons and weaker soldiers wavered and fled from him or collapsed in terror where they stood, but Sun Ce held his ground, waiting for the retaliation he knew was coming. Diaochan ducked behind him to wisely use him as a wall to protect herself, and when the halberd came toward them, Ce raised one arm with the tonfa braced against it to block. It hit so hard that he felt his arm almost give, but he held firm, gritting his teeth and grunting with the strain. His feet started to slide again, but then there was a crash and a bright blade whiffed past his shoulder to drive the halberd into the stone floor. He had felt the bite of that blade before, and now it saved him, as Cao Pi entered the fray with Pure Havoc joined into its single form. Lu Bu snarled at them both for interfering, but Sun Ce had already uncovered his weakness and he had to think fast to try to protect it from being used against him. He was panting hard, almost wheezing, and every glimpse of Diaochan’s delicate face peeping over the Wu prince’s shoulder sent him into a further spiral of insensate rage. She had fought him well but now she was relying on the mighty princes to do what she physically could not. “Please, my love,” she implored him before disappearing behind Ce’s broad shoulders again.

“Silence!” he bellowed before pushing in again, his swings wide and powerful but errant and easy to evade. Sun Ce and Cao Pi each in turn let the halberd glance off their weapons before striking back, the latter using his joined blades like a polearm to truly parry the Sky Piercer out of the way to allow Ce to get in close and pummel Lu Bu’s thick body with his tonfa. They kept it up long enough to sap his stamina and made it even worse by dodging out of the way of his hits, with Diaochan intermittently dashing in to likewise rescue them with a timely block with her maces. She knew better than to get in their way, though, and their strategy was doing exactly what it needed to. At last, Cao Pi drove in with all his strength, tangling one blade of Pure Havoc with the Sky Piercer and forcing Lu Bu wide open, and Sun Ce finally hit him hard enough to drop him. A flurry of quick hits and then one big punch did it, and Lu Bu crashed onto the stone like a falling tree. Others were dashing in suddenly, Cao Ren thrust his massive shield between the two lords and the halberd to keep it from errantly striking them, Ishida cut through a nearby retainer who had tried to come to his lord’s aid, and Xiahou Dun stood with his podao over Lu Bu’s neck. The fallen warrior thrust up with his free hand to grab the sword, not even caring that he gripped the blade’s edge and blood began to run from his palm down into his bracer and sleeve. “How dare you even think you can claim a part in this, Xiahou Dun!” he snapped. “Begone!”

The slender blade of Pure Havoc came to rest with the tip just under his chin. “If you wish to struggle, by all means,” Cao Pi taunted him. “There are more than enough of us here with the skill and knowledge to take your head off, Lu Bu.”

His limbs tensed, it looked like he was very much prepared to throw them all off and struggle to get back up, but his eyes roamed along the length of the blade at his throat to the Wei prince, who moved even closer to grind his heel into Lu Bu’s flank. The resulting flail of pain was confirmation enough that he was injured, so he finally yielded, letting go of the podao with a vicious shove that sent drops of blood flying. “Then do it,” Lu Bu challenged. “Do not be weak, Cao Pi. Or are you as much of a conniving snake as your worthless father?”

Pi’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t twitch a muscle. Diaochan raced up on his other side. “My love! Please…please don’t do this! Not again!”

Lu Bu closed his eyes to shut her out. “What, you think I will surrender and join you? Hah! Orochi is the way of the future,” he said harshly. “You fools are only delaying your deaths at his hand by resisting. Give your own necks up to him if mine does not satisfy you!”

“Lu Bu, please!” Diaochan railed at him, desperate and somewhat exasperated.

“Your incessant harping bores me,” he complained at her. “Begone already.”

“Enough,” Cao Pi broke in, pressing the tip of his blade with just enough pressure to indent the skin beneath his foe’s jaw but not enough to draw blood. “You have no say in your fate, Lu Bu. We all know traitors deserve execution…” His icy blue eyes drifted to Diaochan, who stood clutching her maces so hard that her arms trembled from the strain. “…but to do so here and now is to give you what you want, and I am not feeling so generous. I deny you the glory of death. Someone!” He looked around to find most of his officers gathering around him – it seemed the melee in the center had otherwise ended, more or less. “Bind him. Who can I spare to guard him and bring him as the spoils of our victory?”

He really did not want to take any of his men out of the fight, but Sun Ce was there at his arm. “Cheng Pu is strong enough. He’ll probably enjoy the task, too.”

“Damn right I will,” Cheng Pu grunted as he strode up, using his teeth to knot a scrap of cloth over a deep gash in his arm. “Standing guard over a defeated Lu Bu is a pleasure I’ve longed for, for a very long time.”

“Excellent,” Cao Pi agreed as soldiers ran up with ropes scavenged from somewhere in the courtyard. With that settled, he turned to his men. “And yet that was hardly the worst we will see today. The serpent awaits us in the innermost ward, most likely inside the throne room itself. Rouse yourselves, and whisper up your final prayers to whatever gods you think might hear, for we must bring him down! We will not be content with simply letting him slither away this time, Orochi must fall!”

The soldiers and officers alike around him raised their weapons into the air in a rousing cheer of agreement. Xiahou Dun gestured with his Qilin Blade toward the buildings rising to the north. “Onward, to the castle!”


	77. Chapter 77

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle to take He Fei Castle concludes, and sets the stage for the final phase of the war.

A mass of dour-faced Wei officers with weapons at the ready and eyes blazing as they led their men in a stern march in through the unobstructed inner ward of the castle was not at all what Date Masamune wanted to see. He already knew they were in trouble from the sheer number of their own men who had already fled past the courtyard steps and were either cowering inside the castle proper, hoping to get their wounds tended, or clustered below the portico awaiting new orders. He could hear the faint echo of shots nearby, meaning that his faithful friend Katakura had already entered the fray on one side, but it also signified that someone had gotten past Keiji. Now he could see Cao Pi leading his army diligently onward toward their goal, which meant that not only had they gotten through Dodomeki and Gyuuki, they had thrown down every single officer who had been ordered to ambush in the center _and_ Lu Bu. That said, Date was not at all surprised that several of the snake demon captains were among the regrouping forces below him. “What are we supposed to do now?” Mamushi fretted as he came up alongside Date. “Lord Orochi wants a report, what do we even tell him?”

“This castle is going to be our tomb!” another captain screeched from below the portico. “We should abandon it and get out of here!”

As much as he really wanted to draw his pistol and shoot the dissenter in the head on the spot, Masamune was under orders not to let any of their men be compromised. _Too late_ , he thought to himself, but he knew he would die if he dared to kill one himself. He stood there silently glowering down at them until he could master his impulse to scream and regard them with cold authority. It didn’t come out as cold as he would have liked but it still worked. “Lord Orochi’s order was to not allow Cao Cao to come this far into the castle,” he reminded them all. “I don’t see him yet, but be on your guard for something sneaky – he’s likely to try an underhanded way of getting past our guards. But Cao Pi is on his way, and if he got past Lu Bu, that means he’s going to mow through all of you to get to Orochi as well. You failed your lord,” he cried at them, pointing madly, “now show him that you aren’t all complete and utter imbeciles! Make up for your failure by pulling Cao Pi down where he stands and crushing him!” 

“Here they come,” Zhong Hui breathed with the slightest tremor of worry in his voice.

Much of the inner wards of He Fei Castle were built for beauty and glory, not defense in the case of an attack, with small ponds fenced with stone railings, wide courtyards of paved stone, and short flights of steps to create interesting tiers leading one ever upward toward the castle keep at the top of the hill. The men of Wei said absolutely nothing to one another as they approached, not even bothering to run since it would only tire them out, and the army which flowed along behind the generals fell into order as it came. If it were simply a matter of the buildings or the location, a sight like that should have had even the most foolish and irrational commander sounding the retreat, but that was not the way of Orochi. For all Cao Cao’s talk of taking back a Wei castle from the enemy’s control, everyone knew that they were really here for Orochi himself, and as such, the demon overlord could not remain lounging in the throne room all day. He didn’t need a report to know that things were not going well, the fact that his captains didn’t want to tell him anything spoke volumes. He appeared suddenly on the portico without a sound, shoving Mamushi out of the way as he strode up to the railing to look down at the castle wards to see for himself. The demons clustered in the square immediately below him didn’t need a spoken order, they cringed and then rushed off all at once to attack the oncoming army, throwing themselves into it with fresh gusto in the sight of their lord so that he would know they weren’t giving up yet. Orochi’s face remained unmoved as he watched, though his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Beside him, Masamune tensed as if to turn and join them, but a hand suddenly came in front of him to silently urge him not to move. He looked up the length of the demon’s arm to his face and froze as ordered. “This could be interesting,” Orochi murmured so only his faithful retainer could hear.

Beyond the side gate, Cao Cao and his vanguard had been pinned down by the full fury of the Katakura rifle corps, which was at full strength and under direct guidance from their lord so that they did not suffer the same easy defeat as they had in previous battles. The Wei lord and his bodyguard crouched behind an outlying wall, knowing that as soon as they so much as stuck a toe out from behind it, the gunshots would start up again, while Jia Xu studied the terrain and calculated their potential options. Cao Cao grumbled as he waited, one arm braced on the wall to allow him to peer through the tiniest gap between stones. “I am not about to be defeated by someone so insignificant,” he muttered to his companions. “We must get past this or we will never be capable of defeating Orochi himself.”

“Give me one more moment and I should have it, my lord,” Jia Xu assured, stroking his goatee. Cao Cao frowned at him, growing impatient at having to wait, but then Xu nodded, murmuring to himself. “Yes, that should do. Hmm, given the options before me…” He looked from his lord to Dian Wei and then sighed comically. “I suppose it shall have to be me. I trust you will know what to do, Lord Cao Cao.”

Without any additional advice, he sprang up and hustled with shoulders low along the wall until he disappeared around behind the nearest building. Several small houses stood right along the retaining wall of the ward, which had thus far been their salvation, but also provided the rifle units plenty of cover. Jia Xu reappeared a moment later on the roof of one of the houses, swinging his sickle at the end of its chain. It was so obvious and yet the rifle corps fell for it, all swiveling their guns at the same time in order to target him instead. He laughed brazenly and then took off running, leaping from one roof to the next and daring the rifles to follow his movement. They had to, for to ignore him for the distraction he was would allow him to get behind their lines and cut down Katakura Kojuro. Fortunately, Cao Cao caught on immediately and waited for the right moment to signal Dian Wei to move, and move he did, lunging out from behind the wall and managing to keep his mouth shut as he charged the rifle lines like a bull. They were too slow to swivel back around and shoot at him instead, and he plowed straight through them, backhanding them with the axe and knocking them all into one another like dominos. While he successfully shredded the stable lines, Jia Xu got around and sprang down from the roof to land beside a startled Katakura, who whirled around with his buckler wisely leading in order to block the hit coming at him. They strained against one another for a moment until Katakura could draw the thin blade from its mount behind the shield and counter-attack, slashing at Xu’s arm. They struggled while Dian Wei single-handedly demolished the rest of the corps, making it possible for Cao Cao to safely join them and finish the job. At last, the entirety of the Orochi ambush was down, even the officer in control, and the sneak attack could be considered a rousing success. As Cao Cao stood back to let his bodyguard tackle the gate itself, he heard the noise of troop movement behind him and spun quickly, raising his sword. He had sent a messenger to call up the reserves from the main camp to make use of the path he had forced, but they couldn’t have gotten there that quickly. The soldiers which materialized out of the trees bore the indigo and fenghuang insignia of Wei, though, and he was quietly relieved to recognize the general riding at the head of the column. Cao Hong had not laid eyes on his brother since receiving the splendid news at Chencang that he was alive after all, so to see him now had the man beaming widely. “Apologies for our tardiness, my lord!” he called out happily. “Allow us to join the battle now!”

With Hong came Cao Zhen and Cao Zhang, all of whom had been safely ensconced at Chencang for some time. All were healthy and ready for battle, and the reinforcements with them had been long anticipated. Cao Cao gladly welcomed them in, saluting them with a raised sword. “It is most appreciated. There is still bound to be battle enough inside.”

Cao Hong dismounted and clasped forearms with him, glad to see him again, but the reunion had to wait until their true goal had been accomplished. Dian Wei heaved the door open under his own strength alone, and then turned to find the reinforcements already there and ready to carry out the next step of the assault. “We dare not wait for the additional reserves,” Jia Xu advised as he wiped blood from his sickle blade on his sleeve. “These fellows should be enough, my lord. The serpent awaits.”

“Then let us show Orochi the strength of our conviction and the power of Wei,” Cao Cao declared, turning toward the open gate. “Forward!”

The surprise attack from the side gate came at just the right time, as Cao Pi and the rest of the Wei army began their final clash against the last bastion of the Orochi forces. The courtyard outside the castle keep was perhaps the worst place for a battle, soldiers kept stumbling against the stone walls and tripping over decorative flagstones, and there were several choke points around the fenced areas and stairways that made it difficult to move toward and around the demon overlord waiting at the top. Yet, no matter how well some of the defenders thought they knew the castle, they failed to capitalize on those choke points, running this way and that instead of focusing a concentrated attack on the most vulnerable pathways. As a result, the Wei army was able to drive their way in and through without sacrificing too much. Cao Pi had struck a second wind after driving this far, he darted through the crowds and slashed his enemies to ribbons with unchecked passion, though he still kept his wits and never got out too far from his retainers. At this point only Mitsunari, Zhang He, and Yue Jin were fast enough to keep up with him, as well as Sun Ce, while their brawnier backup lagged behind to clean up the stragglers and make sure no one rallied from behind. Cao Ren, Xu Zhu, and Xiahou Yuan formed a particularly effective wall at the rear to prevent Orochi soldiers from slipping around past them either to escape or regroup. The crash of the gate door slamming against the wall interrupted the momentum for only a second, and then came the reinforcements led by Cao Cao in a wave that bolstered the main army’s morale. They cut their way through the rank-and-file to meet the rest of their men in the center, where father and son finally met back up and regarded one another with bared swords dripping blood. “I see you have not lost your penchant for making a timely entrance,” Pi said dryly. “It is a shame you missed your chance to bring down Lu Bu.”

Cao Cao arched an eyebrow at that news. “I take it that was a thing that happened…”

“He charged the center, my lord,” Yue Jin reported, coming up on one side. “He is no longer a concern.”

“They just keep coming,” Sun Ce complained as he joined the growing knot, wiping the back of his arm across his brow. “It’s like he’s pouring out every last man and creature in the place to keep us busy.”

Cao Pi’s brow furrowed. “I expect that is exactly what they’re doing, trying to wear us down,” he noted, ignoring his father’s start of surprise at seeing this visitor. “However, our reinforcements are here, now. We should take stock of who is fresh and send them in first, so the rest can save their remaining strength for the serpent.”

“Agreed,” Cao Cao murmured before turning fully to the Wu prince. “Lord Sun Ce. To what do I owe this unexpected honor?”

Ce set his fists against his hips, giving his tonfa a rest for a moment. “I owe your son a debt of gratitude,” he said honestly and seriously. “That’s all that matters right now, we’ve got a snake to hunt.”

“That should not be hard,” Jia Xu said, nodding toward the tiled roof of the portico at the front of the castle keep. “It seems he’s already found us.”

They all followed his gaze to where the great demon stood watching, his headdress nearly scraping the ceiling, in time to see Date Masamune and Zhong Hui spring from their places waiting at his side in order to lead the last of their troops. Cao Pi raised his free hand and flicked his wrist to gesture their own men forward. “Cao Hong, your men have the advantage. Clear the way for us to reach that porch.”

The fresh troops from Chencang did as ordered, giving a lusty battle cry as they set upon the remnants of the Orochi forces still trying to blockade the courtyard. Mitsunari abruptly dashed off as well, startling Cao Pi, but he watched as his strategist flew straight for Date. As tired as he was, the young lord plucked up his strength and followed. The rest of the officers scattered to do what they could, leaving Cao Cao a moment in which to glance at Jia Xu. “A debt of gratitude?” he repeated, mulling over Sun Ce’s words. “Just what happened while I was away?”

Wei troops invading the inner ward of the castle from its outer gate told Masamune the story he least wanted to hear: Katakura had been defeated. Not knowing the fate of his friend and their units, he simply threw himself into the fray, desperate to keep Cao Pi and his father from confronting Orochi as they wished. He had every faith that his demon overlord could kill them both if he chose, but he had ordered them not to let Cao Cao get this far, and yet there he was, standing just below the balcony looking hungrily up at his foe. What Date didn’t expect was Ishida Mitsunari interrupting his rampage before he could make it anywhere near anyone from the Cao clan. He brought his saber up quickly to smash against the metal ribs of the fan as it flew at his head, and there was a heartbeat’s pause while they glowered at one another before pushing off and coming around for another blow, and another and another in rapid sequence. No one in Wei had seen the willowy strategist fight like this yet, not even when he took a spear to the shoulder for his lord. The Open Valor rose and fell and slashed as viciously as any sword as Mitsunari pressed Masamune, never allowing him to draw a pistol to add to the fight. They didn’t just circle, they whirled around each other like winds in a typhoon, intermittently slashing at one another so fast that the rank and file around them could barely follow – flashes of light and clangs of metal, that was all.

While the rest of their men fanned out to engage the remnants of the castle defense, Cao Cao raised his head and met the demon eyes peering at him from the shadows beneath the porch roof. As yet it seemed Orochi was simply letting his minions do the work, but no one believed he would simply stand back and watch the whole time. The Lord of Wei gestured with quick nods of his head to summon his most faithful to his sides. “Xiahou Dun. Dian Wei. Are you ready to join me?”

“Always,” Dun said darkly, lifting the tip of his podao as if to issue a threat.

“I’m ready!” Wei growled eagerly. “Let’s do it!”

“Wait.”

Cao Cao glanced at the sharp warning and narrowed his eyes at Sun Ce as he shouldered up alongside Xiahou Dun. “I appreciate your assistance, Sun Ce,” he said coldly, “but time is of the essence, so if you would kindly refrain from interrupting, we can put an end to this.”

“No, listen,” Ce said firmly, shooting him a harsh look. “It’s not going to be enough. My father told me every last detail of what happened at Chi’bi, how they did it. You’re going to need everyone.”

“I’m aware of what it takes to enter into combat with Orochi.” Cao Cao met his gaze with a superior look of his own. “I have already done so, and not that long ago.”

“Then you should wait until you have everyone,” Ce insisted. “No offense to Xiahou Dun and Dian Wei, I’m sure everyone is just as strong as I remember.” He looked toward the great demon watching them warily, ignoring the heated stares from the named officers. “I’ll bet their tactic won’t work again, Orochi won’t allow it, but it bears considering. It took seven or eight of ours all hitting the same spot over and over to weaken him. You can say what you want about your men being stronger than ours, whatever, I don’t care – this isn’t time for a pissing contest. Just think about what it’s going to take to even scratch him, let alone bring him down.”

“My lord, I do believe he has a point,” Jia Xu said silkily as he prowled up behind the line of brawny men. “I understand how eager you must be to run the demon through, but simply charging in with whoever stands beside you is a sure way to allow him his chance against you. Hold,” he added seriously as his lord turned to look at him. “Let Orochi come to you. He will. And soon, I expect. Steel yourself, gather your vanguard around you, and make him regret his rashness.”

Jia Xu had always known exactly how to frame his words to convince Cao Cao of his wisdom, and this was no exception. As much as his heart chafed to be the first to rush Orochi and deal him a blow, he had to swallow his pride and bend to the smarter course of action. He nodded to his strategist and then tapped the point of his broadsword against the stones at his feet. “So be it. My ambition will not be easily thwarted, Orochi must come and attempt to stop me himself.”

One by one the other officers finished on their sides and pulled back to bolster their commander, and still Orochi did not move. Zhong Hui fell at Zhang He’s hand, and still the demon overlord stood on his porch watching and waiting. Mitsunari and Masamune were still fighting, but they were wearing each other down quickly. The ring of their weapons deflecting and parrying echoed shrilly in the stone-walled courtyard, and they flew so fast that no one could even get close, not even Cao Pi, as they cut around each other with coat and cape swirling in their wakes, boots scraping and kicking up dust everywhere they went. It wasn’t even a mistake which changed the balance of victory, only an extra ounce of strength applied to the right spot on the flat of Date’s saber. Rather than simply recoil yet again, Mitsunari struck just right to knock the saber from his hand, and followed it up with a quick tackle to shove Date up against the nearby wall. His fan was open but with the tips of the metal blades spread along Masamune’s throat and underside of his jaw, and he clamped his free hand on Masamune’s right arm to prevent him from drawing a pistol. They strained against one another, panting in each other’s faces, but Date could not pry himself off the wall and get free. He didn’t even care about the weapon poised to cut his throat, he simply glared down Mitsunari with his good eye wide and wild. “You’re finished,” Mitsunari declared. “Stand down, Date!”

“You should know by now, Ishida,” Masamune spat back, “I never back down!” There was suddenly something hard ramming into Mitsunari’s ribs, and he heard the click of a hammer being cocked. How the gun had been stealthily drawn didn’t matter, for it was now digging into his side, and Masamune’s lips curled with a savage smirk. “You still don’t wear much armor, do you?”

Mitsunari sucked in a quick breath, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to move fast enough. He couldn’t, anyway, to let Date go would be to prolong this mess. He had his prey, and now it looked like he would give his life to hang onto it. His fingers flexed to snap the fan closed, drawing a line of blood along the underside of Date’s jaw in the process, and at that instant something plowed into him from the side and knocked him sprawling. Ishida looked up sharply to see that it was Cao Pi, who had bodily checked him out of the way and then grabbed Date’s gun and hand, forcing the pistol into his own ribs. Masamune gnashed his teeth in startled shock, but the young lord was taller and rather adamant about keeping that pistol right where it was, smirking darkly at his opponent’s dismay. “What’s the matter?” he taunted, voice low and cool. “Haven’t you wanted to do this for so long, Date? Now is your chance. You have me right where you want me.”

While true, Masamune knew it wasn’t so simple. The barrel of the gun clinked against Zihuan’s scale armor, a shot at point blank would ricochet and the shooter had no way to even guess at which way the bullet would go. Masamune could end up dead by his own hand, which was not at all the plan. He hesitated just long enough for Cao Pi to whirl Pure Havoc up from his side and spear the tip of the blade straight into Date’s left arm, driving it back against the wall and rendering him incapable of keeping the gun in his grip. Cao Pi prepared to drag him off the wall and throw him down to bind him, but he never got the chance to even twitch a muscle. A huge shadow suddenly blocked the bright sun shining down on them, and Pi shot a glance to find that it was Orochi. The great demon had moved swiftly and silently and was now right there, reaching to push a hand against Pi’s chest. The young lord’s eyes widened in the split second before he realized what was coming, and then he was flying, ten or more feet across the yard from a blast of Orochi’s dark sorcery. Several of the watching officers cried out in alarm as their lord landed hard on his back and rolled another several feet before coming to a rest in an unconscious heap. The blast had also sent Pure Havoc tumbling end over end through the air to land with a clatter on the flagstone, freeing Masamune, who slid weakly to his knees along the wall and stared up at the mighty serpent, daring to believe that he had come for him. “Lord Orochi…”

Whether or not Orochi had actually chosen to save Date, he showed no sign of hearing him or caring as he turned away from the wall and zeroed in on where Cao Pi had finally come to a stop. He had made his move at last, and was now in the middle of the courtyard with all of Wei surrounding him and only one injured officer at his back. His looming presence shifted away from the wall, he appeared intent on moving to finish Cao Pi once and for all, but he took only one step before Sun Ce and Zhang He leaped from opposite sides and placed themselves as a solid and savage wall between Orochi and his victim. Mitsunari managed to pick himself up from where he’d been flung and slipped away before Orochi could kill him as well and ran to Cao Pi’s side, feeling for a pulse and nodding in relief to let the others know that their lord was still alive. Orochi’s mismatched eyes swept over them all from one end to the other, and his face set like stone with a displeased scowl. “None of you are worthy to face me, yet,” he intoned, settling at last on Cao Cao. “You are nothing to me. I will put an end to your feeble struggling.”

Cao Cao brandished his blade with fresh energy and anger, seeing the demon standing so close to him and still acting so superior. “If all you see is feeble struggling, then you must be blind,” he taunted with a savage edge to his voice. “Let us not pretend that this castle is worth its price in blood, we all know what we’re really here for.”

Orochi took a single step to bring himself around to face Cao Cao squarely, glaring him down from beneath the fangs of his helm. “You wish to avenge yourself upon me,” he said plainly. “What a foolish notion.” His eyes narrowed, studying his foe with no regard for the famed Wei generals on either side of him. “You are weak. If you did not learn that fact the last time, then I shall kill you again.”

“Again?” Cao Cao said with one good bark of a sardonic laugh. “You have yet to kill me the first time. Very well, give it another try, then. The end result will be the same.”

Orochi’s lips twitched very slightly and then he sprang, the scythe coming up fast in a wide arc meant to mow the entire line of Wei down at once like stalks of wheat. Cao Cao braced his arm behind his blade to block, giving back a step, but nearly everyone else jumped into the path of the scythe blade to parry it aside if they could, even though it was a much more difficult task than most anticipated. Most of those surrounding their lord had never faced the demon themselves, and though they thought themselves strong and powerful, the scythe knocked almost all of them back. Even Cao Ren stumbled, though his shield held longer than most before he gave way and flew back to land like a turtle on its shell. At the end of its arc lay Sun Ce and Zhang He, and no sooner had the huge blade come to a stop and the Little Conqueror sprang onto it, using it to launch himself into a tuck and roll to bring his tonfa down to smash against Orochi’s shoulder. He hit, but the fanged pauldron on that side absorbed most of the blow. Annoyed that a visitor from Wu should get the first strike, Cao Cao gestured with his free hand for his officers to gather around him. “At once! All of us, together!”

Ce landed in a short skid and brought one tonfa up to protect himself, but as he looked, Zhang He copied his move, running up the length of Orochi’s arm and clawing at his face, only to be shrugged off like an insect and flung clear. No sooner had he touched ground and the Xiahou cousins flew in with a roar, Yuan already going for a club instead of his bow. After them were Yue Jin and Cao Cao, and at the very last came Dian Wei, heaving his axe in a swing just as wide and powerful as Orochi’s own. The other officers held back, unsure how to work their way into sequence without hitting their own men, though there were enough Orochi troops still flailing about the courtyard that they could turn to instead, cutting down any attempts at reinforcements getting through to their demon lord. Mitsunari hooked an arm around Cao Pi and dragged him out of the way as far as he could, rolling his shoulders to protect him with his own body when the mayhem of weapons-clash came too close for comfort. Jia Xu dropped down beside him to help, and at last they had their young lord removed to the portico steps where it was relatively safe. Only then did Mitsunari recover his wits enough to remember what he had come this far for, and looked up sharply. “Date! Somebody stop him…”

It was too late, the wall was empty. Date had disappeared. Jia Xu growled under his breath. “Fled with all the rest of them, I think.”

“No,” Mitsunari said firmly. “He won’t abandon his lord. He’s around here somewhere.”

“Quite right.” Neither of them had heard the footfalls on the stone steps thanks to the din of the melee, but Masamune’s comment and the click of his pistol cocking were all they needed. Mitsunari didn’t need to look, he was sure it was pointed right at his head. “My lord came for me,” Masamune went on, still breathing heavily from the pain in his useless left arm, “so the least I can do is give my all to take one of you down and stop you from getting close to him.”

Mitsunari huffed under his breath, not even a laugh. “Loyal to the end, Masamune.”

“More loyal than you, Ishida,” Date spat. “Tell me Lord Toyotomi doesn’t know what you’ve done, else I might worry that you’ve broken his heart.”

“Joke’s on you,” Mitsunari said with a cold calm, turning his head to regard the barrel of the gun and the man holding it with a sharpness in his brown eyes. “Lord Hideyoshi gave me his blessing to be right where I am.”

Date could see everything from his vantage on the steps, particularly the way Mitsunari clutched Cao Pi’s unconscious form to himself, and began to tremble in rage. The pistol’s aim shifted, then, from Mitsunari’s head to Cao Pi. “And what if I end him here and now? Who will you run to, then?”

Jia Xu started and then glared. “Coward, attacking the injured!”

Date cackled at their dilemma, but he didn’t have long to laugh. Mitsunari moved rather swiftly, throwing himself at the outstretched arm much the same as Cao Pi had leaped to save him earlier, but instead of blocking the shot with his own body he knocked it aside and then landed full on Masamune, slamming him bodily onto the steps and climbing on top of him. He had dropped his fan earlier, but it didn’t matter, for all he wanted was to punch the idiocy out of his one-time friend. His bronze bracers had plates covering his hands, and the rim of the metal guard added to the damage as he relentlessly battered Date with his right fist while holding him down, his left hand clenched on the collar of his dragon cape. Jia Xu had to yell his name to get his attention and snap him out of the barrage, though it took young Xu Sheng running up to grab his arm and hold him back before he really stopped to look at what he was doing. He had bloodied Masamune’s face rather seriously, though he was still conscious. Xu Sheng’s touch was enough to to get him to drop his fist, though Mitsunari still sat heaving for breath and a bit stunned at himself for being capable of this kind of brutality. “Someone bind this moron,” he ordered, shoving his other fist against Date’s shoulder as he pushed himself to his feet. “So he can lay here and watch his lord get taken down.”

Though blood ran from the corners of his mouth and a cut beneath his blinded eye, Date could have drawn breath and continued railing against him, but he was spent. Xu Sheng did the honors of lashing his wrists and then propping him up so he could see what was happening in the courtyard. Orochi was not obviously losing, but he had such a pack of officers piling onto him that even the most faithful heart would quail to witness it. As much as Cao Cao was out for blood, he had learned from watching the Oda forces mount a proper strategy and took his turn only when and if it would prove successful, allowing the others to have their way with their enemy one after another. It was a vigorous, loud, and impressive battle, with the heavier fighters like Xiahou Yuan and Sun Ce bashing at the serpent one minute, the lithe Zhang He and Yue Jin flipping and dancing around him the next. Weapons flew so fast that it seemed they might hit one another, but a supreme degree of trust as well as skill allowed them all to miss and land their blows solely on their foe. Orochi kept up with them easily, dodging in and out and pointedly ignoring Cao Cao in order to find the weakest among their cadre and attempt to whittle down the number of attackers in the fray. The only problem with such a plot was that there was no one weak in the front line. Agile or powerful, shrewd or heavy-handed, they all had what it took to stand up to Orochi, to take his hits every time he swung the scythe and leap out of the way whenever he tried to bring his sorcery into it. Sun Ce had fought alongside the demon rather than against him enough to know most of his moves, and though he said nothing to the others to warn them, they followed his lead anyway and as such, none of them were so much as scratched yet. Beyond them, Cao Hong and the others from Chencang had cleared the courtyard except for the captured officers, and placed themselves as a wall along the lower stairs to prevent any Orochi forces still at large in the castle compound from circling around behind them. Xu Zhu abruptly lumbered up from taking out nearly every remaining snake captain and slipped into the front line right alongside Dian Wei in time to deliver a massive blow from his club, which smashed into Orochi’s left-shoulder pauldron and finally did what no one else could not – he dented the gaping maw of the snake and crushed its teeth. Orochi only gave way a couple of steps from the force of the hit and swiveled to point the gnarled head of his scythe straight at the offender, blasting him with sorcery and blowing him back like the others. In doing so he left himself open to the rest, and Cao Cao finally had the opening he wanted, lunging in like a fencer and getting under his outstretched arm to pierce the gap in his scaly armor. It wasn’t much of a hit, a mere scratch to some, but anything getting past his guard and nicking him was enough to rouse Orochi’s fury. He swept the scythe back, not even caring whether the blade was properly positioned, all he wanted to do was bat Cao Cao away – and he did, shoveling him backward with the shaft of his weapon. Sun Ce came up on his other side but had a clawed hand aiming at his face, warning him to duck and roll to the side to evade the dark energy. Zhang He came in from behind, running up to Xiahou Yuan first, who knew exactly what to do – he bent an arm to give Zhang He a foothold, and as soon as he felt the graceful general’s light shoes touch, threw him into the air. Junyi soared high overhead and with an agile twist, landed squarely on Orochi’s shoulder. The demon lord had no idea what to make of someone so rudely invading his personal space this way, nor what he intended to gain by such a move, so for a heartbeat’s pause he did absolutely nothing to counter. Zhang He laughed coldly and swept his great claws in a backhand toward Orochi’s face, blocked at the last second by the head of the scythe. Not to be outdone, Zhang He kicked him in the head as he dismounted like an acrobat, flipping out of the way of any nasty blasts of demon energy. It wasn’t enough to stun him or even bruise his cheek, but Orochi had had quite enough of the fight. When Cao Cao came at him again, the scythe vanished from his hand as he flung it out to arrest the sword mid-strike. It clanged off his thick, scaled bracer, and on the rebound, Orochi turned toward his adversary and moved to grab his wrist instead to keep him from countering with another attempt. He stood for a moment simply holding Cao Cao back, staring him balefully down, while summoning the scythe in his other hand and twisting it to block no less than three officers coming at him from the side. “Do you remember this, Cao Cao?” he said tonelessly. “This is how you fell.”

Cao Cao’s dark eyes narrowed, hiding the flash of disturbed concern he nearly let show on his face. He might not have recovered all of his memories of that fateful night at Yiling, but this was familiar. Orochi holding him back, showing him how weak he was compared to a demon, before claws were in his chest and his life was draining away on the hard-packed dirt. Yet, that time there had not been another six or seven officers continuing to beat on their enemy, he had been alone, the last one standing. And then, as the scythe’s shaft held off Sun Ce, Yue Jin, and Xiahou Dun, Dian Wei bellowed his bull-roar and raised his axe high to bring down on Orochi’s unguarded shoulder. It very nearly looked to be the end, but Orochi simply phased out of corporeality, and all of the warriors had to pull back their strikes quickly or else someone innocent would have been beheaded. The phase also released Cao Cao, who reeled back toward his bodyguard in search of protection, but Orochi returned to himself a few steps away, in a clear space made by their eager attack. He looked to where he knew Cao Pi had been taken and saw a new clash, as Zhong Hui had woken up in time to assail Xu Sheng and allow Date to get free. Orochi’s face remained blank as he took to the air, skimming just a few feet off the flagstone as he soared toward his last remaining officers. His scythe vanished again, and with both hands free he snatched a hold of both Masamune and Zhong Hui and dragged them with him to the rooftop just above. There he alit, and paused to glare down at the Wei generals gaping at his sudden departure. Dian Wei shook his axe at them. “Get back here you piece of shit snake! We’re not finished!”

Orochi did not dignify his demand with a direct response. Instead, he bored into Cao Cao with his eyes from a distance. “You may have the castle,” he murmured. “But no matter how much you desire my head, that, Cao Cao, I will not let you have.”

“Are you so weak that you cannot face us?” Xiahou Dun blazed at him, running toward the steps to the portico. “Coward!”

Orochi did not look at all like that sort of insult meant anything to him. His gaze swept to the Wei prince almost directly below him, and Mitsunari guarding him with his own body as a shield. “I have warned you, time and time again. To resist me is to sign the death warrant of the innocent. Do not forget that I still hold one life in my hand. If you dare to fight me, he will die and his blood will be upon your own heads.” His eyes flicked back toward Cao Cao, and when he received a glare in response, met it with the faintest touch of a knowing smirk to his lips. With that said, Orochi turned to stride across the roof, the last two retainers stumbling after him on the loose shingle tiles.

Cao Cao stood glowering after him, aware just how publicly and definitively he had been snubbed. Clearly, Orochi did not care if he had promised to kill him or anyone else, it was more of a defeat in heart to thwart his desire by simply leaving the battlefield. The others around him stared at the spot on the roof where their enemy had stood a moment before, and then Jia Xu sprang up from Cao Pi’s side. “My lord, quickly! Close off the gates and run out the scouts! Whether or not he returns, we must make the castle secure!”

Still nonplussed by the abrupt end to the fight, Cao Cao only tossed his head in a vague nod to agree to the assessment. Cao Hong took the others under his command and moved to obey, while the rest turned around to find that the massive Orochi army they had pitted themselves against had been completely decimated and routed. There was no one and nothing left, just discarded weapons and blood on the stone. Dian Wei ran up the other set of steps to the portico as if he could climb up the awning and chase Orochi across the roof, but when he looked up, it occurred to him what had befallen, and he turned to look down to his lord. “It’s just like last time, Lord Cao Cao,” he grunted. “The big snake’s just gone off, he had enough and turned tail.”

“I should feel better about saying that openly once the scouts confirm it,” Cao Cao said warily, sheathing his sword, “but it does appear so.”

“As he did in the reports from the other battles,” Jia Xu noted.

They heard Mitsunari give a gasp, then, and looked to see that Cao Pi had come around and was in fact sitting up, rubbing his head. He was still weak enough to need to lean against Mitsunari, but there was no obvious sign of injury to him after all. He looked up as his father strode over to check on him, and then around at the other officers standing with weapons dangling uselessly in their hands. “Let me guess,” he muttered. “I missed all the fun.”

“Are you hurt?” Ishida asked, brushing aside his joke.

“I don’t…think so.” Cao Pi grunted as he shifted around to try to stand and was hit with a wave of vertigo. He decided it was wiser to stay seated for a bit. “Did he leave his officers behind? I didn’t see…”

“No, he took them,” Xiahou Dun growled. “The two that were still conscious, anyway.”

“I’m sorry,” Mitsunari murmured, since he had been the one to vow to capture Date in their private discussions before the battle.

“It is no fault of yours,” Pi assured, bracing himself with a hand on Mitsunari’s knee until his head could stop spinning. “I was not prepared for my first encounter with Orochi to be so…visceral.”

“Was that truly your first time face to face with the demon?” Cao Cao looked genuinely surprised to hear it.

His son nodded cautiously. “All of my dealings within the Orochi army were through Da Ji or other confederates. It seems I will have to work harder to make up for my showing today.”

“Nonsense.” Dun suddenly swung around, shifting his podao to his left in order to extend his right hand to help Cao Pi to his feet. “That took more courage than most men can show in a lifetime, my lord. Wenyuan will surely be proud to hear of your honorable stand.”

Between Dun and Ishida they got him to his feet, and though he took the latter’s assistance to stay upright, Cao Pi looked to be recovering his senses quickly. “High praise, Yuanrang,” he said, softly. “Thank you.”

“All the same, do try not to die when you do things like that.” Dun let him go and strode off to attend Cao Cao instead.

It didn’t take long to make a sweep of the castle compound and ensure that everything reeking of Orochi had been driven out, and to no one’s surprise Lu Bu had managed to escape, though Sun Ce was extremely displeased to find Cheng Pu lying injured in the middle courtyard where they had fought. Lu Bu had overpowered him and left him with a broken arm, but Cheng Pu still had the presence of mind to mark when and how the enemy forces retreated so he could report back to the commanders. Maeda Keiji had also vanished from the side path. None of the former Han or the unaffiliated daimyo had defected, either, it seemed the entirety of the Orochi army occupying He Fei Castle had simply fled. There was much to go over in the aftermath, as the rearguard excitedly reported that one of the demon captains had tried to muster a last-ditch effort to use the boats to get past the castle to the Wei camp, but was soundly defeated there on the shore. Injuries were tended while the castle gates were bolted and guarded, and the very ram which had demolished the main gate was disassembled to use to barricade the gap left there. When Cao Pi was examined by the healers they found that he was not actually injured, aside from some cuts and bruises from being flung across the ground, the cowl of his cloak ripped and a few scales of his armor dented. The sorcery he had taken straight to the chest did not break any bones or leave lasting damage, it had only knocked him unconscious. No one had seen anything like it before, so they erred on the side of caution and insisted that he not exert himself until it was clear that his heart would not suddenly burst or anything. He sat in a private chamber to let them tend to him with Mitsunari tensely hovering just behind him, saying nothing but painstakingly observing everything, and when the healers had been sent out, Cao Pi needed only the barest glance to let him know that he was permitted to come forward and see for himself that his lord was going to be fine. “I take it you’re not going to leave my side for the foreseeable future,” he said dryly.

“I know how you are,” Mitsunari smirked. “The only reason you’re even going to listen to the medics at all is because you don’t know any better than they do what that sorcery did to you. I’m not going to guard you _all_ the time.” He arched one eyebrow. “Only most of it.”

Pi shook his head but knew better than to protest. He didn’t need a mother hen, no, but he appreciated the concern. As he dropped his gaze, he noticed the cuts across his tactician’s knuckles and reached to pull his hand closer to see the damage. “What is this? You should get this looked at.”

Mitsunari flinched but didn’t pull his hand away. “It’s nothing, I just…punched Date a few times.”

Cao Pi inclined his head as if to question the sanity of such a move with his eyes rather than his words, but the full story would have to wait. An attendant bowed his way into the room and announced that Lord Sun Ce of Wu was there to see Lord Cao Pi. Zihuan waved to permit the visitor and dismiss the attendant at the same time, expecting that Sun Ce was there to speak in private rather than wait for the public spectacle of a celebratory feast. Ce had come through the battle unscathed and strode in with shoulders thrown back, confident as ever though his usual good cheer had been tempered a bit by the sufferings of his men. Both Cheng Pu and Xu Sheng had been injured, though the former more seriously than the latter. Cao Pi remained seated but lifted his head to give the Wu prince a placid smile of greeting. “I trust this isn’t yet another attempt at looking in on my state of health?” he said coolly, as Mitsunari sidled away to a respectful distance.

“Well, I figured if you weren’t in good shape you wouldn’t agree to see me,” Ce reasoned with a shrug. “Even so, how is it?”

“No lasting damage,” Pi reported, extending a hand to invite his guest to pull another chair over. The retainers of Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo had taken especially good care of the castle during their residency, and its opulence had not only been preserved but perhaps encouraged to flourish. This room was perfect for holding audience one on one, with claw-foot chairs set all around. “I expect it gave everyone a scare, but I assure you, it takes more than that to kill me.”

“Clearly,” Ce retorted as he eased into a chair. “Anyway, I wanted to have a word or two with you before your father can start in on me or anything. I didn’t come for his sake, and I rather think that any business between our two armies is between you and me, so I’d rather leave him out of it.”

Pi nodded slowly. “To that end, allow me to thank you for your aid. What others may not admit is that without reinforcements right at that time, the battle would have turned out far differently.” His eyes turned icy. “I may not be able to say whether it would have affected our chances of victory, but at the very least, it would have been far more bloody. Valuable lives would have been lost. I can’t even imagine how much longer and more exhausting the fight with Lu Bu could have been.”

Sun Ce looked down at his clasped hands dangling between his knees. “You know that I’m not the kind of man who likes being buttered up, and you still say that, so I guess I can only conclude that it’s true. Wei is powerful, and I don’t doubt that you and all your guys could have handled Lu Bu, but I see what you mean. If you had poured everything into beating him and then turned around and still had Orochi to deal with, it wouldn’t have been pretty.”

“As it is, my father will not be completely content claiming victory here,” Pi groused. “If the goal had been solely to take the castle and roust Orochi out, as I wished, then today has been a rousing success. But in his eyes, without Orochi’s carcass on his sword, it wasn’t enough.”

“Yeah, well he can get in line behind the rest of us who also want a piece of Orochi’s hide,” Ce grumbled. “At this point there’s so many of us that I think we’d all be better off just getting one hit on him and call it good.”

For some reason that jogged Cao Pi’s memory, and he abruptly raised a hand to signal to Ishida. “Get me paper and ink, I must write a letter immediately.”

“To who?” Mitsunari wondered. Official notice of Wei’s claim to He Fei would come in due time, it didn’t have to be sent out right away.

“Zhao Yun.” Pi shared a wary look with him. “I had come around at the end of Orochi’s tirade, I heard what he said about Liu Bei. Zhao Yun must be warned without delay.”

Mitsunari held his gaze for a moment and then nodded curtly, turning on his heel and going to find writing implements. It wasn’t to chase him out of the room for privacy’s sake, the errand was legitimate. Sun Ce watched him go, sitting back in the chair to get comfortable. “So here we are. It’s been a while since the last time you and I met face to face.”

“Is that the debt you mentioned to my father?” Pi smiled very slightly. “And to think, I would have considered it repaid when you liberated my wife and allowed my men to depart from Hefei territory without pursuit. That was a monumental help to my plans at the right moment.”

“Oh, was it? I was just being polite,” Ce said brightly. “Really, though, you spared my life, and I did not forget it. I understand now that it was because you weren’t really Orochi’s servant, but that’s still a debt you don’t take lightly no matter what the circumstances.”

“It has been more than repaid,” Pi assured him gently. “I look forward to hearing how you came to us, but I expect that is a tale for everyone’s ears.” His attention was briefly arrested as Mitsunari returned and set everything on a table near at hand for him to begin writing whenever he was ready. “However, I suggest you not linger long in this castle, and not because of any past friction between our kingdoms. Now that Orochi has been thrown out of the last fortress he laid claim to in this part of the land, he has a limited number of options.”

“He’s going to head west, back to Koshi Castle,” Sun Ce said darkly, understanding all too well. “But until he gets back there, he’s going to be loose in this land and there’s no telling what kind of damage he can do on his way through. He might even take to slashing and burning everything as he passes.”

“Precisely.” Pi met his eyes and was glad to see that despite his reputation as a muscle-head, Sun Ce was quick-minded as well and he didn’t need to explain. “You will want to return to Wu as soon as you can, and prepare for any possibility.”

“Way ahead of you,” Ce said, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “Our army was on alert even before I left to take stock of our new naval capabilities. My men are a bit roughed up but it won’t stop them from traveling, we’ll head out in the morning, but plans to keep Orochi from heading toward any of our holdings or the civilians we’re protecting were already in the works.”

Cao Pi matched his sly expression. “I see you actually listen to Zhou Yu when he speaks.”

“And Lu Meng, and Sakon, and all of them,” Ce affirmed, taking it as a tease rather than an insult. “Every single one of them knew that if Orochi were ever turned out from this castle, we had to all immediately go on high alert to stop him from rampaging across our lands.”

“Excellent news.”

“Sakon’s with you full-time, then?” Mitsunari asked.

“Yeah, ever since our first try on Osaka.” Ce glanced to the ever-present retainer at Zihuan’s right hand. “You know him?”

“By reputation, mostly.” Ishida nodded. “You could do a lot worse than Shima Sakon.”

“If you will be leaving so quickly,” Cao Pi went on, “you have my ear now to share anything you wish. I do have a letter to write, but anything else of the alliance between our resistance armies that we must speak about…”

“I don’t think there is,” Ce interrupted him, cautioning with a wave of his hand. “I’d rather you got that warning out to Zhao Yun sooner than later. It’s going to take time for Orochi to pull himself together and travel all that way back to Koshi, but if there’s any way to prevent him from killing Liu Bei the minute he gets there, Shu is in the best position to act on it.”

“I don’t think there is,” Mitsunari said quietly, seriously. “At least, nothing that one army can do alone. I’ve been to Koshi, I’ve seen its defenses.”

“So have I, but it was a long time ago,” Ce admitted. “Just the once. I know it looks tough but there’s no two ways about it. We’re going to have to go there, all of us.”

“I believe so,” Cao Pi agreed. “And we should not delay. Orochi will not be deterred by having to live in a military camp rather than a castle, and the repeated insults to his power won’t sit well with him. He could do terrible things on his way through, but we must not allow him to laze about in the fields and valleys of our lands.” His hand on the arm of the chair curled into a fist. “We must set upon his flanks and push him westward. As formidable as his home castle may be, I would rather corner him there than fight him in open battlefields with a million easy routes of escape.”

“Sounds like a plan I can get behind,” Ce nodded. “Even if Liu Bei is in even more danger than ever, now.”

“There was never a time he wasn’t,” Pi sighed. “Yet, to hear Zhao Yun speak of his lord with conviction is to understand that if we were to fail to rescue him, it would not be the worst fate to befall him, his family, or his people. Liu Bei is the kind of man who would sacrifice himself for them if they would only let him. I still advocate moving with all haste to press Orochi to return to Koshi and then set upon him there, but if he executes his last hostage before we can reach him, it will be his undoing.” His gaze turned grim, yet sure. “Rather than break the hearts of everyone in Shu, it will drive them to unbridled fury, and they will give everything they have to avenge him. Can you imagine Zhao Yun caught in the throes of vengeance? There is no gate he would not throw down, no shield he would not break…no man would be left standing in his wake.”

Ce blinked at his words, edging on poetry if not outright flattery. “You’re not wrong,” he noted. “But I didn’t know you were so acquainted with him.”

“He visited Xuchang briefly, so that we might confer,” Cao Pi explained. “After that I cannot help but admit that Zhao Yun is one man I can easily support. I expect that if my father had ever known him the way I do, he would have tried to recruit him rather than destroy him. Yet,” he added, softening his gaze as he turned it back on Ce, “I understand you and he have also grown close over the course of your alliance.”

Sun Ce broke into a genuine smile. “He also saved my life. I repaid that debt as well, but in doing so, I ended up with an unexpected friend. So yeah, you could say that. I’ve promised to fight alongside him until Liu Bei is free, even if it means facing Orochi in his own castle.”

Pi nodded; he was a more complex and cautious man compared to the lords of the other kingdoms, but at times like this he almost envied the boundless courage of Wu and everlasting compassion of Shu, the way Sun Ce and Zhao Yun fought with their hearts as much as their heads. The fact that both those leaders knew they owed their freedoms in part to the careful, shrewd chess-playing of Cao Pi and Oda Nobunaga filled Zihuan with a kind of trust and keen interest which made their four-way alliance not only inevitable, but potentially powerful. “I will do whatever I can to prevent Liu Bei’s execution, beyond sending a simple letter. We must all work together to stop it.”

“Then, I’ll let you get to writing it.” Ce slapped a hand to his knee as if to prepare to push himself to his feet. “I don’t really have anything else I need to talk over with you while I’m here. All I wanted was to catch up, and maybe say thanks for all you’ve done to help me along my way.”

“Think nothing of it,” Pi reassured, gesturing to Mitsunari to bring the table closer so he wouldn’t have to get up as per healers’ orders. Then, he remembered something else. “Oh. If you hadn’t already been informed, I have a few of your men in my service. It may be nearing time to send them back to you.”

“Oh?” Ce paused where he stood. “Who’s that?”

“Huang Gai for one, though he is repaying a debt of his own to me,” Pi replied. “Yet, I’m sure he would appreciate it if Lord Sun Jian were informed of his whereabouts. As for Master Xingba, I’d prefer to keep him on a little longer – he is an excellent scout when it comes to digging snakes out of holes.”

Sun Ce visibly startled at that news. “Gan Ning is with _you?_ Seriously? How the hell did that happen?”

“It’s a very long story,” Cao Pi chuckled, “one I’m sure he would be glad to tell you. But with Orochi free to roam, I would like to make use of his talents for a bit longer, until our armies come together perhaps.”

Ce couldn’t help but grin. “I bet he’s driving Zhang Liao nuts.”

“We’re never at a loss for entertainment,” Mitsunari put in.

“That’s good news, thanks,” Ce said to both of them. “I know a lot of people have been wondering about him, including me. I’m glad he’s safe. Work him as hard as you want, he’ll surpass your expectations if you give him half a chance.”

“So I’ve seen.” Cao Pi placed his fist elegantly over his heart. “Until later, when the victory feast begins, Lord Sun Ce.”

Ce likewise pounded his fist against his palm in a full, robust kowtow and swept out as boldly and briskly as he had come in. Zihuan couldn’t help but admire him just a bit and wonder how their kingdoms might have lasted if he, rather than his brother, had been Lord of Wu. But there was no time for idle dreaming, he had a letter to write and put into the hands of a courier immediately.

Even triumphant celebrations tended to be slightly more low-key among the men of Wei compared to Wu, but what they lacked in drunken exuberance they made up for in good, juicy battle stories. Among them only Diaochan looked not at all in the mood to toast victory, she sat at the far end with the more sedate Yue Jin while the others lauded one another for their exploits and heaped praise upon their commander for driving Orochi into retreat. “You have proven your greatness once again, my lord,” Xiahou Dun enthused as he leaned on the table with a full cup. Claiming the castle meant claiming the Orochi army’s wine stores as well. “He Fei is back in rightful hands thanks to you.”

“And we’ve tossed Orochi out onto the byways like some kind of vagabond,” Dian Wei laughed. “No mercy to those who dare to oppose Lord Cao Cao!”

Further down from them, Cao Pi did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes at their misplaced praise, but Ishida rolled his enough for the both of them, making Sun Ce snort into his cup. Cao Cao himself preened a little under the attention but he knew better – he knew that his thirst had not been quenched and Orochi’s retreat had been a slap in the face rather than a clinched victory. Still, he let his retainers have their say and soaked up their compliments all the same. “Let us not forget that we had special help today,” he pointed out, nodding his head toward the three officers of Wu sitting together. “I’m curious, Lord Sun Ce. For the commander of the Wu resistance to grace us with his presence, personally, there must be a story behind it.”

Ce had said nothing more of his connection to Cao Pi since the end of the battle, and even now played coy, sitting back in his chair and swirling the wine in his cup. “Not that much of one, really. I was already out and about seeing to the fleet of ships we took at Chi’bi, taking stock of supplies, that sort of thing. We knew Orochi was pulling back to He Fei Castle, but then our long-distance scouts came with word that a large army was spotted moving in from the other direction. I didn’t want to interfere, but it was so interesting I couldn’t help but have a look for myself, since I was close by already. Much easier for me to get here by sailing straight up the river than sending for scouts from our headquarters, y’know.” He tipped his cup at that. “I just took whoever I had at hand and we came to check it out, and here we are. Surprise?”

“It was a welcome one,” Cao Ren said gruffly. “You gave our men a fright, though, they thought they were about to be attacked by pirates, but then they remembered that Master Xingba was back at Xuchang.”

“Now see, that would have been fun,” Ce said, turning to Cheng Pu and gesturing with his cup. “We totally should’ve done that, but I didn’t even think of it.”

“Too late now,” Cheng Pu retorted.

“I see,” Cao Cao muttered. “Well, if the river connects to others so easily, we shall undoubtedly have to take greater care with the ships. At least we can commandeer the ones they had here.”

“It definitely explains how they were getting supplies to Chi’bi,” Jia Xu noted. “The Wu army took care of the results, and we have now shut down the source.”

“Just one more step toward ridding ourselves of Orochi,” Xiahou Yuan said brightly.

Cao Pi was content to let them enjoy their victory, though his mind was already racing ahead to the next three steps they needed to take. He met Sun Ce’s eyes across the table and received a nod of agreement. When the Wu prince and his men departed in the morning, striking cross-country in a direct route home, one of those steps would already be underway.


	78. Chapter 78

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Orochi army tries to regroup, while the Resistance makes its move as a single alliance;

Under cover of night, the stragglers of the Orochi army flowed like trickling water to join the main body where it camped in a nondescript valley some miles from He Fei Castle, the demons having the advantage of being able to locate and follow their overlord’s energy to where he had retreated. Orochi himself cared little about any of the humans in his service, but every one of those he considered genuinely useful to him were now injured – again. Masamune was not too terribly off, but the piercing wound to his left biceps would make it painful to dual-wield his arsenal for a time. Once his face had been cleaned up, he looked at least capable of going on with life. Lu Bu had been battered fiercely and the wound suffered at Oda’s hands had reopened from Sun Ce’s punches, and his sliced hand would make it difficult to grip his halberd. Keiji had only suffered minor injuries but he had been thoroughly thrashed at Dian Wei’s hands and sat limp from exhaustion while the others were tended. Even Zhong Hui had been cut up enough at Xu Sheng’s hands to require medical attention and rest. They had a tent to themselves, sequestered away from the lesser officers – only about half of whom were at all injured themselves – and said hardly a word to one another either before or after the healers left them. The tent shuddered with the strain of someone too large ducking through the flap, and then Orochi loomed before them, regarding them all with a shadow of frustration in his face. His fiercest weapons were damaged, and though he had no love for them, he recognized their value and what it cost him to see them in that state. Date and Maeda were the only ones capable of shifting onto their knees to bow before him, resting their fists on the ground, but he didn’t seem to care whether they showed obeisance or not. “What are your orders, my lord?” Date murmured, voice trembling from the strain of keeping himself upright and alert.

Orochi peered down at him, and then looked from him to the others. Logically, he had no choice. “None,” he said flatly. “Rest. We cannot proceed as an army without officers to lead us into battle.”

Lu Bu grunted and rolled himself over, trying to hide his level of pain and push himself up to a seat. “But Lord Orochi…!” he protested. “How can we just…?”

It was all too clear just how incapable he was of standing, let alone fighting. Orochi held out a hand, palm out, to implore him to stop. “There is nothing to be gained by forcing you to battle in this state,” he interrupted curtly. “Only more loss. You will rest, and I will prepare our next move.” He turned without further comment and left them, at which point all of them let out the same huge, weary sigh at the same time.

Masamune’s shoulders shook as though he were going into shock. “What can we even offer him now?” he moaned softly, keeping his head down. “Why doesn’t he just execute us like we deserve? We’ve failed him, _again_ , and he was there to see it this time.”

Keiji flopped back to a seat, wincing at the many aches jolting through his body from the movement. “You’re complaining about not being dead? I know you’re his number one fan, Masamune, but shit.”

“Do you even understand the situation we are in?” Date shot back, still resting all of his weight on his fist on the ground. “He doesn’t need us! He doesn’t have to let us live if he doesn’t want to, I don’t even know why he bothered to save me.”

“Get a hold of yourself!” Keiji dredged up just enough energy to lunge forward and grab Masamune by the collar, shaking him. “We’re here because he wants us to be, that’s good enough! And I think he _does_ need us, we don’t run when the going gets tough and he knows that. We’re here to do what his stupid snakes can’t and won’t. So unless you plan to go running to the Resistance right here and now, suck it up and deal with it!”

Date hissed at the strain to his arm but didn’t fight back, letting Keiji shove him away. Lu Bu glared them both down from where he leaned on one elbow. “This isn’t the time to second-guess anything,” he snarled at them. “If you want to die, then fall on your sword! Lord Orochi expects us to clean ourselves up and get back out there to fight, not to wallow in self-pity and lament our losses!”

His reprimand stirred a spark of life in Date, who sat up sharply and whirled to face him. He was without his helm, and in his anger his unruly hair fluffed out like a spitting cat’s. “That’s all you can think about, is it? Fighting? You don’t even know what’s really going on here, all you understand is the battlefield and that’s it! Moron. Simple-minded moron!”

Lu Bu pushed himself up as much as he could as if to lunge for Masamune, but he didn’t get far. “Don’t think yourself so much better than me, you pathetic weakling!”

“Why not? Because I’m smart enough to realize that this isn’t just about who can beat who in a fight?” Date was on a roll now, and staggered to his feet in order to rail at them with all his might. “This is so much bigger than you can even imagine, you thick-headed beast! Don’t you realize what will happen if Lord Orochi is defeated?”

“He’s already been defeated, four times in a row,” Keiji grunted. “Nothing happened.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Date tried to point at him but it stressed his injured arm too much, he hissed and clutched it close to his side. “He retreated, he didn’t let them defeat him! Defeat for Lord Orochi means death, nothing more and nothing less. If that happens, it isn’t just he who will die.” He turned fully to reason in Maeda’s direction rather than Lu Bu’s, in the off chance he was slightly more capable of understanding his train of thought. “This whole world will die with him, we’ll all suffer and perish in darkness! He made this world, it will be unmade with him!”

Keiji’s eyes narrowed; he had heard Date mutter and rant about this idea before, but not in such detail and not with this much genuine fear behind it. “How do you know?” he challenged.

“Why else would Lord Orochi withdraw from battles before they got heated?” It was only a theory, but it fed Masamune’s deepest worries like nothing else. “It’s not like he can’t handle the fight! You didn’t see him facing the entirety of Wei’s officers, they couldn’t even scratch him. He’s not afraid of losing a battle, but if they manage to wound him again like Wu did, it could mean the end of the world – and he can’t conquer the world if it crumbles away beneath his feet, can he?”

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Keiji countered, pushing himself up and stepping closer in confrontation. “I know you want him to beat everybody down, Masamune, and so do I, but this has gotta stop! You’re raving like a madman now, you don’t even hear what you’re saying. There’s no proof this world would end if…if Lord Orochi…”

“There’s no proof it won’t, either,” Lu Bu broke in, his voice much more tight and grim as he began to understand what terrified Date so. “I hate to say it, but this brat has a point. Lord Orochi is not immortal, after all. If he were to even be in a position where his life was genuinely at risk, what do you think would happen to us?”

“Die all, die merrily,” Maeda huffed, “isn’t that what we’re all here for?”

“The Resistance won’t kill us,” Masamune countered, prodding him in the chest. “They want to strip us away from him, any way possible. I saw it in Ishida’s eyes when we fought, he wanted to capture me. They took Fuuma, do you really think they killed him? Of course they didn’t! We’re valuable to them as hostages, and even if they fail to get information out of us, they’ll at least be happy that we’re not at Lord Orochi’s side any longer.”

“Well, at least that means I’m right,” Keiji said brashly, “and he does need us. The Resistance knows it.”

Date shrank away from him slightly. “Fine, maybe I won’t be so eager to hand him my head,” he grumbled, “but don’t ignore the rest of it! This world belongs to Lord Orochi, and by letting him down, we expose him to risks he shouldn’t need to take. Mark my words, if he loses, we all lose.”

“It is a possibility,” Zhong Hui admitted. “But so long as we all still have our lives and our duty, this is not over. Lord Orochi has what he needs to turn this war around and take back what he has lost.”

“Not so long as the Resistance is as powerful as they are.” Date drew himself up, taking courage from their reasoning and digging deep to find a foundation on which to stand. “United as they are, they’re becoming stronger with each battle. You saw them – Sun Ce was there today, alongside Wei. Sima Yi thought that would never happen, but there they were.”

“Cao Cao also took the field alongside Oda Nobunaga,” Lu Bu reminded them, for he had seen it with his own eyes. “And before that, I saw Xiahou Dun fight alongside Guan Yu of Shu.”

Masamune clenched a hand in his hair as he realized the pattern. He had reports from other officers who had been at Chi’bi to confirm that Wu had received reinforcements from the other armies there as well. “They’re assisting one another,” he hissed, “exactly the opposite of what Sima Yi thought. Even Lord Oda is putting aside his ambitions for the sake of helping the other warlords, and that _never_ happens!”

Zhong Hui’s gaze darkened, though his trusted lord had not been the only one to predict that the four resistance armies would be busy backstabbing each other rather than work together. “That’s all well and good,” he sniffed, “but do you have some kind of plan to stop it? Or are we simply doomed after all, as you seemed to have wished earlier?”

“I don’t,” Date said dourly, “not yet. We just got thrown out of our last remaining castle a few hours ago, I haven’t exactly stopped to think, yet! But in the absence of any real strategists, I suppose I’m going to have to.”

“You may have Chen Gong if you like,” Lu Bu muttered, easing himself back to down to lie on his bedding, “but he has been fairly useless to me lately.”

“Not after he advised the entire army to fold into the center today,” Date growled. “It played right into Cao Pi’s hands.”

“I will assist if I can,” Zhong Hui murmured, “though I am not as trained in strategy as my lords.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Keiji warned. “I got this feeling Lord Orochi is gonna take the reins himself from now on. Other people’s advice hasn’t gotten him anywhere, he might as well fall back on the one thing that brought him victory at the very start: going his own way.”

“I hope he does,” Lu Bu said gruffly as he tried to get comfortable. “He trampled this entire land underfoot with just his own demon troops, even with us in his ranks then. It will be refreshing to see once again.”

Masamune considered that idea and tucked it away for later. Now that he was standing, he simply turned to leave. “I must see to the rifle corps before I bed down. Do whatever you like I don’t care.” Katakura Kojuro had been injured as well, and he wanted to check on him before truly calling it a night. Holding his sore arm close to his side, Masamune passed through the tent flap and out into the darkness, and then trudged off through the camp until he felt himself truly alone. Soldiers were still coming and going, and on all sides of the encampment sentries were on the alert for stragglers finding them and coming in, but there were a few places here and there where no one roamed. Date found one such spot and crouched down behind a stack of supply barrels, burying his head in his hands. He didn’t know how much more he had left in him, but he had spoken too often too loudly of his faith in Orochi’s greatness. He would pick himself up and work to find solutions after a good night’s rest, but for now, he hid in the darkness and silently wept in despair.

Messages proclaiming the capture of He Fei Castle went out quickly, and with Nobunaga so nearby, he received the news first with some chagrin. While he was not entirely surprised that Cao Cao had planned and undertaken such a brazen move, it frustrated him. He had also been preparing to assail He Fei, but Oda’s plan involved genuinely making alliances with the others and moving all together. Now, instead of definitively defeating Orochi for good, the great serpent had been set free to walk the length and breadth of the land as he pleased, and not a one of his elite retainers had been stripped from him. Oda gathered from the missive that Cao Cao was not going to place either blame or credit on his son’s shoulders, so he could only surmise that it hadn’t been Cao Pi’s plan regardless of whether he was there. The tacticians still in residence at Bai Di gathered at their lord’s call to read the letter for themselves and discuss a response before bringing it to the Oda Resistance as a whole. “At least it means He Fei Castle is liberated,” Mitsuhide reasoned as Hanbei poured over the message with brow knit in frustration. “That has been one of our goals, and Orochi now has no fortress in which to lay his head.”

“The timing is all wrong,” Hanbei groused, tossing the letter onto the table between them and fixing a determined look on his lord. Nobunaga had not seen him so fired-up in a long time. “I knew that one’s ego was going to be a problem. You’ll have to move quickly, Lord Nobunaga, before this turns into complete chaos.”

“That was my thought,” Oda nodded. “As long as Orochi is still in this area, none of us are safe and all of us are targets.”

“We must limit his movement,” Hanbei insisted, dropping a fist onto the table. “Send Naoe back to Takeda and Uesugi with a message to draw back their defenses into Fan Castle and leave the region to the south empty. What castles are south of Nagashino, and who controls them right now?”

Sima Shi didn’t even need to draw a map closer to verify. “The next nearest fortress is at Xiliang, and it should be under Shu protection.”

Oda was already of the same mind as his strategist. “Draft a message to be sent immediately to Xiliang to warn them of Orochi’s presence. They must also hold tight and not engage him, but at the same time not allow him to pass east or south of them.”

Hanbei thrust out his hands to clear all the excess paperwork out of his way and pull the map into position for them all to see. “Cao Cao’s letter says they tracked Orochi moving this way…and I imagine Sun Ce’s already gotten back to Wu to get them set up here and here…”

“I will correspond immediately with Lord Cao Pi to determine what move he plans to make,” Nobunaga murmured, scanning the map with his dark eyes as he rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “Even if his father sits on his laurels at He Fei, I can’t imagine the young master to stand by and allow Orochi any freedom to proceed.”

“You wish to drive him into Nagashino somehow,” Shi observed.

“That and more,” Hanbei affirmed, drawing a line across the map with a finger. “If we’re quick enough, we can force Orochi to move through the territories that are currently empty – from Nagashino to Wuzhang Plains, and then Yamazaki, and through there to Kyuushuu. And from there…” He drew his line all the way west. “Koshi Castle, his stronghold. We need to box him in there, that’s our only chance.”

“Exactly,” Oda agreed. “This is no longer about each of our armies taking their own victories, the time has come to put our alliance to the test. All four of us must work together to prevent Orochi from retaking anything in these lands, and force him back to his own castle where he can be targeted. This route looks the most promising.” He leaned closer to verify Hanbei’s suggestion. “It will pass close to fortresses held by Wei and Shu, along with our own. As long as the other armies are ready to move, they can blockade him from cutting to the north or south.”

“Do you think it would actually convince him to keep moving, and not attack them to force his way through?” Mitsuhide worried. “Surely he would catch on to the idea and do his best to break out to one side or the other.”

“That depends on our friends in Wei, Wu, and Shu,” Hanbei said grimly. “And our own army, for that matter. Our forces have to be ready to stop him if he tries to get into the mountains or down to the wild lands in the south – and give everything in the attempt.”

“Coordinate with Shu, then, for their units at Odani and Edo will be crucial to this,” Oda ordered, “as well as our own at Honnoji, and Wei’s at Jianye and Xuchang. We must all work together and not just sit on our hands after Orochi is driven past, he must be harried and given every reason not to linger. The more of a foothold he gains in the empty territories around us, the more likely he will build his own counter-resistance back to fighting strength to take our scattered outposts.”

They understood his purpose, now, and immediately broke up to collect ink and paper and prepare the messages as desired. Mitsuhide was in charge of contacting Honnoji to prepare them, and then call Naoe to send him and the Uesugi reinforcements back to Fan with orders for the other warlords. “What about our reserves at Guandu, Xiapi, and Kanegasaki?” he questioned his lord even as Nobunaga sat down to compose a lengthy missive to Cao Pi to get him on board with the plan.

“They must remain in place for now,” Oda answered as he took up his brush. “I have an unsettling feeling that Orochi may thrash about before he can be convinced to move along, and that makes any fortress east of us a potential target. Now is not the time to lose any of them for lack of defense.”

Hanbei looked up from his desk. “How does it feel to be beaten to the punch by Cao Cao?”

Nobunaga did not look up but he knew without a doubt his head tactician was smirking at the thought. “I’m not sure who he was trying to race to his goal,” he said wryly, “Orochi or me. It doesn’t matter. The result is not to my liking but it still serves as a major blow to Orochi’s campaign.” His lips curved in a sarcastic little smile as he began writing. “I’m sure Lord Cao Pi and I will have _much_ to talk about.”

Sun Ce and his men had left the spare ship at He Fei Castle and accepted borrowed horses to ride back to Hefei territory straight across land, cutting through Changsha on their way. Their scouts were able to keep tabs on the Orochi army enough to know that it was now positioned south of mountainous Changsha but not so far east as to threaten any of the other Resistance holdings yet, but he was mindful of Cao Pi’s advice and knew not to waste time. The young lord of Wei had the same plan unfolding as Oda, and had sent their rescuers along home with the express suggestion that Wu’s army should move south along the coast to block Orochi from cutting around behind them, for Chencang also lay along that route and it was being manned by the weakest skeleton force under Hao Zhao while the others were away. Between that and Sekigahara lying unclaimed in the wilderness, there were places where Orochi could hole up and even throw up a fortress of sorts if he were left unchecked. Wu and Wei needed to press him to make such lands inhospitable and moving westward a far more palatable idea. Sun Jian received the full report of his son’s adventure and the advice with some trepidation and all determination. “Do as he says,” he ordered Lu Meng, Zhou Yu, and Shima Sakon. “Split our forces into three, one unit remains here with me to guard our main headquarters, one will go with Ce in a direct line to where Orochi was last seen to give him a poke, and the third will go with Quan down along the coast to cut off retreat. We do want him going west, not east.”

“Understood,” Zhou Yu said. “I will prepare correspondence with Lord Oda, then, to determine whether he plans to assist.”

“Oh, he will,” Sakon assured. “He’s been waiting for this time all along – when all of us have to work together, for real. And we will, if we intend to give the snake a good prod in the ass to get moving.”

“I know he threatened to execute Lord Liu Bei,” Sun Ce said darkly, for he had heard it with his own ears, “but it’s not like that’s going to stop the Resistance one bit. He probably knows it, too, but he still had to remind us of that.”

“Of course it won’t stop us,” Sun Jian said determinedly. “I’ll get Xuande out of there if I have to tear down the castle with my bare hands, and I’m pretty sure all of Shu is going to be right there with me. Orochi’s going to try to use him against us right until the end, though, so steel yourselves.” His daughter was not currently present for the briefing, but he was sure he would need to talk it over with her. “Assaulting Koshi is going to be difficult, if not suicidal. A good many lives could be lost in the undertaking. But this time, we cannot stop – Orochi can _not_ be allowed to take to the skies and fly away any longer. He must be ended.”

“First, let’s make sure he goes there,” Sakon advised. “We don’t want him dallying about in the wilderness at his own leisure.” He looked toward Sun Quan. “Don’t let him make it to Sekigahara, just think of what he’d do with those cannon forts.”

“The cannons were destroyed,” Quan reminded him, “but I know exactly what you mean. That’d be the perfect place for him to dig in, and for our long defeat to begin if we let him.”

“I will prepare the letters,” Zhou Yu said firmly. “It may be up to Wu to get this tactic started, but Lord Oda and Lord Zhao Yun will need to be prepared for their turn to come.”

Sun Ce pounded his fist into his opposite hand with a loud smack. “It’s finally happening,” he said with a hint of bloodthirst. “We’re going after him, and he’s going down.”

It took longer for word to reach Chengdu, but Cao Pi had sent his message by the hand of his fastest courier so that it would reach Zhao Yun’s eyes before anyone else had the chance to even react to the news. Seeing that it was framed as a personal letter, Yun took it and retreated to a private chamber to read it, allowing only Yukimura to join him until he could be sure it didn’t contain any explosive information. He sat with one hand covering his mouth to keep himself from gasping and gaping at the warning, and read it at least two times over before briefing Yukimura. “There is more,” he explained, “but the reason Lord Cao Pi wished to write me this way is because Orochi threatened Lord Liu Bei’s life once again in their hearing.”

“Oh no,” his comrade murmured. “Though, I suppose that’s all he has, isn’t it? We’ve taken every castle from him, except the one…”

“Which means Lord Zhuge Liang is correct,” Yun noted. “That is where they are holding my lord. But Orochi is far from it, so if he intends to execute my lord after all, he will need to reach Koshi Castle before we do.”

“Can we do it, though?” Yukimura came over and knelt beside his chair. “Lord Zhuge Liang suggested we not attempt to assail Koshi even with Orochi away. I’m sure he has his reasons, but wouldn’t it make sense to try while we can?”

Zhao Yun’s fingers curled around the edges of the letter in his hands, his thumb roaming across Cao Pi’s inked signature. “It seems so, but for both Lord Kongming and Lord Cao Pi to expressly request that I not do that, there must be something they know.”

Yukimura’s eyes widened briefly. “Lord Cao Pi also?”

“He assures me that he and his army will do all they can to assist us,” Yun reported, glancing down to find the words and paraphrase them for his friend. “He simply thinks it would not be wise to draw our strength to such an attack when we have no reconnaissance on the castle and Orochi is at our backs. The way he explains it, I think I understand, but I should like to run it past Kongming.”

They called both Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei in so that Zhao Yun could tell them of the news and read for them the relevant bits of the letter which he felt comfortable sharing, wanting their informed opinions of the warning as well as the advice. Liang smirked coolly to himself. “I see Cao Cao’s ambition has not waned, even after spending months recovering from a near-death experience,” he murmured with a touch of sarcasm.

“It is a two-edged sword,” Jiang Wei mused. “On the one hand, Orochi’s last conquest has been taken from him, but on the other hand, he could roam unchecked across the open countryside.”

“Lord Ujiyasu should have reached Xiliang by now,” Yukimura reminded them, “so if we must send word to them to tighten their defenses, he should be ready to assist my father and Lord Ma Teng.”

“What of the suggestion that we wait until we have the full backing of the other Resistance armies before moving on Koshi Castle,” Zhao Yun prompted, “even if it means allowing Orochi to reach it and make good on his threat?”

“Orochi will not execute Lord Liu Bei,” Kongming said with the kind of definite conviction he rarely displayed. “His value as a live hostage has increased tenfold now that Orochi has nothing else to fall back upon. I am certain of this because I was the one who told him exactly how to use our lord…and while I spoke truth, I also convinced him that execution was not going to achieve the end result he desired.” He lowered his head briefly in contrition before explaining fully, aware of the stares on him from all sides. “The threat itself was more effective than death, and so long as Lords Guan Yu and Zhang Fei remained in his service, they existed as proof. They dared not step a toe out of line so long as their brother’s life was at stake. Yet, your sojourn to build an army capable of locating and freeing him was, at the same time, evidence to me that it did not matter how often or how seriously Orochi threatened to execute Lord Liu Bei, it was not enough to stop you from mounting a resistance.”

Zhao Yun’s eyes dropped and seemed to search the floor for answers. “That is true. I never once considered that my resistance efforts would hasten his execution. If anything, the threat made _me_ hasten my search.”

“Precisely.” Zhuge Liang dipped his fan toward the commander out of respect. “Yet, even though Orochi no longer has his conscripts to keep in line with that threat, he will attempt to use it to block the Shu Resistance from succeeding in an attack on him. He will do nothing to Lord Liu Bei unless we reach the keep of Koshi, and then he will be dangled before us as a last-ditch effort to stay your hand. I know.” His keen eyes narrowed. “It was my advice to Orochi, and I believe he will not waver from it.”

“How can you be certain?” Yukimura asked warily.

Liang’s eyes darkened for a moment as if some unpleasant memory had crossed his mind. “Orochi does not have the sort of grasp on human emotions that make other humans such effective foes,” he replied. “Neither does Da Ji, though she has at least a rudimentary understanding of how emotion can be used against her enemies. They know that in principle, making death threats can be very effective if the victims are truly terrified to see the threat carried out. Yet, they do not understand us enough to know that sometimes, death is not the worst thing that can happen.” His eyes saddened as he met Yun’s, and a wave of dread passed between them. “Lord Liu Bei is willing to die to save us. You know this. His brothers know this. His people know. If it comes to that, at the last moment, he will accept it as a means of freeing us to be able to hunt and destroy Orochi with nothing holding us back. You must be willing to allow him this sacrifice before you will be able to march on Koshi Castle.”

Yun held his gaze for a long time, and though his eyes clouded with unshed tears, he swallowed them and then nodded. “I know. I have, in some sense, always known. But I will not give up on him.”

“Nor should you, and that is what this army needs as its driving force.” Liang looked from him to Jiang Wei beside him. “You have all done so well to prepare yourselves, up until this point. Our final step will be taken together, with all the rest of the Resistance beside us. Listen to Lord Cao Pi, his advice is valid.”

Jiang Wei took his cue from his mentor, nodding. “I agree. Putting personal feelings aside, his logic is sound and we have even more information than Wei does on the situation. I can say that Lord Zhuge Liang has done his all to lay the groundwork for our victory, both as part of the enemy’s forces and now, here, with us.”

Zhao Yun looked at the letter in his hands again, bolstered by a squeeze of Yukimura’s hand to his shoulder. “Then, what he says here…that they will be doing everything they can to drive Orochi back to Koshi Castle. You agree?”

“As much as I do not relish the idea of fighting him on his own ground, yes.” Kongming grasped his wrist with his opposite hand, lowering the fan to rest against his stomach. “It seems illogical, yet I think it is for the best. Attempting to maneuver our scattered forces to surround him somewhere in the middle of this land, such as the Wuzhang Plains, would be difficult if not impossible. Time and terrain will delay some, and we have no way to predict how quickly he will move. He also has additional forces spread out in other corners, which could come to his aid and attack us from behind. If he succeeds, at all, he could break out and escape in any direction to hit us again. It would be an unmitigated disaster.”

“It is better to corner him in a fortress and then besiege it with all we have,” Jiang Wei intently agreed. “That way we know exactly where he is and how large his army is. He has nowhere to escape.”

“I thought the warning message we received from Lord Oda said that Orochi was likely drawing all of his forces to He Fei Castle,” Yukimura remembered. “But you say there are others…?”

“The fact that they were building a supply depot at the rear, at Mikatagahara, was the first clue,” Liang said. “Additionally, word came in from King Meng Huo while you were in here – they have been fighting demons near Shizugatake as recently as two days ago.”

“While Orochi was still at He Fei,” Zhao Yun realized. “Truly?”

“I had intended to summon you when you summoned me first.”

“Then, by all means.” Zhao Yun pushed himself to his feet and rolled his letter tightly to take with him. “Let us call the other officers and share this information on Orochi’s movements. I know they will all be eager to move immediately, but I ask your help in convincing them to work alongside the other factions and do our part to make sure Orochi is driven back to the west.”

“And doesn’t attack us along his way,” Yukimura said. “We still have his strategist, now might be a good time for him to try to get her back.”

“Well said, Lord Yukimura,” Jiang Wei nodded. “Chengdu would be a tempting target once he reached this region, we must do all we can to make sure he doesn’t turn toward it.”

No matter what Cao Cao wanted of the army going forward, Cao Pi had too much to do to remain lounging about He Fei. He left his father in command there with any and all retainers he wished and set out for Xuchang not more than two days after their conquest, taking only Ishida, Diaochan, and Yue Jin with him as bodyguards. He had left Jia Xu with orders to strengthen defenses at Jianye in the meantime, even if it meant pulling some troops from Odawara to do it. Even with reports of some random Orochi units lurking in the vicinity, they had more than enough strength to defend. Everything was moving swiftly according to his plans, and he wasted no time returning to his primary headquarters, galloping straight up to the gate of Xuchang and leaping off his horse as soon as he was inside, calling for Gan Ning. Many of the sentries and officers who had remained behind came out to see why such a small force had returned from He Fei Castle, and why their lord was in such a hurry, but he held them off from asking with just an upraised hand until he had consulted with the pirate. Gan Ning came down the palace steps with Zhenji right behind him, and Zhang Liao a few steps after. “I need you to saddle a horse immediately and take the scouts out,” Cao Pi ordered before he had even reached them. “Orochi is on the move, and I must prevent him from attacking our strongholds.”

“On the move? Wait, but what happened with the castle?” Ning wondered.

“It is in my father’s hands, don’t worry,” Pi insisted. “Tracking Orochi is of far more importance to me. All you need to know that I must know his every move.”

“Got it.” Gan Ning turned and whistled a command which several soldiers obeyed, going to fetch him a horse and roust out the scouts who had been going out with him every time he was sent on a mission. They had a system well in place and worked perfectly together, and as a result he was on his way rather shortly after.

Cao Pi turned to the others clustering around him, taking a deep breath to quiet himself before giving his wife a smile. “Now. You may ask me whatever you like. Time was of the essence, you’ll understand shortly.”

“If the castle is in Lord Cao Cao’s hands, then I take it victory was had,” Zhang Liao noted. “But Orochi was not vanquished?”

“Not even close,” Pi answered. “My father’s ambitions far exceeded his good sense, but we suffered few casualties for it. Reinforcements from Lord Sun Ce helped.”

“From Wu? I see.” Liao looked them over and approved with a nod. “I look forward to hearing all about it.”

“I’m glad you returned safe,” Zhenji added, taking her husband’s arm. He smiled in assurance, but caught the briefest glance from Mitsunari as he passed. There was still no sign of any lasting effect from Orochi’s sorcery, but Cao Pi had asked his retainers not to tell his wife what had happened so as not to worry her.

In the war room, he found messages awaiting from Oda and Zhao Yun and settled in to read while Mitsunari consulted the map and moved some markers in order to remind himself where Sun Ce had intended to set up his defense. There were so few officers left behind at Xuchang that it was easy to call them all in so they could receive the full debriefing on what had come of the battle and what he planned for the days to come. “Another contingent will be making its way back with Guo Jia, in time,” he informed them, “because they will be acting as a mobile barrier to herd the Orochi army away from our strongholds and toward his own. They need to move slowly from He Fei to Jianye and then here, so it may be some time before we see them. That means we are all we have to hold Xuchang in the interim. Gan Ning is already on the road, tracking this Orochi army, but in a pinch I’m sure he will be the first back to assist us.”

“Tricky,” Huang Gai noted. “But I like it. What are the chances of the big snake coming knocking?”

“Less likely than him attempting to wrest Jianye from our control,” Mitsunari answered, “but by the same token, I don’t expect him to go after a fortress. I’m pretty sure he feels equally powerful whether sleeping in a tent or in a castle, the lack of a headquarters won’t slow him down.”

“Indeed,” Cao Pi continued, “the point is that we cannot allow Orochi to get settled. If he gets so much as a claw-hold in this region, he will never leave. Driving him to Koshi Castle is the only thing we must focus on.”

“Even if that will give him a stronger defense as well as the opportunity to execute Liu Bei?” Zhang Liao questioned.

Pi set his hand on one of the letters he had just received. “I am already in contact with Lord Zhao Yun, and I have his assurances. Liu Bei’s fate is not for us to worry about yet, not until we reach Koshi ourselves. As to the rest…” He smirked coolly. “You aren’t afraid of a challenge, are you, Wenyuan?”

“Hardly,” Liao huffed. “I trust you know what you’re doing, young master, so if the size of that task does not bother you, then count me in.”

Once all questions had been answered and plans set in order, everyone was dismissed to their duties so that their lord could rest and possibly turn his mind away from the war for an hour or two. Given the long and hard journey they had taken to get back home so quickly, Ishida was not at all concerned about his health, but he still insisted that Cao Pi take some time to settle in and distract himself from constantly ruminating over Orochi’s movements and his father’s machinations. He lingered at the end of the hallway until he was certain Pi had gone to his quarters, and a few moments later heard the gentle voice of a flute coming from the room and turned away, content that someone was there to soothe him and keep him from working. As Mitsunari made his way back to his own room, he came around a corner right into Zhang Liao’s shoulder. “Oh…sorry,” he murmured absently, pushing himself off. “Didn’t see you there, even if you’re kind of hard to miss.”

“It’s quite all right,” Liao assured, stepping back. “I meant to thank you, earlier, for looking after Lady Diaochan. I’m sure the battle was chaotic and difficult for everyone, but to see her come through it without a scratch is a relief.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Mitsunari said with a little shake of his head. “She is more than capable of looking after herself, Master Zhang Liao. Give her a little credit, would you?”

Wenyuan looked away, as if making sure she wasn’t about to come around the next corner and hear him speaking of her. “I suppose I should. But the lady was built for a quiet life, not for war. That she has trained herself to fight despite all things...”

“She’s made of tougher stuff than she looks,” Mitsunari said thoughtfully. “I watched her fight Lu Bu, you know. She’s one of a kind, all right.”

Liao’s eyes darkened. “Did she…how did it go?”

“Ask her.” Mitsunari shrugged and made to continue on. “There’s no reason to get any gossip out of me when the lady could probably use a friend to talk to.” He left Liao with that to consider while he went to his room and closed himself away, finally able to remove his armor and circlet and lay his fan down. He even went so far as to strip off the azure-sleeved coat he had taken to wearing more often, laying it over a chair, and then his shoes, so he could stretch out on his bed and relax. He had meant to simply lie down for a while, quiet his thoughts, gather his strength for the days to come, but warm sunlight cascaded through his window and fell across the bed, and in no time at all he had fallen asleep in the sunbeam. It was so comfortable, the bedding had soaked up the heat of the sun and his black hakama trapped even more of it, wrapping him in a haze of warmth impossible to resist. Mitsunari slept far longer than he would have liked, and nothing seemed to wake him until the touch of fingertips stroking his brow registered though his slumber and he turned his head as if to chase the feeling. Doing so woke him, and he glanced up to find Cao Pi sitting beside him, free of armor and the constraint of propriety and simply keeping him silent company, combing errant strands of auburn hair back from his forehead. Seeing him crack his eyes open brought a gentle smile to Pi’s lips, which in turn made Mitsunari blush at the attention. “What are you doing here?” he murmured, rolling onto his back. “Aren’t you supposed to be…” Only then did he notice that the sun had long gone from his window, and the room was dark except for a lamp at the bedside table. “…what time is it?”

“You missed dinner,” Cao Pi replied, still threading fingers into his hair. “I took the liberty of having the cooks send something up for you.” He nodded toward the larger table in the center of the room, where a tray sat with steam still rising from the teapot and covered dishes.

Mitsunari pushed himself up and then rubbed his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Guess I was a lot more tired than I thought.”

“Come,” Pi implored, “eat. There is nothing more pressing tonight, all is quiet and I believe we both owe ourselves time to recover.”

His hand hand fallen onto the bed between them, so Mitsunari thanked him with a brush of his own hand over it before getting up and moving to light more lamps, awakening the room with the golden glow and then moving to see what dinner would be. Fresh rice with fowl and vegetables, it looked like. He glanced to his side as Cao Pi got up from the bed and came over to join him, and smirked very slightly. “I see two cups for tea.”

“You didn’t think I would let you dine alone.” As if to keep him from protesting, Pi picked up both cups to move them closer to him and then graciously poured tea for them both.

As much as he wanted to complain about Zihuan wasting valuable resting-time with him, Mitsunari found that he couldn’t argue at all. He pulled out a chair and settled himself in to enjoy his dinner, smiling contentedly when his lord joined him at the table. “I take it everyone else is in bed or on their way,” he said after a few bites.

“It isn’t that late,” Pi assured. “But everyone else does have their own interests to pursue. So before you chide me for being here, it is my choice and my desire. Whether I want to beat you at chess, argue about poetry, or take you to bed with me, I don’t think you’ll be able to stop me from doing as I please.”

Ishida arched an eyebrow at him over his chopsticks. “ _Beat_ me at chess? In your dreams.”

That brought a stronger smile to Pi’s lips. The closer they had gotten, the less they snarked at each other, and he somewhat missed it – that daring, headstrong attitude, the flash of his eyes and every sarcastic little huff under his breath. A taste of it was all he needed, though Pi sat back lazily in the chair and raised his teacup to his lips in order to fix his comrade with a sultry look. “If I recall, you haven’t beaten me yet.”

“We haven’t played enough for a true evaluation,” Mitsunari sniffed. “Last time you only won because I kept accidentally moving according to shogi rules.”

“Then it’s best to play when there are no distractions at hand.” Pi stroked his fingers idly along the rim of his cup. “Such as, let’s say, something interesting to look at.”

The motion of slender fingers wasn’t enough to distract Mitsunari from eating, at least. He demurely lowered his eyes and focused on his dinner for a bit. “You really do think so highly of yourself,” he teased. “I’m capable of ignoring you when I want to.”

“Oh, are you?” Zihuan laughed softly. “I am inclined to test that theory, but at the same time, I would rather capture your eyes and keep them on me all night.”

“You’re such a brat,” Mitsunari breathed, trying to stifle a laugh of his own. “You already know you have me, so I can only conclude that you miss the thrill of the chase.”

“Perhaps a little.” Pi sipped at his tea and turned his eyes elsewhere, letting his gaze drift to the deepening twilight beyond the window. “But the pursuit isn’t the only thrill. To know you as I do…I cannot hate that Orochi and his meddling has brought us together. At least I can hate him for plenty of other reasons.”

“But not that.” Mitsunari found himself unable to stop smiling while he ate. “So, now that no one else is around – what did you _really_ think of your first glimpse of the big snake?”

Cao Pi’s brow furrowed slightly as he turned inward to remember that moment. “When I saw him on the porch,” he said pensively, “before Date moved, I remember thinking, so this is the creature who has caused all our nightmares. I didn’t have time to really think about him, but I stole a glance or two while I waited for my chance to assist you with Date.” He shook his head slowly, gaze distant. “He is both exactly as tales make him out to be, and at the same time, not nearly as terrifying as I thought. But then…” He tipped his head back toward Ishida. “…I grew up with constant muttering around me about how huge and terrible Lu Bu was, and really, he is nothing but a mountain of muscle encased in armor. Orochi is only slightly bigger.”

Mitsunari breathed a chuckle, as he compared the two and understood his lord’s point. “Only, Lu Bu doesn’t pack a punch with sorcery, just his own fist.”

“I would very much like to avoid that a second time, yes,” Pi said dryly. “It hit like a stone on my chest, much like I would imagine being hit by a cannon would be like.” He brushed a hand down the front of his surcoat, over his chest. “But, with no blood, no burns, not even a bruise, I can say it’s the sort of thing most of our men would be able to shrug off if they were so unfortunate to get in the way of Orochi’s hand.”

“And you’re still not going to tell her ladyship that it happened…”

“Do you have any idea how much she would fret?” Pi gave him a droll look and then sat up to set his empty cup aside. “If she finds out from some loose-lipped soldier in the future, I will deal with it, but the more time passes, the more likely we will have much more important things to worry about.”

“I’m not going to say anything, don’t worry,” Mitsunari assured, taking a sip of tea to finish off his dinner. “I know you’re perfectly fine, so there’s no reason. I was just curious, that’s all.” He raised that eyebrow again. “Not even a bruise, huh?”

Cao Pi smirked hungrily. “You are welcome to see for yourself.”

“The more you talk like that, the more I want to.” Mitsunari set his cup with the rest of the dishes and sat back, giving him a daring smirk. “I’m not alert enough to do my best at chess, anyway.”

Pi rose elegantly and stretched out a hand to pull Mitsunari to his feet, and didn’t stop there, drawing him back over to the bed and then resting his hand over his heart. Mitsunari followed the prompting to undo the knots of his surcoat and peel it open, and then smoothed his hand over unblemished flesh. If Cao Pi had suffered so much as a scratch in battle, by now it was already healed anyway, but his claim was true – he had taken no damage at all. While he explored, Pi’s hands dropped to his waist and untied the knot of his hakama, easing them down off his hips. Mitsunari retaliated by pulling the coat completely open and shoving it off Zihuan’s shoulders, and only then diving in to kiss him. Hands let go of his hakama and curled into his loose hair instead, holding him to be thoroughly kissed with all passion and grace. Some words whispered between them about checking each other from head to toe for forgotten injuries brought out a whiff of a chuckle, and then they were tumbling onto the bed to do just that. The heat of hands gliding across sensitive skin and the soft brush of lips against the planes of muscle and bone found nothing dark, no scratch and no bruise, only pleasure. They turned each other over and over in the bedding to make sure they uncovered every corner and crevice, and teased each other about going back over certain spots a second and third time just to be certain. Mitsunari snatched a hold of the tie keeping Pi’s hair tied back and set it loose, purring happily at the sheet of ebony which cascaded fully over both of them. At long last any and all thought of Orochi fled completely from their heads, there was no room to even remember the serpent existed when they had the spectacle of one another to behold, from the honeyed tone of lamplight playing over the curves of Cao Pi’s muscled shoulders and chest to the coppery feathers brushing Mitsunari’s shoulders as he tipped his head back to let his companion taste his neck and throat. Each would make sure the other had been enjoyed thoroughly even if it took all night, and at the pace they set by their explorations, all night was exactly what they wanted.

  


Even though most of the Resistance commanders had reached the same conclusions independently, the letters began to fly fast and furious between their headquarters in order to coordinate and arrange a spectacularly complex plan to hem the Orochi army on all sides and make it so they had no choice but to take the offered clear lane of travel through unoccupied territories. Yet, before they could even start, news began to reach them from some of their outlying possessions that Meng Huo’s encounter was not unique: the Orochi army was abroad and far more widespread than they thought. In withdrawing to He Fei, he had indeed drawn any roaming units nearby to himself to bolster their ranks, but far back before he even moved on Mikatagahara, he had ordered out several of his demon captains to lead their companies to attack the smaller fortresses, towns, and outposts of any Resistance or civilian persuasion. Many of these lay far out from their faction’s larger holdings and thus appeared vulnerable, particularly against the giant boar-like creatures or the spidery demons leading. They spread out far and wide and aimed at every distant territory which seemed an easy target while the main bodies of the Resistance were busy with Orochi himself elsewhere, intent on attacking swiftly, crushing them, and then making their way back towards Koshi to report on their successes. Yet, such intentions far underestimated the strength of the Resistance. No matter where the demons roamed, they were met with defeat. Success was not to be found anywhere, not even in Nanzhong. Ahui Nan and the rest of the Nanman forces had spent a long time building up their defenses in preparation for the serpent’s eventual return, so they were more than ready and threw down every assault attempted anywhere in their territory, whether at the palisades of the main villages or deep in the jungle where their guerrilla troops dragged demons to their doom. Chencang held firm even with the reduced forces, relying on their stout walls to stymie the Orochi attackers. Xiliang needed no one to tell them to be on high alert, for they already were, and the Hojo rode far and wide from the hilly fortress to slay demons wherever they dared set foot in the verdant fields. Changshan was taken by independent forces and held against attempted intrusion. Meng Huo threw down every force which attempted to cross through Shizugatake, Wei Yan gleefully destroyed anyone who skirted around the mountain at Jieting, and even Odani Castle was briefly beset only to be skillfully defended by the Shimazu. Orochi forces which had spread northward found themselves outmatched at Tong Gate, destroyed at Xiapi and Kanegasaki, and sent running from Guandu’s walls. Honnoji, Osaka, Jianye, and Fan had some report of demons sniffing around but they were too well-guarded to assail. Even the castle on the coast, Xin Di, saw a little scuffle, but the remnants of the seafaring peoples and pirates collected by the Chosokabe had no trouble beating the demons back. Most of these forces could not even return to report on their failures in time, Orochi had been driven into the wilderness before any of them knew it and they had no choice but to simply slink back toward the west, avoiding Chengdu for its stoutness and slipping through the empty region of Kyuushuu instead. The last remaining forces which hadn’t given up attempted to re-establish Orochi control of Sekigahara, Nagashino, and Kawanakajima, but none of their efforts were successful. By that time, Sun Quan’s contingent had moved down along the coast and swept inward to meet Sun Ce’s near Sekigahara, and the Orochi main army realized that they were being cut off from the east. Wei’s soldiers passed through and took up guard near Chencang to assist, completing a veritable wall of Resistance forces. Orochi himself had only been moving slowly and slightly, inching along in the gap between the occupied castles to the north and looming threat of the Nanman south, but the way behind him had closed by the time all of his elite officers were capable of holding their weapons again. Forward meant westward, at least for now, so the first real move he made was to aim for Nagashino, meeting up with the failed occupation force as he did. They reported raids on their supplies originating from Fan Castle nearby, and complained that they didn’t have enough manpower to overcome the cavalry harrying their flank. Annoyed, Orochi encamped at Nagashino to see for himself.

Under cover of night, two horses stood at the top of a ridge overlooking the rope bridges and the river chasm beneath, so that their riders could get a good look at the state of the army pooled in the valley of Nagashino. They hadn’t been there long, none of the defensive bulwarks had been rebuilt and though their officers were holed up inside the garrison building far to the side, the spies had a pretty good idea of the size and strength of the army. Takeda Shingen chuckled quietly to himself. “As I thought. Relying on their numbers to serve as their primary defense.”

“It looks effective enough,” Uesugi Kenshin muttered. “There were not even half so many demons at Kawanakajima, that first time.”

“Impressive, isn’t it? And our scouts say more keep joining every day.”

“I take it you have some ideas for getting them to move?”

“A few.” Takeda tapped his war fan against his chin. “I know you will hate me saying this, Nemesis, but this is not the time for a direct assault. Battle will only cause them to dig in further.” He peered down at the Orochi encampment for another long moment and then turned gleaming, mischievous eyes on his comrade. “If you were intent on making a comfortable main camp for yourself, what would give you cause to change your mind and pick up to move elsewhere?”

Kenshin mulled it over. “Discovery that our position is tactically unsound. Inhospitable terrain. Reports that my prey had moved even further away.”

Shingen nodded sagaciously. “As to the first, I don’t think anyone would call Nagashino tactically unsound. But the other two, I can certainly work with. In fact, now that you say so, I am feeling particularly naughty and will probably employ both at the same time. They would work well in tandem so long as the timing is played right and it looks like a mere coincidence. Look.” Rather than wave his fan or make a large gesture which might be seen, even if they had the complete cover of darkness, he bobbed his head toward the valley below. “The stream which runs past the garrison has already been slowed to a trickle. The bed is dry, I can see dust rising when their sentries cross it. Whether that happened during the course of our last battle here or sometime after, either way.” He heaved another low, knowing chuckle. “They’ve made their camp straddling the stream bed like a pack of fools. All we have to do is divert the water back into its natural course and they will be rather put out at how wet their tents become.”

“Our spies will have to work carefully to discover what’s become of the stream, and then do the work to change its course,” Uesugi pointed out.

“I have every faith in them that they can do it without being found,” Takeda said confidently. “If we can dam the river to let it build up and then unleash a flash flood, even better.”

“Would that we could control the weather,” Uesugi mused, “and pour out the flood in the middle of a storm so that it looked completely natural.”

Takeda looked his way. “Ooh, I like that. Control the weather, no, unless the gods can hear us and are feeling generous, but we can make observations and choose a time for it. Meanwhile, I will have false reports drafted up, suggesting that the Resistance is massing at the Wuzhang Plains again, to give Orochi a tempting morsel to chase. If Date still has any pull with his lord, he would insist on meeting us there to destroy our plans before we can mount a defense.”

“Bait first, and then use the terrain to convince them if they don’t move fast enough.” Kenshin looked back at his comrade and grinned, visible like a ghostly grimace beneath his white hood in the darkness. “I like it. I will get my fill of open battle when we reach Koshi, I will gamble it on your stealthy venture, Nemesis.”

“I do so love it when a plan comes together.” Takeda turned his horse and guided it carefully along the ridge so as to make no sound that might alert far-roaming sentries, and Uesugi followed. They vanished into the night to return to their vanguard where it camped in the wilderness, eager to get a good rest before tackling the engineering feat needed to prepare a flood.

It took a good week of work to put both tactics into motion, but then it all came together right when the strategists read the weather and predicted an evening rain in the next day. The stream had been blocked by debris at some point and meandered off to a different course, so blocking it again and forcing it back to its original bed was no trouble at all even with Orochi forces massed less than half a mile away. The tricky part was damming the water so that it collected in a pool without anyone noticing. The false reports had been sent, and though the Resistance spies couldn’t see anything happening in the camp to indicate whether they were being acted upon, the information was out there. At last came the right night, the rains moved in before sunset and the Orochi army withdrew into their tents to try to stay dry and warm. After nightfall the few unlucky sentries who stood out under the pouring rain to do their duty heard a chattering of water on pebbles, and looked to see the river come back to life. Most assumed it was due to the rain and shrugged it off. Then the chattering grew to a churl, and then a rush, and then a roar. The stream swelled to its original banks in minutes, and then overflowed, and suddenly the camp was alive with light and shouting as all the soldiers, human and demon, encamped along the riverbed were woken up by water in their tents and fled to higher ground. From where they stood observing, Takeda’s men could hear Lu Bu bellowing once he had been rousted out of the garrison to see what all the fuss was about. The sudden onrush of water swept away a number of tents and some of the supplies, so that even when the reserve of water had been exhausted and the stream went back to chattering merrily at its normal rate – bolstered, no doubt, by the falling rain – enough damage had been done. The Resistance scouts were pleased to report the next day that it appeared the Orochi army was packing up to move again. Nagashino had proven inhospitable, and Takeda’s booming laugh filled everyone at Fan Castle with extra confidence. All they had to do now was join their cavalry with the Xiliang riders to the south and move in behind their enemy’s retreat, pecking at their rear like mounted bandits. It couldn’t have been more perfect, Takeda thought, and he couldn’t wait to share his genius with the other strategists.


	79. Chapter 79

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance continues to prepare as Orochi returns to Koshi; we learn about the mystics; one last gathering of friends at Honnoji.

It took time to drive Orochi and his army along a predetermined path, time which none of the commanding officers of the Resistance could begrudge in order to ensure that everything went according to plan. They hurried it along as much as they could, biting at the flanks and heels of the vast enemy army crawling along the vales and hillsides but never showing themselves in great force outside of those small skirmishes. No general of note appeared in person, and each force along the route used whatever devious strategies could be whipped up and carried out in order to lure and goad the Orochi army to keep moving. The flood at Nagashino had been a stroke of genius to keep them from settling there, and there was bait laid at Wuzhang to entice them in that direction while Jianye, Odani, Fan, and Xuchang closed their gates and made every effort to suggest that even a large army would be better off steering clear. When the bulk of the main force reached the Wuzhang Plains, they discovered that a great wildfire had recently razed the fields down to the bare dirt, and many of the fortifications in the space between the north ridge and southern hills had suffered greatly. Moreover, the great force which they expected to meet them there never materialized. The only interlopers were their own, as one of the spider-limbed demons dragged the handful of infantry he still had with him into the open to join them up with their overlord. Orochi had withdrawn to the temple at the far southern end when they arrived, and stood silently gauging the surroundings while his underling reported his failure. “It was not the cold which defeated us,” he grunted, “it was a large army moving out from Edo Castle. They overwhelmed us on the open plain and crushed us. I barely escaped alive, most of my soldiers were slain.”

Orochi’s eyes were not on him, but instead were cast down at the faintly-glowing stones on which he stood at the center of the temple ground. “Who, then, vanquished you, Leaflitter?”

Leaflitter knelt at the steps where once Oda and Zhuge Liang had traded verbal jabs, resting on one fist. “Their men wore green and some dark blue, but the general leading them was large, with a long polearm and a spiked helm.”

“Tokugawa,” Date Masamune growled under his breath. He had accompanied his lord to this spot just in case, even if he didn’t want to remember meeting defeat here, and stood off to the side with his arms folded over his chest. “Sounds like he went crawling home, though green usually means Shu…”

Orochi paced a slow circle around the center of the stone dais, seeming to ignore them but really listening to every word spoken. At last, he came to a stop with his back to the doorway. “Very well. Join what’s left of your unit to us. We will continue.”

The demon rapped his fist on the ground and then darted off to obey. Masamune glanced at the great serpent, looking him over for any sign of why he was so interested in this spot. “Is something wrong, Lord Orochi?”

Orochi lowered himself to one knee and passed his hand over the ornate stones making up the flat, paved temple dais, right at its center. “No. Nothing is amiss,” he muttered after a moment, sounding vaguely relieved.

Date continued to eye him, and then dared to ask. “What is this place? When Da Ji set up camp here, she was pretty pleased with it, too.”

“This spot is the exact center of my realm.” Orochi rested his palm flat against the decorative center stone. “It extends in equal distance to the north, west, south, and east, from the mountains to the jungles to the seas. Here, I may feel the strength of the power which binds it all together.”

Date started, realizing how close the Resistance had come to it without even knowing it. “Here? But what if the Resistance were to find it? What would happen if they destroyed this temple, or…”

“Nothing.” Orochi straightened up, though his gaze remained trained on the center stone almost wistfully. “This structure is merely a marker. They cannot throw down my world by destroying some stone walkways.” He finally lifted his head and peered at his faithful retainer. “It is not nearly so simple.”

As much as that relieved Masamune, it also took him one step closer toward proof that what he feared was right – that Orochi himself was the key to the vitality of the world they were in. But he didn’t dare ask outright, he felt like had already questioned too much. “Your orders, then, my lord,” he said, turning and bowing directly to him. 

“There is no reason to stay,” Orochi replied, the slightest edge of annoyance beneath the usual flatness of his tone. “This place is useless to our purpose. We will move onward.”

Masamune remained bent over, keeping his head low. “Allow me a moment to consult our scouts and I will have a recommendation, my lord.”

He hustled out of the temple and along the trail to where the ranked officers had temporarily camped to rest while their overlord had his look around as he desired. The only maps they still had on them were ones he himself had rescued from various sources, seizing anything of Sima Yi’s that had made it out of Chi’bi intact and packing away some of the most crucial papers in He Fei before the start of the battle there just in case. At least the information from the castle was in good order, and he compared it to what the scouts were saying about what they found all around Wuzhang in the last few hours. When Orochi joined them, he begrudgingly pointed to the location of another of the army’s recent defeats, while Zhong Hui sighed angrily. “Yamazaki is where my lord said Da Ji and Dong Zhuo lost, when Cao Cao reappeared alive,” he reported.

“It seems to be clear of enemy influence at the moment,” Masamune added. “According to the scouts, Kawanakajima is held against us and the demons you sent there came back with less than half their original number.”

“What about Kuzegawa?” Maeda nodded toward the map. “Anything there?”

“Mired in more floodwaters,” Date replied crisply. “Even on a good day you don’t want to take an army the size of ours through there, and there is nothing in the way of fortifications in the first place. If we backtracked we could try Liang Province, but it would be out of our way and we’re already low on supplies.”

Orochi’s eyes swept the map and then he turned to go as if he had seen enough. “Yamazaki. We will head there.”

He departed as swiftly and silently as he had come, leaving the officers to consult one another. Date looked among them, realizing that no one who had been at the battle there was now among them, either lost, deserted, or elsewhere. He decided to ply Zhong Hui, since he probably knew most of what Sima Yi would have had to report. “What was the status of the fort there, and the cannons on Mount Tenno?”

Hui frowned deeply. “I never heard anything about the fort, but he did say the cannons were destroyed.”

“Damn! We could really use a cannon fortress right about now.” Date paced away from them, clasping his hands behind his back. “The fort might be enough, even if it’s just temporary. You heard Lord Orochi, strike camp so we can make for Yamazaki with all haste!”

Unfortunately for them, Yamazaki turned out to be more of the same bad news. Not only had the Wei army destroyed the cannons and ammunition which couldn’t be transported away, they had set fire to the wooden palisades protecting the garrison structures all around the base of the mountain. Unlike the strangely-convenient wildfire at Wuzhang, this looked to have been done when Wei had claimed victory and then marched back to Xuchang, the coals and ashes were cold and dark and vines were already tangling in the bashed-in holes in the cannons. It was a disheartening sight after traveling so far, they would not be able to camp for more than a couple of nights before it became pointless and they had to look for yet another destination. By now a great number of stragglers from all across the land had caught up to them, swelling the army even more, but it was actually to their detriment. Supplies were dwindling, and the more mouths to feed joined them, the faster those supplies would run out. They had nowhere else to restock, now that their depot at Mikatagahara had been taken and Chi’bi destroyed, and though the demons themselves could go much further on much less, they did still need to eat. It was Lu Bu of all people who began to openly fret about the supplies, for he knew better than most that an army without food and weapons would collapse into itself before it could ever claim victory in battle, whether into the anarchy of theft from one another or sickness and weakness from hunger. He was all for splitting off and riding to raid one of the nearby strongholds, such as Jieting, but the demons countermanded his ideas, claiming that the Resistance was too strong to overcome – they knew, they had tried. Chengdu also lay within a tempting striking distance, but Orochi looked out across his massive army and considered the warnings of the humans. In the time it would take them to reach Chengdu, they would be out of food. The great numbers he had at his command would start to fall as men and demons both began to succumb to hunger and illness, and those still on their feet to march would grow too weak to hold their weapons. Driving them to the feet of Luo Castle only to watch them break upon the walls, feeble and incapable, would be an even more embarrassing loss than anything he had suffered in recent weeks. When wide-ranging scouts returned to inform him that it appeared that there was a clear path through Kyuushuu, the great serpent finally understood. It enraged him to the core that he had been dancing to someone else’s tune, but it was far too late to turn and strike back in defiance. The only thing he could do was make his decision as though it had been his intention all along, and announce it to his army as such. “There are supplies and troops in excess at Koshi Castle,” he told them, brooking no argument. “We will withdraw there. If the Resistance wishes to attack it, they will find themselves misled into thinking they have the strength to do so.”

While Orochi was making the long trek, the four factions of the Resistance coalition were not idle. Those who were not allowed to show their faces to the Orochi army lest they prove too tempting of a distraction to waylay them had enough to do to prepare, instead. Supplies had to be stockpiled and organized to maintain the largest armies each kingdom had ever fielded in their histories, and possibly for a prolonged siege of weeks or months on top of the journey itself. Anyone who had been injured in recent battles had the luxury of time to heal and rest completely, so that when they moved out every single one of them from commander down to the lowest infantryman would be hale and fresh. Those conducting the small raids to harass the enemy were careful not to suffer too many serious injuries, and continually rotated position with forces from other allied fortresses so that no one was single-handedly undertaking every single mission to their own detriment. Once Gan Ning reported that the Orochi army was moving toward Kyuushuu, the entirety of the Resistance east of Bai Di began to summon their forces in from the outlying possessions and regroup them closer to the center. No officer ranked higher than captain was going to be staying behind, most of the fortresses like Xiapi, Xin Di, and Kanegasaki were being left with no more than a corps of fifty or a hundred to hold them in the extremely unlikely case that any long-lost Orochi troops would try to take them. They stood a better chance of being attacked by bandits, and even that was doubtful, so only the smallest units remained behind at any of their castles and fortresses. Since the day after the fall of He Fei the four factions had agreed to move on Koshi together, and only needed Orochi to be out of the area before they could begin to make good on that promise. Messages flew so fast and frequent between them that their war rooms were nearly snowed in under piles of parchment, primarily to coordinate their movements and strategies to keep the Orochi army from stopping and settling anywhere, but the real signal to begin the final phase came when the demon lord clearly set out from Kyuushuu for the burning lands to the west. That was when Wu made the first move, the entirety of their forces at Hefei picking up and heading out to meet their allies westward. They rested briefly at He Fei Castle, joined with Cao Cao and everyone he had called in from Chencang, and as one moved onward. The rest of the Wei army had pulled back to Xuchang in its entirety, and once the coast was clear, they would also step out from the one-time imperial capital. At the same time Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, and Uesugi Kenshin drew their forces from multiple scattered fortresses and castles and massed around Bai Di, waiting for their turn and then falling in. Each of the four armies moved independently, not waiting for one another and not relying on each other’s castles every time for a place to pause. They had to stay far enough back from the Orochi army as it was, and the slower their enemy moved, the more frequently they had to lay over at whatever fortress could be had, all the better to rest, stay fresh, and resupply.

The keystone of the Resistance assault on Koshi Castle lay with the kingdom of Shu. Zhuge Liang had delivered his hostage the news of He Fei Castle and then astutely waited for the right moment, leaving her in complete solitude until he was sure she would finally acquiesce. The day came when messages from Cao Pi, Oda, and Sun Ce indicated that they were on their way, and at last, Zhuge Liang took Yueying, Jiang Wei, and Zhao Yun with him down into the dungeon to assist in putting an end to his long campaign. Da Ji sat at the back wall of her cell, arms curled around her legs, head resting sideways on her knees with a drooping, sullen expression on her face. She didn’t even bother to get annoyed when her captor entered the cell, and she could see the faces crowding behind him in the doorway. “What now?” she sighed morosely. “If you’ve come to gloat, you can do it somewhere else. I’m not in the mood.”

“I have only one more thing to report,” Kongming said placidly. “Orochi has been fleeing from us for the past few weeks, and word has it he is returning to Koshi Castle.”

Da Ji’s eyes drifted slowly up toward him, wary and hunted but with a touch of interest, as if she were trying to decide whether it would be worth daring to feel hope. “He’ll kill your precious Lord Liu Bei, you know,” she pointed out.

“I think not.” Zhuge Liang lowered his head and met her gaze dead-on, his dark eyes piercing. “We do still wish to free him. What say you to leading us to Koshi, so that we may make our attempt?”

“Is this a joke?” Da Ji lifted her head and then shot a glare across at Zhao Yun in the doorway. “You want me to guide you there?”

“Who better than you?” Liang said smoothly. “I know that the terrain changes, and I know that you can find your way there without any problem. It may be your last chance to taste freedom. What do you say?”

To Da Ji, the offer was both too good to be true and outrageously presumptuous. As much as she wanted to say no and let them fumble about trying to get to Koshi in a last-ditch effort to save their lord, there were several tempting reasons not to be so rash. For one, there was the man in the doorway, one of her most hated enemies, _still_ chomping at the bit to get out there and fulfill his one overmastering goal in life. All this time and he hadn’t given up, how pathetic. The thought of taking him there and then watching their faces as Liu Bei was brought out and beheaded in front of them filled her with such a thrill of bloodthirsty glee that she almost grinned. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if there would be a better chance at escaping once she was outside, especially once they were close enough to Koshi for her to feel the mystical demonic energies emanating from it. She was weakened, here, Zhuge Liang’s sorcery was working just fine, but that could change once they were actually in sight of Koshi. Never mind that the closer they drew to the castle, the more likely some ranging patrol might stumble on them and be able to attack the Shu army, giving her that chance to slip away. The longer she sat mulling it over, the more it seemed like the perfect scam. It didn’t matter if she was helping them out, they had an inflated sense of their own strength and once they espied the impenetrable demon fortress on its island in the middle of the lava, they would know just how futile everything had been. The thought of them choking on their despair and then dying on the spot was too good to resist. After letting them wait long enough for her satisfaction, Da Ji sat up straight, resting her elbows on her knees. “Fine. You want to throw your lives away trying to rescue him one last time? I’ll take you there. On one condition…”

“No conditions,” Kongming said curtly. “You will be under our control the entire time, I will see to it. Your freedom will be at our pleasure alone.”

Da Ji sulked for a moment and then grumbled. “All right, all right. Whatever.”

“Thank you.” Liang turned away and glided for the door. “I will be down to collect you when we are prepared to leave. It won’t be long.” He passed through the seal and paused to strengthen it, and then locked the door as well, before turning to the others. For a moment he rested his fingertips against his forehead, closing his eyes, but then whatever he felt passed and he faced Zhao Yun. “Your presence was the final straw. Thank you for coming down with me.”

“What’s next?” Jiang Wei asked.

Liang gestured for them to leave the dungeon before they started to discuss plans, lest Da Ji overhear even the slightest murmur. “I must stay vigilant to keep her under my control,” he warned them when they were halfway up the stairs. “As such, I may not be available to discuss strategies during the journey. That is why I asked you two here, you will be crucial to advising Lord Zhao Yun as we travel.”

“Are you all right?” Zhao Yun queried.

“Yes, fine,” Liang assured. “Preparations for the army are nearly complete. I would advise to have our contingent ready to move at any time, so that when the last of our troops from Jieting and Odani arrive here, we can depart the very next morning at dawn.”

“Messages have come from Xiliang,” Jiang Wei added for them all to know. “Lord Ma Teng and the Hojo are on their way, though they may not reach us before we leave here.”

“As long as they follow, the same as the other armies are doing,” Yueying said. “We will leave them the necessary trail.”

“Da Ji will expect that we are going it alone, even with the bulk of our army,” Kongming noted. “It is imperative that she continue to believe that all the way to Koshi. I trust that the other armies will stay back at a distance, but at the same time, we must be sure they can follow us without getting lost.”

“Then, we must order our men not to discuss the battle at all while she is with us,” Zilong realized.

“They may speculate about our chances of rescuing Lord Liu Bei,” Kongming said smartly, “but as to the unity of the Resistance factions and our alliance? No, they must say nothing. Not even to wonder if Lord Sun Ce will be joining us.”

Zhao Yun nodded. “It shall be done. What about Da Ji herself, if she tries to escape?”

“If it is before she has led us much of anywhere, she must be recaptured, even with force,” Zhuge Liang said sternly. “At this point, brute force is the only thing which will work against her. I will do my best to contain her, but she may attempt to run or signal to Orochi scouts. I need not say what will happen if she succeeds.”

They passed through Luo to the main hall, empty at this time of day with everyone out preparing the army. They paused in a small knot near the throne to finish their discussion. “That was a long game but one well played, chancellor,” Jiang Wei complimented his mentor. “She saw no reason to resist.”

“I took her hope away for her, and then today, provided a glimmer of it back to her,” Liang said modestly. “She took it, as I expected.”

Yueying stepped apart from them and bobbed her head in a quick bow. “I must go back to our preparations. If there is anything you need, you know where to find me.” 

Her husband nodded slowly in acceptance, and the other two sent her along with hands over hearts. “It will be a difficult journey, I expect,” Zhao Yun mused as he watched her go. “But everyone is in high spirits, I doubt even the darkness and the strange terrain will daunt them at this point.”

“You must be their beacon, as you have been all this time, Lord Zilong,” Liang encouraged him. “I have been through those lands to Koshi before, it doesn’t matter how much you tell yourself it will not scare you – it is still unsettling. In time, the lack of any green or living thing and the unending miles of stinking, congealed lava will become burdensome. The stoutest among us may endure it but the regular men will be disheartened, make no mistake. Do not look down on them, but lead them, give them reason to continue on despite their dismay.”

Yun nodded firmly. Jiang Wei looked from his mentor to his commander. “Much of our job will have to wait until we arrive at whatever point we intend to make our camp. It will be impossible to discuss strategy with the other alliance commanders while we are all in transit, and I feel it may be pointless anyway so long as most of us have not seen the castle or the terrain for ourselves yet. We can go on descriptions from the handful who have seen it, but this is one situation where I feel laying eyes on it will change our perspective considerably.”

“Agreed,” Zhuge Liang said. “We have already discussed potential routes among ourselves here, but the situation may change while we are in transit, and then there are three other commanders with their own legions of tacticians to consult with when we get there.”

“Very well. We will just have to keep our spirits up with talk of better days ahead,” Yun shrugged.

At that moment the doorway at the far end darkened with a single figure, as Zuo Ci prowled his way quietly into the main hall. The three men turned to greet him with two kowtows and a single nod. “Ah, good,” the mystic said quietly as he approached, “just the fellows I was looking for.” His eyes went astutely to Zhuge Liang. “Have you told them, yet, about the last battle Orochi fought inside his own territory, and the outcome?”

Jiang Wei and Zhao Yun looked from him to Kongming at the same time. The chancellor’s brow twitched slightly at the abrupt demand, but he knew Zuo Ci’s point well. “It was on my list of things to do before we marched out from Chengdu,” he admitted. “I suppose, now that you have come to bring it up, there is no better time than the present.”

“Did something happen?” Jiang Wei wondered. “I mean, a battle fought on Orochi’s turf is something in and of itself. I know you spoke of visiting the castle, but I didn’t know any fighting had been done there.”

“It was a short distance from the castle proper, at a place where the lava forms a lake that burns day and night without ceasing,” Liang explained. “I was not the only one to have seen it, Lords Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were there in Orochi’s service, as was Sun Ce, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and a few others who are now among the Resistance. They may remember the battle itself, but few know of what happened after…” He nodded to the Taoist mystic. “…except myself, and those who were still able to stand and fight on the opposing side.”

“There were not many,” Zuo Ci admitted. “I alone was still with the venerable masters when Orochi defeated them and then sprang his final trap.”

Liang gave him a cool smile. “Would you believe that was my first experience with that level of sorcery? I suppose I performed well, since it convinced Orochi to trust me with even more power after that, up to and including the kind which keeps his strategist in our dungeons.”

Zhao Yun’s eyes shadowed as he turned them back to Zuo Ci. “Master, what happened? Who was with you?”

“Do you not wonder why Heaven has allowed you all to suffer under a demon’s control, or why Orochi has been allowed to have a dimension unto himself in which to do as he likes?” Zuo Ci answered loftily. “There is a very simple answer to it, if you reach out to grasp it.”

Yun and Wei shared another look, and then the latter raised a hand to his lips as if to stop himself from gasping as he worked his way through it. “Heaven would not allow…so it must mean their hands are restrained somehow. Orochi has somehow prevented Heaven from interfering with his conquest…”

Zuo Ci’s eyes narrowed as he smiled knowingly, and then gave Zhuge Liang an approving nod. “Your protégé does you honor. He is very quick.”

“Yet he will need more information to understand the full picture,” Liang suggested, turning to the other two as they stared in wonder at him. “Upon seeing who had come to set themselves against him, Orochi prepared a very complex and powerful spell which required assistance from Da Ji and several demons as well as myself. He could not spring it on them until they were incapacitated, they were too powerful, yet Master Zuo Ci here escaped the snare because he was not yet an immortal and therefore did not match them in power. Once they were down, we received the signal and triggered the spell, which raised a mystical barrier around the entirety of this realm. It cannot be seen or felt,” he went on, letting Wei and Yun gape at him all they wanted, “at least not by mortals. It has the effect of keeping other mystical beings out of his realm, and encompasses it fully, length and breadth, above the height of the skies and to the depths of the earth. A large part of Orochi’s power went into the barrier to maintain it, and that is why this whole time, we have never had our prayers answered. Whether or not the gods can even hear them, I cannot say.”

Zhao Yun had a sudden flash of memory to the night he and Yukimura stood gazing at the moon and wondering if Chang’e or Princess Kaguya could hear them, and it struck him deep in the heart, leaving him stunned. “No wonder,” he breathed, brow furrowing. “Yet, Master Zuo Ci escaped by a technicality, and thus, he was here to set me free and assist us to begin our resistance…”

“A strange stroke of luck,” the Taoist agreed. “Though one I am not willing to overlook. Perhaps it was Heaven’s last gamble before the barrier went up.”

“So if we defeat Orochi,” Jiang Wei reasoned, “then this barrier will come down? Does that mean we will finally be able to be set free? Will the gods unmake this prison and send us all back where we belong?”

Zhuge Liang’s expression clouded. “That, I cannot say. Even with all the time I have spent among the Orochi army, learning his sorcery and understanding the immensity of his true power, I have no information or insight to tell me what will become of the world when he is finished. And he must be finished, Lord Zilong.” He gazed solemnly at Zhao Yun. “He cannot be allowed to slip through our fingers again. He must die, there is no alternative.”

Yun shook his head. “That will not be a difficult demand. I think all of us wish him dead for what he’s done to us and our people. There is no room for mercy with him, and the only justice that can be had is to destroy him for good.”

“Yet you approach it from a kind heart,” Zuo Ci said warmly, reaching to set a hand on Yun’s shoulder. “You seek it not for yourself no matter how deeply he has wounded you, and that will be your salvation. His darkness will have no hold on you.” He quirked an eyebrow at Zhuge Liang. “I cannot say the same for others.”

Liang huffed a cold chuckle devoid of humor. “Indeed, I worry some about what might happen if Cao Cao is the one to lay hands on him and slay him. I cannot even say that I fully trust Oda Nobunaga.”

“That doesn’t matter to me,” Zilong murmured. “So long as he is ended, I care nothing for whose hand does the deed. Bragging rights are nothing compared to my lord’s safety and the end to this nightmare.”

Kongming glanced to Jiang Wei. “You are correct, though, at the very least when Orochi dies, the barrier will fall. At that moment, there is no telling what might happen. The combined powers of Heaven may be waiting for a window of opportunity to swoop in and rescue us. The world may crumble apart and fade away, and we might not be able to be saved from it. Or, there is an equal chance nothing will happen at all. We will simply have to wait and see.”

“All the more reason to swiftly see to his death,” Wei sighed. “But, Master…if you were able to escape this barrier and remain inside…”

Zuo Ci closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to that time. “It is as the Sleeping Dragon says: because I am not yet immortal. And, so long as that barrier remains in place, I expect I will not be able to receive that honor. Those who were shut out of this realm were of a different sort.”

“Who were they?” Zhao Yun begged to know, though clearly the mystic was leading them toward an answer. “Please, Master…”

Zuo Ci raised a hand to caution him. “I will tell you, but it may come as a great surprise, so prepare yourself. One, you may not know, unless the Shang Dynasty is of any interest to you. But above even him, they were Lady Nuwa and Master Fu Xi.”

Despite his warning, Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei were not at all prepared to hear that the gods of creation had come down among them. Both recoiled, and Yun clapped a hand over his mouth in shock. Zhuge Liang lowered his eyes in contrition, for though he had not laid a hand on either of them, he had witnessed it from the opposing side. “If it is the fate of the Sleeping Dragon to receive a reprimand for any harm done to the gods, so be it.”

“The great Lady and her Lord!” Jiang Wei gasped, pressing a hand to his chest to calm his heart. “No wonder! It would take the gods themselves to fight against Orochi…and yet if they were defeated…”

“Yes, my young friend, it seems you have hit upon a troubling point,” Zuo Ci said sagaciously, wagging a finger in the air. “You yourselves have not lamented being too weak to best a demon like Orochi, for you are human. But what does it say if the creator-gods themselves could not overcome him? That is a question even I cannot answer.”

“But he _has_ been defeated since then,” Zhao Yun insisted, trying to pull himself together and rail against any inevitabilities. “Each of our armies has defeated him, the might of Wu even wounded him!”

“Defeat is not destruction, as you seek it now,” the Taoist mystic said with a mournful shake of his head. “Your end goal is nigh impossible, and yet you must all still strive for it. I will give you as much aid as I can, but it is not magic which will make the difference.” He raised his hand, palm up, in a beseeching gesture. “I needed to tell you the worst before I can raise your spirits with the better. Our mystical army was smaller than what you have built, the four of you young men together. We did not rely on human strength, we thought ourselves capable without them. Yet there were humans on Orochi’s side, and they did not play any mere small part in his victory. The dragon, the tiger, the fenghuang, and the…well, whatever those fellows from Wa wish to call themselves, are united as never before. In your alliance lies your strength. You must all move as one, and not seek your own glory as individuals on this battlefield.”

“Easier said than done in some cases,” Jiang Wei said wryly.

“Perhaps, but I see in the four leaders the seed of your victory,” Zuo Ci assured. “Even in Oda Nobunaga, mysterious and dangerous though he is. Whether it will be trampled under Orochi’s foot or bloom in the light of hope depends entirely on you, all of you, your actions in the field. So, worry not about that right at this moment. You have the strength of body and of heart to do it, all that remains is to let it play out.”

“I don’t know,” Yun retorted, “telling me not to worry usually makes me worry all the more.”

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly. “You have come so far, Lord Zilong, do not let a mystic’s cryptic decrees shake your stout heart now. If you must keep it to yourself so as not to spread worry unnecessarily among the army, I believe Master Jiang Wei and I will keep it along with you.”

“Yes, you can rely on me,” Wei said, nodding eagerly. “Trust in the others to lift you up when you feel faint, my lord. We will all work together.”

Yun thought of Yukimura and his endless, burning spirit always bolstering him when he needed it the most. If he wanted to keep his beloved comrade as his own beacon of strength and light, he could not share any of Zuo Ci’s darkest doubts with him. “I shall,” he said gently. “Thank you, Master, for telling me about this. And you, Lord Kongming. This is valuable information. Will you repeat it for the others when our armies gather together?”

“If Lord Sun Ce and Tokugawa have not spoken of their experiences in that battle, then of course,” Liang replied. “It must be known to all.”

They went their separate ways shortly after, mostly so Zhao Yun could actually find Yukimura and receive a dose of his eternal fiery optimism right now, but Zhuge Liang remained behind to pull Zuo Ci aside where no one else could hear. “That third mystic, whom you protected.” His face turned dreadfully serious as he stared down the Taoist. “I did not recognize him as anyone from the Shang Dynasty. Who, in fact, was he?”

“I am not surprised, for he has taken on a youthful countenance these days,” Zuo Ci said slyly. “Can you not even guess, knowing that he opposed the army which contained Da Ji within it?

Liang held his gaze for a long moment, thinking to his annals of history, and a stunned look slowly began to dawn on his face. “No. It couldn’t be.”

“Why not? He has passed into Heaven as a man of great honor and decorated for his services to King Wen. Upon hearing that Da Ji had escaped with Orochi to this dimension, how could he have stood idly by?”

For once, a dour sense of humility washed over Zhuge Liang, and he raised his fan to his face in genuine modesty. “And yet how can a man of my stature even claim to match his strategies, let alone supersede them?”

“I expect that someday men of learning will speak of you both in the same breath,” Zuo Ci said, daring to smirk. “The Sleeping Dragon Zhuge Liang, and the mastermind of the downfall of the Shang, Lu Shang, also known as Taigong Wang.”

  


The various Resistance armies moving westward in pursuit of their foe had the luxury of being able to stop over at their own fortresses along the way if they needed to buy time or replenish their supplies. Even with Bai Di being larger and more heavily-walled, it was far in the rear sights of the Oda contingent by now, and Honnoji served as their last chance to lay over in comfort before they took to the road and made a true military camp their home through to the end of the war. The delicate maples in the gardens were already flushed scarlet with autumn, and the ginkgos dropped their golden coins into the ponds around the temple grounds, but the days were still warm enough and the nights not too terribly crisp, allowing for the officers housed within the compound to sit out on the verandas until well after the moon was high and try to find more cheerful things to talk about than their coming campaign and the likelihood that they might never indulge in a moon viewing at Honnoji ever again. No one liked to speak of the risk to their lives, but all were somewhat steeled against the possibility that this time, they might genuinely fall and no one would be waiting for the news that it was all a joke and their friends and comrades were not really dead after all. As they sat together with another sunset filtering through the trees to wash them all with vivid red light, Ling Tong figured he had an explanation why it worried him so. “In this world,” he reasoned to the Mas, Guans, and Simas sitting with him, “people who already died are alive again and don’t remember it ever happening. We’ve had the chance to see and live with and fight with them all over again. I mean, we’ve even gotten to know people we never would have met. So maybe I can’t help but be a little nervous about losing them a second time.”

“Like your father?” Ma Dai said kindly. Ling Cao was not with them as they lounged about the guest parlor, some on the veranda and some inside on the tatami and cushions, sharing one last jar of wine between them before beginning the long march westward. “I know what you mean. If we go back to where we ought to be, after Orochi is brought down, I’ll be an enemy of these fine fellows over here instead of a friend.”

“If that happens, we may not even remember any of this happening,” Sima Zhao said, rapping Dai on the knee in acknowledgement of their friendship. “I don’t know which hurts more, not being able to remember the good times we’ve had, or not having to think ‘wait a minute, I can’t fight this guy, he’s my friend.’”

“It’s the not knowing that bothers me more than anything,” Guan Ping sighed. “Nobody has any idea, not even the people whose job it is to come up with ideas. It’s hard to know how to prepare yourself when almost anything could happen.”

“It seems pointless to look ahead beyond the battle itself,” Sima Shi agreed, patiently swirling the wine in his cup to savor the aroma. “Which is enough to think about already, believe me.”

“At least, once our armies join together, we’ll be able to see our families and friends again,” Guan Suo said optimistically. “I can’t wait. I’m just going to think about that, and let everything else fall behind me.”

“Yeah, you guys’ll get to see your father, and brother and sister,” Ling Tong encouraged. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“They are eager to see you as well,” Ma Chao said warmly, smiling over his cup as he remembered his visit to Chengdu. “I also cannot wait to see Lords Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with my own eyes, again.”

Zhao looked at him. “Are you going to go back to Shu, then? When we get there.”

“I…don’t know,” Chao had to admit. “Is such a thing even possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” A new voice intruded on their discussion, as Toyotomi Hideyoshi wandered up from the yard and came to lean against the edge of the veranda. Like everyone else, he was out of armor and without his helm, giving him a more stately appearance than usual. “My, look at this. A little bit of Shu, and Wu, and Wei too. Everybody’s together. It’s nice to see.”

“Lord Hideyoshi,” Guan Ping greeted him. “Come, join us.”

“Nah, I’m just passing by,” Hideyoshi said, flapping a hand at them. “But I couldn’t help overhearing what you guys were talking about. Won’t be long now, huh? Everybody will get to see their old friends again, no more worrying about who’s serving who.”

“But will we?” Ma Dai wondered. “I mean, I don’t want to just abandon Lord Oda. He’s been good to us, and I don’t mind fighting under his banner. But at the same time, what about our homelands and friends?”

“Well, it’s not like there’s these sharp lines on the ground dividing our armies from each other, that none dare to cross,” Hideyoshi reasoned, resting his back against a pillar of the veranda. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Lord Nobunaga’s been pleased with all your hard work. He likes each and every one of you, even if he doesn’t exactly show it, but hey, that’s what I’m here for. Uh, not officially,” he quickly added. “It’s not like he sent me over here with orders or anything.”

“Has he said anything about what will happen when we all join together?” Zhao wondered.

“Not around me, no. But you know, I can probably take some guesses. After all.” Toyotomi tapped his brow with a finger. “I’m a smarter monkey than I look. I might be serving under Lord Nobunaga right now but back home I was a pretty big shot myself, and I didn’t just wait for some strategist to tell me what to think, either. I know a thing or two.”

All of the officers cracked a smile at that. “What do you think, then?” Ling Tong asked.

Hideyoshi leaned toward him. “Honestly, I think he’s gonna tell you all to do what you feel in your heart. If you want to ride with your old mates, he’ll wish you well, or if you wanna stay in our ranks until the bitter end, well, that’s just fine too. Like I say, it’s not like our army – or any of the other ones for that matter – are going to insist we all stay separate. I have a pretty good feeling that once the front line starts to move, we’re all gonna be in the thick of it together, shoulder to shoulder with no regard for who belongs to what.”

“At least, for my brother and I, we have nowhere else to turn,” Shi said quietly. “We are not as much a part of Wei as you would think, we have no business there. We will remain with Lord Oda until the end.”

“Who knows, maybe somebody from one of the other sides will have some news for you,” Ma Dai said hopefully.

“We’ll be happy to have you along for this crazy ride,” Hideyoshi said with a nod to the Sima brothers. “And her ladyship, she does know how to handle a tough fight after all. She reminds me a little bit of my Nene – at least when it comes to taking no guff from anybody and dishing it right back out.”

“Just think,” Ping said brightly, “when we all meet back up, you’ll be able to see her as well.”

“And don’t think I’m not looking forward to it with all my heart!” Toyotomi gushed. “Once she and the boys are back with us, things’ll really feel like they’re back to normal.”

“That’s really what it comes down to, you know?” Zhao mused. “I mean, you have to wonder just how normal anything can be when you’re inside a demon’s realm that he created out of bits and pieces of different kingdoms, but there’s still this little light of hope that maybe, once he’s gone, we can have just a minute or two where things feel normal again.”

“And if the world doesn’t end,” Ma Dai said with a smart look at him, “it’ll be more than a minute or two.”

“Will you stop it with the world ending?” Guan Suo chided him. “Remember – positive thoughts! Everything’s going to be fine!”

“You tell him, Suo,” Hideyoshi teased. “Really, though, I mean it – Lord Nobunaga might not be real obvious about it but he does appreciate everyone in his army. It’s because of you guys that we were able to get this far, after all. I don’t know about you, but I feel like my officers always stand a bit taller and fight a bit harder when they know they’re appreciated, so let me take this moment to say it for certain: whether you’re right alongside us in the final fight or halfway across the field with your comrades, you’re a welcome part of the Oda army and we’re glad to have you.”

“We seek no accolades,” Chao murmured, “only the end of Orochi. I will work with anyone necessary to achieve that end.” He quickly shot his cousin a look to keep him from mentioning the one exception to that statement, and from Dai’s coy smirk, he had been just about to do so.

“I don’t know, a smile from him once in a while would be nice,” Ling Tong joked.

“He’s got a reputation to keep up,” Hideyoshi laughed, “smiling would totally ruin it!”

They all chuckled along with him, and then the door inside the room slid open to permit Lu Xun and Xiaoqiao, who had come to join their comrade from Wu and were pleasantly surprised to see all the others visiting. “Boy, that lady really is something,” Xiaoqiao remarked with chagrin, shaking her head. “She’s kinda scary!”

“Lady No, I take it?” Sima Zhao grinned.

His brother froze. “She isn’t…nearby, is she?”

“No, we met her passing through the gardens,” Lu Xun explained. “It was the first personal meeting either of us have had with her ladyship.”

“I can’t even imagine how my sister or anyone else in Wu could put up with the likes of her for so long!” Xiaoqiao hissed, coming over to find an unoccupied cushion and settle herself down in the middle of everyone.

Hideyoshi laughed again and then straightened up. “I’m not saying anything, on the grounds that she might hunt me down and have me for dinner if she ever found out. I’ll leave you guys to get caught up, we’ll talk later.” He laced his fingers behind his head and wandered off on his way, whistling merrily as he went.

Lu Xun eased to a seat next to Ling Tong. “It sounds like we missed part of an interesting conversation.”

“We were just talking about seeing everyone again, and rejoining our countrymen,” Tong said, pouring him a cup of wine. “What do you think, Boyan, are you ready to go over to Sun Ce’s side?”

“I am eager to,” Xun answered, bowing his head in thanks over the cup. “After seeing them all again at Chi’bi, I know my time with Lord Oda is limited. Though, I will always be grateful to him for making me feel valued.” He smiled and then raised his cup outward to them all. “To Lord Oda Nobunaga, and everything we’ve accomplished together.”

“Hear, hear,” Ma Chao agreed, stretching to meet his toast.

Everyone who still had so much as a drop in their cup leaned in to join, making it official. Zhao drained his and then set the cup firmly on the veranda as if to declare that he was done drinking for the night. “It’s been fun, but I think I’m going to go and make sure my lovely wife isn’t working herself too hard. This is our last night in Honnoji, we might as well make the most of it.” He slid off the veranda’s edge and saluted them all with a tap of his fingertips to his forehead.

Once he was gone, Shi let his head fall back against the pillar on which he leaned. “I suppose that means I should not hurry back to our quarters.”

“Maybe they just want to take a romantic walk under the moon,” Xiaoqiao offered.

Shi snorted in an attempt to hold back a laugh, which had another round of chuckles scattering around the circle. “And here he was the one complaining that things didn’t feel normal enough,” Ping grinned. “I’d say that’s the most normal thing anyone could be doing around here.”

“Ah, young love,” Ma Dai sighed happily, shooting his cousin a sly look which earned a wary eyeball over the rim of his cup in return. “Anyway. Sure is a nice night, isn’t it? Wish I had someone to take a romantic walk with.”

“I’ll take a walk with you,” Guan Ping offered, “but it’s not going to be romantic. No offense, Ma Dai, but you’re not my type.”

“Oh, I know what your type is,” Dai taunted him, “but she’s at Chengdu right now so I guess I can be your second-best option. Come on.” He hopped up and ducked out onto the veranda, dropping off it next to the eldest Guan. “Maybe we can catch crickets or something.”

“Yeah, all right, why not?” Ping got up and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

“Aw, looks like the party is breaking up,” Ling Tong lamented.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Lu Xun insisted. “I just got here.”

“I have nothing but time on my hands at the moment,” Sima Shi noted. “And really don’t wish to talk strategy, for once.”

“If only they had a Go board around,” Tong sighed. “Oh well.”

“I got my hands on a cuju ball,” Guan Suo suggested. “I know it’s getting dark but there’s still plenty of light to see by.”

That made both of the young men from Wu perk up. “Yeah, sure, let’s kick it around for a bit,” Tong said while Xun tossed back the rest of his drink in one go and then winced at how strong it was.

They hopped down from the veranda to join Suo in the little yard below their guest building, where garden lanterns and light from the porch provided them with enough to see each other and the little ball Suo had been carrying around like a good luck charm for a while. Shi decided he was too good to play a silly ball game, so he poured himself another cup of wine and sat back to watch the game instead, with Xiaoqiao beside him clapping excitedly at every good move. Ma Chao also decided not to join them, and was content to watch for a bit but then silently slipped away at some point, strolling alone down the path and off through the compound, contemplating a number of things as he lifted his head to the stars and the rising moon. He hadn’t gone far when he heard the scrape of a footstep on the gravel path, and glanced to see a welcome phantom in white ease out from behind a bamboo screen. “I was just coming to find you,” Kanetsugu said as he came into the light. “And here you are.”

“What timing you have,” Ma Chao said warmly, coming to a stop and letting him approach. “All is well with your lord, I take it?”

“Our camp is very quiet,” Kanetsugu affirmed. “So much so that I find myself with nothing to do and yet too much energy to go to sleep yet.”

“That seems to be going around,” Chao said wryly. “Some of my comrades are playing a game, though I expect they’ve all had enough to drink that they’re more likely to end up in a tangle of legs than score any points.”

Naoe tipped his head to the side. “What kind of game is _that?_ ”

“Would you like to see?” Chao turned as if to go back the way he had come. “They shouldn’t be hard to find.”

“Actually, I would rather steal you away for a bit,” Kanetsugu said with an impish smile. “This could be our last chance for good company for a long while.”

“This is true.” Mengqi waited for him to come up alongside, and together they continued on, turning down a side path. “That seems to be on everyone’s mind tonight – how this is our last night for a good many things.”

Kanetsugu walked with hands clasped behind him, lifting his eyes to the stars. “It is true, to a point. We move out in the morning, and from then on we will be encamping along our route. Wasting time or enjoying leisure will be difficult to manage when it’s all about raising or striking tents, managing sentries, preparing gear, and so on.”

“At least we will all still be riding together,” Ma Chao reasoned. “No time for idle hands doesn’t mean we will lack one another’s company.”

“Also true.” They passed through a set of gates to the bamboo grove near the temple and over a bridge, where water flowed so lazily that it barely made a whisper against the pilings. There they paused to lean over and watch fish drift up to the surface to suck down flies that had the misfortune to alight on the water’s surface. Kanetsugu beheld their silhouettes reflected there, rippling very slightly with the current. “Will you be rejoining the Shu army, when we get there?”

Mengqi glanced at him. “You are the second person tonight to ask me that.”

“I heard someone mention it, when they noticed how many officers from the three kingdoms are in Lord Oda’s army.” Naoe met his eyes with a smile. “I’m only curious. I doubt it will affect anything in the long term, if there is a long term, for once Orochi is ended I believe my lord will end his alliance with the others and we will depart as well.”

“Ah, I see. Then…” Chao took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I am leaning toward it, yes. Lord Oda has been good to me and my cousin, but he already understands the yearning toward our own countrymen. The decision does not have to be made until we reach the rendezvous point and the commanders decide how to proceed into battle.”

“It would be fascinating to see the famed Five Tiger Generals riding united into battle,” Naoe breathed earnestly. “Tactical advantages be damned.”

That made Ma Chao laugh. “Even you are a fan, is that it?”

“I still have two more to meet,” Kanetsugu pointed out. “And that will be soon, I’m sure. But…” He turned toward his comrade on the bridge and subtly slipped a hand into his. “…it means enough to me that I have earned the friendship of two of them, and one in particular.”

Mengqi matched his glowing smile. “That will not change no matter what happens to us in this battle. I swear it.”

They stood together on the bridge for a long while, enjoying the night and one another’s company, but as the lamps around the temple compound began to be snuffed and the noise of others enjoying their own evening strolls died down, they reluctantly agreed that a good night’s sleep was important before starting out on such a significant journey. Naoe walked Ma Chao back to the building where the officers from various kingdoms were being housed, finding that even the game of cuju had ceased and the screens where the others had sat talking earlier were being drawn against the autumn chill of night. They had one brief moment in which to steal a kiss from one another, and then Chao stood back to watch that white phantom disappear into the darkness on his way back to the Uesugi camp. And then, the voice out of nowhere which startled him so abruptly that he yelped aloud: “I knew you were going to sneak off if you had the chance. Ha!”

Ma Chao nearly smacked his cousin on accident when he jumped, and then considered smacking him on purpose for appearing like that over his shoulder and making a comment. “Will you stop that?” he cried, and then tried to compose himself, brushing down his surcoat. “Damn, Dai!”

Ma Dai nearly hooted with laughter. “Come on, do you blame me? I never thought I would see the day when my tough-as-nails cousin fell for someone. I couldn’t ask for better entertainment.” He clapped Mengqi on the shoulder to guide him up the steps and into the building. “You’re happy, I’m happy, all is well. At least for tonight.”

Chao couldn’t argue with that, but it brought up a twinge of worry for the first time. All was well for them until they reached Koshi Castle, until the Resistance united and prepared to ride into the fray. Then, it was anyone’s guess whether it would remain well, and a dour realist like himself would consider that it probably wouldn’t. But this was not the time or place to think of death and disaster, he had to believe as Naoe did, and his cousin, and all the others, that love would protect them and bring the demon to ruin. If all their spears splintered and swords broke, all armor split and helms crumbled, so long as Orochi fell into darkness, it would be worth it. Ma Chao followed his cousin inside to their room shared with Ping and Suo and fell fully-clothed onto his bedroll, listening to the young ones chatter happily in the warm glow of the lamplight. So normal, indeed.

  


The heavy tread of clawed feet on the damp stone preceded the scramble of demon guards along the corridor, as they fled out of the way of the one coming. The dungeons deep inside Koshi Castle were nearly deserted but for one lone prisoner still under guard, though he made no noise or struggle to ever give the guards reason to move from their positions at the ends of the corridor. Once a day they came through with a pitiful offering of food and water, usually stale or molded and the water foul with a metallic tang to it, but it was keeping him alive, so he did not reject the gift. It was not yet time for food, though, so this visit had to be something special.

Orochi strode up to the bars of the cell and waved off a demon soldier’s offer to open it. He did not need to go inside in order to gauge the state of his hostage and hold conference with him, if that was in fact what he was there to do. He stood for a long moment simply gazing at the man sitting up against the far wall, heavy chains leading to a cuff shackled around his leg so that even if he wanted to get up and rush the bars, or attack the guard who came to drop off the food, he could not quite reach. Orochi regarded Liu Bei with a keen eye, looking past the unkempt, unbound hair, the tattered clothing sinking upon wasted limbs, the scruff on his chin and lip attempting to grow into much finer facial hair, and saw that even now after all this time, his prisoner was not broken. Tired and weak, clearly, but when Liu Bei lifted his head, there was still a light in his eyes that spoke of a stable mind and a determined heart. That kind of calm, solemn resistance annoyed Orochi to no end. “Your time will come, soon,” he said with an edge to his otherwise dispassionate tone. “Prepare yourself.”

Liu Bei gazed at him, and wondered if the demon didn’t look a little angry about something compared to his usual demeanor. But then, it had been quite some time since he had last visited in person. “I take it Dong Zhuo is being relieved of duty,” he murmured.

There was no mistaking the anger in the way Orochi’s eyes narrowed, now. “The machinations of my army are not your concern,” he grumbled. “Your lot is only to wait, and then to die.”

Even with Dong Zhuo in control for a brief span of time, Liu Bei had been unable to learn anything of what was going on out in the world. All he could ever tell from where he sat was that there had been a brief lull in the general level of activity around the castle. He couldn’t hear much through the thick stones, but occasional foot traffic in and around the dungeon gave some indication when things were happening. It had been very, very quiet for a while, and then Dong Zhuo popped in to laugh at him one day, but that had been a few weeks ago and then everything went back into that lull. Today, there were more demons moving about in the nearby corridors, there was action and life in the castle again. Xuande could only conclude that Orochi had been gone for a time but was now back, judging by his presence there before his cell. He uncurled himself and stretched his legs out, sitting with arms at his sides as if in a royal throne. “If you have need to kill me, there is no reason to wait,” he pointed out. “You only delay the inevitable.”

There was a flash in the demon lord’s eyes, and his shoulders rose, but he mastered himself and forced the energy back down. “You are not capable of choosing your time to die,” he declared. “It will be at my will, not yours. Until that day, rot in the darkness.”

The small sense of satisfaction that he had gotten under Orochi’s skin, however briefly, was the best thing to happen to Liu Bei in a long time. He smirked to himself as the serpent lord stormed back down the corridor to depart, and heard a soldier shriek when he didn’t unbolt the door fast enough. Only then did the Lord of Shu push himself to his feet, roll his neck, and bend to pick up the length of chain connecting him to the back wall. He had a limited space in which to move, but in order to do so, he had to keep the chain from clinking loudly on the stone and possibly alerting the guards that he was up to something. Draping it over his shoulder, he began to pace back and forth, keeping his legs conditioned and his body strong. The lack of food and good care had stripped him of weight, but what he had left turned to muscle from his stealthy exercise. If his death was predicted to come so soon, that meant his brothers were coming for him. He needed to be ready.


	80. Chapter 80

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shu army reaches Koshi Castle first, followed by Wei and then Wu, and the first round of reunions and friendly meetings begins.

Zhao Yun stood at the brow of a ridge beneath a choking black sky, the seething coals of live magma glowing just below his position sending a red glow upward to reflect against the bottoms of the thick clouds. All the warnings in advance had been true, this land of Orochi’s was every bit as foul, unnerving, and intimidating as Zhuge Liang had said. They had made it through the bleak, barren wasteland without trouble, but once it turned into the blasted volcanic landscape where lava still ran in rivers between berms of hardened charcoal, the going became rather difficult. The army’s pace slowed to a crawl, and everyone had to agree that all of that extensive preparation ahead of time was well worth it. There was nothing in this land, no animals, no water, not even so much as a mushroom, so all the supplies they had painstakingly hauled all the way from Chengdu were being put to good use. Their camps were not entirely comfortable, but as long as every soldier and horse got a good meal and a passable night’s sleep, all it took to raise their spirits out of the doldrums was Lord Zhao Yun and his closest companions making regular rounds of the camp to inspect and encourage. No one could be anxious for long when he passed by, stopping now and then to make small talk with lesser officers, or to put himself to work assisting with hauling supplies, and generally bringing light into their darkness. Anyone looking for fuel for their doubts had to search far and wide and still they came up empty, for every one of the officers supported their commander without wavering and mirrored his exploits, taking the time to assist even the lowliest private if he needed a uniform patched up or a sword sharpened and staying in direct contact with everyone regardless of rank, making themselves available to talk or share fears. Even Yuan Shao and his sons, serving as the rearguard, appeared as bold and self-controlled as they had been in their glory days. Just when the army began to wonder how much longer they had to endure this oppressive landscape and the pall of low cloud that never went away, it seemed they had come to a point where they needed to stop and make a decision.

The rivers of lava all seemed to be flowing toward a much stronger glow in the distance, off to the right of where Zhao Yun currently stood to reconnoiter, but his attention was on a great hulking shadow directly ahead. It was hard to tell the hours of the day in this region, they had been relying on time-marked candles to even know when to rise and strike camp and when to stop for the night, but at least they understood night – everything turned as black as pitch, then, save for the ever-present red sheen against the clouds. It was currently, by all estimations, early afternoon, but it didn’t look it at all. Yun had been waiting for the day when he would spy that shape of shadow ahead, Da Ji had been telling them to look out for a certain mountain which would tell them that they had arrived, and though they had fooled themselves into thinking they had seen it a couple of times already, this time, he was positive. When the roiling clouds caught enough of the glow from below them to backlight this particular crag, it was clear. He stood like a sentry for his army, waiting for the advance scouts to return and confirm it. He heard the creak of leather and clack of lacquered armor plates against one another and knew who was coming up swiftly behind him, and sure enough, Yukimura appeared at his side, the eternal lava-glow staining his silvery armor red to match his headband. “Any sign, yet?”

“Still waiting,” Zhao Yun replied.

“They must hurry.” There was an urgent, worried edge to Yukimura’s voice. “I don’t know how much longer Lord Zhuge Liang can hold out.”

Zilong glanced at him and shared his concern. In the past two or three days, as they struck deeper into the heart of Orochi territory, Zhuge Liang had started to show signs that the sorcery he used to bind Da Ji was beginning to strain him. His hold on her never wavered, but over time he began to weaken, his eyes growing more shadowed and his face ashen. He rode at all times rather than walk, for even passing from one tent to another he was prone to stumble or waver, and Yueying attended him without ceasing day and night. She had whispered her concerns to Zhao Yun just last night, that the stress of maintaining the spell was affecting him, and she urged the commander to hasten their journey. Yun’s larger concern was that even if they had reached their destination, there was every possibility Kongming could not keep up the sorcery at all after some point. If the scouts could affirm that the great shape silhouetted against the cloud was in fact Koshi Castle, they might be able to sit down and discuss what to do about Da Ji. He frowned to see his own fears reflected in Yukimura’s eyes. “Just a little longer,” he implored, not that either of them could do anything to help. “His sacrifice must not be in vain.”

The younger Sanada nodded solemnly. “I don’t think anyone doubted his loyalty but if they did, this ought to put all minds at ease. He’s in bad shape, he’s pouring every ounce of his strength into maintaining the seal on her. Lady Yueying is helping as much as she can, but none of us know how the magic works.”

“If we have noticed, then it’s likely Da Ji has, also,” Zilong worried. “Have you noticed? The further we’ve come, the weaker he grows but the stronger it seems she has become.”

“I have,” Yukimura nodded. “I thought it was just from being so close to her home, but now I wonder.”

“Keep it as quiet as you can,” Yun begged him, laying a hand on his arm. “It may not be for much longer, but we must know for sure.”

There was a shout, then, from the gloom off to their left, and he was relieved to see their scouts running back to report. A knot of three had gone out together, the better to protect one another from both natural and demonic interference in their mission, and all three raced up and dropped to their knees before Zhao Yun. “My lord, it is true,” one said. “The castle is still a short distance off but there is no mistaking it.”

“The lake of fire is beyond this point,” another added, “and then a broad path climbs up on the other side to the plain where the castle lies.”

“Nothing stands between us and it, sir,” the third concluded. “Aside from the lake of fire there are no obstacles to prevent us from reaching it.”

“Excellent work,” Yun said briskly. “Each of you receives an extra measure tonight, to rebuild your strength in case you are needed again.”

Extra food always went over well with the soldiers, especially when they were exerting themselves in hard missions. The scouts pounded their fists over their hearts and then fell in behind him and Yukimura as they returned to the waiting army. A camp had not yet been established, they needed to first know for sure whether they would be pressing on with the journey today. They were close enough to what Kongming referred to as Hinokawa – the River of Fire – that they could hear a low, muffled rumbling as if the earth itself beneath the lava were still heaving and groaning in pain, a dull ambient sound that never went away, but in spite of the looming threat they had come to a rather large flat space that seemed fortunately devoid of upheaval. As he strode back to the front line, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stood ready to receive their commander, polearms in hand and dour looks on their faces. “It is as we thought, isn’t it?” the former grumbled. “I had a feeling. This place feels vaguely familiar, unlike the rest of the road which has brought us here.”

“This plateau does seem like it hasn’t seen any of the changes we saw earlier,” Jiang Wei agreed as he joined them. “The rock is firm, there is no lava until you progress further on toward that glow in the air.”

“Then, this is where the Resistance will make its camp,” Zhao Yun declared. “We are near enough that we cannot miss our destination, but far enough that they may not notice us until we’ve begun to assemble.”

“I remember there being something of a garrison at the river of fire,” Zhang Fei said, stroking his beard, “but it was way on the other side and it couldn’t house all four armies anyway. We might as well put down stakes here.”

“Then, let us inform Lord Zhuge Liang and see what he wants to do from here,” Yun decided. “We have no more need of Da Ji, but we cannot just turn her loose.”

The others nodded their agreement and turned to fall in beside him, going with him to the spot where their prisoner and her captor awaited. They had placed these valuable prospects deep inside the army, protected by a ring of their strongest soldiers alongside Shimazu Yoshihiro, Wei Yan, Wang Ping, and Pang De at the cardinal points. Inside that ring, Da Ji sat with legs crossed, restrained by the seal of sorcery, though she looked far more alert and pleased with herself than they had ever seen since her capture. Zhuge Liang sat a short space behind her, and there was no mistaking his suffering now. He was trying to control it as much as he could so as not to alert Da Ji, but he breathed hard and was sweating, his skin pale and eyes glassy. Yueying stood at his shoulder to guard him, and both Zuo Ci and Saika Magoichi were also inside the circle to serve as additional force. The ring of soldiers parted to let Zhao Yun and his entourage through, and though he gave Da Ji the briefest glance, noting how smug she looked, he went right past her and on to Zhuge Liang. “We have arrived,” he said simply.

“Good,” Kongming murmured, the faintest smile coming into his eyes. “This plain will do for a camp, I think.”

“Yes, that was my plan. We will order the men to stand down and make camp for tonight. As for our other errand…”

Liang opened his mouth to advise them how best to remove to discuss their prisoner’s fate, but it was not to be. Da Ji suddenly let out a sparkling laugh and sprang up to her feet so swiftly that Yukimura, Magoichi, and Guan Yu all whirled around with weapons pointed at her. “It sounds like you don’t need my help anymore,” she said, pivoting on one heel to face them.

Zhuge Liang clasped his hands in a mystical gesture, gritting his teeth and frantically trying to pour more power into the seal to keep her from moving, but it was already too late. Zuo Ci slid up alongside him with jifu cards prepared. “What is this, now?” he hissed under his breath.

Zhao Yun had already considered one outcome of such a situation, and raised his spear in a signal to the others. “Now!”

Yukimura and Guan Yu lunged, prepared to kill her on the spot, while Magoichi raised his rifle and aimed for her heart. At the same time, Pang De and Wang Ping peeled away from their positions in the circle and rushed in to join the melee. Da Ji merely laughed at them all and waved her arms, the gesture enough to shatter the magical seal and send Zhuge Liang reeling backwards to collapse in his wife’s arms. Just before the Crimson Fang and Blue Dragon could cleave her in half from either side, she levitated into the air and hovered over their heads, letting the spears whiff past one another right beneath the soles of her clawed feet. Da Ji rose a little higher out of their reach, apparently having enough reserve power to float but not teleport. “You fools! You brought me right where I wanted to be. Did you think _this_ was going to be enough to save your lord? Haha!” She located Zhao Yun where he stood brandishing his Dragon Spear at her and flapped her hand in a wave. “Bye-bye!”

Magoichi drew a bead on her and fired, and only because she moved right at the same instant did she escape, the bullet clipping one of her dangling braids. She flinched at how close it came, but she was already floating backwards, flying out of their reach. Just as Orochi had done in fleeing the Resistance, she spun in mid-air and then flew like a comet, streaking away from them and over the ridges toward the craggy shadow of Koshi Castle in the distance.

One or two still stared after her, marking where she had flown, but the rest dropped their weapons and ran to the aid of Zhuge Liang. Yueying had him cradled in her lap, he was unconscious but breathing shallowly. Zhao Yun threw out an arm to point at his men. “Set up camp immediately, we need a tent! Call up the healers! Master Zuo Ci,” he added, turning to the mystic standing nearby, “is there anything you can do?”

“My powers are not meant for healing,” Zuo Ci answered, “but if this is due to a drain of his _shen_ , rather than _qi_ , then I may be able to halt the loss of energy and allow him to restore naturally.”

He stowed the jifu cards in his sleeve and stretched his hands out over Zhuge Liang, while the assembled officers did one of two things. Half ran to carry the command to the army to stand down and encamp, and bring a tent to erect over the fallen strategist to protect him from the elements and prying eyes, while the other half formed a human wall around him, weapons out, guarding him until they could be sure Da Ji would not bring a threat back with her. Guan Yu took the point facing straight toward Koshi, and cursed angrily under his breath. “Wretched fox! She will go to warn Orochi, he will move on us before we are ready.”

“No,” Jiang Wei said softly, placing a hand delicately on his thick arm as he followed the general’s gaze. “I understand, now, what Lord Zhuge Liang has been saying all along. Orochi will not advance, he has the advantage in his castle. He will not execute our lord, either, he is waiting for us to come to him. He intends to prove his superiority over us by making us come to his feet and beg for Lord Liu Bei’s life.”

“Even if he could probably squash us like bugs if he decided to get off his ass and come down here?” Zhang Fei grunted.

“Even so,” Jiang Wei affirmed.

“All the same, I will not be at ease without the strictest sentry lines and all spies deployed,” Zhao Yun muttered as he took his place in the defensive guard. “We must make this camp tight and stay on alert in case the enemy decides to send a test against us.”

In no time at all their men had erected one of the command tents right on the spot so that Zhuge Liang could be tended in private, and the officers spread out to assist with the rest of their tents in order to keep their hands busy and their minds occupied so they didn’t stand around being nosy and interfering with Zuo Ci and Yueying. The officers’ tents formed a ring around the main one, and then the rest of the camp sprang up around them on all sides, huddled close to one another to tighten the defense and ensure that their sentries didn’t have a wide, sprawled-out camp to protect. Jiang Wei supervised the deployment of their scouts and spies, both ahead toward Koshi to have advance warning should Orochi’s own spies come down to sniff around and behind to keep an eye out for the rest of their allies. Guan Yu undertook personal direction of their sentries and guardposts and every security precaution to make sure that no unauthorized person or creature so much as approached the sentry line, let alone crossed it to get among their soldiers and supplies. With everyone moving as a well-oiled machine, Zhao Yun was free to step inside the command tent and look after his head strategist, and he was pleased to find Zhuge Liang coming around right when he entered. Yueying had laid out a pallet for him, so Yun helped her move him there so he could rest. Liang rested a hand in the crook of Yun’s arm to hold him for a moment. “Forgive me,” he murmured so softly that Zhao Yun had to lean in to hear him. “I am not as strong as I would have liked.”

“It is no fault of yours,” Zilong assured, laying a hand over his. “You accomplished your mission, holding Da Ji was no longer critical. I fear what she may do now that she has returned to her master, but we are prepared.”

Zuo Ci drifted over to stand right behind him. “The young master is correct, Sleeping Dragon. It was nothing you could have countered. The mystical energies of Orochi’s headquarters surround us, I can feel them like a cold draft against my skin – it is entirely possible that your powers were weakened by the proximity, while hers strengthened.”

Kongming closed his eyes tiredly. “I confess I had not anticipated such a phenomenon. It seems I still have much to learn about the mystic arts.”

“You need another ten lifetimes to learn as much as I have,” the Taoist said with a touch of bemusement. “Tying your shen to your qi could have been your undoing, but I see it was the only way to maintain that barrier for months at a time without weakening it. I have stabilized your spirit, the rest is up to you.”

“I am no longer performing any sorcery at all,” Liang sighed, “and already I feel better. But I do think a long sleep is in order.”

“Rest, then,” Zhao Yun implored. “I have the camp well in hand and Jiang Wei is doing his duty.”

Liang nodded and then settled in, turning his face away so he could succumb to the lure of slumber. Zhao Yun rose and ducked out to the main chamber of the tent, gesturing for Yueying to join him. He understood, now, why Zhuge Liang had wanted her and Jiang Wei to stay on top of all of his strategies and information. The commander would need both of them to pick up the slack until Kongming was well again. “Is there anything else I ought to know, right in this moment?” he asked her.

Yueying shook her head. “The only things of importance here and now are keeping the camp secure and keeping watch for our allies. There is nothing else which must be put in motion yet.”

“Done and done. Then, stay with him.” Yun laid a hand on her arm and squeezed gently. “If anything changes, let me know.”

As unsettling as it might have been to keep the camp at high alert while in enemy territory, with the gloom and the clouds and the volcanic landscape all around them never abating, it was perhaps what many of the various armies had been waiting for. They did better with a duty to focus on rather than idling about until the enemy made a move. It didn’t seem that Orochi was going to attack them after all, though after the first day they began to see snake demons prowling around at a distance, scouting them in return for the Shu spies scouting out the pathways leading past Hinokawa to the castle plain. None approached close enough to be a threat, but the sentry lines remained a proper deterrent. After the second day the first of their allies arrived – their own, in fact. At Guan Yu’s behest a small cadre moved out from the rearguard, stretching the sentry line out to gather the new arrivals in and provide them an armed escort for the final stretch. It was a small force made up primarily of cavalry with some scant infantry falling in behind, and when the generals saw who rode at the lead, they understood why. Pang De was just ducking out of a tent when the pair of Sanada brothers went racing past him and then called back over their shoulders for him to come welcome their allies, so he followed and came to the fore to see the rebuilt Xiliang cavalry with Ma Teng proud and strong at their head. Sanada Masayuki rode between him and Hojo Ujiyasu, who looked pretty pleased to lead the rest of his clan into proper war. They dismounted and accepted an official welcome from Zhao Yun, and for the rest of the day found themselves running a gauntlet of familiar and friendly faces as they wandered around and chose their position inside the camp where their forces would be best housed. Zilong stood quietly by with a doting smile to watch Yukimura and Nobuyuki sitting with their father again and talking about being able to see the rest of the Takeda and Sanada cavalry soon, telling him about how well Ueda was holding up and what it might be like to return there after all of this was over. It was such a joy to see families reuniting, but the swell of delight in his chest was tempered with a bit of melancholy, for he had no family abroad in the land to see again. His own father and brother had died before he even entered Gongsun Zan’s service, and he had no one else, so the entirety of Shu from his lord down to the children of his fellow generals had become his family, and while most of them were already around him or would soon be, he still lacked Liu Bei’s singular presence in his life. Soon, though. There was no more doubt, no guessing, no mere hoping that he might be in the next castle, he was right there within reach, behind layers of walls and the entirety of Orochi’s demonic army.

Two days later, the second commander of a Resistance faction came into view, his immense army arrayed behind him as an honor guard and his father riding immediately beside him. The three Tiger Generals present met them personally at the edge of their camp, and when Cao Pi had dismounted he strode straight up to Zhao Yun and clasped his arm as a friend. “You found us,” Zilong said with a touch of relief. “Was it difficult?”

“Not at all,” Zihuan assured. “The path is rather clear, and we widened it as we came so that the rest behind us will follow.”

Cao Cao drifted up behind his son, at which point Guan Yu bowed deeply in greeting. “This is quite a large force you have, Lord Zhao Yun,” the Wei lord said as his eyes scanned the camp. “Impressive. This plateau should become rather crowded once the other factions arrive.”

“It is large, but yes, our camps should be placed shoulder to shoulder, so as not to waste space,” Yun acknowledged. “Lord Yuan Shao and the Xiliang cavalry have our left flank at the moment, perhaps you would like the right.”

Though Cao Cao looked a bit chagrinned at having to share space with Yuan Shao, Cao Pi bowed to accept the offer. “I will see to it our camp is arranged properly. We will come to see you when all is settled.”

“It is good to see you,” Guan Yu added politely before they turned to order their army into place. Cao Cao nodded graciously in acceptance, though his eyes remained keen and cold as he turned his shoulder away.

Thanks to good organization, the Wei army had pulled in from its various holdings to mass at Xuchang rather quickly, allowing them to move out as a single unit with no stragglers expected behind them. Every single officer, including their acquisitions from Wu and the Toyotomi and Azai from Osaka and Odawara, was present and accounted for, though when Cao Pi deigned to visit the Shu commander he came with only Mitsunari, Zhang Liao, and Nagamasa in tow. By this time Zhuge Liang had been moved to a private tent to continue his recuperation, so Zilong was able to host them with Yukimura, Jiang Wei, and Liu Shan in attendance. They sat together on the mats laid out to give the grand tent some semblance of civility and shared tea instead of wine since the latter took up too much precious space in the supply trains to bring along. “Given their propensity for feasting, I’m sure there will be some in Wu’s baggage,” Cao Pi said wryly as he accepted a cup. “Even if it’s only enough for the cup of oathmaking when all four of us gather together.”

“I suppose that is a formality we will want to observe, since none of us have sworn oaths to one another yet,” Zhao Yun said thoughtfully. “As much as I believe a formal promise won’t make any difference whether we will assist one another on the battlefield.”

“Perhaps it won’t,” Pi acknowledged, “but there is a certain atmosphere brought about by making pledges and sealing them with rituals that can raise the morale of the entire force. Given what lies ahead of us, I will not cut a single corner. Every last advantage must be made and used.”

“I’m glad to see you well, Lord Nagamasa,” Yukimura said happily. “I heard some from Gan Ning about what happened at Chencang. Where have you been stationed since then?”

“Primarily Odawara Castle,” Nagamasa replied. “It has been interesting, keeping it safe and secure. Some small skirmishes, nothing to really brag about.”

“We do have one misfortune to report,” Zhao Yun said seriously, his eyes dropping slightly from Cao Pi’s intent gaze. “Da Ji has escaped us. When we reached this place, she was able to recover enough of her power to turn Lord Zhuge Liang’s sorcery back on him and get free.”

Cao Pi frowned, but there was no malice in it. “I wish I could say I was shocked, but I really am not. She would find a way, no matter what stood against her. It would have been slightly better news if you had needed to tell me that in her escape attempt you had to kill her, but it is what it is.”

“We made an attempt to,” Jiang Wei explained, “but she was too fast for us.”

“She can fly, now, apparently,” Yukimura added.

Mitsunari genuinely stared in surprise at that. “Really? Well. Sounds like the Orochi army still has a few tricks up their sleeves which they haven’t revealed yet. Great.”

“Master Zuo Ci says it may be due to the proximity of Orochi’s castle and his demonic power,” Yun went on. “She was not as weak as she had been at Chengdu. Lord Zhuge Liang, in turn, was nearly killed by the drain in power. He is still resting, though he should be ready to fight alongside us when the battle begins.”

“That is unfortunate,” Pi murmured. “I assume Da Ji fluttered her way back to Orochi’s side?”

“As fast as her tails could take her,” Yukimura sighed.

“So we will have to deal with her again. No matter.” Pi raised his chin boldly. “I actually didn’t expect any of us to be able to hold her through to the end of the war. As long as no one was killed and the Orochi army did not raid the camp in order to free her – it could have been far worse.”

Yun nodded in complete agreement. “On top of that, there has been no indication that the Orochi army will move on our camp, though we have seen scouts among the rocks. Da Ji cannot tell him much, we said nothing of the alliance so as far as we know she thinks it is only Shu.”

“Once the scouts see us camped on the side, they’ll start to suspect something is up,” Mitsunari said warily. “Not that it matters, since we’re not moving until everyone is here, but it’ll definitely make her wonder.”

“Then that would be why your sentry lines are so tight,” Zhang Liao noticed. “Ours will have to match. Whether or not Orochi decides to bring the battle to us here, we must at least remain secure with all our own secrets well-guarded.”

“It will be interesting to see how he reacts when he realizes that every last officer he dragged to this world is going to be here, hungry for his head,” Cao Pi said with a hint of a sly smile, raising his cup to his lips. “It will be a battle to end all battles, no matter what.”

“It would be nice to actually end all battles,” Liu Shan said softly, fingers fidgeting in his lap. “It seems like a dream no one dares to have, because someone always comes along to spoil it.”

Pi’s eyes roamed over the young son of the man currently held hostage, studying him with interest. He was robed in his imperial garb again, though the curtain of beads dangling from his hat barely concealed his discomfort with the whole situation. After a moment, the Lord of Wei set his cup down and bent his shoulders in a respectful bow. “Fear not, young master. Not all of us thirst for blood at every single moment. Your father will be safe beside you, I have already pledged it.”

Liu Shan nodded back, chancing a smile. “I must thank you, Lord Cao Pi. Not for your promises, but for ousting me from Xuchang when you did. Sending me out into the world was the best favor anyone could have done for me. I had an adventure and eventually made it home safely, so I really can’t complain that you took back your rightful home.”

Zihuan smiled thinly. “I’m glad you see it that way. It is good to know Lord Liu Bei’s calm bearing has been passed on.”

They talked a bit more about some remembrances and then got into the practical matters of governing their camps separately but at the same time united. They agreed right away that all soldiers would have the right to pass between each faction’s camp at will, the only sentry lines needed were on the outer perimeter to keep their real enemy from encroaching. Information received from scouts would be shared immediately with the other commanders and their strategists with no restraint. Supplies could also be shared if anyone had a need, but for now they would feed and house their own men only and extend additional support when and if requested. They stopped short of ruminating on any potential strategies, for things could still change in the time it took for the remaining two commanders to show up and Mitsunari wanted to send their own scouts out to see what they could see. A first-hand report always beat third- or fourth-hand, even if they planned to tell each other whatever they discovered. With these measures established, they drank to an end to Orochi and retired to their own camps, with promises offered to stop and visit one another and reestablish friendships whenever time allowed. Given that their overarching plan required a lot of waiting for the others before they could even begin talking shop, they had plenty of time to do so. In fact, some were already crossing between Shu and Wei before the oppressive darkness of night fell.

A message was brought in to Zhuge Liang where he lounged on his cot, a scrap of paper with a hasty and imperfect sketch of a phoenix in flight on it. He regarded it with a small smirk and turned to the attendant who had delivered it. “Send him in.”

He was well enough to receive visitors, now, but still chose admittance based on whether he was alert enough to deal with people. This particular one was of interest to him, and he arranged his robes so as to be composed when Pang Tong ducked through the doorway, tugging down the brim of his hat to prevent it being knocked off as he did. “Well, well,” he said brightly as he crossed to the bed and tipped his head up to be able to squint in amusement at the other strategist. “Lying down on the job, eh? I knew one day you’d start to see things my way.”

Kongming’s eyes crinkled at the corners with a smile of his own. “It is a comfortable way to work, but we both know I would much prefer to be on my feet.” One hand drifted to the side of his pallet. “I am afraid my hospitality is a bit lacking, but you are welcome to have a seat, Fledgling Phoenix.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Tong folded his legs and dropped effortlessly into a comfortable position at the bedside, pushing his hat back. “Don’t worry, I’ve already heard the story so you don’t need to explain. Figured I would stop by and see how you were getting on, all the same.”

“My goal is to be capable of riding and striking when I am needed, so I am taking no unnecessary risks until then.” Liang held his hand up as if to read his strategy in the lines across his palm. “I have been better, but it’s coming along well.”

“Good, good,” Tong said genially. “You sure have learned some new tricks since we last talked. Guess that’s one advantage of being an Orochi lackey for so long – you get a special education the rest of us can only dream of.”

Liang’s eyes flicked keenly toward him. “Do you resent me?”

“Not at all.” Tong rested his elbows on his knees and fixed him with a direct stare, letting his eyes confirm what his words suggested. “It wasn’t until I joined up with Lord Cao Pi and heard directly of all the specific things you were doing and not doing that I grasped your greater scheme, and even then I thought it was brilliant. Dangerous, but brilliant.” Those eyes narrowed with a hidden smile. “I didn’t say anything because the point wasn’t _why_ you were so tight with Orochi, so long as we still had to work to counteract anything you did. The more you had to play the game, the more we had to play along.”

“I suppose if there was anyone in this land I could not completely fool, it would be you,” Kongming sighed. “Perhaps it was best, then, that you fell in with Lord Cao Pi. He was also playing a dangerous game, and keeping certain people in the dark was his priority.” He tipped his head curiously. “How is it, actually working for Wei instead of feigning it?”

Pang Tong chuckled. “Not too bad, actually. The young master has been a delight, he’s just as cold and shrewd as you but with a better sense of humor. Watching his plan unfold was like watching a chessmaster at work.” He rolled his eyes, then. “And, then, his overbearing father showed up and I was shunted aside to assist Lord Azai with the arrangements at Odawara instead. Not nearly as exciting, but with much nicer company around.”

“I’m not surprised,” Liang murmured. “If anything, it’s a wonder he didn’t have you flogged as thanks for what you did to him at Chi’bi all that time ago.”

“I was half expecting it myself,” Tong admitted, “but with Orochi around he has bigger grudges to bear. He and I are never going to work together, but Lord Cao Pi, now…I could get used to hanging around him. He has no lack of talent at hand to work up his strategies, but he’s the kind of man who knows when to look for extra help in unusual places.”

“Interesting,” Liang mused. “But then, you always did prefer to go your own way.”

“Don’t get me wrong.” Tong’s voice grew unusually solemn. “I am extremely anxious for Lord Liu Bei’s life right now. Any scenario I can envision keeps ending in watching Orochi parade him before us and raising his scythe, and I can’t bear to think past that moment. Make no mistake, my focus is on seeing him free.” He shrugged stiffly. “All I’m saying is that Lord Cao Pi isn’t such a bad lord to follow. While we’re here in this hell-blasted camp working on our assault plans, all of us will be putting our heads together regardless of loyalty. After that? Who knows.”

Zhuge Liang sat back against the cushions propping him up. “If this world does not end, by some miracle, there will be a lot of decisions to be made. I would not blame you for seeking intellectual stimulation by trying to keep up with Cao Pi.” His expression lightened. “Yet, he has Master Ishida at his side, and will not likely look for someone better.”

“I appreciate the compliment,” Tong said with a smirk beneath his mask, “but do you really think young Master Ishida is beneath my level? Perhaps you haven’t seen his talents for what they are, if all along you two were both only feigning loyalty to the serpent.”

Kongming peered at him. “I suppose, I do not know him all that well. We only worked together for a brief time before Da Ji placed him with Cao Pi. Our correspondence during the alliance was never personal.”

“If you have a moment during the battle in which to steal a glance at him, by all means, do,” Pang Tong encouraged. “He just might dazzle you.”

“So noted.” A flash of vertigo caused him to waver for a moment, but Liang pressed a thumb to his forehead to stave it off and recovered quickly. “So tell me, then, Shiyuan, of your adventures before joining Wei. Surely you had some, and didn’t simply spend months fishing on some sunny riverbank somewhere.”

“Oh, a few,” Tong said breezily. “If you’re up for it, I wouldn’t want to keep you awake. Or maybe you’re hoping my tales will put you to sleep instead.” His teasing covered his genuine concern for Liang’s health, but a gentle wave assured him that he was good to proceed. He tipped his head down for a moment, hiding his face behind his hat. “Very well, if you insist. But remember – you asked for it.”

  


Waiting in a camp in Orochi territory did not mean the Shu and Wei armies could just sit around. They kept sentries on short rotations so as not to exhaust them, and anyone not on duty had the responsibility to train and put themselves through drills to stay sharp and focused and not let the pall of impending doom weigh down their spirits. Some, perhaps, took advantage of the opportunity to show off in front of their allies, but for the most part everyone went on with their routine to stay strong and ready. While the rank and file went through their paces in neat, ordered columns, the officers sparred with one another, staking out a practice ground inside the edge of the Shu section near to Wei so that both armies could use it. There were so many spearmen in Shu that Miyamoto Musashi found it difficult to find someone outside of his own little gang to spar with, but today he found a ready challenge in Zhang Bao, who wanted to test himself and his arm blade against someone from another time and place. Musashi delighted in chasing him around the ring, for Bao was fast and agile and was having the time of his life in turn, while a mix of men from both armies stood at the edges and cheered them both on. They darted around each other, clashing and rebounding, but it was pretty clear after a bit that in a real fight, there was a reason Musashi was considered a master. Bao managed to surprise him a few times, sliding under his reach and swinging around to cut in much more quickly, but the Miyamoto sword technique was unparalleled and he scored the win by whirling around to meet Zhang Bao as he thought he was sneaking up behind the swordsman, halting him in his tracks with a blade hovering right at his nose. Their audience lauded them both as they straightened up and yielded to one another, and Musashi clapped his opponent heartily on the shoulder. “You’re pretty good! I’ve never seen a weapon like that before, you handle it well.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Zhang Bao laughed, still breathing heavily. “I mean, obviously. I don’t ever want to be your enemy, I don’t think I’d come out of it with all my limbs.”

They accompanied each other to the edge of the practice ground and stepped over the rope marking the boundary, finding that among the watching crowd were several of Wei’s top generals. Xiahou Yuan and his son were enjoying the spectacle greatly, laughing and talking excitedly, and with them stood Xu Huang, arms folded over his chest and a solemn look of deep interest on his face. “That was an impressive bout,” he complimented them, though his eyes fell keenly on Musashi. “I have never seen such swordsmanship, it is as though you truly understand the life and spirit of your blade.”

Miyamoto sized him up, lifting his head to regard the tall warrior with his face half in shadow beneath his hood. “That’s high praise,” he said gratefully, “or at least I hope it is, since I don’t know the person giving it.”

“Xu Huang of Wei. And you?”

“Miyamoto Musashi. No country.” Musashi smiled widely. “Ask the Sanadas or anyone else, I owe my heart to no man, only to the sword.”

Huang’s eyes flashed with deep interest. “I see! Forgive my ignorance, I do not have the benefit of history to know the men of Wa by reputation or anything.”

“Lucky for you, I’m not very well-read,” Musashi laughed, “so we’re on an even playing field. We can get to know each other the old-fashioned way.”

“You mean by clashing weapons?”

“Is there a better way?”

Xu Huang beamed hugely. “I like you already, Master Miyamoto.”

They stepped aside to chat as Gan Ning ran up and jumped the rope to take on whoever wanted him, thumping his chest and ringing his bells until Shimazu Toyohisa took his challenge, grinning at this chance to fight the pirate he had once supported at Odani. “So what weapon do you favor?” Musashi asked his new friend.

“Battle axe,” Huang replied, positioning himself so he could watch the next match out of the corner of his eye, since both sparring partners seemed way too energized to ignore. “It has not the speed and finesse of a sword, but I am a man of power so I wield what works best for me.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing that for myself,” Musashi said eagerly, though he wondered if he was about to see a case of axe versus sword right now. Both Toyohisa and Xingba flexed and stretched, and then decided to grapple instead, leaving their weapons aside. “Whoa! Who’s that guy and why aren’t I fighting him? The tattooed one, I mean – I know Shimazu’s kids when I see them.”

“Gan Ning of Wu, and you really should. He is legendary, spoken of as the equal of my comrade Zhang Liao.” Xu Huang nodded his approval. “I should like to see you two clash, very much. If you’re up for it, that is.”

“Are you kidding? That kid didn’t even make me break a sweat,” Musashi bragged. He turned to watch the wrestling match unfold, impressed that the tattooed pirate had absolutely no trouble fending off the tower of muscle that was one of Shimazu’s sons. The soldiers around them bellowed even louder to egg on the two of them, and even Xiahou Yuan’s gruff voice could be heard above them demanding that the younger guy kick Ning’s ass for fun. It was an amazing fight, but a call from across the camp cut it short. They had to stop and call it a draw when a sentry came running to summon the top officers, announcing that another army was approaching from the east to join them. Gan Ning stepped back with hands on hips to catch his breath, grumbling about the interruption, but then smacked Toyohisa hard in the arm with a promise to pick up their fight later. He stepped out near Xu Huang, who made a valiant attempt to dust him off before they all fell in together to go and see who had arrived.

The troops marching steadily under the shadows of a waning day were clad in red and gold, and the lead officers in the vanguard were decked out in their usual tiger skins, inspiring a cheer from the Shu army as they beheld their closest allies in person. Sun Ce raised a hand in acknowledgment of their noisy welcome, and added a whoop in response when Zhao Yun broke through the line and waved back. The Sun family managed to restrain themselves and ride up in a dignified manner before dismounting together and stepping forward to receive greeting from both Shu and Wei at the same time. Xu Huang glanced aside as Cao Pi shouldered past him, though he waited until after Ce and Yun had clasped arms and spoken a few encouraging words between each other before intruding. Seeing him coming, Ce palmed his fist, and Pi matched the gesture. “I see you could not wait to catch up to us,” he said with a cool smile.

“Nah, we didn’t really press the march,” the Wu prince demurred, shrugging. “Your units just got out ahead of us. Everybody doing all right?”

“As well as can be,” Zhao Yun said kindly. “Come, rest. There is room to the left for the Wu army to take up a side.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sun Jian said as he joined them, nodding to acknowledge their bows. “Good to see all of you. A sight for sore eyes, if you ask me, even though I really didn’t want to see this blighted landscape again.” He looked past the Shu throng to the mountain ridge beyond the fire. “Back here again.”

“We all appreciate your assistance, Lord Sun Jian,” Yun said amicably. “Forgive us for bringing up such memories.”

“Not a problem at all, my young friend.” He looked Zhao Yun up and down and nodded his approval. “Give us a bit to get our camp in order and we’ll come to see you all formal-like. And you, young master,” he added to Cao Pi. “Where’s your father?”

“Doing his best to avoid Yuan Shao, I believe,” Pi said, arching an eyebrow. “The two of them have been eyeballing each other across the camp for the last two days, no one seems willing to bridge that particular gap.”

“I’m not surprised.” Jian tipped his head in a knowing gesture. “Give him the regards of the Tiger of Jiangdong, and hopefully he’ll say hello.”

“He’s not the only one.” The gruff voice preceded the man limping through the crowd with the assistance of his cane, lips curled in a smirk.

Jian broke out into a huge grin and went to clasp hands with him. “Lord Ujiyasu! Already beat me here, shaggy lion.”

Hojo Ujiyasu likewise laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “Got a head start out of Xiliang, maybe. You owe me a drink, scruffy tiger.”

“You’ll get it,” Sun Jian promised. “We brought some.”

“Told you,” Cao Pi sniffed to Zhao Yun.

“We’ve got most of our allies, but not all,” Ce informed the other commanders. “Lord Tokugawa is lagging a bit behind, but he’s with the rest of your Shu troops so I’m sure you’ll be happy to see them.”

“As we expected,” Yun nodded. “How far behind?”

“Not more than a day or two. They weren’t in sight but once we got into this stinking lava, the size of our army slowed us down, so…”

More of their officers were coming forward to say hello, as Wei and Shu allies did likewise. Magoichi called out from where he stood, “Sakon, you old brigand!”

“Eh?” Shima Sakon looked to the voice and chuckled. “Oh, of course it’s Saika. Keeping out of trouble? Or should I say, staying out of the ladies’ bedchambers?”

Magoichi winced but laughed. “Not hard to do when they’re all married!”

“Didn’t think that would stop you.” Sakon caught the eye of someone lurking behind Cao Pi, then, and took on a sly, knowing look. “Ishida.”

“Shima,” Mitsunari said crisply in return. His eyes slid past the big ronin’s bulk to another approach and then widened. “What the…?”

Chosokabe Motochika prowled up, curious to see familiar faces among the overwhelming presence of Wei and Shu. “Ah, it’s you.”

“You actually showed up,” Mitsunari said with open surprise. “I’m kind of impressed.”

“What can I say,” the Sea Devil murmured, “these fellows from Wu can be rather persuasive.” He looked around and noted the banners hoisted at each side of the camp. “I do not see Oda, yet.”

“It looks like he may be the last to arrive,” Zhao Yun remarked. “Even with Tokugawa still on the move.”

“Then he doesn’t get first choice of where to camp,” Sun Jian said smartly. “We’ll take your offer and put in at the left flank, near the Hojo. Let’s get them moving,” he added to his sons, “so that we’re dug in by nightfall.”

For the most part everyone broke up and moved off, though some officers without immediate pressing duties hung around to chat. One hesitated, for the entirety of Wu was important to him but they had work to do, yet he really couldn’t let them just walk off like that – one man in particular. While everyone else was moving off on their own paths, Gan Ning shouldered his way through the throng, weaving among people passing this way and that until he could get close enough to give a restrained shout that wouldn’t be heard by literally everyone in all three armies. “Oi! Sun Ce!”

Ce whirled around mid-step, knowing that voice and thrilling to hear it. Quan also heard it and paused, staring in amazement as Gan Ning stomped toward them, fists clenched at his sides and bells ringing with every thudding step he took. Ce showed him his open, weaponless hands and then lowered them to his sides, opening his stance to be ready for anything. “Do what you gotta do, Gan Ning,” he said, almost asking for it.

Ning suddenly broke into a short dash and charged him, plowing into him elbows-first and knocking him into the dirt. Some of the other Wu officers turned sharply at the crash and thud and jangle of bells, startled to see Gan Ning sitting on top of their lord’s chest with his tunic bunched in his fists. “Do you have any idea how badly I wanna punch you in the face?” the pirate snarled, looking from him to Quan. “And you, too! You damn Sun boys put everybody through hell, you know that? And here you are!” He tugged on Ce’s tunic and then let go, sitting up and only punching him in the shoulder. “Damn heroes in the end. I swear, this whole damn world is upside down and backwards and I’m just so damn happy to see the both of ya that if I don’t punch somebody I’m gonna start cryin’ or something!”

Ce burst out into a relieved laugh as he lay there on the dusty ground, and Quan sagged in astonishment. “Gan Ning!” he said in consternation.

“Leave it to you to make a scene,” Lu Meng said, interrupting the reunion as he came alongside Sun Quan.

“Stay out of it, old man,” Ning shot back, pointing at him. “This is between me and Ce and Qu…Lord Sun Quan,” he corrected himself, remembering the slightest touch of manners for the lord who had taken him in and given him a chance.

Lu Meng huffed and then turned away to hide his fond smile. Ce covered his face with his hands as if it would quell his unsteady giggles and then rapped the pirate in the knee. “All right, all right, that’s enough. Get off me, already.” Ning swung off him like dismounting a horse and stood, offering him a hand to pull him up afterward. Sun Ce dusted himself off and then hooked an arm around Ning’s neck, pulling him in tight. “No hard feelings, huh?” he murmured between them.

“Not anymore,” Xingba grunted, resisting the embrace for only a moment before returning it with just one arm and pounding a fist into his back. “You’ve done a lot to make up for it, yanno. Kinda hard to hold a grudge.”

“What, even though I actually beat you down with my own hands? Twice,” Ce noted. “At least I left Orochi before Quan did.”

“Is this really the time to bring that up?” Sun Quan exclaimed in exasperation. “I knew letting you two meet would be a bad idea.”

Gan Ning grinned widely and stood with an arm over Ce’s shoulders. “Why, ‘cause we’re two peas in a pod? Don’t be stingy, this is great! I never got this chance before and I ain’t passing it up!”

“You’re going to give Lu Meng the biggest headache he’s ever had,” Quan said wryly, looking from the pirate to his brother.

“He can handle it,” Ce chuckled. “Really, though…” He let go of Gan Ning and turned to face him, placing fist over heart and bowing deeply. “No excuses. I wounded you, in spirit as well as body. If there’s anything I can do to atone for it, say the word.”

“If I think of anything, you’ll be the first to know.” Xingba turned to Sun Quan, tipping his head back with the slightest sneer. “And _you_. I might not have seen you with my own eyes on the battlefield but I know what happened out there.”

“You need not take payment for my failures out of my hide,” Quan assured, likewise bowing. “Ling Tong already did so, a while ago.”

Ning’s face went stony, his eyes clouding. “Any word on that dumbass?”

“He’s with Oda,” Ce replied. “They’ll be here soon.”

At long last, Gan Ning had the one piece of information he needed, and it knocked the breath out of him. He heaved a huge gust of a sigh and reeled back a step before collecting himself and shaking his head. “He’s gonna get punched, too, dammit.”

Ce gripped his shoulder encouragingly. “We all made it through alive to the end, right? Hey, Gan Ning – come back to us. I know Cao Pi has spoken highly of you and all but you belong with Wu.”

Ning had to swallow another astonished gasp and raised his head proudly. “Damn right I do. Let me get my things. And Huang Gai while I’m at it.”

Quan’s face brightened. “Father is eager to see him, if he’s ready to come over as well.”

Gan Ning spun on his heel to go back to the Wei camp and fetch his meager belongings, and as he did he found Cao Pi still lingering near the edge of the crowd, watching keenly. He strode up to the Wei prince and grasped his fist in a heartfelt kowtow. “It is your time,” Pi said sagely, nodding. “Go, and support your lord as you were meant to.”

“You’ve been real good to me, Lord Cao Pi,” Ning admitted. “I fell in with Lord Sun Quan because he appreciated my hard work, and you’ve pretty much done the exact same thing. I don’t love your father at all but if _you_ ever need a pirate’s help, you know where to find me.”

“Touching,” Pi said quietly, and though he tried to make it sound sarcastic, it came out sincere. That was all they needed to say to one another, he dismissed his favorite scout with a single nod and stood listening to the bells jingling their way behind him. He caught Mitsunari nearby smiling knowingly at him, and simply turned away with a sniff to go back to his command tent, lest anyone else catch him suffering a moment of sentimentality.


	81. Chapter 81

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A number of happy reunions, long-overdue, and at last Tokugawa and Oda arrive at the Resistance camp below Koshi Castle.

Once the Wu contingent had settled in and arrayed their sentry posts in an exact copy of those from Shu and Wei, Sun Ce, Sun Jian, and Zhou Yu went to collaborate with Zhao Yun and his men, expecting that they would be joined by Cao Pi and possibly Cao Cao himself. Gan Ning took his place alongside Lu Meng in the camp and spent the rest of the evening getting caught up with his old friend, and trading stories with the other staunch officers of Wu who gathered around to welcome him home. It was a good thing the Resistance was not relying on surprise with a need to keep their presence secret, because it definitely wasn’t quiet anywhere near the Wu section, the party could be heard all the way to the far other corners of the encampment. While this was going on, someone else slipped through into the Shu portion in search of a familiar face, knowing he was there but unsure where he would be residing in the overall layout. Fortunately, some of the scattered folks from other loyalties had taken to putting out tokens of their clans and allegiances on their tents already, and the red flag with the emblem of the six coins hung on one of the ropes staking down one of the tents near the main command pavilion. Kunoichi spotted it and ran toward it with all her might, and the solider standing guard at the door gasped when he saw her coming. He drew back the flap to call in to those inside, so that in the very moment Nobuyuki ducked out to see what was going on, the diminutive ninja smacked right into him at full speed, unable to stop herself in time. “What…Kunoichi!” he cried.

“Lord Nobuyuki!” she yelped back, pulling herself off him and hastily bowing instead. “Here you are! I found you! Where is Lord Yukimura?”

“In a meeting with Lord Zhao Yun, where he always is,” Nobuyuki answered. “Where did you come from?”

“From Wu!” she said excitedly. “We just arrived and I’ve been waiting for so long to see you because I heard from Lord Sun Ce that the Sanada were with Shu but I couldn’t get word to you and it’s been so long and you probably didn’t know because I never told them that I was with the Sanada so they didn’t ask and they couldn’t tell you I was there and even though Lord Tokugawa knew he’s been so busy and never in the same place and I mean Hattori’s there and Hattori’s fine to hang out with for a while but in the end he’s so touchy that all I could think about was getting here because I just couldn’t wait to get back to you!”

Nobuyuki gawked at her breathless tirade and halted her there with his hands up in a placating gesture. “Easy, easy. I…yes, you’re right, I didn’t know, but…here you are! Have you come back to us for good, then?”

Another of their clan pushed aside the tent flap to exit, hearing her excitable chatter and needing to see for himself. “Is that Kunoichi I hear?”

She straightened up with a gasp and then went to one knee. “Lord Sanada! You’re alive!”

Masayuki smiled warmly. “I am indeed, and what’s more, I’m right here. I’m so pleased to see you, Kunoichi, I didn’t even know you were in this land with us.”

“Apparently she’s been with Wu this whole time,” Nobuyuki explained, “or at least since their defection from Orochi, I’m willing to guess.”

Kunoichi nodded vigorously and finally answered the question posed. “I’ve been helping them out but now that we’re all back together again, I want to rejoin you. I belong with the Sanada, please take me back!”

“You don’t even need to ask,” Sanada Masayuki assured. “Of course you’re welcome! Come, sit with us, tell me all about your time in Wu. I would like to hear it. Yukimura will be along later, he’s staying at Lord Zhao Yun’s side but he does stop in to visit now and then.”

Her ninjutsu training allowed Kunoichi to stand firm when others wavered, to put on disguises and misdirect attention, but she still had a long way to go before she had Nene’s level of control over her ability to swallow or hide her true expressions of emotion. Even with her head down and fist resting on the ground before her, she wibbled a bit and had to bite her lip to keep from openly revealing how much her lords’ words meant to her. She could only hold back for a moment and then jumped up to throw her arms around Nobuyuki and hug him about the waist, to his surprise and amusement. “Thank you, Lord Sanada! I promise, I won’t leave you again.”

The leaders of the Resistance meeting in the nearby command tent went over the logistics, first, so that the Wu camp could bring its organization into line with the other two and everyone was on the same page for sentries and any information already at hand. So far, the scouts had been able to give them a better picture of the layout of Hinokawa and the approach to the plain above where the castle stood, including the nearest garrisons in which troops could be housed or use for cover as they approached their destination and whether they could reach it without having to skirt the lake of fire. It was interesting to learn that there were great iron-bottomed boats capable of surviving on the lake, the ones used when Zuo Ci and the mystics battled Orochi were still there and in perfect repair as if the Orochi army had been maintaining them just in case. As long as the reports continued to come in with no change, and there was no sign of Orochi moving out from his castle, they had no reason to alter their plans for preparation. It was getting difficult to restrain themselves from discussing strategy, but Zhou Yu was adamant that they do nothing until Oda joined them. “Repeating ourselves continuously every time something new comes up, like these boats, will be exhausting,” he said. “Lord Oda has no less than four or five strategists with him, it’s worth having their input on everything we discover before anyone gets carried away.”

Cao Pi had only brought Mitsunari with him this time, for between the two of them they had the entirety of Wei in hand and needed no additional show of strength or capability around these particular leaders. “We have more than enough to do even before then,” the young lord agreed. “No matter how unlikely we think it is that the Orochi army will make the first move and try to attack us here, we must prepare to defend ourselves all the same. Unlikely doesn’t mean impossible.”

“At the very least, we may need to start attacking some of these scouting parties that are getting too close,” Zhao Yun said seriously. “They’ve gotten bolder over the last day, in their desperation to learn anything of our movements.”

“And now we’re here,” Sun Ce said, “so they’ll be even more interested in what’s going on.”

Yukimura nodded. “The more troops that gather here on this plateau, the more they’ll want to try to get some kind of hint about our plans.”

“All the more reason not to have any,” Mitsunari offered.

“The longer we sit here, the more nervous they’re going to get,” Sun Jian reasoned. “Even Orochi, I’m sure. I’ve seen the look in his eyes when he’s not sure what the poor lowly humans are up to, it’s really something.”

Zihuan looked to him as he spoke. “Can you remember any details of the interior of the castle, my lord? I would understand if it is too painful, however …”

Jian rubbed his chin. “I remember a little, but I don’t know how much it would help to know what the corridors and such look like.”

“Oh, I think it will help greatly,” Pi said, his voice and face growing darker. His eyes flicked toward Zhao Yun for the briefest moment. “Especially if you can give us any indication where the dungeons are, in context.”

Zilong started and then looked quickly to the Wu lord. “That’s right, Lord Sun Ce said you had been there with him…”

Jian held up a cautioning hand. “I was, yes. I might not be able to trace a direct path but you’ve got a point, young master. They didn’t stop me from seeing where the prison was and how much castle lies between the gate and it. I warn you…” His gaze also drifted to Zhao Yun. “…it is deep below and well-guarded. When they brought me in as well as took me out they paraded me through Orochi’s main hall, so I don’t know of other ways to get to it.”

Yun looked from him to Cao Pi and back again. “We will find it. That isn’t even in question.”

“Zhao Yun…” Sun Jian leaned toward him and set a hand on his arm, heavy and warm. “When I saw him, Liu Bei had not lost hope. He didn’t know you were out there looking for him, but he wasn’t going to let Orochi dominate him for anything. We’ll get him, I swear it. My son’s promise is my promise.”

Yun faintly blushed and lowered his eyes. “Thank you, my lord. You do me great honor.”

“What can I say? I’ve always liked Liu Bei.” Jian sat back with a smile. “And then there’s you. The kind of determination and devotion it takes to do what you’ve done, all for his sake? It’s impressive. I can only hope my own men care about me as much as you do him.”

“Father,” Ce chided gently.

“You don’t count, you’re related,” his father teased.

“Touching though this all is,” Cao Pi interrupted, perhaps a bit embarrassed by all the deep feelings, “if there is anything else you need to know, let’s get that taken care of. I have much to do yet tonight as it is.”

“I think you’ve taken care of everything, at least from my point of view.” Zhou Yu glanced to Sun Ce to confirm it.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Ce affirmed. “We’re as caught up as we can be for now, the rest is just small talk.”

“I will leave you to it, then.” Zihuan rose and favored them with a bow, and Mitsunari followed suit.

Once they had gone, Sun Jian shook his head slowly. “I still don’t know what to think of him, but at least he’s not his father.”

Yukimura chanced a faint smile. “So many people from your time seem to have a problem with Lord Cao Cao…”

“Make no mistake, my young friend…” Jian wagged a finger at him. “It is completely, entirely, personal.”

Night seemed to be coming on behind the clouds, for everything was growing rapidly more black and thick and additional torches and braziers had been lit all across the encampment. Cao Pi followed a trail of lamps back to his own main tent, rambling a bit more slowly than usual on account of having Mitsunari’s shadow at his elbow and no reason to hurry. The duties he had excused himself to handle could wait a few extra minutes, if it allowed him to walk with his companion and not have to worry about anyone spotting them looking entirely too friendly with one another. As he approached the command tent, however, he noticed someone standing outside it as if waiting, certainly not a guard on duty. The figure turned so that light fell on his face and his armor, and Pi made a soft noise of interest. “Pang De, is that you?”

“Young master,” Pang De greeted him, lowering his head. “I was told you were busy with a meeting, I decided to wait for you here.”

“It has been far too long.” He came to a stop and then held out a hand to invite his visitor to join him in the next tent over. “If you wish to speak to me, let us do it in my quarters. The command tent is meant for everyone, which means at this time of day I expect my father and nearly everyone else is inside.”

De nodded. “They are, which is why I waited outside. If you please, my lord.”

“I’ll be in there, then,” Mitsunari said for his lord’s benefit, giving him a quick, interested look before ducking inside the command tent to catch up on their army’s doings. 

Cao Pi led the way into his quarters, a tent to the side where he could have all the privacy he wanted. Only Lady Zhenji was residing there with him, and she was elsewhere, so it was a fine, quiet place for them to talk. Pi lowered himself onto a cushion on the ground and gestured for De to sit across from him. “What can I do for you? If this is about returning to Wei, you should know that I have no need for formal requests. If you wish to come back, the door is open.”

“It is about that, but not as you think,” Pang De sighed as he settled his armored bulk on the ground. “First, though, forgive me for not sending you word after I chose to defect to the Resistance. Things were tense enough at the time, I wasn’t sure how it would be received. By the time I even had an opportunity, you had already turned, so at that point I merely expected that you would find out through other parties.”

Pi shook his head slowly. “I take no offense at it. Unlike Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, you lack the benefit of long years of experience alongside me to know me as well as they do. I had a feeling that of all my men, you would be the most pressed to have to serve Orochi.” He closed his eyes briefly, a faint smirk crossing his lips. “You have much of the heart of Xiliang in you, like your countrymen in Shu.”

“It is those countrymen I come to speak to you about, my lord,” Pang De said. “Even without Lord Ma Chao present, I have grown accustomed to being among his close friends. I even traveled home and fought alongside my kinsman Ma Teng. It has been an interesting venture, living in Chengdu and working with them.”

“I know the men of Xiliang are here, as part of Shu,” Pi said. “I assume you are camped with them and their cavalry.”

“I am.” Pang De laced his fingers tightly in order to keep himself from fidgeting, resting his hands in his lap. “That is what I wish to explain to you. Lord Ma Chao should arrive soon to join Shu, and…I would like to remain with them, rather than return to Wei.”

Zihuan’s brow twitched curiously. “For now, or for the foreseeable future?”

“I suppose that depends on Orochi.” De looked down at his hands rather than face Cao Pi’s keen eyes. “Are we even going to live past his downfall? What will become of this world after he dies?”

“No one knows,” Pi confessed. “Not even me.”

“Then, I suppose I can only say ‘for now’ with any kind of certainty.” De frowned in annoyance. “Damn snake making it hard to even know what to do with myself.”

Pi huffed a chuckle of agreement. “Put your mind at ease, Pang De. You may do as you like. It isn’t as though I’m requiring loyalty from anyone who has ever claimed allegiance to Wei, particularly not with our doom staring us in the face from that castle above us.” He turned a hand palm-up on his knee. “If we are to charge to our deaths at Orochi’s hand, then I would not begrudge you the desire to die fighting alongside your kinsmen.”

De smiled vaguely. “You do understand me, then, my lord. Thank you. And if this world does not come crashing down around our ears, I will decide what to do with myself after that point.”

“You will always be welcome in my army,” Pi made sure to tell him, choosing his words carefully. “And if that is not your choice, you will still have the friendship of Wei.”

“I would like to believe that,” De said with a keen look, knowing exactly what Cao Pi meant.

As he ducked out of the tent to make his way back to his countrymen over on the other end, Pang De was startled to find Huang Gai standing just outside, waiting until the voices he had heard inside ceased. “Oh, it seems to be that kind of night,” the old warrior noted. “Saying a fond hello, Pang De?”

“A fond farewell, actually.” De briefly palmed his fist in greeting. “Lord Cao Pi is available if you need to speak with him, Huang Gai. Then again, if you’re actually here to offer to cross weapons with me, I accept.”

“Maybe later,” Gai said with a gruff chuckle. “Go on, it’s my turn for business.”

Hearing them speaking just outside his tent, Zihuan sighed to himself at being beset with official audiences at this time of night but steeled himself to handle a second in a row. Huang Gai shouldered his way in and dropped to a knee, as if not expecting this to take long. “Let me guess,” Pi smirked. “You’re heading over to them.”

“I wished to formally ask for permission before doing so,” the veteran warrior answered. “You have been good to me, and although I feel as though I have not fully paid my debt to you, Lord Cao Pi, the fact remains that my heart burns within me to return to my lord’s side.”

“Granted.” Cao Pi set his hands on his knees, back perfectly straight as if holding audience in his throne room instead of a military tent. “Your service has been exceptional, so even if you haven’t taken a hit on my behalf, I should consider the debt satisfied. Go with my blessing.”

“All the same,” Gai said, lifting his head and grinning, “if I see an opportunity to throw myself between you and Orochi just once in the coming battle, you had better believe I’m going to do so.”

“It’s your life,” Pi sniffed. “Do with it what you wish.”

Shortly afterward, Sun Jian and his son were just making their way back to the Wu section when they spotted a small knot of rough-clad soldiers making their way across the camp toward them, led by a mountain of a man with a club over his shoulder. Everyone who had gone with him into Cao Pi’s service was now returning home with Huang Gai at the lead, and Sun Jian halted where he was to behold the spectacle for himself. They got close enough for the torches to illuminate their identities, and the Wu lord laughed loudly in delight. Huang Gai kept coming right up to him, dropping his club at the last minute and launching into a manful bear hug with much back-slapping. “There you are, you old coot!” Jian crowed. “What’s taken you so long?”

“I wasn’t sure you even knew where I was,” Gai pouted, giving him an extra slap before letting go.

“Ce brought back word from He Fei, so no, it was only recently I knew.” Jian held his old friend at arm’s length, hands on both brawny shoulders, and beamed fondly at him. “It doesn’t matter, though. We’re here, now, at long last. Welcome back.”

“What is this, though?” Gai reached to ruffle a hand through Jian’s grizzled silver hair. “You’re grayer than I am!”

“I can thank Orochi for that,” Jian grumbled, “and all those long days locked away in darkness. But Lady No said it made me look distinguished – what do you think? Eh?”

“Distinguished or not, you’re just the sight for sore eyes,” Gai chuckled. The teasing made it easier to hold his emotions back, but the longer he stood there remembering how desperately he had sought Sun Jian, and faced the phantom wearing his face at Odawara with a complete inability to fight him, his lower lip began to tremble. “My lord…”

Jian noticed and hooked an arm around his neck to drag Huang Gai away from his men, toward the Wu officer tents. “Come on. I want to hear all about your adventures. I still have a lot of energy even after talking to Zhao Yun for so long, I want to sit and talk with everybody all night long.”

Fortunately for the Wu camp who had to deal with an exuberant lord, Gan Ning was also still wide awake and eager to hang out, so for the first time since their defeat at Hefei Lord Sun Jian met the pirate Gan Xingba face to face and had the time to hear of the exploits which gained him such notoriety among his army and glowing words of praise from Sun Quan. He immediately took a liking to him, and the only thing which kept them from going on a rampage all night long was the fact that no wine casks had been cracked yet. That was being saved for special occasions. Behind them, in the Shu section, things were much more quiet. All the meetings and audiences were expected, but it was still more than Zhao Yun was used to, so even though he enjoyed the company of the Sun men and their strategist, he didn’t mind sending them on their way and lying down to rest with only Yukimura at hand. Not knowing that there was someone looking for him back at the Sanada tent, Yukimura assumed he had no reason to drop in on his brother and father and instead stayed with him, sitting at Yun’s head and stroking his fingers through his long hair. Zilong pillowed his head on his comrade’s knee, content to enjoy this brief moment while he had it. “You look tired,” Yukimura murmured, bending over him. “You should sleep.”

“I want to,” Yun sighed. “But every time I close my eyes I see that castle up on the ridge. I can’t stop thinking about him, practically within a stone’s throw and yet even harder to set free than ever before.” He tipped his head to be able to look up at Yukimura’s face hovering over him. “Lord Sun Jian’s words set me at ease, though, at least for a little while.”

His companion slid the headband from his brow and brushed fingertips over his skin. “He is a good man. I can see where Lord Sun Ce gets it.”

Despite his worries, Yun’s eyes fluttered shut at that gentle touch. “I never knew him, before. I saw him at a distance, when I served Gongsun Zan and we fought alongside the Sun family against the Yellow Turbans, but I was never afforded the chance to even meet him. Until today, that is.”

“What an amazing chance,” Yukimura said kindly, “to make up for what history never allowed. If I had a wish, it would be to remember these encounters for the rest of my life.”

Zhao Yun looked up at him again and smiled tenderly. “If I had a wish, it would be to stay by your side the rest of my life.”

“Zilong…” Yukimura bent over him and eased down to kiss him, catching his lower lip and caressing it with his. It was a bit awkward, kissing upside down like that even if only for a few moments, but enticing, stoking the heat between them until they broke and simply gazed longingly at one another. Fingertips took over for lips, trailing along each other’s cheeks and tracing each other’s smiles. During their time directing the progress of the war from Chengdu they had had plenty of time for one another, so it wasn’t like they needed to make up for lost opportunities, but the apprehension of the battle on the horizon had them grasping for every last moment together that they could manage. If it was indeed as some speculated, and the end of the world was rushing headlong toward them, then their time in this camp would be their last together, but neither wanted to think about it. After a bit the young samurai straightened up, looked toward the tent flap, and then cautioned Yun to wait for him as he got up and went to secure everything for the night. It was difficult to know what time it really was without studying the right candle, but they were tired and hopefully no one else wanted the Shu commander’s attention tonight – better to simply call it time for bed and secure their quarters. While he confirmed the sentry outside and doused lamps, Zhao Yun got up and slipped quietly into the back section where their cots awaited, and didn’t even get to lie down before Yukimura caught him from behind and buried his face in his neck. “Let me lie with you,” he breathed into Yun’s ear. “If I can, I will banish all thoughts of Orochi from your mind so you can sleep.”

“Please,” Yun murmured back, shivering from the tickle of his breath on his neck.

It was Yukimura’s sheer pleasure to divest him of his armor and a layer or two of clothing, taking his time and doing a thorough job of it, leading to a little innocent fumbling and giggling before they worked together to remove all that samurai armor and at long last curled up in a nest of blankets built for two. Yun pressed him onto his back and slipped hands inside his kimono to thank him for being so gentle and doting, finding a fresh reserve of energy all of a sudden and not wanting to stop touching his comrade no matter how much they had spoken of sleep. The brush of one hand pushed enough kimono aside for Yun to find an expanse of skin which he could kiss, and so he did, dropping his head so that his unbound hair draped all across Yukimura’s chest like falls of black silk. He moved lower still, mouthing his way down tight, muscled abs and breathing with heat against his comrade’s stomach until it tensed beneath him. Yukimura was breathing hard, fingers tangled in all that soft hair, but he managed to find a few words to mumble between them. “Is this…really the time?”

Yun kissed him more firmly just above his navel and then murmured against his skin. “I don’t care. I know I won’t be able to sleep tonight, even with you beside me…” He stretched up and favored Yukimura with a real kiss, savoring his lips. “…especially with you beside me.”

Yukimura moaned against his mouth, offering absolutely no resistance to the pace or the activity even though he knew he should have been calming things down instead of ramping them up. He couldn’t say no to anything Zilong wanted, and arched his back as if to offer himself to those roaming hands. When his lips were free again he breathed a soft gasp at the heat rising between them. “Am I a distraction, then?” he teased.

“The most wonderful distraction.” Yun wrapped arms fully around his partner and laid with him, curled tightly against him with their faces pressed together. “Oh, Yukimura. I don’t know what to think. I made myself a promise that I would wait until my lord was free, but here we are staring down a battle in which we may die, and if we do, I will never get the chance to be with you as I want. What do I do? Could I live with myself if I broke such a promise?”

With a sigh of understanding, Yukimura tenderly kissed his face from cheek to the bridge of his nose. “I want you just the same,” he whispered, stroking the backs of his fingers beneath Yun’s jaw. “But could I live with myself if I encouraged you to break your promise?”

Zhao Yun’s eyes flittered across his face and landed on his lips. “I suppose we should be grateful that this isn’t a comfortable place,” he said with a wry laugh, “or else I might be tempted to give in, even more than I am already.”

“Mm, yes.” Yukimura’s hands wouldn’t stop, though, snaking up under loose folds of Zilong’s tunic beneath the twisted wrap of blankets. “As eager as I am, I wouldn’t mind someplace with an actual bed. But then, it isn’t as though there’s anything _wrong_ with a frantic battlefield liaison, really…”

“You are terrible.” Yun nuzzled him, grinning. “But I don’t want it to be out of desperation. Even with the possibility that it might never happen, I…” It seemed he had answered his own question. “…I want to take my time. Give…everything of me.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Yukimura kissed him a few more times, small fluttery teases against his lips one after another. “Even so. If you needed a release, to help you sleep…”

Yun shook his head slowly, the fringe encircling his face drifting this way and that. “Only your kiss, it is better to me than any wine. I could get drunk on it.”

“You shall have it, then.” Yukimura threaded his hands up into Zilong’s hair and pulled him down to be kissed thoroughly, deeply, diving in and then pulling back over and over until they could hardly take any more of it. Their naked chests bared by the loosening of clothing pressed against one another, but they managed to focus on only the endless dance of lips and tongues for the rest of the night and wore each other out with the exercise, trailing off after a long while and snuggling down to sleep with limbs entangled. Even as they slowly drifted off toward slumber, once in a while one would pick up his head and brush his lips against exposed skin, underneath a jaw or along a graceful neck, as if not completely satisfied. Neither could fully deny his need any longer, but in such a place, sprawled on the ground in a nest made of their bedrolls combined together, they could hardly find a good opportunity to finally reach that step in their relationship. If the world didn’t end, they knew exactly how to celebrate it.

  


As per the Wu army’s expectations, Tokugawa’s unit was not far behind them at all, arriving late the following day with barely enough time to get unpacked and encamped before another coal-black night fell. The Shu troops who had been assisting him at Edo simply fell in with their countrymen, while Tokugawa took his position at the rear edge of the Wu section and exhorted his men to toss up the tents and worry first about rest and health. It was too late to even hold counsel, it could wait until morning – “morning” being the time when the gloom beneath the clouds lightened enough for people to see one another without the aid of torches. Thanks to the timing of it, a number of officers were already asleep when word spread around the Resistance that more troops had come in, which gave certain folks the ease of a new day in which to visit and welcome their comrades in.

The first to rejoin Tokugawa and fall in like nothing had ever changed was Hattori Hanzo, with the full blessing of Sun Ce and the rest of Wu, but not long after that a cluster of powerful-looking men toting huge polearms crossed over, seeking their lord’s tent with the three-leaf emblem emblazoned on the banner staked outside. They didn’t have far to go to find him, and the Mikawa forces stationed around him let out a huge cheer to see them coming, enough noise to make Ieyasu peek out of his tent to see why. His grizzled face erupted with a relieved and astonished smile to see the long-missing Honda clan striding toward him, and before he could even call out Tadakatsu dropped his Tonbo-giri in the dust and rushed forward to drop to one knee, bowing his shoulders almost to the ground. “My lord,” he said with voice wavering, “I have come.”

“Tadakatsu, my good friend…” Tokugawa choked back emotion as well, stepping up to him and resting both hands on his shoulders. “Please rise, and let me look at you. I’m so glad you’re all right!”

Honda pushed himself up and presented himself, tears already rolling down his rugged face. “And I you, my lord. I was so worried! But it’s all over now, the time has come.” He sniffled back his reaction enough to force a deep, dark glower of authority and straighten his shoulders, bellowing, “the Honda clan resumes its service to Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu! Let all who stand in the way of peace and justice know that we will stop at nothing to bring down Orochi once and for all!”

Nearly everyone from Tokugawa’s army had gathered swiftly and swelled around them, cheering so loudly that even some all the way over in the Shu camp had to pop out of their tents to see what it meant. Ieyasu accepted their formal declaration with a bow and then lunged to embrace his dearest friend, pounding him heartily on the shoulders. From there he moved to welcome Honda’s sons and then Masanobu, while Ii Naomasa and Hanzo came up on either side of him. There was going to be a great deal of rejoicing and then sharing of stories for a while, so once Ina had witnessed the important bit, she excused herself and went back through Wu to Shu to go and visit her fiancé, feeling rather like seeing more family after that rush of sentiment. She found Yukimura also visiting and Kunoichi beside herself with joy for getting to see everyone all together, and let them know what had just happened over there where the loud yell had come from. Such reunions and visits were doing what no other morale-building exercise could, hardly anyone among the Resistance could be downhearted at all even with the threat of Orochi looming and the terrifying hellscape surrounding them. Some of the famed leaders and generals still had uncertain relationships with each other, but there were so many around them from both countries, now, that it was easy to simply avoid one another and allow their officers who did have stronger friendships with their new allies to mingle among the tents and practice grounds. The sheer number of them lent a semblance of a party atmosphere to the camp, tempered perhaps by the underlying knowledge that they were technically still a military camp at war but breaking out into knots of laughter and the occasional game or wrestling match here and there. Every kingdom and clan with its own flags or insignia flew them from their tents so that the entire Resistance encampment was alive with color and sound, though there wasn’t much wind to be had in the stifling, weatherless land to set them flapping. Routine upkeep went on rather normally with soldiers drilling, tending their weapons, feeding and guarding the cavalry and officer horses, and carrying out their regular shifts on watch and patrol, but most sentry shifts were shortened to allow everyone extra time to stay rested, practiced, and in good spirits. Many of the officers from the three factions set up their mats and cushions outside their tents so that when they wanted to sit and chat with one another, they could do it in full view of everyone to give the impression that there were no secrets to be staunchly guarded. That, and it conserved lamp and torch fuel not to be inside. Sun Jian and Hojo Ujiyasu were one perfect example, as they finally made good on their promises to one another with a jar of wine resting between them. Ujiyasu gave his cup a sniff and compared it favorably to good countryside sake before taking a sip. “Now this is more like it. Maybe it’s a bit early to be toasting victory, but things feel…I don’t know. Good. Better than I expected.”

“Life is too short to sit around grumping about everything,” Jian reasoned. “I think both of us could agree that we should know, we have the experience.”

Ujiyasu grunted a short laugh. “Whether or not the kids want to take our word for it. It’s true, though. Sitting here with a cup in hand, I’m a bit amazed at how far we’ve come from that dirty cage in Edo.”

“You really don’t realize how much of a difference a set of clean clothes makes,” Jian agreed, “until you’ve gone without for so long.”

“And hefting your own sword in your hand,” Hojo added.

“And wine.”

“Definitely wine!”

They tapped cups together to give thanks for what was in them, and then Sun Jian heaved a content sigh. “It’s funny, though. At the beginning, before we understood what had happened and that a great bloody demon was about to make our lives hell, I was all set to take hold of my army and do as my sons suggested, and establish our kingdom of Wu with myself as its lord. It seemed right, especially once the boys explained what had happened after they lost me. But now, I don’t know. It seems like I have the opportunity to step back and let them lead, and settle into a comfortable retirement instead.”

Ujiyasu gave him a keen look. “You wouldn’t be content with sitting on your ass all the time, would you?”

“No, probably not.” Jian shrugged. “It was a nice thought for a few moments, there.”

Ujiyasu looked down into his cup, noting the golden tinge on the surface of the clear millet wine reflecting the omnipresent glow of lava and fire that defined this land. “So a lot of your fellows are from a future where you didn’t join them, too, huh?” he asked heavily.

Sun Jian nodded slowly. “I haven’t asked the specifics, I only gathered that something unfortunate happened. I’m not surprised, I did tend to take the lead in a lot of battles. No matter what happens here, I can at least say that I’ve looked on my people with my own eyes and know they turned out pretty well.”

“So all the good times we talked about when we were stuck in that place, that was all distant past,” Hojo realized. “For me, too. I mean…” He leaned over conspiratorially. “My own son is older than I am! That’s not right. This place and its timelines have messed everything up.”

Jian nearly choked on a sip of wine. “That older fellow in your clan is your _son?_ Damn!”

“And Ujinao, one of the younger ones? My grandson, apparently. Fully grown.”

“I was going to say that seeing my sons in their prime made me feel old, but no, you’ve got me beat on that front. I’m so sorry,” Jian laughed.

Ujiyasu eyed him. “Yeah, it’s funny now, but just you wait. Your turn’ll come.”

“So far I have only met an adopted son,” Jian admitted, “that doesn’t quite count. I’m guessing it’ll really hit me when we get in there…” He turned to look at the shadow against the clouds, the castle they had yet to assault. “…when we get Liu Bei out, and I see him with my daughter. My sons, one way or the other, it doesn’t really affect me to think of them being married, but my little girl? Married to the Lord of Shu?” He tapped his chest over his heart. “Gets me right here.”

Hojo grinned. “Is he at least good for her?”

“Liu Bei? Yeah, actually. As a man, I don’t mind having him for a son-in-law.” Jian wagged his eyebrows as he raised his cup again. “He’s from the imperial family, even. I still can’t quite wrap my head around the empire splitting three ways into different kingdoms, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it. It already happened. Might as well just go with it.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Ujiyasu said, draining his cup. “As does finishing this jar of wine between the two of us. Your boys can get their own.”

Jian laughed long and loud, agreeing completely. Fortunately, their supply train contained enough wine to allow everyone in command to enjoy at least one cup for fortitude and good luck before battle, providing for the heavy-drinking Sun children would be no problem.

For a couple more days, tension around the Resistance camp slowly began to increase as they waited for the final commander to arrive and things grew more businesslike concerning their security and scouting. Rather than attempt any raids and expose themselves to the chance that their forces could succumb to injury and loss, the three commanders agreed to limit any sorties to driving off Orochi scouts instead. Anyone who wanted to burn off energy by riding or hiking out to protect their own scouts and chase off interlopers was welcome to volunteer, they got first choice of orders by doing so. Only officers were forbidden from joining these security sweeps, every one of them needed to stay uninjured and well-prepared, so training matches were set up to keep them occupied instead with the strict order not to damage one another or break any weapons or armor. It wouldn’t be long now until they needed to turn their determination to Orochi, there wasn’t time to make repairs or wait for anyone to heal any longer. The anxious tension extended all the way up to the top, it was clear when Zhao Yun and Sun Ce willingly joined in these sparring sessions, even if they fought with little armor on and only exerted themselves to a point before stepping out. Their presence was encouraging enough, it spoke to the unity of the Resistance and the empathy their commanders had for everyone serving under them, not lording themselves somewhere in opulence but sharing everything with their common soldiers right down to patrols and practice. Cao Pi sparred less and observed more, but he did make himself seen at the edge of the practice ground, watching Xu Huang school some of the younger fellows or Xiahou Yuan lead target practice with the other archers, or simply hanging around in the open with one or more strategists close at hand, available to talk shop with anyone of any rank. Few short of generals approached him simply because many didn’t know him well and he wasn’t considered as friendly as Sun Ce or gentle as Zhao Yun, but just seeing him out and about was enough.

At last, the call they all waited for came, and it was impossible to stop every single officer from dropping whatever they were doing and rushing to the rear of the camp to witness the approach of the final faction of the Resistance coalition. As they waited, they could see why the Oda army had lagged behind, for it was larger than any of the other three and included a sizable cavalry riding on one flank, the twin banners of the Takeda and Uesugi marking where their commanders rode at the head. The massive force followed the exact same path which Wu and Wei had taken to reach the plateau, coming up to the rear of the current encampment and filling in whatever space was available to them. The present commanders stood together along with the additional generals leading their armies – Sun Jian with his son, Guan Yu supporting Zhao Yun, and Cao Cao deigning to show his face alongside Cao Pi. “Geez, look at all of them,” Zhang Fei muttered from behind his brother. “I had no idea…”

“There is a reason Da Ji feared him most of all,” Cao Pi murmured so they could all hear, “and considered him the most dangerous among us.”

“His army is built as a true alliance,” Yun added. “Many of our own friends are with him, and his own rivals ride at his side.”

“I look forward to meeting this man,” Sun Jian said in keen interest.

Oda Nobunaga rode out ahead of his army with Akechi and Toyotomi flanking him, but the rest of his assembled officers were just behind, and as they drew near enough to recognize, many among the camp could see eagerness and relief dawning on the faces of those they longed for. It took all of their willpower not to rush out and tackle their loved ones right off their horses, official greetings had to be made first. Seeing the three commanders waiting for him, Oda smirked coolly and gave his horse a jab with his heel to get it up to a trot, feeling he had wasted enough time getting there and hastening the last stretch. He dismounted before them with a flourish of his cloak and strode right up to Zhao Yun, giving him a genuine bow. “Forgive the fashionably-late entrance,” he said smoothly, as Yun saluted him and Cao Pi merely smirked back. “I wanted to make sure we had everyone. We picked up a few stragglers along the way, this should be every last man and horse capable of battle left in the land.”

“And then some,” Sun Ce said, impressed.

“This is quite the camp you’ve chosen,” Nobunaga noted, lifting his eyes to regard the ridges rising beyond their position, certain he espied the castle there. “I take it, this open spot on which we stand is to be my lot.”

“It gives each of us a corner,” Zhao Yun affirmed, “and places you between Wu and Wei. If you would like to meet to share arrangements…”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Oda assured. “The three of you are standing right here, we might as well get it out of the way. If there is anything I must know, tell me now. I would rather you all had time to stand down and take ease rather than conduct meetings all night long – not to mention, I would like to do the same.” His eyes narrowed in a vague smile. “It has been a long ride.”

Explaining the basic rules and agreements to which the other three factions had consented took very little time, particularly since they had no reason to sidetrack and wander on tangents while standing there in a cluster rather than sitting comfortably in a tent. Aside from Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi, none of the rest of the officers came forward yet, but given how many were simply waiting for their chance to fling themselves at long-lost friends and family, it was for the best so as not to interrupt. Nobunaga found all of the arrangements exactly to his liking and gave them his assurances that his men would follow suit, and once they had set up their own sentry line, the ring around the camp would be complete. Only one more thing remained, which Cao Pi brought up. “Not that I want to press you into work so soon after your arrival,” he said diplomatically, “but there is one great obstacle standing between us and our intended assault on Koshi Castle, that being the four of us meeting to prepare for said battle.”

“And I suppose you are bored and want to get right down to it,” Nobunaga said teasingly. “By all means, Lord Cao Pi. Tomorrow. There is no reason to delay any longer.”

“Tomorrow morning, then,” Zhao Yun agreed. “Where shall we meet?”

“If I may,” Nobunaga offered, “since I have not yet put up tents or arranged our camp, I can ensure a structure large enough for all of us. I expect each of you would like to bring a few useful retainers along.”

“Works for me,” Sun Ce shrugged. “I know we didn’t plan for that, so our tents are all pretty small and clustered close together.”

“If we are to bring additional retainers, then yes – even my command tent wouldn’t be large enough,” Yun pointed out.

“Agreed, then,” Cao Pi said for his side. “Tomorrow morning, at the behest of Lord Oda Nobunaga.”

“Does that mean we can relax and not be so stuffy right now?” Hideyoshi broke in, rubbing his neck. “I mean, look at this, look what we have here – no longer enemies, everybody friends.”

Ce, Yun, and Sun Jian eased into smiles, and Ce even met Mitsuhide’s gaze, remembering the one time they actually clashed on opposite sides and sharing a wry look to assure there were no hard feelings. Cao Pi breathed a soft chuckle. “The three of us have had no end of opportunity to clear the air. If you wish to join in, be my guest.”

“Later,” Oda said, sweeping his gaze around the ring of onlookers. “First, we have work to do. Mitsuhide, Monkey…”

The three of them turned and headed back to start the process of unloading and setting up, while the others remained in place, watching and waiting. At least two of the three were intently expecting more to come, and couldn’t just turn and leave until the spell holding them all back was officially broken. Oda seemed to know, for he went to the collection of officers standing closely together behind the horses, practically vibrating in their eagerness, and gave them an impish smile. “I know what you want. I believe I can spare you for a little while.”

There wasn’t even a pause for any of them to bow, they broke at once and raced past him, leaving him standing there with his cloak blowing in their wake and that cool smirk on his lips, proud of himself for the way that played out. Hideyoshi laughed. “Deep down under that demon-king exterior, you’re still a sap like the rest of us softies.” 

“Hush, Monkey,” Oda chided him sarcastically, moving off with hands clasped behind his back. “You’ll ruin my carefully cultivated reputation.”

“Doubtful,” Mitsuhide snorted.

Guan Ping had been unable to ignore his father’s presence, he stood head and shoulders above Zhao Yun and though he had tried not to scan the opposing crowd for his missing sons, there were still little darts of his eyes while the group conferred. Now that they were free, Ping hesitated while the others raced past him in their eagerness to be the first to reach their loved ones. Xiaoqiao had them all beat, she was throwing herself at Zhou Yu within seconds and letting him pick her bodily up off the ground, but Lu Xun and Ling Tong weren’t far behind, going to present themselves to Sun Jian and then accept whatever enthusiastic welcome Sun Ce had for them. Ma Chao, Ma Dai, and Huang Zhong strode up to their countrymen with a bit more restraint, since Mengqi and Zilong had seen each other more than once and needed merely clasp hands to greet each other again, and for the briefest moment all five Tiger Generals stood together, like old times. Then, Ping’s younger brother touched him on the arm. “Father is right there,” he noted quietly. “Why aren’t you going to him?”

“I want to,” Ping replied under his breath, “but…Lord Nobunaga has been so good to me, I don’t want to just run off without asking his permission…”

He looked back to where Oda was busy directing soldiers so as to get their camp in motion, but Guan Suo nudged him again. “You _can_ just go and say hello,” he pointed out. “I’m going. It’s up to you if you want to come along.”

Ping turned back as Suo jogged away, crossing the short expanse of empty ground and finding himself gathered up by his father, for though they had both been in Orochi’s army at the same time, Suo’s capture and defection had come so long ago that it was like they were seeing each other for the first time. Ping wanted so badly to join them, but no matter how much time had passed and what Guan Yu’s presence meant to the Resistance, he had raised his blade in enmity against his son, and Ping wasn’t sure how easily he could overcome that memory now that it leaped to mind and refused to be ignored. At last he felt his feet move practically on their own, carrying him toward the happy reunions, but he moved slowly, almost painfully. He was no more than a few feet away when Yu spotted him and shoved everyone else aside to go to him, and to everyone’s shock, he dropped to his knees in front of Guan Ping. “My son,” he said heavily, his voice wavering. “Can you ever forgive a foolish old man for succumbing to his fears and failing his family?”

So he understood. Ping was completely astonished and for a long moment simply stood there, making everyone fret the longer he held them in suspense. Would he push his father aside in view of everyone, including his own brother and uncle? His hands at his sides clenched into fists, and he tipped his head all the way back as if to beg the sky for a sign. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut to keep himself from bursting out in front of the others and took a deep breath to steel himself to answer in a ragged whisper. “Of course, Father. I…how could I not?”

Guan Yu did not even bother getting off his knees, he simply reached out his massive arms and hauled Ping close to him to embrace him, rapping his head contritely against his son’s chestplate. Ping curled around his shoulders to hug him back, helping him to hide his tears of relief from anyone else seeing. Just beyond them, Zhang Fei clapped a heavy hand to Suo’s shoulder. “Couldn’t have turned out better than that, huh?”

“Ping,” Suo sighed. “I thought I had it hard, in Orochi’s army, but I never really stopped to think about how hard it was for him.”

“I can’t even imagine what it would have been like, to face Bao or Xingcai,” Fei murmured.

Suo looked up to him suddenly. “I fought Zhang Bao, once. At least, I tried – I couldn’t hardly raise a weapon against him, I didn’t even know how to explain why I was where I was. I haven’t seen him…”

“He’s right in the camp behind us,” Fei said with gusto. “C’mon, I think it’s time for a big ol’ family reunion. Oi, brother!” he added, raising his voice. “Get off your knees, what kind of a commander humbles himself like that in front of everybody?”

“A humble one,” Guan Yu retorted, wiping his eyes and pushing back from Ping to get to his feet. At least Cao Cao had not stuck around long enough to see any of that. He slung an arm around his eldest son’s neck and escorted him along, snagging Suo with the other arm as they fell in with the others. They needed say nothing to Zhao Yun or Ma Chao, everyone else understood that they had important family business to attend to away from prying eyes.

They hadn’t gone far into the edge of camp when Guan Xing, Yinping, and Zhang Bao came racing toward them, having kept their distance while the commanders were busy and then waiting until they had reason to finally hunt out their fathers. Even though he had seen them upon his lone visit to Chengdu, it had been far too long since Ping last laid eyes on his youngest siblings, and he pushed away from his father in order to throw open his arms and catch them as they slammed into him with shouts of joy. Thanks to him softening the impact, when they turned to Suo they were a bit more gentle, though they hadn’t seen him at all throughout their entire sojourn. After Zhang Bao clasped Ping at the wrist in solidarity, he likewise turned to Suo and welcomed him with an embrace, saying absolutely nothing about ever fighting him as enemies. They hadn’t even gotten anywhere near their tents and they were already piling on one another, though there was someone conspicuously missing. She had been taking her duty guarding Liu Shan very seriously, but as soon as word came to the center of their camp that Oda’s army had arrived, even Xingcai pulled herself away from work and went to see to the newcomers. She came across them still wrapped up in a sequence of hugs and stood aside to wait for her chance, letting them get it all out of their systems first. At last, Ping looked up and spotted her standing just beyond them, arms folded, and burst into a sunny smile. “There you are! What’s the matter, Xingcai?”

She looked from him to Guan Yu, then her own father, and the other youngsters last, and allowed herself a warm smile in return. “Nothing. I was just enjoying the sight. Welcome back, Guan Ping.”

He set his hands on his hips. “What kind of a hello is that? I was hoping for a little more excitement.”

“Xingcai’s had her hands full with Lord Liu Shan,” Xing explained in a stage whisper over his brother’s shoulder. “He is just as disinterested in learning to fight as ever.”

“I will have to see him, too, sooner or later,” Ping decided, “but first, I want to be with my family. And that means you too, Xingcai.”

“Are you back to stay?” Yinping asked hopefully.

“Well…” Ping looked back at his father, standing proudly behind him. “I want to make sure Lord Oda doesn’t need me, first. I haven’t even taken my bags or my sword off my horse, yet, I just came straight here. If he says I can go…”

“Why wouldn’t he let you go?” Bao said boldly. “You belong with us!”

“We’re all family,” Xing put in, “and family fights together. Especially in this hour.”

Ping smiled wanly at their enthusiasm. “Yes, I agree. I’ll talk to him, when I can.”

“Perhaps I’ll join you, then. I should like to take the measure of this Oda myself,” Guan Yu declared. “But that can wait. Come, everyone. We have a lot to make up for, and not just time.”


	82. Chapter 82

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many happy reunions with the Ma cousins, Gan Ning and Ling Tong, and the Honor Trio, among others.

While the Guan family and their relations withdrew to catch up somewhere private, Ma Chao and Ma Dai were making their way with all haste across the Shu camp. It had only taken an idle word from Zhao Yun for them to remember that there was someone they had not yet beheld with their own eyes, even if they had known for some time that he was alive and well. Ma Chao guessed that he would be somewhere in the vicinity of the picket holding the Shu horses, and sure enough, there were finer tents fit for a general nearby, and the family crest hanging on one of them to give him a beacon. He started to run, and just as he did, the towering, broad-shouldered figure he most longed to see ducked out of that very tent with no idea that his son was hurrying toward him, even barreling his way through the camp at this point. Chao had eyes only for his father, running with such energy that his horsetail helm fell off and bounced on the ground behind him, and even Ma Dai did not stop to grab it, calling out for the both of them: “Lord Ma Teng!”

Ma Teng looked up and around curiously at the address, and then froze in place when he beheld the man just a few steps from him already. Chao slammed into him and grabbed handfuls of his sleeves, clinging earnestly to him. Teng chuckled gruffly. “Mengqi, my son…”

“Father!” Ma Chao burst out, dissolving into passionate tears and hugging him tightly. He couldn’t stop himself from rejoicing at the sight of his father whole and in his prime again, whether or not Ma Teng knew of his fate.

Ma Dai came to a stop abruptly before them and hastily palmed his fist in respect. “U-uncle…”

“And you, Ma Dai,” Teng said happily, managing to get one hand free of his son’s bulk and reach out to his faithful retainer. “It’s so good to see both of you.”

Chao could not compose himself long enough to say anything, and neither his father nor his cousin could blame him for it. “Lord Zhao Yun told us all about Xiliang, along with young master Sanada,” Dai said, “so we already know. I’m so glad you were able to meet them at the right time.”

“Ah, good. That saves me a long story. Mengqi…” Teng placed his hands gently on Ma Chao’s head and pried him up so he could look into his face. “I have missed you dearly, my son. Lord Zhao Yun was kind to let me know you were alive and well, but now I see for myself what a mighty warrior you truly have become. Raise your head, this is no time for sadness.”

Chao choked back a sob and straightened up, though he still needed to prop himself up with hands on his father’s shoulders. “I am hardly sad, Father,” he assured, sniffling. “This is nothing but pure joy to see you again.”

Teng ruffled his shaggy blond hair. “If you say so. I’m sure your journey here was long and unpleasant as it was for us, so come, sit. Unless you have duties to attend to…?”

“Someone else will take care of our horses,” Dai assured. “We came looking for you right away, we haven’t even asked after what Lord Oda needs from us.”

“You left your horses behind? How rude,” another voice intruded. Pang De came around the tent, but from the smirk on his face, he wasn’t being entirely serious. “You’ll have to make it up to them later.”

Dai stepped up to him first and clasped him at the wrist in brotherhood, giving Ma Chao time to sober up and likewise move to say hello. “I thought you would return to Lord Cao Pi,” he noted.

Pang De shook his head. “That isn’t how I wish to fight this coming battle. I would prefer to ride alongside my kinsmen, and Lord Ma Teng is willing.”

“Then so am I,” Mengqi said boldly. “There is nothing I want more than to put forth one more charge of the Xiliang cavalry!”

“Will you not be needed with Lord Oda’s forces, then?” Teng wondered.

Ma Dai tipped his head as if to think. “Well, he’s been talking for some time now about what would happen when we got to see everyone again, so if anything, I think he expects that we won’t be staying with him. Then again…” He nudged his cousin with an elbow. “…if the final strategy comes out and they request the men of Xiliang ride alongside the Takeda and Naoe cavalry, I’m all for that.”

“Yes!” Chao said eagerly. “Lord Oda has plenty of cavalry at hand but if all of us ride together, it would be monumental.”

“Sounds like something I will need to keep in mind. Now, my boys, come. Sit,” Ma Teng encouraged. “Have a drink of water and tell me everything. I mean it – _every_ thing.”

Xiaoqiao’s return to Wu was not complete until she had seen her sister, and no matter how glad she was to be in Zhou Yu’s arms again, she left him behind and ran ahead just as Daqiao came from inside the camp, and the sheer volume of their squeals at being reunited echoed across the entirety of the plateau. Zhou Yu caught up to them but couldn’t even get a word in edgewise, they were chattering so fast with one another about how wonderful everything was and how they couldn’t believe everything that had happened, how they were together again at last and no giant snake was going to tear them apart ever again. No matter how many letters had passed between Hefei and Xiapi, nothing could make up for being together and talking, and without even a second backward glance to either of their husbands, the sisters disappeared into the command tent to sit down and tell each other everything. Ce came alongside his sworn brother and just laughed when Yu shrugged. “Give ‘em a bit,” he suggested. “Maybe when they stop for breath sometime around nightfall we’ll be able to say hi.”

Yu heaved a sigh and relented. “In the meantime, there is someone in your own ranks who ought to be encouraged to return to his lord. I have some concern that he won’t even consider it without your permission.”

“Huh? Oh…right.” Ce looked around at the sea of tents. “Yeah, let me go find the kid and let him know he’s free to head over there if he wants.”

Far behind them, at the edge of the established encampments where the greeting had been made, Naoe Kanetsugu dismounted and crossed the gap to catch an old friend before he had to go and attend to other matters. They hadn’t seen one another since Saika Village so long ago, but more importantly, Yukimura had spent far too long worrying over the possibility that his dear friend could be dead, so when he spotted that white coat and silver helm gliding toward him, he turned away from Zhao Yun and went straight to him, throwing arms around him in a huge embrace. “You’re here,” he breathed into Kanetsugu’s neck. “I’ve missed you so…”

“Please forgive me for the deception and the long silence, Yukimura,” Naoe begged. “I couldn’t have even begun to explain at the time.”

“There is no need for forgiveness, you haven’t wronged me,” Yukimura assured. “The news was welcome beyond words, ask Zilong.”

“I expect so. Speaking of which…” Kanetsugu glanced back to where the commanders of their contingent were getting things started for the camp. “…I expect you will want to meet with Lord Takeda sooner rather than later.”

Yukimura followed his gaze and felt a stab of thrill to see his lord again, even at a distance, but then he turned back to Kanetsugu with a shake of his head. “Later. You should all get settled first. Nobuyuki and my father will also want to see him, we’ll come together when he’s ready to receive us.”

A keen look lit Kanetsugu’s eyes. “I think that answers my second question. Then again, you did say you had pledged to support Lord Zhao Yun until his lord was safe, and he still is not.”

Yukimura’s lips twitched as if unsure whether to smile or frown. “I am with him until the very end,” he said softly. “He and I…”

“Say no more.” Naoe smiled in pure understanding and a touch of amusement. “When we have time, then, I should also like to sit with you. We have much to talk about.”

“I will make time for you before the battle commences,” Yukimura promised. He looked around, then, in case Mitsunari was still nearby and could be convinced to be social, but it appeared that he had drifted off with his lord sometime earlier.

Many of those who had come to the fore pulled back in order to allow Oda’s forces to finish setting up their camp before getting too involved with reunions. Lu Xun allowed himself a moment or two to say hello to Lu Meng and some of the others who hadn’t been at Chi’bi, but then turned back to go and give the Oda army a hand, as well as pick up his personal belongings before officially returning to Wu. On the other hand, Ling Tong had something crucially important to do among the Wu camp and did not even wait for his father to catch up. He weaved among the dark canvas tents craning his neck, looking this way and that and possibly listening for an additional hint, but he couldn’t seem to find his target anywhere. Unbeknownst to him, the pirate was also hunting, and they missed each other several times, passing just to the wrong side of a tent or running too fast to see if that jingle was bells or just the harness of a saddle. Gan Ning ran all the way to the edge of the camp where there was a space yet to be filled with the Oda tents, but most of the officers were already trickling away to do their work and he didn’t see the lanky young man among them. He turned back and slouched his way back toward his quarters, disheartened, but then heard someone call out his name. He whipped around to find a soldier innocently looking toward him. “There you are,” the man said, “Master Ling Tong was looking…”

Ning grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him up to his nose, shaking him. “Where? Where is he?”

Startled, the soldier held still and stared into his blazing eyes. “Uh…he went that way…”

Gan Ning followed his pointing finger and then threw him down without so much as a thanks in order to race off in that direction. _Idiot_ , he thought to himself. _Why doesn’t he just sit still so I can find him, dammit?_

Ling Tong was still searching far and wide, asking after the man he’d been told was somewhere in the Wu section and then prowling between the tents, pausing to circle around a few and double back. For once, he didn’t hear the bells coming at all, he simply turned to retrace his steps and saw him about twenty feet away, coming around a tent into an open space and looking in the wrong direction. Tong sprang toward him, running lightly across the ground, and only dared to give a shout when he was but a few strides away. “Xingba!”

Ning whirled again and then leaped to run and meet him without a moment’s thought, head down and bells shrilling. Ling Tong hesitated, seeing his posture and fearing a fist coming at him, but as his foot stuttered in the dust, Gan Ning was suddenly upon him, tackling him about the waist and butting his head into Tong’s chest. Tong slid back a foot or two in the dirt before catching himself and enclosing the embrace fully. They only allowed themselves about half a second to actually hug and then sprang apart from one another, so that Ning could punch him in the arm. “What kind of an _idiot_ just goes slinking off into the woods in the middle of a battle so nobody can find him!” 

“What kind of idiot doesn’t think to check the woods before just wandering off?” Tong shot back. “It’s not like I ran that far!”

“You ran far enough that I couldn’t find you!” Ning bellowed at him, getting right up in his face. “I searched that whole damn mountain for you, dumbass! I almost fainted from blood loss but no, I couldn’t just lay down and die until I found you but you weren’t anywhere! And then you just go off on your own?”

“What about you? How long were you just out there where nobody knew?” Tong argued, jabbing a finger into his chest. “I didn’t even know until five minutes ago when Lord Sun Quan told me to come find you! Where the hell have you been?”

Gan Ning tutted and shook his head, folding his arms and looking away like he was digging deep for another round of accusations, but then swept back around in one move and grabbed hold of Ling Tong’s tunic, dragging him as close as he dared in public and pressing his forehead against his. “Why didn’t you wait for me?” he whispered raggedly.

Tong nearly wilted into his arms right on the spot, but he settled for bracing himself with hands on Ning’s shoulders. “I thought you’d been captured,” he confessed weakly. “I didn’t know…nobody knew…”

“That musclehead Shimazu didn’t say anything?”

“I never saw him again. Why?”

“He patched me up before I beat it out of there.” Ning stared hard at him. “I kinda hoped you’d gotten captured yourself, and stayed with Sun Ce, but that wasn’t it either. Nobody knew a goddamn thing.”

“I’m sorry.” Ling Tong drooped and rested his head on the pirate’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry…”

“Of course you are,” Xingba grunted. “C’mon – you got a minute?”

“Maybe…” Gongji lifted his head. “Why?”

Gan Ning tightened a fist in the fold of his tunic and dragged him bodily away, toward where he was currently quartered. “For one thing, ‘cause I ain’t gonna kiss you out here where somebody could see,” he snarled. “For another, you’re gonna tell me everything that led up to you being with Oda.”

Ling Tong flushed red but managed to recover and fall into step with him, yanking his tunic free and punching Gan Ning back. “Fine, but you have to tell me where you were, too.”

“Wei,” the pirate answered curtly. “That’s the short answer, anyway, there’s a lot more to it.”

“Wei? How in the world did you end up there?”

“I told you, it’s a long story! You’ll get it.” He reached his tent and peeked inside to make sure no one else was there before plunging in and hauling Ling Tong after him with a hand on his sleeve. “In a minute.”

Tong practically tripped over his feet at the threshold and tumbled onto him, knocking Ning to the ground and finding himself caught up in muscled arms. Heated lips found his with no trouble and for a few moments he completely lost himself to kissing his comrade back, forgetting all about where they were or what they had been arguing about mere minutes before. Where they had been didn’t matter, how they had lost each other didn’t matter, they had found one another again at the end of all things, just in time. Tong rolled onto his back and let Xingba have him any and every way he wanted, moaning and then whining against his mouth as if it wasn’t fast and deep enough yet. He’d almost forgotten how amazing it was when the pirate savaged him with lips and tongue so roughly, he had missed it so and now that he finally had it back it was almost too much. He could completely lose his mind if he didn’t stop, but there was absolutely no reason to stop. Ning pinned him down with his weight and curled a hand around his neck to demand that he not break away for anything, not even to breathe, until both were good and satisfied. He felt Tong’s words breathed against his wet lips more than he heard them. “I missed you, too.”

Xingba’s lips curled back in a short laugh as he rested his forehead against Gongji’s again. “Just a taste,” he vowed. “We got a lot to say, first, and then I don’t wanna let you out of my tent for the rest of the night.”

Tong blushed all over again. “Uh, but…one thing. Two things. My father, and Lord Nobunaga…”

“What about ‘em?”

“Well, I gotta go back over there to get my things, and say goodbye…”

“Oh, fine.” Ning sat up, still straddling him, and then ducked down to snatch one more hard kiss. “I guess I can let you up for that much.”

As he sat back up again, Tong followed, punching him in the arm again. “Damn right you’re going to. I see your manners haven’t improved at all for hanging around Wei for however long it’s been.”

“What, you think I’ve been buddying up to Cao Cao? Hah!” Gan Ning grinned wolfishly and then reached to untie Tong’s tunic and peel it open. “I’ll show you just how little manners I still got left…”

“Hey, hey!” As much as his whole body flushed warm in desire, Tong managed to fend off the groping hands and tie everything back up. “I’m serious, wait a bit for that! I just got off a horse after a very long ride, give me a bit to rest up!”

Ning snickered and nearly said something about another ride, but he relented and curled both hands around Tong’s neck instead, drawing him close. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, you hear?” he grunted. “You and me, we’re a team. We fight together, we die together. Deal?”

Tong sagged against him, tipping his head to rest his cheek against Ning’s. He hadn’t wanted to think of that, but now that they were here, together at last, he found no reason to argue. “If we have to die,” he murmured, “then I want to die with you.”

“Still,” the pirate muttered back. “Try not to die.”

An unsteady laugh bubbled out of Gongji. “I will.” He leaned there for a long while, simply happy to have found the one thing he most desired in this world or the next, and right away at that. After a bit he raised his head and patted Xingba on the cheek. “Tell me. Did you punch Sun Ce’s lights out when you saw him?”

“Almost.” Gan Ning gave him another one of his roguish smirks. “Thought about it, it was really, really tempting for a minute there, but I let him keep his pretty face for one more day. It’s for the best,” he shrugged. “Since then I’ve had nothin’ but the best time, so maybe it ain’t so bad to just let it go. Life’s too short, man, and we could all die tomorrow or whenever this battle is, so…”

“Yeah, I know,” Ling Tong sighed, remembering what he and the others contemplated while still in the relative comfort of Honnoji. “You don’t have to say anything, I get it.”

Ning shifted off him and sat beside him instead, draping one muscled arm over his shoulders. “I tell ya, though. If he ever does something else dumb, I’ve still got that to bring up and twist the knife a little. That oughta get him to keep his head out of his ass, right?”

Tong leaned into the embrace, curling his long legs under him and resting easily against Ning. “I don’t think you ever have to worry about that,” he chided, though he didn’t want to consider why. It could be that they were on the edge of escaping this world and none of it would matter, one way or another. For now, he decided it was better for all of them not to talk about the uncertainties and just exist in the moment, with one another. That went for his eventual return to Wu as well, once he had gone back to collect his things and say a grateful farewell to Lord Oda it would be better to focus on all of his comrades. He still wanted to present himself officially to Sun Ce, and catch up with Lu Meng, and see everyone again. Once he and his father followed Lu Xun’s lead and found their places in the Wu section of camp, Ling Tong was certain he would have a hard time straying too far from Gan Ning and had every intention of not leaving his tent as threatened. For now, he straightened up to dislodge that arm and turned to face his best friend. “All right. Tell me your story and I’ll tell you mine. I’ve got a feeling this might take a while.”

It was far too early in the day for dinner, yet, so the collected Guans and Zhangs retired to Guan Yu’s tent to sit with nothing more than fresh water at hand for those who had just come in from riding across the parched and dusty landscape. There were so many tales to tell and dry throats would have a tough time of it. Guan Ping related the full story of how he and Huang Zhong managed to find each other and hole up inside Xiang Yang castle in the distant Jing Province, with no idea what was happening until they were beset by snake demons. Their siege held out for a while, but then they were astonished to see Wei troops assisting the demons, and it looked like their stronghold would finally be compromised and they would be killed, but Oda Nobunaga’s timely interference saved them. “I pledged myself to him on the spot,” Ping confessed, “even without fully knowing what was going on. Everything was a mess and I had no information, other than that this army of demons tried to destroy us and then had help from Wei. Lord Oda explained what he knew at the time, about Orochi, but it was still a while before I learned what had happened at Chengdu, and to Lord Liu Bei.”

“From what I know, Jing is one of the far-removed territories in this mixed-up land,” Guan Yu mused. “It is no surprise that you found yourself cut off. This Oda, then…he has treated you well, I take it.”

Ping nodded, smiling gently. “The thing about Lord Oda,” he said, “is that he doesn’t have any reason to turn any of us away or not use our skills just because we’re from other kingdoms. He just looks at his men for what they are, not who they’re loyal to. I mean, he formed a coalition with the two warlords who should be his rivals – it doesn’t matter what they say about him and his ambitions, he knows it’s more important to beat Orochi than to hold on to grudges.”

“He can’t possibly be that great,” Zhang Fei scoffed, “especially for someone who’s got rivals.”

Ping and Suo shared a look, and the former shrugged. “I know from Lord Toshiie and some of the others that yeah, he can be kind of ruthless,” he said. “Right now I don’t care about that, because he gets things done. Like Lord Zhao Yun, and the others too – they’ve done what they had to, and look at where we are.”

“In the shadow of Orochi’s castle,” Xing agreed.

“He was merciful, when they captured us at Odawara,” Suo added. “I expected to be thrown in prison at best, but then he up and recruited us instead. He may not have the most sunny disposition of anyone I’ve met in this world, but he is wise and careful.”

“He knows, as does Lord Zhao Yun and all those around him, that every single person capable of holding a weapon is needed, here,” Guan Yu reasoned. “I think I will go to see him for myself, but I promise, my sons, that I will not embarrass you as a father could.”

All of his children grinned. “I don’t think you have it in you to embarrass us in front of any other commanders, Father,” Yinping said brightly. “Uncle Zhang Fei on the other hand…”

“Hey!” Zhang Fei burst out.

Everyone laughed at once, mostly because it was true. There was still considerably more to tell in order for everyone to catch up, though Xing and Bao had at least seen Ping once and gotten some of the stories. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei knew nothing, and likewise needed to share their own misadventures in being crushed and then blackmailed into Orochi’s army. The conversation wandered from one end of the world to the other as they compared experiences and mulled over how it had all worked out in the end, though at the time no one could have been certain that their family would ever sit together in the same tent again. In time they were all aching for a break, and Zhang Bao was sent out to see if anyone was planning to gather for dinner while Guan Yu and Guan Ping stepped outside the tent to stretch their legs. It gave them a brief moment alone with each other, as they no doubt needed. Ping scuffed his toe in the dirt, idly looking everywhere but at his father. “It’s good to be back,” he said softly. “This feels right. I don’t know what Lord Nobunaga is going to say, but…I really hope it’s along the lines of ‘go and fight alongside your families.’”

“If by some chance he doesn’t, I will have to have a stern talk with him, one lord to another,” Guan Yu said gruffly, though his eyes crinkled with a slight smirk. “But from what you say of him, I expect you’ll be right.”

Ping finally looked up at him. “Have you faced him, at all? At Tong Gate or…some other time…?”

Yu shook his head. “I had not even seen him with my own eyes until earlier, when I stood behind Lord Zhao Yun to welcome him. He looks to be as shrewd as you say, and then some. Brother and I fought others of his retinue at Tong Gate.” Now that the place had been mentioned, it seemed safe to talk about it directly. Guan Yu took a step to face his son, his broad shoulders blocking their conversation from any potential eavesdroppers. “To that end, allow me to confess something to you, Guan Ping. When I broke off the fight, it was not out of fear or softness toward you.” His dark eyes softened, almost watering. “It was because I genuinely thought you would kill me, and I had too much work to do to protect Lord Liu Bei still. I withdrew to keep my life a little longer.”

Ping’s face grew still, and then his eyes slowly widened as he grasped the meaning of it. “But…how do you know that I would’ve actually done it? How can either of us know whether I’d have the cold courage to go through with it…”

“That doesn’t matter.” Yu laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. “I felt your strength, your determination, my son. It was for the best that we disengaged, else we might have had to answer that question. Now, there is no need to answer it, for I will not put you in that spot again.”

Ping reached to match his father’s gesture, gripping his arm. “Yet, I think that was the only way that I would ever have been able to face you at full strength. Having you for an enemy…of course it hurt, but it also forced me to fight at a level I would never reach otherwise.” His eyes clouded as well. “The worst thing about it wasn’t fighting. I would have let Blue Dragon cut me to ribbons and I wouldn’t have cared. It was the uncertainty – seeing you as my enemy and not my father, and you couldn’t tell me why you were doing it. I just didn’t know.”

Guan Yu’s eyes closed in a lingering wince. “I felt the same, you know. I had no understanding of the workings of the Resistance, we were told nothing and I expect it was to keep us from yearning to defect the way Sun Ce did. All I know is that I raised my blade against my own son, and I will bear the shame for the rest of my life. Even then you were in the right, and I knew it, even if I justified it to myself by placing my brother’s life over everyone else’s. I can only hope that he will forgive me as much as you do.”

Ping patted his father’s arm heavily. “My own pain is nothing, what matters is that you were able to break free in the end and now we’re going to save Lord Liu Bei with our own hands, all together as one.”

Yu sagged and then drew Ping in for another massive embrace, muttering against the top of his head. “I knew I was right to take you under my wing, my little dragon.”

Guan Ping groaned a little in embarrassment, but did not try to free himself. They parted just in time as Xingcai ducked out of the tent, glancing their way and nodding in acknowledgment without intruding on their moment. Guan Yu decided to go back in to sit with his other children and give Suo a little attention, leaving the two youngsters outside to chat if they wished. Ping sidled up to Xingcai before she could walk away. “It’s good to see you again,” he said warmly.

“So you’ve said, at least three times in the past hour,” Xingcai retorted with the slightest smile. “It isn’t as though we haven’t seen each other at all, Guan Ping…”

“That one visit doesn’t count,” Ping insisted. “It’s not like being back for good.”

Xingcai arched an eyebrow at him. “ _Are_ you back for good? You hedged about it earlier.”

“I…well.” Ping looked away, across the camp to where the Oda tents were going up one after another. “I expect so. I don’t see why not.”

Xingcai studied him for a moment, considering that she had not overheard what he and Guan Yu had been talking about just moments ago. “Is it because of your father?”

“What? No!” Ping’s head whipped back toward her, startled. “It’s not about that at all. My father and I are fine, you don’t have to worry.” Frowning slightly, he leaned closer. “What about you, and your father?”

Xingcai stiffened and then looked away sharply at having the tables turned on her. “What about us? I don’t see how it’s any of your business, Ping.”

“Come on…” Ping stepped closer yet, dropping his voice so that the Zhang family in the tent behind them wouldn’t overhear a thing. “You might not have ever faced him on a battlefield, but you knew he was in Orochi’s army. You wouldn’t talk about it when I last saw you at Luo, but what about now?”

Her expression tightened. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Xingcai…” He reached to set a rough hand on her shoulder. “You know you can’t hide anything from me. Every time you try, I see right through it.”

Xingcai sighed hard and shifted toward his touch, lifting her eyes to his face. “We’ve had enough time,” she finally said. “I understand what happened, and I’ve heard the story they just told you – about how they faced Orochi and were crushed. I don’t… _actually_ hold anything against him, so you don’t need to worry either. It’s just…”

She bit her lip to cut herself off, but Ping prodded, “…just?”

“Well.” Xingcai looked away briefly and then back. “When I see them both around the castle, talking to Lord Zhao Yun, sometimes I can’t stop myself from thinking that they all fought one another, as true enemies – Master Saika said they held nothing back, it was like they were really going to kill one another. I know that if Lord Zhao Yun, and my brother, and your brother, and everyone else can still forgive them after that then so can I, but I still can’t stop that vision of them clashing arms that comes into my head.”

“Ah, I see.” Ping took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re not alone, Xingcai. I do forgive my father, but even after Lord Nobunaga told us that he had turned and joined the Resistance, I still had dreams at night about facing him at Tong Gate. Even one nightmare where we were all in Luo together and he suddenly started fighting everyone, saying that he’d fooled us and he was still Orochi’s servant all along.” He shrugged slightly. “You know and I know that these visions aren’t real, it’s just our inner fears trying to get to us.”

Xingcai’s eyes widened as she gazed up at him. “Is that true, Ping? I didn’t think…”

“I bet I know why it bothers you,” Guan Ping said so as not to dwell on the topic. “You’ve been taking on all your old duties with Lord Liu Shan, right? Looking after him, making sure he trains and such. You always put him first, and that means anything that even might slightly threaten him is a threat you feel the need to stay on top of.” He smiled gently. “Which is good, but right now, you can probably relax. I don’t think he’s in any more danger than the rest of us.”

She pursed her lips in annoyance. “You know how he can be, relaxing is something I can never do.”

“Then think of it this way.” Ping turned slightly in order to look up over the edge of the tent roof to the ridge silhouetted against the red glow of the clouds and the distant glimpse of battlement-crowned castle walls. “We’re here, now. The real threat is Orochi – once he’s gone, no one who ever served him, willingly or through slavery, can be made to turn against their friends ever again.”

Xingcai followed his gaze and then looked back at him with curious eyes. It seemed he had learned quite a bit while he was away in Oda’s army. “I want to believe that, Ping,” she murmured. “If we all make it through this battle…”

Ping turned back to her and clasped her hand between both of his. “Believe in it, Xingcai. Focus on what’s ahead and not the past.” He broke out into a brilliant smile. “Though I guess I can’t tell you to leave Lord Liu Shan to his own devices, that might be trouble.”

She rolled her eyes. “If he had his way he’d just hide out here in the camp.”

“You think so? I don’t know.” Ping tilted his head thoughtfully. “After all, we’re going to rescue his father. I don’t think even his own timidity would keep him behind.”

Xingcai fixed him with a look of doubt, but she let it slide, drawing her hand away from his. “Either way, we will be well-prepared with the entire Guan clan riding at the fore, now. Your brothers are excited, as is mine, I can tell.”

“Then we’ll all ride together,” Ping promised. “It’ll be a battle like no other.”

“Battle later,” a new voice intruded, “dinner first!” They both looked to see Zhang Bao striding briskly toward them, grinning. “Hey, you two! No making eyes at each other, we’ve got more important things to worry about – like a big night of feasting and stories.”

“We are _not_ making eyes at each other!” Xingcai shot back at her brother, bristling. Bao laughed and ducked her attempt at cuffing him over the head, and disappeared into the tent to spread that good news of dinner soon to come to the others. Laughing, Guan Ping held the flap of the door aside to let her go ahead of him to rejoin everyone. It truly was good to be back with everyone, once and for all.

  


Once word got around among the officers in all four sections of the Resistance camp that the preliminary strategy meeting would take place tomorrow, many of those who would have happily put off visits and introductions figured they had better not wait after all. No one could say whether the plan would require more preparation or they would hasten to move out as soon as it was decided, so there was no way to know if they had the luxury of a few more days to say everything that needed to be said in the off chance that their favorite people would not come back from the battle alive. Some had to wait until the final section had been set in order, considered less the Oda army and more the united forces of Hi-no-Moto with the banners for the Takeda and the Uesugi staked on either side of Oda’s wisteria-flower flag. In order to maximize what room was left on the plateau in the fourth quarter, their tents crowded right up against Wu on one side and Wei on the other, closing all gaps and making it so that there were no sharp delineations between the four segments of the camp save perhaps the colors being flown and the style of tent and equipment. Their sentry posts closed the entirety of the camp in a solid ring, and their spies were made available to assist those from the other three kingdoms if there was anything else yet to be scouted that night. Having the freshest, most recent reports for their perusal in the morning seemed like a good idea, after all. At last, the first visitors began to make their way across the invisible border and toward the cluster of tents surrounding the main pavilion.

Before anyone could stop in to request a permanent change of army, there were family reunions to be had on this side as well. There was no need for any kind of official audience, but Oichi was still announced properly when she arrived at the main tent on account of the guards recognizing her and being quite happy to see her. Nobunaga rose to greet her, crossing to the door so that he was right there when she slipped inside and taking her hands in his. “I’m glad to see you safe, my dear sister,” he murmured. “I assume your husband is, as well?”

“Yes, Nagamasa is fine,” she assured, smiling to see the rare look of genuine warmth in her brother’s eyes. “I wanted to come to see you, since it’s been so long. After we reached Chencang, all messages ceased and I believe you were not aware what had happened.”

Oda escorted her to where she could sit with him, where Lady No was already lounging while sharpening her metal claws. “Ah, yes, please forgive me for that lapse,” he said sincerely. “I have no good excuse, but since Lord Azai considered himself only loosely confederated with either myself or the Takeda, he must have slipped down the priority list. I promise you it was nothing personal.”

“I never once thought it was,” Oichi murmured as she knelt beside him and gave Lady No a nod. “Though, some information would have probably kept us from attacking the Wei forces when they arrived.”

“Oh, you didn’t just surrender the castle?” Nobunaga winced slightly. “That is unfortunate.”

“We had not known that Lord Cao Pi had turned,” Oichi explained, “so yes, it became rather awkward. But he was merciful far beyond what he needed to be, and he has been gracious ever since. Most recently we had the responsibility to command at Odawara, with the assistance of his own strategists and retainers.”

“I see. I thought Lady Nene was there…”

“She moved on to Osaka, after we took it.”

“Ah.” Nobunaga nodded his approval. “The young lord of Wei has been busy, almost as much as myself. Have you come to declare some sort of intention, or is this simply a friendly visit?”

Oichi smiled demurely. “The latter. I wanted you to know that Lord Nagamasa and I are here, and safe, and the rest I’m sure will be decided by you and Lord Cao Pi.” She rested a hand on his arm. “It is incredible, what you’ve done. It seems that all you needed to achieve peace with your rivals was a common enemy for all of you to fight against.”

Nobunaga’s cool smirk implied otherwise, but he would never dare sass his sister. “It isn’t over yet, we haven’t defeated that common enemy. It would be interesting to see what we could accomplish without Orochi’s shadow stretching over us all, but I cannot say for certain what will come of this battle. I’m not sure I can even say that we’ll be victorious, though I plan to expend every ounce of strength and wit I have to get us there.”

“I know you will.” Oichi lifted her eyes to his dark-featured face. “I trust you as much as I ever have, my dear Nobunaga. This is no time for anyone to hold back, it is the very definition of do-or-die.”

“Precisely,” Lady No chimed in, holding up one set of claws to the light to admire her whetting job. “For if we fail to destroy Orochi after coming all this way, he will turn on us and kill us all anyway. As long as it leads to his end, then we should be ready to expend our very lives to win.”

“Well said, my dear,” Oda cooed, sharing the kind of look with his wife that made his sister roll her eyes very slightly behind his back. “No one likes to think of it, but it is a distinct possibility here.”

“Then I’m glad I came to see you,” Oichi said, “for if we all die, we should die with nothing left to regret and our loved ones knowing that they are loved.”

Nobunaga gave her another sincere smile. “Then, will you stay to have dinner with me and my lady? And summon your husband to join us, for family should all be together.”

Oichi could never resist his actual charms, and smiled demurely. “If you insist, brother.”

There was a much larger knot of officers approaching the central command tents, passing Oda’s in order to locate Toyotomi. Hideyoshi was still outside, buzzing among his fellow officers and their soldiers with no intention of sitting down anytime soon. To him, everything was a sight to behold – the forest of pennants and flags, the sheer size of their army now that four had become one, the sea of tents, the glow of lava reflected against the clouds, all of it. He was chatting with his son about who to visit first, strangers they had never met or allies who had lent them aid, when Hideyori looked past him and gaped in shock at who he saw just a few steps away. Nene tried to keep the surprise as long as possible, bringing a finger to her lips as if to signal him to shush, but his stare was enough to make Hideyoshi look and then crow with delight. “Nene!” he cried, holding his arms out.

She couldn’t help but run to meet him, leaping high and landing in his arms. “Hello, my darling!”

The stopover he had made to see them after leaving Xuchang that one time had not been enough, he still missed his entire family to bits and eagerly swung her around, kissing her fiercely before turning her loose to let her smother Hideyori instead. Kato Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori strode up and bowed, and were subsequently clasped to him one after the other. “Looking good, boys,” Toyotomi said brightly. “Staying out of trouble?”

“Lord Hideyoshi,” Kato wibbled. “We’ve already requested leave from Lord Cao Pi, we want to rejoin you!”

“We can stay, right?” Fukushima added. “And then all go back to Osaka together!”

“That’s right,” Nene chirped, throwing herself against Hideyoshi’s back. “We took Osaka! It’s completely snake-free, all it needs is a family to make it home.”

“I heard! When I heard that a combined force went and took it while we were busy elsewhere, I thought, man, that’s gotta be Nene at work. And I was right! What great news.” He drew her closer, gazing fondly at her, and gradually began to soften until he had to reach to pull Hideyori, Kiyomasa, and Masanori to him, forming a group hug with them with his wife and son at each side. “No matter what happens, you know that I love you all. We’ve been apart far too long, it’s time we showed this crazy world what the Toyotomi really can do when we’re all together. You don’t even need to ask, of course I want you back with us.” He did his best to muster a cheery grin for Hideyori rather than a teary one. “Looks like we’re gonna have to rearrange the tent _again_ to make room.”

“I don’t mind,” his son said proudly. “This is the best reason for it. A real family again…”

“Only one person is missing,” Nene pointed out. “But he’s in a better place.”

Despite technically working in the same army, Kato considered how long it had been since he had even seen Ishida. Distant glimpses across the Wei camp the last few days didn’t count in his eyes. “Is it really all right?” he wondered.

“Don’t you worry about Mitsunari,” Hideyoshi said, letting go of his son and reaching across to lay a hand on Kiyomasa’s shoulder. “I’ve seen him at work next to Cao Pi and I tell you, I think he’s finally found his place. I’m glad he’s happy there, so let’s all just wish him well, okay? Besides, this tent isn’t big enough for him, too.”

“And his head,” Masanori muttered.

Not long after, another group approached the tents where the Takeda banners stood, all clad in a similar shade of red but carrying nothing with them. There was no need for them to remove from one section of the camp to another, even though they owed their primarily loyalty to Shingen and were prepared to ride with him when the battle started. The cavalry troops encamped around their lord spotted them first and raised a cheer, alerting the man inside the primary tent so that he could come out and see for himself. Still masked as usual, Takeda hooked his thumbs in his belt and stood to receive the Sanada for a long-overdue visit. He broke out into a broad grin of surprise to see Masayuki with his sons, and reached behind him to tap the tent in a signal. Sanada Nobutada’s head popped out a moment later. “You might want to see this,” Shingen suggested gleefully.

Nobutada straightened up and then gasped loudly. “It can’t be!”

“Oh, but it is.”

The three great lords of their clan strode up together and at the same time bowed deeply, their faces mostly impassive but showing the clear strain of having to hold back their feelings. Takeda bobbed his head in return and then stretched out a hand to them, which Nobuyuki clasped eagerly. “It is our pleasure to dedicate ourselves to you once again, Lord Shingen.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to hold my deception against me?” Shingen chuckled. “You are all too kind.”

“You’re alive, that’s all that matters,” Yukimura said with only the slightest waver in his voice. “Lord Shingen…”

“Yukimura,” the warlord gently chided. “It’s all right, my boy.”

“Brother,” Nobutada said in breathless wonder. “You’re here, too!”

“I am eternally grateful that the report the boys brought me of the loss of the Takeda cavalry turned out to be untrue,” Masayuki said as he stepped between his sons and went to clasp his brother’s arm. “I hadn’t even gotten to see you when I heard the news. At least it was just one of Lord Shingen’s tactics in the end.”

Takeda gave him a wry grin and then turned to the two youngest. “I am terribly sorry that I had to subject you to that grief, I’m sure it was just awful. I take no pride in hurting the ones who trust me the most.”

Both Yukimura and Nobuyuki accepted a hand from him on either side. “We understand the reason,” Nobuyuki assured. “You couldn’t have possibly allowed too many people to know the truth, or else it would not have worked.”

“Most of Lord Oda’s army didn’t even know, did they?” Yukimura wondered.

Shingen shook his head. “Only Nobunaga himself, and for some reason he needed Lord Ma Chao of Shu in on it. Oh, and Cao Ren of Wei,” he remembered.

The brothers startled. “Cao Ren knew?” Yukimura repeated.

“Sounds like he kept the secret pretty well, then,” Shingen noted, rubbing his chin. “Perhaps I shouldn’t be so quick to reveal that in front of Lord Cao Pi, I wouldn’t want that fine officer to get in trouble for deceiving his lord. So,” he went on, setting that aside and facing up to Masayuki. “What are your plans now, my friend?”

“We have none, actually,” Lord Sanada replied. “I have been with Lord Ma Teng in Xiliang, and arrived with him and their cavalry, but Yukimura is still beholden to Lord Zhao Yun. If you have any thoughts, Lord Shingen, I would gladly hear them.”

“The real Xiliang cavalry?” Takeda practically oohed and ahhed on the spot. “I got to watch Lord Ma Chao in action just that once, it was a dream come true. Unfortunately, when our two cavalries met to harry our enemy recently, I had to stay back in a command position, so I wasn’t able to see them in action for myself. I can’t wait for a real chance to see them all on the move, especially with the Sanada among them.” He reached to pat Yukimura on the shoulder. “Aside from you, of course, Yukimura. You should go where your heart calls you, and if you’re still pledged to that fine Tiger General, then so be it. Your brother and father can make up for your lack.”

“Thank you, Lord Shingen,” Yukimura said with yet another bow. “I would not break my vow to Lord Zilong, not right on the doorstep of the castle where we can finally fulfill our goal.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. That’s why you’re such a man of honor,” Shingen complimented. “I suppose we shall see what comes of the meeting tomorrow, then. It is good to know that I have a full complement for my cavalry. Say, Lord Masayuki…” He sidled over and gave him a subtle elbow in the side. “…I don’t suppose you could escort me over to meet the famous Ma Teng, could you? I mean, considering I missed a chance not long ago.”

Masayuki chuckled. “It would be my pleasure.”

“Good! Because I have nothing else to occupy me right now.” Takeda stepped up and set a hand on his retainer’s shoulder, turning him and walking away with him. “No time like the present, right? We’ll talk again later,” he added over his shoulder to the Sanada boys left behind.

Nobuyuki looked to his brother. “Why am I not surprised?”

Yukimura shrugged. “I suppose the temptation is too strong to resist. It’s all right, Lord Kanetsugu filled me in on the details, so I came mostly just to see him again.”

“As if you couldn’t fully accept that he wasn’t dead without laying your own eyes on him. I agree completely,” Nobuyuki sighed. “Shall we head back, then?”

“Actually, now that I’m here, I would like to go and spend some time with Lord Kanetsugu.” Yukimura turned to his uncle and quickly clasped his hand. “Thank you for taking care of him, Uncle Nobutada.”

“More like he took care of me,” Nobutada laughed. “Lord Shingen had everything well in hand, we were never in danger until we rose up and reappeared at the Wuzhang battle. I expect that is why he is taking full responsibility for deceiving everyone with the plan – he got us, after all, too.”

“What do you mean?” Nobuyuki asked.

“He didn’t exactly warn the Sanada cavalry that we were pulling a disappearing act,” their uncle replied in bemusement. “We, too, were given the news on the battlefield that he and Lord Kenshin had been slain, and rode to the fore behind Lord Naoe and Lord Ma Chao in our grief and rage, intending to slaughter everything that reeked of Orochi. It wasn’t until after it was over and Lord Oda’s reinforcements prepared to return to him that Lord Naoe dropped some hints that everything was not exactly as it seemed. We harassed the Wei army’s rearguard, and then abruptly pulled back, and after a long and perplexing journey away from them came out through the trees into a valley and lo, there they were, alive and well! We were all completely taken aback, of course, but it was so good to see them that we didn’t really care much about being part of a ruse.”

Nobuyuki passed a hand over his eyes in exasperation. “I suppose I don’t feel so bad now about being taken in, and then having to deliver the news to Yukimura. If they didn’t even tell the army…”

“Not at all,” Nobutada confirmed. “Don’t feel bad, young master. It really was for the best.”

“That is a kind of heartbreak I never want to feel again,” Yukimura said quietly, “but the relief and joy afterward was probably that much more sweet for it.”

Nobutada clapped him on the shoulder. “It wasn’t the most exciting few months of the war holed up where we were, but the reveal was worth it. Go, then, I’m sure Lord Naoe has more to tell you even beyond that. He may know things that even I don’t.”

The Uesugi were camped adjacent to Takeda, thanks to their long sequester together strengthening the bond between the two lords and their followers, so Yukimura didn’t have far to go to find where Kanetsugu was busy looking after the logistics of their supplies and men. Yet, as he went, he realized someone else had already beaten him to the Uesugi tents, and smiled to himself to recognize that shock of auburn hair. The blue coat was new, but it looked good with his black hakama. Yukimura held back for a moment, edging behind a tent to watch Ishida approach Naoe as if sneaking up on a deer that might spook at any second. In his bustling about to take care of his errands, Kanetsugu turned almost right into him and jumped in surprise, but quickly relaxed when he saw who it was. “Mitsunari…”

Ishida, conversely, seemed to stiffen as soon as he realized he’d been caught, even though his intention all along had been to come up and see this very man. “You’re busy,” he noted. “I can come back later.”

“No, I’m only keeping busy to stop myself from being a nuisance among the Shu camp,” Kanetsugu demurred, rolling up the scroll in his hand and setting it aside on a crate. “Please. You are welcome, here. But I would have thought you would go to see Lord Toyotomi…”

“I will, eventually,” Mitsunari assured, “but he’s occupied right now. So…instead, I guess…here I am.”

Kanetsugu smiled warmly. “I’m glad. After all, I’ve only been given glimpses into the long and twisted road you’ve traveled, while I’ve been at my lord’s side all this time.” His smile faded quickly, his brow knitting in uncertainty instead. “You were not at Nagashino, I would have seen you.”

Ishida shook his head. “I wasn’t. Long story. I came later, and heard what you did.”

“It is a shame our lords had to be set against each other at all, but I can’t exactly decry one deception when I participated in another myself.” Kanetsugu took a step closer to him. “Is there something you want, Mitsunari? Or can we remember being old friends and sit for a while?”

Mitsunari held his gaze for a moment and then dropped his eyes to the ground, shying slightly away from him. “I guess there’s not really anything I want, no…”

“Then if we’re going to sit together as friends, we should all be together.” Yukimura moved out from behind the tent, all smiles himself.

Mitsunari’s head came up sharply, and a wry look crossed his face as he realized he was trapped between them. Even if they hadn’t planned it, it was too late now. “What are you doing here, idiot?” he sighed.

“The same thing you are, it seems,” Yukimura said boldly, coming up and patting him on the shoulder. “How have you been, Mitsunari?”

“Same as I was last time you saw me,” Ishida shrugged. “Lord Zhao Yun cut you loose for the night or something?”

Snark wasn’t going to derail Yukimura’s good mood. “I had a lot of people to come around and see. Including Kanetsugu,” he said with a nod toward his friend, who grinned back, “so this is what I would call a wonderful sense of timing.”

“Would you both like to sit down and catch up?” Kanetsugu offered with a hand toward his tent. “I see no reason to send either of you away, this is a time for all good friends to be together.”

Mitsunari heaved a put-upon sigh, but it was all to hide how content he was to be with his favorite two honor-bound idiots again. “Fine, but I’m willing to bet you don’t have any sake to share, do you?”

“Not at the moment, no,” Naoe said ruefully. “Tea would take a while, but I can have some started.”

“Might as well,” Mitsunari said noncommittally. “Put your attendants to work, I’ll stay long enough for tea.”

He and Yukimura went inside the tent and settled in while Naoe found someone who had already stoked a fire for cooking and asked to have water heated. There was no reason for a full ceremony, but someone of his stature certainly had the means to make a damn good cup of tea for friends, which he set out with the cups to wait for the water before kneeling at the third corner of their triad. “It has been so long since we were able to sit like this,” Yukimura said as Kanetsugu settled in. “You and I have seen plenty of one another, and I’ve also had the pleasure to spend time with Mitsunari, but not all three at once.”

“Have you, now?” Kanetsugu looked between them with interest. “When was this?”

“Not that long ago,” Ishida replied. “Around the time Guan Yu’s forces were tangling with Orochi. And I wouldn’t say we spent time together,” he quickly retorted for Yukimura’s sake. “You were at your lord’s side and I was at mine, that doesn’t count.”

“We did!” Yukimura insisted. “It may have only been one conversation but considering how this long war has gone, I’d say that was better than nothing.”

“All right, one conversation,” Mitsunari relented with a roll of his eyes. “Not like the two of you, though.”

“We were fortunate that we got to spend quite a bit of time in the Takeda camp together,” Naoe agreed. “Making arrangements for the Takeda and Uesugi to join up and all that.” His eyes drifted to Mitsunari and softened almost worriedly. “We are now on the threshold of a final battle that may be the end of us all. Can you not finally tell _us_ , your friends, what happened and why you were with Orochi? I hold nothing against you,” he added reassuringly, “for I see now what it was all meant for. It isn’t like Date Masamune, who still cowers behind the serpent.”

Mitsunari’s face went cold for a brief moment. “I don’t want to talk about Date,” he said curtly. “I had one last chance to capture him and he slipped through my fingers, that’s all I’ll say.”

“That’s fine,” Yukimura assured. “The less said about unpleasant things, the better.”

“Don’t say that or you won’t get anything out of me,” Mitsunari warned, “because the topic of my time with Orochi isn’t pleasant, either.”

“Still, I must know,” Kanetsugu implored. “I understand that you assisted Lord Cao Pi to betray the snake and turn against him, but such a simple statement hides a multitude of questions, given how well I know you.”

Ishida took a deep breath and let it out slowly, mostly to compose himself before beginning such a tale. It was true that he had told no one the complete story, he had mentioned bits of it here and there to some but he hadn’t been in the presence of true friends for so long that it felt almost as though he had forgotten how to trust anyone. No, that wasn’t true either – he trusted Cao Pi. What an odd twist of fate. Fortunately, he had the luxury of an extra moment to think about how to explain himself, for the attendant soldier arrived with a hot kettle as requested. Naoe took the time to stir three cups of thick, rich tea and hand them out, and by then Mitsunari was ready. “Odawara might have been the first castle to fall when Orochi began his conquest,” he said to preface, “but I wasn’t there. I was at Osaka – alone. It was deserted, there was nothing and no one except me. So when a legion of demons showed up to claim it, there was no way for me to even think of mounting a defense. I parleyed with them and found out Keiji had joined Orochi, so I decided on the spot that the only way to really scout out what this huge demon was doing with us was to join him as well and keep an eye on him.” He looked from one to the other as they sat holding their steaming cups. “I had already made my agreement when I found out what he did to Odawara, and to your alliance at Kawanakajima. It was too late, I had to get in good with him and play my part, so that he would trust me enough to let me learn his every secret. He had Keiji and Date, so obviously something was up. Besides, the more he conquered, the more he scattered all of the survivors, so even if I had wanted to hook up with a rebel, I had no idea where to find them.” He looked down into his tea. “Not until Oda rose up, and by then it was too late to change tactics.”

Kanetsugu shared a look with Yukimura. “True, we did retreat into hiding rather quickly after Kawanakajima. At the time, nearly everyone believed they were alone and had nowhere else to turn.”

“I remember when Master Gan Ning appeared at our sentry line with a wounded comrade and a tale of Orochi’s continuing rampage,” Sanada murmured, lifting his cup. The tea was fragrant and comforting, perfect to counteract the sour memories being dredged up. “They understood nothing, and we also didn’t stop to think that others would be his targets.”

“That was how it looked from my end, too,” Mitsunari nodded. “It took a while for the complete picture to emerge, and that was when I knew I just had to keep working from the inside, and wait for the right opportunity. I didn’t know what it would be, or how long it would take, but something would show itself to me and I’d know it was time to make my move.”

Kanetsugu’s eyebrows went up. “And it was Lord Cao Pi?”

Mitsunari’s expression softened slightly. “I didn’t think so at the time. Da Ji ordered me to shadow him because she was suspicious of him, but the odd thing was, aside from letting Huang Gai go free at Kuzegawa, he did absolutely nothing to warrant suspicion. I guessed that she was just being proactive, considering that she had talked him into the alliance after killing his father and we all know how often sons have a need to rise up and avenge their fathers’ deaths.”

The other two smirked wryly. “How true,” Kanetsugu sighed.

“But he didn’t,” Yukimura noted. “Did he ever indicate that he suspected his father wasn’t truly dead?”

“No, he believed the same as we all did. Even Orochi,” Ishida said smartly. “Honestly, he hid a lot of things very well, but only because he is a master at using the truth itself as a screen for what secrets he does have. There was no need to lie to me or to Da Ji when the truth sufficed.”

“Uncannily like Lord Oda,” Naoe mused.

“A little.” Mitsunari sipped at his tea, unruffled. “But Lord Zihuan is his own man, he really doesn’t compare to anyone else we know.”

Yukimura blinked at him. “You also use his style name.”

“What? Oh…” Mitsunari shrank back a little, focusing on his cup. “Sorry, it just slipped out.”

“No, it’s all right,” Yukimura chuckled. “I do it myself, I can’t help it. It means you’re close enough to him to have permission to use it, I believe.”

“I…I suppose.”

“Ah, yes. I remember when Mengqi gave me permission to use his…” Kanetsugu found himself flushing at the thought and quickly hiding it behind his cup. “I mean, Lord Ma Chao.”

Mitsunari looked up sharply, eyes hunting from one to the other. It couldn’t have been a mere coincidence that all three of them had grown that close to someone from the Han, to have that obvious mark of deep trust and friendship. But he didn’t call attention to it, for if they were as he was with Cao Pi, that was bordering on too personal to gossip about inside a camp of war. Perhaps later. “Either way, that’s how I got to be where I am,” he said concludingly. “I did eventually catch on that he and I were pursuing the same end by the same means, so it made sense to work together.”

“And so you do,” Yukimura said brightly. “I saw them in action at Xuchang, Kanetsugu. It is as though our dear Mitsunari actually grew up a thousand years ago in the Han, they worked in such easy tandem that it was like they’ve always known one another.”

Ishida blushed faintly. “Come on, it’s not like that.”

“It certainly looked like it to my eyes.”

“And what about you, side by side with Zhao Yun like brothers?”

Kanetsugu chuckled at that. “They do walk and talk and fight like twins, don’t they? Do not deny it, Yukimura,” he added as Sanada opened his mouth to protest. “I’ve seen you.”

“Zilong and I…” Yukimura decided that there was no reason to deny it after all, and shook his head. “What can I say? He has become a dear friend, I am proud to be able to say so.”

“Friends, or have you sworn brotherhood yet?” Naoe teased.

“Of course not,” Sanada answered, shifting his eyes away. “There are more important things at stake than our personal commitments to one another. We are so close to our goal, just days away from making it happen…” He shrugged slightly. “And then what? I don’t know. I feel as though it’s pointless to even think about it.”

“You can be sure the other lords of their kingdoms have thought about it,” Mitsunari said in a low, warning tone. “Especially Nobunaga.”

“And Cao Pi?” Naoe prompted.

“Not as much as his father has.”

“What do you think, then, Mitsunari?” Yukimura asked him. “What will become of us?”

Mitsunari shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. “I don’t know. I can’t say one way or the other. Any time I’ve talked it over with someone, we’ve come to the same end: there isn’t any way to say for sure and every option is as likely or unlikely as the last.”

“So we could all die,” Yukimura murmured, lowering his head, “or we could go home. Or we could end up stuck here, and there’s no one who can say which it will be until we get in there and put an end to Orochi for good.”

“Pretty much.” Ishida sipped at his tea like it didn’t concern him too greatly. “So say and do whatever you want before the battle, in the chance it isn’t the third option. Eat and drink, get up and dance, tell each other your secrets, find someone to make love to, whatever. Fight with no regrets.”

“As we always do,” Kanetsugu said strongly, raising his cup to them. “Whatever we hold dearest, be it love, justice, or honor, we will uphold it to the last with no regrets left to tie us to life.”

Yukimura raised his head and nodded, lifting his cup to meet Kanetsugu’s. “So it shall be.”

Mitsunari only had a mouthful of tea left, but he willingly joined their toast. “Live it to the fullest.”

They chatted for far longer than they had expected to, it was late and most of the camp was working on dinner by that time, so once they excused themselves to return to their expected places, Naoe stood with Yukimura outside the tent and placed a hand on his arm. “I will walk with you,” he decided. “I had wanted to see if Lord Mengqi had settled in with his kinsmen as he desired, and since they would also be in Shu…”

“If you wish.” Yukimura led the way at a comfortable pace, passing through the center of the camp into Shu’s section and heading back to where his current lord might have been waiting for him. If the rest of his family had stayed back to eat with Takeda instead, this night, he could be forgiven for missing out. “It sounds as though you’ve gotten to know Lord Ma Chao well, then.”

“Quite well,” Kanetsugu affirmed. “In the short time since my lord brought us back from secrecy and we have been part of Oda’s coalition, I have fought alongside him a number of times. He is an incredible man, and such a great heart for honor! I feel as though fate has brought us from our different times to allow us the blessing of one another’s presence.”

Yukimura glanced to him with a faint smile dancing in his eyes. “If I didn’t know any better, I would swear those words had come from my lips, regarding Zilong.”

Kanetsugu laughed softly. “Are things still that strong between you two? I gathered as much while we were talking with Mitsunari, but he doesn’t know…”

“Stronger,” Yukimura replied, quietly and fondly. “Zilong and I…it is like nothing I’ve ever had before. You may have been teasing but I _do_ want to ask him to swear brotherhood, he is already like a brother in my heart.”

“Then you should know…” Kanetsugu’s hand brushed his arm again as they walked. “…something of the same is blossoming between myself and Lord Mengqi. Perhaps it isn’t as strong as your undeniable bond with Lord Zilong, but…who knows.”

Yukimura looked to him with a flicker of surprise which quickly melted into a smile. “Really? That’s wonderful, Kanetsugu. He is an impressive fellow, isn’t he? Strong and loyal and honorable.”

“He is.” Naoe met his eyes for a moment. “Then, you do not mind?”

“That you have seen another path to love in unexpected places? Of course not.” Yukimura reached to briefly clasp his hand while they walked together. “We both must follow our hearts, isn’t that the way of Aizen? I think it’s wonderful, Kanetsugu. Please – pursue him with all you have to give.”

Naoe looked to the hand tangled with his and then up the length of Sanada’s arm to his face and smiled back. “I will do so. And you, in turn, do not leave Lord Zilong even for a second. Your partnership is what all who love should hope to aspire to.”

Yukimura laughed. “That’s a bit much, my friend.” He squeezed Kanetsugu’s hand and then let him go. “You and I will always be close. This doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

“And I you,” Kanetsugu said gently. “But I wanted you to know. I would hold no secret from you.”

“No regrets,” Yukimura said to recall their earlier conversation.

“None at all.” Kanetsugu took his arm and pulled him to a stop, and then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek in full view of anyone who might be going about their daily business. “As your heart has room for more than one, so does mine.”

Yukimura laid a hand on his cheek for a moment and then pulled away, encouraging him to continue on with him through the camp. “I suppose that means we are both entirely taken with Tiger Generals, as they call them.”

“From what I’ve seen of the greatness of Shu,” Naoe remarked, “I see no problem with that at all.”


	83. Chapter 83

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few more reunions precede the formal meeting of the four members of the Resistance Coalition to prepare for war.

Around the time the darkness began to creep up around the edges of the vale and threaten to smother the camp as day turned once again to night, two brothers walked from their own quarters in the coalition section to Wu, intending to say hello but also to ask some important questions of those who would actually have the answers. It wasn’t hard to find the command tent and officers’ quarters clustered around it, there was quite a bit of enthusiastic traffic coming and going at the behest of the ruling family and their many friends. It was unusual to see these particular men striding through the ranks of russet-clad soldiers, but on their approach they ran into Ling Tong and Ling Cao just exiting the command tent and were assured that this was the perfect time to visit. Tong even hung back a moment to pop his head back inside and introduce them, so that the commanders inside would not be caught completely by surprise. He clapped Sima Zhao on the shoulder as he moved to go past. “See? Told you. Go on in.”

“Thanks, Ling Tong,” Zhao said before turning to his brother. “Ready?”

“Just get moving,” Shi sighed.

Zhao led the way, since he had met everyone several times over and knew he would be welcome on sight. He entered to find Sun Ce on his feet and moving to greet him, an arm extended to clasp him by the wrist in friendship. “Good to see you again,” he said warmly. “I take it this is the brother you worked so hard to reach?”

Shi palmed his fist and bowed gracefully. “Sima Shi, first son of Sima Yi. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lord Sun Ce.”

Ce nodded briskly in acceptance of his manners. “What can I do for you two this evening?”

“It’s about our father, actually.” Zhao did his best to relax, hooking his thumbs in his belt, but there was still considerable tension about his shoulders. “Master Lu Xun told us what he knew of his presence at Chi’bi, but suggested that Lord Zhou Yu might have more to say to us on the matter.”

“As a matter of fact…” Zhou Yu rose from where he had been sitting, studying scouting reports. “I will tell you what I know, since it concerns you and your family directly. I’m not surprised that you’re still seeking answers, I haven’t really told many people every last detail because it wasn’t their business.”

Shi bobbed his head elegantly. “I appreciate your restraint.”

“Come, sit for a bit,” Ce encouraged with a wave, going back over to Yu and gesturing for him to take his seat as well. “There’s no reason to stand around even for a short visit.”

The Sima brothers accepted his hospitality and came to kneel facing the two of them. “Don’t feel like you have to sugar-coat anything,” Zhao said bravely. “We can take it. We’ve dealt with worse – just as you have, I’m sure.”

“It isn’t that terrible,” Zhou Yu assured. “The only regret I have is that I cannot say exactly where he is at the moment, because even I don’t know.”

“The last of his retainers still defending at Bai Di only said he had gone to command at Chi’bi,” Shi said to elucidate what part of the story they did already know. “It wasn’t until Master Lu Xun rejoined us that we had any additional information, and all he knew was that he and Deng Ai and Guo Huai had been routed there.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more than that myself, when you wrote,” Sun Ce broke in. “I mean, Zhou Yu usually tells me everything, but he was a bit late with that information – we had to turn our attention to Orochi instead.”

“No, it’s fine, I understand,” Zhao said with a wave of his hand. “You’re commander of this army, you have a lot more to worry about. At least we did get your note before we set out from Bai Di, so thanks for agreeing to see us and talk with us.”

“Are you kidding? Anytime,” Ce smiled. “I was right to trust you way back then at Hulao, you’ve repaid it ten times over. I’m here to help you out.”

Shi turned his eyes to Zhou Yu. “What happened, then?”

Yu sat composed, taking no joy in what he had to say but at the same time mindful that the brothers just wanted it straight with no softening of the blows. “I fought your father myself. He set upon us as soon as we reached their main camp, and I turned aside to handle it so that Lord Sun Jian could go ahead to seek Orochi. I was not kind,” he warned, “but then, neither was he. I defeated him and wounded him, but Guo Huai reached me right at that moment and spoke to me of your plans and the promises made at Hulao. Earlier in the battle he had warned off some of our men so that they wouldn’t be hurt in an explosion on the ships, so I knew he wanted only an end to the conflict and not necessarily an Orochi victory.”

The brothers shared a glance. “Sounds like something he’d do,” Zhao remarked.

“Even if he hadn’t,” Yu went on, “I remembered well that you had made plans with him to rescue your father, and our promises to you stood. So, I let him and Deng Ai take Sima Yi and go, and do with him as they pleased. I only know that they disappeared into the night, and haven’t returned to the Orochi army at all.”

“You’ll have to ask Lord Cao Pi if they discovered anything after taking He Fei Castle,” Ce added, “but I was there and saw absolutely no sign of Sima Yi among that army. Only one of his guys was still there, helping Date.”

Again, the Sima brothers looked at one another. “Zhong Hui, I assume,” Shi murmured, “since he got away at Bai Di and would have rejoined them at He Fei. I can’t imagine why Father would have left him behind and taken the other two instead, but for all we know that was Guo Huai’s plan.”

“Maybe,” Zhao agreed, and then turned to bow his head to the other two. “Thank you. This is actually really great news for us. It means we finally got him away from Orochi, and even if he was hurt, he’s with two men who will take care of him and get him back on his feet.”

“Now all we have to do is finish the snake here, and survive the effort,” Sun Ce said wryly. “Then, if fate allows, you can go looking for him.”

“As long as we survive,” Shi said darkly, “we will be with him one way or another.”

Zhou Yu nodded in complete agreement, for as head tactician of Wu, he was always wondering about the final outcome after Orochi was finished and whether he had to prepare for the end of the world or the start of a new and different war between factions. Thankfully, they didn’t have to consider such a thing right at that moment, but it was ever close to the forefront of his mind. “Whatever happens,” he noted, “and despite whatever animosity might have remained between our people and yours in the time you come from, here and now you will still have the friendship of Wu. I have spoken a little with Lu Xun and he seems to hold you in high regard, Master Sima Shi.”

“Me?” Shi looked genuinely surprised, though he had spent considerable time working alongside Lu Xun in Oda’s army. “I was not aware. I mean, it isn’t as though I felt unwelcomed…on the contrary. I expect our association will end, now, if he has returned to Wu…”

“I’m not surprised he would have said nothing directly,” Yu said with some amusement. “He always was shy, particularly around his peers or those he esteemed wiser than he.”

“Strategists, man,” Zhao said idly.

“You said it,” Ce agreed.

The other two looked at them as if affronted at the implication that they were speaking a different language from their companions. “If you would prefer less stimulating discussion, I believe your father still has half a jar of wine in the back of the tent,” Zhou Yu said reproachfully.

“Nah, he drank it all,” Ce said confidently. “It’s fine, really, I just figured these brothers might appreciate a moment to take the weight off their shoulders instead of adding more to it.” He looked to Zhao. “I know it’s a lot to think about, especially in this moment, but at least there’s no bad news. That’s got to count for something, right?”

“It does,” Zishang admitted. “If nothing else, I’m glad we came to see you in person because it gives me one more chance to thank you for everything you’ve done since Hulao. You really are a man of honor, Lord Sun Ce. It’s been a pleasure having you for an ally in this mess.”

“Aw, c’mon, stop,” Ce laughed, “you’re going to make me blush. Same goes for you – both of you. Zhou Yu is right, even if things go back to the old way with our kingdoms eyeballing each other across impossible borders, you can count on the friendship of Wu. I hope you won’t forget Lu Xun and Ling Tong as well as me.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget any of this,” Zhao said bemusedly. “The good and the bad alike.”

“Good, then perhaps you won’t slide back into any of your old bad habits,” Shi retorted. “Though the likes of Ling Tong and Ma Dai did not help you in that regard.”

Sun Ce grinned. “Sounds like a group of trouble-makers if I ever heard of one.”

Zhao laughed. “We sure were! I’ll miss those guys a lot. But, Ma Dai has his clan with Shu, and Ling Tong belongs here with you guys…” For the briefest moment a cloud of melancholy passed through his eyes, but he took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and put on a soft and bittersweet smile for their hosts. “The Sima brothers will find somewhere to belong, too. Make no mistake. And it won’t be with Orochi.”

Sima Shi dropped his head slightly. His younger brother behaving so much more confidently and maturely was still something he had to get used to, though the sight filled him with a warmth that he had to hide behind his mask both literally and figuratively. “We will, indeed. Thanks to you, Lord Zhou Yu and Lord Sun Ce.”

“Anytime.” Ce smiled knowingly back. “It’s what we do.”

Oda Nobunaga had anticipated more visitors into the evening, but he was somewhat curious as to the fact that one in particular did not appear at all, even after dinner was finished and most everyone went their own way, settling into new quarters or retreating back to where they felt they belonged for the time being. He heard that Toyotomi’s wife and retainers had rejoined them, a worthy trade for losing the men of Wu and Shu back to their homelands, and consented to let his sister and brother-in-law remain with Wei for the time being, knowing that they had no strong loyalty to warlords in spite of their family ties. He begrudged no one their wishes, for he knew what he planned to propose at the meeting in the morning, and thus felt that it really didn’t matter under whose banner all of those talented warriors fought. Claiming them as his was too much even for his overactive ego, so long as Orochi still had the ability to stand on his feet and swing that scythe around. Once the serpent was destroyed he could revisit his thoughts on the matter, assuming he had any life left in him to waste on thinking. But such worries could wait, he had work to do.

It was well after nightfall and the sentries had been posted all around when the guard at his door peeped in to let him know that he had a visitor. Oda was still floating about his tent collecting papers for the meeting in the morning, but paused long enough to give permission for this latecomer to be shown in. He sorted through his letters with only a cursory glance to the door until the short, willowy figure ducked in and bowed deeply, at which moment all thought of work fled completely from his mind. He let the papers drop onto a small table and turned instantly to him. “Ran.”

“Lord Nobunaga.” Mori Ranmaru held his bow until he felt the man’s hands on his shoulders imploring him to raise his head, at which point he felt quite comfortable enfolding himself against Nobunaga’s chest. “I’m sorry it’s so late, my lord.”

“Nonsense. You know you are welcome at any time, Ran.” Oda patted the top of his head and circled an arm around his shoulders to hug him close. “I thought you would be here much earlier, though.”

“I had some things to think about,” Ranmaru admitted. “Lord Sun Ce encouraged me to come over earlier in the day, but I wanted to be sure before I did.”

“I see.” Oda let him go and moved back to the center of the room, beckoning him to come along. The cushions were still laid out on the mat from earlier visits, so he settled himself onto one. “Come, tell me what’s on your mind.”

Ranmaru knelt directly across from him, not too close and not too far away. “My lord…would it be too much for me to ask of you to allow me to remain with Lord Sun Ce until this battle is over?”

Nobunaga arched an eyebrow, genuinely not expecting that. “Straight and to the point, I see.”

The boy dropped his gaze humbly. “If I had not seen you at all since the time Orochi drove us apart, it might have been different, but I still have this feeling deep in my heart. When I chose to follow Lord Sun Ce, I wasn’t sure what I was seeking, and even now I do not know if I have found it. I thought I would be ready to leave him once his father was safe, but they’ve been together for some time now and yet I still feel as though I must see this through to the actual end.”

“The actual end being, the end of Orochi.” Nobunaga nodded slowly. “For many of us, there can be no clear ending to our campaign until the serpent lies dead. I suppose I can understand the sense of incompleteness, it bothers me as well.” He searched his young charge’s face for a moment, brows slowly knitting. “If you don’t know what it was you sought at his knee, Ran, how will you know that the battle will be the place to find it?”

“I don’t,” Ranmaru admitted, hands clenching into fists on his knees. “I may simply be too blind to see what has already been settled for me. But Lord Sun Ce has been kind, and I do not wish to leave him just yet.”

Oda regarded him for a moment and then lowered his head, sighing softly. “Like a moth to a flame, I suppose,” he murmured. “The Little Conqueror’s flame burns brighter than a bonfire. I cannot say I do not understand. If you feel this strongly, Ran, there is no way I can argue. I wouldn’t, for your indomitable spirit should not be crushed under the weight of such silly things as orders from commanders.”

Ranmaru perked up a bit, but then his shoulders dropped as he beheld his beloved lord. “It isn’t that I don’t wish to return to your side, Lord Nobunaga…”

A faint smile crossed the Demon King’s lips. “Come now, Ran. I am not hurt. If anything, I am proud to see what you have become. You’ve lived through the darkness and come through it stronger. Your time with Sun Ce has tempered you in a way I alone could not have.” He stretched out a hand to his young retainer – bare, no gauntlet covering it now – which Ranmaru accepted, setting his hand in it gingerly. “I don’t care about the reason or if you even have no good reason. If you want to fight alongside Sun Ce one more time, so be it.”

“Are you sure?” Ranmaru’s fingertips curled into Oda’s larger hand. “I promise, when it’s over, I will return to you. I want nothing more than for things to be normal again, for us all to be together as we should be.”

That vague smile remained on Oda’s face, impenetrable and inscrutable. Here was the only person he had to hedge around, and not tell him exactly what he had been thinking about the outcome of the battle. “Yes, we will all go back to the way it was,” he encouraged. “We will return to Honnoji and rebuild. Nothing will stop us.”

He lowered his hand, letting Ran’s slide away. The youngster straightened up eagerly. “Thank you, my lord. I would do anything you asked of me, even leave Lord Sun Ce if you truly wished, but I’m so glad you agree.”

“Ran,” Oda said, almost chiding him, “you know that I want only the best for you. I want you to soar on your own, not be chained down to duty. I am glad to see you safe, and I know that you’ll do just fine no matter who you follow into battle. When it’s over, I will welcome you back with open arms.” Of course, he had every expectation that it would not be so, but it was the thought that counted. Devotion among retainers could be as wayward as the wind, when they were too weak to think on their own and too focused on personal survival to believe that such things like fealty and honor mattered more than their lives. Ranmaru never wavered, he believed fully in his lord and Nobunaga had no reason to ever betray his trust. He kept quiet here and now about any concerns that the battle against Orochi could end badly for any of them, preferring to let Ran bask in the glow of his trust. It would make for a better night’s sleep for everyone.

  


Shortly after dawn, messengers from Oda appeared at the command tents of the other three faction leaders with word that their host would be ready to receive them, laying out the stipulations for the meeting so that it would be fair to all sides. If it was acceptable, the messengers were to remain there and escort the leaders straight to the pavilion prepared for this use. Sun Ce, Zhao Yun, and Cao Pi were already awake and making their own preparations, and accepted the terms with the ease of asking the messengers to stay. Oda, meanwhile, consulted with his cadre of strategists one last time while Mitsuhide saw to it that the tent was ready to receive guests. Everything else had to wait until this crucial first step was taken, both in ceremonial terms and in the practical. There were scouting reports coming in from overnight, yet even those had to wait to be shared with all four factions at once. The braziers were lit, the security precautions set to keep eavesdroppers out, and at last, the Resistance was ready to unite.

The main tent was large enough to house a fair-sized gathering, but for the sake of organization, each army was limited to three representatives: commander, strategist, and one retainer of their choice. Tatami had been laid out to create a solid floor and a square was marked with cushions, indicating where the conference would take place. Nobunaga stood at one side of that square, facing the entrance with his back to the canvas partitions separating this meeting place from the rest of the pavilion. At his left side stood Mitsuhide, like always, but on his right, he had chosen Takeda Shingen to serve as lead strategist as well as representative of the other Honshu warlords. Shingen was all too eager to finally sit with so many famous historical figures, though it didn’t show on what part of his face could be seen below the mask. An attendant at the door ducked in briefly to inform the commander that his guests had arrived, and then disappeared to allow them to pass through and take up their places.

Wu and Shu arrived together, befitting their ongoing alliance formed by deep friendship between the commanders, though it was merely a convenience of arriving at the same time. Zhao Yun and Sun Ce entered together and paused to bob their heads in acknowledgement of Oda’s hospitality before splitting and making their way to either side of the central square, and their retainers followed them a moment later. Oda was quite interested to see their choices; Sanada Yukimura as always, and then Zhuge Liang on the Shu side, Zhou Yu and Shima Sakon on the Wu side. They chose to arrange themselves facing one another across the square, coincidentally with Zhao Yun on the west and Sun Ce on the east. No sooner had they chosen their spots and looked around to see if anyone was sitting, yet, and Cao Pi arrived, pushing his way in with cool confidence, Ishida Mitsunari and Zhang Liao on either side of him. They likewise nodded a silent greeting to their host and simply strode forward to take the open side of the square left to them. Liao only glanced back slightly, not liking the way he had his back to the door, but they were in a safe camp and this was a meeting of allies, there was no threat to guard against. In all, six men of the Han and six from Wa gathered, shrewd minds and brave hearts among them. This was indeed the perfect collection for an army preparing to take down Orochi. Nobunaga began the proceedings by lowering into a slow, deep bow, and everyone around the square mirrored him, so that they greeted each other as equals. Only then did he hold out a hand to invite them all to sit. “Good morning,” he said smoothly as they all settled in. “Tell me, my friends, are introductions in order or does everyone already know who they face in this circle?”

Eyes shifted back and forth, and then Cao Pi cleared his throat. “Despite our passing familiarity with one another, I believe introductions would be proper.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Yet, Oda didn’t give his own name, that was one no one needed, as he gestured to the men with him. “My retainer, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Lord Takeda Shingen, head of the Takeda clan. As for you, Lord Sun Ce?”

Ce nodded once. “I have with me my sworn brother Zhou Yu, my head strategist, and Shima Sakon, who’s been a big help to our side. Also.” He glanced to where the attendant waited just inside the door of the pavilion, carrying something. The man bowed his way forward to deposit his parcel in front of the Wu prince and then kowtowed all the way back outside to take up position guarding the door. It was a tall earthenware jar, which Ce put his hand on. “I’ve brought a gift from the Sun family. I know it’s early in the day for a drink, but if we really want to be proper and observe all the customs, this should help.”

Nobunaga smiled keenly, his eyes gleaming. “My thanks to you and your father. It is a good thing I prepared some cups for all of us, then. Lord Cao Pi?”

Pi bobbed his head graciously. “My head strategist in all things is Ishida Mitsunari, and I have brought Zhang Liao, a man I trust with my life.”

At their host’s prompting, Zhao Yun added, “I have chosen Sanada Yukimura as my trusted companion, and for strategy, Lord Zhuge Liang. He has only just returned to duty after being nearly overcome by Da Ji’s sorcery.”

Though the others had been told of the prisoner’s escape, this was the first they were able to see Zhuge Liang for themselves and react appropriately. He lowered his eyes contritely in acknowledgement of their concerned faces. “I regret that we were unable to hold her indefinitely,” he said placidly, “but even in witnessing her escape and its effect, I have learned more about the nature of demonic sorcery and how it might affect us.”

“Are you well enough to manage, Lord Zhuge Liang?” Zhou Yu asked politely.

Kongming nodded again. “I am fine. I have recovered my stamina and I expect that by the time we signal the attack, I will also be capable of wielding a weapon.”

“I am glad the damage wasn’t permanent,” Nobunaga purred. “We will have great need of your mind, Lord Zhuge Liang.”

“I am but one among many,” Liang demurred. “Seated here with us are three men I know to be shrewd in their own right, and if I were to guess, I would expect that Lord Takeda and Master Shima would be their match as well.”

“There’s no need to be so free with compliments when we haven’t done more than match wits at a distance,” Takeda said modestly. “In fact, I feel as though this conference will go much faster if we dispense with the decorum and pleasantries and stick to the meat of the matter.”

“You have my complete agreement on that,” Cao Pi said wryly.

“Very well,” Oda said. “Then I would encourage each leader to begin with a concise description of your army’s numbers, your assets, and any considerations for the assembly.”

Again, he went around the circle, this time allowing Sun Ce to go first. Zhou Yu gave the number of infantry and cavalry, the count of their officers, and noted that Sun Jian was considered as much commander as Sun Ce, though in heart more than in function. Ce was leading in the field thanks to being the one who had united and established his kingdom in his father’s absence, he would not be held back nor protected for any reason. After him, Cao Pi rattled off his army’s numbers, his generals including those retained through alliance like Azai, and though he hedged on whether his father would want to take command in the field, he pointed out that Cao Cao was not there with them, therefore he had little say in how the army would be deployed in order to fulfill all tactics and promises made to the coalition. Zhuge Liang had the numbers of Shu’s army, which included the Xiliang cavalry and a large contingent of the Nanman under Meng Huo’s direct command, and Zhao Yun laid before them a preliminary request to make Liu Bei’s rescue one of their priorities before yielding the floor to Nobunaga. He shared his revised numbers now that officers had either returned to or left his service, and included the combined forces of the Takeda, Sanada, Uesugi, and Naoe cavalries. With Tokugawa still considering himself linked to Wu, it could be said that they as well as Shu and Oda were capable of providing ninjas, but whether trickery or all-out assault would be the primary focus had yet to be decided. After that, they all had a moment to relate what their own scouts might have reported that morning, but it was the same as the day before – no movement from Koshi Castle, no sign of Orochi’s forces fortifying the garrisons at Hinokawa or guarding the iron-clad boats, and no new encroachments from Orochi spies attempting to get a read on the numbers facing them. The three who had arrived first gave the fourth faction a quick update on what they had learned up until that point, about the terrain and the fires, which allowed Takeda a moment of speculation. “How long do you suppose he will just sit there and let us gather at his feet?”

“Indefinitely,” Ishida replied. “He has the advantage of a castle with multiple layers of defense and one simple fact at the core of our assault: he has everything we want and we have to go in there to get it. He has Liu Bei, and his own head.”

“And by now he’s more than aware that that’s what we want from him,” Cao Pi added.

“He will not attack us,” Zhuge Liang agreed. “If he wanted to, he would have done so already.”

“I understand from your report regarding He Fei that he still has Lu Bu, Maeda Keiji, and Date Masamune at his behest.” Zhou Yu glanced to the Wei representatives. “No one else was stripped from him, not since Lord Oda took Fuuma down at Bai Di.”

“Correct,” Pi answered. “We fell short in that regard, but the loss of Fuuma and before him, Sima Yi, are still helpful to us in the broader sense.”

“Don’t forget Dong Zhuo,” Zhao Yun put in. “Our scouts monitoring Mikatagahara reported him passing by well before the attack on He Fei.”

“It’s too much to hope he’s given up and wandered off, is it?” Sun Ce huffed a sigh. “He’s no Lu Bu, but he’s still a pain in the ass that we’ll have to deal with.”

“And now, Da Ji as well,” Oda grumbled. “She may have turned out less formidable than we first esteemed her, but she is still a decent strategist and has a tight rein on Orochi’s army when he allows for it.”

“Make no mistake,” Liang warned, “Da Ji is, despite her flaws, good at her job. I worked alongside her enough to know.”

“That’s right, you have extraordinary special knowledge of the inner workings of the Orochi army,” Takeda noted. “What about the castle itself? Are we going in blind, or do we have some inkling of what to expect?”

“Of those assembled here, I am not the only one who has been in or near Koshi Castle.” Kongming nodded first to the commander facing him across the square and then to the strategist near his right hand. “Lord Sun Ce battled at Hinokawa, and I believe Ishida Mitsunari has visited the castle as well.”

“Only once,” Mitsunari admitted. “You probably know more about its interior.”

“I never went inside,” Ce said.

Takeda smirked slyly. “It looks like you’re the one on the spot, then, Sleeping Dragon.”

Liang acknowledged his remark with an incline of his head, and then reached inside his robes. “Perhaps, then, it is a good thing I have this with me.”

He pulled out a scroll of wide parchment, which he laid in the center of their ring. Zhao Yun leaned over to unroll it for them all to see that it was a well-drawn plat of the castle grounds. Mitsuhide got up to fetch the cups which had been collected for them to share a toast and used them as weights to pin the corners of the map down and allow everyone to crane their necks and get a good look at it. “Yes, that’s how I remember it,” Mitsunari murmured.

“Allow me to explain what you see.” Zhuge Liang extracted his fan from his belt and used it as a pointer. “The area which I would consider part of the castle, even if not within its walls, extends several miles on the plain around it. There are large garrisons here, here, and here, which could be manned by countless Orochi troops at any given time. Also, smaller fortifications in these locations, which house very large cannons.”

“Ooh, cannons,” Takeda said in interest.

“How large?” Zhou Yu pressed, remembering Sekigahara all too well.

Liang’s eyes turned grim. “Larger than any I have seen while roving across this land. The ones at Mount Tenno would be mere firecrackers compared to them.”

Sakon grimaced to himself. “Damn.”

Even Oda looked gravely concerned about this. “Cannons that large would rip our forces to pieces.”

“Precisely. We must make them one of our priorities.” Liang swept his fan in a circle around the castle drawn in the center. “Furthermore, this island on which the castle keep itself sits is sunken below the level of those fortifications. There is an immense ring of lava which flows like a river around it, a moat of fire if you will, and access to the keep is controlled through three drawbridges. All Orochi needs to do to stymie us is to keep those bridges raised and pour out every last creature at his disposal to overwhelm us with numbers, while constantly shelling us with those cannons.”

“So, your basic insurmountable situation,” Zhou Yu said dryly.

Kongming met his eyes with a smirk of his own. “Essentially.”

“Yet, we must assault this castle and overcome his defenses if we want to achieve anything,” Cao Pi said seriously. “It is agreed, then, that our objective is twofold: we must free Lord Liu Bei and then destroy the serpent. Are there any objections?”

Everyone around the circle shook their heads. Zhao Yun looked to them with a flicker of hope in his eyes. “You have my assurance that I will not abandon the battle the moment my lord is safe. I am in this until the end, alongside all of you. Orochi must be brought down so that he can never raise an army or ride over us in conquest ever again.”

“Good, because we’re going to need to free him before we finish Orochi,” Mitsunari said, stretching with his own closed fan to tap the map. “He will make every effort to use your lord against us, and he’ll keep up every possible tactic until he has nothing left. I understood this after watching him at He Fei.” His eyes flicked to Cao Pi for the briefest moment before traveling around the circle. “He doesn’t commit himself bodily to any battle unless he has no choice, all other officers have been defeated and all tactics have been rendered useless. If we want to destroy him, we have to force him to enter the battle himself, and for him to feel threatened enough to do that, we have to take away his last bargaining chip first.”

“But gaining access to the castle won’t happen until we’ve swept aside every other defense and gotten close enough to force those drawbridges,” Sakon pointed out. “The rescue party will only be able to get in when the rest of us get in.”

“Most likely,” Nobunaga mused, his eyes fixated on the map. “It will be a race against time. What a thrill.”

“And before we can even get there, we have to go through cannons, lava, and Lu Bu,” Shingen said flippantly. “I knew it would be rough, but I had no idea just how bad it could be.”

“And Da Ji and all her foxy tactics,” Mitsunari huffed. “Don’t be surprised if she pulls out every trick in her predictable book – sorcery, ambush, special guests, all of it.”

The mention of sorcery had Zhao Yun glancing to the strategist at his side. “You must tell them of the barrier.”

Those on the other three sides, save for Ishida, turned keen, curious looks on the Shu trio. “Barrier?” Mitsuhide repeated.

Zhuge Liang breathed a sigh and explained as quickly as he dared, recounting the battle at Hinokawa and the finishing touch in which he had a hand, which Sun Ce admittedly never noticed because he was too busy beating down tough warriors on the decks of the metal-clad ships to realize that something else was happening on another corner of the battlefield. Without revealing the identities of the mystics who had come to personally deal with Orochi, Kongming told the others of the nature of the barrier and its purpose, and how he believed it was tied to Orochi’s own life force. “Thus, when it comes down, it could take the rest of this world with it. Or,” he offered, “it could free those mystical powers to come and rescue us. Either way, we cannot restrain our hands on account of an uncertain fate – Orochi must fall and the barrier must be lifted.”

Sakon heaved a huge sigh, dropping his elbows onto his knees. “Sorcery like that is the kind of thing I wouldn’t even know how to plan around. We’ve never used it, we don’t even know how it works.” He looked to Mitsunari. “Do you have any experience with it?”

“Some,” Mitsunari replied casually. “I also learned a bit myself while I was with the Orochi army, but not nearly as much as Lord Zhuge Liang. Most of it is simple – a sorcerer needs to be available to conjure, and they’re usually close to their targets. Sorcery weakens the further away you are from the source. Take down the sorcerer, and the effect vanishes.”

“Yet, Orochi himself contains a kind of power that is far beyond the tricks Da Ji likes to employ.” Kongming went serious again, drawing his fan close to his chest as if to guard himself. “I also have some concerns that he may be even more powerful inside Koshi Castle than he has been at any point to date.”

This time even Zhao Yun beside him recoiled with the others. “What makes you think that?”

“The way in which I was weakened, while Da Ji regained her abilities the closer we approached.” Liang shook his head ruefully. “That, and the fact he chose this very ground as the epicenter of his spell to create the barrier. It is only a theory, I have no proof and no definite reason why he should be more powerful, but these traces of evidence strongly point to it. Perhaps he has some source for his power hidden deep within the castle. Perhaps it simply amplifies his demon aura. Perhaps it, too, is tied to him in the way the world he created is. I mention it now only because I wish everyone to understand the true depths of our disadvantage.”

Oda peered keenly at him. “It would make sense, too, that when he was far from his castle, his power was not at its maximum and that was why each of our armies was able to at least annoy him into retreating. It’s possible he stepped out of our battles because he knew something we didn’t, about how vulnerable he was.”

“Did anyone present actually trade blows with him, recently?” Zhao Yun wondered.

“Mitsuhide and I,” Nobunaga answered.

“One or two hits,” Zhou Yu added. No one else was able to make that claim, even Mitsunari simply shook his head, for all he did was watch.

“Along with those who have at least seen him in battle, what do you think our actual chances would be?” Yun glanced from them to his strategist. “Regardless of whether he is actually stronger here.”

Conscious of the eyes of the other commanders on him, Oda pursed his lips for a moment before composing his answer. “It all depends on how many of us survive to enter the castle. Should each of us here make it, along with another good dozen as backup, I would be more optimistic. This many or less, I should say to prepare to make this blighted ground your graves.”

Shingen grunted quietly. “It isn’t like you to see so little hope, Demon King.”

“Nevertheless, I owe this assembly a dose of realism.” Oda glanced at him, and then around the circle. “But there are no fools here, no mindless optimists. I believe all of us are thinking the same thing, and have been for some time.”

“No one wishes to die,” Yukimura murmured, “but we all know the size of the task before us.”

“Yet our sacrifices should not be in vain,” Zhao Yun said to back him up. “If any of us must give our lives in battle, it should be to allow the others to succeed. To that end, I propose we work on getting as many of our men inside that castle as possible.”

With the map laid out in the center and Mitsuhide acting as a scribe, jotting down everything said and agreed upon, they spent an extremely long time working on the meat and bones of their strategy. Every potential obstacle Zhuge Liang brought up from his understanding of both the terrain and their enemy needed a counter-tactic, and they had to agree on where to place each segment of their army. They thought not in terms of their four separate factions but each officer-led contingent available, both cavalry and infantry, all of whom could be placed at the best location from which to strike and use their personal advantages to the best effect. No one could say where the most powerful of Orochi’s remaining elite officers would be stationed, so they had to hedge for now and wait for scouting reports to tell them where to anticipate the greatest resistance. By the time they looked at one another and couldn’t think of any other what-ifs or potential snags to work through, it was well past noon and everyone looked rather worn out from all the talking and thinking. Cao Pi leaned over the map to study it one last time, his eyes dark with deep thought. “This assault is going to take more time to prepare. We must ensure that the pathways to our staging points are clear of debris and wide enough for cavalry to pass, and that all of our troops are rested and provisioned for a potentially long battle.”

“Not to mention preparations for reserves, vanguard and rearguard, and everything else,” Shingen said, tapping his war fan on his knee. “Then moving those kind of numbers into place.”

“But if we wait too long, our troops are likely to start to lose morale,” Sun Ce sighed. “They’re already getting restless and a little weighed-down by the darkness.”

Nobunaga frowned slightly. “Without rushing into preparations, what do we think? How swiftly can we prepare without delaying?”

Cao Pi met his gaze. “Wei can be ready in two days at the most.”

“That’s about what I’d say for us, too,” Sun Ce put in.

“Yes, likewise for Shu,” Zhao Yun said, “even with our stragglers just joining us.”

Oda nodded. “Then I will see to it my ground troops are ready by then. What say you of the cavalry, Tiger of Kai?”

“As long as I can leave the heavy lifting to my Nemesis and his diligent retainers, it should be enough,” Shingen replied.

“Then, on the third morning from right now,” Cao Pi proposed, “we will array on the plain above Koshi Castle and begin our offensive. However long it takes, at least we have it in us to control the onset.”

Zhou Yu looked to where Mitsuhide had the bulk of everything they said written down, to be copied along with the map and distributed to all the commanders. “And if we take this plan to our officers, there is always the chance one of them may have additional ideas. What do you say to a meeting among tacticians the night before the battle?”

“That would be wise,” Zhuge Liang agreed. “At that time, we may also revisit anything new the scouts uncover.”

“Very well. Mitsuhide, when we finish, call in Sima Shi and the others and have their assistance copying this information for everyone,” Nobunaga ordered. A moment’s pause was enough to signal that they were more or less finished, so he stretched out a hand and took the jar of wine which had been sitting untouched in front of Sun Ce the whole time. “Then, I believe that this unprecedented meeting of minds and hearts from across time should be commemorated with a touch of ceremony. We have all come through the fire, both literally and figuratively,” he said solemnly, “and find ourselves united at the end of a very long road. If we survive, we will be telling one another our stories for years to come, of the time we rose up as one against the demon Orochi and threw down the very gates of Hell itself to gain our freedom.”

Those nearest the cups holding down the map at its corners reached to grab them and arrange them so that each man on each side had one waiting for him. Oda Nobunaga uncapped the jar and set it in front of his cup, allowing Shingen beside him to pick it up and pour it for him. With that little propriety observed, Nobunaga was free to take the jar and serve his retainers, and then passed it to Yukimura, who did something of the same to enable Zhao Yun to serve his men, and then Cao Pi and Sun Ce each in turn. When they all had a cup, each picked it up and then glanced around to see if anyone else had a vow to make; all except for Zhao Yun, for he already knew what he wanted to say. “We come together today, putting aside our differences of kingdom and loyalty and looking past old animosities between individuals,” he said boldly, “knowing that our one true enemy is Orochi, and all those who serve him will now fall beside him. All those who oppose him sit together as one, prepared to give our lives to ensure that he is destroyed.”

Cao Pi raised his cup a little higher to indicate that he was ready to speak. “I, Cao Pi Zihuan, seen as commander of Wei and present Lord, pledge my swords and my life to my companions in this venture. As you go, so will I go, and as I go, so will all those who consider themselves my followers.”

Sun Ce followed suit, face set sternly. “Sun Ce, son of Sun Jian, both Lords of Wu, will give of his heart and mind and body to uphold this pledge. I will not rest until Orochi is defeated, and I will support my fellow commanders and their armies down to the last man. All of Wu is united behind me, and those with the friendship of Wu.”

Nobunaga breathed a soft sigh at the immensity of it all. “And I, Oda Nobunaga, take unto myself the burden of speaking for all those from our country who have not had another lord to call their own. My life is your life, friends of the battlefield, and your lives are mine. All those who ride behind me will put forth every effort for this union and not for themselves, for so we will all succeed whether we live or die.”

At last, Zhao Yun nodded firmly. “So shall it be with Zhao Zilong of Shu, given the trust of the people of Shu, Nanzhong, Xiliang, and the Sanada and Hojo. My spear shall seek no glory but that of everyone united together, the glory of a victory over Orochi. I will give of my life and my strength to uphold every one of you and believe in your strength to win us the day.”

Zhang Liao raised his cup high. “To the death of Orochi!”

It was the perfect end to their vow of alliance, they all lofted their cups to match and then drained them in one gulp. Each in turn set his empty cup before him to serve as witness to their vow to one another. “I do believe that means we’re in this until the bitter end,” Sakon said wryly. “I couldn’t think of a better group of guys I’d want to pledge to.”

Sun Ce reached to grab the jar of wine near him. “Then let’s send this around again, and make up for our throats being so dry after all that talking. I don’t know about you, but all this doom and gloom just makes me want to drink more.”

“My thoughts exactly, Little Conqueror!” Takeda said with a booming laugh.

Mitsuhide passed on another cup so he could get up and go to summon the other tacticians as ordered, so as to get them started on the copying right away, while the assembly sat back and concluded in a less formal fashion. “It seems incredible that the likes of us should be here, with one another,” Zhao Yun murmured as he waited for the wine to reach him. “I never would have believed that I could be considered an equal with Lord Sun Ce and Lord Cao Pi, or that our kingdoms should actually be eager to work together. This is a monumental moment for me.”

“I am simply happy to be sitting in the presence of so many famed names of history,” Shingen chuckled. “Never in my wildest dreams! Lord Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, and the Lord of Wei himself. What a singular joy.”

“We may not have the benefit of history to know the names we sit with,” Zhang Liao said, “but as for me I can say that I have not yet met one who is not just as honorable, powerful, and forthright as ourselves. We do all seem to be cut from a similar cloth, my friends.”

“I suppose it is nice to sit together for the first time as friends, rather than enemies,” Nobunaga said with a wry twitch of his eyebrow. “I have crossed blades no less than twice with Lord Cao Pi, and here we are.”

Pi smirked over his cup as he raised it to his lips. “You were never fooled, were you, Demon King? That is what they call you, I hear.”

“Were you attempting to fool me?” Oda teased back as Yukimura poured him a drink. “Or were the rest of us simply collateral damage in your attempts to fool Orochi?”

“I’m sure you know as well as anyone here that in order for a ruse of that magnitude to succeed, no one can be let in on the secret,” Zihuan said coolly. “Yet, I’m sure that you weren’t the only one to hold doubts. Am I right, Lord Kongming?”

Zhuge Liang smirked to himself. “It isn’t whether you would turn, it was all about the timing. When, and how.” He cocked his head slightly. “Of course, Sima Yi thought the same, but he had a harder time guessing at when it was coming until it was too late.”

Pi laughed softly under his breath. “He probably only doubted me on principle.”

“I do have one more serious question before we adjourn,” Zhou Yu broke in. “Those of us here may have spoken a vow of friendship, but is there anyone among our various camps who might cause any trouble if we were to ask them to work together or ally on the field?”

Nobunaga sniffed in pretense of offense, while Mitsuhide returned and took his place beside him. “I don’t know about you, but I plan to be on my best behavior.”

“Rivals have already been working well enough together,” Zhao Yun suggested hopefully. “Even Guan Yu and Xiahou Dun.”

Cao Pi sighed openly. “If you’re trying to needle at me about my father, well, I cannot say one way or the other. He is who he is, and those who are familiar with him can probably predict how he will take anything. The only thing you have to worry about, though, is if he brushes up against Yuan Shao. If anyone here is unwilling to let bygones be bygones, that would be it.”

“I expect Lord Ma Chao likewise will not find it easy to assist Lord Cao Cao,” Zhao Yun fretted. “Especially with his father alive and well in this place, it is as if the wound has been reopened.”

“Can it be?” Takeda turned to Oda, feigning shock. “Those of us who flooded the fields of Honshu with blood are the least likely to make trouble for one another? This must be some kind of miracle.”

“I think when you and Kenshin started buddying up to one another instead of trying to kill each other, the rest fell into line,” Sakon said with a gruff laugh. “Although, that reminds me. Of any warlords who might not get along, the only one I could think of would be Lord Imagawa. But the last I heard of him was from Tokugawa, he said he hasn’t seen him in months.”

Oda looked sharply at him. “Oh, is he here in this world? I had no idea.”

“I don’t think anyone did.” Sakon’s lips twisted wryly. “I wouldn’t have guessed until Tokugawa mentioned he’d helped him out at a castle the Orochi army sacked, once. He disappeared into the wilderness with all his attendants, and that’s the last we know of him.”

“Imagawa will not show up to a place like this,” Shingen growled. “He would have had to have contact with someone to even know of it, but that aside, even had we known his whereabouts and sent a summons, he would not have responded. He is not concerned about the greater good, nor about setting aside things like titles and luxuries in order to traipse out to a hell-blasted land full of demons to fight a nearly impossible battle against them. Never mind suffering the indignity of placing himself under someone else’s command for just such a fight.”

Nobunaga scowled to himself in complete agreement with Takeda’s assessment. “That sounds about right. I take back what I said about even a single man making a difference in this battle – he is one man we can actually do without.”

“A fair number of the old daimyo who sniveled at his feet are on Orochi’s side anyway,” Mitsunari muttered. “I saw them at He Fei Castle.”

“Then we will go through them, just as we must go through Maeda Keiji and Date Masamune,” Yukimura said determinedly, finishing off a second cup of wine and thunking his cup down in front of him.

“And Lu Bu,” Zhang Liao reminded. “If I am able to meet him on this battlefield, it is my wish to beat some sense into him. I don’t want to kill him, but if it comes to that, I will not hesitate. Make no mistake…” He glanced to Cao Pi in particular, and then past him to Sun Ce on the far side of the square. “This is no time for mercy or pulling back a strike. If they continue to stand between us and Orochi, they must be taken out of the way by any means necessary.”

“Agreed.” Nobunaga tossed back the rest of his drink and set his cup down more gently. “When the battle is over, if any of us have anything left, we can sort out our differences then. Orochi first. The rest, well…we shall simply have to see.”

Sakon raised his third cup to the assembly. “I look forward to dying with all of you.”

  


The conference between the leaders of the Resistance finally broke up in the early afternoon, at which point each retired to their own command tents in different corners of the camp with the details of the plan and a map of Koshi to share with their officers and additional strategists. Those with a vested interest in the strategy were eager to see it right away, but the rest decided to gather and learn the important bits at their convenience. The commanders were still capable of giving their officers orders to begin the preparations even if they didn’t know every last detail yet, and for the rest of the day the entirety of the encampment was stirred up into a hive of activity. There was still plenty of time before the battle itself began for those from different kingdoms and time periods to visit one another and finish catching up, or to say their fondest farewells in case they didn’t come out of this venture alive, either way. While the others were all on their way back to their sections, Oda held Sakon back for a bit, since he was already there. “Do you need something, Demon King?” Sakon said flippantly, waving to send Sun Ce and Zhou Yu back to consult with the rest of Wu without him.

“Nothing important,” Nobunaga assured, sidling up to him outside the pavilion. “I was merely interested to see how content you’re looking these days.”

“Content, huh?” Sakon gave him a narrow-eyed smile. “Yeah, I guess I am. Are you surprised?”

Oda breathed a soft laugh. “I suppose not. Disappointed, maybe, that I couldn’t provide you what you were looking for, but no matter. So long as your mind is being put to good use for the Resistance, it doesn’t much matter which lord you’re offering it to.”

Sakon turned slightly toward him, his expression still placid and amused. “If you’re trying to get me to, I don’t know, get all mushy about the Sun boys, or compare them to you, you can stop hinting. I’m not gonna say anything one way or the other.”

Oda shrugged off his attempt at fishing for information. “Very well. A question, though – do you know where I might find Hojo Ujiyasu?”

“The Hojo are camped with Shu,” Sakon replied, “but Lord Ujiyasu has been in and out of our tents the past few days, on account of his friendship with Lord Sun Jian.”

“Hm.” Nobunaga looked across to the green banners bearing the Shu Han emblem. “I could go looking for him, but that might take a while and I do have so many little fiddly duties to attend to in order to prepare for battle.”

Sakon sighed. Here they were again, a favor about to be laid before him. “What do you want me to do?”

Oda smirked. “You make such a fine messenger, Sakon. I don’t suppose you would mind passing Lord Hojo a message for me?”

“What message,” Sakon groaned flatly.

“If you see him,” Oda said cautiously, “could you let him know that I have something which belongs to him? Not here, mind you. It is currently being imprisoned in Bai Di Castle. If he wishes to have it back, it will have to wait until after we finish this mess, but I am available if he would like to stop by and discuss it.”

Though he knew of the capture of Fuuma, Sakon couldn’t help but perk up in interest at this particular message. “Is that what you’re doing with him? I see. Who got left behind to look after that piece of flotsam?

“No officers,” Nobunaga assured. “The contingent is small, I hope it will be enough, but that really is their only duty there. He was injured severely, so he isn’t moving around much at the moment.”

Sakon shook his head slowly. “That’s the best we can do, then. At least he’s not here making chaos on Orochi’s behalf, so good work there.”

“And you’re certain Sima Yi has no way of returning to him either?”

“I have Zhou Yu’s assurance, that’s good enough. He disappeared at Chi’bi, so if he’s not dead, his men are keeping him out of our hair.”

“Good.” Nobunaga looked away across the camp to the ridges beyond and the castle silhouetted against the cloud-wracked sky. “The obstacles remaining to us will be difficult enough without adding to it.”

Sakon peered at him. “You’re really not that optimistic about our chances, are you?”

With everyone else scattered to their own errands elsewhere, Nobunaga felt free to let his expression cloud for a moment. He turned away from the view, letting Shima alone witness this change. “I can assume no better than an equal chance of victory or defeat. I don’t believe we will be routed, no – we are stronger than we look. Lu Bu and Maeda will be no trouble. I expect we will make it to the castle. After that, well, any Taoist reading the stars can probably make the same guesses as I could.”

Sakon closed his eyes briefly, raising a hand to rub his chin. “Sentiment is the same around Wu. Sun Ce hasn’t really let things trickle down through the ranks, but I know his whole family is dead set on throwing themselves completely into this with every expectation that they won’t come out of it. Most of the time, men like us…” He lifted his head, blinking up at the sky. “…we know we could die at any time when we raise our swords, but we’re confident enough not to expect it. For the first time, it feels more expected.”

“Among all of us,” Nobunaga agreed. “I could see it in Cao Pi’s eyes as well, and hear it in Zhao Yun’s voice.” He took a step closer to his comrade and breathed deeply. “It is intoxicating, is it not, Sakon? The sense that we all really could die, and yet all of us are prepared for it, almost racing toward it. I don’t think we shall ever again see the kind of unity of purpose and sacrifice that you saw pledged before you today.”

“It _was_ pretty impressive,” Sakon admitted. “The sight of all our armies, all these officers from different time periods all riding together…I’m sure there’ll never be anything like it again.”

Oda rested a hand on his shoulder. “And here we have the true face of human nature. We _are_ capable of putting aside our differences and working together, but only if the threat is big enough. In Orochi’s absence, we will have nothing but each other to turn on, and mark me – we will.”

“You _had_ to go and ruin it,” Sakon snarked at him.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t even thought of that.”

“Oh, I have. I know exactly how it’ll go if we aren’t returned to our rightful times and places at the end of this.” Sakon gave him another narrow smile. “Maybe it’s better if we think about all those lives being potentially given in battle here instead.”

Nobunaga’s smirk returned in force. “Why, Sakon, I would never have expected to hear something so pessimistic from you. How dark and twisted.”

“I learned from the best.” Sakon gave him a pointed look. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, the Sun family is a much brighter and happier group to be around, especially right now. I’ve got a lot to do and now _some_ one’s dumped another message on me to deliver, so…”

“Don’t complain to me about how much work you have on your plate,” Oda said with an arched eyebrow. “You will get absolutely no sympathy here.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sakon rapped him on the arm with his knuckles, and then hesitated for a moment before turning away to head back towards the Wu section of the Resistance camp. Nobunaga stood there long after he had gone, silently turning everything over in his mind. He positioned himself among the others as being in complete control of himself, his army, his retainers, and his future, but some part of Oda Nobunaga longed for those fleeting moments of humanity more than anything. He could drop his guard with Sakon, and usually Hanbei, but few others would ever see him so open, honest, and possessing actual feelings. His dark eyes clouded as they turned inward, no longer focusing on the soldiers and officers passing to and fro in the camp in front of him. He did have more than just bits and pieces of ideas for how to proceed if he survived the battle, and the world didn’t end, but that small part of him that wished it could just cast off all the responsibilities asked the rest of him if it was all worth it. The scheming, the planning, the carefully-laid long-term strategems, would it get him any closer to finding peace, or should he grab his wife, pull her onto his horse behind him, and ride off to live out his days in pleasure in the gardens of Honnoji? It was tempting, but right now the deeply-held desire to personally put an end to Orochi overrode his fatigue and frustration to give him just enough of a reason to soldier on. More than anything, he longed for the sight of his Demon Slayer doing its namesake job, plunged hilt-deep into whatever passed for Orochi’s flesh. As that thought flashed across his mind, Nobunaga snapped himself alert with a shake of his head and looked around. Everyone else had gone, and the camp at large was busy with soldiers going about their routine. Thankful for the moment to himself, Nobunaga turned on his heel and went back through the pavilion to his command tent at the rear. Just like Sakon, he had a lot of work to do and there was no time to waste on useless daydreams.


	84. Chapter 84

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some last-minute hellos and goodbyes while time ticks down to the battle, and then it's time: The Battle of Koshi Castle begins.

Even as the leaders of each faction and their primary officers set things in motion, other preparations were being made to solidify the camp and provide special security in the event of an Orochi counter-attack. The night before, Oda’s coalition had only gotten their own tents up so that their troops could rest, but they also wanted to erect a palisade of jinmaku strung up between poles to mark a boundary around their officers’ quarters and the meeting pavilion, as per their own customs. It required lots of extra manpower to erect those poles and then tie up the canvas panels, so the idle hands in Shu, Wei, and Wu were offered to the coalition of Hi-no-Moto to assist with that labor and other menial tasks which they might have still needed to accomplish. It was less than a day’s work to complete the structure, which was mentioned to the other commanders as a place where they would be welcome anytime, if they had need for a quiet place to sit and think or gather with fellow officers. The symbols of the Oda, Takeda, Uesugi, Tokugawa, and Toyotomi stood out on some of the jinmaku, suggesting who might be residing behind them, but others were blank, and yet others were offered to the Sanada, the Hojo, and other prominent clans among their ranks who might like to paint a symbol for solidarity. Since none of them had the luxury of being able to bring gifts from their homes to swap as a gesture of alliance, they had to settle for promises that once this was all over and if they all survived, their allies would be welcome if they ever wanted to visit their castles and cities. The universal meeting place inside the jinmaku ward was the first gesture toward that end.

Many of the officers were rather busy with their preparations, but a handful had little else to do besides hang around, available to assist if needed but unlikely to be called upon. Among them, Saika Magoichi had already more than prepared the rest of his Renegades for the battle, so he made himself useful as a messenger, though with the meeting only recently over there wasn’t much to communicate at the moment. He had one note for Cao Pi, primarily an agreement to provide something the Wei lord had requested, and sauntered into the Wei camp with head held high, whistling as he went. He was only a few paces away from the command tent when Lady Zhenji and Cai Wenji walked by, talking quietly between themselves, and Magoichi stopped mid-step to let his head follow their movements, his whistle trailing off. “Whoa…”

“Careful,” a glib voice nearby said. “They truly are a man’s downfall, aren’t they?”

Magoichi caught himself and straightened up to see a handsome blond man sashaying his way, capelet over his shoulder fluttering in his wake. Saika grinned at him. “If I’d known Wei was hiding such beauties, I might have switched sides ages ago!”

“Oh no, my friend,” Guo Jia laughed. “Right now, Wei is a field of flowers for looking at only – pluck one and it will be your death.”

Magoichi raised an eyebrow at him. “Married?”

“Yes, that, but the ladies themselves would kill you before their husbands even found out.” Fengxiao rested a fist over his heart and bowed quickly. “Guo Jia, in service to the lords of Wei. What can I do for you…?”

“Saika Magoichi. Actually, I’ve got a message for your lord,” he replied, “but seriously, tell me about these fine ladies. I’ve been enjoying the company of Lady Yueying and Xingcai so long that I’ve almost forgotten what it was like to be rejected by anyone else.”

Jia chuckled warmly. “Well, if you _really_ want to risk your neck, feel free to say hello to Lady Zhenji. You will be frozen in ice in an instant and when you thaw, you’ll have Lord Cao Pi himself to deal with.” He sidled up alongside Magoichi and directed his attention to the lady in question, who was at the moment receiving a bow from her companion as they separated near the command tent. “If you have a death wish, that would be the most glorious way to go about it. Lady Wenji, on the other hand…I believe she may actually be unattached at the moment.” His voice turned considerably wry. “Which is why they’ve made sure I’ve never been stationed to the same castle as she was, I believe.”

Magoichi looked at him and broke into a wide grin. “You poor fellow.”

“I might say the same to you, Master Saika,” Jia smirked, “cursed to spend your days alongside Lady Yueying. Clearly the Sleeping Dragon sees something in her, but I couldn’t tell you what.”

“Hey, she’s a very dignified and intelligent woman,” Magoichi retorted, wagging a finger. “Which of course means that even if she wasn’t married she would never give a rogue like me the time of day.”

Fengxiao conceded that with a tip of his head. “It is our lot in life, isn’t it? We can’t help but look, even if it scorches our eyes like staring too long into the sun.”

Magoichi nodded slowly. “I think you and I could get to be good friends, Guo Jia. Really good friends.”

Jia winked at him. “Finish delivering your message to Lord Cao Pi and I might just be able to introduce you to the Lady Wenji before you head back. She’s too smart to fall for our charms, but sometimes it’s better to just bask in the beauty of our fair companions even if it gets us nowhere.”

“Gotta be polite, right?” Magoichi tapped the breast of his coat to suggest that the message was tucked inside. “Let me drop this off with your lord and I’ll be right with you.”

One section over, Mitsuhide had finally freed himself of most of his duties, now that the information had been delivered to the other lords and Toyotomi had taken over the hands-on coordination of their forces with Kuroda Kanbei’s assistance. He still swept back and forth through the fourth segment of the camp, picking up after everyone else, when he heard the twang of a shamisen floating on the air. He came to a halt where he was and turned around, and to his astonishment, he had stormed right past a pile of supply crates without even realizing that someone was sitting on them. He recognized that lazy posture, one foot propped up to cradle the shamisen, and felt a ripple of delight thrill up his spine. “It can’t be…”

Chosokabe drew the bachi delicately across the strings of his instrument, gliding up a scale of notes. “You didn’t expect to see me, I take it.”

“Frankly, no.” Mitsuhide’s shoulders relaxed as a smile warmed his lips. “But I am glad all the same, Motochika.”

Motochika deftly swung his feet around, stowed the shamisen over his back, and sprang down from his perch in order to cross to his old friend with hands free to clasp. “I always was glad to receive your letters, Mitsuhide. Even if you were so businesslike, I could feel your heart in those words.”

Akechi took his hands in both of his. “What changed your mind? Surely nothing I said.”

“You were kind not to pressure me,” Motochika said solemnly, clinging to him. “But as time went on I began to see what you meant, about how no one could escape Orochi’s influence. So, I brought my boys to Chi’bi to see what could be done about ships and battles, and it turned out Wu had already taken care of it. I took one look at Lord Sun Jian and decided that we couldn’t sit this out anymore.”

“Is he that impressive?” Mitsuhide smiled slyly. “No matter. I prefer to see you here, no matter how it came to be. I have longed to hear you play again, ever since I knew you were here in this world.”

The Sea Devil shared that impish grin with him. “Can you be spared from your master’s side for the length of a song, at least?”

Mitsuhide’s pleasant look faded at the reminder of his obligations to Nobunaga. “I am not his lap dog, whatever some may say. My time is my own and yes, I can be spared. Not just for a song, either.”

Motochika remained impassive for a moment, and then smiled more genuinely. “Good. Because you really ought to see what my sons have grown into.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “They’re almost as old as I am!”

“Are you kidding? No, of course not,” Mitsuhide corrected himself, thinking of Nobutada currently attending his father somewhere nearby. “It isn’t as though this is exactly a rare phenomenon, but it’s still so strange. You are staying…where? With Wu?”

“At the moment.” Motochika idly tossed his wild hair. “I am still not tied down to any one lord. The Sea Devil moves with the tides. But the Wu lords have given us tents and supplies, so that’s where we are.”

“I will walk with you, then.” Mitsuhide edged up alongside him, gently brushing a hand down his arm. “I have wanted to see all these powerhouses of Wu for myself, it will be a good opportunity.”

“Are you sure Lord Oda will be fine without you for an hour or two?” Motochika teased, waving a hand to reassure that he didn’t mean it. “Excellent, let’s go. My fingers itch to play.”

In many cases on all sides, it was so simple to visit and see one another again. There was nothing to stand between old friends and loved ones but the distance it took to walk across the camp to them. Greetings and welcomes were traded, hands were clasped, kowtows offered, and visits enjoyed, whether brief or lengthy. Many hurts had been soothed and reconciliations made already, for those who needed more than just a hello to settle everything, but a few still remained yet unattempted, for lack of time if nothing else. Preparing for a battle of the scale of this one took a lot of time and thought, and many couldn’t just slip away to go have a drink with old pals on the other side of the camp. Sometimes, a brief stop and a few choice words were all they could spare.

After a vigorous sparring session with Xu Huang, Kato Kiyomasa returned to the Toyotomi conclave inside the Oda section of camp, pike over his shoulder and his brow damp with sweat. It felt better to work away his impatience rather than let it simmer, knowing they still had two days until battle commenced. The darkness of true night had just fallen, the only reason he and Gongming had called off their match – it was getting so they couldn’t see one another, and there were to be no risks taken with lives at such a time. As such, he didn’t notice that his lord had any visitors until both Hideyoshi and one other stepped out of the tent. Torchlight glinted on the bronze circled nestled in auburn hair, and Kato faltered in his approach once he realized Mitsunari had been welcomed there, faintly smiling as Lord Hideyoshi clapped him on the shoulder and laughed with him. Both turned to realize someone was there, and Toyotomi crowed out. “Oh, Kato! There you are, I was wondering when you’d get done flexing your muscles around those Wei fellows.”

Mitsunari regarded his comrade for a moment and then nodded slowly. “Still hanging around those guys?”

“Well. So are you,” Kiyomasa pointed out.

Before Mitsunari could concede the point, Hideyoshi moved between them and gave them both a hearty pat on the back. “I’ve got a few more things to take care of, so you boys stay and chat if you want.”

Ishida nearly made an excuse to get back to Cao Pi, but Kiyomasa hooked his arm. “Yes, Mitsunari. It’s been a while.” He waited until Toyotomi went back inside before turning fully to his old comrade. “Far too long, considering we’ve been under the same commander all that time,” he added in a low grumble.

Mitsunari closed his eyes for a moment, exasperated at having to deal with this all over again. “What are you complaining about? You’ve been at Odawara with Lady Nene, everything’s been going fine. What is your problem now?”

“You’re not coming back to us, are you?” Kato stared him down fiercely. “I don’t mean now, in this battle. Once it’s over, you’re abandoning the Toyotomi, aren’t you?”

Mitsunari held his gaze, shoulders lifting as he drew himself up. “Not that it’s any business of yours, but no one can say what they’re going to do once the battle is over. Not even me. I just came by to pay my respects to Lord Hideyoshi, this was my first chance since we’ve been camped here and even now I don’t have a lot of time to waste making nice with everyone.”

Kiyomasa’s brow knit in frustration. “What has happened to your loyalty, Mitsunari?”

“Don’t speak of loyalty so cheaply, like it’s something you can never alter,” Ishida said sharply. “Loyalty isn’t a stone you bludgeon your men with, you idiot. Lord Hideyoshi has set me free to find my own path, why isn’t that enough for you?”

“After all we’ve been through…”

“Forget about the past!” Mitsunari interrupted in annoyance. “This isn’t Osaka! We’re not here to repeat our old battles from times past in the hopes it might bright about a different end, this is a new war and a new enemy. All that matters is fighting against Orochi, that’s all that _ever_ mattered even when you thought I was his servant. Stop thinking about this world in terms of our own and see it for what it is. If all you’re going to do is get pissed at me for doing everything in my power to raise this Resistance to its height, then maybe I _should_ stay where I’m appreciated!”

Kiyomasa’s face twisted in confusion – this wasn’t his intention by this conversation at all. “You _are_ appreciated by Lord Hideyoshi, can’t you see that?”

“Of course I do, he just said so himself before you got here,” Mitsunari snapped. “You think I’m not grateful, is that it?”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it,” Kato grumped.

“Unlike you, Lord Hideyoshi understands completely.” Mitsunari drew away from the tent a step or two, aware that the lord they were arguing over could probably hear every word. “Lord Cao Pi has done every bit as much for me as he has. It’s because of Lord Cao Pi that you’re even alive – that Lady Nene is alive, that you were able to rescue her, that all of you were free to command Odawara and take Osaka. Remember that, even if he’s not keeping a tally of how much you owe him and happily gave you permission to return to your lord.”

Kiyomasa went quiet and looked away. After a moment, he muttered, “It seems we are destined to never agree.”

“What do you _want_ , Kato?” Mitsunari demanded. “If you want me to come back so that everything can be just like it was before we got brought here, then put that childish notion away right now. It’s not going to be like that, even if we do manage to all survive the battle. If you care at all about Ishida Mitsunari, then let him be himself.” His brown eyes smoldered with an inner fire. “Accept what is, if you want to keep our friendship from crumbling.”

Kiyomasa’s eyes hunted along the ground for a moment, and then lifted cautiously. “I will settle for going into battle with no regrets between us. I cannot die with that on my conscience.”

“I don’t hate you,” Mitsunari said firmly before he could even ask. “This has never been personal. What I’ve done, I’ve done for the Resistance, to bring about the end of Orochi. I won’t apologize for it, even if you might have felt slighted somewhere along the way.”

“That is your way,” Kato admitted, curling his arms around the pike still resting on his shoulder. “Always thinking ahead, never behind. I never could fully understand you.”

Ishida realized how much he took Sanada and Naoe for granted, for even if those two idiots were full of honor and righteous fire, they understood him better than this particular idiot. His shoulders heaved with a sigh. “I wish you well in the battle. I know you’ll mow through Orochi’s ranks like a scythe through wheat. If we come out of it on the other side and the world doesn’t end, maybe we can do more than bury regrets.”

“I would like that.” Kiyomasa took a step back from him, giving him space to lower his shoulders in the slightest bow. “Maybe I have been unfair, wanting things the way they were…or the way I wanted them to always be, in an ideal world. We are all alive together, why can’t it be that way?”

“Because this isn’t Heaven. It’s Hell,” Mitsunari reminded him. “We don’t get happy endings here.”

“You certainly won’t, if you die thinking that,” Kato snorted.

“I’m destined for worse.” Mitsunari tossed his head slightly and turned away. “I mean it, Kato. None of it was personal. I didn’t send you away for my sake, or anything, and I’m not refusing to come back because I want to be some kind of hero. I’ve simply found my place. If you can’t be happy for me, at least let me enjoy it without any of your expectations on my shoulders.”

“So be it.” Kiyomasa’s voice was low and ragged, but sincere. “Serve him with as much diligence and faith as you have ever served the Toyotomi. Else, I _will_ come over there and beat some sense into you.”

Mitsunari smirked to himself. “I would expect nothing else.”

  


The intervening two days the Resistance gave itself for preparing the assault seemed to fly by too fast. Small groups of engineers were sent out with an armed guard to widen the paths past Hinokawa so that whole cadres of troops and cavalry could pass without difficulty, and secure the routes of ingress that the tacticians had scouted out without attracting any attention from the great castle looming just beyond the plains. It was laborious work, but they accomplished it quickly and so far none of the protective details with them had to wage battle to protect their assets. With their own personal preparations already more than accomplished, a number of officers took to visiting the other sections of the camp just to offer themselves to assist in any busy work, be it sparring and drilling, checking cavalry tack for wear and tear, or hauling extra supplies here and there. Others stole time for themselves in between their actual duties, pulling aside anyone they might have wanted to genuinely say a farewell to if they had to and sharing a few kind words, thanking one another for services rendered or favors repaid, or simply for being a good friend at some time or another. Anyone moving from one section of the camp to another might see such sights as Ling Tong and Gan Ning roughhousing as if they had never been apart, Ma Chao and Pang De discussing the merits of re-shoeing any of their cavalry mounts before the battle, Guan Xing and Zhang Bao hanging around Magoichi to pick up tips on what to say to women, Tokugawa meandering among the Shu with kind words for all of its officers and particular thanks for those whom he had spent time alongside at Edo Castle, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao coldly snarking at one another under the pretense of watching their respective forces exercise in the practice ground, the entire Xiahou clan drilling together as a unit, Zhang Jiao and his brothers in a far corner praying for success, and Honda Tadakatsu simply wandering through each camp to meet impressive officers and take a measure of their strength. As they sat together just at the edge of the palisade with the jinmaku panels tied back behind them to make inviting entrances, Takeda and Uesugi watched him pass by on his way to observe the current sparring matches at the nearby practice ring. “I won’t lie,” Shingen murmured as he savored the last sip of wine their army had thought to bring, “it is something of a comfort having the likes of the mighty Honda on our side. Mostly because it means he’s fighting with us, not against us.”

“At least for now,” Kenshin pointed out. “It may not stay so.”

“Maybe not. But it is worth seeing. This is a momentous occasion.” Takeda gestured with his cup to where Honda had run into Xu Huang and Xiahou Yuan, all doughty fellows who could probably take each other in a fight currently bowing and smiling and laughing as they compared themselves to one another. “You see? Where else will we ever get to witness meetings like that?”

“So many strong warriors,” Uesugi purred with obvious interest. “Once this snake is gone, we must all meet again on the battlefield. There is so much more fun to be had.”

Shingen eyed him. “You and your one track mind, Nemesis.”

The sparring and sorting and repairing and sharpening finally had a deadline, and it was upon them before they knew it. The final night before the battle came, and as intended, those who were considered strategists of any measure met in the pavilion inside the jinmaku ward to consult one last time and set their final agreement on the plans. Only a few things needed to be tweaked thanks to some very brave scouts getting right up to the garrisons on the edge of the plain that housed Koshi Castle, for the most part they simply had to sign off on what had already been devised. Zhuge Liang, Yueying, Jiang Wei, Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Lu Xun, Lu Su, Shima Sakon, Takenaka Hanbei, Kuroda Kanbei, Takeda Shingen, Sima Shi, Pang Tong, Ishida Mitsunari, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Xu Shu, and Xun You were all rather bemused that the lot of them were in complete agreement with no dissention or doubt, and impressed that given so many variables both within their own army and their enemy’s, they felt a complete confidence about what they had laid out. Of course, even the best-laid plan could go to hell five minutes after the front line moved in, and all of them were more than aware of it, so they ensured as one unit that no matter what kinds of surprises Da Ji might throw at them, they were ready to handle them. Given how many long-winded tacticians of merit who liked to hear themselves talk were present, the meeting was blissfully short, and then everyone retired to their respective lords to catch them up on any small changes made. After that, the night which lay ahead should have been meant for a good meal and a good night’s sleep, but far too many were too nervous and wired to sleep. Here and there families and clans sat having what might be their last meal, or their last drinks, and their last fair words to one another. Wu generously sent a gift of casks of wine to the other three commanders for them to distribute as they saw fit, so that any and all who wished to drink to victory or pour out their sorrows in their cups could do so. More than one general was happy to drink a toast to the men of Wu for thinking of them at a time like this. Many who wanted to be merry and think only powerful, confident thoughts instead sat quietly, asking themselves if their lives had been full enough and would bring them reward if Heaven burst through the barrier to find them dead, lifting up silent prayers to ancestors and gods who most likely could not even hear them. Even the Sun brothers, bold and courageous, sat together in the Wu command tent with their friends gathered around them, each with an arm slung over the other’s shoulder in solidarity as they listened to old, old stories from Sun Jian and Huang Gai. Ranmaru stood like Zhou Tai as his lord’s solemn shadow, watching and listening as well, but he found Zhou Yu brushing up alongside him in the dim firelight. “Are you troubled, my young friend?” he wondered.

Ran glanced at him and shook his head. “Not troubled. It is simply a marvel to be here, seeing what I see.” He nodded to indicate Ce and Quan sitting together, and neither of them drunk or boisterous. “This, then, must be the true strength of the Sun family.”

“Does it finally make sense, now?” Yu smiled wanly. “The bond between brothers is stronger than ever, thanks to the trials they have been through. This is no time for grudges or dredging up the failures of the past. There is no room in our hearts for such regret.” He studied the youngster, knowing that he had gone to Lord Oda and then returned. “What of you, Ranmaru? Is there anything you would do differently?”

The boy shook his head and smiled genuinely. “I am precisely where I want to be, Lord Zhou Yu.”

“As long as you’re sure.” Yu bobbed his head in a slow nod of understanding and moved past him to sit beside Sun Ce, who threw out his other arm to gather his sworn brother in to join the group hug.

Mitsunari’s comment to his comrades about how best to spend their last hours together was more true than he expected in some regards. If husbands and wives took to renewing their loving embraces in the dead of that final night, it could be both expected and understood. Other bonds were indulged as well, with hands tightly clasped and arms wrapped around one another, lips meeting in the quiet shadows and loving words whispered into waiting ears. Believing in one another and in their overall strength and determination still left room for a tear or two to be shed and wishes for another chance to be shared. Even Yinping took pity on a lonely, moping Magoichi and favored him with kisses on the cheek to lift his spirits. The Nanman in their corner of the Shu camp held a traditional ceremony for their people, drumming long into the night and preparing their spirits for war, while somewhere in the middle of everything a shamisen, flute, and harp met to weave hope with melancholy and stir the hearts of their listeners to remember the beauty and peacefulness of their homelands. There may not have been much dancing, but neither was it a funeral dirge. In Wei’s headquarters, Cao Cao gladly cracked the gift cask to share with his closest generals, making sure the core group of them who had been through hell and back in a previous life as well as here each got a taste. Ishida slipped away to put the finishing touches on his own preparations for the morning, expecting that Cao Pi would want to spend this night with his wife, but he was astonished to feel those long, lithe arms come around him from behind while he stood in the middle of his own tent. He simply tipped his head up and back to rest against Pi’s shoulder, and closed his eyes to feel his lord’s warm breath on his neck. Zihuan curled himself completely around Mitsunari and held him tightly, saying nothing for a while. At last, the young strategist tapped him gently on the back of the hand in a wordless request to be set loose. “Don’t waste your time here.”

“And if I want to?” Cao Pi nuzzled his ear. “Surely not even you would deny me.”

His arms went slack enough for Mitsunari to turn around and face him. “What do you want to do, then? Whisper some sentimental words in case we don’t survive? One last kiss?”

“I don’t need words.” Pi did kiss him, though, bending his head for one soft peck. “You know my mind enough to know what I would say, if I did want to speak.”

“And I know that deep down, beneath this armor…” Mitsunari’s hand slid down the shirt of scale still covering his lord’s surcoat and vitals. “…you’re just as soft as those emotional fellows in Shu and Wu that you sniff at. They may wear their hearts on their sleeves while you wrap yours in layers of protection, but you still have one.”

“Hm, it seems you’ve uncovered my darkest secret.” Pi bent his head and nestled his lips and nose in the feathery copper hair falling over Mitsunari’s face. “If I can say nothing, then let me have just a few moments of silence. It will be enough.”

Mitsunari purred softly and brushed his lips against Zihuan’s jaw. “By all means.”

Cao Pi closed his eyes, content that his favorite comrade was just as much of a sap as him, when it came to moments like this. They stood exactly as they were for a long while, saying nothing and barely moving except for Ishida’s fingers on Cao Pi’s neck stroking tenderly. They took no account of time, and seemed to naturally draw apart at the same moment, stepping back from one another and lifting their heads to meet each other’s eyes. For another long minute they ran hands along each other’s arms, ending by grasping lightly for graceful fingers and entwining them briefly, then letting go. Pi averted his gaze almost shyly and then raised a hand to run his fingertips down Mitsunari’s cheek one more time. “I’ll be in my quarters if you need me,” he murmured, and then turned to drift out.

Mitsunari stood where he was, flushed warm from head to toe, and only closed his eyes after the indigo shadow had completely vanished, breathing a sigh. He pressed a hand to his chest as if it would muffle the feelings threatening to rise up and overwhelm him. “Yeah,” he whispered to himself, “I love you too.”

In the Shu section, several families were spending the night in one another’s company, but given his feelings and his promises, Yukimura excused himself from the Sanada gathering early and made his way back to Zhao Yun’s side. Though they would ride into the battle together, it didn’t mean he didn’t still want a few quiet minutes for themselves before laying down to sleep. His other friends had given him an idea, which he had contemplated over the past couple of days and wanted to bring to fruition tonight, at their last chance for anything. When he passed through into the command tent, he found Zhao Yun already returned from his own forays among his countrymen, an expression both melancholy and fond on his face as he sat on a camp stool silently contemplating everything. He had seen to every one of his allies as a commander, first, and then lingered extra-long with the other Tiger Generals one at a time, making sure to embrace Mengqi and take whatever sage advice Guan Yu wanted to give him for how best to focus himself. He knew he would not be able to sleep at all that night, but he would try. Yukimura’s entrance made him look up with a faint smile. “I thought you would still be with your family.”

“We’ve said all we can say,” Yukimura assured, securing the door flap behind him. “The rest is simply waiting for morning. Have you seen everyone?”

“And then some,” Yun replied. “I thought Wei Yan would break my hand, he clasped it so fiercely. Lord Liu Shan must be terrified, but he is hiding it well from everyone else.” He rested a hand over his heart, his fingers curling into the silk of his surcoat almost nervously. “This may be the largest and most critical battle I have ever seen, and I must be its commander? I hope I am worthy of the task, and of the lives that have been placed in my hand.”

“Of course you are.” Yukimura crossed to him and dropped to one knee in front of him. “You have been ever since the first day you stood up against Orochi. Whose lives were in your hand, then? Only Lady Tachibana and Shimazu and young Zhang Bao? This is no different from then, it only sits heavy because there are no second chances.” His eyes grew serious, but not grim. “We cannot stop this time, nor let Orochi sneak away to find another castle to hide in.”

“And yet, that alone shows how much bigger this is.” Yun shook his head. “Everyone is ready, though. They’ve prepared themselves. Like you say, we have nothing more to say to each other, only the fight itself.”

“Maybe not nothing…” Yukimura reached to set a hand on his arm. “I know it’s probably too much of me to ask, especially right now, and there are no peach groves anywhere within reach, but…” His brow twitched as he fought to find his legendary courage to ask. “…will you swear an oath of brotherhood with me?”

Zhao Yun sucked in a hard gasp of surprise. Of all the things that could have been requested of him, he did not expect that one at all. “I…me?” he stammered. “Yukimura…”

“You and I are already as brothers,” the young samurai pressed on, his hand closing on Yun’s sleeve with an eager tug. “I know this isn’t the most auspicious of places, and everyone drank up all the wine so we don’t even have anything to seal it with, but…I want this.” His brown eyes softened as he met Zhao Yun’s gaze. “You gave me reason to live when all was dark, you have been the closest companion of my heart – closer even than Kanetsugu, than Nobuyuki. It may end up meaning nothing if we all disappear from this world after Orochi dies, but at least for a few fleeting hours I will have a sworn brother whom I love more than life itself.”

Yun laid a hand over the one on his sleeve, daring to smile, though it wavered a bit. “That is a lot to live up to, Yukimura.”

Yukimura laughed gently. “I’m sorry. But I really do feel that way about you. And I hope that I have been the same to you all this time.”

“You have,” Zhao Yun assured. “More than that, you were always my light of hope, my protector, my friend, and my lover. I suppose in some regards, we have already been to each other what sworn brothers should be, just without any vow to confirm it. Do you truly wish it?”

“I do.”

“Then…” Zilong looked away as if something in the tent would help him decide, but it was all up to him. “Yes,” he whispered after a moment. “I will make an oath to you here on this spot, and we will take it with us in our hearts.”

Yukimura looked as though he would burst from joy, his eyes swimming. “That is all I need.”

Yun slid off his seat and knelt facing Yukimura right where they were, taking both his hands in his. “I don’t actually know what words my lord and his brothers said to each other to make their oath,” he confessed with a weak laugh, “so I suppose we shall have to make it up.”

“Maybe it’s better that way,” Yukimura suggested. “After all, we are not them. Our promises to each other have been our own all along.”

“Very true. Then our oath will also be our own.”

Since he had been thinking about it most of the day, Yukimura decided to start. He already knew what he wanted to say. “Zhao Zilong, I pledge to you my life and my heart. We will be as brothers until death or Heaven separates us from one another. No matter the distance or what troubles may come between, we will still be brothers to each other. I will fight and die for you and all you hold dear, now and always.”

“And I you, Sanada Yukimura,” Yun said hopefully, holding his gaze. “I swear upon my life and my spear that I will be your brother until death or the end of this world, and nothing will ever tear us apart. My heart and my life are yours, and never shall this oath be broken, not even by all the powers of darkness around us.”

Yukimura glanced to where their spears stood side by side as always against the wall of the tent. “Let our spears together be witness to this oath, and take the penalty from us should we ever break our promise to one another.”

“So said, let it be done.” There was no reason to make it a blood oath, not for brotherhood, but some wine would have been nice. Zhao Yun decided that his kiss would have to do, so he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against Yukimura’s. They didn’t linger this time, instead pulling on each other’s arms until they fell into a mutual embrace, squeezing one another tightly about the shoulders. Yun pressed his face into the crook of Yukimura’s neck to help ground himself in the tide of emotions washing over them both. No matter what else happened between them from now until the end of time, they were brothers in spirit, who would come to each other’s aid even from the ends of the earth and support one another no matter what. There were so many unknowns ahead of them, it felt good to have something certain and immutable to cling to.

It took them a while to compose themselves and find the strength to help one another get to their feet, and then they lingered a bit longer with their hands in the crook of each other’s arms, lost for any further words and sure that they might ruin the moment if they said anything else. It was no peach garden on a sunny day, but they would never forget it. Somehow, swearing brotherhood on the eve of battle against Orochi in his own land felt appropriate given what had brought them together in the first place. When he could finally pull himself away from Yukimura, Zhao Yun pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and then swept through his hair to brush off the heavy emotion. “I still don’t think I can sleep, now,” he fretted to his comrade. “What do you say to a walk through the camp?”

Yukimura nodded. “Sure. Some fresh air might help – as fresh as it is around here. I think the Nanman are still having a party of sorts, I can hear the drums in the distance.”

“As long as we don’t accept any wine from them,” Yun deadpanned as he moved to duck out of the tent. “I do not need a hangover.”

They weren’t the only ones still up. A few braziers still blazed at strategic points throughout the encampment to light the way for anyone who had need to move about, defying the darkness in pools of bright fire. The sight of Zhao Yun in green and blue and Sanada Yukimura in cloud-gray and red striding hither and yon as a pair was a tonic to other weary souls too nervous or keyed up to sleep, and anywhere the commander and his newly-sworn brother went they bestowed a few kind words on anyone of any rank they passed. Zilong had already been among his countrymen all evening, so now they strolled through to the Wei camp to wish Nagamasa and Oichi a good night’s rest, and paused to share a few rare words of bravery and wisdom with Zhang Liao and Yue Jin, who likewise were more content pacing than tossing and turning in their bedrolls. Even Xiahou Dun, who couldn’t make himself go to bed until he was sure his lord was asleep in the tent behind him, greeted them as valued comrades with no wary eyeing of one another. From there they walked through the fourth section and along the jinmaku palisade, which had a few of the canvas walls tied back to allow access or glimpses inside, and paused for one more round of thank yous and promises to Takeda Shingen, who was hanging about inside like he couldn’t decide what to do with himself. As they talked, Oda Nobunaga also came out and favored them with a rare smile, approving of their presence and wishing them a good night. Tokugawa welcomed them eagerly outside his tent, as he had been wanting to spend a moment with the Shu commander whose men had served well alongside him in their tenure at Edo. He appreciated their generosity and sense of loyalty, and took Zhao Yun aside for a few minutes to ask him about Lord Liu Bei, wanting to know the heart and mind of the man they were going to rescue on the morrow and why all of his retainers were so faithful and dedicated to him. It was a good conversation, but lasted over-long, and Yukimura eventually had to drag Zilong away with the reminder that they did need to at least try to sleep at some point. They passed through Wu on their way back to their own tents, and found Sun Ce standing outside his alone, hands on hips and head tipped back to look at the clouds which never ceased to block their view of the sky. He had a strong embrace and a whispered encouragement for Zhao Yun, that they would finally bring their promise to fruition tomorrow, and begged Yukimura to save him a sparring session should they all come out of it alive. “You can’t sleep, either?” Sanada asked him as they stood around, speaking quietly in case others nearby had been able to find rest.

“Not even slightly,” Ce grumbled. “And on top of that I’m stone cold sober. I really hope the world doesn’t end tomorrow, because I want a chance to actually celebrate our victory.”

“That would be nice,” Yun agreed. “But did you bring enough wine for everyone?”

“Did we bring enough wine.” Ce winked at him. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Zhao Yun?”

They laughed brightly together, and then clasped hands one last time before drifting apart, and just in time as Zhou Yu’s hand stretched out through the door of the tent to drag his lord inside to at least attempt to make him lie down. Yun and Yukimura completed their rounds with a pass by the Nanman, who were indeed still drumming, but less exuberantly now, more solemnly, as their ceremonies wound down and they said their final prayers. It was something few outsiders ever got to witness on the eve of a battle, and thanks to their deep friendship with Meng Huo, the two sworn brothers were allowed to stay and watch. When the drums fell silent, a dread pall fell over the entire camp, and it felt like the moment had at last come. Zilong turned to his companion and drew him away to head back to the command tent without a word. He was suddenly very tired, and even if his mind wanted to continue to race through all the points of their strategy and the reminders of what he needed to do in what order in the morning, his body needed to be on his bedroll. They reached their tent to find Magoichi standing outside consulting with the sentry on duty. “Is something the matter?” Yukimura wondered as they approached.

“Oh, there you guys are. No, not really,” Magoichi replied. “Just, kinda…well.” He shrugged awkwardly. “Lonely, really. Everyone else is asleep and I can’t really…”

“Say no more,” Zhao Yun smiled. “It seems to be an epidemic at all corners of the camp. Come inside, sit with us. You’ve been with me since nearly the beginning,” he added, as if just realizing it, “it’s only right.”

“I’ll be content if you let me sit on guard,” Saika mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “My guys are all right, they can look after themselves for a night.”

“You should sleep, too,” Yukimura implored as they all went inside. “You will need your wits about you in the thick of battle.”

“I’ve fought on less sleep before,” Magoichi assured, slumping to a seat as offered next to the partition which separated the main area from their sleeping berths. He still carried his rifle, and rested it against his shoulder. “I promise I won’t peek if you guys wanna make trouble in there.”

“Not tonight,” Yun said with a little laugh. “You don’t have to worry about us, Magoichi. But…thank you.” He leaned to rest a hand on the man’s other shoulder not occupied by a weapon. “You have been a friend in times of need and never once failed your duty. It has been a pleasure to have you with us.”

Magoichi looked away, modestly rolling his eyes. “Aw, c’mon, you don’t have to get all mushy about it. Really, I just want to be right here…near my pals. That’s cool, right?”

“It’s fine,” Yun assured. “Rest well, my friend.”

Yukimura shot him a matching smile before following Zhao Yun through to their bedrolls. Magoichi watched them go almost jealously, because they had somehow found love in this hell and yet he was still alone. But he cared enough for them both that he couldn’t begrudge them their luck, and smiled to himself as he rested with his back against a tent pole. Maybe they weren’t in any danger so far inside the camp with sentries on the perimeter and another sentry at the outer door, but he felt better feigning some kind of duty in order to be nearer to the commander who had captured his loyalty at long last. Just knowing the two of them were behind him, he could rest easy, and even close his eyes. Whether or not sleep would come, at least he was where he needed to be.

  


The day of battle came on with an invisible dawn shrouded behind those omnipresent clouds and vapors, but between the sentries keeping their watch shifts down to the hour and the lightening of the landscape to suggest that somewhere in greener pastures the sun had genuinely risen, there was no one who didn’t know that it was time. Thanks to their extensive preparations, the Resistance needed no fanfare or announcements to get started, they fell into formation precisely as planned with barely a nod to one another to confirm that everything was correct. The cavalry mustered first at the very edge of the plain, the horsemen of Xiliang combining with the Takeda under Nobunzane, the Sanada under Masayuki, and the Naoe under Kanetsugu himself. They stood waiting for the rest with only one humble page holding a flag to designate the front. Behind them came the infantries of Shu and Hi-no-Moto combined, for they had the furthest to go to reach their staging point. Most of the officers were mounted, and sat astride their horses with faces grim and weapons glinting in the red glow of the fires beyond the camp. Next in line was Wu, their ranks stretching around their side of the camp, and the entirety of Wei after them, for they would be the last in sequence to take the field. While their men formed into ranks and stood waiting in solemn silence, tightening their armor straps and gripping their weapons, the leaders of each met just to the side of the cavalry. They nodded to one another to confirm that everything was in place. “Remember,” Zhao Yun implored them, “do not finish it until we’ve managed to free Lord Liu Bei.”

“I have a feeling that won’t be a problem,” Nobunaga said dryly. He drew his humming blade and raised it. “The time is upon us. Let us go forth, and remember our oath.” 

Cao Pi likewise drew one of his blades and lofted it. “We will not stop until Orochi is ended.”

Zhao Yun stretched out his spear, and Sun Jian also raised his sword, and that was that. They all turned their horses to go back to their contingents and lead from there. With Yukimura riding beside him, Zhao Yun trotted to the fore and kept going, right past the standard-bearer and down to the path which led from the plateau to the fiery depths of Hinokawa. Thankfully, there was no reason to pause there and no sign of Orochi forces moving in overnight, so they could continue right on past the lake of fire, skirting it by a broad road that climbed up from the vale and stretched all the way up to the top of the ridge. The engineers had done their job well, there wasn’t so much as a stray stone to get caught in a horse’s shoe along the way, and though the cavalry rode so close together that they nearly bumped stirrups, everyone passed through unscathed and mounted the height of the ridge that had been their haunting backdrop for the past week while building their main camp. There, the varied contingents split off to separate staging grounds, so as to approach the castle on three fronts. The main gate faced east, and Zhuge Liang had been adamant that they not approach from that direction. It wasn’t so much a problem of being spotted as it was the least advantageous for their forces. The main gate was protected by its own garrison with strong iron doors, and once they began to move on it, Orochi had two options and both were sure-fire victories for him. He could either pour out the might of the castle directly upon them through the widest passage, or he could keep the drawbridges up and send out forces from the garrisons at the corners of the plain, which would surround the Resistance and collapse upon it from all sides at once, decimating them. The Resistance needed to come from other directions, and work on dismantling those outer garrisons and the cannon forts before they even turned their attention to the keep of Koshi itself. The cavalry with the two units behind it cut a circuitous route beyond the perimeter of the plain, having to break up their ranks slightly to manage the narrower path which kept them mostly hidden from sight of the castle or the southern garrisons. It wasn’t that they were trying not to be seen, for even the top strategists were certain that Orochi would know the minute they moved out of their camp no matter which direction they rode, but they had to take care not to suffer any stumbles or spills on the less well-made path. It would not do to lose any troops or horses before the battle even began. At last, they came out exactly where Zhuge Liang wanted them, filtering through a gap in the rocky crags to come out north and a bit west of the castle with no less than three garrisons in their immediate sight. A deep and wide vale stretched out before them, the basalt ground blackened and dry with narrow tracks winding this way and that, suggesting where Orochi troops might have marched from building to building frequently enough to wear the paths into the dust. The plain was wide enough that once they moved, the cavalry would have plenty of space in which to ride and still not trample anyone on foot. As they came to a stop to reconnoiter, Zhao Yun drew up alongside Zhuge Liang and then waited for Oda, Takeda, and Uesugi to join them. “This is the place,” Liang confirmed. “You see our objectives before you.”

“Yes, I see two very large hiding places for lots of Orochi troops,” Shingen muttered. “That fort on the hill may be trouble, too, but for now I would be most concerned about those two.”

“The one on the left stands near a drawbridge, I can see it rising above the walls.” Nobunaga pointed with his sword to the hint of an iron lattice raised high into the air peeping over the edge of the wall. “I believe the Sleeping Dragon is about to suggest that we should concentrate on the one on the right, first, and save the drawbridge garrisons for later.”

“Precisely,” Zhuge Liang said with a keen look in his direction. “Well reasoned.”

“Then, we await the signal from our other troops, and that is where we move,” Zhao Yun said determinedly, his eyes straying to the shrouded form of the castle keep beyond. Lava beneath its feet illuminated some parts of the walls, but it was immense and dark and the fumes from the fires obscured its full shape and size from that distance. Somewhere inside that keep his lord waited, and he nearly trembled with excitement. He gave himself a moment to thrill to the idea of riding straight up, leaping the moat, and plowing through the castle wall to the rescue, but then it passed and he remembered that he had work to do as the commander of his army. “Here we are at last, my friends,” he said, raising his voice so that the officers behind him could hear. “It ends here, _now!_ ”

“Just a little while longer, my lord…” Kongming murmured under his breath, his eyes alight with dread.

“Orochi,” Nobunaga intoned, his voice a low and savage growl. “I will enjoy slaying you.”

At the same time, the Wu army trailing them had paused behind them on that same trail, and then turned aside at Zhou Yu’s guidance to a place where the path fell through a small dip and came out on the western side of the plain, just above one of the largest garrisons at the southwest corner. Though Sun Ce was still considered the commander, Sun Jian had risen up to be co-commander alongside his son, performing many of the lead tasks required to serve as an example. They had a few moments to dismount and rest before beginning, and the four members of the Sun family strode out ahead of their bodyguards to have a good look at the terrain. They had a much clearer view of the Koshi keep from their position, its rear walls reflecting the glow of the lava roiling below it. All along the rim of the chasm separating them from the keep, they could see the cannon forts which Zhuge Liang had warned them about – one of their tasks in the planned strategy. Yet, as he stood there looking down on the castle in which he had once been an unwilling guest, Sun Jian’s face went dark and his eyes fierce. He still wore no helm, and his hair prematurely grayed from the captivity tossed a bit in the light wind blasting off the lava with tinges of heat and the taste of sulfur. “Prepare yourself, Orochi,” he said half to himself, fist clenching on the hilt of his sword. “You will be destroyed by the combined power of our Resistance.”

His eldest son stood at his right shoulder. “Orochi will rue the day he tried to break this family,” he growled.

“We’ve grown stronger with every obstacle we overcame,” Quan said dourly on his father’s other side. “It’s time he felt that strength on his neck.”

“He’ll pay for what he’s done,” Shangxiang added, coming up alongside Ce. “Not just to us, but to everyone here today.”

Jian nodded to them on either side. “Go forth and show them all the pride of Wu and of the Sun family, my children. Mount up!” he added in a loud call, turning back to where Huang Gai held his horse for him. “Give Zhao Yun the signal!”

As they swung back into the saddle and set their weapons ready for the fight, a soldier ran out past them with a small black powder charge, moving into a clearing where it wouldn’t harm anyone or spook the horses. The sound of that bomb exploding was the first signal for those in the north.

The final piece of their strategy was laid by Wei, who turned aside on a different path up from Hinokawa and came out onto the plains in the south, adjacent to the Wu position but some distance away from any garrisons. The cannon forts lay directly in front of them, and one of the great drawbridges stretched to the sky near one of those with no additional fortifications protecting it. It looked like they were in fact the ones within striking distance of the easiest means of breaching the castle, but they were also forewarned that the bulk of the Orochi troops would fall on that point to defend it. Either way, they had their work cut out for them. Cao Cao had said nothing while getting ready that morning, nor at any point along their march to this staging ground, but now he rode out ahead of the rest of the army, almost demanding that his son ride after him to see what he might be up to. He simply wanted a good look at the pathways before them, the clusters of rock scattered across the plain and the high ridge just off to their right which might conveniently serve to screen them from view at the moment, until they made their move. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Cao Cao glanced as Cao Pi reined in alongside him. “The time has come at last, my son,” he said smoothly. “This will be our final battle. I trust you will lead us through the fire and right to the serpent’s door.”

Cao Pi raised an eyebrow. “You have no intention of taking command in this late hour?”

“Not at all. Why replace a capable commander just for the sake of ceremony?” Cao Cao met his gaze, for once completely serious with no shred of deceit or sarcasm about him. “Go, you have an army to lead. Show Orochi the pride of a true conqueror.”

“He shall witness a battle like no other,” Pi vowed, holding his gaze determinedly. That seemed to satisfy Cao Cao, for he nodded back and then turned his horse to ride back to where Dian Wei fidgeted. Zihuan watched him go from over his shoulder, and then turned his eyes to the castle in the gloom before him. “As shall you, my lord,” he added under his breath.

At that very instant they heard the boom echo across the landscape, the signal from Wu. Cao Cao raised his voice to his men. “That’s one! Light our signal, and then we shall be ready to ride forth!”

One man from their side ran out to light the powder charge that would sound the alert for Wei, as Cao Pi rode back. “You all have your orders,” he barked to the officers waiting as the front line with their units clustered behind. “One step at a time, and we will find ourselves in Orochi’s own bedchamber before this day is through!”

The cheer from the Wei soldiers did not muffle the sound of the explosion one bit. Far to the north, Zhuge Liang looked to his commander. “That’s two. It’s time for us to begin.”

They had planned to wait for two signals, at which point all three armies would move on their own routes. They had their plans and orders from above, and though messengers awaited the moments when they would be needed to deliver quick changes to the tactic, for now, everyone knew exactly what to do. Zhao Yun raised his Dragon Spear high for all those behind him to see. “Forward, to Orochi!”


	85. Chapter 85

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of Koshi Castle, part 1: the Resistance takes the field, and there are cannons.

Orochi knew they were coming. It was almost a relief, hearing that the Resistance had finally gotten their act together and begun moving out of their camp, for watching them sit there for so long had become an incredible annoyance. How long did they need to prepare to do what they’ve been aching to do all along? They seemed to be simply wasting his time, so the report which came in that morning was met with eagerness and bloodthirst. Scouts moved back from their positions on the ridges above where they could spy on their enemy unseen and drew away without being spotted by the advancing troops, slipping into the garrison which guarded the main gate and barricading the doors behind them so that the drawbridge could be safely lowered to permit them access to the castle keep. Their reports worried no one, particularly not their overlord, for preparations had been made the moment Da Ji landed inside the castle and presented herself to her lord, alive and well and eager to serve again. All they had to do was run a messenger around to various locations to confirm how and when their forces should advance, and that was that. All three drawbridges were pulled up and stood high in the air, practically taunting anyone who might want to use them to get at the castle proper, the garrisons and forts were manned, and the elite officers still in service to Orochi had been deployed. All that remained now was to wait for the enemy to appear before them.

Deep within the castle there was a dark hall with an immense throne worthy of the demon meant to sit upon it, but he chose not to rest there today. Instead, he paced out through the main hall to the wide portico where a broad set of steps led down into a large courtyard paved entirely in dark stone. The iron doors at the far end were still opening and closing at regular to allow their messengers in, and the steed belonging to the strongest warrior in the defense still waited inside the yard for that time when its famed rider would be given special orders from their lord. In addition to torches held in brackets all along the wall, a selection of braziers lit the courtyard with an eerie blue glow made of sorcery, blazing powerfully as if to display the measure of the demon lord’s power level. Orochi strode past where Lu Bu stood guard at the door and out to the railing of the portico to have a look at the activity of his troops running in and out, and then turned to Da Ji, who was actually giving the orders. “What news?”

Da Ji happily turned to him with a swish of her gauzy tails, clasping her hands behind her back. “Everything is right on target! All we’re waiting for now is for the Resistance to show their faces.” She watched him turn his gaze toward Lu Bu slinking up behind him and then added, “I’m holding that one back until the right moment. I can’t have him getting out there too early or else there might be trouble – the kind of trouble we don’t want.”

Orochi turned his head slowly to bring his gaze back to her. “Control of the strategy is yours. Do as you please.”

Da Ji bowed to accept this order, but as she rose, her expression faded a notch or two. “What about your prisoner? Isn’t this the time to bring him out and execute him?”

“Soon,” Orochi promised coldly. “Leave that to me.”

“You’re the boss!” Da Ji spun on her heel and bounded down the steps into the courtyard to address the demon captains waiting on her. “You all know what you’re supposed to do. No one gets in to see Lord Orochi, not without paying their life for the privilege! Let’s get out there and rip ‘em to shreds!” The demons mustered something of a cheer for her, but with Orochi glaring them down from where he stood, they decided to hustle to obey the order rather than just make noise about it. For Da Ji, there was still a moment of waiting – she intended to teleport herself around the field to give direct orders to her troops, but they had to wait for the Resistance to come out into the open before they could launch their counter-attack. There would be no staunch waiting inside the castle, no, this was their chance to wipe out the entirety of the alliance all at once. All four armies were there, all four of her most hated enemies were probably going to come looking for her. She grinned to herself with wicked glee: she couldn’t wait for that moment.

Upon hearing the second explosion echoing around the rocky crags, Zhao Yun led the charge of the Resistance cavalry, both he and Yukimura were counted among their number as they took the field first and rode straight down the shoulder of the hill toward the larger of the garrisons off to their right. Their tacticians were certain that a fortification that size would hold an immeasurable number of Orochi soldiers, so they needed to attack and decimate those soldiers before they could flood out onto the field to engage the Resistance in the open. Just as predicted, the iron doors slammed open and the first wave began to pour out, right into the spears of the foremost cavalry. The same was happening to the south, as the Wu forces turned to the side and launched themselves at the garrison just south of them, demanding that all attention from the troops inside be turned their way so as to allow Wei just up the field to advance on their own purpose. Taishi Ci, Cheng Pu, and Huang Gai prepared to throw their massive shoulders against the gate to announce their presence and gain the upper hand, but the doors opened before they could and demons ran straight into the waiting arms of their enemies. Cao Pi held the line as he directed his elite generals forward toward the nearest cannon fort, testing its defenses and whether or not it had any control over the drawbridge. Orochi forces had been stationed closer to the main gate, but as soon as the front line advanced into view, those forces streamed back over a bridge and into the Wei flank, clashing instantly with the ready soldiers in indigo. Azai Nagamasa led one unit, bravely plunging through the enemy with his lance leading and cleaving huge rents in the Orochi line for his fellows to pour into and shred their formation. On all three sides the onset of the battle took the form of pure chaotic melee, as each contingent of the Resistance focused on thinning the numbers of their enemy so that when they had to advance further, they did not have to fear reinforcements outflanking them or picking at their rear. The gate of the northwestern garrison lay at the end of a short, narrow passage with a sheer rock face rising above them on the right, so the cavalry pulled out before they could get caught in a trap and drove across the open field instead, chasing down any Orochi troops which had gotten past them and running them down. The infantry of Shu continued in to clean out the garrison and stem the access for any reinforcements, while Oda’s troops swirled in the wake of the cavalry, advancing on the garrison to the left just in time to meet another wave of Orochi soldiers pouring down on them. As they rode among the other horsemen, Takeda and Uesugi cut an impressive swath of damage all by themselves, relishing the freedom to move, attack, and slay. Kenshin was completely in his element, riding in tandem with his rival and reaching off the right side of his horse to swing his barbed sword in wide arcs, cackling darkly as he went. “Let us enjoy our last battle together, Nemesis!” he crowed to Shingen.

“ _You_ certainly are,” Takeda teased him, though his eye was on the the flow of battle around them as he kept up with Kenshin. “It looks like we didn’t even have to do anything to lure the enemy out to us.”

“Don’t even think of complaining,” Uesugi shot back.

They charged right through the center, threading back through the throng and passing Nobunaga, who was advancing more slowly with Mitsuhide and Hanbei closely attending him while the rest of his officers spread out across the field. He was more interested in the larger picture than in how many of these peons he cut down, but he did notice that all of them so far were demon in nature. Despite knowing how many human officers with their followers were still part of Orochi’s forces, they had yet to see any of them. Moreover, the captains were holding back and shouting orders to their units to go in and drag down the Resistance leaders, rather than risking their own necks too soon. He noted it and then turned to the more immediate crush of soldiers around his horse, only to see Guan Ping rush up on foot and plow their enemies out of the way, clearing a path so he could ride. Oda startled and then looked across to where the Shu army should have been battling to take the garrison, but it was difficult to tell whether they were in trouble at this distance, between the press of bodies and the dim gloom. “Guan Ping,” he called out. “What are you doing here?”

“Fighting,” Ping replied simply. “Don’t worry, my lord, I’ll cut you a path.”

“What about the advance on the garrison?”

“It’s well in hand.” Ping paused to swing his huge blade and knock spindly snake demons aside. “My father and the others are on top of it.”

Nobunaga’s brow furrowed slightly. He had given his blessing to so many officers to return to their families and friends, it was difficult to see them return so soon. “This is your time to return to your home and stand on your own, Guan Ping.”

“I know.” Ping shot him a quick smile over his shoulder. “And standing on my own means I get to make my own choices. So I chose to fight here, now.”

That made Oda arch an eyebrow subtly. Such a turnaround, he couldn’t help but be impressed. He nodded his acceptance and lifted his sword. “By all means, then. Fight on, Guan Ping, exactly how you want to.”

Most of Shu was indeed engaged inside the garrison, but limited room to move meant some guarded the doors and others awaited a better opening to join them. To the south it was something of the same scenario, as portions of both Wu and Wei spread out across the craggy, rock-strewn plain to engage random soldiers while the majority of officers forced their way into the garrison and fought for control of it. Both sides were still fighting powerfully to gain the upper hand and the outcome was not yet certain when the very air seemed to reverberate with the concussive sound of a boom. Everyone faltered for a moment, heads turning toward the sound, and a second later the whole ground shook beneath their feet as something exploded right outside the wall. Sun Jian steadied himself with arms outflung, looking sharply to the flash of light in the open doorway where their troops streamed in from outside. “What in the hell was that?” he gasped.

Ce brushed up alongside him to check that he wasn’t hurt, likewise looking away to the scrum at the door. “It sounded like a cannon, but about a hundred times bigger than any I’ve seen!”

“My lord!” A lower-ranked officer came running toward them in the middle of the garrison. “The cannons have begun firing!”

“Get everyone inside!” Ce swept an arm as if to grab and drag everyone into the building with it. “A cannon that big is going to completely tear our people apart!”

The order was passed back through, and no matter how hard the Orochi army tried to keep them out, soldiers piled onto them and drove them back out of sheer impatience and desperation to get out of the range of the cannons. More explosions could be heard further away, as all three of the forts ranging along the southern perimeter erupted with shots, firing indiscriminately as fast as they could be loaded. The projectiles fell just short of the garrison itself, so inside was the only sanctuary until the cannons could be silenced. The Wu army could not see the cannons inside those forts and which way they were aimed, so they could only assume that Orochi would not deliberately destroy one of his own fortifications, but at the same time, they realized that a good half of the Resistance army was vulnerable while out there on the open field. Lu Meng waded through the melee and snatched a hold of Sun Ce’s arm while he could. “Half our men are still out there, those cannons have to be stopped.”

“I know, but Cao Pi is supposed to be on that.” Still, Sun Ce couldn’t help but shoot a look toward the gate and what might lie beyond.

“We’ve got things well in hand here,” Zhu Zhi said as he backed up with his son covering them all with his bow. “Go, my lord.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you offered Cao Pi a hand,” Jian said smartly. He tossed his head, indicating that he should get moving. “Quan, go with him. Watch your heads.”

The brothers shared a nod and then jogged off to whistle for their horses and ride out. The Wei army was not small, but there were three forts that needed to come down, and the sooner the better. Surely, they would not begrudge a little help from their allies.

The southern forts weren’t the only ones with cannons. The fight in the north was still going strong when cannon-fire erupted from the smaller building up on the hill above the garrisons, and another farther east which they had not yet espied. Within seconds of the first shots the plain below was a roiling mass of confusion as both Resistance and Orochi forces scattered to avoid getting hit, ran into each other, and tried to keep their fight up while being shelled from above. One of the only Shu generals who hadn’t gone into the garrison was Zhuge Liang, for he had more important things to do on the outside, observing the ebb and flow of the conflict and reading it to know what decisions to make and orders to issue. Kuroda Kanbei remained with him, both of them astride their horses with weapons on guard in case any of the demon troops got past the front line and came around to their position. “We must cut this chaos off at the roots,” Liang murmured in concern. “They need to pull back and not bother with the garrisons, the cannon forts have become our top priority.”

“I will call up messengers to spread the word,” Kanbei murmured back, rather pleased to be fighting alongside the famed strategist rather than against him this time. Their scouts were gathered around waiting for the signal and needed only a gesture from him to come over and receive the new orders.

Similarly to the south, the cannon on the nearby hill was not aimed directly at one of the supporting garrisons, lest they decimate their own troops, but those fighting to gain control could hear the thuds and booms as it shelled the field where the cavalry and the Oda contingent held sway. Most of the Shu generals were still mounted, so Zhao Yun reined in when he spotted one of their messengers making their way over to him and pulled the man up into the saddle behind him so the message could be delivered swiftly into his ear – it was difficult to hear anything but a shout in this mess. He nodded his understanding and then waved to call particular officers to him to pass along the advice from Zhuge Liang. He couldn’t spare everyone, and they were so close to taking the garrison that he found it difficult to simply break off and go hunting a path to the cannon fort instead. Those under direct fire drew back as well, and Oda rode straight up to where the two tactician awaited their clear path, calling out to them. “What now?”

“This field is no longer ours to command at will,” Liang said grimly. “The cannons must be captured, but I most fear the ones in the south. Lord Cao Pi was placed in charge of commandeering those, but it may be a task too large for his army alone.”

“Between him and the Sun family, I have no worries on that end,” Nobunaga muttered. “But these cannon shots are larger than anything I’ve ever seen. They will rip our army to shreds.”

“We’ve sent a warning to Lord Zhao Yun,” Kanbei informed him, “he should respond shortly.”

“In the meantime…” Takeda Shingen rode up to them, overhearing much of their consultation on the way. “That additional idea I floated to you last night. This seems like just the right opportunity.”

Zhuge Liang studied him briefly. “Are you sure you wish to undertake it? We may not be able to get reinforcements to you, if the cannon pins us down here too long.”

“I will manage somehow,” Takeda assured. “If we want the enemy to dance to our own tune, we’ll have to make use of all of this space to draw their eyes. It calls for cunning rather than brute strength.”

“Naturally.” Kongming nodded. “As you please, Lord Takeda. We will follow when we can.”

Takeda bobbed his head back in gratitude and backed his horse away, glancing to Kenshin, who had followed him. “It looks like our paths diverge here, Nemesis. You will find far more to your interest here rather than where I’m going.”

“Yes, yes, go and pull off your tricks,” Uesugi sighed. “I will give Lord Zhao Yun some backup. Ambushes and cannons are your deal, fighting here is more fun.” He likewise wheeled his horse and started away downfield. “Destroy that cannon _now_. It is beginning to annoy me.”

Oda grunted a laugh under his breath at Uesugi’s usual antic and then looked over his shoulder to call out an order to anyone within earshot. “Find a path up to that fort on the hill! One way or another, we must bring it down.”

Takeda summoned a small cadre of his personal soldiers with a mere wave of his war fan and headed off, making for a narrow, rocky path he had spotted far north of where most of the fighting had been taking place. He hadn’t yet scouted it for himself, but he had a good hunch that this path might take him around the edges of the plain to another route, one he could use to cause a diversion. Of course, pathways like that could also be under survey and subject to traps or ambushes, so he rode cautiously, allowing his men to keep up on foot. Tachibana responded immediately to the request to take the cannon fort, shouting for soldiers to join her as she disappeared among the rocky pathways.

The Wei front line was having the toughest time of it yet, their forces were completely exposed in the face of the cannon fire and were some of the first to take heavy casualties. They had to forego the drawbridge plan and focus solely on the cannon fort, since it was now shelling them directly and forcing them to take it far too slowly. They could not advance to any other forts, and ramming the fortification gate required placing themselves in the direct line of fire. Cao Pi himself drove in to assist, whirling each end of Pure Havoc to one side of his horse and then the other as he charged through the throngs of demon soldiers attempting to stop them from getting anywhere near the fort. As he came on, he glanced to one side and noticed a stream of soldiers in red trickling down the hill from the southwestern garrison, following two brazen figures on horseback charging toward another one of the cannon forts. It was all too clear that Sun Ce and Sun Quan were there to help, and Cao Pi was not about to turn them down, though he did wryly consider that if this got to be a habit, he would end up owing Sun Ce instead.

The remainder of Wu was in high spirits despite the near-constant rumble of cannon fire filling the air, for they had Lord Sun Jian to lead them and Lady Shangxiang to inspire them, with Lu Meng, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and nearly everyone else spread in a ring to bulldoze their way through the garrison. They had already gained so much ground before the cannons began, it wasn’t long before they were able to strongarm the rest of the Orochi troops out of the far gate and beat down anyone with the poor sense to keep fighting. In short order the garrison was theirs, and they stopped only long enough to run a single Wu banner from the wall to signal to their allies that it was safe to approach. Sun Jian was breathing hard from the exertion but loving every minute of it, and stood leaning on his sword while his tacticians circled him. “We should be able to send extra troops to work on those cannon forts, now,” he said as Lu Xun and Lu Meng joined him. “Zhou Yu, go to him – he needs you more than I do.”

“Yes, my lord.” Zhou Yu needed no explanations, his lot was always to follow Sun Ce anywhere. He grabbed his horse and was gone in a flurry of hooves.

“Once Shu gets a foothold in the north, we should be able to move in and push everyone to the main gate,” Lu Meng noted. “They might have a limited number of ways into the castle, but that also means their troops have limited means of escaping.”

“That’s a hell of a corner the snake has let himself get backed into.” Jian took a quick measure of the officers around him. “We can’t stay holed up in here, we need to advance, cannons or no cannons. Everyone, catch your breath and then let’s move. Zhu Zhi, Pan Zhang – you’re in charge of holding this garrison. Let no snake enter.”

Around the same time the Shu Resistance finally drove back the last of the snake demon captains attempting to hold the northwestern garrison, and after sending Boomslang fleeing out of their way, they claimed full control and barricaded one of the gates against additional Orochi intrusion. Uesugi Kenshin had come as a great help to that effort, and sat back peering at the various entry points left for them to man. “Now, where are they going from here?” he wondered.

Guan Yu followed his gaze and guessed what he was watching. “There does seem to be another path that way, as Lord Zhuge Liang suggested.”

“If so, they may be circling around to hit our allies from another angle.” Kenshin regarded him with a keen eye. “You are the God of War, they say, and though I know not whether Bishamonten would take such an appearance, I am eager to follow all the same. What do you say, Guan Yu? Should we track these serpents to their holes?”

“Absolutely,” Guan Yu said boldly.

“Be careful,” Zhao Yun warned, hearing their plan. “We don’t know what traps may lie that way. Take what you need and meet up with Sun Ce, assist them with the cannons.”

The two officers agreed and moved away, calling up a couple more to join them. Jiang Wei rode to consult with their commander, now that they had a sanctuary in which to pause and regroup. “This is no place for us to be pinned down,” he said. “Leave just enough manpower to guard that inner gate against the Orochi troops and the rest of us can assist Lord Oda.”

“I don’t like it.” Yukimura stared hard at the gate which their men were barricading. “They fled through there, but where does it come out? I have a bad feeling that the Orochi army has another way out of the castle which we haven’t discovered yet.”

“That thought had occurred to me as well,” Jiang Wei said sternly. “All we can do for now is keep an eye on it. We must deal with the cannons first, or else none of our other plans will be able to come to life.”

“Onward, then,” Zhao Yun ordered. “Let us rejoin the cavalry and push forward to our next point!”

Inside the keep of Koshi Castle, Da Ji awaited reports in the courtyard with her lord silently observing, though once in a while she teleported to the top of a wall to gaze out for herself. Here in the wellspring of Orochi’s power her own powers were at their maximum, and she could utilize additional magic to spy on the Resistance, but there was still much she couldn’t discern at such a distance and so relied on the reports to tell her of the momentum of the battle. As yet no one had told her whether the garrisons full of troops had been emptied or what had become of all those soldiers, but after ordering the onset of the cannon barrage, she had retreated back into the keep to get a full read on the location of her enemies. That they had approached Koshi from the side and rear surprised her, but then, she remembered that they had Zhuge Liang now and of _course_ he would make sure they attacked from the least-anticipated side. “Oh, so _now_ he gets serious,” she complained as Boomslang made his way into the castle by the secret route and reported on the tactician’s whereabouts. “Pin them down where they are, I don’t want them to get an inch closer. And get back out there!” She aimed to cuff Boomslang across the head, but he ducked. “I don’t care how many officers they have, you are to defend this castle and Lord Orochi with your pathetic life!”

At the reminder of Orochi’s presence, Boomslang cowered and slinked back out, taking to his heels and running to find a way back onto the battlefield. Da Ji stormed out through the antechamber before the front gate and all the way out, needing to take personal control of her assets while she could. Lu Bu had already mounted and was waiting just outside the eastern gate, and frowned in impatience when she appeared. “What is it?”

“Nothing you need to be concerned about,” she lilted at him, pointing. “You stay right there, you are now Lord Orochi’s personal bodyguard. So long as he’s in the castle, you stay with him.”

Lu Bu harrumphed angrily. “I would be of more use out there on the battlefield rather than sitting here. You know that.”

“Patience!” she barked at him, turning to address him while walking away backward. “Let the cannons do their work first, there might not even be anyone left for you to fight.” Ignoring his further grumbling, she turned back around and strode briskly to the far side of the castle, following the broad stone terrace that bridged the distance between the walls and the dropoff into the lava moat on all sides. To the north stood Maeda Keiji, just as impatient and banging the pommel end of his pike on the stone to show it. “We need some more fresh faces out there,” Da Ji said as she approached him. “Go up into the garrison and tell Diamondback to move out. There should be plenty of fresh meat for his guys to feast on.”

“Yeah?” Keiji eyed her. “And what about me, huh?”

“You’re to barricade the gates behind them and wait for my signal,” Da Ji demanded, tapping a clawed foot. “I can’t waste your strength on nobodies, I need it for my final plan. No buts, Keiji! Do as I say or you’ll have to answer to Lord Orochi himself!”

“All right, keep your pants on,” Keiji growled. “Or your tights, or…whatever it is you’re wearing…”

Da Ji snarled at him, but he waved it off and hefted his pike, waiting until the drawbridge had been lowered for him so he could ride up into the garrison which protected the gate and deliver the new orders. Being her errand-boy was not at all to his liking, and Keiji had been loath to associate with her ever since she reappeared in the castle, but he wasn’t about to risk losing too soon in a battle like this. He could almost feel the energy outside the walls, all the bodies filling the field, and he could surely smell the black powder in the air mingling with the sulfur from the pits of lava, and hear the clang of weapons-clash. But he was not to join it, not yet. Sighing, he smacked Diamondback around the garrison before he finally obeyed the order and then sat back to wait, hand clenching on the reins. If not now, when?

The iron drawbridge made a hell of a screech and clatter as it lowered to reach the lip of the cliff above the castle, and those fighting in the north could not miss it at all. Several who had pulled back from the broader fight in order to avoid being killed by cannon shot stopped to watch it sink out of sight behind the walls, and easily guessed at what it meant even if they didn’t know specifically who would come to meet them. Zhao Yun and his retainers had rejoined Zhuge Liang and the Oda by now, and consulted one another quickly before Hanbei made a suggestion. “The cavalry is no good here. They’re more vulnerable than anyone under cannon fire.” He looked to Kanbei and then Zhuge Liang. “Send them around to back up Takeda while we have the chance. We’ll hold out here and greet whoever just came to welcome us.”

“And if it’s someone like Keiji?” Yukimura wondered.

“That works to our advantage,” Zhuge Liang intoned. “Remember the plan. At full force, both Lu Bu and Maeda Keiji will make fearsome enemies. We must drag them into battle before they are fully prepared, if we want to defeat them swiftly.”

“I have faced both,” Ma Chao said solemnly, “and he is right. Getting them to move prematurely will not weaken them much, but maybe just enough. Else, it will be lengthy and hard-fought, and the more time we waste on this battlefield, the closer Lord Liu Bei’s execution grows.”

A ripple of concern passed through all of them, even Oda Nobunaga. “Then, get moving, cavalry,” he implored Ma Chao. “That path underneath the edge of the cliff there may be narrow and hard going for the horses, but it is far better than having cannonballs raining upon your heads. We will deal with that misfortune.”

“Send word swiftly if you need additional help,” Zhao Yun added.

Ma Chao nodded once and spun his horse to race off, raising his spear to call the cavalry to him. The Sanada and Naoe responded without hesitation, and together disappeared into the gloom along that path with surprising swiftness. The rest gathered up reins and weapons and prepared for whatever was about to stumble out of the northern garrison. “Once more into the breach,” Yueying exhorted them, waving her pike forward.

Ahead of the cavalry but on the same path, Takeda had skirted around the northern gatehouse with no trouble and was already a good distance around to the east, toward the front of the castle. He had a daring plan, but he still needed to take his route cautiously, since this particular path wasn’t well-known to anyone among the Resistance and there was no telling what might be lurking behind the shoulders of the rocky crags. On the far side of the garrison where they had first taken the field it was wide and open, but here a number of different paths wound like corridors between high walls, crossing or converging here and there but mostly separate from one another and carved out of the stone like channels. He could see one doubling back toward another gate in the garrison behind him, and more stretching toward the fort on another hill ahead and to the left, but aside from a single warning shot, the cannon there was not firing as rapidly and menacingly as the others, since there was no real sign of Resistance movement in this area yet. Takeda led his men as stealthily as he could, taking his time, and when they got nearly around to the front of Koshi, he began to worry. Why had they not encountered defenders at all, yet? Just then, one of his men yelped and slashed his sword wildly. “What is that? What – how?!” he cried.

Some of the others recoiled and then banded together back to back. Shingen reined in and turned to them. “What’s the matter? You all look like you’re swatting gnats.”

“Some soldiers just appeared out of nowhere!” one reported. “Our swords go right through them, my lord!”

Shingen was aware of reports in prior battles of phantom soldiers, but he had yet to behold one for himself. Then it came – an iridescent shimmer in the darkness, looming up beside him. He loosed his foot from the stirrup and kicked out at it, but nothing happened. He had no time to ponder it, for the human-like figure slashed at him, and whatever invisible weapon it was carrying actually hurt when it made contact, stinging Takeda’s leg. He held firm and thrust his war fan down to block another blow. “Strange,” he remarked to his men. “We cannot hit them, but it seems they can hit us. This does not bode well.”

“Your orders, my lord,” one of his retainers asked worriedly.

“Draw in,” Takeda advised. “Watch out on all sides. This must be demon sorcery at work, as the Sleeping Dragon warned. We must find the sorcerer and dispatch them, then we should be free to move.” Yet, try as he might, he could see almost nothing in the gloom. The high, rocky walls of the path hid them from view, but it also hid their enemies from their own eyes. Was this magic coming from inside the castle? They would be hard pressed to get out of it if so, but until he could narrow down the possibilities and get someone ahead to scout the path, they had to hold tight, pinned down by phantom soldiers.

In the south, the wide plain between the garrison building and the cannon forts teemed with soldiers from both sides, most of whom knew they should not be out under the hail of cannonballs but having no choice. Even the Orochi troops braved the projectiles which screamed overhead and slammed into the ground so hard they left enormous craters everywhere, and though some fell victim, there were so many of them that it was hardly a detriment. Wei and Wu were no longer two separate advancing armies but one mass of Resistance together, riding and running to each other’s assistance in their determined drive to reach the cannon forts and force the doors. The barrage was keeping them far back from their goal, though, and the longer they lingered out on the field, the more Orochi troops came flooding in from the sides, along with any which had regrouped after being driven out of the garrison. It became a long and tiring battle, but no one looked at all ready to give in just yet. Zhou Yu and Sakon rode to meet Ishida and Guo Jia where they were ferrying reports back and forth to keep their formations from falling apart, consulting on the problem at hand. “It’s no use, we cannot make any progress,” Zhou Yu complained. “These cannons are too powerful.”

“There’s a limit to their range,” Mitsunari said, something he had noticed on his own. “I don’t think they can reposition and aim them, but the different trajectories suggest they can tilt them for shorter or longer range.”

“Right,” Sakon agreed. “And they’re not shelling the garrison, which maybe means they don’t want to, or maybe it means that they _can’t_.”

“Ah, I see,” Guo Jia mused. “Then we can either stay out of that range and conduct the battle as if the cannons were not there, or we can use that to determine their actual range and prepare to get inside it.”

“We all know which choice it has to be,” Mitsunari sighed. “But it’s going to take time, and all three of the forts are different.”

“Plus, their ranges overlap,” Zhou Yu noted, “so we must be sure which direction a hit came from before marking it.”

Sakon nodded across to his compatriot. “Ishida’s pretty good with those kind of things. Let’s group our guys and keep the heat off him for a bit, so he can have the breathing room to work on it.”

“Gee, thanks,” Mitsunari said wryly to cover the sense of pride he felt at being praised by Sakon. “It’s not just these three, though. Did you see the flashes up on the hill, to the north? Shu’s probably pinned down by another one as well.”

“I think it’s time we sent messengers to coordinate with them, find out what the Sleeping Dragon is up to.” Guo Jia looked around to find some and wave them over. “They’ll need an armed escort, though, I don’t completely trust these cannons.”

Zhou Yu turned his horse. “I will drum up some support.”

He galloped off across the field to find any officers who could be spared, and came back with Ranmaru and Gan Ning, both of whom were already on foot for ease of fighting. At the same time Cao Pi rode up to see what they were whispering about together, and approved of the idea. “Take care, though,” he warned, tipping his head to indicate that Yu Jin, who was shadowing him, should go along as well. “Da Ji may be up to her old tricks, there’s no telling what kind of underhanded tactic she may try on us next. Once we begin splitting off from our main bodies, our outlying forces will be vulnerable.”

“Ain’t nothin’ she can try that’ll get the drop on us. Right, kid?” Gan Ning bragged, smacking Ranmaru hard enough to make him wobble. “Don’t worry, I got this.”

“I have no doubt that you do.” Cao Pi shot him a quick smirk and then turned to resume his action on the battlefield. “Go swiftly! Let’s verify the status of our other two units and proceed from there.”

“We will continue to hold ground, until we can start working on the cannon problem,” Zhou Yu decided, nodding to Mitsunari. “If you learn anything, notify the others at once. We cannot afford to sit in that garrison all day waiting for them to exhaust their ammunition.”

“Nor should you,” Ishida said seriously. “Something tells me they’ve got enough shot stored for days of battle.”

The trio made their way back across the plain to the west and cut around behind the Wu lines, using them as a screen in order to reach their goal without much interference. Just north of where the Wu army had originally taken the field lay a bridge spanning a dry gorge, possibly a river at one time in the absence of the lava, and a path broadened out from the other end toward the garrisons above them in the upper field. Yu Jin led the way over the bridge and up the trail, aiming vaguely for the flashes of cannon-fire on the ridge in the distance, with the two on foot leading a mingled unit of troops just in case they were needed to step up from simply coordinating messages into full back-up. No sooner had all three of them come abreast of the cliffs overhanging the path when they all heard a rumble and felt the ground quake beneath them, and barely came to a stop in time as rocks bounced over the rocky edge and landed right between them. Gan Ning sprang to the side and rolled away from another before it could crush him, and came up in a crouch to witness Yu Jin’s horse throw him in terror and gallop away up the trail. Freezing in place didn’t seem the best reaction, for another rumble warned of more boulders coming, rolling down from the ridge to block the path or kill them on the spot, they had to get out of the way and regroup to figure out how to pass this obstacle. As wary as they had been, they had been successfully ambushed and needed to backtrack. Ning hustled to his feet and ran up to where the Wei officer was picking himself up and recovering his weapon, completely unaware that another rock was tumbling over the edge above his head; the pirate slammed into him, knocking him clear of danger but flattening him on the ground just a few feet away. Jin was not at all upset by the rescue, he profusely thanked Gan Ning for his life, but before they could even untangle themselves from each other they heard a cry back down the path and looked at the same time to see Ranmaru take a glancing blow from a boulder as he attempted to dodge but misjudged the timing. It struck his shoulder and knocked him onto his face on the path, and for a moment he didn’t move. Ning peeled himself off Yu Jin and dashed back down the path, bells shrilling with every pounding step, and swept in to scoop the kid up just in time, hustling him back to their unit waiting a few feet back from the cliff. Jin had to navigate his way back alone, but with a little ducking and weaving he made it and crouched down where Xingba had settled their injured comrade with his back against a jutting shoulder of stone. “Oi, kid!” he said gruffly, patting Ran’s cheek to bring him around. “You with me?”

Ranmaru groaned and did his best to prop himself up on one hand, gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder. “I’m fine. Give me a moment, I can continue.”

“You sure?” Ning only knew him as one of Sun Ce’s retainers, but the kid had all the courage and loyalty of anyone else in Wu, so he was every bit as valued a comrade as someone the pirate might have known for years. He helped Ran to shift so he could check for himself, and noted that aside from some scrapes, there wasn’t a great gaping wound or anything to indicate where he had been hit. “You gonna be able to wield that big sword one-handed?” he worried.

“I can do it,” Ran insisted. “It isn’t my dominant arm that is hurt.”

“Take a moment to rest, then,” Yu Jin encouraged, pushing himself back up to his feet and looking up the trail. The falling boulders had momentarily ceased, but he was sure it was only because they had retreated – should they take a single step out into the open, the attack would immediately resume. “We’re going to need that time to think of a way past this.”

Gan Ning hopped up beside him. “Let me, I can run faster than they can heave rocks! I’ll be at the other end before you know it.”

“And then what?” Jin rounded on him, frustrated. “I know you to be strong, Master Xingba, but even you might not be able to take on an entire ambush force by yourself without taking a few scratches.”

Without admitting this was true, Ning folded his arms and tossed his head like the tough guy he was. “Then let’s see that brain of yours get us a way through this! Quick, now, we ain’t got all day and I don’t wanna go all the way back to grab Ishida and make him do the thinking for us.”

Yu Jin had no problems with Wei’s head strategist but the mere implication that he might be unable to come up with a solution without help had him drawing himself up to his full height, bristling eagerly. “I’m on it. You take care of your comrade, make sure he’s ready to move when the rest of us are.”

The rumble and crash of boulders being rolled down from the ridges was hard to hear over the boom of the cannons in other parts of the field, but an Uesugi messenger came up to Zhuge Liang where he supervised the press of enemies in the central valley and informed him that they had spied out the ambush and wanted to verify that they should deal with it rather than leave it. Liang considered it for only a moment before nodding. “A rockslide there means Da Ji is trying to prevent the Resistance from doing something. I don’t care what it is, her plan must not succeed. Tell Lord Uesugi that he may proceed as he best sees fit.”

As the messenger raced off, Hanbei sidled up on his other side. “This is foolish,” he noted. “There have to be other gates to this garrison. Why should we be hemmed in fighting here when there should be another door to breach on the other side?”

Kongming looked past him to where the commanders of the two contingents criss-crossed the field, trying to outrun cannon shots while setting upon Diamonback’s reinforcements. “Agreed,” he said sourly. “This feels almost like they are trying to delay us here. We must keep moving.”

“I don’t like having the cannon at our backs,” Kanbei murmured, “but if we follow Lord Takeda and the cavalry, we may get out of its range.”

Together the three of them moved from their safe spot and out to meet the officers busy with the demon soldiers, warily eyeing the cannon above as they hastily conferred. A fair portion of the Shu army was holding ground inside the garrison they had captured, preparing to move wherever they were needed most, and another group had gone off to try to find a way to take the cannon fort, while still more of their combined forces had gone with Guan Yu and Uesugi earlier. It was agreed that this fresh wave of Orochi demons was only a distraction, and that they were counting on numbers as well as the cannons to do the hard work of thinning out the Resistance army, something none of them were going to allow to happen. With just a few quick messages passed by fleet scouts they changed momentum so that Nobunaga was leading some of their best men onward to take the same path as the cavalry and circle the castle to find other ways in, while Zhao Yun remained behind to command their own reinforcements which spilled out from the garrison just as their enemy had initially done and lit into Diamondback and his troops. They could have spent hours there simply battling every wave of reinforcements that came from the drawbridge garrison, the whole battle could have progressed without them, so it was the right tactic to split up and allow at least a portion of their units to proceed toward the main gate. Of their strategists, Jiang Wei and Hanbei held back to keep an eye on the shift in responsibilities, the rest forged onward in the footsteps of their allies.

The cavalry had come out from the rocky passageway into the shallow vale below the garrison and found exactly what Hanbei had predicted: another gate, this one facing eastward and well-guarded. There was no sign of Takeda and his men, but the cluster of Orochi troops huddled outside the garrison had Ma Chao’s attention immediately. He and Kanetsugu reined in at the head of their forces, looking up the path as it climbed the gentle slope toward the gate and wondering why the unit there held its ground rather than fall upon them. Surely if Takeda had already gone by, they would have attacked him, so why were they still staunchly defending that gate? The cavalry leaders needed no words to agree, they had work to do here and turned their horses instantly to begin. The demon soldiers at the fore brandished their spears and shields, but nothing could daunt the Resistance cavalry with Ma Chao the Splendid at their fore, riding with eyes blazing and spear couched in the crook of his arm. Not even shrinking all the way up with their backs to the barred gate could save the defenders, the horses maneuvered easily across the rocky slope and Naoe leaned down out of the saddle to hew them with his sword as he drove them up against the garrison wall. Those who couldn’t get close enough thanks to all the horses in the way eased into formation instead, preparing to forge their way onward from there as soon as the call was given. Some of the defenders drew aside and formed a new knot away from the gate, an unusual precaution that caught Ma Teng’s eye. He pulled up with Masayuki and gestured to them, noting that they weren’t actually blocking the gate. “What, then, are they defending?” Lord Sanada wondered. “Something more important than whether or not the Resistance gets through that door?”

“Yes, look.” Ma Teng glowered at the cluster as they inched their way backward from the mass of riders cutting through their lines. “There is a man among them. I would recognize those colors anywhere, that is one of Dong Zhuo’s men.”

“Is he commanding them, maybe?” Masayuki proposed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ma Dai said, taking a cue from his uncle and brandishing his polearm. “Any man of Dong Zhuo’s is no friend of ours. Take him down at once!”

He slapped his heels to his horse’s flanks to spur it onward, and a couple of the Sanada fell in with him, and in an instant they were among the retreating knot of soldiers, swinging weapons and trampling them underfoot. The berobed retainer of Dong Zhuo’s army fell beneath their fury, and at last everyone who had been defending that gate was down and out of the way. The cavalry leaders looked to one another, and decided to split there, the Xiliang and Takeda continuing forward to support the warlord somewhere ahead of them while the Sanada and Naoe remained behind to work at breaching that gate. The thick iron doors were far more stout than any they had seen before, easily twice or thrice the size and weight of the gates at Bai Di or He Fei and bolted securely from the inside. Getting them open to get at the Orochi forces inside would take time and hard effort, so they immediately went to work in the hopes that they could get it breached in time for their forces to join and move in.

The Takeda troops around Shingen suddenly stumbled as the eerie phantoms they were desperately trying to block and fight against vanished, leaving them with nothing but thin air to slash through. “The strange soldiers,” one man said in astonishment, “they…they all disappeared!”

“Good!” Shingen grunted. “Someone must have taken care of the puppet-master for us. Give it no further thought, my friends, put your minds at ease and let us sally forth! We have work to do.”

The path they were on wound down along the shoulder of the ridge that formed one of the walls hemming in the lava moat which surrounded the castle keep, and emptied out rather near the eastern gatehouse as Takeda hoped. What he didn’t know was that just behind him on the hill, there was a much stronger officer in charge of the cannon, and though he held it back because there was no point in wasting ammunition on a target they couldn’t reach, he was watching everything. Date Masamune stood on the parapet of the fort where he had a good view of all the paths which cut through the rocks just below their position like claw-marks from a great beast, noting which way the Takeda were moving and wisely holding ground for now. “Soon, Lord Shingen,” he grumbled. “You’re in way over your head, you have no idea what you’re about to face. Fool.”

Beside him, Katakura Kojuro looked his way. “We are not to fall on his rear?”

“Not yet.” Date gestured toward the gates and the castle keep beyond them with a nod of his chin. “We’ve prepared for whoever reached the main gate first. There are more behind him, we can’t waste our surprise now. Besides.” He looked behind him, down to the massive cannon set up in the central yard of the fort. “We’re to keep firing until we get the order to move. We will not fail Lord Orochi this time, we must do as he says.”

“Understood,” Katakura nodded, turning to go back down and see to their mounts. Even if they were well-trained to handle gunfire and cannons on a battlefield, the size of the munitions here made even their horses startle and spook. He wanted to make sure they were calmed and prepared for the next shot to go off.

Takeda Shingen continued on at a slow trot, allowing his men on foot to keep up with him and providing himself enough time to scope out the situation before acting. He could see his goal ahead, but it stood out as the world’s most obvious trap to his practiced eye. His men were just as confused. “The castle’s left wide open…?” one wondered, looking up to his lord on his horse.

“They expect me to fall for that?” Shingen said with a short laugh. “No matter. We might still be able to make use of their naiveté.” He waved his war fan forward. “Let us head for the castle, and see what kind of welcome they’ve prepared for us.”

This time, he jogged his horse ahead, outpacing most of his men and thundering toward the wide-open side gate of the guardhouse. Now that they were close he could see it was the size of a typical garrison, and through the doorway he could see another open passage to the drawbridge which would permit anyone to reach the keep – and it was currently down. So tempting, and yet even more clear that it was a trap. Shingen could not allow all of his men to get caught in it, so he charged straight up without waiting for the stragglers and made for the adjoining gate to the drawbridge. As he reached it, he realized why they could afford to keep the bridge down: standing on it astride his horse was Lu Bu, halberd at the ready. “Heading for the castle,” he said brashly as soon as Takeda came into view. “How predictable!”

Shingen reined in on the other side of the gate, aware that maybe he had underestimated the size of the trap. Yet he showed no fear at all, grinning below his fierce oni mask. “Is that the mighty Lu Bu, reduced to sentry duty? Surely not…”

Lu Bu glowered at him, gathering the reins to charge. “You mock me, old man? Then you shall be the first to die!”

“Hold your ground, Lu Bu!” Da Ji appeared beside him in a swirl of magic, grabbing for one of the reins of his horse, which tossed its head angrily at the interfering tug. “Move now and the plan will be ruined!”

“Oh, so there’s a plan, is there?” Takeda taunted them both. “Good to know.”

Da Ji shot him a glare and then waved a hand briskly in the air, the signal to her troops to begin closing off the gates to the garrison. The side gate slammed shut on some of Takeda’s men, leaving them outside, while the main gate ahead of him cut off all view of a glowering Lu Bu barely holding himself back. The third gate had already been closed to start, so Takeda and half of his men were now trapped. He looked around, feigning surprise. “Hmm? I’m shut in?”

“Hmm, you’re shut in!” Da Ji reappeared at the top of the gatehouse wall, hands on her hips and a feral smirk on her face. “Looks like it’s the end for you, old man! You really were no match for my wits after all, were you? Bushmaster!”

An inner door to the guardhouse thudded open and the Orochi troops hidden inside the garrison poured out, setting upon Takeda and his men with fresh energy. Outside, another secret door along the edge of the rocky outcrop which backed up to the gate opened to permit a secondary ambush unit to escape out onto the plain and spread out to engage the stragglers caught outside without a commander. Takeda dismounted before he could be pulled down and brandished his war fan. “Well, my plan worked,” he noted to one of his lieutenants at hand, “but that’s not to say we’re not in a bit of trouble. Stand firm, everyone! Hit them back with everything you have!” He was aware that it looked bleak for them, they were already tired from battling phantom soldiers and now this? All he could do was hope that Zhuge Liang was as mysteriously amazing as everyone said and could cause a rescue party to appear before it was too late.


	86. Chapter 86

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of Koshi Castle, Part 2 - assaults on the cannons begin in earnest, and Dong Zhuo makes way too much trouble for Wu.

The breaching of the gate of the cannon fort nearest the southern drawbridge was the first victory for Wei, allowing them to claim the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Wu and Shu armies which had already taken the garrisons, though Xu Huang wasn’t satisfied with just opening the door. Once it fell to their relentless onslaught they got the first real look at what they were up against, and it was just as daunting to see as it had been to hear. The cannon mounted near the back wall of the fortification was larger than a house, the opening in the muzzle had to be measured in feet and the wall of the cannon barrel was so thick that no blade existed which could cut through it. It looked too heavy to reposition and aim at will, explaining why the three southern cannon forts had a certain and unwavering range of fire – the cannon could swivel slightly, but not nearly as much as it had seemed from outside the closed gates. Mitsunari had already figured out the range path for this fort, so his directions to Xu Huang, Xu Zhu, and the Xiahou clan allowed them to get inside its reach without being shelled and pull down the gate through concerted effort. A snake demon captain stood commanding a cadre of defense troops, which instantly tripled in number the moment the gate breached. “The cannon must not fall into enemy hands!” Urutu snarled to his troops. “Stop them!”

“Forget the cannon!” Xiahou Dun ordered all those with him. “Slay everything that moves!”

As with the drawbridge garrison, the cannon forts had interior rooms inside the walls which held additional troops who could be turned out at will. Urutu’s forces swelled as the Wei army charged inside and set upon them, showing no mercy at all to the defenders whether demon or human. A few men of Wa were mingled with the serpents, but no one had issued any orders from above to spare anyone regardless of their true nature, so no quarter was given to those who would still support Orochi. It was hard-fought and bloody, and the cannon still roared before them, so loud at such close range that they thought their ears would burst, but at last Xu Huang cut his way through to Urutu and drove the blade of his axe deep into the demon’s chest, felling him for good. With their captain out of the way, half the troops scattered and the rest surrendered, and Xiahou Dun waded through the bodies scattered across the floor of the fort to hack at the cannoneer desperately trying to load another charge. He gave up rather than die for the sake of the cannon, and at last it fell silent. Cao Pi had still been battling the fleeing stragglers out on the open field, but when he heard the cry of triumph from within he rode over to verify that his men had done it and lauded them openly. “That’s one. Send word to Lord Sun Jian, warn him what awaits him inside.”

Cao Cao appeared at his son’s side, staring in awe at the immense maw of the cannon, still faintly smoking from the last blast of gunpowder. “Can we even destroy them?”

“There’s no need,” Ishida said boldly. “If we take control of them instead, we can turn them on the castle.”

“…can, we now.” The idea appealed immensely to Cao Pi, he smirked to himself at the idea of using Da Ji’s precious weapons against her. “It’s possible, but that depends on being able to move them.”

“No time like the present to give it a try,” Mitsunari noted.

Cao Cao waved his sword. “Xu Zhu, my mighty friend, see if you can rotate the cannon until it faces the castle.”

“Sure thing, my lord!” The stout warrior waddled over and put his shoulder to the housing of the cannon, bracing his feet and then heaving. Most of those watching doubted he could do it even with his legendary strength, but then the base began to slide just a few inches. Xu Huang and Dian Wei dropped their weapons and ran to assist, bracing up against him, and then Xiahou Ba after them, with several of their infantrymen bravely charging in to join. With that many people straining to push, they managed to rotate the housing on its base until it faced away from the battlefield, toward the keep of Koshi.

Cao Pi stared in amazement at the combined strength of his faithful retainers and knew he would have to reward them handsomely when this was all over. “Get someone in here to determine how to load and fire the cannon,” he barked out to the army clustering around them. “Cao Hong, bring up a detachment to hold this fort against the enemy – do not allow them to retake it under any circumstances! Send word to our allies so they can prepare to do the same to the other two cannons!”

Now that the field immediately surrounding the cannon fort was safe for them, he regrouped their army there, giving the elite officers a moment to rest and check their weapons before preparing them for the next round. Wei and Wu had already mingled to such a point that he didn’t even know who had already gone ahead of them, but someone had headed toward the bridge to their east even while under fire. Cao Pi looked around at who he had around him, glad to see all of them still in good shape, though winded, no one bearing more than a scratch or two. Those whose horses still had the good sense not to stray too far mounted back up, and Xiahou Dun gestured to the next cannon fort with his podao. “One at a time, then, and onward to the second!”

“Hold a moment,” Cao Pi said sternly. “Now that I see what it takes, I have fresh orders. Yuanrang, by all means, advance on the next cannon fort up the field, but I wish to split our forces here.” He pointed as he named off officers. “Xiahou Yuan, Zhang He, Zhang Liao, and Diaochan. Take what assistance you require and push east. Until we have word from Gan Ning what’s going on to the north, we must press onward toward the main gate at the same time as we work to capture the cannons. And make no mistake,” he added, “I do want them captured. We could go out of our way to avoid them, and waste time in the process, but I want them. I want to turn them all to batter the walls of the keep until Orochi is forced to deal with us himself.”

“Understood,” several officers responded. “And as we advance?” Zhang Liao added.

“Scout the field, send word back of anything unusual,” Mitsunari requested. “Join with any Resistance forces you find there. Hell, take some of Wu’s guys with you if you want, everything is fair game at this point.”

“Our intention was to approach the castle from unexpected angles,” Guo Jia pointed out, “but that’s not to say the front entrance isn’t also a perfectly good spot to attack. If we can make ourselves a path, it doesn’t matter where it is or where we planned it to be – we need that path.”

“Aside from the defense of this cannon,” Cao Pi went on, “I will turn the engineers toward trying to control the drawbridge. We must make use of every single opportunity that falls in our laps.”

With these new orders in hand, the officers went their separate ways, calling their units to them and picking up whatever additional help they could find as they went. Xiahou Yuan took his son as well as Wei and De with him to follow Zhang He and Zhang Liao toward the bridge, while the rest mustered themselves and turned toward the cannon fort just up to the left with a vengeance. As his bodyguard rode alongside him, Cao Cao paused to watch Zihuan and Ishida control the pace of their army, meeting up with the Wu commanders in the field and sharing this new information. “Watching my son reminds me of my own glory days,” he murmured to Dian Wei. “But I cannot just watch forever. I will have one last dance.”

“I’m with you, my lord,” Dian Wei said brashly. “Let’s show ‘em the might of Wei!”

They rode to join their retainers, passing Sun Ce and Sun Jian as they stood listening to the report. “I see,” the latter said, “so we only have to slay the ones guarding the weapon in order to stop it firing.”

“And then turn it toward the castle, got it,” Ce concluded. “We’ll head for the one further up the field, then. Where’s Shangxiang and Quan?”

“I don’t know, they might have gotten out ahead of us,” Jian answered.

“Some of my men are headed that way,” Pi said, “so if yours are as well, they can work together. As should we out here.”

“Good plan, I like it.” Ce raised a tonfa in salute. “Let’s get moving!”

Orochi troops both human and demon now spread across the entirety of the plain, appearing on all sides of the castle as if to prove that they had other hiding places or perhaps other means of slipping out of the keep to add reinforcements to the field. Some were coming through the garrison Shu had captured, keeping Huang Zhong and everyone with him busy, still others were crossing the bridge from the east and bothering the Wei flank, and every so often the garrison to the north where Diamonback’s men had come from poured out another cadre of troops. The Resistance spread out as well, and some from Wu and Wei were already across the bridge to locate where these Orochi forces were coming from, guessing that several contingents had been stationed inside yet another large garrison positioned off to the southeast corner of the plain, hunched up between spurs of the mountainous ridges with a good view of the main road toward the castle. Inside that garrison, Dong Zhuo was finally being of use, having the advantage of location to allow him to spy on the advancement of the Resistance and order out waves of soldiers to meet and beat them back. He didn’t have to lift a finger himself, all he had to do was send officers out with their units one after the next to keep the invaders busy. “Look at them, thinking they’re gonna win!” he laughed. “I’ll soon have them drowning in their own blood. Next wave, get moving!”

To the north, the cavalry units who had kept going came up behind the demon troops attacking the stragglers from Takeda’s force outside the drawbridge garrison and fell upon them with renewed fury, quickly routing the ambush and sending them scattering into other parts of the field. They halted there and were still getting the story from the lieutenant when Oda and Kuroda appeared leading the segment of their mingled units meant to back up their allies. Zhuge Liang held back slightly, remaining at the point where the path opened out onto the plain so he could get a good look at the scene from a distance and protect himself while he contemplated the situation and prepared a counter-move. Ma Chao found him there and rode up alongside him to tell him of what had happened on the back side of the garrison. Given what the others were saying about phantom soldiers, Liang tapped his fan against his chin thoughtfully. “It must have been the sorcerer conjuring a trap to prevent Lord Takeda from moving further. Be wary – whenever such sorcery is used on the field, it isn’t Da Ji’s doing. She is usually too far away, the conjurer must be close at hand to cast the spell.”

“Then we must merely find him and put an end to him, and it will end,” Ma Chao noted. “I see. Word will be spread so that no one else falls for such a ruse.” He smirked very briefly. “To think, we rescued our men without even realizing it.”

“Sorcerer or merely an officer, as long as they are removed from play it always benefits us,” Liang agreed. “Now, as for this problem…”

The doors blocking their way into the gatehouse were tall and thick, as hard to break as the ones in the cannon forts, and no amount of repeat battering from the cavalry and their spears was going to be enough. Anyone who was hoping that Zhuge Liang might suddenly raise his fan and show off some of that sorcery he was rumored to have would be sorely disappointed, for there were plenty of ways to combat the issue without resorting to flashy tricks. Since the cavalry had reported driving some of the demon troops back into the garrison, they were told to focus on precisely where they had gone and then follow to locate the hidden doors and advance on them in secret. Kanbei went forward with them to assist, and actually found the gates first, though he let Ma Chao and Hideyoshi go first to skewer anything that had the poor sense to try to stop them. The passage cut through the rock behind the garrison, black as pitch with only one torch to show the exit, but the Resistance stormed their way in without hesitation. They emerged into the half-light of the eternal gloom to find the walled-in gatehouse choked with soldiers, outnumbering Takeda and his handful of bodyguards three to one. The famed warlord was out of the saddle and fighting his fiercest, his fan and armor spattered with blood, a great gash along his jaw below the mask showing just how hard-pressed they were. The human officers leading the assault were no one of consequence, but they had the advantage of numbers and so far it was working. Ma Chao’s battle cry was like the roar of a dragon in that narrow space, turning heads and sending everyone scattering as he drove into them. Hideyoshi jogged to the side and plowed his way through the throngs of enemy soldiers with huge sweeps of his staff, clearing himself a path to the nearest gate and wrestling control of it from the officer trying to hold it against incursion from outside. It took a few good hits before he finally went down, allowing Toyotomi to unbolt the doors and heave them open with his own strength. Not to be outdone, the daimyo opposing them raced to the opposite gate and threw it open, expecting that the rest of the Orochi troops would be outside and prepared to come in to aid them. Some did, but not all, for the cavalry had driven the rest off southward. The center of the garrison became a roiling mess in no time at all, and it was nearly impossible for the rest of the Resistance to actually push their way inside for the mass of bodies writhing and tangling, running this way and that. Oda held ground outside, letting the others handle it, though he could not stop staring at the mighty keep standing so close to them now, its sheer stone walls reflecting the sick red glow of the lava in the moat beneath its feet. It was clear now that the gorge was impassible except by one of the drawbridges, and now that they were so close, he desperately wanted that one right in front of them, barred from their access by the gatehouse and the melee inside. It would be too easy for the gate to be theirs to open once they took the garrison, wouldn’t it? He suspected more trickery, and held off to wait and see the outcome, the Demon Slayer humming in his right hand.

Shingen had spotted the reinforcements immediately and roused his flagging men with a shout, encouraging them to fight their way to the gate once it opened for them. Watching Ma Chao slash his way through a press never got old, it was a tonic to his weary heart to see him so energized and fighting at his best. He found himself edging closer to reach Kanbei and back up against him. “So nice of you fellows to join us,” he quipped.

Kuroda was in no mood for battlefield banter. “What of the drawbridge?”

“That’s going to be a tough one.” Takeda flipped the war fan in agile fingers and bashed the end of the rod into the skull of a soldier who got too close. “Let’s focus on clearing everyone out of here, first.”

Kanbei nodded and turned to fling his Demonstone into the crowd, intending to clear the way and make room for some of Takeda’s men to slip past and escape the garrison. It worked to a point, but the number of enemies piling onto them forced him to pull back and simply block instead. It was hard to tell whether their side was gaining any kind of advantage, or which soldiers belonged to who. Then, both of them heard a voice raised above the din. “Behold, the true power of Orochi!”

Another officer stood atop the garrison gate on the drawbridge side, arms raised to the sky. Both Kuroda and Takeda had seen him before in battles but didn’t know him by name. Ma Chao did. “Chen Gong,” he snarled, recognizing Lu Bu’s personal tactician. “What is he doing?”

His arms suddenly felt heavy, dragging the head of the Stallion Spear to the ground. For a moment he thought it felt like someone was trying to wrest the spear from him, and then realized it was the opposite – his arms were trying to move on their own without his permission! Mengqi steeled himself and fought against it, gritting his teeth, digging in his heels, and wrestling his spear away from the invisible grip on his arms. Whether because Chen Gong had only just recently learned this sorcery or because the men he attempted to control were too strong to fall victim, Ma Chao was able to free himself and turn in time to bring the shaft of the spear up to block a couple of Takeda’s men who had been successfully taken over. Shingen growled under his breath. “How cowardly. A true strategist would be able to use his own words to convince our allies to betray us. He needs magic.”

“Lord Takeda, on your left!” Kanbei spotted the other officers of the Orochi army closing in fast, taking advantage of the confusion to press the attack, and slid to the side to intercept them. He palmed his Demonstone and slammed it onto the side of one’s head, but the other got in close and slashed downward with his sword, opening a deep wound in his shoulder and flank. Kanbei made only a grunt as he fell, the stone rolling away through the garrison and tripping up three more demon soldiers.

Shingen whirled around with astonishing speed for a man his size and placed his bulk directly over the fallen Kuroda, whipping the fan so quickly that it cut as deep as a blade as the enemy officer tried to back away. Toyotomi returned right then, springing over them and cracking his tri-part staff across heads, shoulders, and knuckles. The two of them pushed their enemies back so that Ma Chao could drop behind them and drag Kanbei to safety, and then Shingen turned his attention to Chen Gong still waving his arms and chanting from the parapet above them. “Archers! Why didn’t I bring archers…”

While he watched, a shadowy figure suddenly alit on the top of the wall and ran toward Chen Gong, using size and speed to great effect to sneak up on him in the gloom. He was still gesticulating when something hit him from the side, cutting off his spell with a strangled yelp of surprise. A moment later, he crashed onto the ground inside the garrison, senseless, breaking his arm in the fall. Takeda and Toyotomi looked up to see Kunoichi pop her head up and wave before ducking down and slipping away. “Looks like ninjas are one better than archers,” Hideyoshi laughed.

Ma Chao pulled the injured tactician out of the garrison and onto the field, where they were met and surrounded by the rest of their forces. Not too long after and the last of their men withdrew from the garrison under Takeda’s supervision, and though some of the Orochi troops brandished weapons at them, they didn’t pursue beyond the gate. Nobunaga charged them, then, demanding, “Do not let them barricade the gate behind you! We must take this garrison!”

Shingen held ground in the doorway by himself, though a new charge from the remainder of the cavalry brushed past him to obey Oda’s order. They were fresh and fought hard, driving back the craven officers of Wa who had once stood up to Oda himself in order to serve their own interests and paid the price for it. They quailed at the sight of him in their midst, a demon of darkness himself, and put up only a perfunctory resistance before fading back and fleeing out the other open gate. Once they had taken control of the garrison, Nobunaga rode back to see how the others were faring. Takeda was breathing hard, each gasp tinged with a wheeze of pain, but he was still on his feet. Not so for Kanbei, the strike had raked from his shoulder down his side and laid his robes open to show the gashes. It wasn’t mortal, but it was unlikely he would be able to rejoin the fight. Zhuge Liang joined the others already clustered around him to assist with binding up the wounds to keep him stable. Kanbei came awake to find himself reclined against the Sleeping Dragon’s knee and smirked very slightly. “I know, I know. I should have stayed back with you.”

“Nonsense,” Shingen said. “You saved my neck, I’d say that was worth it.”

“All the same,” Kongming murmured, “you will probably have to stay back from here on out. We don’t have the resources to transport the wounded to the camp.”

Kuroda shook his head and tried to push himself up. “Tie it tightly so that I can still sit astride a horse. My arm may be useless but my mind is still available for use.”

Toyotomi strolled up, spinning the smooth marble orb on the tip of one finger. “Hey, did you lose this, Kanbei? Here you go.”

“Do as Master Kuroda requests,” Oda demanded of all of them, “and quickly. We must press on. This is our best chance to break through and reach the keep, we must find the mechanism and bring down that drawbridge.”

One of the Takeda cavalry gave a shout; he was with the rest of their riders still guarding the open gates and had a good view of the battlefield southward. “My lord! Orochi troops are regrouping and preparing to assault again from the south!”

“Irritating gnats,” Nobunaga grumbled. “Lord Shingen, what about you? Can you continue?”

“I’ll be even slower than usual, but yes,” Takeda replied, accepting his horse returned to him by one of his nephews. “Have a care, Demon King, Lu Bu is behind that gate.”

“Good,” Zhuge Liang said darkly, rising and brushing himself off. “We must draw him out. Get him to advance.”

“Indeed,” Shingen muttered. “Da Ji doesn’t want him to move yet for some reason. I think it absolutely essential that we get him to disobey her orders.”

Oda turned and mounted his horse, and then rode as close as he physically could to the heaps of stone piled up at the edge of the impassable gorge. From there he could somewhat see the terrace surrounding the foot of the keep on the far side and the lone horseman holding position just below the end of the drawbridge. Drawing a deep breath, he called out as loud as he could. “Lu Bu! Why do you sit and wait? We are here! Can you not smell the blood in the air? We are coming for your lord, Lu Bu, and if you would rather sit back to watch instead of fight for him, then so be it!”

Lu Bu wasn’t the only one guarding the keep, several units of demons were ranged all along the terrace as if to anticipate someone attempting to wrest control of the drawbridges. Two or three of the spindly demons were poised to counter-attack along with Copperhead, who crept up alongside the powerful warrior astride his horse. “What do we do?” he fretted. “The Resistance is already here!”

“Idiot,” Lu Bu seethed at him under his breath. “This is nothing more than a ploy – do not fall for it!”

“That is Oda Nobunaga,” one of the other demons said quietly.

“Forget him.” It was hard to listen to the taunting, though. He had managed to put Takeda’s baiting statements out of his head, but Oda was another story entirely. Lu Bu wanted nothing more than to ride to the top of the bridge, burst into that garrison, and tear him to shreds. “Bloodleg, Hammerjaw – hold your position. Lord Orochi will take your heads if you dare to move before he gives the order.”

The spidery demons had no protest to that plan, but Copperhead still wibbled and paced, even after Nobunaga left to continue the battle elsewhere. His words rang in Lu Bu’s ears long after he vanished from sight, and the warrior sat in the saddle with fist clenched on his halberd, longing to go and make him pay for uttering them.

Clear on the other side of the castle grounds where Gan Ning and Yu Jin had been pinned down by the rockslides along the path, they were still working out how to stop the boulders when Ranmaru stood up and tested himself to make sure he could still fight. His left shoulder ached and he was sure the burn against his neck and back were from his clothing rubbing against scratches, but he put it out of mind and raised his long nodachi to prove to himself that he could swing it one-handed if he needed to. It would be difficult, but it meant he could keep fighting. Gan Ning gave him an approving nod. “Right, then. We’re not gonna get through here by just standing around. What if we go back along that other path Shu took…?”

“That may be our only choice,” Jin sighed. “I don’t know how long it will take, but we’ve already wasted enough time. We…”

“Wait.” Ran held up a finger in warning, though he looked away in the other direction. “Listen. They’ve stopped.”

The other two followed his gaze and realized that while they had been arguing, the rumble and thud of boulders being pried from the ridge and heaved over the cliff had come to a stop. Their men had been making testing forays along the path the whole time, drawing fire so to speak, but now there was simply nothing. Gan Ning strode forward cautiously, eyeing the cliff above their heads, and then made a break for it, running some distance up the path until he spied a huge spear of stone jutting up from the ground and ducked behind it. It really looked like the boulders had stopped, so he waved the rest of their unit forward to join him, coming out from behind his hiding place and brandishing the River Master. “That’s right, that’s all you got!” he boasted, yelling up at whoever might have been engineering their plan. “So much for that, huh? _Huh?_ ”

“Loudmouth,” someone retorted.

Ning spun on his heel to find Guan Yu and Uesugi Kenshin riding toward him from the north, a contingent of Shu and Uesugi troops in their wake. “What? Don’t tell me you’re the ones…” the pirate exclaimed.

“What’s the matter, Gan Xingba?” Guan Yu said boldly. “Having a little trouble here?”

“We took care of it,” Kenshin added gruffly. “What news, then?”

Gan Ning huffed and waved a hand dismissively at the God of War. “Nothin’ I couldn’t handle if you’d let me. We were sent to touch base with you guys – what’s goin’ on back there?”

“The northern garrison is ours,” Guan Yu reported. “There is a cannon fort on the hill, however, that still seems to be giving us trouble. What is it like in the south?”

“Our forces appear to have taken one,” Yu Jin said, looking back over his shoulder and noting that only two of the forts were still firing at the moment. “Lord Cao Pi wanted to know how you were dealing with the cannon and if any other reinforcements were needed.”

“You will have to go further northward to find Lord Zhao Yun and ask him about the plan,” Guan Yu admitted. “We broke off earlier to pursue Orochi troops, and found this path and the engineers trying to block it with boulders and rock falls.”

“Clearly, they were trying to cut us off from one another,” Uesugi Kagekatsu said sourly.

“Tell you what.” Gan Ning thumped his chest importantly. “Let’s trade. If you wanna go see the south for yourself, take these guys and head back. I’ll go on ahead to talk to Zhao Yun.”

“The Uesugi will return as well,” Kenshin decided, glancing at his son. “That cannon fort is still going, they haven’t been able to stop it yet.”

“They’ll need our help,” Kagekatsu agreed.

“That works well,” Guan Yu agreed, gesturing with the Blue Dragon to the other officers on foot. “We’ve cleared this path so our messengers can reach each other now. Take me back so I can consult with Lord Sun Jian and Lord Cao Pi and assist them with the cannons.”

Both forces split up to go their own ways and Gan Ning dismissed Ranmaru to get back into the fray with a quick bump of his fist before turning to follow the Uesugi back northward, veering away from the garrison Shu had captured and looking for a path that might take them to the cannon fort instead. From there Ning cut off and escorted the messengers through the garrison to look for Zhao Yun or Zhuge Liang, and as they came out onto the open plain full of battle, he couldn’t resist simply throwing himself into it. He hadn’t had nearly enough yet, the fun was just getting started. Guan Yu, meanwhile, pulled Ranmaru onto his horse behind his saddle and let him show the way back to where the southern commanders were busy. They were hard to spot in the chaos, but he could see that the cannons here were even more brutal, firing directly on the battlefield regardless of whether there were any Orochi troops in the way. Advancement depended entirely on taking these cannons, and when he consulted with Xiahou Dun, learned of the plan to turn them on Koshi itself. It sounded like a great move, so he remained there in the south with the handful of Shu troops who had followed him all this way, battling shoulder to shoulder with Wu and Wei.

The Resistance units which had pressed on over the bridge and were working their way east had discovered a number of things, such as the paths leading back around toward the drawbridge garrison and the main gate, as well as the large fortress in the corner serving as a repository for even more reinforcements. Given that they had only taken the southwestern garrison through sheer force of numbers, they held back on attacking this one until they could receive additional aid from their allies and busied themselves waylaying and attacking any Orochi troops of any origin roaming abroad in the field. Among the officers leading their troops was Sun Shangxiang, who had just kept going through the hordes of enemy soldiers until she finally looked up and found herself way out ahead of her family and even her bodyguards. She didn’t even consider turning around, though, she was eager to make headway to allow the rest of their army to follow toward the crucial points, particularly if it allowed them to escape the cannons. There didn’t appear to be any artillery in this region of the field, they could pass through unharmed and work to breach the main gate. It made complete sense, even if she didn’t have a lot of backup yet. Sun Shao was with her, at least, and waved for their unit to stop and reconnoiter. “I don’t like this,” he warned his adopted aunt. “We got out too far, we should backtrack.”

“Not yet,” Shangxiang countered. “That garrison up there…we shouldn’t leave it standing. It could come back to hurt us later.”

“We don’t have the manpower,” Shao insisted. “Didn’t I see Xiahou Yuan following us? We should consult with him and bring more troops up to take it.”

Shangxiang looked behind her, but beyond the light of braziers placed outside the tightly-closed gates of the southeastern garrison, it was hard to see much in the dim gloom. There were no torches or signposts anywhere along the path below them, so any vague sense of movement or activity could have just as easily been Orochi troops surrounding them as Wei soldiers coming to their aid. “Maybe you’re right,” she murmured. “Come on, everyone, stay close together. It should be easy to find our way back toward the bridge, keep an eye out for…”

The gates just up the hill from their position opened suddenly with a groan and a creak of iron grinding on itself, and a fresh troop of demons and humans together streamed out toward them. Shangxiang, Shao, and their men turned to meet the ambush, ready to fight, but then something much bigger and more fearsome ducked out from the gate. Hairy, tusked, and giant, Gyuuki plunged forward with long strides to overtake the Wu unit before it could even consider breaking off and retreating. Behind him and concealed in the shadows, Dong Zhuo sat astride his horse, his face a mask of hideous glee. “Right into my trap. Wait – is that a woman?”

One of his retainers squinted into the darkness. “It appears so, my lord.”

Dong Zhuo couldn’t believe his luck and actually squealed. “Catch her for me and tie her up! Kill the rest, but I want that woman for myself!”

He was in a position where he didn’t yet have to risk his own neck, he had plenty of Orochi’s troops as well as his own to fight for him. He drew back into the garrison and awaited the outcome of the skirmish, rubbing his hands eagerly. Below the gate, the Wu forces pulled back into a tight knot which was almost immediately surrounded, though most of their attention was on the huge beast coming at them. “A trap? No!” Sun Shao cried.

“This won’t be enough to keep us down,” Shangxiang said bravely to rally their men. “Fight your way through! Stand your ground, this…whoa, what is _that?_ ”

Gyuuki let out a wheezy, high-pitched laugh as he came on, swinging his enormous club wide. “You heard the commander, take the girl alive!”

Shao grabbed for Shangxiang’s horse’s bridle. “My lady, get out of here! They want you, get away!”

All things considered, there was no shame in retreating in the face of the completely unexpected demon forces charging at them – that club looked like it could kill in one hit if anyone was unfortunate enough to be under it when it came down. Shangxiang wheeled her horse and spurred it to plow through the line of soldiers ringing their own, while Shao darted the other way and everyone scattered to make a hole so that when the club did smash into the ground, it struck a clear space. On the backswing, though, it swept straight for the woman trying to escape and caught her in the back, knocking her flying off her horse. Gyuuki bent down and grabbed her in one hand, dragging her up by her shirt and checking with a sniff to see if he had accidentally killed her. No, she was simply unconscious, so he turned and carried her off toward the garrison, leaving the rank-and-file to deal with Sun Shao and the rest of the Wu forces. The iron doors slammed shut behind the hulking demon, closing the Resistance outside and leaving them to their fate. Dong Zhuo dismounted and came forward when the beast brought him his prize, practically sparkling. “Excellent work!” he crowed. “Just as I planned it, everything is going so well! Ahh, what do we have here – can this be Lady Sun?”

Shangxiang slumped limp on the ground when Gyuuki deposited her there, and Dong Min hustled to bring ropes to bind her securely hand and foot. “What luck,” he encouraged his brother. “I didn’t even think we’d get a chance like this.”

“She’s all mine,” Zhuo said gleefully. “At last! This is exactly the kind of reward I deserve for following Orochi’s orders. If you see any more,” he added, pointing around at his retainers, “I want them taken alive and brought here to join her. Ohh, but what a prize!” He bent down and cupped her face in his meaty hand, tipping it up so he could look at her. “What a beauty! Ah, if only I had time right now for a taste…”

Shangxiang came to right at that moment, and recoiled sharply, trying to pull herself free. “What? No! Let me go! Let me go, you big ape!”

Zhuo’s hand only closed tighter, clenching on her jaw and cutting off her protest. “Settle down, now! You don’t want me to hurt you, do you? You’re mine now, little tiger. All mine!”

“No!” Shangxiang struggled as hard as she could, but the ropes were tight around her arms and shoulders all the way down to her hands, as well as around her ankles. Seeing that she was caught and couldn’t even work a finger free to fight back, she did the only thing she could – she lifted her head and screamed as loud as possible. 

Dong Zhuo drew back his hand and struck her across the face. “Stop that! Nobody’s going to come to your rescue, your bodyguard is slain and no one can get into this garrison so long as I hold it!”

Shangxiang gasped hard at the pain as well as the thought that Sun Shao had been killed trying to save her, and then bristled fiercely at him. “You’re not going to hold me! I’d rather die than let you touch me one more time!” She drew back her bound feet and shot them forward, slamming them together into his knee.

Between her strength and her perfect aim, Dong Zhuo crumpled on the spot, toppling to the side like a boulder with a shout of pain. “Insolent girl!” he snarled at her. “Damn you, I will teach you some manners the hard way!”

He heaved himself up onto his undamaged knee and punched her again, this time in the gut. He would have continued on, right there in the middle of the garrison, but one of his men shouted in warning. More troops were approaching the garrison from the west, and it looked like trouble.

Sun Shao was not dead as Dong Zhuo wished, he managed to rouse what was left of their unit and fight free of the ambush, and in fleeing back toward the bridge he came across Xiahou Yuan and his contingent. He hurriedly explained what had just happened, and then added, “We need more troops! We have to break into that garrison and free her before he does anything to her!”

Yuan stared hard and then gave a toss of his head. “Go on, ride back as fast as you can and drag up everybody who can be spared. We’ll go ahead and see what we can do.” He waited for Shao to gallop past him and then turned to his son beside him. “What do you think? Ready to go gut a suckling pig?”

Xiahou Ba hadn’t even been born when Dong Zhuo was destroyed, but he had heard all the old stories from the elite of Wei. There was nothing to be salvaged from the usurping tyrant. He raised his lance eagerly. “Let’s go. Maybe we can rescue Lady Sun before the others get here.”

Seeing what effort it took to force open and then conquer one cannon fort, the combined Wei and Wu army decided to focus on one fort at a time rather than spread themselves thin to attack both of them at once. Thanks to Mitsunari’s advice they had figured out the timing on the shots and the range of the central fort so as to approach it without losing too many more men and then work on breaking down the gate without having to fear cannon shells raining onto their heads. The third cannon westward of them could not reach them without damaging the fort itself, so they had the luxury of time to work on bringing this one down. With Guan Yu adding to their strength, they got the doors broken a lot more quickly than the previous attempt, but then came the hard fight against the defenders. Apparently the Orochi troops had already watched the other one fall, for Keelback led his units into the fray with unusual energy, screeching, “If we lose the cannon, we will all feel the wrath of Lord Orochi!”

“Crush any who get close!” Yellowbelly demanded, taking up his comrade’s cry.

“Take ‘em down!” Huang Gai bellowed as he shouldered up alongside Cao Ren and Dian Wei.

Keelback flung himself onto Cao Ren, who crouched behind his shield to take the blow and then shoved with it to bowl the demon over. The others shouldered up on either side of him, swinging wide with their immense clubs and axes to clear a path for the rest of their forces to follow. Together the Resistance drove a wedge into the defense and then stood their ground in the center to take down every demon which came at them from any side. It took time to thin out the enemy defenses, and then Xiahou Dun cut in past his fellows to launch himself at Yellowbelly, slicing him straight up across the middle and then throwing him down into the dirt to bleed to death. Ling Tong sprang off Huang Gai’s shoulder to get around the swell of demon forces and head for the cannoneers behind the low wall, landing neatly and then shooting out a foot to trip up Keelback and allow the others to make another gap. That was when the momentum turned fully in their favor, and with one last push they finally cut down the last commander and then the cannon engineers. Sun Ce raised one tonfa high in triumph. “That’s two! Let’s get some guys in here to push this one toward the castle!”

They were still taking stock of their own forces and preparing to move on to the next task when Sun Shao rode up and practically flew off his horse in his haste to find his adopted father and the rest of the Sun family. Everyone regardless of allegiance whipped around sharply upon hearing his cry and his report. “Captured?” Ding Feng repeated loudly for all to hear. “How?”

“It’s Dong Zhuo,” Shao breathlessly related. “I saw him in the gate, before the huge demon advanced on us and took her.”

Sun Jian flew immediately into a rage. “Dong Zhuo _has my daughter?!_ We’re going after her – now! Everyone…”

“Not everyone,” Cao Pi demanded, getting in their way. “There is still one more cannon to capture. You’ve seen how how much force it takes, we can’t all be rushing off to the rescue right this moment.”

“But the garrison where Dong Zhuo is hiding is too strong for us to take with just a handful,” Shao insisted. “I informed Xiahou Yuan, he’s there with his kinsmen, but even that won’t be enough.”

Sun Ce looked every bit as incensed as his father, but he set a hand on Jian’s arm to hold him back. “Lord Cao Pi’s right. We’re needed in both places at once, let’s split things up as best we can. Quan – ”

“Already on it,” Sun Quan said gruffly, and indeed he was already back in the saddle and ready to go. “Zhou Tai, you’re with me. Sakon, Cheng Pu…”

“And me!” Ina declared, pausing only to whistle for a horse. “I will not leave her in that foul beast’s hands!”

Cao Pi turned to find someone he could trust with an order. “Jia Xu, go with them. Find Zhang Liao and Zhang He and bring them back to assist you.”

“Yes, my lord.” Jia Xu sprang into the saddle and nodded to Xu Huang. “You’re in charge of keeping an eye on the young master, then.”

“On it,” Huang said with a salute in return.

“We will join you as soon as we have this last cannon in hand,” Sun Ce promised.

“If all goes well we’ll have her back by then.” Quan wheeled his horse and urged it on with a shout, racing off immediately to the east with Sun Shao at his side to guide him, and the rest of the officers right behind. They rode without hesitating toward the bridge and then beyond, not even pausing to do battle with any Orochi stragglers still meandering this way and that across the field in search of someone to attack. The rest of the Wei forces currently holding the easternmost cannon took care of anyone attempting to harass them, letting them pass by unmolested. As one force they thundered across the bridge and up the road leading toward the eastern drawbridge gate, then turned aside at Sun Shao’s direction to approach the garrison from the side. They could see a skirmish already underway at the closed gate, indicating where Xiahou Yuan had already begun the assault to breach the garrison and get at the tyrant holed up inside; Zhang Liao and Zhang He had already noticed the struggle as well and turned aside from their northward advance to lend a hand. The Orochi troops fighting back were those who had already been sent out as reinforcements in earlier waves, but when Sun Quan came blazing forward with so many officers and soldiers behind him, they broke and fled along the wall, spurring their attackers to give chase. A gate facing northward was just beginning to open, either to let the panicking troops in or permit more to exit, and the Xiahou clan fell on it hard and fast to keep it from being shut in their faces. Gyuuki could not resist the challenge posed by the ruckus outside and shoved the gate wide open to let himself out, which would have let the Resistance in had he not completely blocked the door with his bulk. Sun Quan came around the corner of the building just then and screeched to a halt. “What the hell is that?”

“Looks like the guy Dun and I fought at He Fei,” Xiahou Yuan answered, immediately lowering his bow in favor of a club. “Dumb as a box of rocks but he hits really hard, so don’t get in the way of that club.” He looked up to see who had all joined them, and then added, “Hey.”

“Everyone, charge!” Quan ordered, lofting his sword high. “Heed Xiahou Yuan’s warning and get past that thing so we can rescue my sister!”

Gyuuki stomped towards them, seeing all the men on horses and knowing they had to be important, but even with his size and strength advantage he was quickly beset by all the officers. The heavy-hitters faced him head on and bashed away the club when it came at them, giving Zhang He and Jia Xu the space to flit behind him and cut him from behind with claw and sickle. Every time he whirled around to try to fend these biting flies from off his back, Zhou Tai zipped in to slash him from the side, and then Zhang Liao closed with huge swings of his polearm. It was all too easy to damage this great beast of a demon and fell him like a tree, though when he came crashing down, everyone had to scatter so as not to get crushed under his bulk. Xiahou Ba had already charged past them and braced the door with his huge lance, and stood there taking hits from the defenders still inside the garrison without a single complaint, letting his armor and helm absorb the blows that got past his heavy lance. Sakon whistled, impressed at the young man’s fortitude. “Nice job, we’ll take it from here.”

Ba didn’t glance at them as they approached, he kept his shoulders squared and eyes focused on the enemy inside. As soon as he felt them at his back, he took hold of his lance and swept it in a wide slash to disengage those attempting to hit him, flinging them all backward into the garrison and clearing the doorway for his allies to advance. “Let’s go!” he cried.

Still mounted, Sun Quan barreled past him and into the garrison, which was thick with tents and campfires attesting to the army which had been housed within for quite some time. The demon captain Cottonmouth charged them as soon as they came into view, but Dong Zhuo, Dong Min, and several of their retainers were still waiting at the back of the garrison, a much larger force than any of the Resistance expected to be inside. Quan only had eyes for Dong Zhuo, and as his horse bodily checked Cottonmouth out of the way, his eyes fell on the tyrant and the prize bound at his feet. He had dragged her across the garrison to guard her himself, but still ordered his retainers forward to protect him. Quan struck their swords and spears aside as he came on. “You fiend! I will not stand for this!”

Though annoyed that Gyuuki had already failed and the gate had been breached, Dong Zhuo did not appear terribly worried about the attacking force. He heard Sun Quan’s roar of defiance and laughed brashly. “So it’s you! You are nothing to me now, Sun Quan – nothing but a bug to be crushed underfoot!” He yanked back on Shangxiang’s hair and put his sword to her throat, forcing her brother to rein in so hard his horse skidded several feet. “That’s right. If you don’t want her to die, drop your sword and surrender! Li Jue…”

His retainer dashed forward, but Quan merely dismounted and then slashed hard at him to keep him from coming too close. “I will cut through all of you for my sister’s sake,” he said in a low, dangerous tone. “Make no mistake, Dong Zhuo – you have never been anything to me. I will gut you like the pig you are and leave you to be torn apart by the dogs you surround yourself with!”

Li Jue swung at him again, finding himself stymied by the Wu prince’s powerful arms and his stout King Wolf sword. “Dogs, are we?” he snarled. “A pack of dogs will bring down a tiger, you know.”

Quan’s lips curled in a sarcastic growl. “Good thing I’m not actually a tiger, but a man – and a stronger one than you.” He shoved forward to disengage and then lunged to bury his blade deep in Li Jue’s shoulder. The man fell screaming in pain, and more of Dong Zhuo’s men rushed in to serve as a wall between the furious Sun Quan and their leader, while a couple more dragged Li back out of the way. Quan eagerly leaped to engage them, only to have Sakon sweep in from the side with his massive sword and drive half of them back. He only gave Quan a smirk over his shoulder to assure him that he was there to help, to which Quan nodded before putting himself shoulder-to-shoulder with the brawny ronin and working to get past this obstacle.

Behind them, the rest of their forces spread out to handle the staggering number of Orochi defenders stationed inside the garrison, demons led by Cottonmouth and Dong Zhuo’s men with them. While their comrades rushed forward with swords and polearms, Xiahou Yuan and Ina paused at the gate to draw their bows simultaneously and send a rain of arrows into the knots of Orochi soldiers swarming around the center trying to prevent reinforcements from coming to Sun Quan’s side. Yuan hadn’t seen her but he heard the twang of the bowstring and glanced Ina’s way, realizing she had the same stance as he and could fire just as rapidly. “Not bad!” he complimented her. “Looks like you really know how to fire yourself an arrow.”

Ina glanced at him and nodded once in approval. “As do you.”

“At least until the press gets too thick.” Yuan lowered his bow, already seeing that their own allies were mixing with the enemy enough that it would be hard to shoot without accidentally hitting them. “Then it’s time to go in swinging. You with me?”

He slung his bow over his back and tugged the club from his belt instead. Ina still had one arrow fitted to the string, but dropped her arms and slashed with it, using the bladed ends to cut through a couple of demons who had foolishly thrown themselves on them. “Let’s move. Shangxiang needs us!”

They pushed inward alongside the other Xiahous, Zhang Liao, and Cheng Pu, as Ba seemed to be forging ahead in a powerful wedge which the others could use to their advantage. Zhou Tai had already gone ahead with Sakon, and Zhang He was somewhere in the fray, but for now the rest of them needed to focus on the enemy in front of them, searching out officers and taking them down in order to drive the rank-and-file into retreat. There were simply too many of them to just ignore and focus on the commander and his captive, or else they would have all of these Orochi soldiers flanking and hitting them from behind. Their efforts freed Sun Quan and Sakon to concentrate on trying to break past Guo Si and Fan Chou, while Dong Zhuo continued to creep backwards step by step, dragging Shangxiang with him despite her vigorous flailing and struggling slowing him down. She fought him the only way she knew how, refusing to let him pick her up and carry her off, unafraid of the blade near her throat. She figured he would rather have her alive to fulfill his desires than dead, but all the same, she knew he would kill her if he had no other choice. She even tried biting him, but he cuffed her with the pommel of his sword, dazing her. Her brother and his fellows saw it and pushed harder against their foes, desperate to reach her, but then a bright blur of purple and pink streaked behind the line of Han retainers. They didn’t even see it before it was already past, and Dong Zhuo reeled from something that struck aside his sword, taking a moment to realize that his prize was no longer at his feet. He bellowed angrily at the loss and recovered his balance in order to look sharply around and see who had come between him and his treasure, finding Zhang He crouched a few yards away, cradling Sun Shangxiang in his arms and protecting her with his shoulders and back turned to the enemy. She was still hazy, but roused a little bit at the feeling of being buoyed up. “It’s all right, Lady Sun,” He murmured, his head turned away to keep his eyes on Dong Zhuo and all his men. “I’ve got you.”

Shangxiang blinked and looked up at him. “Aren’t you…Zhang He?”

He smiled in spite of himself. “My reputation precedes me, I take it? Don’t worry about it, let’s get you out of here.”

“My weapons…” She wriggled in his grip but still couldn’t get a hand free to point. “…I need them…”

Zhang He looked around, and then spotted a flash of bronze and silver near the wall behind where their foe stood. “Ah, those beautiful hoops over there? Hmm, in order to get to them…”

Both felt a shadow fall over them and looked up sharply, He whisking one arm over Shangxiang to guard her with his claws, but it was Zhou Tai, standing tall and proud with sword sheathed for the moment. “Let me,” he said darkly.

Junyi rose swiftly and gently let Shangxiang down onto her feet, waiting until Zhou Tai had taken her in his own arms before letting go. “She’s all yours, tall dark and handsome,” he cooed. “I’m going in again for her weapons.”

Zhou Tai’s expression remained dour and deadpan, unresponsive to the flirting, but he was content trusting Zhang He with the mission. In turn, he supported Shangxiang against his powerful shoulder while he untied her and checked her over for injuries, finding bruises and blood which had been hidden beneath the ropes. “Are you all right, my lady?”

“Give me a minute,” Shangxiang breathed against his neck. The blow to her head had shaken her more than she thought, and he was a very nice wall against which she could lean until she recovered her wits. Zhou Tai diligently took to guarding her, curling himself around her so that he could lay his hand on the hilt of his sword and prepare to draw and fight if anyone got too close.

Seeing that they had stolen his captive back from him, Dong Zhuo flew into a careless rage, swinging his sword so wildly that Guo Si and Fan Chou dodged to either side to avoid getting cut from behind. As they split, Sakon darted through the gap they made and swung his Wrecking Blade up to block with enough force that it stopped Dong Zhuo hard in his tracks. The tyrant gnashed his teeth at him. “Get out of my way! That woman is mine!”

Sakon recalled this same bellowing all too well from Jianye and simply smirked. “In any relationship, a woman needs her freedom,” he retorted. “Don’t you know that?”

The pause for a quip nearly cost him, as Fan Chou came back in from the side, but Zhang Liao swept in to engage him, knocking him clear. Zhang He used both of them as a distraction and sprinted behind Dong Zhuo’s bulk to snatch the chakrams resting against the wall on one set of claws, though the flutter of his silks as he passed through caught several eyes and Dong Min turned to chase him, only to find himself confronted by Cheng Pu. It truly was a group effort regardless of kingdom, and one by one the Orochi-loyal retainers fell, giving Sun Quan the opening he needed. He shouldered up behind Sakon, allowing him to take the lead, and then cut in from around the broad shield of the Wrecking Blade at the last second. Swords clashed for a moment, three or four strikes in sequence, and then Sakon brought his blade up in a vertical strike that forced Dong Zhuo to step back lest he get his beard and his chin split right in two. Fighting side by side, the Wu prince and the ronin forced their opponent away from his retainers and then hammered on him until his sword-arm began to give with every blow, and he didn’t look nearly so confident any longer. But there was nowhere to retreat, they had him backed into a corner and anyone who would rescue him was down or nearly so. As they cleared the rest of the Orochi forces out of their way, the combined Wei and Wu contingent began to converge on the battle between Dong Zhuo and the two determined officers, picking off any interference as they came. Zhuo made the mistake of glancing to the side to see why his brother wasn’t coming to help him, only to have Sakon whirl his giant sword around and sweep his blade out of the way, leaving him wide and exposed. Sun Quan brushed along the strategist’s back and plunged in with his King Wolf straight forward, piercing Dong Zhuo in the joint of his shoulder just above his protective chestplate. The serrated blade sank deep, leaving the tyrant gasping for air from the shock of the pain. Sakon deftly flipped his sword in his grip and smashed the pommel into the solid plate over Zhuo’s stomach, denting it and sending him reeling a step, though it didn’t dislodge the blade in his shoulder. Quan pulled back on his own, and both of them closed in to strike again, going for unprotected spots like his legs, arms, and throat. Dong Zhuo only had one more swing of his sword in him and used it to deflect Quan from slitting his throat, but Sakon’s follow-up cut the same leg which had already been fractured by Shangxiang’s earlier kick, and the Han usurper came crashing down, collapsing at their feet with his sword bouncing out of his hand and skittering across the ground. Sun Quan stepped on his outflung arm and lowered his blade over his neck. “Give me one good reason,” he seethed, “why I shouldn’t behead you for your crimes on the spot!”

Dong Zhuo had no answer, he was already fading fast from the blood pouring from his wounds and dazed by the hits. Quan had no thoughts of mercy for him, and raised his sword to perform the execution, but then Guo Si stumbled beneath the blade, forcing the Wu prince to stay his hand lest he cut the wrong person – not that he had any reason to spare this man either, after what he did to the imperial family, but it wasn’t his intended target. “If we retreat,” Guo Si gasped, ragged and injured himself, “will you allow it? Lord Sun Quan…we were allies once…”

“I don’t consider anyone who helped Orochi suppress me, my father, and my family, an ally,” Quan snarled. “If your pathetic lives are so important to you, then leave Koshi Castle immediately! Do not even stop to send a message to your commander, or we will kill you on the spot and leave your bodies to rot in this wasteland!”

Sakon took his arm as if to warn him not to leave them a single inch lest they take advantage of it, but Guo Si kowtowed and groveled lustily to show just how sincere they were about retreating. He and Dong Min were the only ones capable of standing, and moved to drag Dong Zhuo away, toward a side gate which opened out on the rear paths which led away from the castle. Quan took a few aggressive steps toward them, but Sakon and Zhang Liao managed to hold him back from finishing the job – no matter how logical and prudent it was to kill Dong Zhuo so he couldn’t make further trouble, it was dishonorable to cut down an enemy already in retreat, and in their current situation, the only thing that set them apart from Orochi was their honor. They remained on guard until the pair had actually opened the gate and started to pick their leader up to carry him off, and then Quan turned to the more important issue. “Shangxiang!”

“I’m here!” Shangxiang stumbled toward him, finally gaining her feet and able to lift her head and focus on him. “It’s all right, brother, I’m right here…”

Quan caught her up in one arm to hug her close. “Are you all right, my sister?”

“They roughed me up a little,” she confessed, “but I can continue. I’m not going to let the likes of that pig take me out of this battle so soon.”

“Shangxiang!” Ina rushed to their sides, looking her over for herself and understanding that she was prepared to push past injury. “You’re safe, thank goodness.”

“Thank you for coming to help, Ina,” Shangxiang said with a happy sigh. “I’m all right.”

“Your weapons, my lady.” Zhang He strode up, delicately balancing the pair of chakrams on the end of his claws, and presented them with a flourish.

“Thank you…” Shangxiang took the hoops and checked them quickly for damage, but it appeared that all her captors had done was disarm her and then leave them on the ground, nothing more. She offered him a slight bow. “And thank you for protecting me, Lord Zhang He.”

“My pleasure,” He said with a lilt. “My, aren’t we all having fun, here, all together? But this place has become dull, we should move the party elsewhere.”

“There is plenty of action to be had out there on the field,” Zhang Liao noted. “We still have some distance to go to reach the eastern gate, and at last check the Orochi army held all that ground with their numbers.”

“Then we’ll press on,” Sun Quan decided. “My father and brother have the cannon problem covered, along with Lord Cao Pi, so we will fight on here and wait for them to join us.”

For the moment Da Ji had taken to the parapet along the top of the castle wall to get a good look at the progress of the battle, arms folded and one nail tapping on her arm as she noticed that two of the cannon forts had fallen silent. “Look at them,” she complained, mostly to herself although Dodomeki stood at her side. “They think they’ve won just because they’ve taken a couple of cannons. I oughta turn those cheers into screams.”

“Allow me,” Dodomeki muttered. “We still have reinforcements in plenty.”

Da Ji glanced at him, and then huffed under her breath. “Go through the northern garrison. Not the gate – Keiji’s on guard there. Someone in the north cut down my sorcerers and stopped the rockslides, they’re up to something.” She lowered her head and gave him a vicious look. “No one who’s seen this castle can be allowed to leave, now. I want them all dead.”

“Understood.” The demon captain flitted down off the walls in an instant, agile as a leaping insect, and vanished into the gloom to round up his forces and take them through a passageway unknown to the Resistance which came out near the garrison currently under Shu control. Only demons would risk the noxious fumes of the lava and the choking darkness of that stair, so they were the choice for the next wave of reinforcements, including Leaflitter and the other two who had been on guard along the terrace. Lu Bu watched them go with a snort, silently bidding them good riddance so that he could boldly claim sole guardianship of the main drawbridge.

Inside the walls of the garrison which protected the northern drawbridge, Maeda Keiji watched wave after wave of reinforcements slip through the gate never to return – demons, then humans, then more demons. He hadn’t heard a thing from inside the castle since Da Ji sent him to hold this garrison, while the Resistance continued to encroach on his position, growing nearer and nearer the walls heedless of the cannon shot thudding into the ground all around them. He was still sitting astride his horse, impatiently whacking the blade-end of his pike against the ground, when he heard the commotion closing in on both gates, left and right, and the handful of snake demon guards still lingering about the garrison started freaking out about the Resistance. Keiji had had enough, and since Da Ji didn’t see fit to pop in and check on the situation on this side, he was the only one who could make decisions and act upon them. The enemy’s approach had still taken considerable time, but they were at last within his range. Ignoring the gibbering of the demons, he clapped his heels to Matsukaze’s flanks. “Out of my way!” he yelled to the guards at the gate. “Our guests have arrived, so it’s time to get this party started!”

One of the serpents flailed at him. “But Master Maeda! Da Ji said to…”

“I don’t care what she said!” he snarled as he rode straight up and knocked the protesting demon sprawling. “She ain’t here to take care of this problem, so I’m gonna have to do it for her! Now open the gates!”

The rest of the guards quailed before him and did as he asked, unlatching and swinging the westward-facing gate open to permit him to leave. Taking up his Ogre Horn, Keiji laughed brashly as he charged, deliberately calling all attention to him. No matter who was out there, banging on the door to get in, he was going to take the fight to them first.


	87. Chapter 87

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of Koshi Castle, part 3 - Keiji attacks, and the rest of the cannon forts are finally captured one by one.

As the day stretched on, so did the battle to breach Koshi Castle, and through the Resistance made gradual progress, there was still a long way to go. In the south, the combined forces of Wei and Wu had managed to take two of the three cannon forts, silencing the massive weapons, but the third still resolutely fired upon them and made it incredibly difficult to approach. Additional Orochi reinforcements were steadily streaming out of some unknown gap in the defense somewhere, but until the attackers could find said hole and plug it, they had to keep fighting through waves of demon soldiers just to maintain what ground they had already gained. Eastward of their struggle, Sun Quan and Zhang Liao led their units toward the main drawbridge gate, but found themselves beset by fresh Orochi troops there as well, and were stuck for a while at the gate of the southeast garrison simply defending themselves. Zhao Yun and the forces with him halted their advance in surprise as Maeda Keiji rode toward them bellowing in challenge, and for a moment were caught between cannon fire and a formidable enemy. Then Sanada Yukimura frowned darkly, brandished his Crimson Fang high, and rode to meet that challenge without an ounce of fear, inspiring the others to follow.

As he rode up the hill toward the cannon fort still firing upon the Shu and Oda half of the Resistance, Uesugi Kenshin found himself falling in with Tachibana, who had led her troops onward and upward some time ago with no success. The pathways on one side were heavily guarded and within range of fire, so she had come down and backtracked to try another route. Reinforcements were more than welcome, it made all the difference between being pinned down yet again and forging ahead with their plan. As they came around a bend and within sight of the fort, they noticed that the iron gate on this side was standing wide open and there didn’t seem to be a single guard in the entrance. Kenshin reined in with a scowl for the scene before him. “Never have I seen such an obvious trap,” he complained to Kagekatsu beside him. “Such amateurism must not go unpunished.”

His son raised an eyebrow. “I take it we walk right in?”

“At once.” Uesugi glanced to be sure that Tachibana and her troops had caught up, and then waved his sword commandingly. “Take down the cannon and everyone inside!”

There was only so much room for them to advance through the open gate, but they mustered into ranks and did so without descending into battle-crazed chaos, leaving room up the center for Kenshin, Kagekatsu, and the other officers with them to ride without running down their own men. As soon as their foremost ranks came into the torchlight there was a screech from the serpent captain commanding the defense. “Fools! You’ve walked right into our trap!” Patchnose cackled. “Fire!”

Thanks to their keen observation, the Uesugi and Shu troops were ready for an ambush, but they had not anticipated the nature of it. At the captain’s demand, two lines of Date riflemen raised their guns and shot without needing to aim, peppering the Resistance soldiers at the fore. Most of them were armored enough but a few shots winged their unprotected arms and legs and more than a few stumbled, going down hard. Their comrades behind them leaped over them and pressed the fight while the rifle corps reloaded and snake demons poured out of their hiding places along the fortification walls, and the cannon still thundered over their heads. The press was tight, so much so that Kenshin had to dismount just to be able to wield his sword to his fullest capability and not hit his own allies, but that only filled him with more glee than usual. A brutal fight in tight quarters like this, he was all too happy to be covered in blood spatter in mere minutes. He fought his way toward the cannon and set upon the cannoneers, only to find himself surrounded. It didn’t bother him at all, he simply set his feet and went to town on anyone who dared to think he would be easy to take down while on foot. A shoulder bumped up against him and he glanced to see Tachibana at his back, battling against Patchnose directly. She was so heavily armored – chain, scale, and plate – that the demon couldn’t get through to harm her, except for in one spot, so he drew back his spear and rammed the butt of it into her gut in order to throw her off, and then cracked it over her head. She fell, dazed, at Kenshin’s feet, and didn’t see him turn and grab the demon with his free hand, yanking him toward his barbed sword. By the time she was able to pick herself up, the gray-skinned demon captain lay in a pool of his own blood at Uesugi’s feet, and he roared in triumph. Ginchiyo pushed away from him, not wanting to get caught up in his frenzy, and staggered against the short wall protecting the cannon housing. Even with their captain down the Orochi troops fought on, determined not to let the cannon itself be taken, and though the rifle corps had scattered into individual men they were still taking whatever shots they could manage. A bullet ricocheted off the heavy iron cannon and added insult to Tachibana’s injury, stinging across her cheek just above the guard of her helm. No matter how well Uesugi seemed to be handling the battle, she was starting to feel like it was getting out of hand, they didn’t have enough men to take it even if they had seen the trap for what it was. Then, the far gate which she had been trying to breach earlier fell open, and the Yuan clan stormed in, Yuan Shao still mounted but his sons on foot. Help unlooked-for was not to be turned down, and with their addition the Resistance finally turned the tide, sent the defenders into rout, took down the riflemen before they could escape, and cut down the engineers working the cannon. At long last a blessed silence fell over the fort instead of the constant roar, and they all paused to congratulate one another. Kagekatsu shouldered Tachibana to help her to the center where the others were taking stock of their success. “Its aim shifted,” Yuan Shao was explaining to Kenshin. “The shot was falling on the open field where Zhao Yun still is, instead of on the path. Naturally, I took it as a sign and raced up the hill to assault the gate, and opened it without any trouble at all.”

One of the Uesugi retainers grumbled under his breath. “I opened it from the inside.”

“So be it,” Kenshin said in his dour tone, though he was faintly smiling. This battle was going exactly as he would have wanted. “I will return to the garrison below to seek new orders. Remain here to hold this fortification. Lord and Lady…” He regarded Tachibana respectfully. “Can you continue?”

Ginchiyo touched her cheek to see how much blood came away on her glove. “I may need a moment,” she acknowledged, “but then I will continue. I will not rest, no blow to the head is enough to stop me. I did not lose consciousness, I can carry on just fine.”

“As you wish.” Uesugi whistled for his horse and his son. “Onward!”

Behind the castle walls, Da Ji was rather frustrated to hear that Dong Zhuo had lost the southeastern garrison, for she had been counting on him to ambush the Resistance flank as they moved across the plain. She stood below the portico in the courtyard to take the report from her lackeys, arms folded and clawed foot tapping impatiently. “Well that didn’t last long,” she complained. “Did they kill him?”

“It seems he fled,” the demon replied.

She snarled under her breath, but before Da Ji could issue an order to bring him back in, another snake demon came running in through the main doors. “Maeda Keiji has gone off on his own! What do we do?”

“What do you mean he’s gone off on his own?” Da Ji snapped, whirling to meet this new problem. “Keiji!”

“I anticipated this,” Orochi said flatly from where he stood just above her. “Replace him.”

Da Ji looked up sharply to him and then turned around so he wouldn’t see the moment of fear in her eyes. _Replace him? With who?_ she fretted to herself. They were starting to run out of competent officers, and she needed Lu Bu and Date exactly where they were. “You,” she demanded of the demon who had told her of this development. “Get in there and hold the garrison in his place! Once you’re in, raise the drawbridge so those rats can’t get in!” She spun again to point and spew orders at anyone else still unfortunate enough to be lingering in the courtyard. “What are you all waiting around for? I don’t hear screaming! I want to see _more_ pain inflicted! More!”

The soldiers around her scattered and raced to obey, partly because of her vicious snarling but mostly due to Orochi right behind her and his baleful stare. Da Ji waited until they had all gone out and then stalked off after them, needing to go back to taking personal control of the flow of battle. At least by doing so, she could get out from under Orochi’s displeased gaze as well.

The thunder of Matsukaze’s hooves on the basalt turf drew attention even before Keiji’s lusty laugh could be heard above the din of battleclash. Yukimura charged to meet his attack but got caught in the press of their own front line still battling hard against what was left of Diamondback’s units and couldn’t fully advance like he wanted. Keiji couldn’t pick one face out from another in the gloom and the pall of dust and gunpowder smoke, but it didn’t matter who he was facing so long as he faced the Resistance’s best. “Who wants a mouthful of my pike first?” he bellowed as he came on, plowing into his own allies in order to cleave a hole through their line. “Anyone? C’mon!”

He was ready to ride down any and all foot traffic in his way just to reach anyone Resistance, but the enemy reached him first, as the gray stallion came to an abrupt halt and reared to avoid the wide sweep of a polearm coming their way. Maeda fought to stay in the saddle until they were on the ground again, and then backed up to get a good look at the foe who had come for him. A mask hid his face, but there was no doubt that the man behind it was a mountain of pure muscle, his arms and legs bare and nothing more than a leather cuirass protecting his chest. Despite his own appearance, Keiji was actually taken aback for a moment. “What in the hell are _you?_ ” he grunted. 

Wei Yan spun his volgue deftly to bring the larger of the two blades down into a ready stance. “I…fight!” he yelled gruffly back.

“You don’t say,” Keiji retorted, swinging down out of the saddle. “Well all right, then! You better look out, weird little man, because the wild man’s comin’ to break you in two!”

He rushed for Wei Yan and found his strength matched, though after a moment’s pause Yan’s arms gave back so he could swing his polearm around and jab inward. The ferocity of his attack made Keiji wonder for a moment where they had been keeping this guy, compared to all those he had already faced in his time as Orochi’s elite. He had recovered since his last defeats and regained full strength, so he was not to be underestimated as well, and cackled eagerly every time he fended off Wei Yan’s hits with his longer, stronger Ogre Horn. They circled and swung and clashed for a short time, but Maeda would not be brought down so easily anymore. His eyes might have been on his opponent and the two blades on either end of his shorter polearm, but he had the chance now to really gauge the state of the battlefield and hungered for the warriors he knew to be just beyond this first challenge. Shifting his grip from two hands to one, Keiji powered his way through Wei Yan’s stubborn strength and scored a deep hit along his unprotected arm, only to have his pike deflected from doing further damage by another weapon. He glanced to the side as another of Shu’s stoutest came at him with a short spear, and laughed again to be able to engage Wei Yan and Wang Ping at the same time. Two on one wasn’t even enough, and in due order he had likewise cut a wide gash along Wang Ping’s flank before bringing the pommel of his pike back to slam into Wei Yan’s completely unprotected midriff. Clearing them out of his way, Keiji turned to find even more piling in on him from either side and hooted at the melee he had inspired. Even demons were backing off, giving him a wide space in which to swing his weapon and take on all comers. The sight of Sanada red sent him into a frenzy of battle-lust, though mixed with it came the green of Shu in the form of Xingcai, Guan Xing, and Fa Zheng, the brilliant blues of Sima Zhao and Sima Shi, and behind them, the bronzed armor of his own uncle Toshiie alongside the shining white of the Shu commander himself. Most of Oda’s top officers had gone with him, but he had left enough capable hands behind to assist Zhao Yun with an enemy of this size. Maeda’s expression faltered for only a second, seeing his uncle coming at him yet again, but he turned his attention to those much closer and began fighting them in earnest, taking them on in twos and threes. Sima Shi realized the futility of pitting too many people against him directly and backed off after a moment, going to guard Zhao Yun instead, since Diamondback was still slouching around the field mustering his soldiers back into formation to hit them again, and a fresh wave of new and frightening demons had just burst through Jiang Wei’s blockade of the garrison to nip at their flanks. With the cannon no longer functioning, the field was free for anyone to take if they had the strength, and Zhao Yun spun his horse to deal with this new threat from the side while his fellows handled Keiji. As he rode, he heard the ringing of bells and looked down to realize that it was, in fact, Gan Ning of Wu who had just run past him in the opposite direction. There was no time to question, he had to simply accept that Wu reinforcements had reached this part of the field and he could soldier on.

Feet planted and pike whirling over his head, Maeda Keiji was a typhoon of energy, a force stronger than demon magic it seemed as he drove off the weaker officers who couldn’t manage more than a hit or two from him before their arms or knees buckled. A horse loomed up suddenly behind him, but he heard it in time and dodged in order to bring his pike up to block the great cross-bladed spear that came at his head. At last, he was facing Yukimura, and grinned savagely to see the look of fury and distress on the young samurai’s face. “Lord Keiji!” Yukimura blazed at him, drawing back his spear to strike again. “Is this what has become of you?”

“What kind of greeting is that, Yukimura?” Keiji shouted gleefully. “Finally seeing you again after all this time! Kawanakajima, wasn’t it? Where I handed your ass to you?” He thrust out his free hand to grab a polearm swinging his way, halting Xingcai mid-attack and making her gasp at his monstrous strength. “Bout time you showed up again!”

Yukimura’s shoulders shook with a ripple of anger that coursed up his spine, but he mastered himself and brandished his Crimson Fang, pointing it straight at Keiji’s nose. “I will not let our past friendship stop me from taking you down, Keiji! If I must destroy you, I will!”

“Yeah, yeah, talk talk talk,” Maeda taunted him, tossing his hair. “If you really wanna know, Orochi ‘n me are good pals now, so don’t think you’re even gonna get a chance to face him until you’ve dealt with me, first!” He grinned dangerously, all teeth like a tiger. “And I promise not to make it easy for you.”

Sanada leaped from the saddle and swung his spear instantly, forcing Keiji to let go of Xingcai’s forked spear and put both hands on his own pike to block it. “I will not go easy on you either,” he vowed.

There was a moment’s pause while they stared each other down over their crossed polearms, and then both went on the attack simultaneously, swinging spear and pike in huge, raking strikes which met again and again in a barrage of deafening clangs as metal screamed against metal. Despite Yukimura’s speed and agility, he could not force an opening against Keiji’s strength and power no matter which side he attacked from, and likewise Maeda never really could catch him even with backswings and pommel jabs. It looked like a stalemate for several rounds, so the next time Yukimura found himself pushed back blocking one of those monstrous swings, he found a familiar face sweeping up past him with a heavy broadsword and cutting inside Maeda’s reach. Keiji had to disengage just to block from having that sword in his gut, and frowned at the interference even as Sima Zhao grinned recklessly. “So you’re the guy everyone was talking about,” he panted, and then slid his blade sideways to be able to jam the pommel against Keiji’s knuckles. “Now I see what all the fuss was about.”

“Yeah, well, somebody’s gotta make life interesting, right?” Keiji snorted, undaunted by the attempt at loosening one of his hands from the shaft of his pike.

Zhao’s eyes flicked to the side briefly. “Lord Sanada, mind if I give you a hand?”

“By all means.” Yukimura was winded from the effort, but unhurt, his silver and white Shu-style armor reflecting the lurid red glow all around them. “This isn’t a time for single duels.”

“Damn right it’s not,” Keiji shot back at them, “it’s a time for havoc! C’mon!”

He launched himself at both of them at the same time, but together they were well-matched against him, Yukimura seeking to force the pike this way or that to allow Zhao a chance to bring his sword to bear. Behind them Guan Xing drew the others away, taking a moment to tend to Wang Ping’s ugly wound before he could be trampled by the scattering of Orochi soldiers still swarming around them. It gave the two Resistance officers room to fight their hardest with their biggest, most powerful moves. Yukimura was interested to see Sima Zhao fight again after they had last met on opposite sides, finding him uniquely quick despite his broad stature and the size of his sword. He darted in and out of the spear’s reach, hunting for any opening he could spy in their enemy’s staunch defense, daring to strike even his wrists or his shoulders despite the armor protecting them – not every score had to draw blood, as long as he could land a hit, the physical blow would sap his energy. Yet, Keiji was employing the same strategy, knocking them out of his way and putting distance between them as much as he could with the shaft and butt of his pike. He lost the energy to throw any more taunts and quips at them, he needed it just to keep up with them and not allow either of them to draw first blood on him. He had already ripped both Wei Yan and Wang Ping open and given Guan Xing a hit hard enough to ring his bell, but so far none of his attackers had managed to more than smack him in a heavily-armored spot. He was certain Yukimura had the talent to do it, and focused his defense mainly against the Crimson Fang, for he knew its strength and speed and could not dismiss his one-time ally so easily. Sima Zhao used this to his advantage, taking a step back to let the two of them have at each other for a bit and then ducking when Keiji overextended to bring down an overhand blow onto Yukimura’s silver shoulder guard. It looked like he was dodging out of the way of taking that hit himself, but even before Yukimura could recover and cut the pike away from him, Zhao reappeared between the two of them, drawing his sword in a swift, direct line across Keiji’s middle. He had thick leather there to protect his vitals, but the blade still cut a shallow line against it, damaging his tiger skin and startling him with just how close his opponent had gotten. Dropping his left hand off his pike shaft, Keiji grabbed Zhao by the front of his tunics and tried to throw him aside, finding him a lot heavier than he looked and only managing to fling him a few staggering steps sideways. The distraction was enough for Yukimura to get free and regain his stance, but Maeda was already moving to repay Zhao blow for blow, shifting to battle him one-on-one until he could drive him far enough apart from Yukimura to deal with him separately. Sima Zhao managed to block him at first, but the attack pressed so fiercely that his arms began to give, and then his left elbow slipped, dropping his arm from behind the spine of his Cloudburst just as Keiji hit him again. The blade of the Ogre Horn glanced off the broadsword and raked across Zhao’s upper arm where his leather armor left him no protection at all, and only by the fact that he was already dodging a step backwards did he manage not to have that arm severed right off. Zhao went down with a yelp, and for a heartbeat’s pause he wondered if this would be just like facing Lu Bu, or turn out much worse. Keiji raised his pike high to cleave his head in two, but then something red and gold slammed into his side like a cannonball, knocking him sprawling. Just past them, Yukimura came running with spear held low, ready to resume the fight, and then gasped at who rolled out of the hit and came up on his feet with a jingle of bells. “Master Gan Ning!”

Gan Ning rose to his full height and dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, his eyes completely on their deadly foe also pushing himself up. “Looks like you guys need a hand over here.”

The slash to his arm was pouring blood, Sima Zhao almost couldn’t breathe for the pain. It was far worse than suffering a couple of cracked ribs at Lu Bu’s hand, but it looked like his allies were there for him yet again. He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced to find his brother descending to drag him out of the path of the melee. Keiji staggered to his feet and regarded the new opponent with a bit of a grin. “What have we here?” he said brashly, whirling his pike once around his wrist. “You look like a tough guy. Wanna match blades with me?”

“What, you don’t remember doing so once before? I’m hurt, man, really hurt.” Xingba raised a fist and pounded it against his chest. “I’ve been itchin’ for a rematch ever since. Looks like today’s my lucky day!”

Keiji peered at him for a moment and then tipped his head back in a knowing nod. “Oh yeah! Wu, wasn’t it? Heh! That _was_ a fun fight, let’s do it again!”

“You’re on!” Though, as he lowered his shoulders and gave River Master a spin as well, Gan Ning glanced slightly to his left to verify that Yukimura was still looming up beside him. Just as before, he wouldn’t go into this fight alone, and this time he knew what he was up against. The young samurai gave him a nod before advancing, finding the pirate falling into step with him as both of them charged Keiji at the same time.

Keiji had already had enough of the Crimson Fang, he was far more interested in the mighty Gan Xingba now, but the two of them were working in tandem, even more smoothly than Yukimura and Sima Zhao. These two had sparred together enough to know each other’s basic moves and matched themselves instinctively to one another, Gan Ning going for the close shots with his powerful arms wielding the heavy scimitar and Yukimura spinning and whirling his spear to keep Keiji from settling into a defense. They were all into it now, going so hard and fast that they didn’t even notice whether any of their hits were landing or simply being parried. Maeda’s manic grin had faded, his teeth were gritted and he fought his damnedest to keep either of them from scoring against him, though it was only a matter of time now. Gan Ning was still fairly fresh and he hit hard, and wasn’t too good to stick to only using his sword – he kicked and punched as well, if a foot or a fist were easier to get in past the defense and land a strike. It was much the same as he remembered from the defeat at Hefei, relying on Zhang Liao’s polearm to make the opening he could capitalize on, and he didn’t forget that they had failed. They really needed a third person in this, and he started looking around to see if any other officers had fought free of the Orochi soldiers in order to come to their aid. He couldn’t afford to divert attention for long, though, Keiji was bound and determined not to let them have him so easily. When the Ogre Horn met the River Master and was briefly bashed downward out of the way, Maeda knew to pull back because sure enough, there was the Crimson Fang sweeping towards his face. He rolled out of it and prepared to pull back, but then another spear came at him from the side and nearly pierced his shoulder, forcing him to dodge the other way and briefly lose his footing on the rubble-strewn ground. Zhao Yun had come to join them, for the rest of his army and his allies had everything else covered without needing his personal attention. All three Resistance officers simply looked at each other to confirm that they could do this and then pressed their triple attack, turning the momentum their way. Keiji had heard so many among the Orochi army whine about the two spearmen leading Shu and how formidable they were when fighting together, but he had never really seen Yukimura’s twin in action. To have them both circling and dancing around him and each other now, weaving Gan Ning and his blade into their choreography, took him aback for a moment and almost cost him his head. He couldn’t believe how intuitively they fought together, their styles matched well and their spears singing in tandem. His arms ached from the strain of the fight, for it was drawing on longer than any others he had been through, and sapping him completely of his strength. First blood belonged to Yukimura, as the Crimson Fang swung too close to Keiji’s face and drew a scratch across his jaw. If that was the only visible injury on him after this, it would be a miracle, though his enemies were focused on bashing and battering him down, weakening him and getting him to slip, rather than bloodying him. Gan Ning was too tempting a target, wearing no armor and not even a stitch of clothing to cover his chest, but he never let the Ogre Horn touch him. In time, the three of them drove Keiji all the way back to the gate of the garrison he had been meant to protect, and there he finally showed his exhaustion, his foot faltering on a dropped spear and sending him to one knee. He still brought his pike up to block both spears, but it left him completely vulnerable to the sword. He twisted himself at the last second to let Gan Ning’s hit land on the underside of his arm, slicing deep and causing his arm to buckle under the paired spears. Yukimura’s drove in first, cutting across Keiji’s shoulder and ripping the armor pauldron right off, and though he was already starting to topple, Zhao Yun completed their trifecta with a sideways swing that smashed the shaft of the Dragon Spear into Keiji’s jaw. That finally knocked him down, and though he coughed and spluttered, he tried to push himself back up. Gan Ning was having none of it, he leaped onto Maeda’s back and drove his knee between his shoulder blades, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to stay down. River Master hovered over the wild man’s neck, the cold metal of the blade resting right against the pulse beating beneath his skin. Even as Yukimura stepped on his wrist to force him to relinquish his pike, Toshiie hustled up from where he had been held back, one poleaxe in his fist. “I beg you, don’t kill him!”

Zhao Yun looked up as he drew back, seeing that the others had taken care of the final blows. “I wasn’t planning to,” he assured. “Master Gan Ning…”

“I just don’t want him to get up again,” Ning growled, still kneeling on Keiji’s back. “We lost too many to him already, don’t need him to get you or Yukimura.”

“I’ve got it,” Toshiie assured, stepping alongside the young samurai and swinging his axe down to take the spear’s place. “He’s family, this is for me to do.”

“Don’t worry, Lord Toshiie,” Yukimura said, turning away in order to put his shoulder protectively against Zhao Yun to guard his back. “Even I wouldn’t interfere.”

Toshiie clapped him gratefully on the other shoulder before moving in, working with Gan Ning to flip Keiji onto his back and let him find his breath. It was clear that more of their strikes had actually cut him, here and there across the arms and legs, though the gash in his upper arm was the worst and bled just as profusely as the similar injury he had dealt to Sima Zhao. Yet, it was sheer exhaustion which had finally felled him, after battling through no less than eight officers and seriously wounding three. He had gotten Yukimura, too, but superficially, barely tearing a sleeve and bruising him. As he laid there heaving for breath, Keiji rolled his eyes upward to regard the faces hovering over him. “Oh,” he said flatly. “It’s you.”

Toshiie pursed his lips sternly. “So, Keiji. You’ve fought your own family, you’ve fought your best friends. Was it worth it? To find yourself here, at the end of it all?”

“Worth it?” Keiji barked one loud laugh, which turned into a cascading rumble of weak chuckles. “Damn right it was worth it. The greatest battles of any age, of any lifetime. And I owe it all to you, Orochi!” He seemed to find one last second wind, enough energy to raise his voice and bellow out, “You maniacal snake man, you! I did my best, but if you want these guys wasted you’re gonna have to do it yourself.”

The officers surrounding him frowned at such a declaration, particularly Toshiie and Yukimura. Zhao Yun shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why would a man of your stature side with such evil?”

Keiji’s head lolled tiredly toward the sound of his voice. “Why do guys like you always divide things into _good_ and _evil?_ Wise up, man, life’s just not that simple.” His eyes drifted closed. “No wonder you and Yukimura get along so good. You sound just like him.”

Gan Ning stepped back over and put a foot up on his chest. “I get you about the battles, I really do,” he said in an unusually solemn tone. “But a demon? You got all mixed up, kid. It ain’t the way you go.”

“Says you.” Keiji feebly batted a hand at his leg. “Enough talking, just do what you’re gonna do with me and get on with it.” He groaned softly and brought that same hand up to cover his face. “I suppose it had to come to an end sometime.”

Toshiie insisted on binding the wound in his arm so it wouldn’t drain him of blood and leave him in a life-threatening situation while they continued the battle, and then they had to tie him down tightly, arms and feet both, in order to keep him from resisting. It was good to have taken one of the elite officers captive, Zhao Yun didn’t even consider it until after Keiji had been well-trussed and prepared to haul off the field. He directed his fellow officers to lash their prisoner to his own horse and then looked around. “We’ll need someone to guard him, so that the Orochi army doesn’t take him back. Who can we spare?”

“I’ve got it,” Shimazu Yoshihiro said, wading up through the throng with his hammer over his shoulder. He had a cut across his scalp but the blood on his face had already dried. “You need somebody tough to take on any of Orochi’s minions no matter what, I’ll do it. Toyohisa can go ahead with you.”

“I would volunteer to assist,” Toshiie said gravely, “but I must forge on ahead and rejoin Lord Oda.”

Among the Oda retainers who had stayed behind to take the garrison, Niwa Nagahide now stepped forward. “I’ll join. One man isn’t enough, even if that man is the Devil Shimazu.”

“Yeah, all right, I guess I can let you,” Yoshihiro grumbled.

“Thank you,” Zhao Yun said eagerly to them before turning to the rest gathered around them. The fight in this corner of the field had finally eased enough that he could consult with all of them, and catch them up on certain developments. “We’ve retaken the garrison behind us, Lord Uesugi came down from the cannon in time to help. It will be safe to guard him inside there. And, it appears Wu reinforcements have come to take the place of others we sent to assist them southward.” He nodded toward Gan Ning. “We’ve lost a few hands to Maeda Keiji – Wei Yan and Wang Ping will not be able to continue, and I’m worried that Sima Zhao might also have trouble fighting on. The rest of us must redouble our efforts in their stead.”

“What’s the plan, then?” Zhang Fei asked.

Zhao Yun looked up to Hanbei, who was still sitting comfortably astride his horse. “Keiji moved out before he was really ready,” the diminutive strategist noted. “So, score one for us and the Sleeping Dragon’s plans. There’s panic in the Orochi ranks now, we can use it to draw out Lu Bu and even Da Ji herself.”

“Everyone else on our end has drawn toward the main gate to try to do the same there,” Zhao Yun added. “We must make every attempt to force down the drawbridge inside this garrison, so we can break into the keep from this end. We have three chances to find a way in and we must concentrate our efforts on making sure at least one of them succeeds.”

“We’ll have to break down the gate of this garrison, first,” Guan Ping pointed out, “and make sure there aren’t any more Orochi troops waiting inside for another ambush.”

“There’s one more thing.” Gan Ning thumbed over his shoulder. “You guys took that cannon fort on the hill, yeah? Lord Cao Pi wants ‘em pointed at the castle. You’re supposed to figure out how to aim it and fire it so we can use ‘em against the castle.”

Hanbei made an extremely interested face to show how much he approved of that idea, and Zhao Yun nodded his understanding of the shift in tactics. “Leave that to me,” Zhang Fei decided. “I’ll take a couple of people up there and get Yuan Shao working on that, now that they’ve cleaned it out.”

Yun nodded to acknowledge all of their decisions and contributions, and then lofted his spear. “Move out, then! Keep fighting, for the day is not ours yet!” He reached to grab his horse’s saddle and mount back up, glancing to Yukimura and Toshiie as he did. They hid their feelings toward Keiji behind determined expressions, focusing on what was ahead rather than looking behind, and though his heart went to them, he understood and approved. They had too much work still left to do, and he was certain they hadn’t seen even half of what Orochi could still set against them yet. Soldiers came up with chains and hooks to begin working at tearing the gate down, and Zhao Yun rode up to wait right behind them, eager to be the first inside so he could let his hard-fighting companions have a moment to rest.

It took a bit for someone to notice that the flashes of cannon fire from the hill above them in the north had ceased, and when that news was relayed to Cao Pi as he took control of the southern battlefield, he met it with a grim frown. “That means only this one outpost remains,” he realized. “Seize it!”

His forces needed no orders, they were already working it, but his energetic demand fired them up and gave them the encouragement to reform a line and charge. As they did, Pi noticed Sun Ce ride off past him, and when their eyes met the young lord of Wu saluted him with a raise of his tonfa. Clearly, his father had sent him on a mission, for Sun Jian still led the Wu troops clustered around him, advancing on the cannon fort himself. With so many powerful warriors of both armies working together they finally managed to pry the gate open, and thrust the heavy doors back to find the courtyard inside the fort completely empty. The cannon mounted into the far wall was still firing, but its engineers were hidden behind the fortification’s inner wall to keep them from being instantly slaughtered. Sun Jian checked at the sight and glanced as Dian Wei and Xiahou Dun joined him. “Mighty suspicious if you ask me,” he quipped.

Xiahou Dun scowled. “What reason would they have to attempt to ambush us here and now? We already know how to take these forts, it’s no advantage for them.”

“We might as well simply move in and trigger the trap,” Zhou Yu advised. “There is also no reason for us to hesitate.”

“Keep your guard up all the same,” Sun Jian warned before raising his sword. “Take it down!”

They moved quickly yet cautiously, ducking in through the gate and immediately jogging to one side or the other to follow the wall instead of blunder straight into the center of the courtyard. As they entered there was still no sign of the ambush, Dun and Li Dian made it all the way to the far wall below the cannon housing without anyone stopping them. There they paused warily and looked around, prepared to attack the cannoneers but uncertain why they had met no resistance. Cao Pi himself rode into the gap, and then the doors suddenly slammed shut behind them, whisking closed so swiftly that it could not have been done by mere human strength. He turned to give the orders to pry them open again when an all too familiar lilting laugh echoed from the high stone walls. “Right into my trap! I couldn’t have scripted it better.”

Cao Pi snarled under his breath and whirled back in time to see the flash of mystical energies that preceded Da Ji whenever she teleported anywhere, and made one sharp gesture with Pure Havoc to silently order his men to fall upon it before she had fully materialized. Da Ji appeared to be ready for him, though, for she appeared with her orbs already floating on either side of her, and needed only the flick of a wrist to send them into a swirling circuit around her to deflect the axes, swords, and clubs that came at her. Her lips curled impishly as she beheld who she had all managed to trap inside the cannon fort: not just the lords of Wei and Wu but Dian Wei, Xiahou Dun, Li Dian, Guo Jia, Ding Feng, Ling Cao, and Lu Su. It would take that many officers with their men to sack and take control of the cannon fort as it was, but now they had an unexpected foe to deal with. No sooner had she appeared and the ambush finally sprang out from within the walls, led by a screeching snake demon. “We must not lose this cannon!” Hognose exhorted his soldiers as he launched himself at Xiahou Dun. “Get them!”

As the Resistance forces pulled back into a knot to position themselves to best counter-attack, Cao Pi leaped from the saddle and edged up next to Sun Jian. The Wu lord held firm, shoulders angled to prepare himself for the likes of Da Ji. “Got any ideas, young master?” he said under his breath.

“Most of our men are still outside,” Cao Pi murmured. “I would prefer it if we could get this taken care of before they have to break us out, but still, there is that.” A number of bodies both Resistance and Orochi clogged the courtyard and hid them from view, but he was aware that Da Ji most likely was there to hunt both of them – two of her mortal enemies, both of whom she wanted to kill herself if she could. No wonder she had taken the field here and now. To that end, he gave Sun Jian a quick tap on the arm with his free hand. “Split up. She can’t attack both of us at once that way.”

Jian nodded once and then shoved his way to the left, ducking up behind Ding Feng and Lu Su, while Zihuan darted to their collective right and fell in alongside Guo Jia. Once they reached the far sides of the small square yard they turned and fell upon the Orochi forces on each end, whittling them down bit by bit. Da Ji finally spotted each of them and harrumphed at having to decide which one to go after first, but she was nearer Sun Jian and turned his way, swinging her orbs deftly from one side and then the other to bash her way through the crowds. Ding Feng whirled his great circular blade to parry them off and protect his lord, but on the fourth or fifth pass he underestimated the speed with which she could spin and redirect her mystical weapons and took one hard in the shoulder, knocking him aside. Sun Jian sprang past him in an instant and closed on Da Ji, coming dangerously close to cutting her. She brought one orb up straight in front of her to block him, resting her hand behind it to use it as a shield. “You’re looking rather sprightly for a geriatric old man who’s been locked in a tower too long,” she snarked at him.

Jian’s eyes narrowed slyly, but his smirk was cold. “Hah! Well, of course I do,” he shot back. “I’m about to have my revenge, after all!”

He thrust out his free hand to shove the orb aside, clearing himself an opening to bring his sword straight down onto her head. Da Ji recoiled, throwing her arms up as if to protect her head, but then she laughed under her breath and spun into a teleportation spell, disappearing from under his strike and reappearing a few feet away. “You came all this way for me?” she taunted him, clapping her hands together in front of her chest like a coquette with her first suitor. “Then I wouldn’t want to disappoint!” The orbs reappeared over each shoulder, and she launched herself at him with glee, spinning them around her so fast that all he could do was brace his other arm behind his sword and stand there while the two orbs battered it over and over in their whirling path. Ding Feng recovered and swung his blade in an intersecting circle, finally disrupting their orbit and sending one ricocheting off toward the parapet atop the wall. Undaunted, Da Ji simply summoned it back to her hand and danced around them, evading the giant circle-blade and zipping past a sequence of swords which came for her head. As much as she really wanted to execute the prisoner who had been taken from her, there was a far more enticing prospect in the other direction, and she abruptly changed her path to go after him instead.

Cao Pi put his efforts into fighting through the staunch defense around the cannon in order to stop it firing, so as to give their forces outside some breathing room to work on reopening the barricaded gates, but a shout from Guo Jia warned him just in time that something was coming at him from behind. He pivoted on his heel and brought Pure Havoc up across his body to guard himself, and saw Jia standing with both hands on the shaft of his polearm, bracing himself as Da Ji’s orbs banged off it much the same as they had against Sun Jian’s sword. For once he had no glib comments about the shapely female attacking him, it took all he had just to concentrate on his defense. At last, he shifted his hands closer together and swung the polearm hard, knocking one of the orbs out of the spin with a loud crack. It banged into the gate and then disappeared, only to reappear directly behind him. Guo Jia was already moving toward Da Ji, intending to knock away her other orb and get in close enough to capture her, but the devilish grin on her face worried him. He pulled back a moment too late, as the second orb smashed into his back and knocked him flat on his face. It looped around and looked like it was going to crash straight down onto his unprotected head, but then Cao Pi was in the midst of the fray, cutting a wide sweep with Pure Havoc to deflect the orb off elsewhere. Da Ji called it back to her with the ease of a thought. “There you are,” she said smartly.

“Don’t get too excited,” Pi growled as he positioned himself to protect Guo Jia until someone could aid him. “You and I can play together no longer!”

“What a pity,” Da Ji sniped, tapping one long nail against her cheek. “I promise I’ll visit your grave. If there’s anyone _left_ to bury you!”

She threw herself at him with fresh fervor, but he was ready. He drew the two blades apart and wielded them individually, bashing aside the orbs as they flew at his head. Rather than give chase he stood his ground while Guo Jia slowly pulled himself up and caught his breath, because he knew full well that aside from the orbs Da Ji had no other means of attacking him. She had to stand at a distance in order to bring them to bear against him, which left her unguarded and vulnerable to the others. As long as he could keep her in that spot rather than flitting around, they would have the chance they needed to swarm on her and take her down.

Sun Quan and Zhang Liao were busy on the eastward end of the field, where the road ran along the rise and fall of the basalt fields toward the main castle gate. Once they had gained a foothold at the garrison vacated by Dong Zhuo they were able to press forward, only to have yet another ambush sprung in the vale below the garrison. Zhong Hui had been left in command of what was left of the Han forces which did not belong directly to Lu Bu, and though he had been tempted to move in earlier when Takeda and then the cavalry forces reached the drawbridge garrison, he had orders and he knew it would be foolish to launch his attack too early. He waited until precisely when he was supposed to and then led his units onto the field from the cliffs overshadowing the main road, falling upon the mingled Wei and Wu army making their way toward the drawbridge. Yet, he had not been able to count their numbers in the half-darkness of the open field where no torches or braziers stood to light the path, and did not realize just how many were in that army. He halted his advance when he realized that Zhang He, Shima Sakon, Jia Xu, and Ina were cutting the other officers away from him one by one, driving them apart and then felling them with ease. He spun his flying swords and called out for the remainder of his unit to fall in behind him and not get spread out across the field, but then a lance he knew all too well came screaming at him so hard that he had to give back a few steps in order to absorb the blow behind his block. Hui stared in panic at the sight of Xiahou Ba facing him with grim determination, the visor of his helm shadowing his eyes but not the dreadfully serious expression on his face. “What – no!” Hui breathed as he felt his arms straining with the effort to hold off the raw power pushing against him on the other side of their crossed weapons. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Ba glared him down. “You’re still fighting for Orochi? Not for long!”

He shoved with his lance to knock Zhong Hui back a step and then came around with another sweep, while Hui desperately attempted to block him with his light swords held in a fan-formation. Together they could do more than each blade did separately, but there was great strength in Xiahou Ba’s short, stocky frame, and fighting this battle against Orochi’s minions had him in a grim mood. He was fighting to survive and to win, and not for the thrill of it. Zhong Hui had only fear driving him, fear that Orochi would execute him if he failed because there was no one else left to take it out on, and that fear wasn’t enough to match Ba’s power or his single-minded drive toward victory. A few good hits was all it took and he cracked Hui’s armor, then thrust the lance and pierced through the crack to his flesh and wounded him in the side. The light swords fell into the volcanic dust one after the other, and Zhong Hui lay howling in anguish, hands clasped over the bleeding wound. Xiahou Yuan came up behind his son and took him by the shoulder to keep him from following through with his momentum and destroying the young officer on the ground. “That’s enough, Ba,” he said gruffly. “Save it for Orochi.”

Ba blinked and shook his head to snap himself out of battle-lust. “I…I couldn’t just…” He lifted his head and looked around, but Sima Shi and Sima Zhao were fighting on another part of the field, neither of them were close by to have a say in what to do with their retainer. “…can we take him prisoner?”

“Absolutely,” Sun Quan answered as he strode over to take a look at how things had turned out here. Most of the rest of the ambush had been scattered already, and though there were still numerous Orochi troops on the field, they were pulling back to regroup and enough Resistance soldiers and officers were there to handle it. Quan looked down at the injured Jin officer and made a bit of a face. “I don’t want to have to lose anyone to guard duty, but we need to take all of Orochi’s people we can. Someone wrap him up and then…”

“Take him back to the southern garrison held by Wu,” Jia Xu advised. “It should only require one person escorting him back, and then we can have a full complement on the field again.”

“Good idea.” Quan waved this way and that to direct people to do so, and when his sister refused to be the one to ride back to safety – insisting that she was feeling better and wasn’t going to drop out of the fight yet – sent Sun Shao instead. Once that was taken care of, the rest of the officers mustered themselves back into formation and continued on. They could see the drawbridge garrison just ahead, and though it wasn’t nearly as swarmed with enemy soldiers as it had been before Takeda’s assault, there were still plenty of Orochi troops doing their best to make it difficult for anyone to lay claim to it.

The third drawbridge in the south had no garrison or fortification to protect it, so it was only natural that the Resistance should take advantage of the lack of protection to do their best to force it to come down so that they could reach the keep. Yet, that also meant that there was nothing to protect them while they worked on the problem, any straggler from the Orochi army could attack them at will if they didn’t have enough of their own around to guard them. It appeared that when the castle defenders had last used it to enter the field before the Resistance arrived, they had locked the drawbridge in the up position, and the only way to operate it was down below on the keep’s terrace – should anyone approach from land, friend or foe, they had to call out or signal to gatekeepers at the other end to lower the drawbridge for them. Among those currently attempting to work out the problem were Lu Xun and Zhu Ran, thinking as quickly as they could so as not to tax their comrades too long. They had Nagamasa and Oichi at their backs protecting them, as well as Jiang Qin, which seemed like a lot all things considered but the state of the battlefield around them ebbed and flowed. One minute they were in the clear, with no one and nothing bothering them, and the next minute they were beset with a hard crush of enemies, depending on whether there were enough Orochi troops nearby to pull themselves together into units to attack and whether they were still too weak to try to recapture one of the cannon forts on either side of the drawbridge head. Considering how many Wei and Wu forces were in both of the forts – Tokugawa and nearly all of his men in one, Xu Zhu and additional Wei officers in the other – attacking the handful of Resistance working on the drawbridge seemed easier and more advantageous. Nagamasa alone was like a stone wall, glaring from under his helm with his lance held broad-side to block as many at once as he could, and Jiang Qin beside him doubled the breadth of their defense, but when enemies swarmed on them yet again with superior numbers, they had to fight with all their might to allow Lu Xun the room to think and judge his options. He knew how hard it was on them and so did his best to hurry, and was glad to have Zhu Ran at his side, for he could make all the difference in a strategy here. “You trust your aim?” he asked his comrade while he gazed down at the drawbridge mechanism on the other side of the lava stream.

“Of course I do,” Ran answered without thinking, and then paused to look more carefully at Xun to try and guess why he would ask that. “What are you thinking?”

Lu Xun pointed with one of his swords. “See where those demon troops are standing? I think that lever will release the drawbridge, if we can hit it from here.”

“I see it…” Zhu Ran took his bow off his back and pulled one of the long-shafted arrows still left in his quiver. “Of course, if I miss I’ll probably just hit one of them instead, which…still good for us, right?”

There were a few Orochi troops loitering around the terrace near the drawbridge end, unable to do anything except watch the Resistance from where they stood; they might have been stationed there to lower the bridge if their own troops needed to enter or exit the castle, or they might have been on guard in case their enemies actually managed to succeed. They watched warily as the young archer fitted his arrow to the string and pulled back, squinting through the half-light and the thin fog of fume from the lava to the great wheel and the lever which appeared to work the drawbridge. He couldn’t waste arrows on this venture, but there were a lot of factors to take into account – the draft of heat rising up from the lava, the distance, and the size of his target all worked against him, but Zhu Ran was an expert for a reason. He judged the trajectory while squinting past his bow, adjusted his aim, and then let the arrow fly. It soared across the gap and looked to be on target, but the updraft of heat caused it to wobble just a bit, missing the lever by a hair and skipping off the wheel to hit one of the snake demons in the leg instead. Lu Xun frowned worriedly. “It’s too far. It’s losing too much strength in flight, I don’t think it’ll be enough to move the lever.”

“Don’t worry, I can do it,” Ran insisted, stringing another arrow and going into a crouch before drawing the bow to its full limit, arms trembling from the strain. He adjusted the trajectory again to compensate for the draft and prepared to shoot, but then both he and Lu Xun heard shouts and the din of battleclash suddenly rise in volume around them. Another wave of Orochi troops had set upon them, this time under the direction of an officer of Wa who managed to keep his men organized all the way to this point. Azai seemed to recognize him, for he fought directly against him with fresh energy and spat something about the man being too cowardly to bow before Oda Nobunaga. Zhu Ran tried to ignore the distraction and focus on his shot, but several soldiers got past their defense and fell upon them, swords slashing at his bowstring. He recoiled to evade them but still took two hits in the arm and had no choice but to spin and loose that arrow straight into them. It pierced the shoulder of one man all the way through to nick a second behind him. Ignoring the blood, Ran grabbed more arrows and shot them point-blank into the press of bodies coming at him until his quiver was empty, and on the last shot another sword fell on his arm and cut it deeply. He screamed but kept his feet, using his wounded arm like a club to bash enemies out of the way, until Lu Xun sprang in front of him and cut through every one of the Orochi soldiers who had gotten behind the staunch wall of Nagamasa and Jiang Qin. He held his ground there rather than dart and leap through the mess, Eagle swords singing as they cut flesh and armor, until there was no one left and he stood gazing straight at the three exhausted, disheveled officers who had cut the rest down and turned to help. Oichi dropped her hoops and ran to Zhu Ran to assist, pulling the ties off her own sleeves to bind the wounds bleeding freely through his tattered sleeve. “I’m fine,” he insisted, though he gasped hard for breath.

“Stay still,” Oichi begged him as she worked to tie everything off. The cuts were deep and the blood would drain him to a faint in no time.

“Your bow arm,” Lu Xun fretted, not because it would cost them a fighter on the field but because he knew what it would do to Zhu Ran if he couldn’t recover.

“I’m not going to drop dead here, young master,” Zhu Ran assured, though he did wilt to a seat on the ground. “Go through the bodies, collect some arrows for me. I swear, I can keep going.”

“Not like this,” Lu Xun said firmly, setting a hand on his head and briefly curling fingers through his hair in reassurance. “Draw back to the garrison in the south. The rest of us…” He looked at each in turn. “Let’s pull back to where Tokugawa is and get some reinforcements. There must be a way to get this bridge down that I’m just not seeing.”

“I thought your idea was just fine,” Ran pouted. “I’m just not going to get another chance to shoot the arrow for you.”

“Xiahou Yuan is a powerful archer,” Oichi noted, “but he went ahead at Lord Cao Pi’s urging. If Lady Ina is still nearby…”

“We’ll think of something,” Lu Xun said boldly, though his doubts were starting to rise again. He wouldn’t have minded running it past another tactician, but most of Wu’s were busy with the cannon fort. But then, he remembered that Pang Tong was among the Wei forces as well. He had options, he just couldn’t give up now. He bent to help Zhu Ran to his feet and carry him off, even as Jiang Qin collected the long arrows from the bodies strewn around them and refilled the young archer’s quiver for him. They were all in this together, even if some had to step off the field for the time being.

The battle to take the third cannon fort in the south was getting dangerous and bloody. Though he had managed to protect Guo Jia from certain death, Cao Pi found himself pushed to fight hard far sooner than he would have liked. He had been cautious, taking the role of commander seriously and not getting in over his head, saving his strength for the demon overlord inside the castle, but Da Ji was intent on killing him at long last and stuck to him no matter where he went in the fortress, zig-zagging through the crowds and letting Dian Wei and Xiahou Dun try to tackle her instead. He ducked past Li Dian in time to allow him to swing his polearm hard toward Da Ji, but she thrust out a hand to command an orb to intercept his blow instead. The whole time the cannon still filled the fort with the thunderous noise of its firing, so when it suddenly stopped it took everyone aback, including Da Ji herself. She screeched to a halt and turned to find that while she had been chasing Cao Pi everywhere, Sun Jian’s stout retainers had gotten through the main line and destroyed the cannoneers to a man. Ding Feng and Lu Su raised their fists in the air to indicate that they had been successful, and maybe to gloat a bit, while Da Ji trembled in pure rage. She snarled with teeth bared at them and their commanders. “No! Not my precious cannon! You need to be taught a very hard lesson!”

She flew at them, but Sun Jian and Ling Cao cut into her path from one side, Li Dian and Xiahou Dun from the other. For a moment things turned downright messy, as she flung the orbs at them and then followed it up with fireballs of sorcery, raining them down all around her in the hopes that at least a few might strike her opponents. Sun Jian thrust his retainer back out of the way and then dipped a shoulder to let his armor take the worst of it, while Li Dian took one fireball straight in the chest and stumbled back against Dun. Cao Pi came back into it then, slicing at Da Ji while she was distracted and caught in the throes of her fury. Ding Feng likewise waded in from behind the retaining wall, taking Hognose down with one good swing of his blade and clearing the way to join his fellows. Unlike past fights, Da Ji could not simply retreat and leave them to their own devices, nor did she want to now that another cannon had been taken. They still hadn’t beaten her, and until they did, she could reclaim it and set new engineers up to resume firing at any time. Yet, there were too many of them, and the more of her soldiers who fell or fled, the more Resistance fighters were freed up to come at her all at once. The one thing she really didn’t want was to give Cao Pi the satisfaction of landing a hit on her, so she concentrated and sent the orbs spinning again, expanding and contracting their orbit to keep everyone at bay long enough for her to turn the momentum of the fight back to her advantage. Then, there was a loud crash, and heads turned to find that Guo Jia, though injured, had gotten around to the gate and undone the barricade, thrusting the doors open for their reinforcements trapped outside to join them. Huang Gai blasted through first, already swinging his club, and Cao Cao followed on horseback, with the rest of their fellows crowding behind to see what all the fuss was about. Da Ji turned on a heel and gnashed her fangs at their intrusion, particularly those two in front who had contributed to her defeats in the past. In that moment while she was looking the other way, Sun Jian plowed his bronze-plated shoulders into the way of the orbs, accepting the hit as payment for being able to get in close and slash with his sword. The blow cut up along Da Ji’s side, though she twisted out of his way before it could take off an arm as well. The force of it knocked her to the ground, and from there she could see she had no choice. With burly men and the loathsome Cao Cao coming at her from all sides, she was vulnerable and had to whisk herself out of there with a quick teleport. She landed on the parapet above the barrel of the cannon, but couldn’t muster any smart remarks for them before vanishing again to return to the castle keep. 

Sun Jian growled a little at losing his prey, but he had gotten first blood and it filled him with enough satisfaction that he could let it go for now. He was certain they would see more of her, she wouldn’t let that be the end. “That’s the last of them, then, is it?” he asked as Cao Pi came to his side.

“Yes. Whoever is still able, turn this one to aim at the castle,” the young lord ordered, finding Dian Wei and Huang Gai leading the way to do so. Li Dian moved to help and then crumpled to his knees, wrapping an arm around his chest. It seemed the hit of magic had done more damage than he was willing to admit. Behind them, Guo Jia leaned heavily on his polearm to hobble to the center to join them, and then seized with pain and began to fall. Cao Cao rushed to catch him before he could hit the dirt again. Pi checked on them both, frowning to himself. “Master Fengxiao, you should sit out the rest,” he said quietly, finding him much worse off with ribs cracked from the hits he had taken.

“Nonsense,” Guo Jia said, faking every ounce of confidence he could. “Put me on a horse so you can still ask me questions, my lord. I won’t go slinking off the battlefield like this.”

“Nor will I,” Li Dian vowed, pushing himself up with his weapon.

“Pull back and get it treated,” Xiahou Dun implored, coming up behind him. “If we need you again you can rejoin us after you’ve been seen to. Both of you.”

“He’s right,” Cao Cao said, worried more for his favorite strategist than anything. “Do as he says, my friends.”

“Everyone else good to go?” Sun Jian asked, looking around. It seemed the rest of their forces were still intact, and eager to press on for that matter.

“My lord!” Dian Wei shouted from the cannon platform. “Everything’s set up!”

“Good.” Cao Pi strode to the door where Mitsunari waited for him and then raised his voice to give the order. “Let Orochi taste the wrath of our cannons! Fire at will!”


	88. Chapter 88

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of Koshi Castle, Part 4 - Date Masamune and Lu Bu both take the field, and Date is finally brought down.

Though the plains surrounding Koshi Castle were vast and riddled with cliffs, ridges, and crags, the huge cannons in the defense forts were loud enough to be heard all across the battlefield from one end to the other. When the final cannon succumbed, the Wei and Wu forces noticed first and prepared for the counter-assault they were meant to lead by turning the cannons onto Koshi itself. The remainders of Shu realized it shortly after, and the Yuan forces currently holding the northern fort saw the fires go out even before the silence descended. At last, far to the east, Ma Chao was preparing a sortie when something occurred to him, making him lift his head and strain to listen more than look. “The cannons have fallen silent!” he cried so all around him could hear.

Zhuge Liang mirrored his action, looking away off to the west with a quick sigh of relief. “Good. Then our forces will be able to resume their march.”

“What about the one up there to the north and east of us?” Takeda wondered as he sat in the saddle beside the Sleeping Dragon. “It hasn’t been firing as frequently, but there is a cannon there. It shouldn’t be left standing.”

“I agree,” Kanbei muttered, hunched in the saddle in exhaustion. He might not have been capable of fighting any longer but he could still conference with the other tacticians. “We have more than enough forces here, especially if the rest soon join us. A detachment must see to it.”

“Very well,” Oda consented, looking to see what he had available to send. They were all still working on getting the drawbridge gates open, but until that time, he had men to spare. Just then, another horse trotted through the open garrison gate, leading fresh troops from the south. Nobunaga’s eyebrow arched in interest to see who had joined them. “Lord Sun Quan, what a pleasant surprise.”

Quan rode up to where the other horses stood in a knot so their riders could discuss all options, sword still bared and bloodied from fighting through ranks of Orochi soldiers. “Looks like you guys have been busy on this end. You’re already here.”

Takeda let out a short laugh. “Now this is more like it! Lord Sun Quan, Lord Zhang Liao…and look at all this extra help.”

“It’s been a long and hard road to get here,” Zhang Liao said with a huff, “but we’ve no reason to go back. It sounds like they finally have the last cannon in hand.”

“What news, other than cannons?” Oda wondered.

Quan tapped his sword blade against his stirrup. “Both southern fortresses are in our hands. Dong Zhuo attempted to capture my sister, but we liberated her and injured him so severely that his retainers pulled him off the battlefield.”

All the generals and strategists received that with excited interest. “Excellent,” Nobunaga purred.

“We took Zhong Hui as well,” Xiahou Yuan reported. “Sent him back to the main body of the army as a prisoner.”

“Even better,” Mitsuhide said with approval.

“No wonder there is so much disorganization among the enemy forces still in the field,” Kongming mused. “We must use it to our advantage. Close down Da Ji’s remaining options. If we cannot break down this gate, we will force her to open it for us.”

“Is that the plan, then?” Sun Quan asked. “We’re here to do what you need, until the others catch up.”

“Lu Bu is behind this gate somewhere,” Ma Chao answered, pointing with his spear. “Lord Takeda and Lord Oda are working to gain access, but there is another enemy cannon fort up on the hill which needs to be taken.”

“To that end…”

That was all Nobunaga got out before the thunder of cannon fire suddenly returned, and several of them ducked out of the drawbridge garrison to see why the cannons had resumed. Sun Quan and those with him knew of the plan, so they weren’t entirely shocked, but seeing it in action for themselves swelled them up with pride in their comrades. It was easy to see around the side walls: all three cannon forts ranged along the rim of the gorge which surrounded the keep flashed with fire from the immense muzzles, the shots screaming through the darkness to slam into the walls of the keep or rain onto the demon troops ranged around the terrace at the foot of the walls. Those troops broke and fled, desperate to get out of the way before the shots could take them out whether directly or rebounded off the walls. Even the nearest fort firing at close range didn’t seem to make a dent with the first couple of shots, perhaps Koshi was stronger than it looked after all, but it wouldn’t stop the Resistance from firing while they could. Until the drawbridges could be brought down to permit their own troops to reach that terrace, it was best to keep pummeling the walls just in case. Seeing the forts down below begin their assault, Yuan Shao ordered the northern fort to join in, raining projectiles on the rear of the castle as well. The Resistance army at the main gate raised their weapons and cheered loudly at this development, and then clapped each other on the shoulders in triumph. “It was Lord Cao Pi’s idea,” Zhang Liao informed the others. “Well…Ishida’s, actually, but my lord gave the order and combined forces with Wu to bring it about.”

“Ishida,” Zhuge Liang repeated, pleased. “I shall have to congratulate him later. That was masterful work.”

Now that they had witnessed the change in tactics for themselves, they drew back into the garrison to complete their plans. Ma Chao was given charge of the contingent to ride up to the last fort on the hill, lest it begin shelling them again in defiance of the capture of the rest, and between the lead generals they decided to send Pang De, Zhang He, Xiahou Ba, Cheng Pu, Kiyomasa and Masanori with him. It was truly a mix of all kingdoms, and Ma Chao charged out ahead with those likewise on horseback while the rest of their troops followed on foot, heading up the hill toward the distant glimpse of thick stone walls.

The thud of the massive cannonballs striking the outer walls of Koshi Castle could not be ignored by those within. The troops which had fled from under the hail of fire streamed into the main courtyard to beg Orochi for help, finding him standing there alone, head lifted to regard the cacophony in the general direction of the outer wall. So far nothing had managed to come over the parapet into the castle proper, but it didn’t seem to bother him much either way. He silenced the panicked gibbering of his demon troops with nothing more than an upraised hand. “Such contraptions cannot hurt me,” he murmured almost to himself before turning around to regard the press of demons below his position on the portico. “What do you wish me to do?”

The demons cringed under the power of his stare, prodding one another to be the first to answer him. “M-my lord,” one finally said, “the cannons…! They’ll crush us if we stay outside the castle.”

Orochi’s eyes bored straight through him. “The weak are useless. Any of you who run will die.”

A wave of terror washed through them all at once, and then one of the long-legged demons spoke up from the back. “Lu Bu is still out there, he has not left his post.”

Some of the demons started to shove one another. “That’s right! Are you gonna let some puny human look better than you? Come on, back to it! We still have work to do!”

Once they had scuttled back out – to the side of the castle not currently being shelled, of course – Da Ji appeared on the portico behind her lord, having teleported inside the main hall to get her wound treated before showing her face. “Now what am I supposed to do?” she complained. “They got my cannons, they half-killed Dong Zhuo…they even saw through my phantoms!”

Orochi glanced briefly at her, his gaze contemptuous. “My hour approaches,” he warned her.

Da Ji shrank under his gaze, her own eyes widening. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but it sounded terrible. “It’s not over yet,” she said, drawing herself up. “I didn’t think it would come to this, but as long as I turn out every last one of our reinforcements, we should get the drop on them.” She still had Date’s reserves, after all, and more demons inside the castle to send out by stealthy routes to sneak up behind where the Resistance lines now stood. Orochi did not react to her suggestion, but merely turned his head to listen to more of the cannon shots hitting the wall. Da Ji slunk back inside the keep to escape his presence and then stormed off to find what was left of her troops. Were they _all_ cowering in fear of the cannons?

In front of the keep, Lu Bu still held ground as ordered, and gave the demons a scathing look as they all crept back out and dashed off around to the north side to keep from being blasted by cannon shot. He had been waiting far too long for new orders, and his patience was at an end. What was she _doing_ in there? He knew nothing of Da Ji’s attempt to ambush Cao Pi and Sun Jian, nor of the current state of anything aside from the thunder of cannon fire. As the last of the demons darted under his watch, he turned and bellowed into the open doors of the antechamber. “Da Ji, why aren’t you responding? We need to fight back! What are you doing?”

There was no answer at all, no sign that anyone inside the castle had heard his demand. From where he sat it looked like everyone was too busy losing the battle to care, filling Lu Bu with towering rage. He hefted the Sky Piercer in his fist and drew breath to scream one last challenge. “Pathetic! Truly pathetic! Must I do everything myself?!”

He gathered the reins and made to ride, but Copperhead waved his spindly arms frantically to try to stop him. “Where are you going? The enemy is already at the gate!”

“Then I will go and destroy them!” Lu Bu yelled in his face. “Close the castle gates and barricade them behind me, then no one will get in!”

He slapped his heels to his horse’s flanks and bolted up the metal drawbridge toward the garrison gate, which the demons guarding had no choice but to open for him lest he cut them down just as if they were the enemy. Behind him, Copperhead ran around in panic, screeching orders to the rest of the demons. “The enemy is upon us! Fall back, fall back! Barricade the doors, no one is to enter the castle!”

Oda, Takeda, and Sun Quan were still going over their options when the gates before them creaked and began to swing open from the inside. It looked like Zhuge Liang was right and they could get their enemy to let them in. But no, the great looming shadow coming up the drawbridge and through the opening was not what they expected – but it was someone they all greatly desired to face. Lu Bu burst into the torchlight illuminating the garrison with halberd swinging, reining in only when he passed inside and had no choice but to stop or else run bodily into a pack of mounted officers. He didn’t even pause to identify any of the faces surrounding him before roaring out his challenge: “Is there anyone who wishes to pit their might against the legendary Lu Bu? I am here to take you all on – but know that to fight me is to face certain death!”

Without waiting for any of the commanders to respond, Zhang Liao edged his horse out in front, saluting with his own halberd held high. “With pleasure, my lord.”

Lu Bu’s eyes flickered with a mix of joy, distress, rage, and pride to behold this man speaking first. “You still have no regard for your own life, do you, Zhang Liao?” He laughed loudly and without humor. “I like that!”

Before the first blow could even be attempted, Oda turned to the others with a cautioning hand upraised. “We cannot lose too many to him here,” he warned in a hushed tone. “We need everyone still ready to fight if we wish to have any sort of chance against Orochi.”

“Cao Pi, Zhao Yun, and my father and brother are still coming,” Sun Quan muttered back. “We have to do everything in our power to hold him here until they arrive.”

“He moved before he was ordered,” Zhuge Liang noticed. “Unprepared, he will not be as powerful as he could have been.”

“It’s still going to be a hell of a fight,” Shingen warned. “One I most certainly want a piece of.”

Oda’s face remained staunchly grim, but a similar light of eager thrill came into his dark eyes. “I believe we all do, Tiger of Kai.”

Ma Chao’s group moving northward was not surprised to find that their approach to the fort had the cannon firing again, but those who had endured the rain of shot in other parts of the field noticed that these were a bit smaller and came at longer intervals. It had to have been a more typical type of cannon up there, but it was still doing enough damage that whoever was inside the fort loading and firing it needed to be stopped. They came on in a pack, bunched together so that the cannon fire couldn’t scatter them as they climbed up the path to the building crouched at the top of the ridge overlooking all the tangled pathways winding around the northern side of the castle. They were within sight of the doors and about to pause to consult how best to force them open when it was done for them – the great iron gate swung wide thanks to someone inside and out poured a contingent of reinforcements they weren’t expecting at all. At their head, mounted and in command, Date Masamune charged to within hailing distance and shouted, “Idiots! You’ve come to be killed, have you?”

Zhang He tutted under his breath. “Of all the people…”

Kato Kiyomasa brandished his pike angrily. “Date Masamune! How dare you stand in our way?”

Masamune had nothing but contempt for this group, though he only really knew half of them and wasn’t on good terms with any of them. He reined in, gun drawn but not aimed, and guessed to himself that the fierce man at the fore with the horsetail helm was the legendary Ma Chao. “I will cut down any who dare to stand against the might of Orochi!” he called back to Kato’s challenge. “You want him, you’ll have to go through me, first!”

“Gladly!” Ma Chao yelled back, dropping his spear into position. “I have vowed to cleanse this land of the stain of Orochi’s evil, and it begins with you!”

Date held position while Katakura dashed out from the garrison gate behind him, leading the bulk of their rifle troops which had been stationed with them. Some had been deployed to other positions, but most of the rifle corps was right here, and eagerly stretched out into tiered ranks so they could fire rapidly and unceasingly on the advancing Resistance. Bullets pinged off Ma Chao’s armor as he charged up and one cut his cheek as it grazed past his face, but he didn’t falter for a single second, plowing right into the rifle line and aiming for Date. Masamune evaded his spear-thrust and came back up with his pistol aimed straight at the cavalryman’s shoulder which had no protection, but his horse suddenly reared and nearly unseated him as Masanori came blundering in swinging his polearm wide. It was clear between the two strong cavalrymen and the other annoyances that fighting on horseback would be to their advantage, not his, so when Date could regain control he slipped out of the saddle and hit the ground running, pistol in one hand and saber in the other. He forced himself to ignore the faces of the officers so he wouldn’t get caught up focusing on one or another specifically, he had to prepare to fight them all off as they came at him. Kojuro came to his side, and their sons each deployed on either side of them as well to form a core cadre, a rock on which the tide of the Resistance charge could break.

The northern garrison’s gates did not take long to pull down, relative to the rest of the battle so far, but Zhao Yun’s contingent benefitted from the lingering Sanada and Naoe cavalries breaking into the one on the other side at the same time. Nobuyuki and Kanetsugu led their horsemen in with gusto as the Shu and Oda ground troops flooded from their side, trapping the remaining defenders in the middle. An even mix of men and demons with human commanders loyal to Lu Bu and the early Han leading them stood poised to meet the onrush even though they were unexpectedly outnumbered and most certainly outclassed by the caliber of officers leading on both sides. The skirmish was shorter than expected, and at long last the garrison belonged to the Resistance. Any survivors fled into the open field to be harried by the rest of the Shu troops, since the drawbridge had been raised and the gate separating it from the garrison had been firmly closed yet again. While their men got to work trying to find a way to pry those gates open and get the drawbridge to come down, Zilong and Yukimura rode to consult with their comrades and get an update on how things had gone so far for the cavalry. It was good that the Xiliang and Takeda segments had gone ahead with Zhuge Liang, he knew best. “I heard the cannons cease and then start up again,” Nobuyuki noted.

“They are under our control, now,” his brother explained. “We received word through Gan Ning that Lord Cao Pi wanted them commandeered and turned on the castle, so Lord Yuan Shao has seen to it on our end.”

“How clever!” Kanetsugu exclaimed. “That certainly must be rattling Orochi’s nerves, or at the very least his eardrums.”

Zhang Fei had returned from assisting in the heavy lifting of the cannons in time to join the breaching of the garrison, and stood proudly with his retainers all still eager to fight. “I’d say that’s a pretty big point in our favor either way! There’s still a matter of getting in through there…” He gestured with his Serpent Blade to the massive gate blocking their access to the drawbridge. “…and gettin’ at the big snake himself. That’s the next step.”

“My friends, I could use your advice,” Zhao Yun said more seriously. “It isn’t a point of strategy, no…rather, I don’t know if I should remain here to wait for the bridge to come down. Lord Zhuge Liang is likely at the main gate by now, and who knows who else is with him. I want so badly to join them, and come down on Orochi from the front even if it isn’t wise.”

“You are not the only one,” Naoe said, matching his tone. “Even though I should meet back up with Lord Kenshin first…”

“Zhao Yun…” Zuo Ci strode up as if out of nowhere, though he had been diligently fighting alongside the rest of Shu the entire battle so far. His hands were clasped behind his back as if he were taking a nice stroll instead of waging war. “There is nothing wrong with your desire. Consider not just the Sleeping Dragon, but Oda Nobunaga is ahead of you as well. And, if the cannons are any indication, Cao Pi and his men, and Wu with them, will probably join shortly. It is only right for you to be there with them, and join hands with them for the final stage of this battle.”

Yun lowered his spear almost to the ground and looked eagerly at him. “Master, is there anything you can tell us of the castle, or the situation? Anything at all?”

“I see what you see, right now,” Zuo Ci answered with a shake of his head. “My powers can do nothing except continue to fight the good fight at your side and protect the things which you hold dear. I cannot even breach the castle for you to find Liu Bei, but I know he is there – and he is well. Be strong, young dragon, and head toward him.”

“Then it’s settled,” Yukimura decided. “We have more than enough troops here to leave under Lord Zhang Fei’s command, with Lord Liu Shan, to await the drawbridge. The rest of us may accompany Lord Zilong to the main gate.”

“Count me in,” Guan Ping cried eagerly.

“And me,” Magoichi put in.

With the Nanman and Miyamoto’s swordsmen counted among them, the contingent meant to stay in the north drew fully into the garrison to rest and shelter while their engineers fussed with the drawbridge. Yueying determined to head up the strategic position there, freeing Jiang Wei to leave. Uesugi also caught up to them then, and demanded that Naoe follow him as they moved off to rejoin Takeda’s forces to the east. There was no reason Zhao Yun needed to stay there, so with his sworn brother at his side and so many faithful friends at his back, he rode onward, seeking the fastest path along the gorge to join with the rest of the Resistance at the main gate. As he rode he heard bells, and took heart to know that Gan Ning was also part of this advance.

The battle outside the northern fort spilled through the door and into the inner courtyard, growing fierce and intense as Date drew his opponents in after him where they would have to fight him on the ground rather than on horseback. Ma Chao and Pang De had no problem doing so, they were just as formidable out of the saddle as in, but they quickly got caught in the press of demon and human soldiers and separated from their primary target while he easily moved about, commanding his riflemen to keep them in formation and firing. The bullets flying every which way didn’t daunt the great generals, they fought on heedless of the danger, and Xiahou Ba had no reason to flinch since he was covered head to toe with no gaps in his armor. Zhang He, on the other hand, wore far less protection in order to maintain his agility, and even he wasn’t fast enough to evade every shot. He was intent on making Masamune’s life hell, zig-zagging through the throng and slashing through as many of his precious rifle corps as he could with great sweeps of his claws, until a shot clipped his exposed left arm and knocked him back. He slid to a defensive crouch with his arms crossed over his middle to protect himself with the great flared gauntlets of his weapons and looked to see that it had come from Katakura, who stood as a calm and composed counterpoint to his lord’s energetic frenzy. Kojuro held his stance with his pistol guarded behind his buckler, reloaded and ready to shoot again, eyes behind his glasses sharp and honed in on the vulnerabilities of this particular officer. They stared each other down for a moment and then Zhang He moved, kicking off and racing in to try to get around the shield and cut down the one who had wounded him. His left arm twinged with pain as he raised it to hit, causing him to falter for the briefest moment – all Katakura needed to counter. He swung the shield to bat the claws away with ease and used the momentum to bring his other hand up and aim his pistol at Junyi’s bare stomach, but a follow-up from the right-hand claw knocked his shot astray so that it hit his leg instead. Zhang He’s leg crumpled underneath him, sending him crashing onto his face, but he managed to kick out and serve Katakura a revenge hit that kept him from being able to capitalize on the opportunity. Stowing the pistol in his jacket, Katakura pulled the thin saber from his buckler and prepared to go in swinging, but the long scythe-like blade of Kiyomasa’s pike came at him rather suddenly from the side, forcing him to cut back to avoid being halved like a melon. Kato didn’t stop there, muscles flexing as he swung the pike again and again, snarling and chasing Katakura across the fort’s yard, driving him right into Pang De. Kojuro ducked the axes but stumbled, and then both of them were on him, driving him down and beating him into submission.

At the same time, Masamune tangled with Ma Chao and Cheng Pu, fighting as fiercely as he ever had against any of his enemies. He had spent all his bullets to no avail, their armor had protected them, and now battled with just his saber against two spears. He still managed to hold his own quite well, making the most of his agility, ducking and dodging and forcing the two of them to falter and cut their attacks short in order to avoid hitting each other on accident. When Cheng Pu pulled back to let the Stallion Spear miss him yet again, Date whirled and cut in under his reach, dashing right up to him and cutting him across the flank where his armor didn’t quite cover. Cheng Pu fell back, leaning on his spear, but wasn’t so damaged that he couldn’t quickly retaliate against the reinforcements coming up behind him. With him out of the way Date focused solely on Ma Chao, who in turn had a bead on him, refusing to let him escape no matter how many soldiers he threw between them as human shields while he darted this way and that through the garrison. When faced directly, Masamune fended off the long spear with quick slashes, parrying it out of the way again and again and then doing his best to get in close to his foe and land any blow he could. Ma Chao pressed him without pause, chasing him down and finally getting in a good barrage of spear-thrusts while they stood nearly toe to toe in the center of the yard. The prolonged fight was exhausting, and he couldn’t believe he was being held off by nothing more than a long cavalry saber. He shifted to block as Date came too close and held him off across the breadth of his spear’s shaft, baring his teeth in a frustrated growl. “You fight with such passion and ferocity!” he exclaimed with a mix of surprise and flattery. “Why are you wasting it on Orochi’s behalf?”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Masamune spat back, pushing against the back of his sword with his free hand to lend more strength to his assault. “You’re too short-sighted to see the big picture! There is no one here with the strength to face him – not even you, Ma Chao!”

Chao snarled a bit, unable to understand why such a talented officer should be so devoted to the snake. “Then I will show you how wrong you are,” he declared, “first by defeating you, then by running your serpent-lord through with my spear!”

He thrust both arms forward, bashing with the spear to disengage Date’s block, and then whipped it around to drive straight at him. Masamune deftly evaded it to one side and then caught it with his arm, pinning it between elbow and flank, and drew his second Dragonhunter with his left hand and immediately shot, wasting no time aiming or quipping in defiance. Mengqi barely had a moment to be startled when he saw the flash of light off metal and tried to throw himself back, but the bullet still clipped his arm, tearing through his sleeve and up his biceps. By the time he had recovered his stance, Masamune had already stowed the spent pistol in his waistband and grabbed for the shaft of the spear now that his hand was free again. “What are you going to do now?” he said brashly, getting a good grip on the spear to keep Ma Chao from pulling back. “Spears are no good in close quarters, idiot!”

Chao bristled at him, but before he could retaliate, the battle around them swelled toward them like the swirl of the tide and both saw Xiahou Ba break from the pack to turn and deliver a huge two-handed swing of his lance straight at an enemy officer chasing him. The blow raked all the way up his opponent’s body from hip to shoulder and sent him flying, much to Date’s shock and dismay. “Hidemune!” he screamed at the sight of his son thudding to the ground, unconscious and bloody. His head snapped back toward Ma Chao, his face livid in the baleful half-light, and he yanked hard on the spear, trying to disarm his foe. Chao took advantage of his blind rage and haste and charged forward with the momentum, letting Date reel him in and then bodily checking him with one hard blow from his shoulder-guard. Not to be outdone, he drove the head of the spear into the dirt and used it to launch himself up into a kick, striking Masamune hard in the chest and sending him reeling backwards, forcing him to let go of the shaft in order to flail and keep his feet. Ma Chao was not done, he landed spryly and whirled the spear around in a massive spin around himself to build its power and then thrust again, this time slamming it right into the dead center of Masamune’s burnished chestplate. The solid metal plate did not crack but that wasn’t the point of the hit; Ma Chao charged with head and shoulders down, putting all his power behind the spear-thrust in order to push Masamune all the way back to the nearest wall and pin him there. The tip of the Stallion Spear’s blade dented into the chestplate at the instant Date’s back hit the wall, and there he was, stuck at the end of an eight-foot-long spear with a brawny warrior at the other end.

Ma Chao stared him down as he tried to bring his saber up and crack the spear shaft – it was too strong to simply be cut by any sword. “It looks like I have you,” he challenged, “unless you have any more guns hiding in your pockets.”

Date hacked at the shaft but it would not break. He looked desperately past the spearman’s shoulder for any chance of assistance, but Katakura was down as well, along with his son Shigenaga and most of their corps. “It isn’t over yet!” he countered, grabbing for the tasseled spearhead and trying to wrestle it back just an inch or two, just enough for him to free himself and dodge around. “If you want me, you’ll have to kill me!”

“That can be arranged,” Kato Kiyomasa blazed as he charged in from the side, pike raised high to strike. “I’ll shut you up for good, you arrogant brat!”

Masamune recoiled at the sight of him advancing so quickly, but then finally managed to twist out from under the Stallion Spear and leaped back in time to let the great scythe-blade whiff past him. “You watch your mouth!” he shouted back. “I am the Lord of Oshu, and a greater man than you!”

“You’re lord of nothing, here!” Kiyomasa retorted, holding where he was to let Ma Chao have the next attack.

Mengqi redoubled his efforts, now that he was certain Date had no more hidden guns waiting to be shot at him. Blood soaked his sleeve but he ignored it, sliding to the side and using a back-handed grip to engage the saber and keep it moving, forcing it out of his way so he could drop and then sweep the spearhead behind Date’s legs to throw him completely over. Masamune landed hard on his back, rolled one way to avoid Kiyomasa’s bade, and found himself coming up against the Stallion Spear on the other side. Both of his attackers moved in from opposite angles, then, converging on him and doing everything in their power to force him to yield. It took Kato breaking his arm with a damning blow with the spiked head of his polearm before Masamune finally let go of his saber, and while he lay convulsing with the pain, Ma Chao thudded onto his chest with one knee and grabbed his throat with one hand, the other holding the spear blade poised to kill. “Yield, you fool!” he demanded.

Date writhed beneath him, but Chao was too heavy to throw off. Between the pain and exhaustion, he had nothing left with which to fight back. Still, he refused to yield in words, closing his good eye and tipping his head back. “What are you waiting for?” he screeched at Ma Chao. “Kill me!”

“No,” Chao growled into his face. “I will not give you anything you desire! You will live – and regret it!”

With Date taken down, any remaining soldiers in the garrison still able to stand surrendered, and the Resistance officers swept through to make sure they had everybody. The demons fled, but the Date and Katakura rifle corps, loyal to the end, laid down their guns and raised hands to ask to be taken in with their lords. All of them were injured, some seriously, but their weapons were taken away and they were securely bound so that they couldn’t move either to escape or to end themselves as a means to prevent further humiliation. “But why…?” Masamune murmured deliriously as his broken arm was lashed to his chest to protect it. “You don’t even get it…”

Pang De stared down at him in concern as Kiyomasa shouldered up alongside him. “Is he still rambling on about Orochi’s greatness?” he complained.

De shifted that ponderous frown to Kato. “I feel nothing but pity, that a man with such potential greatness has been reduced to this. Lord Ma Chao is a just man, he will make sure he receives his due punishment.” His frown deepened. “If this isn’t already punishment enough.”

Chao sat nearby on an abutment of stone so that someone could wrap his arm up. “There is no justice in executing anyone here,” he muttered. “Their sentence is to sit and watch while we pour in upon Orochi’s head and destroy him. If they die now, they learn nothing.” He looked the other way across the garrison compound; the noise had already ceased, as their victory also silenced the cannon. “How is Zhang He?”

“Pretty beaten up,” Xiahou Ba answered worriedly. “He got shot in the leg and then some, he might have a hard time getting back in there…”

“Come now, it’s not like I’m _dead_ or anything.” Junyi limped up and draped himself over Ba’s armored shoulders, clearly too tired to hold himself up any longer. “What would your father say if you didn’t give me a hand back down to the main army, hmm?”

Ba blushed a little but looked up at him with a fond smile. “I’ll make sure you get back to him, don’t worry, Master Zhang He.”

“Considering how much skin you’re showing,” Masanori snorted, “I’m surprised you’re not much worse off than you are.”

“The kid’s right, you’ve taken quite a beating,” Pang De noticed. “Take it easy, Junyi. Somebody has to take charge of the prisoners…”

“And you propose that it be me, I suppose.” Zhang He pouted, not liking where this was going at all. “The problem with that idea is that if I am as roughed-up as you say, I wouldn’t have the strength to stop them if they broke out against me.”

“I’ll handle it,” Cheng Pu broke in, stepping between them and Ma Chao where he sat. “I’m not nearly as trashed but I could use a short breather.”

“You fought well, my friend,” Chao complimented, looking up to him and then around the circle of officers crowded around. “All of you did. Fine work. This garrison is now ours, we can use it as we see fit or return to the main army below.”

“I know Lord Cao Pi wants the cannons to fire on the castle,” Zhang He offered, “but this one is a bit out of range. I’d suggest we simply destroy the cannon here and leave it behind, so we can press forward with the important final stage of this battle.”

“Agreed,” Kiyomasa grunted. “So long as Orochi’s forces are on the run, they won’t have anything left here to come back to if they wanted to.”

“Leave it to me!” Masanori leaned his polearm against a wall and bashed his fists together before going over to the cannon to render it incapable of firing.

Binding the captured officers together, they hastened to make arrangements to guard against any attempt by the Orochi main army to free them and then thundered out of the northeast garrison to rejoin their forces in the valley below. As they started off, they found a large force coming at them from the west and saw with glad triumph that it was their own, led by Zhao Yun. Zilong and Mengqi barely paused to clash spears in greeting before all of them resumed their journey down toward the eastern drawbridge garrison, briefly catching one another up on their exploits as they rode. More than half of the Shu and Oda forces had already gone ahead or were contained in this group, and now they had men of Wu and Wei liberally mingled with them. It set the tone for what they would find when they reached the others, down at the main gate where they battled Lu Bu.

When Sun Ce had been sent to join his brother and guarantee the advance of their forces, he picked up any and all available officers along the way and soon had a large contingent falling in alongside him. Their path was choked with stragglers of the Orochi army doing their best to simply keep up the fight in the absence of any leadership or orders, so it took them a while to reach the drawbridge garrison, but when they did, the battle against Lu Bu had already commenced. Zhang Liao was fighting in earnest alongside Ma Dai, Hideyoshi, and a few of the lesser retainers who had come with Zhuge Liang. The latter had a harder time even getting in close to land a single hit, but they served as a distraction to keep Lu Bu moving and guessing which direction the heavier hits might come from. Sun Ce looked to be spoiling for a big fight and nearly pounced on the opportunity, but Quan held him back where he, Oda, Takeda, and Zhuge Liang were waiting on the open field just outside the garrison’s south gate. “Don’t be rash, brother!” he cautioned. “There’s not a lot of room in there, too many bodies piling on and we will end up hitting each other rather than Lu Bu.”

“But he needs to go down…” Ce looked among the group to see all the notable names and faces and then let himself be distracted by one in particular. “Shangxiang! Good, you’re all right. You had me worried there for a while, sis!”

“Sorry about that,” Shangxiang said sheepishly. “But don’t worry, I’m fine now!”

“Lord Sun Quan has a point,” Shingen murmured, sharing his thoughts only with this group. “We must allow as many of ours to have at him as possible, if we want to take him down quickly. But the garrison is too small for all of us to be in there at once – do we draw him out?”

“I don’t think it wise,” Kanbei warned. “The freedom of the open field favors Lu Bu. I don’t think he would escape at this point, but the freedom to fight on his terms will lend him strength, while being hemmed into this small space will wear on him.”

“Keep throwing small clusters of warriors at him,” Ma Teng suggested. “Three or four at a time, as they are now. We have unlimited fresh fighters, while he grows more tired with every passing minute.”

“Perhaps, but we cannot allow him to injure too many of ours,” Zhuge Liang said solemnly. “We need everyone we can possibly muster still capable of fighting when we reach Orochi. It would not do well to use our people that way.” He glanced to one side and then the other at the strong, capable fighters around him. “Those of us who intend to fight Orochi face to face must save our strength. Everyone else who is available…”

“Then, allow me.” A light-footed pink shadow darted from among them, and all of the lords and strategists followed with their eyes, startled, as Diaochan finally made her move. She had wanted to get in there as soon as her husband showed his face through the gate, but Zhang Liao had taken the battle to him first and it was fierce from the start. This was her chance at last, and she flitted through the garrison gate before anyone could stop her. She moved effortlessly around the swinging polearms, brushing past Ma Dai in order to slide under his weapon and appear immediately before their enemy. Lu Bu jerked back when she came into his space, but quickly brought his halberd around to strike at her with no mercy.

The other officers on the outside shared wary looks, and then Sun Ce dismounted without a word and ran forward to join in. Quan started to call him back, but Zhou Tai held out an arm to stop him. “He will do what he can,” the dour warrior muttered. “Save your energy for Orochi.”

Quan looked to his bodyguard and then nodded. “And you as well, Zhou Tai. That’s an order.”

Oda glanced at Mitsuhide shadowing him and smirked slightly, for neither of them needed to say anything to agree that they would do the same. Frustrated at not being able to assist his loyal retainer in there and get the bragging rights to a hit or two on Lu Bu, Ma Teng whirled his horse and brandished his spear. “There are still too many damned snakes running freely around here for my tastes. Anyone who would, let’s clear this ground for our allies to join us!”

Even with this quantity of officers facing him all at the same time, Lu Bu held his ground well, making the garrison his arena and fighting intensely to fell as many as he could. Diaochan’s appearance flustered and annoyed him, and though he had promised to show her no mercy, she was employing the same tactic which had gotten the better of him at He Fei, ducking behind the others and evading him with a backwards hop or two before coming back around from another angle. The addition of Sun Ce drove him into a rage, for he could see them repeating their battle from that last time and refused to allow them to defeat him a second time this way. Zhang Liao, Ma Dai, and Toyotomi had the reach of their polearms to keep him at bay, circling and deflecting and allowing Diaochan and Ce to get in close and then dodge away successfully. The first time Ce came at him to hit him, Lu Bu whirled to meet him with gusto, batting the two tonfa away with one wide swing. “You want at Orochi?” he taunted the Wu prince. “You’ll have to go through me!”

“Not a problem,” Ce said brashly with a wary grin. “I was planning on it anyway.”

“We’ll go through you,” Dai said between panting breaths as he brought his polearm down from above to give Ce the opening to escape, “and then we’ll go through Orochi!”

“ _You_ wish to fight the mighty Orochi yourself?” Lu Bu parried him easily and then heaved a sharp, mocking bark. “Don’t make me laugh!”

“Please, my love,” Diaochan entreated as she passed too close by his arm, nearly scoring a hit only to be blocked at the last second, “stop this madness!” She held against him, maces crossed to fend off his halberd, though he also had Zhang Liao and Hideyoshi lending their strength to the block to allow Diaochan the moment she needed. They saw now why she was there, and wanted to give her every chance, even if Wenyuan was certain no amount of cajoling would get through to him. He owed the lady this attempt. Diaochan ducked under the shaft of the Sky Piercer and flipped the maces in her grip so that she could still hold them and also grab handfuls of the dragon sash across her husband’s chest. He recoiled at her closeness, but could not pull back his weapon without allowing an opening for the others to hit him. “Come with me,” Diaochan pleaded in a soft, breathy tone, fluttering her eyelashes with every ounce of seduction she was so famously talented with – particularly with him. “You and I will go far away from all of this, just us…”

Lu Bu twitched and shook his head like a startled horse trying to throw off a rope on its neck and let go of his halberd with one hand in order to swing it wide and thrust back everyone but her. He couldn’t shake Diaochan, even if he backed up a few staggering steps. “Silence!” he demanded, using his free hand to grab her by the throat. “I will go nowhere until I have surpassed Orochi!”

He held her up in that one hand, letting her feet dangle in the air, but the sight of her in such peril drove every single one of the men around her to come to her rescue, piling on and slamming into Lu Bu from all sides. He took their blows with only a grunt but loosed his grip, letting Diaochan fall to be trampled by their onrush. Hideyoshi ran and slid under the others on his knees, opening his arms to catch her and whisk her out of there before she could be hurt, even crashing onto his shoulder and rolling out of the way so that she wouldn’t get so much as a speck of dust on her gauzy skirts. Diaochan accepted his help, though she curled a fist into Toyotomi’s sleeve and murmured to herself, “Surpassing Orochi will bring you no joy…why can’t you see this?”

Ma Dai gave an angry shout worthy of his more intense cousin and drove in hard to bash Lu Bu’s arms and hands, but the Sky Piercer came around too fast for him to fully block. The halberd’s thick blade struck the bronze shaft of Ma Dai’s brush and thrust right past it to strike him in the chest; Dai’s silver chestplate held firm but the hit was hard enough to knock him bodily backward until he hit the wall and slumped down, rattled. Zhang Liao took up his spot for him, pressing the attack with the Blue Wyvern held in both hands. He was not alone, Ce was still in the thick of it with him, and after a moment making sure Diaochan wasn’t hurt, Toyotomi rejoined. Lu Bu snarled at all of them not leaving him alone, but he had particular contempt for his former retainer, who met him at every turn, blocking and parrying his halberd aside. “I told you, Zhang Liao,” he spat in the man’s face after the fourth or fifth meeting like this, “I would show you no mercy if you stood against me!”

“It isn’t you I stand against, my lord,” Wenyuan grunted, shoving him aside yet again and then whirling his pike around to point straight at him. “I am here for Orochi, not you.”

“The only path to Orochi is through me,” Lu Bu dared. “If you can!”

Liao shook his head furiously. “You are almost unparalleled as a warrior, why do you fight to serve him?”

Lu Bu bared his teeth in a wild expression of savage joy and bloodthirst. “Because he is the greatest! None of you understand what lies ahead of you if you can defeat me.” He thrust his head forward and stuck that wicked grin right into Liao’s face. “One day I will be strong enough to surpass him. Until then, I will have to be content defeating all of you and crushing your hopes into the dust!”

The rumble of approaching horses could hardly be heard above the din of battle, but then they appeared from the pathways carved into the rocks, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao riding side by side with their retainers, soldiers, and certain prisoners ranged out behind them. They emerged onto the wider field surrounding the drawbridge garrison to find Xiahou Yuan of all people standing guard outside the open gate, sitting astride his horse with his bow against his knee and an arrow only loosely waiting to be drawn in case of emergency. He glanced as the enormous army contingent rode up to him and nodded in approval. “Nice to see all of you looking none the worse for wear. So? How’d it go up there, Ma Chao?”

“The garrison has been captured and the cannon destroyed,” Chao reported as he reined in. “Master Zhang He has been injured but we have captured Date Masamune.”

Yuan whistled, impressed. “Nice work!”

“What news here?” Zhao Yun asked urgently.

Yuan tipped his head to gesture at the garrison behind his shoulder. “Lu Bu’s in there making life difficult for everybody. Most of the others are on the far side, they had me hold here to wait for you guys and pass the word along. I dunno what’s up besides that, but there you go.”

Yun looked quickly to Jiang Wei, who nodded. “Most of our troops can hold here and wait for orders. If the chancellor is on the far side, go and find out what his plan is and we can move from there.”

“Very well. Yukimura, with me!” Zhao Yun wheeled his horse and spurred it onward with his red shadow right behind. “We’ll find another way around to him rather than ride straight through Lu Bu.”

Uesugi and Naoe went with him, and after a moment Ma Chao followed with their prisoners and the injured so as to get them all to a much safer position than out in the middle of the rocky field. The Resistance now controlled most of the ground around Koshi Castle proper, as well as the cannon forts, but the elusive target at the center – the keep and the demon inside it – remained just out of their reach so long as the drawbridges could not be controlled from this side. As they rode, the northern units came across Ma Teng and the rest of the cavalry cleaning up the field, and took their direction to locate the rest of the Resistance leaders to the south while the horsemen kept riding and slaying any demons unfortunate enough to still be out trying to make trouble. They came around the great spur of rock that formed a cliff overlooking the main road which snaked up from below and followed that road toward the drawbridge garrison until they spied the knot of horses that had to be Kongming and Oda. Beyond them in the gloom they spotted a movement almost as large as their own army behind them to the northern side. Sure enough, Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Sun Jian were finally there as well, approaching the garrison with all of their own men in tow. All of the officers met up in the middle, and could not resist giving each other proud, triumphant looks as they beheld one another and noticed just how much success in battle they could already claim. Gauging which officers were at hand and whether any of them looked too injured to proceed, they took a moment to share their news so that every resource still at hand could be counted. Tokugawa and most of his men were still holed up in the cannon fort nearest the drawbridge trying to bring it down, and some of the Wei and Wu officers were still back guarding the southwest garrison as well as firing the cannons on Koshi, and likewise Yuan Shao and Zhang Fei were in the north doing much the same. Zhuge Liang relayed the current strategy to Zhao Yun for wearing down Lu Bu until he could be taken, and then added, “we cannot lose too many to him. If many more are injured, we will have to try something different.” His eyes darkened grimly. “He may not appreciate being tricked, trapped, or shot from a distance by an arrow or a firearm, but if that’s what it takes to drop him and get him out of our way, so be it.”

“Give our men time to try it the old fashioned way,” Jian implored. “We have more than enough manpower. Set a few from the north, a few on this side, and give the signal to move in one wave after the other.”

“Agreed,” Oda said. “You may return and prepare as many of your men as wish to try their hand, Zhao Yun. But reserve at least yourself and your bodyguard for the serpent.”

“Understood.”

Cao Cao frowned at the yawning gate of the garrison before them. “I should have known he would show up _here_ , to stop us from proceeding.”

“One more obstacle to overcome,” Nobunaga said with cool confidence. “We have come this far, the likes of Lu Bu will not stand in our way forever.”

Zhao Yun and Yukimura rode back with the crucial information for the rest, finding them all clustered up as close to the gate as they could get in order to peek inside and see who was currently tangling with the infamous warrior. With them came Guan Yu, who had ridden and fought his way all the way around to the south alongside his allies and was now able to rejoin them. Even those who had already gone all the way up to the northeast fort and fought there were eager to press on, but Yun held them back with a command and arranged them as he best saw fit. Those who were still fairly fresh he prepared to go in as the next wave on the signal from the other side, while Guan Yu, Ma Chao, and others he requested to stay back. If they had more to fight than just Orochi inside the castle, they would need all the strength they had held in reserve, not wasted in fruitless fighting too soon.

Ma Dai did his best to get up and get back in there, but a second hit from Lu Bu knocked him out, and then Diaochan fell back, unable to press any closer. Her husband was on a rampage, and fought as fiercely as ever against those who thought they had a chance. Sun Ce was quickly exhausting himself in the fray but refused to back down, and Zhang Liao stood his ground with Blue Wyvern sailing this way and that to clash with the Sky Piercer and tangle blades. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t fought his former lord before, in this world or the last, but Wenyuan almost couldn’t believe his level of strength and energy. The injuries he had taken at Bai Di and He Fei appeared to have healed completely, he was not at all slowed down, his armor was as stout as ever, and he fought with a frenzy unlike any other. He wouldn’t be going down from just an arrow, or sorcery or anything else but prolonged, relentless fighting until someone could finally score a hit on him. Liao was that someone, he twisted at just the right time and felt the give of fabric as his pike’s blade drew a line along Lu Bu’s left sleeve – and then that was all he could manage. Lu Bu rolled his shoulders with the momentum and swung back around to slam his halberd into Liao’s chestplate, bashing him hard and denting his armor. Not to be outdone, the Sky Piercer rose and fell once more, and Liao gave a shout of alarm and pain as his arms buckled and the halberd’s blade raked down his shoulder, slicing through the strap holding his pauldron to his chestplate and cutting deep. It might have cut all the way through to his chest had not a sword suddenly struck it from the side, halting its progress and surprising Lu Bu enough to get him to pull back. Liao looked up with some chagrin, he didn’t even need to see the tattoos to know that the broad scimitar blade belonged to Gan Ning. Xingba stood over him with his eyes on the towering warrior before them both. “C’mon, Wenyuan, I thought you were my match. What’s this, now?”

Liao gasped for breath, wincing from the pain of his injury. “Perhaps the rumors aren’t as true as we’d like,” he quipped back, leaning away. “He’s all yours if you want him, Master Xingba.”

“Don’t go using titles with me at a time like this,” Ning snorted, raising a foot and gingerly kicking Zhang Liao out of the way so someone could come and grab him. Pang De did the honors, practically hauling Liao up and hustling him past while Xiahou Ba and Guan Ping ran right in behind him, squaring their shoulders and placing themselves to either side of Gan Ning. The pirate sneered at Lu Bu’s incensed glare. “Round two, big guy! Looks like you get to take us on next!”

“Nice to see you again, Gan Ning,” Sun Ce laughed as he fell in beside them.

“Oh, there you are!” Ning called back. “Ready for some fun, then?”

“You’re late, I already started,” Ce teased.

“Do you guys in Wu ever take anything seriously?” Guan Ping grumbled from behind them.

“Oh, this _is_ serious.” The whole time Gan Ning’s eyes never left Lu Bu, boring into him with deadly excitement. He stood with shoulders thrown back and River Master held low, almost daring their foe to try to him the way he did Zhang Liao. “You boys better work hard to keep up with us, now.”

“Insolent fools,” Lu Bu snarled at them. “Stop talking and fight me!” He threw his head back, aware now that there were many more than just Oda and Zhuge Liang hanging around waiting for their chance at him. “Come on, you insects! No one is getting to Orochi without going through me! If you value your life, leave now with your tails between your legs, or else come at me!”

His bellow could be heard well beyond the walls to either side, and more than one officer frowned to himself at the taunting challenge being issued. They all certainly were willing to meet it, but wisdom and logic required them to stay their hands and wait. The northern unit of Ning, Ba, Ping, and Pang De were the first to get orders to go in and relieve the injured, and as soon as he had dumped off Zhang Liao De was right there with the others, swarming onto Lu Bu all at once. Ma Chao only proceeded in as far as he needed in order to carry his cousin out to safety, and then knelt in the open gate leaning on his spear, trying to hold himself back from joining at Sun Ce’s side. To the south, another unit whisked Wenyuan and Diaochan out to have their injuries treated, and then Yue Jin, Xiahou Dun, Lu Meng, and Han Dang awaited their turn. “Damn, this could take a while,” Dun realized as he watched the other group launch their attack. “He is worse than I ever remember.”

“I’m sure that’s what Orochi wants,” Lu Meng said warily. “The longer he can hold us back and force us to deal with every little obstacle in our way, the more tired and sore we’ll be when it comes time to face him.” He glanced sidelong at Dun. “It’s up to us to let our lords save their strength for him.”

“Gladly,” Yuanrang responded with a single nod.

Behind them, the larger group of commanders and tacticians took control of the prisoners brought down from the cannon fort, giving their forces a moment to shuffle around and decide who was going to drag this bunch down to the southeast garrison which their combined armies held. Mitsunari stood over Date, eyeing him darkly and showing absolutely no pity for how badly he had been injured at the hands of their forces. Cao Pi strode up alongside his primary tactician and cast a cold look down on the young upstart who had plagued his attention for so long. “Finally. A fitting end, I think.”

Hearing his voice, Masamune tipped his head back to squint past the visor of his helm. “ _You_. Haven’t even gotten your own hands dirty yet, have you?”

“On the contrary, I’ve already put a dent in Da Ji,” Cao Pi sniffed, though it was only partially true. “It is a shame I couldn’t have dealt with you myself, Date, but it sounds like Ma Chao and his comrades were more than capable.”

Masamune scowled at the thought that Da Ji might already be out of commission, and he had heard the others mention that Keiji had been captured. Was Lu Bu really all they had left? If so, it was only proof to him that humans were useless and the only one who truly had the right and the strength to conquer was Orochi himself. “You don’t understand your predicament,” he snapped up at them. “Only the truly great can rule this land, and you’re not it. Not by a long shot. _He’s_ the only one who can do it, and he’ll prove it.”

“Is that so?” Zihuan arched an eyebrow at him, his expression disdainful. “Your opinion on the matter means nothing to me. You have brought nothing but pain to this land, so I would hardly call you an expert in what constitutes greatness.”

Date glared heatedly at him, but Mitsunari spoke up, then. “Do you really think one day you’re going to overcome Orochi?” he wondered sincerely.

“Oh no…” Date’s expression changed to an unhinged sort of half-grin. “No one can overcome him. Not now, not ever.”

Cao Pi harrumphed loudly. “Orochi’s time is done,” he declared before turning away to head back to where his father and Oda were silently stewing in each other’s presence. “Get him out of my sight, we have a battle to conclude, here.”

Mitsunari gestured for Cao Hong and Hao Zhao to do the honors, the garrison was not far and they would be put to better use guarding prisoners there until the outcome of the battle was known. The Resistance knew the wisdom of keeping prisoners in three separate locations, the better to prevent them from attracting attention and getting freed by Orochi soldiers. Masamune gave him one last spiteful glare as he was being dragged to his feet and manhandled, trying to bite back grimaces of pain when they were a little too rough with his broken arm. Ishida turned his back on him and went to follow his lord, tapping his fan against his open hand impatiently. “How long do you think it’s going to take to bring Lu Bu down for good?”

“That depends.” Cao Pi strode up to where the others sat in their saddles, giving himself an extra moment to stretch his legs. “Is this truly the only way into the keep, now?” 

Zhuge Liang looked entirely unruffled by his irritation. “It seems so. From the reports from others, there is no way to operate the drawbridges on the mainland. Short of learning Da Ji’s teleportation spell right here and now, it seems we have no alternative but to wait until Lu Bu is finished.”

“There must be another,” Uesugi said with the same level of frustration as the Wei lord. “We saw Orochi reinforcements return to the field without using a bridge. They must have come from somewhere.”

“But you didn’t see how or where, Nemesis?” Takeda made a face below his mask. “A potential, but in the time it would take to ride back to that end of the battlefield…”

“If we see fit to order a second unit to attack Lu Bu,” Oda suggested, “then let us consider the alternative. Time is only of the essence if Orochi shows us his hand. For now, even Liu Bei is safe inside that keep with no indication that it will change anytime soon.”

“True,” Cao Cao said gruffly. “We are right here on his doorstep and he doesn’t seem to care. Either he thinks his door ward is strong enough to take on all of us, or he isn’t concerned about hurrying.”

“Then we’ll take advantage of his delay to rest up,” Sun Jian put forth. “By the time the snake shows his face, we’ll all be fresh again and ready to give him exactly what he’s asking for.”

As they sat there, a large horse suddenly thundered up straight into their midst and past so that the rider could dismount at the gate of the drawbridge garrison, saying absolutely nothing to the pack of officers he passed. They all glanced at the same time to see Honda Tadakatsu wade through the unit at the gate and clap a hand to Xiahou Dun’s shoulder to politely but insistently demand that he get out of the way. He had ridden all the way from Tokugawa’s side, he could not be constrained any longer when they all knew that his most-desired prey was the last thing on the field to be fought. Nobunaga, Takeda, and Uesugi all simply shared a knowing look, while Sun Jian grinned. None of them were going to stop him if he wanted to join the fight, and from the way he raised his Tonbo-giri, that was exactly what he was going to do.


	89. Chapter 89

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of Koshi Castle, part 5 - Lu Bu is brought down, and then Da Ji is the only one left standing between the Resistance and Orochi.

The fight inside the drawbridge garrison was getting ugly, Lu Bu could seemingly not be stopped and he made sure that Zhang Liao wasn’t the only one to leave bloody. Sun Ce dropped back to rest in a crouch, not injured yet but also mindful of his brother’s warnings earlier that they needed to save a portion of their strength for Orochi. He watched as Gan Ning tangled with Lu Bu like never before, springing over his halberd to kick him or zig-zagging around to keep from being hit. Between him and Toyotomi Lu Bu was rapidly growing beyond annoyed at their inability to sit still and let him hit them, and then there were the others. Xiahou Ba and Pang De were so heavily armored that they let hits glance off them like it didn’t bother them at all, and Guan Ping made as many openings as he could with his huge broadsword, able to block the Sky Piercer almost effortlessly. This was the man his father and uncles could not single-handedly overcome, he was aware of the difficulty of the fight, but with so many comrades around and all of them determined not to fall, he was not afraid. He would not yield, not even if he were the last one standing. Still, even with their strength and agility and their overall skill and talent, they were not coming out of this unscathed. Gan Ning was already torn up in places, a cut to his scalp bleeding into his headband, and Ba was starting to have a hard time getting back up after every hit he absorbed. Pang De took an unexpectedly powerful blow to the shoulder and rolled across the ground to come to a stop at the feet of someone who had just strode in, and squinted up to see a towering mountain of a man crowned with antlers standing over him. “Are you all right?” the mountain gruffly queried.

“I…Master Honda?” Pang De responded. “It’s you!”

Honda bent to offer him a hand up and then gave him a jarring pat on the shoulder. “Allow me, my friend.”

Lu Bu hadn’t seen him yet, but the instant the Tonbo-giri swept in from the side, following the path of the River Master as Gan Ning swung yet again, he moved to block it and then raged with a bull-roar. “Not you!”

“Whoa!” Hideyoshi abruptly screeched to a halt and sprang backwards, retreating to where Sun Ce was. “Nice timing, Tadakatsu! Have at it!”

Ce looked up at him, only now noticing how hard he was breathing as he leaned on his staff and took a break. “You too, huh?”

“I just don’t wanna get into Tadakatsu’s way,” Toyotomi said with a dry laugh, tipping back his helm to wipe the sweat from his brow. Yet, there was a shade to his smirk that suggest he really did need to rest if he wanted to join Oda and the others in the final round.

Gan Ning shot a quick look at the bearer of the enormous pike which had so skillfully followed behind his scimitar. “Well, get a load of you!” he retorted before disengaging and coming around to the other side with his blade held up in a block. “Nice of you to join the party!”

“Kind of you lot to spare room for me,” Honda said, shoving against Lu Bu’s halberd. “This appears to be a delay tactic, allow me to assist to finish this quickly.”

“Hah!” Lu Bu spat at him, attacking him directly. “You will not find it so easy to best me this time! All of you are no match for me!”

He kept pressing forward, focused more on Honda than the others but still capable of reversing and parrying them when they came at him from other angles. He twisted to bash Xiahou Ba yet again and this time knocked him down for good, putting a dent in his plate and sending his helm bouncing away loose across the garrison floor. Ba pushed himself up on one hand but couldn’t find the breath to force himself to continue, his armor was pressing against his abdomen in just the wrong spot and he was quite exhausted and sore. Pang De managed to get back in there, but the bulk of the fighting was between Lu Bu, Tadakatsu, Guan Ping, and Gan Ning, all of them circling around each other and going toe to toe. The appearance of his nemesis had Lu Bu on a pure rush of rage and adrenaline, which made him frighteningly strong but also opened up the tendency for him to make mistakes. Gan Ning being shorter and swifter with unusual power behind his heavy scimitar could get in under the reach of the Sky Piercer and cut wherever an opening was made, and he was starting to find flesh rather than armor every time he did so. But getting in that close also put him at enormous risk and he wore no armor at all besides bracers and greaves. In contrast, both De and Tadakatsu were encased in plate and scale, gloved and helmeted and prepared to take any and all hits, and Guan Ping had enough heavy plate over his vitals in case anything got past his Young Dragon. In and out they danced, wearing each other down and capitalizing on every opening glimpsed, smashing and cutting at will. For every blow he took Lu Bu dealt one in return, and spun rather suddenly to pursue Gan Ning in order to stop him from continually hacking at him like that. He pulled his halberd back in both hands to shorten his grip and jabbed forward with the spear portion of the blade, forcing Ning to pivot on his heel and bring his sword up awkwardly to block. The thrust of the halberd broke through his momentum and glanced off the spine of the scimitar to find Gan Ning’s unprotected flesh, the spear-head sinking into his chest right between the sinewy lines of his dragon tattoos. Twisted half around as he was, Ning was spared a fatal blow by mere inches, but the blade struck him hard enough to crack a rib. He staggered with the blow and then kept going backwards, grabbing for the halberd shaft with his free hand and holding onto it so it couldn’t be removed from where it penetrated his chest. “Now!” he bellowed at Honda. “Do it!”

Guan Ping hesitated at the stunning sight of the mighty pirate with a blade in his chest but Honda kept moving forward, taking advantage of Ning’s sacrifice to successfully assault their enemy. Lu Bu sensed him coming at the last second and took a hand off his Sky Piercer to shift and dodge out of the way, but the Tonbo-giri was coming at him from the other side and he ended up dodging right into it. The massive pike blade bit through his armor and scored along his shoulders, and then Honda drew it back and stabbed forward much as Lu Bu had done to others, aiming straight for his chest. Had he let go of his weapon Lu Bu could have evaded it, but he had little choice but to stand there and take it. The axe-like blade punched through the edge of his chestplate and slammed into him with such force that his hand left his halberd all the same. Honda swung again, and this time Lu Bu raised his arms and caught the Tonbo-giri by the shaft. “Do not think you have bested me yet,” he snarled. “What is this but a little blood? I will gladly sacrifice every drop of it in my body to destroy you!”

“You blind, arrogant fool!” Tadakatsu roared in turn. “If you would have me destroy a work of art in order to spare the lives of so many, then so be it!”

They wrestled over control of the pike, arms straining, blood and sweat dripping in the dust at their feet. Content at having used his own body to disarm Lu Bu, Gan Ning stumbled a few steps backward, dragging the weapon with him, and then went to one knee as Sun Ce raced to his side, begging, “Hang on! Stay with me, Gan Ning, don’t drop now…”

“Don’t pull it out!” Xingba growled at him, teeth gritted against the pain. “Not yet. Just get me out of their way so he can’t grab it…”

“I know, I know…” Ce caught him up in one burly arm and reached to help him steady the halberd with the other hand, pulling him and the weapon both back out of the way toward one of the gates. Toyotomi dashed over to help as well, leaving the others to finish this mess before anyone else could fall.

Damaged as he was, Lu Bu could not hold out against Tadakatsu for long, and though he desperately wanted to likewise disarm his enemy, he settled for throwing his might against the shaft of the pike to knock it wide and then came in with his fists instead, punching Honda in the jaw and then grappling with him. Honda shot out a hand and caught Lu Bu by the throat, and for a moment they struggled in another stalemate, but the Tonbo-giri made all the difference in this one. He swung it up back-handed and struck Lu Bu in the shoulder with the pommel end, aggravating one of his wounds and making him seethe through clenched teeth. It gave Tadakatsu the moment he needed to let his great pike slide through his gloved hand, getting a better grip on the shaft near the center in order to raise it high. He shoved Lu Bu back in order to hack at him from above, and though Lu Bu dodged, it still hit him near the collarbone and anyone close enough could hear a crack as the bone broke. It was one hit too much, Lu Bu’s wounds were deep and painful and he couldn’t even stay standing any longer. His knees crumpled under Honda’s blow. “Impossible…” he hissed. “How…?”

Tadakatsu had no answer for him, he simply held his stance and took his Tonbo-giri in both hands to bring the blade closer to Lu Bu’s throat. The garrison around them was suddenly full of officers, as Oda Nobunaga, Sun Quan, Sun Jian, Cao Pi, and Zhao Yun burst in through both gates and surrounded them all at once with their retainers trailing behind to form a second ring behind them. Lu Bu eyed them all but did not seem to even consider that they would have been too many for him. He reached to grasp the blade of the Tonbo-giri and draw it across his neck, but officers from all factions piled on him to grab his arms and restrain him, giving no heed to his many injuries or how it might have pained him to have his arms pulled back. Nobunaga paced straight up to him from alongside Honda, staring him down darkly. “And so it ends for the mighty,” he said ominously. “Struggle if you wish, but your time is over, Lu Bu.”

Lu Bu tipped his chin up, facing him with every ounce of the defiance he had once shown to Cao Cao, who now stood just off to Oda’s right glowering at his old foe. “I don’t need to struggle,” he snarled in return. “The only thing I desire right now is to wipe you all from this dimension and prove myself the greatest among you!”

“You’ll have a hard time doing that from where you are,” Cao Pi said icily, pacing past with one blade drawn. He came up to Oda and set his free hand on the warlord’s arm as if to gently restrain his Demon Slayer. “I have been asked a favor, Lord Nobunaga, and I bring it before the assembled Resistance – humbly, yet with every intention of repaying it.”

Oda arched an eyebrow his way. “What is it, then?”

Cao Pi glanced to the side to summon someone forward, and then stepped out of the way as Diaochan raced up from the ring of retainers. She bowed deeply before both of them and then dropped to a knee to shield Lu Bu behind her. “Please, my lords,” she said, trying to restrain the slight tremor in her voice. “I beg your mercy. Lord Cao Pi has saved my life and made it possible for me to fight against Orochi all this time, so I feel it is too much for me to ask him to grant this favor as well.” She dropped her head so as not to meet any of their eyes. “Allow me to take my husband from this place. I will remove him from the battlefield, he will not be able to attack any of you or go to Orochi’s side.”

With all of the commanders present, they raised their heads and consulted one another silently with wary looks. Sun Jian pursed his lips in deep thought, Zhao Yun’s brow furrowed, and Nobunaga’s eyebrow arched even further in surprise. Cao Cao, however, paced closer, eyes dark and expression sour. “You mean to beg for his life in front of an entire army which has suffered his torment for these many months? Even now he declares his allegiance to Orochi, there is no compelling reason why we should simply allow him to go free.”

Diaochan kept her head down. Lu Bu tried to wrench one of his arms free and then cringed in pain, almost doubling over to the ground, gasping for breath. Silence passed between the commanders before Sun Jian spoke. “He has a point,” he said solemnly. “Yet, for my son to spare the likes of Dong Zhuo but deal death to a man far more honorable than him? It would bring a stain to our names.”

Cao Cao shot him a narrow-eyed look. “It isn’t my fault if your son was so weak.”

Quan bristled, but Ce held him back. “We all hate Orochi,” he acknowledged, “but in this final hour what does it matter if anyone still shows him loyalty? I remember a time when everyone here would consider loyalty to your lord more important than death, and renouncing him nothing but an act of cowardice.”

“This is not the time for honorable platitudes,” Zhuge Liang murmured. “But as to the matter at hand…there is no reason to execute Lu Bu. He does not have what we want.”

Zhao Yun shook his head. “My heart burns for justice to be done, but there is no justice without mercy.”

“As long as the vow is made, that he will not be allowed to return to Orochi, now or later,” Oda put forth with a stern glare down at Diaochan’s head. “He must be taken away immediately. If he returns, he will be killed on the spot, as will anyone who harbored him.”

“Do you not think that I wish I had been killed in battle?” Lu Bu spat, finally raising his head to fix a determined glare on Oda. His eyes were glassy with pain and he heaved for breath, but he still managed to stay partially upright while they debated his fate. “That would have been both honorable and merciful, but no. You are too weak to do so, Honda Tadakatsu,” he added, baring his teeth at the tall warrior. “It will be your undoing.”

“If you wish to die so badly, my love, then do it in my arms somewhere else besides this battlefield!” Diaochan suddenly screamed at him, sitting up and rounding on him. “I will not watch you throw your life away for Orochi one more minute! If you will not come with me, then I will leave it to them to execute you as you so dearly desire!”

Lu Bu stared at her, at the tears running down her face and the way she knelt beside him, fists clenched so hard it made her whole body tremble with the strain. “Diaochan…” he murmured, his voice breaking.

Diaochan pushed herself up enough to take the two steps over to him and then crouched before him, cupping his face in her hands. “You know I cannot bear to see you hurt, my darling, and I would never be able to put the knife in your heart no matter how much you yearned for the release of death. Let me take you away from here and if you die then, at least you will die with me…”

Lu Bu’s energy was ebbing as fast as the blood pouring from his wounds, soaking his tunic and surcoat. He wilted toward her, and for a moment seemed to forget all about the double-ring of officers staring him down in order to focus solely on her. “Diaochan…how…how can you forgive me? Even now…”

She shook her head slowly. “I never hated you. I only wanted to turn your eyes away from him. I will take whatever I can get, if it means we can be together now…”

Nobunaga heard the clack of metal against metal and glanced to find his wife’s claws curling around his heavily-armored elbow. Lady No was watching this scene with keen interest. “To die together in glorious battle is how any couple should aspire to leave this world,” she said softly.

Sun Jian eyed her slightly, fairly certain his sons and daughter would not agree. Yet, there were romantics among them who couldn’t look at Diaochan’s relentless love and not be moved. Even Cao Cao lowered his gaze and turned away, silencing any protest. “I believe it is agreed,” Cao Pi said seriously. “Lady Diaochan, you may take him and go. But only you. If we see him return to the field, he will be killed.”

Diaochan looked up quickly, dashing the tears from her eyes with one hand. “Yes, my lord. I understand. You have my word, it will be done.”

It was clear how quickly Lu Bu’s condition was deteriorating, once those restraining him let go. He flopped onto the ground with a grunt, and couldn’t even push himself up until Diaochan led his horse over. It took three or four officers to haul him up into the saddle, and then she sprang up after him, taking the reins. She gave Cao Pi one last look of deep gratitude and then spurred the horse onward without a word, spiriting her husband away from Koshi Castle for good. As they watched her go to be sure she genuinely departed, heading across the basalt field toward the main road which would take her down to the Resistance camp and away, Oda leaned over to Cao Pi. “That decision is going to come back to haunt us, I’m sure,” he muttered.

“If so, we will deal with it then,” Pi assured. “The only thing that matters right now is getting into that castle. We could all be killed at Orochi’s hand, then, so what happens to Lu Bu afterward may not matter.”

Diaochan did not care if any of his retainers were still alive or uncaptured anywhere else on the battlefield, the only thing that mattered to her was Lu Bu and making sure he didn’t bleed to death within sight of the castle. She rode hard down the road but didn’t get far before he lifted his head from where he lay draped over the saddle and cleared his throat. “Stop, Diaochan. Please.”

“I promised them I would take you away,” she insisted. “We must go, my love.”

“We’re far enough.” He managed to work a hand over to pat her leg. “Let me down. Let me sit where I can still see…and watch how it ends.”

Diaochan reined in and looked around. The road cleaved through the rocky ridges and continued on downward toward Hinokawa, but there were gaps in the rocks where the sure-footed Red Hare could pick its way to find one of the vantage points used by Orochi sentries. They were at least past the southern garrison and out beyond the boundaries of the castle wards and grounds, that counted as “away from the battlefield.” She let the horse have its head and concentrated on keeping her husband from being jostled too badly until they reached a spot where they could look back down into the vale and behold most of Koshi Castle and its outlying possessions. Everything was dark as though night had come on, they could barely see the braziers marking the paths at this distance and even the continuing cannon fire was nothing but a low thud like far-off thunder. Yet, they could see the troops massed around the eastern drawbridge garrison, and could likely guess at their actions from here on out. The ground was hard and dry, nothing but volcanic rock and rubble, but Diaochan still managed to get Lu Bu down off the horse and seated so he could watch the outcome of the battle from afar. She ignored any protest from him and began tearing apart both his clothing and her own to make bandages to wrap up his wounds – if it were possible to save him, she would do it single-handedly. “We may be able to grab some supplies from the main camp, if we are able to make it that far,” she encouraged as she bound the deep cuts along his back, shoulder, and chest. “Sit, now, my dear, and rest.”

“I will go no further,” Lu Bu mumbled, hazy from blood loss and barely able to keep himself sitting. He gazed down at the great black stone walls beyond them, aglow from the flame and the lava, his dark eyes softening. “Orochi…you are indeed the greatest. I was the only one who deserved to face you.” His lips twisted as if in pain, though he hardly noticed anything Diaochan was doing to him. “Let no one else defeat you. How would it look if you let them best you…?”

Diaochan’s eyes saddened to hear him still speak so highly of Orochi, but having him here was a great victory in her own long struggle. Considering the Resistance commanders also spoke of the demon lord’s great strength, it was perhaps the best she could expect. The love of her life was not giving his up for the sake of Orochi, but rather sat here with her, with a glimmer of hope that they might survive. To that end, she, too, wanted to sit here and watch the battle end. Neither she nor Lu Bu would have any more part in it, and that was all she could ask for. Diaochan worked to stem the bleeding and tie off the wounds as best she could with what she had, and then sat down next to him, curling up against his side. He could barely move his right arm thanks to the broken collarbone, but his left was still capable of draping around her and drawing her close. For all he spoke of the glory of Orochi, in that moment Lu Bu scented the flowers in her hair and knew he had been a fool. Yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the view of the castle below. He needed to sit vigil, and wait.

  


Inside the eastern drawbridge garrison, the four Resistance commanders and their bodyguards met for the first time since they had departed from their main camp that morning, and were privately pleased to see that none of them were injured. Too many of their officers had already suffered and been wounded badly enough to take them out of the fight, and now Gan Ning, Zhang Liao, and Xiahou Ba joined them. Xiahou Yuan bent down to carry his son off personally, and was pleased to find that he was just generally battered and bruised without any serious visible injuries. Gan Ning had taken a severe hit, but it meant keeping the Sky Piercer as a trophy of war even after its owner was taken away, for it couldn’t be removed until healers were there to do it properly and stem the gush of blood that flowed as soon as the blade was gone. They had already done so and were frantically working to patch him up when Ling Tong ran up and fell beside him to see for himself how bad it really was. Xingba reached to shove him away from being too clingy and realized how much blood stained his hand, so instead he curled it into a fist and weakly punched him in the arm. “Don’t give me that look, I’ve had worse. I’ll be fine. See? It didn’t even cut through any of my tattoos.”

Ling Tong heaved a deep breath to try to swallow his worried tears and then snorted a laugh. “Of course you’re more worried about your tattoos than how much of your blood is on the ground.”

“It ain’t all mine,” Gan Ning insisted. “A lot of it is Lu Bu’s. Oi, oi, Gongji…” He snagged Tong’s sleeve with one finger to pull him in. “I fought Lu Bu and this is all I got. Beat that!”

“You idiot.” Tong placed a hand on his head and used it as leverage to lean in closer for a moment. “I’m going on ahead. Don’t die, okay?”

“I told you, I’m not gonna die.” But Ning still permitted him a moment’s sentimentality, and leaned against him until Tong broke away of his own accord and got to his feet. “Go on, give the big snake hell for me. I’m gonna sit the rest of this out.”

“Right.” Tong scrubbed his sleeve across his eyes and sobered up quickly, turning to find Lu Meng watching the both of them with a knowing, sly, and somewhat fond look. “Okay, so, what’s the next step?”

“This drawbridge, I’m sure,” Meng answered, guiding him away from where the injured were being tended, including Zhang He, Ma Dai, and others who had gotten knocked around in the recent fights. “The strategists are putting their heads together, I’m going to join them in case I can help.”

At that very moment the strategists were in fact drawing into a knot to try to tackle the problem of how to bring down any of the three drawbridges. Most of them were present, and after getting a ninja’s-eye view of the iron bridge on the other side of the closed gate thanks to Kunoichi and Nene, they realized that getting the gate open was the least of their problems. “And I don’t suppose there’s anyone with the strength or skill to leap over that chasm and not land in the lava,” Jia Xu said sarcastically.

“Hanzo might,” Nene put forth, “but he’s with Lord Tokugawa in the southern cannon fort. Given time and the right equipment we might be able to secure grappling hooks to the iron, and then swing across, but there’s a big risk that the ropes would burn through from the heat coming off that lava.”

“I believe that might be a faster solution in the long run,” Zhuge Liang said dourly, “compared to any alternatives. Let us work on that, while those here take a moment to recover their strength. If we can successfully assault the keep, it will require as much manpower as we can provide.”

“The cavalry is still in good condition,” Ma Chao offered. “If we can breach this, allow us to ride first.”

“We should send messengers to the other two bridge crews to give them this idea,” Zhou Yu said briskly. “If any of them have a ninja or just a daredevil who would be capable of undertaking it, they should try it as well. Whoever lands inside the keep first should then go to lower the drawbridges on the other two sides.”

That part was easy to agree to, and fleet messengers were sent riding to Tokugawa in the south and Zhang Fei in the north. It was also important that once they reached the terrace, the cannons should cease fire in order to allow the Resistance to pass, but seeing as it didn’t appear that the shots were having much of an effect on the castle anyway, right now they were serving as a diversionary tactic to keep Orochi’s eyes away from their frontal assault. What they didn’t know, however, was that Orochi knew exactly what they were doing. He knew Lu Bu had fallen, he knew that all of the outlying garrisons and forts were taken and held against him. The nigh-unassailable keep was all he had left to himself, but he wasn’t interested in merely sitting tight and forcing them to besiege him. As much as they wanted to get in, he wanted them to. He still stood on the portico observing everything for himself, and when Da Ji prowled up behind him looking for a scapegoat on which to pin their failures, he simply turned to look down at her. “They have defeated Lu Bu,” he informed her. “They have earned the right to face me.”

Da Ji stared wide-eyed at him, not for the news of defeat but for his desire spoken so openly. “They got Lu Bu again? And after all that boasting that he was the greatest,” she sniffed. “But, my lord…are you sure? They don’t deserve such a chance, they’re nothing but a bunch of traitors and rebels.”

“If they wish to die by my hand, I will grant them that honor,” Orochi intoned. “I will hand them their final despair, and then they will die. Do as I command, Da Ji.”

“Yes, my lord.” Da Ji lowered herself swiftly into a bow and then whisked away through the nearly-empty courtyard. “Bring up the rest of our reinforcements. Prepare to advance. Lord Orochi has ordered us to make way for the Resistance to come to be slaughtered, so let’s give him what he wants!”

The remaining demons blinked in shock but hustled to obey, some going into the castle to muster their defenders and others making their way through the side halls to an ambush point she had previously planned. Orochi stretched out a hand and raised his voice until it echoed through the courtyard: “Lower the main drawbridge.”

The strategists were still huddled talking about the risk of losing precious ninjas to the lava if their grappling hooks couldn’t stay anchored in the iron lattice of the drawbridge when they heard the distinctive clunk and grinding of the mechanism beginning to operate. The gate they had been working so hard to break down swung open from the other side on its own, and many had to leap back in surprise to avoid being pinned by one of the great iron doors. They stared, stunned, as the drawbridge creaked and rattled, lowering from the opposite end and coming to rest on the metal platform at the lip of the chasm with a great, loud bang. The four commanders shared a collective look of uncertainty at this development. “Well,” Sun Ce said for all of them. “I guess we’re being invited inside.”

“What does he mean by this?” Zhuge Liang wondered aloud, going to the end of the drawbridge and having a look down toward the doors of the keep. “He could withstand our assault for days by simply keeping it locked up tight.”

“If it’s a trap, it’s a foolhardy one,” Nobunaga murmured. “He knows by now that we want nothing more than to enter his castle, yet he gives us the opportunity.”

“Because if he’s going to fight us, it’s going to be on his terms,” Sun Jian said bluntly. “We knew all along that if he decided to face us, it would be inside the castle, not out. This is nothing to be frightened about, even if he’s choosing the field.”

“All the same, stay alert,” Takeda advised with a cautioning wag of his war fan. “It doesn’t mean there are no additional surprises waiting on the other side.”

“All together, then,” Zhao Yun directed, vaulting back into the saddle. “Watch each other’s backs, and do not let Orochi claim the upper hand on his own turf!”

Several of them likewise mounted up, and Cao Pi called out an order to be passed through messengers. “Tell the cannons to hold their fire! The drawbridge has been lowered, we will advance to the Serpent King!”

The nearest cannon fort ceased immediately, for they could see the drawbridge for themselves and guessed that their side had done something amazing already. Word stretched from there to the other forts, including the one under Yuan command, and any Resistance forces still far afield were called to the entry points to begin making their assault on the keep of the castle. As promised, as soon as the way was clear the cavalry charged first, clattering down the iron lattice and splitting to circle around the terrace to both sides, picking off Orochi defenders still cowering in the shelter of the walls and riding to reach the drawbridge controls north and south. It became unpleasantly clear that they would never have been able to lower the bridges from the far side, the only means of controlling them was on the terrace ledge. While the cavalry kept Orochi troops from getting very far in their counter-attack, tacticians made their way to the controls and lowered both bridges to meet the Resistance troops waiting eagerly on the banks of the great chasm. Zhang Fei’s unit with the Nanman had managed to pull down the gate doors on their own, so they were more than ready and as soon as the bridge clanged down firmly on the platform, he led them onward to join the main army. Tokugawa had been guarding both cannon forts with the bridge head between them, and had the rest of his people with the stragglers of Wu and Wei ready to advance as soon as the path was made for them. The Resistance poured in from all three sides, and though Orochi had clearly invited them to come and show him their strength, he didn’t make it completely easy for them. There was still the main door to break down, so the combined might of all four factions concentrated on that task while their rearguard and the cavalry swept back and forth along the terrace to fight off any and all desperate Orochi defenders still converging on them. It took time but at long last they managed to pull the huge iron doors open enough to permit entry, thrusting them aside to reveal a long antechamber with another set of doors at the far end, the whole corridor lit by torches and currently empty. It appeared the demon lord had himself a fine welcoming hallway preceding the real entrance. Given how many of their officers had made it this far, the commanders wisely dismounted and ordered anyone who planned to march on the entry to do the same – wide and high-ceilinged though the foyer was, there was no room for horses. Zhao Yun hefted his spear and entered first without any sort of pause or preface, it felt like the way was simply laying open for him to take and he knew Lord Liu Bei was on the other side of those doors, so there was no reason to delay. He had taken only two steps through the door when a flash of light at the other end halted them all in their tracks. All four commanders knew what that light meant, and none of them were particularly pleased to be seeing it again. Da Ji materialized fully in front of the far set of doors, hands clasped behind her back. “Well, _well_ ,” she taunted them. “Isn’t this interesting? Look at you all, just barging right in to someone’s home.”

No one responded to her quip, even as additional generals shouldered up on either side of Zhao Yun to confront her, weapons at the ready and unpleasant glares on their faces. Sun Jian grunted a quiet, dry laugh under his breath – he had expected to see her again, to be sure. The cut he had given her was wrapped securely, she couldn’t hide it at all, but she seemed to be moving just fine in spite of it. As he moved in ahead of his lords, Xiahou Dun growled, “Not this again.”

“It seems she hasn’t had enough, yet,” Takeda said just as quietly. Cao Pi and Sun Jian had shared with the other generals their encounter in the third cannon fort, they knew this wasn’t the first Da Ji was putting herself on the line for her lord. “This time, though, we’re going to have to take her down for good.”

“My lord is on the other side of those doors,” Zhao Yun muttered to the rest of them, never taking his eyes off their foe. “We must go through her one way or another.”

“What are you all murmuring about over there?” Da Ji sneered at them, sashaying a few steps closer. “Is there something you want? Come, come, we haven’t got all day you know.”

Zhuge Liang stared her down from over Zilong’s shoulder. “It seems we may have overestimated you, Da Ji. You’ve run out of plans and now we’re inside your lord’s castle. Why don’t you just surrender, and all of this will be over?”

“Was that a challenge?” Da Ji barked a sharp fox-like laugh. “I suppose you did see through all my ideas. Maybe I should just…” She leaned toward him, though she was still a good ten feet away from them, and bared her fangs in a bloodthirsty grin. “…pluck your feathers.”

Liang looked hardly bothered by the threat. “You may try, but I have a feeling you will find it difficult to even lay a finger on them.”

“Enough talking,” Nobunaga interrupted, swaggering forward and facing her squarely. “We have only one aim, and you surely know it, Da Ji. If you will not get out of the way, then prepare to take all of us on at once.”

“All of you?” Da Ji smirked. “I didn’t know I was so popular! But if that’s what you want…” She raised her arms, and the pair of mystical orbs materialized over each hand. “…I’ll show you just how powerless you are!”

In the moments before anyone moved, Mitsunari drifted behind the line. “She’s here to take out as many of us as she can,” he breathed, passing the word to as many as could hear him. “The more of us who fall here, the fewer there will be to face Orochi.”

“In that case,” Naoe said over his shoulder, “don’t let her get at the commanders.”

Hearing that, the officers gathered made their choices instantly. As much as Zhao Yun, Cao Pi, Oda, and several others wanted to fight Da Ji personally, their retainers shoved through them and charged her in order to take the battle to her first. Lu Meng, Ling Tong, Toyotomi, Toshiie, Xiahou Dun, and Guan Ping all moved at the same time, forming a front line, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Hojo Ujiyasu, Ma Chao, Cao Ren, Nagamasa, and Hanzo stormed up behind them to put an impenetrable wall between Da Ji and the commanders. At the same time, hidden gates in the side walls opened and ambush forces poured out on them, forcing the entirety of the Resistance arrayed in the antechamber to turn and fight them off on all sides. There was battle enough for anyone and everyone, even the four commanders were not exempt but they had no trouble with the rank-and-file who came at them, at least until the captains driving the gray-skinned demon soldiers appeared. They were new and different to some who had been in certain parts of the field all day or hadn’t witnessed their type appearing at He Fei Castle, much stronger than the usual captains, faster, and more deadly. They set upon Zhao Yun quickly only to be blocked by Uesugi, who had indeed faced them in the northwestern garrison. “Do not let them trouble you,” he growled to the Shu commander as he pressed on ahead of him. “Allow your retainers to go first.”

“What are they, Lord Kenshin?” Yukimura asked warily.

“Demons. That is all you need to know.” Kenshin himself took a step back to let his son and Shimazu Toyoshisa charge past him together, massive axes raised and eager, bloodthirsty grins on their lips. He watched them with some pride and then added in an undertone to Zilong, “As wonderful as this fight is, stay mindful of Nobunaga’s plan.”

It was still imperative that they maximize the number of officers who would be uninjured and capable of going forward from here, with a whole castle still before them and Orochi himself somewhere inside it, so even Uesugi had to restrain himself if he wanted to be ready for it. Fortunately, with the entirety of the Resistance coming down onto Koshi from the three drawbridges, there were officers aplenty among them. Some who hadn’t even seen each other for the duration of the battle so far were now shoulder to shoulder in the antechamber, which was thick with bodies of both armies swarming on one another so closely that one could hardly swing a weapon. Miyamoto backed up against Yue Jin so the two of them could wield their pairs of swords masterfully, Kunoichi and Nene zipped in and around the throng to tear at the enemy with their blades, even Zhenji and No managed to endure one another’s presence in order to fend off spidery demon captains together and give their husbands room to rest and save their strength. More of their forces were still outside along the terrace fighting stragglers and additional reinforcements. The frontal assault was going well, and though they stood in the midst of the melee with no one to battle directly, the commanders and their immediate right-hand retainers formed into a knot and waited for their friends and loyal generals to take down the real last obstacle standing between them and Orochi.

The front line rushed Da Ji and hemmed her in so she couldn’t get around behind them to attack her most desired foes, but she was clearly out for blood no matter whose it was. Her strategy was, in fact, precisely as Mitsunari predicted: she meant to cut down as many as she could, not that she didn’t think Orochi couldn’t handle every single one of them but she was of the opinion that their mere presence was an affront to his greatness and it would be a better mark of who was actually worthy, as he called it, to face him if she could cut away the weakest from their pack. A few good turns around the width of the antechamber proved just how much the battle so far had taken out of some of those who had been fighting for hours upon hours already. Her relentless assault of whirling, spinning orbs battered their defenses and finally broke past Hideyoshi’s, his arms gave and one of the orbs grazed his chest. Da Ji pounced on his stumble and sprang up to throw fireballs at him, and no matter how agile he was he couldn’t evade them. He crashed to the floor even as Guan Ping leaped over him to press the fight, chasing Da Ji while she in turn pursued Toshiie. Xiahou Dun was rather suddenly in her face from the other side, forcing her to drop into a slide across the stone floor to avoid the swords coming at her from all sides. Despite her wound and her earlier fight in the cannon fort, she seemed to have regained a second and third wind and was too fast for them, circling and dodging and bringing her orbs around in dizzying patterns, changing directions on a dime and charging them with a crackling burst of energy like lightning that added a jolt whenever they touched a target. Since she fought with magic and projectiles rather than a blade, her hits tended to leave no mark, no blood, but there was no doubt left when both officers and soldiers began to fall around her. Backflipping over Ling Tong to his utter surprise, she springboarded off Taishi Ci’s shoulder to launch herself high enough in the air to rain fire on the entire pack of them at once, cackling with glee the whole time. The magical fireballs struck Toshiie and singed his bare arms while the rest of them all ducked and covered, though Guan Ping and Sakon managed to deflect more than a few back toward her. Da Ji simply dismissed them with a wave before they could hit her and then used her vantage point hovering over them to locate her real targets. Of course they were being guarded behind a ring of retainers, no surprise there. She landed behind Cao Ren and darted away before he could even turn, slipping between their fighters and her own lackeys to hunt a certain commander. She didn’t get far, however, as the brave and faithful of Shu moved into her path like a river redirected, Zhang Bao and Jiang Wei leading them. Snarling at them, Da Ji deigned to face them with another handful of fire, and then danced easily out of the reach of blade and spear. They were not exactly slow themselves, and with Ma Chao pressing from the other way and Sanada Nobuyuki closing in, Jiang Wei figured they had the advantage and rushed to trip or capture her. She deftly drew back her orbs until he was within reach and then spun them into another orbit, catching him inside the ring where she could deal with him directly, and smirked widely at him. “Wanna play, little boy?”

Jiang Wei glanced sharply to see that he was inside her reach, and though logic said he was caught between two equally unpleasant outcomes, he could see a way through it already. Whirling his trident spear around his wrists, he shifted to the side and thrust his own pinwheeling weapon through the plane of the orbs, attempting to disrupt them and force an opening. Da Ji merely brought the orbit down to the ground with a wave and as soon as Jiang Wei attempted to cross the plane, raised the orbs again and bashed him hard in the back several times. He staggered sideways and meant to catch himself on his feet, but she thrust out both hands to direct the orbs to hit him head-on, he couldn’t block them both and one slammed into both his shoulder and his jaw at the same time. He fell senseless against the wall and slid down, wide open to a follow-up that would have certainly killed him had Zhao Yun not thrown himself into the path. He was done watching others fight and fall for him, he had to defend them himself. “Get him away from here!” he cried to Zhang Bao.

Da Ji wasted no time, she advanced on him quickly so that no one else could regroup and hit her from behind while she was toying with her prey. “Just who I wanted to see!” she said gleefully, tossing her orbs at him and forcing him to whip his spear back and forth to parry them. “The real leader of this ill-fated expedition! I suppose you’re here for your precious lord, are you?”

Zhao Yun glared at her, unwilling to rise to her taunts. “You know exactly why we’re here. All of us!”

She heard the whisper of a spear slicing through the air near her ear and dodged to the side to let the Crimson Fang pass harmlessly over her shoulder. “And there’s the other one. Correct me if I’m wrong,” she lilted, grabbing for Yukimura’s spear and halting it mid-swing, “but you’ve never even met Liu Bei. How come you’re fighting so hard for him?”

Yukimura braced and then yanked his spear back from her, putting himself at corners with Zhao Yun to protect and assist. “I don’t expect you to understand,” he spat back.

Da Ji shrugged. “I guess it’s moot, since you’ll both be _dead_ shortly.”

It wasn’t a polearm or a sword that came at her from behind, but flying feet, and the kick very nearly landed. Da Ji startled and tossed an orb around her to block it at the last second, bodily deflecting Guan Suo and sending him recoiling back into Kato Kiyomasa, knocking them both to the ground. Suo seethed with pain, the orb had smashed into his leg and it seemed broken. His father let out a roar and charged in to repay the hit, but Ma Chao was already there, the Stallion Spear flashing and darting as it drove Da Ji back away from Zhao Yun and Yukimura. She turned handsprings to get away from it and nearly landed on top of Guan Ping, who managed to land the hit his father so desired, driving into Da Ji with a backhanded swing that plowed the spine of his Young Dragon into her and threw her halfway across the antechamber. “You have brought enough suffering to this world!” he blazed at her, pivoting on his heel and charging after her. “It ends now!”

Da Ji rolled a couple times before she could gain her feet and skid to a halt, and now she was beyond angry. They weren’t letting her get anywhere near the leaders she hated so much and needed to kill, all she wanted was to rip every last one of them to shreds. The orbs came back around her in their protective orbit, ringing off Guan Ping’s large sword as he held it tipped to block. “You’re right, this is the end!” she snarled back at him, baring her fangs. “For you, anyway! I hope your daddy’s watching, won’t he just _love_ to see me kill you?”

Guan Ping was more than ready for her when she flew at him, but Lu Meng and Xiahou Dun intersected her path from either side and she was forced to pull back her strike. A few fireballs didn’t seem to daunt them, either, though cleaving through them didn’t seem to be the best way to handle them, as Lu Meng learned the hard way. His sleeve was only smoking a little. He pulled his pike back and went in harder, aware of Ling Tong also coming in at another angle. The four of them looked to be about to converge on Da Ji just when she had no way to block them all at once, but she was not a fox for nothing. She swirled through them, letting Ling Tong’s foot whiff against her shoulder in the barest hit, and then leaped right behind Lu Meng, grabbing him from the back and closing sharp-taloned fingers around his throat. Even Dun hesitated as she climbed half onto the powerful Wu strategist’s shoulder and dared them to attack her at risk of hitting him. Meng was not daunted, however, he simply spun his pike behind his back and grabbed it from the other side, essentially trapping her against his back with the shaft of the weapon. “Somebody hit her already!” he demanded, flexing his arms to keep her pinned.

Several officers came at him from all sides, but Da Ji did not fear them. She melded herself up against Lu Meng’s back and raised her free hand to call her orbs back to her. They rushed in over everyone’s heads and slammed into Meng while he stood with no way to block them, and she screamed with delight to hear his ribs snap under the assault. He dropped straight downward, freeing her, and she hurried to teleport herself out of their midst before the others could recover. Ling Tong dropped to pick his dear friend up and drag him away, taking himself out of the melee for the moment. Da Ji threw a few of her own men into the path of the generals still aiming at her in order to clear herself some room for a large-scale assault, bouncing off shoulders and the wall itself to bring herself high above them, floating for a moment with arms raised and orbs over her shoulders. “You’ve done very well to come this far,” she mocked the entire assembly, “but think of it this way: at least being dead, you won’t have to go all the way back!”

She was about to unleash another hail of fireballs on them, but knives whistled past her ears and then an arrow struck her in the left shoulder, dropping her out of the air. She shrieked and came up in a crouch, yanking the arrow out of her and throwing it aside, looking around sharply to see who had dared to fire at her. Ina stood with bowstring still twanging from the shot, with Wang Yuanji standing beside her, having exhausted most of her arsenal with that barrage. Da Ji sprang from her place to attack them, but Guan Ping and Xiahou Dun were still there to attack and to stymie her onslaught, forcing her to dodge them first this way then that. Drawing back, Da Ji conjured the orbs in her hands and wreathed them in electricity before hunting around the crowd with her eyes, trying to decide between all the deliciously available targets close at hand, shifting toward Ma Chao as he closed in on her yet again. He became the perfect distraction, for as she aimed an orb at him, he planted his spear and vaulted over her, not even bothering to strike her. The chains came as if out of nowhere, wrapping around her within seconds and pinning her arms to her sides. Screaming with outrage, Da Ji followed them to find Hanzo at the end of one and Jia Xu on the other, both pulling from either side to keep her trapped. The antechamber was filled with a throaty boom, and something exploded right in Da Ji’s face. Half the Resistance fighters looked on in shock as the chains went slack beneath a cloud of black powder smoke, and the other half looked to see Tokugawa standing with his staff-mounted mini-cannon aimed at their foe. He lowered it and flipped the bayonet head back into place just in case, but he was almost certain the close-range shot would have been enough to put an end to her fighting. Then, through the ebbing smoke they could see the chains tighten again, and it dissipated to reveal Da Ji staggering back to her feet, singed and disheveled and spitting mad. “Cut her down!” Sun Jian ordered from behind the guard line. “Don’t let her escape!”

“You think that’s enough to stop me?” Da Ji raged back, grabbing for the chains and trying to yank Hattori and Jia Xu toward her. “This is nothing! It makes no difference what you do to me, you’ll never beat Orochi!”

Hanzo loosed his chain and edged back as other officers swept past him to pile onto her, weapons of all shapes and sizes flying at her from above and the side, but Da Ji was not going down without taking a few more with her. All she needed was one hand free and the orbs were back, spinning in their orbit and bowling the entire front line back all at once, striking them in the arms and chests and shoulders. Shaking off Jia Xu’s chain, she bounded up onto Cao Ren’s shoulders and used him as her stage on which to stand and start lobbing individual fireballs at anyone who got close. In her incoherent fury she didn’t see the blast of light until it had already struck her in the back, and she toppled off Cao Ren like falling off a cliff, glancing at the last second to see Kanetsugu standing with ofuda unfurled around his sword. He had knocked her straight into the pack of generals, and though exhausted and battered, they closed in on her position and this time came up successful. Dun held his sword to her neck while Ujiyasu and Taishi Ci each took an arm, bending them back so she couldn’t make the gestures needed to command her orbs or use her sorcery. Cao Cao broke suddenly from behind Dian Wei and raced to cleave her down the middle now that she was restrained, but Da Ji beat him one last time, feet bouncing off the ground and coming up in a flip to kick Xiahou Dun in the face. As soon as his sword was out of the way she yanked herself bodily to the side and bit Hojo as hard as she could in the crook of his elbow where his bracer ended. He let out a shout and though he brought his cane around to bash her skull in, he was too late. She had that one hand free again, and twisted with a gesture to vanish herself from their grip. They all hesitated and looked around, expecting she would have simply blinked herself to the side to come at them again from another angle, but this time she was actually gone. “Damn!” Cao Cao yelled savagely, coming to a stop and jamming the tip of his sword into the stones where she had sat a moment before.

“Where is she? Is she springing another ambush?” Sun Ce called out.

“No, she’s gone,” Guan Ping answered, circling warily with his sword held low just in case.

All of the officers put their backs to one another so as not to be caught unawares, but Da Ji had disappeared. It did not surprise anyone, though one or two might have beaten a weapon against the floor in frustration that their efforts at delivering a mortal blow were yet again in vain. “Is that the last we’ve seen of her?” Daqiao asked hopefully.

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Sakon said darkly, feeling able to finally lower his Wrecking Blade. “But I saw it before she vanished – she reopened her wound.”

“And took a few more,” Hojo noted, nodding toward Tokugawa and Ina. “If she wants another go at us, it’ll cost her dearly.”

“Not nearly enough,” Guan Yu grumbled.

Mitsunari looked among them to verify that the rest of the demon captains and their ambush had been routed while the others were busy with Da Ji, and then up at the massive iron doors towering over them. “And then, there was one,” he said grimly, loud enough for all to hear.

The Resistance as one unit looked to him and then followed his gaze, and for a moment everyone went still. Weapons lowered, and they glanced about them to see just how many casualties had come at Da Ji’s hands. Toyotomi, Lu Meng, and Jiang Wei were definitely down, seriously injured and even still unconscious. Guan Suo’s leg was broken, Toshiie was having trouble breathing for all the dents in his bronze cuirass, and several others had also been so heavily battered that they dripped sweat and blood and leaned on each other or the walls. Still, despite their losses, there were still a fair number ready to go, and the commanders were unharmed. Zhao Yun strode to the center to gather them all around him. “This is it,” he warned. “Orochi is just behind those doors. Let those who go forward do so with the understanding that it may be your last battle.” He reached to set a hand on Guan Ping’s shoulder. “Yet, if you have already given too much, do not now give your life needlessly. There is no shame at all in staying back.”

“As a matter of fact, we need a good portion of our strength to hold back,” Zhou Yu said seriously. “There is still a sizeable Orochi army behind us, I can hear the battleclash. They’re trying to regroup and bring us down from behind. Some will have to hold here and prevent them from coming up on our rear.”

“It’s true,” Sima Shi affirmed from where he stood near the open gate, his rapier running red with blood. “If we only look forward instead of back, we will be dragged down and left to die at Orochi’s hand.”

“Not only that,” Yueying said warily, “but anyone already at their limit is nothing but a liability. Our chances against Orochi will worsen if half the group falls in his first strike.”

Most of the generals looked from one to another as if daring each other to admit that they were too tired or sore to press on, for no one wanted to openly say so. Nobunaga guessed this and added, “Be honest with yourselves. There is no glory and honor in merely marching yourself in to be cut down in the first swing of his scythe. Save those notions for later. If Orochi manages to destroy the first wave, there will need to be a second waiting in here for him, and if you are to die, you can do it then.”

His dark assessment of their options weighed heavily on many of them, and with a reluctant sigh Guan Ping became the first to stand down. “I need a moment. I will hold here with the second wave.”

“As will I,” Tokugawa said firmly.

“Very well,” Xiahou Dun agreed.

Others followed their lead to draw back, leaving the commanders and their bodyguards with a good twenty or so still ready to press on. “Not that it’s going to do us a lot of good when we can’t even get the doors open,” Shangxiang complained, pointing to where some of their burliest were already working on it to no avail.

Takeda, Lu Xun, and a couple others went up to examine the gate for themselves. It seemed that the iron doors were not merely too heavy or locked from within, they were sealed by a power greater than human strength. No amount of Dian Wei hauling on the great rings could pull them open. Zhuge Liang stepped up through the group and brushed him aside with a wave of his fan before lifting his head and calling out. “Orochi! All your pawns have been captured. You’re on your own. Why not cut your losses and give us back Liu Bei?”

The others waited tensely for an answer in silence, though Ranmaru glanced to Zhou Yu and whispered, “Is that really going to work?”

It didn’t seem that it would, for no one else from Orochi’s army even showed their face in the narrow antechamber. Some of the officers began to shoot each other worried looks, but then the demon’s voice seemed to echo from the very stones at their feet. “You have defeated Maeda, Lu Bu, and Da Ji. You have earned the right to face me. Come, brave warriors, and show me the strength of men.”

There was a harsh, metallic scrape and squeal, and then the doors before them began to swing open of their own accord from the inside. Some of the officers reached to hold each other back, for it wasn’t certain who had the right to charge in first. Before the doors had fully come to a stop, though, Zhao Yun turned sharply to those around him. “Quickly! We have only a moment,” he begged of them. “Who is ready to go into the depths of the castle to find the dungeon and free Lord Liu Bei?”

“I will,” Magoichi said instantly.

“As will I,” Nobuyuki piped up.

“Count me in,” Ina added.

“Please, Lord Zhao Yun.” Xu Shu shouldered his way through the mingled forces. “Allow me to join as well.”

“How many more do you need?” Ling Tong asked. “Because I’m itching to get in there.”

Counting off the five of them, Takeda nodded. “That should be enough, we do not want too large a force or you will distract the serpent’s attention to you, which is the last thing we want.”

“Aw, c’mon, you need a ninja for this party.” Nene appeared rather abruptly between some of the larger men. “Along with an archer and some tough swordsmen, we should be just what you need.”

Zhao Yun nodded crisply. “Thank you, all of you.”

Zhuge Liang gestured with his fan. “Once past this door, you should cut immediately to the right. There is a courtyard beyond leading up to the main entrance, but there should be a stair in the wall to the right. It will bring you inside the ward, but from there I cannot say which way you should go.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take it from there,” Nobuyuki assured.

“You want to go downward.” Sun Jian shouldered through the crowd to reach the rescue party, eyes blazing with urgency. “The dungeons are down deep, find whatever stairways you can and keep going down until you find it.”

The group of six nodded their understanding and offered one another a quick look or a rap of knuckles against an arm to show solidarity, and then drew off to the side to wait until after the main force had entered to sneak behind them. The doors were fully open, now, and that same eerie echo as if the castle itself were speaking reached them while they stood there. “You may enter my fortress,” Orochi said, not at all politely.

The assembled officers straightened up and tightened their grips on their weapons. More than twenty of them had reached the final stage, and though some were battered, they were all still on their feet and ready for this. Even Zhuge Liang clenched his fist tightly on the handle of his war fan. “My lord…I am on my way,” he breathed to himself.

“Forward,” Cao Pi commanded. “Show Orochi the might of humanity!”


	90. Chapter 90

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of Koshi Castle, part 6 - the Resistance leaders finally begin to fight Orochi, while the rescue party searches Koshi Castle for Liu Bei.

The four commanders of their respective factions stepped through the inner gate to Koshi Castle first, though they had bodyguards, retainers, family, and friends immediately behind them and surrounding them just in case this warm welcome was yet another trap and they would be beset as soon as their faces came into the light. The vast courtyard spread out before them as they passed between the pillars of the doors and emerged into Koshi Castle – completely paved and walled with stone, with great fanged snake emblems along the roof and on every cornice, braziers arranged on all sides and in all corners, some of them blazing blue with magic, and the broad portico standing at the far end to lead the eye and the foot up toward the main hall. A pair of wide staircases led up to the portico with its stone railings, and if they were to enter, several sets of doors were placed in the wall behind with shingled awnings covering their tops, washing the actual entrance to the castle in even deeper shadow. Yet, that was not their destination, for the great serpent demon stood on the portico waiting for them, hands empty and face impassive. They stopped halfway across the courtyard, not wanting to approach too close in the event that there was more than just Orochi himself about to attack, and arrayed themselves for the battle: Zhao Yun, Cao Pi, Oda Nobunaga, and Sun Ce at the fore, with their companions shouldering up alongside and right behind them in small clusters – Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, and Yukimura guarding his sworn brother, Cao Cao and Mitsunari behind the Wei prince with bodyguards Dian Wei and Xu Huang, Mitsuhide at his lord’s hand with Takeda, Uesugi, and Naoe, and Zhou Tai and Ranmaru serving the entirety of the Sun family. They stood together, no space between, showing their unity and solidarity in their presence, Ranmaru between his two favored lords and Mitsunari conveniently beside Yukimura as each attended their own. The rescue party was warned to wait with just a gesture or two, for if they broke from the pack now, they would be instantly spotted – they had to wait until the actual battle was joined. For an eternally long minute no one moved or spoke, not even so much as a toe scuffing on the flagstone or a weapon brandished, and Orochi studied them in turn, his blank expression hiding his thoughts completely from them. Was he counting them, or sensing their strength? Could he guess which of them were already injured? Did he seriously intend to fight all twenty-odd of them at once? His answer finally came, his mouth turning down slightly. “I do not want to waste my time,” he said with the tiniest hint of irritation in his otherwise flat tone. “You had better be worth the effort.”

One or two of the officers bristled a bit. Worth the effort? It wasn’t as though Orochi himself had expended an ounce of energy yet today, while all of them had fought to their limits just to reach this spot. Mostly, though, they stood still and gauged him in turn. Evil seemed to emanate from his very being, perhaps Zhuge Liang’s theory that he was more powerful inside the castle for some unknown sorcery-related reason was true. Even those who had fought him to retreat before and even injured him could only look on and wonder if he had any weaknesses at all, now. Nothing had changed of his stature, his armor appeared whole and undamaged as usual and the great snake-like eyes leering from the strange gap in the center of his body glowed a malevolent red like the lava outside. Those quite vulnerable and mortal human beings facing him did not quail, they swallowed any doubts and focused on Orochi as the root of every wrong in their land, the source of the poison, the maker of all their tortures, fears, and pains. “The very embodiment of evil,” Yukimura breathed, his lips barely moving. “Yet standing here now, my heart feels strangely calm.”

“The final step,” Mitsunari murmured. “And it’s a big step up…”

“The greatest opponent any of us will ever face,” Xu Huang whispered in awe.

“Remember our fallen comrades outside these walls,” Cao Pi exhorted, raising his voice so that all could hear. “Fight with the strength they’ve lent us. Fight until we have won.”

Orochi’s mismatched eyes fell on him. “So, Cao Pi. You choose to bite the hand that feeds, do you? Good. Come, if you believe you can end me.”

Pi tipped one blade up until it caught the chilling blue fire of the magic torches. “If you are in such a rush to die, then do yourself one favor before you succumb,” he challenged. “Lord Liu Bei. Where is he?”

“Yeah, set him free!” Zhang Fei suddenly yelled. “We’re here to take him back!”

Orochi’s head lowered slightly, and the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch as if holding back a smirk. “Your devotion to your oppressor is interesting. But very well, if you wish to see him…”

He turned and held out a hand toward the black-shadowed doorways behind him, while nearly all of the Resistance shared confused looks with one another. Since when was Liu Bei an oppressor? But then Zhao Yun gasped sharply, as a figure clad in green and gold strode out from the castle entrance and came to a stop beside Orochi. The demon towered over him, but that didn’t seem to daunt Lord Liu Bei at all. He moved without stumbling, and turned a desperate look on the throng below the portico steps, not even seeming to really pick out his brothers and friends among them. “Please,” he said gently, “do as he says and drop your weapons.”

Sun Jian went suddenly rigid, his brow furrowing in a deep, suspicious frown. “Drop our weapons? Why?”

“Because,” Liu Bei implored, “he will kill me otherwise. You must obey him, or I will be executed.”

A swirl of white robes flashed in front of all of them before they could say or do anything further. Zhuge Liang had somehow edged out in front and then sprang from his place to run up the steps within seconds, before anyone could stop him. He charged right past Orochi and struck Liu Bei with a back-handed swing of his fan. Those watching recoiled in shock that he should dare to attack his beloved lord, but before they could even start questioning his loyalty, the figure crumpled to the ground in a haze of light and mist which floated away into nothingness and took with it the appearance of Liu Bei. Underneath the mask of sorcery, Da Ji lay in a heap at Zhuge Liang’s feet. “Impossible…” she moaned.

Kongming backed away a step or two, as if only just then noticing how close he had placed himself to Orochi. His face was dark and livid with a kind of anger few had ever seen him openly display. “My lord is not selfish enough to place his own life above the freedom of his people,” he said crisply. “He would never beg for his life like that.”

He looked up even as Orochi stared him down. “Your faith in him is amusing, but pathetic. He is weak.” He thrust a hand out sideways, and the massive scythe materialized in his grip. “You may serve him as you wish in the afterlife.”

Zhuge Liang could not move fast enough to get out of the way as the scythe rose and fell, and he was certain his fan would not be enough to block it. Yet something did come between the blade and his head – a humming sword, glowing violently purple in the dim half-light. He glanced with some relief at Oda Nobunaga, who stood halfway between them to defend him, arms raised to hold his blade up over their heads. Orochi, on the other hand, glared sourly at his intrusion. “You challenge me, Demon King?”

Oda returned that look with the barest twitch of an eyebrow. “If that is what you desire.”

He held for a moment and then threw Orochi off with a swing of his Demon Slayer, giving both himself and Zhuge Liang the opening to escape and get into a better position. Even as he did, Zhao Yun took up his spear and rushed the portico, enraged that the demon should parade a fake in front of them even here and now at the very end of the last battle. All he could do was let out a battle cry as he came on fast, and Yukimura echoed it, running to accompany him. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xu Huang, and the entirety of the Sun family immediately took up the call and the need to move, brandishing weapons as they came on in a pack and practically leaped up the stairs to get at Orochi. As they charged, Mitsuhide dismissed the rescue party with a gesture – now was their chance, they had to move! Magoichi saluted him quickly and shoved at Xu Shu and Ling Tong to get them moving, though Nobuyuki was already ahead and had noticed the door Zhuge Liang had mentioned earlier. That was their way in, and all they had to do then was search the keep for the dungeon. No sooner had they started up the steps and the rest of the main line moved in, successfully covering their retreat and converging on their true purpose for entering the castle.

Orochi watched them come on toward him, standing his ground at the top of the portico steps, and then swept his scythe outward in one great swing. A rush of air like a shockwave hit the foremost and stopped them in their tracks, though they didn’t retreat even a step. Crouched behind weapons held defensively across themselves, they blinked as the great serpent suddenly moved, faster than usual and phasing out of corporeality as he came so that he passed through them like a phantom, unable to strike or be struck. When he returned to his physical form he was smack in the middle of them, and planted the butt of his scythe against the stone floor to send a shock of dark energy outward. At least a dozen of the Resistance leaders were caught in its halo and blasted off their feet, thrown backwards into their fellows with nerves and bones alike rattled down to the core. Orochi turned his supremely unimpressed stare on them as they recovered and brandished weapons at him. “You have proven yourself the best of your kind,” he said with some disappointment. “Come and show me how feeble you really are.”

Sun Jian was one of the first to regain his feet and come at him again from behind, and made no taunt as he swung his sword down hard, only to find it blocked as Orochi lazily angled his scythe over his shoulder to meet him. “If that’s what you want,” Jian said as he held firm, pushing against the blade, “then feel the bite of the tiger’s fangs a second time. You’ll regret ever messing with the warriors of Wu!”

Orochi tipped his head back as if to roll his eyes at such declarations, but then Guan Yu came in swinging from the other side, necessitating another shift to block. One by one the generals threw themselves at him in rapid sequence, and he parried each one in turn, barely pivoting to do so. Those who had faced him before, whether in the darkness and rain at Chi’bi or under the bright sun at He Fei, could tell from that first exchange that he was not at all the same as they remembered. Whether he had been less powerful due to sorcery or simply holding back, then, things were vastly different now. He needed expend no effort to fend them off, not even when they came at him six or eight at a time. Seeing this, Mitsunari grabbed for Cao Pi’s cloak and dragged him aside for a moment to breathe a warning, to which Pi nodded and then moved past him, around the circle, seeking Nobunaga and the other commanders to pass along the suggestion. They needed to coordinate, it was clear, but doing so without shouting obvious directions at one another took a bit of work. Orochi cared nothing if they wanted to mutter to each other, he showed no sign of concern or weakness as he swung his scythe in wide arcs to parry any weapon that came at him. As he slowly turned in place to meet whatever challenge was thrust at him, his mismatched eyes seemed to find Zhuge Liang no matter where he moved, and the strategist likewise kept his gaze leveled on the demon lord even as he slipped in and out among the others to relay ideas and orders that matched Ishida’s. After a few more rounds of impotent attacks, Orochi flicked his eyes toward Da Ji’s limp form sprawled on the portico and then back to Kongming. “You wish to try a strategy to save him,” he intoned, thrusting a hand to one side to unleash sorcery right into Zhou Tai’s face. “You would slip away and leave your fellows to die at my hand for the sake of one man?”

“Not at all,” Liang responded smoothly, gliding back the other direction and giving Zhao Yun a gentle tap on the shoulder as a signal. “I am still right here, after all. But what concern of yours are my plans, Orochi? Are you upset that I betrayed you?”

The demon’s eyes flashed for a moment with a true answer before he could turn his sour glare directly on the Shu strategist. “Traitors deserve death,” he said flatly as if relating a fact of life. “There are enough of them here that I will amuse myself with their destruction, one after another.”

“You think so.” Guan Yu squared himself with Blue Dragon aimed forward, waiting for the others to fall into formation around him. “This traitor would beg to differ. Come, Orochi, and face the God of War for real, this time!”

“Two of them,” Kenshin growled as he fell in beside Guan Yu. “Let us drink from the sweet chalice of war together.”

Orochi stared them down for a moment before looking around to see that the elite warriors had boxed him in, standing in double ranks on all four sides with similar weapons gathered in clusters so they could maximize their momentum and their range of movement. Spears here, swords there, and Sun Ce with his tonfa raised right in the middle of them all, a dreadful light of excitement in his eyes. He looked positively delighted to be so full of rage and the desire to destroy the source of their long torment. “Sounds good to me,” he exhorted his fellows. “I’ve got a lot of built-up tension and I think it’s high time I let it all out!”

For a moment they held fast, letting Orochi get a good look at them, and then Zhuge Liang moved to complete the formation, springing up onto Zhang Fei’s shoulder and leaping skyward to draw all eyes to him. He couldn’t hover quite like Da Ji, but all he needed was a moment high above them all to unleash his attack. Cupping his hands around his fan, he unleashed a barrage of magic – beams of light which scorched the dark courtyard with blinding flashes and speared straight down toward Orochi in the center of their corral. The demon lifted his head to watch it come on, flinching at the brightness but otherwise standing there and taking it silently even as Liang dropped out of the sky and was caught by the two brothers. The blast faded away to reveal that their foe was hardly scratched, and from the way he refocused that same dread stare on Kongming, he had known all along that any sorcery emanating from any source not his own would pale in comparison to his. In answer, Orochi rested the head of his scythe on the floor in that familiar move that had the front line backing away, but it wasn’t just that same simple blast this time. He let go of the scythe and dropped to one knee to punch his fists against the ground with the head of the staff between them, causing the dark energy to pulse into and across the flagstones, twice, thrice, then exploding outward to hit every single one of the fighters facing him. Several fell to the ground and needed a moment before they could push themselves up, but one recovered faster and sprang at Orochi with a cry. Ranmaru held his long sword up and over his shoulder, winding up for a huge overhand strike, and charged in low to try and get it in before the demon could attack anyone he cared about. Orochi whirled around and slammed the gnarled head of the scythe into Ranmaru’s flank the instant he moved to make the cut, bodily flinging him clear across the yard. The sword went clattering away in one direction while Ran rolled over and over and came to rest in a heap. At the same time both Sun Ce and Oda Nobunaga moved to retaliate, forgetting the formation and furiously attacking from either side. Orochi twisted to block Oda and took a punch from Ce in the flank, but it merely clanged off the metallic ridges of his armored body. Zhou Tai swept past next, in keeping with the formation but also out of need to repay blow for blow, then Mitsuhide, and then the rest of the swordsmen cutting one after another in sequence, moving along diagonal paths in order to keep Orochi twisting and turning if he wanted any hope of keeping them from getting too close. Their strikes meant nothing to him, they merely rang off his armor, but he found it hard to hit any of them in turn as they swiftly moved to reform their lines for another wave at another angle. Meanwhile the spearmen took up their turn, advancing together to parry the scythe blade to one side or the other in order to make openings for Ce and Shangxiang to capitalize on with their two-handed weapons. Ce had to duck a backswing of the pommel of the scythe and bring his tonfa up to hold a block, but the next time they circled around to try the same sequence, Orochi ignored him and took a hand off his weapon to grab Shangxiang in mid-swing. Her chakram clanged off his bracer, and she gasped as she realized she had no way to stop him now. His hand closed on her throat before she could dodge and he raised her up off her feet, high into the air. Spinning in place with his scythe held lengthwise in one fist to block several attacks at once, Orochi swung her around to use as a human shield, almost smirking as he watched her father and brother and then Cao Cao recoil and draw back their hits so as not to harm her. As tall and massive as he was, she couldn’t reach him with a kick, but she refused to give in and drew her arm back to slice the chakram in a backhanded swing. It glanced along the underside of his arm, and to everyone’s surprise including Orochi’s, it cut through the reddish patch of snakelike skin exposed between bracer and shoulder guard. Not deeply enough, though, only nicking him and sending him into a rage. He shook her like a rag doll and then flung her clear, making sure she hit Cao Cao full in the chest. No amount of rushing to catch her could save her, everyone from Wu fell far too short and even the Wei lord himself wasn’t expecting to be the target of the blow and barely got his sword out of the way before he had an armload of Wu princess knocking him to the ground.

Sun Jian lunged to sweep his daughter up from off of Cao Cao and see to her, finding her dazed and bruised. “Is she all right?” Cao Cao asked as he sat up, glancing aside as Dian Wei moved to shield them all from Orochi’s follow-up attack. The meeting of scythe and axe rang loudly right beside them, but Dian Wei was as immovable as a wall in that moment.

“I don’t know. Shangxiang!” Jian hissed, cupping her face with his hand.

She blinked unsteadily, her head wobbling. “Father…”

“I’ll take that as a no,” Cao Cao said with some concern. “That’s another one down.”

Jian wrapped his arms around her and dragged her out of the way, nodding toward Orochi in the same instant. “Don’t just sit there, get back in there! We don’t have any time to waste, we must bring him down!”

Cao Cao may not have had the connections with the other Resistance leaders that his son did, and perhaps his reason for being in that courtyard had more to do with removing an obstacle that stood between him and conquest of this new land than in saving them all, but in the moment he heeded Sun Jian’s demand with all courage and determination, rising to his feet and squaring himself before bringing his sword to bear. “There is only one recourse for you, Orochi,” he grumbled, glaring over Dian Wei’s shoulder at the serpent. “Oblivion!”

Orochi snorted in vague amusement and shoved Dian Wei back so he could aim a strike at the Wei lord. “Your ambition means nothing to me, Cao Cao. Die, as you should have long ago.”

The imperial sword held firm in a block, and Cao Cao smirked before suddenly disengaging and rolling his shoulders out of the way to allow Zhou Tai, Mitsuhide, Sun Quan, Kanetsugu and Nobunaga to pass him in their wave-formation, thrusting the scythe back with their barrage of hits from all directions. Then came Mitsunari to disrupt the momentum, followed by another spear-thrust sequence from Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and Yukimura before Xu Huang and Dian Wei came back with axes one after another. Even losing two out of their number, they were able to recover and reform their lines, giving everyone a place and a time to work at hitting Orochi. They couldn’t be sure he would wear down like a human with time, it was more likely all of them would exhaust themselves trying such a tactic, so they aimed to make their hits count, searching for more weak spots like the one Shangxiang had exposed before falling. So much of Orochi was encased in overlapping plates of some unknown armor, it took precise hits to find the joints between them and he wasn’t allowing them the time to aim with any sort of precision at all. Only two spots drew the eyes of the tacticians directing the formation, the undersides of his arms and the center of his torso. There was something unusual there, the armor appeared to have a gap and red light shone from within as though he were made of fire rather than flesh, and strange snakelike eyes gazed unseeing from between the gaping ridges of his scaly armor. Yet, no one in all this time had been able to land a blow there to find out what it really was, he guarded it well and without sacrificing any other part of himself to do so. Not even Zhuge Liang could say whether that was some kind of weak point, but it drew his attention even as he regrouped with Naoe and Ishida to attempt to combine their sorcery for something more powerful. Alone, he was clearly too weak no matter what he had learned from his time in his foe’s army, but with them at his sides, there might be a chance.

The others changed up their formation to keep Orochi from predicting their next moves, shifting so that the sword-wielders could have a rest and the ones with longer polearms could attack en masse. Zhao Yun and Yukimura moved in tandem as usual, though they were capable of adding Guan Yu and Xu Huang to the mix to alternate the jab and thrust of lighter spears with the heavier blows of axe and halberd. The scythe’s enormous, broad blade came at them no matter where they moved, and though the chain-wrapped head of the staff brushed against Zhao Yun once, none of them took any serious hits in turn. Orochi quickly grew annoyed with their antics and began to phase in and out of reality, letting their polearms pass through him rather than waste energy blocking them. So long as he turned phantom he could not strike them in turn, but it made the dance more dangerous as they had to watch their reach in order to keep from hitting each other instead. Seeing his tactic, Mitsuhide tapped Zhou Tai on the elbow to encourage him to join him in the fray, and then dashed in with his katana sheathed and grip ready for an iai cut. Since their weapons and fighting styles were extremely similar, Tai followed without hesitation, expecting that the samurai knew what he was doing. Sure enough, on the next pass when Orochi phased into corporeality, he did so too late to realize that Akechi was already right there ready to strike, or to prevent the slice across the front of his body. He let out a strangled noise as the katana grazed the gap in his armor just above the protrusion that looked like a belt, the blade screeching across the metallic edges but nicking the center as it passed in a quick iai slash. Zhou Tai mirrored his move before Orochi even had a chance to recoil out of their way, and both skidded to a halt past him while resheathing their blades. The demon whirled his scythe around fast and charged their backs, plunging between them even as they darted to either side. Zhou Tai escaped but Mitsuhide took a slash from the scythe’s back-side blade straight across the chest. The layers of armor blunted it but there was still a cut that threw him reeling back. He landed in a crouch with his shoulder dropped so that he could guard himself with even thicker armor, curling his arm around his chest to hide the wound that stung with the sudden exposure to the air. It was only first blood for him, and he wouldn’t let it slow him down. Seeing that he had done damage, Orochi pressed his attack there, but Zhou Tai slid between them to block, and was joined instantly by Uesugi, both of them bracing a free arm behind their blades as the scythe smashed into them both. Mitsuhide lunged up, a little unsteady on his feet but still capable of putting both hands on his sword to ready himself to fight. “You saw it, didn’t you?” he breathed to both of his bodyguards.

Zhou Tai nodded once. “We’ve got it,” Kenshin said for both of them. He had seen Orochi’s reaction to their hits, he guessed the same as Zhuge Liang that the serpent might be capable of being cut after all. They held their block until they could see their compatriots rushing up from behind Orochi and then parted to let Mitsuhide join them, all three of them pushing back against the scythe. Orochi must have sensed them coming, for even as Nobunaga came barreling in on one side and Dian Wei on the other, he dropped back and then phased again, retreating a couple of steps before becoming whole again and whirling the scythe up and around for another blast of dark energy. Those at the fore twisted to see their danger too late, but then Mitsuhide thrust past Oda and placed himself directly in the path of that sorcery, shoving an elbow into his lord to push him out of the way. Dian Wei took the jolt with a growl and a grit of his teeth, almost but not quite dropping his axe, but Mitsuhide could not handle the blast in his state. The wound to his chest seemed to split even wider, blood splashing onto the stones as he dropped to his knees and let the katana fall from his numb fingers.

Incensed, Oda looked about to tear into Orochi with his gauntleted hands alone, but Xu Huang and Guan Yu attacked from yet another angle and then Sun Jian and Cao Cao piled onto him as well, timing their moves to avoid the dark sorcery but still be able to engage him before he could mow down any more of the injured. Allowing them to take the fight for him, Nobunaga dropped to one knee to catch Akechi as he fell, letting him drop right against his armored chest and clutching him in one arm. “You fool,” he breathed to his faithful retainer. “I could have taken that burst just fine.”

Mitsuhide’s eyes rolled up to regard him, a faint expression of bemusement touching his parted lips. “No, my lord. You need to stay on your feet until the end.” He grimaced, then, as pain wracked his body. “There’s no time. Leave me!”

Nobunaga refused to obey such an order, pulling Mitsuhide out of the way so he wouldn’t be trampled by the fight criss-crossing the courtyard and then yanking off the chain that held his feathered cloak to his shoulders. It was all the cloth he had at hand to help his retainer wrap up his wound, but he left it there anyway before racing back in, Demon Slayer held low in his grip. The others were still hammering on Orochi right and left, their formation and strategy beginning to collapse the more people they lost. It was going to come down to just beating on the snake until he went down, he knew it, but he was also mindful not to let his rage overtake his good sense – and he was enraged, no doubt. Whatever the various members of the Resistance wanted – an era of peace, a path to conquest, revenge, or the life of Liu Bei – Orochi was making it extremely difficult for any of them to gain it. Oda had been wary all along that all of them might fall here, and his warning to the others either waiting in the antechamber or fighting the battle along the walls of the keep had not been a stalling tactic. He firmly believed that they would need to come in as a second wave once the first dropped, but the first was not yet completely down. As he rushed in to put his shoulder to the fray right alongside Cao Pi, Oda decided he would not allow the second wave to advance unless they were all dead, and if Orochi wanted to make him so, then he would have to crack his armor and put that blade in his chest himself.

Despite the apparent strength of the demon lord, most of the Resistance elite still considered themselves more than capable of keeping up with him. They pushed past their exhaustion to keep fighting, seeking to make use of what they had so far learned to force Orochi to reveal his weakness. Their arms were burning from swinging their weapons around, most were panting and sweating, but so long as they were still able to stand on their feet and keep their spears and swords in their hands they would keep fighting. Staying out of reach of the scythe blade took too much energy, they had to reduce their movements and concentrate on blocking or parrying instead of dodging. They worked in pairs or trios, Takeda staunchly blocking so Uesugi could cut, Sun Ce and Cao Pi matching their two-handed swings to one another, and Zhao Yun and Yukimura charging in for mirrored spins and thrusts of their spears. Orochi stopped them all with just the shaft of his weapon and then spun it so the blade curved outward, and then raked it across their front line, scoring across armor and clashing with weapons that gave back out of the way. Then it was the lords’ turn, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Nobunaga going in all at the same time to get inside his reach and stab at the glaring gap in his armor. Orochi merely phased and then shoved them all back with a broadside of his weapon-shaft, glaring in annoyance that they should think it so easy to just stand in front of him and jab at his chest. Even as the next wave began to move on him, Shingen gave a shout of warning that turned their heads, and gestured with his war fan to the portico and the castle doors. Expecting more Orochi troops to be advancing on them, the generals were startled and angered to see Da Ji staggering to her feet, leaning on the wall in order to do so. She was clearly far too injured to fight them, she could hardly stand, but as she regained her senses, she gave them all a dangerous glare before turning on her heel and making to flee inside the castle. Yet, Takeda’s cry had been a warning of a different kind, for they all knew exactly what she would do if she could get inside. The real Liu Bei was still somewhere in there, vulnerable to her predations, and they knew without having to say a word that she was going to go and kill him. Zhao Yun and Yukimura both twitched in shock, for they were currently clear on the other side of Orochi from the steps and the keep and Da Ji. “No!” Zilong cried out, clutching his spear tightly. “My lord!”

The demon swung at him, forcing him to step back and absorb the hit along the shaft of the Dragon Spear. “You will only have your precious lord if you can defeat me,” he said tonelessly, eyes shifting from Yun to Yukimura as the other closed to assist him. “That is, if you are quick enough.”

Behind him, Uesugi Kenshin whirled without a word to the others and charged up the steps, leaving Orochi to taunt Zhao Yun all he wanted, for it kept him from stopping anyone from going after Da Ji. She was moving far more slowly now, and though she had gained the door, she couldn’t even summon her orbs or teleport to save herself. Kenshin raced across the portico and swung his barbed sword up from a low position, raking it up across Da Ji’s back before she could turn and see whose footsteps she heard approaching. She screamed and went down on the threshold of the keep, unconscious and bloodied. Content with stopping her there, Kenshin turned and brandished the sword to taunt Orochi, raising it high so he could see the blood on the barbs. “What now, serpent? Where is your hope?”

Orochi turned to see what he had done and narrowed his demon eyes in threat. He had no love for Da Ji but she was the only one he considered actually loyal, if not entirely useful. He also knew what she was going to do if she could, and now it truly was down to only him. He decided to save his vengeance for later when Uesugi was close enough to hit and concentrated on these obnoxious spearmen who wouldn’t leave him alone, first. Driving the head of the scythe into Guan Yu’s gut to keep him at bay, he pursued Zhao Yun and Yukimura instead, aiming great sweeps of the blade at them to weaken their blocks and force them away from the rest of their fellows. When Sun Ce and Cao Pi came running to help, he dropped back with one arm free and blasted them with fire and dark magic, forcing them to stay back. The sworn brothers refused to be daunted and fought back with all their strength, parrying aside the scythe and looking for a chance to drive the demon back toward the others so they could pile onto him again. Together they were too much for most warriors fighting solo, but Orochi was not most. He handled them skillfully and cut around them so that his back was to an empty side wall, giving him the freedom to hack at them with no interference from their comrades. Zilong used great wide sweeps and spins of his Dragon Spear to throw the scythe wide for Yukimura to capitalize on with thrusts and jabs of the Crimson Fang, and then they rolled around each other with the momentum to change positions and tactics. This time, when Zhao Yun bashed the scythe aside, it exposed the arm Shangxiang had cut and Yukimura saw it. He went for it without hesitating, driving in hard and plunging in with the cross-bladed spear toward that same spot. The tip of the blade bit deep, finding the red patch like a snake’s belly and ripping it open. Orochi seethed at the hit and then spun the scythe between both hands, spinning the head around to jam backwards toward Yukimura with all his demonic strength behind the move. The knobby head slammed into Yukimura’s chestplate, and then Orochi raked the whole scythe upward so that the blade on the spine would cut. The plate shattered on impact and the blade tore him open, but he was already moving backward with the blow so it didn’t kill him. Yukimura flew backward several feet, in fact, landing hard on his back with his vitals exposed by his damaged armor and blood already beginning to soak the blue shirt underneath. Zhao Yun let out such a cry of rage that hardly anyone even from Shu had ever heard from him, but in his blind fury he miscalculated his attack, missing Orochi’s other arm by a hair and skewering into his shoulder plate instead. Orochi simply pulled back his weapon and smashed the immense pommel end into Yun’s chest, knocking him sprawling several feet away with the wind knocked out of him. The Dragon Spear clattered on the stones as it fell from his grip, and though he managed to roll over quickly and prop himself up on one elbow, he heaved for breath and coughed and spluttered. The rest of the officers startled and then charged, seeing both of them go down like that and Orochi advance on Yukimura, stepping over to him and raising one clawed foot to crunch down on his injury and kill him. He didn’t care about the others coming at him, he would not be deterred. Then, an enormous bellow echoed through the stone-walled courtyard, arresting even the demon’s attention for a vital second. The others slowed to a stop and turned to find Honda Tadakatsu unable to keep himself back with the second wave any longer, barreling through the inner ward with the Tonbo-giri raised high over his head. Whether he had seen his son-in-law’s brother go down or not didn’t matter, for he needed no personal inspiration to drive his passion. “Orochi!” he blazed as he came on. “You shall feel the wrath of the greatest warrior of all time, I promise you!”

Orochi regarded him and lowered his foot without causing Yukimura any more pain. “Yes,” he hissed almost to himself, “this is what I wanted. Your promise pleases me.”

Sun Ce darted past during that moment’s distraction and hauled Yukimura away from the demon lord while Guan Yu ran to help Zhao Yun up, even as the rest parted naturally to let Honda have a clear shot at Orochi. He took that opportunity with only another ferocious roar to announce himself, and then set upon Orochi with all his might. Yet, with time to prepare, Orochi simply shifted to bring his scythe up in a sweep, aim the head, and blast dark energy point blank into Honda’s face before the Tonbo-giri could land. The great warrior flew back and tumbled end over end for several yards, and when he came up on his knees, there was a huge, bloody scratch down one cheek from being scraped across the stones. He still got to his feet without a care for how it looked, but Takeda and Naoe both gasped openly in shock. That Honda Tadakatsu should ever be seen in battle with a drop of his own blood on his face was astonishing to those from his time. He hefted his pike back into position and decided to take things a little more slowly. “Is that all you’ve got?” he taunted the serpent. “Lu Bu gave me worse!”

Orochi was not drawn to the bait, though he did tip his head back slightly as his eyes scanned the field, taking in just how many he had already cut down and the present state of those he had left. “Come,” he intoned, “surely you are not done yet.”

“Hardly,” Zhuge Liang responded, swishing in to place himself in front of all the others for just a moment. “One step still remains before my plan is finally complete: getting rid of you.”

“I tire of your talk and your boasting,” Orochi said more seriously, clearly annoyed now. “Attack me if you can, and if not, roll over and die like the others.”

Liang’s eyes dropped briefly, and then he whirled back out of the way to allow Honda room to pass as he charged again, and this time had the backing of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xu Huang with him. Together they all closed on Orochi, ready for yet another round.

Inside the keep, the rescue party had already made their way from the side stair through several back hallways to reach the main rooms of the castle, finding no troops either demon or human until they pressed further inside. They came around a corner at full speed, but Nobuyuki in the front skidded to a halt, throwing his arms out to stop the rest behind him. They had come face-first into a cluster of guards with spears, and if they did not check they might have impaled themselves on them. The demon guards startled at the unexpected appearance of unfamiliar humans inside the castle, and in the moment where both sides hesitated, Ina swiftly drew her bow and shot two of them before they could move. Nene and Ling Tong moved at the same time, dashing around their group to either side and plowing feet-first into the rest. The instant they were all down Nobuyuki pressed on, springing over the bodies writhing in agony and continuing his sprint down the corridor. “Keep looking for a way down!” he called to the others. “Always down, like Lord Sun Jian said.”

Xu Shu found a stairwell first. “This way!” He whirled in place to start down first, his thin blade in one hand and the long cord fisted in the other so he could attack with either form the instant he spotted enemies. Magoichi was at his shoulder immediately, and the others behind heard the crack of his rifle echoing loudly from the stone walls. They descended into the gloom of the stairwell to find more demons on the floor, some bleeding and the rest covering their heads from the deafening bang of the gunshots at close range. On the next level, they spread out both ways to investigate, finding mostly storerooms and the whole place considerably more quiet than upstairs. As they hunted around together, Magoichi found time to quip at his comrades. “What, are you two already joined at the hip or something?” he teased as he came up behind Nobuyuki and Ina doing the investigating together as a pair. “Gotta come along to keep an eye on your man?”

Ina gave him an unimpressed stare. “I’ll have you know that I came along because of Lady Shangxiang. She must fight with her family against Orochi, so I will work to find her husband for her.”

Magoichi made a noise under his breath that sounded rather intrigued. “Then, on behalf of the tiger cub who sank her claws into me, let’s do it!”

“Did she, really?” Ling Tong asked from just down the corridor.

“Almost gutted me with Masamune’s own sword,” Saika admitted with a sigh that was both fond and wry at the same time. “What a time to be alive.”

“I wish I had even a shred of your optimism, Master Saika,” Xu Shu chuckled.

Ina sniffed and turned away to look elsewhere for the right passageway, leaving Magoichi and the others to split up and keep looking. Not more than a minute later Ling Tong shouted when he came to the next stair downward at the far end of an adjoining corridor. This looked to finally be their destination, for as they spilled out into an extremely dark, dank hallway, guards gathered right there at the entrance turned and fell upon them. One slashed Ling Tong across the arm, but then arrows knocked them back and Xu Shu and Nobuyuki mowed them down. Shu checked that Tong’s scratch was nothing but, and then clapped him on the shoulder to encourage him. “This has to be it, let’s find him quickly.”

There were significantly more demons on this floor, since most of the remaining dungeon guard had been called out to prepare to move the prisoner upstairs for his public execution and were still waiting for that order. They hadn’t expected the noise moving gradually toward them to signify enemies rather than Da Ji coming down to give that final order, so many weren’t quite ready when the swordsmen led the way into their midst. Nene sprang over Nobuyuki, launching off his shoulder into a flip that brought her down smack in the middle of a throng where she could wreak havoc with her curved blades and her martial prowess. As narrow as the corridor was, Magoichi raised his rifle and then lowered it to fight with the bayonet instead, it was too tight a press to safely shoot. He cut down any that got past Xu Shu and Nobuyuki, and then raised his voice to call out through the dungeon. “Lord Liu Bei! Where are you? Yell if you can hear me!”

Liu Bei had been awake when Dong Zhuo, of all people, came down to taunt him that he would die today before going off to his assigned duty, so he had been sitting tensely in his cell the entire day, waiting for it to come to pass. Hours had gone by, he hadn’t been fed at the usual time, and though the clusters of gray-skinned demons began to mass in larger numbers around his cell, nothing else happened for a long time. Then there came the subtle sense of distant quaking when the cannons were turned on Koshi, but in time that had also ceased, and now the whole floor was as still as death but for the guards hissing to each other in front of him. The sudden eruption of a new type of noise, and this one much closer to his location, brought him alert in an instant. The guards looked around warily, and then small knots of them split off to go and attend to something, leaving fewer and fewer blockading his cell. The gunshots came at a distance and he didn’t know what they were, but they clearly had the demons in a fluster. Then, he heard the cry – his name, from an unfamiliar voice but undoubtedly someone looking for him. He sprang up from his place against the wall and ran to the end of his chain, startling the demons still guarding him. “Here! Down here! Can you hear me?”

The guards bristled at him, and one banged on the iron bars of the cell with his spear. “Shut up if you know what’s good for you! Lord Orochi has ordered your death, we’ll gladly oblige!”

“And then he’ll kill _you_ , for daring to take his place,” Liu Bei shot back at them. “I’m here! Come find me!”

Xu Shu whipped around at the glorious sound of that voice. “Lord Liu Bei!!” He plunged his blade straight through a demon soldier’s shoulder, pinning him to the wall, and barged past him, still calling his lord’s name.

As weakened as he was, Liu Bei’s voice was strong, and he drew breath to yell again and again until his head ached from the force. The last cadre of guards in front of his cell ceased glowering at him and turned to meet something coming at them from the other hallway, and then there were others, humans, swords flashing as they lit into the pack and cut them all down. He didn’t recognize the silver-haired man who turned to him first, eyes wide in wonder. “Lord Liu Bei! We’ve found you!”

“Lord Liu Bei!” Xu Shu had plowed right past the cell in his frenzy, but once the enemy was completely wiped out, he came back and grabbed the bars of the cell even with his sword in hand. “My lord!”

“Xu Shu!” Liu Bei reached for him, but his chain was still too short and his hand groped the air just a few inches to the inside of his cell. “All of you…have you come for me?”

“We’re not here for the sightseeing,” Magoichi quipped as he strode up, rifle slung over his shoulder. Ina covered him with her bow, an arrow nocked and aimed back the way they had come.

It had been so long since Liu Bei had even dreamed of this moment, of the sight of friendly faces on the other side of the bars, that seeing it for real hit him like a punch to the chest. He dropped to his knees, finding it hard to breathe for the thrill of joy and the desperation that it might still be a nightmare. “Are you really here?” he panted anxiously. “This isn’t my mind playing tricks on me…”

“My lord…” Xu Shu pressed himself up against the bars, stretching out his free hand until he could just barely touch his fingertips to Liu Bei’s. “Does that feel like a trick? It’s real, we’ve come to rescue you.”

“We’ve got to hurry,” Nobuyuki said urgently. “This castle is full of demons, more will be on us any minute now.”

Ling Tong and Magoichi also came to the bars, but instead of reach through them they rattled them, testing their strength and looking for the entrance. “I don’t think we can cut through these,” Tong said worriedly. “Is there a lock we can bash open?”

“See, this is why I said you needed a ninja.” Nene brushed him aside and hunted around for the lock, finding it faster than Liu Bei could point it out to them and then pulling something from inside her tunic. She had the lock picked rather quickly, and then pushed her way into the cell to see to the chains shackled to the prisoner’s leg.

Magoichi likewise moved in, going to Liu Bei’s side and reaching as if to catch him, setting a hand on his shoulder. “You okay? Need any help getting one foot in front of the other or anything?”

“I…no, I think I should be all right,” Xuande replied, looking him over from head to toe – strange weapon, stranger clothes, unfamiliar hairstyle. “Who are you?”

“A friend,” Magoichi assured, grinning broadly. “I’ve been sent by Zhao Yun to look after you, your lordship.”

Liu Bei’s eyes shot up and locked on his face instantly, his mouth falling open in shock. “Zhao Yun sent you…?”

“It’s true,” Xu Shu said from the other side of the bars, though a noise from down the hall turned his head to focus on pursuit. “There’s a huge battle going on upstairs, but we have to get you out of here before Orochi does anything…”

“Here they come,” Ina warned, her bowstring tensing.

“Keep them off for just a little longer!” Nene begged. “This one’s tougher, I can’t get it…”

Magoichi turned and put himself in front of Liu Bei, taking the rifle down off his shoulder and checking to be sure it was fully loaded before cocking it. The others put themselves facing each end of the corridor, two and two, and in moments were again beset by demon soldiers coming to stop their rescue efforts. Ina shot a few and then sprang up to use the bladed tips of her bow to cut and bash while her fiancé fought at her side, and behind them Ling Tong and Xu Shu kicked and slashed at every weapon and limb that got too close to them. Their side thinned out faster, but demons were still advancing from the direction they had originally come, and all four turned to meet them as Nene let out a cry of triumph – she had finally managed to pick the lock on the shackles, which fell free from Liu Bei’s leg. Magoichi lowered his rifle and offered his arm to the Shu lord. “C’mon, let’s move.”

Nene leaped past them, drawing her blades, and joined the press of rescuers working their way back down the corridor toward the adjoining hall. This was the first time Liu Bei had been out of his cell in months, Orochi had left him there after the brush with Sun Jian and never trotted him out again. He looked at the empty cells as they passed, keeping one hand on Magoichi’s shoulder to allow them to protect him, since he no longer had his armor or even a weapon to use. He thought about bending to grab one from one of the fallen guards they stepped over and on as they forced their way up the passage, but they were moving too swiftly to pause and he wasn’t sure anymore just how strong he still was. He walked for himself, at least, no one had to carry him, but the mere idea of bending down and straightening back up already had his head swimming. The wave of soldiers tapered off as they reached the intersection of corridors, and then Nene shouldered past all of them. “You guys go on ahead, I want to look for something.”

“What – Lady Nene!” Nobuyuki cried after her. “This is no time!”

“Trust me on this!” the ninja insisted. “Move, move! Don’t slow down for anything!”

There wasn’t even time to speak as they forged their way back through the castle, taking the same route which had brought them down to the dungeon, for if they weren’t running and climbing stairs they were fighting another cadre of demons attempting to stop them. Nobuyuki, Ling Tong, and Xu Shu went first, cutting and kicking their way through each obstacle, while Ina fell back to guard the rear in case anyone snuck up behind them and Magoichi continued to support Liu Bei. They made it up to the main floor in this fashion, but now the wider passages and grand rooms opened up around them and even more soldiers responded to the call that intruders had gotten past Lord Orochi and penetrated the keep. The way back to the side door was choked with demon soldiers, it looked like they would have to go through the main hall to get out after all. They hesitated at the top of the stairs, still missing one person from their party, and formed a knot around the rescued lord to guard on all sides. “What do we do?” Ina fretted, checking her quiver to see that she had spent far more arrows than she had recovered.

“What Nene said,” Magoichi answered, “we keep moving.” He swung his rifle up swiftly and shot it one-handed into the advancing line of demons, spraying them with bullets and mowing enough of them down that their fellows behind thought twice about whether to leap forward and risk the same fate.

“This way,” Nobuyuki implored, turning aside and heading up a less crowded path, searching at all points for a door leading to a room that would take them closer to the entrance. He still had his wits about him enough to remember the way they came in, and knew that coming from this direction, they had to keep going essentially eastward to find the main gate. He successfully led them through a hall and into another corridor, and then took the next left in the hopes that they would see their destination, only to have someone dart into his path from the other side. He raised his sword and nearly brought it down onto the person’s head, halting mid-swing when he saw who it was. “Nene!”

The ninja had slipped through by a different route and come out to meet them there, and she looked pretty proud of herself even after nearly being cleaved in half by her own ally. “You really need to be more careful, Lord Nobuyuki,” she scolded him.

“Sorry,” he said lamely. “What’s the matter, where did you go?”

Nene straightened to show what she was carrying in her arms. “I remembered from when they held me that they kept my weapons nearby, so I figured they’d done the same here. Lord Liu Bei, is this your sword?”

It was a magnificent blade with a golden hilt shaped like a dragon opening its jaws, housed in a scabbard decorated with more gold dragons and symbols of the imperial lineage. Liu Bei gasped in awe. “Yes! How did you know…?”

“I had a hunch.” Nene held it out to him. “You might need it, if we’re gonna get out of here in one piece.”

Xuande shook his head. “I am not strong enough, right now. I can feel it…even if I could carry it, I can’t fight. It’s all I can do to stay standing at the moment.”

“Then let us protect you,” Nobuyuki implored. “Stay close, we will make our way out as fast as we can.”

“Though Orochi is beyond the main doors,” Xu Shu warned, “unless the others have already made short work of him.”

“Here…” Magoichi passed support of the weakened lord to Xu Shu. “I’m gonna go ahead, see if I can get out and signal to Zhao Yun that our mission is accomplished. That way they can finish Orochi off once and for all with no regrets.”

Liu Bei snagged the sleeve of his coat before he could leave them. “Thank you, young master, for all you have done.”

Magoichi gave him a crooked smile. “Don’t thank me until we’re all out under the open sky again. Good luck, guys.”

He dashed back down the way they had come, and though they knew he could take care of himself, any distant report of his rifle worried them. They pressed on in a knot, finding this route far less dangerous until they reached what seemed like a dead end. The corridor ended in a room, and the only way out was back. Ling Tong took point as they backtracked and led the way to the side through an antechamber to a broad, metal-plated set of doors that looked extremely important. By now Xu Shu was almost fully supporting Liu Bei, as all the trekking, climbing stairs, and running had sapped him of what strength he thought he had, but they still kept up with the others. Ling Tong and Ina pulled on the snake-fanged door handles and revealed the great hall of Koshi Castle, empty now with its lord and all of his remaining troops waging battle in the courtyard beyond. It seemed that they had only that short distance to go to be free, but as they broke into a run along a line of pillars upholding the roof, a fresh contingent of demon soldiers poured out of another door and raced to intercept them before they could reach the main door. The rescue party slid to a stop, and those with swords came to the fore. “Looks like we’re going to have to fight our way out,” Nobuyuki said grimly.

Since she had spent too many arrows, Ina stepped back to serve as Liu Bei’s support to allow the others room to fight. “I’ll protect Lord Liu Bei, don’t worry.”

The others arrayed themselves in a fan formation around the two of them. Though he was tired, and certain by now that he would be no use in a fight, Xuande stood his ground, leaning one hand on Ina’s shoulder to prop himself up but otherwise not allowing himself to be a burden. “My brave friends,” he murmured. “Leave me, I’m only going to slow you down.”

“No,” Ina said sharply. “This is no time to give up. Your people and your family are outside those doors, Lord Liu Bei, you need to get to them.” She looked up at him, seeing in his face the handsome and noble Lord of Shu that Shangxiang had told her so many stories about. Behind his bedraggled appearance, he was undoubtedly a man of great strength and heart, and her sternness softened. “Your lady is out there and I want to make sure you get back to her.”

Liu Bei looked from her to Ling Tong as he stood with his back to them and knew precisely who she meant. His lips parted in a soft gasp, though his brow knitted. “Please, don’t sacrifice yourselves for me in turn.”

“There will be no sacrifices at all today,” Nobuyuki said boldly, straightening up and holding out his free hand toward Nene. “Lord Liu Bei, I know you do not know me but my brother has served your people throughout this war, and through him, so have I. May I have your permission to arm myself with your sword?”

“I…yes,” Xuande answered immediately. Doing so would free Nene to use her blades, and at least it would mean the Gold Dragon would be of use to _some_ one. This young man with the silver hair looked like he not only knew how to use more than one sword, but how to command and control with wisdom and strength. He was worthy. “Please…fight with all you have.”

Nobuyuki took hold of the dragon hilt and pulled the sword, which glittered in the dim light of the main hall, and then Nene stowed the empty scabbard in her belt so she could take her paired blades up and brandish them eagerly. The demons who had cut them off advanced on them, a mere five against a full troop. No one quailed, they faced the odds with faces grim and determined. Liu Bei stood behind them and loved all of them for their courage, wishing he could join them. Ina put her back against his and pulled out what few arrows she still had, prepared to guard just in case anything got around behind them. If they could just fight through this throng, they could make it out alive after all. If not, this was exactly how they wanted to go down.


	91. Chapter 91

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of Koshi Castle, Final Part - the Resistance is victorious. Character death: spoilers, what happens in the game happens here.

With the addition of Honda, the Resistance commanders found the momentum to regroup and continue the fight with hardly a pause even to tend the wounded, who lay scattered around the edges of the courtyard where they had been deposited by their comrades. Tadakatsu’s presence would mostly make up for losing three samurai and a tiger princess, but just barely. Zhao Yun managed to pull himself together from the blow dealt to him, and though he shot an anxious look across the courtyard to where Yukimura lay, there wasn’t time for him to even go to him, let alone stop to take care of him. At least he could see his sworn brother moving, that was a good sign. Picking up his spear, he shouldered his way up next to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to continue, his eyes fierce and his face set in a mask of pure determination. This was no time or place for enjoying the fight, Orochi had to be ended and he would not rest until one of them was dead.

The demon lord no longer handled them with lazy disregard, they had gotten past his defenses enough that he was starting to take them seriously and battled back with his full might, moving his entire body rather than just his arms to swing his weapon. His injured arm only slowed him down a little, forcing him to wield the scythe in just one hand unless absolutely necessary, but that changed his stance from open guard to a more angled, closed-off one, and he moved far more swiftly to keep his enemies from swarming on him. He still seemed to know precisely where all of them were at any given time, so sneaking up on him wasn’t possible, but the Resistance had long given up any thought of ambush. It was more important to pincer him and force him to decide which blow to block if two or more came at him simultaneously. They also started to draw apart so that he couldn’t block several of them at the same time. No matter what tactics they tried, however, they couldn’t fully evade his sorcery, and his weakened arm was still strong enough to deal magical blasts. He began to use it far more frequently, not just dark energy but lightning, fire, and ice in turn, hurling it at his foes with every swing of his weapon-free arm and sending balls of demonic aura roiling outward from him to explode as soon as they came into contact with a human body. One such orb of red-tinged energy rippled toward Takeda and erupted right beneath his chin, knocking him fully off his feet onto the ground. After taking so many hits earlier, he was far too slow to get up this time, and Orochi was suddenly right in front of him with the pommel of the scythe bashing down onto him. He rolled to one side to let it hit his shoulder guard, knowing full well that it would break under the force, but he preferred it to having his bronze chestplate driven into his flesh at such close range. The power of it planted him firmly into the ground and left him lying there, groaning, his grip on his war fan loosening. Uesugi wasted no time attacking Orochi from the side to drive him back, glowering murderously at the thought that anyone should fell his nemesis besides him. Orochi twisted to block and parry, shuffling back under the furious barrage of hits from the barbed sword, and then raised the scythe horizontally across his body to bring his arms close together so he could unleash a massive burst of demonic energy that radiated through his whole body and jolted not just Kenshin, but anyone else who had the misfortune of drawing too close just at that time. Kenshin took it willingly as the price for being able to cut in close and draw his sword down the shaft of the scythe to try to get in under it, for that tempting target of baleful demon eyes glaring out from his chest was right there in front of him. The magic was too much, though, it made his limbs shake and he couldn’t follow through in time before Orochi melted back and repositioned to take care of the assaults coming at him from Honda and GuanYu. Uesugi drew back a step himself and looked down, meeting Shingen’s eye and catching a nod from him as a signal to go on and keep fighting. Another of theirs was down for the count, it seemed.

While the others kept up a never-ending sequence of hits, Zhuge Liang managed to catch Ishida for a moment and whisper an idea to him, which Mitsunari strengthened by admitting what sorcery he could do in a place and time like this. A few quick words to Naoe, and then the three of them simply had to wait for their chance. Honda entering the fray was an advantage to them as well, they could guess that sooner or later he would manage to make an opening for them. He was on a rampage already, swinging and smashing his way through every block Orochi put between him and his enemies, but even he couldn’t quite break through to find that precious and rare weak point. He had never fought the serpent lord at all before, he knew nothing of his methods or his style, but adapted quickly and followed the lead of the others as they worked to try to get at that cut under his arm or the center of his body. A rap against his arm drew his eyes to Oda Nobunaga as he drifted past and shared a meaningful look with him – they were up to something, and he needed to be ready. Tadakatsu watched where the warlord moved, seeing him pass Cao Pi and then stop there to let Pi continue on his same trajectory around behind Ishida where he now stood. He might not have known the goal of the setup, but he recognized a pincer and siege when he saw it and planted his feet, shifting the Tonbo-giri in both hands so that he had better control of the blade for short-range hits. At the same time Oda, Cao Pi, and Sun Quan closed from three points to the rear to enclose Orochi in a circle, while the axe and spear bearers fanned out behind Honda. Orochi saw what they were doing but had no means to counter it, so long as Honda and the others continued to hurl attacks at him and prevent him from unleashing his sorcery to clear them out of his way. Then Mitsunari flicked his wrist to open his fan fully before throwing it, letting it circle around the demon lord and return to his hand. No one had seen him set up the first phase of the spell, but now it seemed he was joining the fight directly by flinging his fan at Orochi’s back over and over again, missing several times and only once brushing along the great armored spine that ran down to his twin tails behind him. It was a most unusual move, and Orochi threw back a strike from Zhang Fei in order to turn and see just what his one-time servant was up to. At that very moment Mitsunari caught the fan for the last time, snapped it shut, and then dropped swiftly to the ground to slam the tip of it at the apex of his ceremonial circle and trigger the spell-casting. Light began to swell beneath Orochi’s clawed feet, and those still standing at the edges of the ring formed by his fan’s trajectory clearly heard Kanetsugu’s strident voice ring out: “Now!”

They leaped back in time, and even Honda retreated only to find that Zhuge Liang and Naoe had been standing just behind him on either side in matching stances. Liang had his white-feathered fan held parallel to the ground with his empty right hand splayed open above it, and Kanetsugu the same with his sword in his right hand and ofuda arrayed between the fingers of his left hand. At the instant Mitsunari’s spell exploded with light energy to counter the darkness, both of them fired off repeated bursts of magic from their focused weapons and hands, combining it with the ground-spell to engulf Orochi in a torrent of white fire and lightning that went no further than the boundary laid out on the stones. For a moment the demon’s figure disappeared inside the halo of light, and the other generals flinched and raised arms to shield their eyes from the dazzling aura. When their laser-like fire ended, both Kanetsugu and Liang drew their hands apart and struck their weapons to the rim of the spell-barrier the same as Mitsunari had done to start it, and one final explosion pulsed through their midst, even those lying injured several yards away could feel it in their chests. The darkness which fell afterward in the absence of the light was almost too much to bear, it left several blinking as if stunned, but they quickly looked to see whether it had had any effect. At long last, Orochi appeared to have taken damage. He stood where the intersecting lines of the mystical symbol cast by Ishida had trapped him briefly, leaning on his scythe and panting for breath. It might not have bloodied him, but from the way he hunched against his support, they could tell he was at least in some kind of pain. He raised his head to turn and fix a malevolent glare on Zhuge Liang for daring, and then whipped back around to face Mitsunari, the one who had managed the correct spell to weaken him. “I didn’t anticipate making use of my full power,” he growled, pushing himself back up until he could straighten his shoulders. “Congratulations. Now, die.”

He lunged with a wide sweep of the scythe aimed for Ishida’s head, necessitating a quick hop up and back to avoid. Step by step Orochi forced him back away from the others, rapidly wearing him down with repeated swings that powered the fan aside. Mitsunari was sure his Open Valor was no match for that massive blade, so he retreated and only hit with the fan if it seemed to be getting too close for comfort. He had no opportunity to grab for any of his bombs or other tricks in his arsenal, he needed both hands and full body strength just to keep Orochi from bearing down on him and driving him to the ground with sheer force alone. He even raised a bronze gauntlet to try and push off the scythe-blade, a desperate and foolish move that nearly cost him his hand. Cao Pi came charging in right at that moment, the first to catch up to them and the most eager to put a stop to this onslaught. His icy eyes radiated fury as he cut in front of Mitsunari on the next swing and struck the scythe fully aside with one blow, committed fully to his attack with both hands on the center shaft of his joined blades. “Not today, Orochi,” he seethed. “No one will die here so long as I can still wield my swords!”

Orochi eyed him. “Such anger,” he noted.

Cao Pi glared back, fully aware that he was losing his composure at a crucial time. But this was dragging on long enough, he was cutting away their forces one by one and soon they would have nothing left, and none of them, not even he himself, could take on Orochi alone. “I am done watching you have your way as you wish it,” he said boldly, drawing the blades apart and sliding into a wary stance with them raised to cross one another. “This ends, now!”

“I agree,” Orochi said flatly, raising his scythe straight up and closing both hands on it. There was a ripple of some invisible power from him, and Mitsunari on guard behind his lord gasped suddenly as he felt it wash over him. He couldn’t shout a warning in time, though, and found himself being thrown backwards by something he didn’t see until he was already stumbling to a knee. Orochi’s figure shimmered and then appeared to split into three, two copies of himself moving left and right to form a trio of identical demons. Whether they were real or just phantoms didn’t matter, for they moved fast and had surrounded Cao Pi before any of the other officers could even spring from their places and run to interfere. Three scythes rose at the same time and fell together with Cao Pi in the center of the triple strike, and though he raised his swords to try to block, he could only stop two. The doppelgangers certainly felt real enough as their blades connected, one caught by a sword raised over his back and one slicing down his exposed side, scraping down the scale mail and ripping through the lacings, sending lacquered scales clattering onto the flagstone floor like fallen coins. Pi staggered with the hit but managed to keep his feet for the most part, arms straining beneath the double-block on either side of himself. The two copies vanished as soon as their strikes landed, leaving him contending only with the original, but Orochi powered through his block and threw the blade aside, his scythe screaming down across Pi’s right arm until its point hit the ground and more dark energy crackled outward from the impact. Jagged lines snaked across the floor and erupted with a blast that threw Cao Pi back hard to crash into Mitsunari. The whole confrontation had taken less than a minute, and Orochi was already whirling around to fling ice and fireballs into the onrushing front line of the Resistance as they came too late to the rescue.

Mitsunari had gotten to his feet in time to serve as a wall against which his lord could fall, and caught him there, lowering him to the ground before he could stumble. The scythe blades had opened up a gash on his left side, though the damaged scale armor had blunted some of the force, and another cut bloodied his right sleeve, but he was still alert and breathing, though labored. Rather than ask a stupid question, Mitsunari simply flicked his fan open to hold over Cao Pi’s chest as a shield in case Orochi came back at them. Pi took a few ragged, panting breaths and then tried to push himself up. “I can still fight,” he declared.

“Don’t be stupid!” Ishida snarled. “He just destroyed your armor…”

“It’s not enough.” Zihuan still had both swords in his fists, and tipped one up to shove the fan aside. “I won’t stop until he is dead. I can’t.” He managed to sit up and then drag himself onto one knee before inspecting his armor. The cut was ugly but not as deep as it had looked at first, his scales really had done their job well. Clicking the two halves of Pure Havoc back into one, he drove one point into the stone floor and steeled himself to push himself back up. “Do not stop me, Mitsunari, _help me_.”

“Stubborn idiot…” As much as he wanted to spare Cao Pi further pain, Mitsunari knew better than to gainsay him at this moment. It truly was do or die for all of them. He shouldered Pi’s left arm and maneuvered him back onto his feet, briefly placing his hand over the open wound to stem the bleeding. “Next time don’t go taking any hits for me. If we’re going to fall, let me fall first.”

Cao Pi breathed a sharp, painful huff of a laugh, recalling complaints made before about who was supposed to take hits for whom, but said nothing about it here and now. There was no need, they both knew.

While they pulled themselves together, the Sun family took up the front line, father and sons with Zhou Tai serving to guard them all swarming on Orochi to keep him occupied and away from Cao Pi. Orochi seemed perfectly content letting them do so, he still had both hands on the shaft of his weapon and tilted it easily to block them all as they came at him in a fan formation. The three swordsmen came in head-on and remained there beating against his weapon while Ce jogged to the side to take advantage of any opening they could make. Eager and desperate to get in close and land more body blows on the demon, he whacked at the shaft with his tonfa while his father and brother strained to force the blade of the scythe to one side or the other. Yet Orochi knew he was there and what he wanted and deliberately denied him the chance, shifting to angle his body and wield the scythe one-handed to swing it swiftly at the men of Wu to beat them back. The sheer force of the rush of that giant blade clanging off their swords drove them all back, even Ce, but they refused to give in and simply charged him again, over and over no matter how many times he threw them back. At last, frustrated with their determination, Orochi slashed at them again and then thrust out his free hand into Sun Ce’s face to blast him with fire. He ducked the sorcery he knew was coming and dropped his shoulder to barrel into Orochi from the side, coming up against his armored bulk like a sharp-edged wall. Still, it was closer than he had gotten at all so far, so he quickly began pummeling his tonfa against Orochi’s hip so long as he could. The hand came down again and this time splayed flat against his face, pushing him up and off the demon lord almost effortlessly. Ce knew he was in trouble but kept going, his eyes catching sight of the cut made by his sister on the underside of that arm; he drew back his tonfa and then lunged to grab the arm holding him, wrapping both of his arms around it and clinging tightly even while he shook his face free of any potential oncoming magical blasts. “Get him, Father!” he called out, heaving his full weight against Orochi’s arm and dragging it ever so slightly to the side to open him up as a target. 

The three men of Wu launched another attack, Jian and Quan swinging their swords and meeting the scythe yet again, this time just the two of them with their long, heavy blades crossing one another. They held there as Zhou Tai dropped to a crouch much like the elder prince and darted inward, grasping his curved sword to pull it in another iai. Orochi’s eyes flared wide as he noticed their tactic, but it only took a twist of his grip on his weapon’s shaft to counter. He turned the blade and then dropped it straight down, throwing both Jian and Quan off-balance and driving the sharp point downward into Zhou Tai’s back. The lacquered armor was less thick in back compared to over his chest but it still blunted the force of the blow, yet they all heard the crack of it breaking beneath the tip of the scythe-blade and then Tai’s grunt as it pierced him. He didn’t even get to complete the iai, his hand faltered with the sword half-drawn and he dropped to his knee under the powerful hit. Ce let go of the demon’s arm out of senseless rage to avenge his family’s faithful bodyguard, and was then flung backward by the belated shock of magic which bowled him head over heels and sent him tumbling across the stones. Quan staggered back, stunned, but before his father could reach to hold him back, Zhou Tai lunged upward from where he was, ripping himself off the blade-point and tackling Orochi around the middle. Orochi was so distracted trying to fling him off before he could land a close-range hit on the glowing red eyes in the center of his armor that he didn’t see the other two coming at him in tandem until they were too close, and though he brought the head of the scythe up to try to deflect them, both the King Wolf and the Tiger Sword landed, one scoring up the underside of his right arm to give him a matching cut there and the other driving toward the lapped plates along his left flank to feel where and how they gave. Orochi had gotten a hand on Zhou Tai’s neck in time to stop him, so when he felt the tiger and wolf fangs bite, he threw his arm wide to swing the scythe at them just to throw them back and then picked Tai up to cast him at them. He was much bigger than Shangxiang and plowed into both Quan and Jian, knocking them over and landing on them in a limp heap. They worked together to pry him up and then get him out of the way while Honda and Zhang Fei lit into the demon yet again, and on the other side Ce came up to his feet to find himself standing with Cao Pi and Zhao Yun, the former breathing heavily from the pain and the latter with a grim light in his eyes. “You saw it, right?” the Wu prince murmured to them. “What it took to find our chance.”

“Then that is what we must do,” Yun said darkly, “even if we can only hold him for a moment.”

“Grabbing him like that puts you at risk to being hit with his magic again,” Mitsunari warned. “He hasn’t even shown us half of what he can do.”

“Then the rest of you better time your hits right,” Ce said sternly, “for a moment is all we’re gonna get before he shocks us.”

“Do it,” Cao Pi ordered.

On the far side, Sun Quan sat his faithful bodyguard up and checked his wound – it was deep, quite severe. Zhou Tai was already half-conscious, head drooping and both arms dangling at his sides. Glancing at his father, Quan shook his head and then held Tai close to him to murmur encouragement. “You’ve given us a chance, my friend. Rest, now. We’ll take it from here.”

Tai tipped his head slightly, unable to lift it fully from Quan’s shoulder. “My lord…”

“Stay still, Zhou Tai. That’s an order.”

Sun Jian bent to help his son drag their bodyguard closer to where Shangxiang was sitting, trying to push herself up to get back into the fray after a long rest, and then the two of them turned back to rejoin the others, brandishing their swords in the torchlight. A black ooze ran along the serrated edges of King Wolf’s blade, showing how deeply he had bitten. Orochi was still fighting with as much strength and power as ever, but the wound had come to his dominant arm and so he had to shift back into using both hands to hold and wield his scythe. It didn’t seem to make a dent in his speed either, but so long as he couldn’t lift a hand from the weapon to cast spells, there was only one magical move he could make and the Resistance officers were wary of it, ready to dodge if he turned the scythe and tried to drop the head of it to the ground. Zhao Yun ran swiftly around them in a full circle, exhorting them to make use of Sun Ce’s idea and do their best to drag Orochi down through brute strength if nothing else would work, and then returned to reposition himself to make the most of the results. Cao Pi was back on his feet and judiciously ignoring the blood soaking his tunic and surcoat in order to continue fighting, and even Shangxiang got back into it, though she could only manage an attempted attack with her chakrams here and there, staying at distance and flinging them like boomerangs to try and cut from afar. Then, they heard a clamor from across the courtyard and then the loud report of a rifle; several glanced that way as Magoichi darted out the side door and leaped straight off the top of the stairs to land on the flagstone yard below, followed by a jumble of demons scrambling to try to stop him. Zhao Yun stared at him, but he appeared unharmed, if completely disheveled and in a state of frenzy. He swiveled around to shoot wildly at the demons still atop the stair until he emptied his rifle and then spun to catch someone’s eye. Seeing Yun looking his way, he grinned hazily and gave him a thumbs up. Confused, Yun’s brow knit at the signal, wondering what it meant. He was supposed to be part of the rescue party, where were the others and where was Liu Bei? But he didn’t have time to get a better read on that signal, Orochi came at him at full speed and he was forced to block and parry the scythe aside, springing backwards as he did. He had to buy the rescue party more time, he figured, so he did his best to keep the demon from seeing Magoichi and instead planted his feet and drove back against him, trying to shove him back into the center of the courtyard. The others were beginning to split between those with the strength to actually manhandle Orochi and those who could stay spry and quick to land their hits, and though they didn’t drop their weapons to free up their hands, Dian Wei and Xu Huang threw themselves bodily into Orochi and tried to catch him in their grip so that Oda and Cao Cao could attack. It worked for the briefest moment, and Cao Cao’s imperial blade nearly made it into the glowing red center, but Orochi twisted his torso to let the sword clang off his armored plate instead. The cadre of soldiers chasing Magoichi faltered upon seeing their overlord so beset, but then Shangxiang and Zhuge Liang turned to fight them instead so as to keep them from backing Orochi up, and Magoichi fell in alongside them, hastily reloading and then firing again before plowing into their enemies with the bayonet. They had to stem that tide, or else the courtyard would become a death trap for them all. The injured were vulnerable to being trampled, and beyond that, if soldiers could fill it with chaos, no one would come out alive.

Orochi flexed and threw off the two doughty Wei generals, but then Sun Jian and Kenshin just jumped him again, this time with Zhang Fei coming in from behind. The demon lord twisted and thrashed to keep them from succeeding, using his twin tails to great effect, whipping them into his enemies and knocking them back. The third time several officers piled onto him, Nobunaga succeeded in diving in to cut up between the same armor-plates Jian had struck earlier. The more they hit him, the more Orochi writhed like a true serpent, elbowing them hard, backhanding with his heavy bracers, and plowing his snake-fanged shoulder pauldron into whoever was unfortunate enough to be on his left side. The scythe was whirling aimlessly this way and that, slicing first air and then ringing against armor or cutting through clothing, but he didn’t seem to care if he hit or not. He was in the throes of a true rage, hurling them off of him almost as fast as they could tackle him and then spitting sorcery at them to keep them from closing in again too quickly. Then Honda finally landed on his back and wrapped his arms as best he could around him to pin Orochi’s arms to his sides, straining to hold him down while Orochi strained right back to get free. It was their best chance, Sun Quan and Kanetsugu rushed to take it, but then the demon lord did exactly as Mitsunari predicted and smacked his scythe hard into the ground to summon a swell of dark energy and jolt them all at close range. Naoe’s sword still found a joint between plates as he fell, and was rewarded with a kick from Orochi’s clawed foot that sent him tumbling across the flagstone. He managed to stop himself and leap back up to run right back into the mess, but not before Zhao Yun came in with his spear whirling. He spun to put more momentum behind it and slammed it into Orochi’s side, only to have the scythe rake back around and throw it wide. For the briefest second Yun was left exposed, and Orochi did not waste his chance, reversing grip and slamming the chain-wrapped head of his weapon right into Yun’s chest. He went flying across the courtyard and landed hard, rolling a few more feet before coming to a stop face-down, disarmed again and dazed from the immense power of it. For a moment he lay there, able to hear the battle continuing around him but having a hard time getting his limbs to respond to his mind’s demands for them to move. He could hear the scrape and clash as the Tonbo-giri and Blue Dragon met the scythe, the thuds of bodies being hit and hitting back, the crack of Magoichi’s rifle as he diligently pressed on, and after a long moment Zhao Yun turned his head to try to find them all with his eyes. It was difficult to focus, a haze and a darkness seemed to separate them from him, but he could vaguely see a great white shape flitting through the courtyard, coming toward him. Zhuge Liang had abandoned the defenses to check on him, but it appeared to be fine because now with the green blur of Magoichi and the red blur of Sun Shangxiang was a slightly violet-blue blur, signifying where Ranmaru had gotten up and thrown himself at the last of the Orochi soldiers which had made it through the door. The other blurs around the hulking shadow of Orochi were still moving diligently and with all their might to try to widen some of the wounds they had already given him, swirling around him like leaves in a whirlwind. Zhao Yun scraped his fingers across the stone, trying to feel the spear in his grip before realizing it no longer was. _I must get up_ , he exhorted himself, _I can’t let it end here. I cannot die now. I must help them!_

His fingers curled again, this time into a fist, and he braced it against the ground to try to push himself up. He felt the light flop of robes against him as Zhuge Liang dropped down to help him. “Can you hear me, Zilong?”

“Help me up,” Yun said in answer, prying his face up off the stones as some sort of feeling returned to his limbs, giving him what he needed to make them work again.

Kongming shouldered him and got him to his feet, and then looked him over to see that aside from a scrape to his jaw he wasn’t bleeding anywhere. “Will you…”

“My spear,” Yun interrupted him intensely. “Where is my spear?”

Zhuge Liang gave him a consternated sort of look and then turned to gesture to where the Dragon Spear lay. “If you wish to finish what you started, you’ll need that.”

Zhao Yun was not ungrateful, and clenched a hand in Liang’s robes to reassure him that he could do this before pushing himself away and tottering over to grab the spear up off the ground. As his hands closed on the shaft, he felt as though all weariness and pain was falling away. He knew what he had to do and he couldn’t stop until it was done. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he wrested the spear into position and then gave a battle cry to announce his return to the fray before charging. Several of his comrades looked his way with grave but relieved half-smirks and then turned their attention fully to Orochi, ready to put an end to this. Orochi threw them off yet again and turned to face this stubborn threat only to have Honda plow into him from the side, a blow from his pike splitting the already weakened plate near his flank. Incensed, Orochi levitated into the air a few feet, raising his scythe to hold in front of him, and then blasted them all with an aura of dark energy ten times the strength of any other. Even as he did Naoe and Ishida both slid in beneath him to cast their light spells, hoping to counteract the effects or at the very least shield their comrades from the worst of it. Guan Yu held his ground against the jolt running all the way up his legs to his spine and then his arms in order to swing the Blue Dragon hard enough to swat the demon out of the air. Orochi landed nimbly and sprang back, eyes flashing as he drew the scythe low into a defensive stance. They had already bloodied him far more times than he would have expected, their hits had not only gotten under his arms but beneath one shoulder pauldron, through the overlaps of his plate armor in several places, and even up along the inside of his thigh in one spot. He could see them all weakening, faltering, the more he hit them, so he resolved to outlast them, moving to keep them all in sight and let no one circle around behind him. Zhao Yun slipped through the front line and kept charging him, thrusting the Dragon Spear to engage him once more and force him to fight head-on. Behind him, Sun Ce rounded up the others for one more big move, hoping it would be enough. When he had what he needed, he gave Cao Pi a pat on the shoulder to send him forward to fight alongside Zhao Yun, so that together the two of them would keep Orochi’s attention occupied. The demon seemed frustrated that even after cutting Pi so deeply he dared to still fight, and fell for the deception even as Pi spun his separated swords in both hands and flew at him with all speed and cunning, jabbing at his arms while Zhao Yun worked to weaken the defense of the great scythe blade. With the two of them injured, they were risking their very lives in this venture, but they had long since given themselves up for dead and only wanted to take Orochi out with them. Sun Ce directed the others with jabs of his tonfa and then sprang himself to follow them, waiting until Xu Huang, Uesugi, and Zhang Fei went to one side and Honda, Guan Yu, and Sun Quan to the other. He followed right behind his brother and the instant all six of them moved, he swept in on their heels. All six dropped their weapons and grabbed hand and fist for Orochi’s arms, clinging to him like limpets and hauling back at the very instant Ce passed between spear and swords to drive his left-hand tonfa back into Orochi’s weakened arm wielding the scythe. He rolled his shoulders with the momentum to bring the other tonfa around to punch at the same spot, successfully jostling Orochi’s arm enough that his hand flexed and for the briefest second, his fingers left the shaft of the scythe. It began to fall even as Ce dodged out of the way, and the target finally lay wide open. 

Zhao Yun saw it coming even before Ce was past him and began his thrust so that it would hit at the right moment. The Dragon Spear plunged straight into the demon’s chest below where a heart should be, and an instant afterward Pure Havoc followed, piercing through the gap in the segmented armor. The Demon Slayer and Tiger Sword immediately joined them, their wielders stepping up shoulder to shoulder with the others to thrust their blades freely into unprotected flesh. The impact of the three swords threw Orochi back a step and ripped him off the spear, which did as much damage coming out as it did going in. He staggered even as the commanders drove in, shoving their blades as deep as they would go, and Zhao Yun followed up his first strike by spearing straight through the baleful eye peering out from the region of Orochi’s gut. His mismatched eyes widened, and he began to fall backward like a huge tree. “How…” he gasped. “I…”

The four warriors needed say nothing, they simply held their ground until momentum had carried him completely over and sent him crashing to the stone floor on his back. The scythe seemed to hang in mid-air for a moment but there was no ensuing clatter of it hitting the ground, for it simply vanished. Thick, black blood like tar oozed from the many wounds Orochi had sustained and dribbled from his lips as he fought for breath, back arching, eyes wide. The center gap in his armor was some kind of mix of mystical energy and soft, vulnerable flesh, and the combined might of all of the Resistance working together finally exposed it enough for those still standing to be able to cut with mortal blows. His eyes rolled up to them as Zhao Yun stood leaning on his spear, panting and wincing, and Cao Pi staggered sideways into Nobunaga, who caught him. None of them had breath or energy to speak, but they forced themselves not to back away until the matter was truly finished. Orochi stretched one empty hand up toward Zhao Yun. “Impossible,” he breathed. “How…”

Zilong glowered at him, feeling no pity. “You were strong, Orochi,” he said raggedly, “but not stronger than all of us combined.”

The demon’s arm dropped to the ground with a heavy thump. “But…humans. So frail…”

“Alone, maybe,” Sun Quan admitted. “When you thought you had to defeat us one on one…that was your first fatal mistake.”

“You trusted nobody,” Guan Yu continued for him, stepping up behind Yun to support him. “Not even your own faithful. We of the Resistance placed our lives in each other’s hands.”

“You tried to break the bonds between us,” Sun Ce declared, edging alongside his father to give him something to lean on, “but it didn’t work. It brought us together like never before.”

“The more who gathered together, the stronger we became,” Sun Jian agreed, pulling his sword from the demon’s flesh. “And you were no match for all of us once that happened.”

“You brought us here thinking each of us alone was a famed warrior,” Zhuge Liang solemnly intoned, “but did not realize what would happen once we began to work together. The strength of humanity which you desired to see lies not in each individual but in our army, united to assist one another in every way.”

“There’s nothing weak about needing one another,” Magoichi murmured from behind them as he walked supporting a weary Shangxiang.

“Together,” Zhao Yun finished for them all, “we were strong enough. Equals. Friends.”

Orochi’s eyes drifted half-closed. “Humans,” he muttered. “Sentimental to the end.” His lips parted as if to draw one more breath, but it was his last. His body went limp, and in that instant, the demon Orochi expired.

For a moment or two no one moved, as if unsure whether he had just fainted or really was dead, and then Cao Pi collapsed on the spot, his blade falling to the ground with a noisy clatter. Mitsunari caught him before he could hit the floor and knelt behind him, propping him up. A moment later and Zhao Yun fell against Guan Yu, his exhaustion and pain catching up to him and sending him reeling. Most of the others kept their feet, though all were bloodied and heaving for breath, their hair loosened from topknots and queues, clothing torn and armor battered. They could not tear their eyes away from the hulking figure sprawled in their midst, hesitating on calling the victory. At last, Zhang Fei cleared his throat. “Is he. Is he dead?”

Zhuge Liang dared to step up close to Orochi’s head, bending over him to examine him. No light came from under the half-drawn eyelids, and the angry glow of the red in his chest had dulled like a fire going out. Cao Cao moved to lay the flat of his imperial sword near the demon’s lips, searching for any slight spot of mist from breath, but there was nothing. “I believe so,” Kongming said softly.

“There is one way to ensure it,” Cao Cao declared, swinging his sword back. “Cut off his head, then there will be no need to guess.”

“No,” Sun Ce said with sudden strength. “Leave it. Even after everything he’s done to us, he still fought a hard fight. He’s dead, and that’s it, there’s no need to desecrate.”

“Look.” Oda raised his humming blade to point around the courtyard. The wan blue flames of sorcery which had illuminated the portico when they arrived had gone out. And, even beyond that, the clouds directly overhead suddenly parted to let the moon shine through. “You see? He is dead. The castle, even the land shows it.”

“Orochi _is_ dead.” The thin, quavering voice of Zuo Ci broke through their midst, and they all looked to see him standing near the door with shoulders stooped, smiling as if to himself. “The barrier is gone. I can feel it. The presence of all the mystical powers around us is pouring in.”

At last, they dared to believe it, and Zhang Fei led them in a full-throated cheer which was immediately taken up by the Sun family and the powerful retainers around Cao Cao. Zhao Yun could hardly believe it, it didn’t seem real, but while the others lauded their well-deserved victory, his head whipped around in sudden energy, looking for something else. He pulled himself away from Guan Yu and stumbled across the courtyard, dropping his spear and then falling to his knees beside Yukimura’s prone figure. The smallest light of hope flickered in his heart as Yukimura looked toward him, wincing and breathing hard but otherwise conscious and alert. “Yukimura…”

“Zilong,” the young samurai said gladly. “Don’t make that face at me, I’ll be fine.”

“Will you…?”

“Yes. It hurts, but…” He groaned painfully but managed to roll himself onto one elbow, his other hand covering his wound. “…I can manage.” He looked down, and then huffed a wry chuckle. “Looks like I’ll need another new chestplate, again.”

Guan Yu suddenly gave a wordless cry, making all heads turn his way and then follow his gaze, for he stood there staring into the depths of the castle from whence Orochi had come. A cluster of figures was just coming out from the darkness, and as the light of the remaining torches fell on them, they could see the fruit of their second goal fulfilled just as Magoichi had intimated. Leaning on Ling Tong and Xu Shu, Liu Bei blinked in astonishment at the corpse on the ground and the collection of warriors around and beyond it. He regarded them all in fascination, and then his expression began to crumble into tears as he laid eyes on his brothers. “It is over,” he breathed to himself, daring to believe it.

“My lord!” Zhao Yun sprang up with a fresh burst of energy and raced across the courtyard, up the steps and right to Liu Bei where he stood, outpacing everyone else.

Liu Bei turned to see him and gasped loudly, his eyes swimming. “Zhao Yun!”

The two dear friends fell against each other, tears running down their cheeks as they met and clasped one another by the shoulders. As much as he loved his brothers, his family, his retainers, and all the people of Shu, Liu Bei and Zhao Yun had been affectionate friends since the moment they had laid eyes on each other so long ago, and though Xuande had no idea, yet, what his most faithful retainer had done for him, just seeing him again left him weeping with joy. He had no strength left to maintain composure anyway, all he could do was hold Zhao Yun’s dirty, bloodstained face in his hands and stare into his eyes as if unable to believe he was really there. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were on them a moment later, and there was much crying and half-formed words of relief and recognition among all. Zilong extracted himself to let the brothers be together, stumbling again and going to one knee, grateful to find Nobuyuki moving to catch him. The rush of adrenaline was fading fast and he could feel every small cut and ache, his whole body was on fire and his head swam with exhaustion. “Here,” Nobuyuki murmured in his ear as he looped an arm around behind him, “let me help you, Lord Zhao Yun.”

Zilong nodded absently and found himself shouldered by the elder Sanada brother, then lifted and guided down the steps to the courtyard. More of their officers were beginning to filter in through the main gate, and each one had to stop and stare at the sight of Orochi’s body splayed on the ground where he had fallen before shaking themselves out of it and moving to assist their comrades. Seeing Yukimura on the ground, Cao Pi and Zhao Yun being propped up by their retainers, Sun Quan kneeling beside Zhou Tai, and Liu Bei being held up by his brothers, they could tell that the battle had taken its toll and they couldn’t yet say everything would be all right even with their enemy dead at their feet. Takeda was able to get up with help and stand again like Shangxiang, but the rest who had fallen to Orochi’s might were still down or else down again, alive but unconscious or in too much pain to move. Zhang Bao and Guan Xing came to take their commander so Nobuyuki could attend his brother, while Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan shouldered their way in, expecting to assist Cao Cao only to stop and kneel before Cao Pi to make sure he wasn’t dead. He waved them off, but it was clear he was going to need help getting to his feet and leaving the castle. Nobunaga glanced up from checking on both Mitsuhide and Ranmaru when Lady No and Nobutada both came to his side, glad that they were in time to help. As they stood still unconsciously observing Orochi’s body, Takeda Shingen limped over to where his cohorts gathered. “I can’t help but notice that the ground is not crumbling beneath our feet, nor is the sky falling.” He tipped his masked face up toward the sky. “The clouds seem to be breaking, but that’s hardly falling. Goodness, is that the moon? How long have we been battling?”

“It is night,” Kanetsugu realized. “It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?”

“It’s a good thing the world isn’t ending,” Sun Jian said tiredly. “I don’t think I have it in me to run for my life at this point.”

“Even the castle is still standing,” Cao Cao pointed out. “Everything we thought tied to Orochi’s existence has outlasted him. Incredible.”

“It is no end,” Nobunaga said, rising and shouldering up alongside Shingen. “This is just the beginning.”

“Ah, you’re right,” Takeda said with a nod. “We are witnessing a change, a rebirth. A chance to rebuild.”

Ling Tong gave them a look as he came to Sun Ce’s side. “You guys still haven’t had enough?”

Oda smiled coolly at him. “Of course not, Master Ling Tong. This is the beginning of a new era…”

“Of glorious war,” Kenshin finished in a low, eager growl.

Tong rolled his eyes and got a short laugh out of Sun Ce for it. Cao Cao turned away from the group and from the corpse on the ground and raised his blade high. “Then spread the news! Orochi has fallen!”

Their own people were still coming into the castle through the main gate, mostly to verify that the battle had in fact ended, but when Cao Cao’s announcement began to spread, the officers converged to assist the injured and make themselves available for whatever cleanup might be necessary. Zhou Yu had taken charge of the battle outside the gate and now that it was over, managed the placement and movements of various officers to make sure everyone was in the best place to help. A gauntlet of them stretched from the inner ward doors to the gate of the drawbridge, and the able-bodied began to move along it, making their way to the eastern gatehouse and out to the basalt fields beyond. Sun Quan directed Taishi Ci and Jiang Qin to pick up Zhou Tai very carefully and carry him out, and then turned his attention to his sister. She still leaned on Magoichi’s arm, but for once he was quiet and only held onto her so she wouldn’t faint, and gladly turned her over to her brothers before drifting off with only a rogueish smile. She in turn grabbed Quan’s coat and demanded to know that Liu Bei was alive, so they turned and let her catch a glimpse of him before deciding that now was a good time to get her out of there. Seeing as he wasn’t much more than scratched, Honda willingly bent to pick up Mitsuhide and carry him as gently as he knew how, though Sakon came just inside the door to offer a hand if needed. Dian Wei did the same for Ranmaru, seeing as he was light as a feather and the stout Wei bodyguard felt like he could still go another ten rounds with anyone who wanted it. Really, he had seen the kid get up multiple times to keep fighting even if he was just a tiny wisp of a thing, and admired that sort of will. The brave officers of the rescue party insisted they were none the worse for wear, but Nobuyuki was exhausted, Ina and Nene were scratched, and they had all fought to their limit just to escape, so they were lauded as heroes every bit as much as those who had tangled with Orochi and escorted out at their own pace. Seeing as their precious cargo had been turned over to the care of his brothers, they could lift their heads and make their way out on their own.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei still huddled around their brother, looking him over and dismissing his concern for their many cuts and bruises. “Do you need a hand?” Fei asked him. “You can still walk, right?”

“Yes, I can walk,” Liu Bei assured them, “but I spent what energy I had running through the castle. I wouldn’t mind an arm or a shoulder.”

Both burly men offered him what he needed, wrapping around him and supporting him as he stepped down from the portico and through the courtyard. He looked to make sure that the young ones and Xu Shu had Zhao Yun, guiding him out, and saw that the other gravely-injured warriors were being picked up and carried out by a mix of their own allies. Liu Bei could hardly believe that so many people had come together, he didn’t even know most of them and the ones he did recognize shouldn’t have been as friendly with one another as they were. It was amazing to witness, and he couldn’t wait to hear how it had come about. First, though, he needed to stop and close the door on his prison for good. He tugged on Guan Yu’s arm to bring him to a stop as they passed Orochi’s body, and took a moment to gaze down at the lifeless figure of the demon who had tormented him for so many months. He hadn’t even considered whether Orochi could be killed, but here was the proof before him. “Was it worth it,” he murmured, “to push us this far? Was this what you really wanted? All of our people united in a single goal, to take you down? I cannot understand you, Orochi. Whatever fate awaits you now, it is beyond me.” He heaved a soft sigh and then looked to his brothers, affirming with a nod that he was finished and could be taken out. Nene still carried his sword for him, but she had already trotted on ahead and stood with her husband, who had managed to limp back in to see the scene for himself and now waited on their allies to carry Mitsuhide safely from the confines of the castle. Meng Huo had entered and had Yukimura in his arms, carrying him with almost no effort despite the likely weight of the young samurai’s armor. Liu Bei looked to see the young silver-haired man who had rescued him carrying his brother’s spear, and Zhao Yun breathlessly trading words with the injured man as they both were taken out, and wondered.

Koshi Castle had fallen eerily silent in the aftermath of the battle, it appeared that even the last remaining demon soldiers who had been pursuing the escaped prisoner had melted away and no one dared leave the keep even to behold with their own eyes their fallen lord. Perhaps it was the overwhelming number of Resistance officers and soldiers in the courtyard and the antechamber, or perhaps it had everything to do with Orochi himself, but either way, it worked to the victorious army’s advantage. Too many of theirs were too battered and broken to mount another fight, all they wanted to do was safely withdraw. Oda, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian lingered to make sure all of their men made it out all right, standing in a knot near the gate to direct the coming and going of officers. None of them could stop shooting glances back at the demon body in the middle of the courtyard as if afraid it would jump up at any minute, declare that he had been merely unconscious and was ready to take them all on again. Jian frowned darkly. “Do we just leave him there?” he murmured to his cohorts.

“Why not?” Cao Cao snorted. “He deserves no tomb, no burial. Let him rot.”

“Let this castle be his tomb,” Nobunaga said grimly. “If any of his minions are left to bury him, leave it to them, otherwise we should simply vacate the castle and seal it behind us. He can stay here until the end of this world.”

Sun Jian nodded. “So be it.”

Once the last of the stragglers had passed them, Nobunaga and Cao Cao reached to take hold of the massive iron rings on the doors and each heaved at the same time. Despite their size the doors swung easily closed, and once there was only the smallest gap left, the two commanders slipped through and leaned on them from the outside. They slammed shut with an echoing metallic clang that made all those still passing through the antechamber flinch at the loud noise. Honda Tadakatsu had cut down a chain from somewhere, possibly part of the drawbridge mechanism, and assisted them in looping it through the rings on the door to bind it shut. If there were still Orochi forces inside, they would have to find some other way to escape, or else share their lord’s tomb. They herded the rest of their people out through the antechamber to the drawbridge, and as they did they caught up to Liu Bei, who was weakened enough that he moved painfully slowly even with his escort. Sun Jian slowed and then fell in beside the three brothers limping their way up the iron bridge, giving Liu Bei a quick smile of assurance. Together, all four lords of their own places and times completed the journey and passed through the garrison gate into the quiet yard beyond, where only a few of their men still lingered. No matter how far they still had to go before they could rest, the worst was finally and truly behind them.

The entirety of the Resistance army which had been battling either inside or near the keep had already passed through to the wide field and the road just south of there, a much better place for them to muster and wait for orders for departure from their leaders. With several too injured to issue commands, control of their factions passed to the next likely, and some of them were still making the slow hike out from the garrison to see what lay before them. Their mingled army was still large and vast, and though they had numerous casualties, it was heartening to see just how much Orochi hadn’t taken away from them. The most severely injured were resting further back in the crowd, all bunched together so that medics could quickly run between them and provide any crucial field triage needed so that no one would die on the way back to their main camp. All of their officers were scattered among them, some supervising the troops, others guarding their prisoners, and the rest still sort of shell-shocked that their nightmares had not come true and they really were alive at the end of it all. The sight of Liu Bei slowly plodding forward one step at a time with his brothers’ assistance sent a swell of relief and joy through the throngs of waiting officers, a thrill that was not confined to the longsuffering people of Shu Han alone. Every single one was glad to see him on his feet, and nearly all of them punched their fists into the air in a triumphant victory cry, though they held back to allow his own retainers, his family, and closest friends reach him first. Yet, even they understood at first sight that he was too weak to endure a dogpile of well-wishers no matter how much they loved him and he wanted to see them, so while many ran forward to greet him, they stopped short and let only one go all the way to him. Dropping his sword, Liu Shan dashed breathlessly toward the three brothers, calling out as he came. “Father!”

Liu Bei came to an unsteady stop, clinging to Guan Yu’s arm to keep from stumbling. “What?” he breathed, stunned. “…A Dou?”

“Indeed,” Guan Yu murmured. “Your son has grown. Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one to have grown children at hand.”

He and Zhang Fei stepped slightly aside as Liu Shan reached them, collapsing against his father and tucking his head under his chin. “You’re alive,” he whispered shakily, near tears. “I’m so glad!”

“Liu Shan…” Xuande draped his arms around him and leaned against him while they embraced, unable to believe what he was seeing but not about to question it. “Are you well, my son?”

“I’m unhurt,” Shan assured him, lifting his head and resting a hand on his father’s cheek to look into his eyes and reassure himself that he really was there, in the flesh, exactly as Zhao Yun had promised all along. “You look so tired.”

That made Liu Bei laugh, a soft sound bubbling up from inside him. “I am,” he admitted. “But I’m free, now. I don’t care about anything else, I am free and you’re here…everyone is here…” He looked over Liu Shan’s shoulder to the cluster of familiar faces drawing into a circle around him – Huang Zhong, Ma Dai and Ma Teng, Guan Ping, Fa Zheng, Ma Su, even Meng Huo and Zhurong – and gave them a weary smile to let them know that he was all right.

Liu Shan stepped back to let him have his feet again, aware that his father was in sore need of a place to lie down, food, and a clean set of clothes, all of which were down in the main camp and they had a long slog to get there so standing around wouldn’t do any of them any good. He gestured to have a horse brought, giving up his own for Liu Bei and stepping away to leave him to his brothers. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei mounted and moved in to sandwich Xuande’s horse between theirs, so that if he felt faint and wilted to either side, one of them would catch him. He refused to move out until he was sure Zhao Yun was likewise being cared for, and when he looked around to see who else might be critically injured, witnessed Xingcai presenting Liu Shan’s sword back to him and gently admonishing him for not taking better care of it. Liu Bei smiled wanly, shifting his gaze back to his brothers. “How has my son done commanding in my stead?” he asked quietly, so only they could hear and reply.

Zhang Fei shook his head. “Liu Shan hasn’t been in command. It was all Zhao Yun.”

“What…?” Liu Bei looked again, finding Ma Chao, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao teaming up to get Zilong into a saddle so he could be escorted down to the camp to receive medical attention. A thousand questions sprang to mind, but all the Lord of Shu could do was shake his head and reach to rest a hand on Guan Yu’s steady arm. “I will have to get the whole story later. It sounds like I’ve missed far too much.”

All the horses had been brought up onto the plain after the Orochi troops deserted, so they all stood waiting for their riders under the control of soldiers from all factions who kept a good hand on the reins. Some of the seriously injured were unable to ride, though, so their comrades volunteered to assist rather than simply sling everyone over the saddles and force them to endure a painful journey back down to the Resistance camp. Xu Huang mounted and then rode over to where Mitsunari still supported Cao Pi, dropping the reins in order to free his hands. “Here, allow me. I will take you down, my lord.”

Pi was starting to grow hazy from the blood loss, so Mitsunari made the choice for him, waving over Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun so that the three of them together could hoist their lord up and into Huang’s lap. He arranged Cao Pi carefully in order to cradle him and then nodded to assure them that he had it well under control. Nobunaga himself did the same for Ranmaru, who had reached the end of his strength after the second round against Orochi and fainted while being carried out. Yukimura rode behind his father, and Zhao Yun’s fine white steed seemed content to bear both him and Zhang Bao. Everyone who had been injured to the point of being unable to walk or ride was looked after in the same way, while the foot soldiers massed together to take care of their own, carrying each other on their backs or between two or three comrades. The trip down past Hinokawa to the camp took twice as long as going up, but everyone made it without complaining and climbed up the short slope from the path to the plateau to find their camp intact and unharmed. The fleeing Orochi troops had not come this way, or if they did, they didn’t stop to raid and destroy the camp of the victors. The rents in the clouds allowed them to finally see the encroaching dawn lightening the sky from black to gray, though they still had to fumble about with only torches and braziers to find their tents and throw themselves down to grab a few hours of sleep. Even with friends and family gravely injured and needing attention, certain generals set aside their worries to take command long enough to round up anyone still healthy enough to take the crucial first shift on watch, Guan Yu leading for Shu, Sun Jian for Wu, and Cao Cao for Wei. They made sure that the camp would not fall victim to Orochi stragglers preying upon their weakness until such a time as all of them could regain enough energy to go back to regular duties, until the casualties were in any shape to travel so they could get out of that fire-blasted wasteland. The battle might have been over, but there was still so much more work to be done.

Once the great iron doors of the castle’s main entrance had been closed and chained, the entirety of Koshi lapsed into the sort of silence appropriate for a tomb. The natural torches in the courtyard burned out with no one to tend them, and a darkness not even demons would enjoy descended around the body left lying there. Yet, not long after the last Resistance soldier stepped out onto the road to make his way back down to the main camp, there was a swirl of golden light in the center of the courtyard and a pair of clawed feet landed on the stone with a soft pat. Da Ji immediately crumpled to her knees, still too injured to stand for long, but she had made it to where she needed to be. Their enemies had ignored her when she had been left laying in the doorway to the keep, and were too busy looking after each other to notice her get up and crawl into the darkness of the castle interior. Now that they were finally gone, she had rested up enough to be able to use a few spells. A trickle of blood still spotted the corner of her mouth as testament to Uesugi’s final blow, but she was already mending naturally, and given time would be able to manage much more than just a short-range teleport. She sat for a moment until the dizziness subsided, and then leaned over the great demon’s form beside her, her eyes welling up with tears. There was so much she would have wanted to say, but it was far past too late. He was gone, and this shell was all that was left of him. Da Ji drooped until her face nearly touched his chest and sat for a while just to be near him, but then took a deep breath as if preparing for something and laid an arm over him. The golden light swirled around her again, and this time encompassed the body as well, so that when she teleported back inside the castle’s depths, Orochi came with her. She was not through yet. They would see for themselves just what they had wrought by trying to destroy him. In time, when she was strong enough, oh yes…they would all see.


	92. Chapter 92

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the battle to end Orochi, Liu Bei starts to uncover everything that he missed while captive; the rest recover and plans are made for a feast.

It seemed like the clouds were trying their hardest to break up, but they didn’t fully dissipate even as the day crept nearer. The glimpses of wan gray through the red glow were heartening enough, anyone still awake for whatever reason could look up and feel the true sense of their nightmares ebbing away in that faint light. All across the Resistance camp there were some who could not quite yet lay down their heads and rest – some had to stand watch, others were too amped up or sore to easily put it aside, and still others busied themselves with the mundane duties of command and resolved not to rest until someone else had slept first and could relieve them. The healers and medics had their hands full on all sides, but even the serious wounds were not life-threatening, now that everyone was able to get into shelter and lie down to be tended. Some even fell asleep while being stitched and cleaned up, a testament to how much the battle had taken from them. The most severely injured officers might have gotten priority in terms of attention, but there were enough medics on hand that they could fan out across the camp to make sure everyone down to the lowliest foot soldier would be seen and tended. Though no one was in direct mortal peril, some injuries were grave enough that comrades and retainers fretted over the state of their fellows and would not rest until they could be sure Zhou Tai, Mitsuhide, Lu Meng, Gan Ning, Zhang Liao, Jiang Wei, Sima Zhao, and all the others were given a good prognosis for their recovery. Once the healers had done their part, they left Cao Pi to rest in the company of the only two people he would allow at his bedside, the only two with any right to fret over him. Zhenji had only suffered a bruise to her hand from openly smacking one of Lu Bu’s men in the face, and Mitsunari waved off any attention for his cuts until after the most severe injuries had been taken care of, so they sat with their lord until he came around. It didn’t take long, but his head was still fuzzy from the pain and exhaustion, he barely registered his wife taking his hand. His head lolled toward Ishida, and he moistened his lips before finding one word to say. “Report.”

“Nobody’s dead,” Mitsunari said smartly, “except Orochi, but you already knew that. That’s all you need to worry about right now.”

“Your father took command to bring everyone back to the camp, and Xiahou Dun is manning the sentry lines,” Zhenji added. “Don’t give it a second thought, my love. Just rest.”

Cao Pi breathed a soft groan, but gave in to their insistence and nestled down. As he turned his head from one to the other, a shaft of sunlight streamed through the half-open tent door, which conveniently faced east, and the clouds parted for one brief moment right at the point of sunrise to allow it to grace him with a gleam of reddish gold. It was gone in a flash as the clouds roiled, but that momentary burst of hope made them all take a deep breath in awe. “It’s over,” Mitsunari murmured in relief. “It finally feels real…”

“No,” Pi said softly, closing his eyes. “Not just yet. There is one more thing, I think. My own quest is…incomplete.”

“Your quest?” Zhenji queried.

Zihuan squeezed her hand. “I have a dream, and I want to see it realized.”

She might not have quite understood, but Mitsunari did. He remembered that night and their pillow talk, and though it made him blush slightly, he figured he could address it without bringing up the context. “I always meant to ask you,” he said as casually as he could. “Did you think you could realize that dream alone? You’re going to need help.”

Cao Pi lifted his eyes toward Mitsunari where he sat, a light of interest shining through his tiredness. “I had not given it that much thought. But I suppose you have a point.”

“Sleep on it,” he suggested. “I plan to do the same.”

He pushed himself up and made to get to his feet, but he wobbled and only got halfway up from his knees before crashing onto his face next to Pi’s bedroll. Zhenji let out an exasperated sigh. “Stay there. You’re no good to my lord in that kind of state.”

Mitsunari rolled himself onto his elbow and looked up to see her rise and drag over a blanket from his own bedroll so he could lay where he was. He gave Pi an astonished look behind her back, that she was helping him out like that, but Cao Pi only smiled warmly in response. It was a fine sight to behold before exhaustion closed his eyes and he passed out asleep on the spot.

There was so much Liu Bei wanted to know, but it clearly would take days to fully catch him up on everything and at the moment it seemed more important to rest, heal, and coordinate their army than to answer the million questions he had. He was not injured, but the long captivity had robbed him of so much strength and stamina that even his meager exercises had not been able to fully guard against the effects of having to suddenly run for his life through the castle. He was content with the pallet in the command tent laid out for him, next to Zhao Yun in the private section at the back, and trusted their retainers to keep visitors to a minimum until his dear friend had fully rested. Liu Bei was more tired in body than sleepy, so while he did manage to doze and recover some energy, he came alert first and laid for a while simply watching Yun sleep, assuring himself that he was out of danger and the bandaged injuries beneath his zhongyi tunic would not trouble him for long. Yukimura slept on his far side, since it was easier to just bed him down where his pallet already was rather than drag it to the Sanada tent so he could rest among his family. Liu Bei didn’t know this young man at all, but there had to be a story behind his presence at Zilong’s side, and a good one at that. He laid with his head pillowed on his arm to keep watch over them both, hearing the camp slowly come to life around them as the day stretched on. Some part of him knew that sooner or later the other commanders would come around, wanting to talk about striking camp and leaving Orochi’s territory, but he hoped that it could be delayed until everyone was capable of sitting up to do so.

When Zhao Yun finally found himself crawling up from the depths of a dead sleep, he heard the soft rustle as of clothing or bedding being moved and blinked his eyes open to see Lord Liu Bei seated beside him, legs crossed and hands resting gently in his lap, while his son helped him to brush his long hair and gather it up into a proper topknot. The dim light hid much of his haggardness, but the scraggly hints of facial hair called attention to his thinned features and skin turned pale by the long captivity in darkness. He noticed the stirring and smiled warmly, the light in his brown eyes captivating Zhao Yun just as it had the day they first met. “My lord…” he whispered hoarsely.

“Shh.” Liu Bei raised a finger to his lips. “Your friend is still sleeping. He looked to be in bad shape when they brought him in, you shouldn’t wake him.”

Yun’s eyes widened and he immediately rolled over. “Yukimura…?”

The young samurai was tucked in comfortably, slumbering without a care in the world, stripped down out of his bloody clothing and wrapped in enough blankets to shield his bandaged body from the elements. Even his forehead was bare, though the Sanada headband had been folded and laid beside his head on the pillow. Without even caring that there were others in the chamber with them to see it, Zhao Yun stretched a hand to brush over his brow, finding him warm and living, quite beautiful in repose. He gave himself a moment just to bask in his presence and then pulled away, resting on his back a moment before working to sit up. It hurt a lot to even try, but eventually he made it, waving off an attempt at assistance from Liu Bei. He finally beheld his lord in better circumstances, his face and hands cleaned, his clothing fresh, and Liu Shan putting the finishing touches on his hair. They had knowingly prepared for this moment before leaving Chengdu, bringing along a set of clothing which had been in the imperial chambers in Luo Castle all along, green tunic and trousers and a gold-embroidered surcoat and girdle. Shan had chosen to pack one small hair ornament as well, not knowing whether his father still had his helm or any crown, so for now he secured the topknot with the green jade pin instead. Liu Shan had changed from imperial dress to his fighting outfit before the battle, and still wore it now, though he had managed to shake off most of the dust outside before coming into attend his father. Liu Bei murmured his thanks and sent his son out to find Guan Yu, if he was awake, and then turned to Zhao Yun. “Who is he?”

Yun gathered that he meant his friend, and looked back once more. “His name is Sanada Yukimura,” he whispered solemnly, “and he is become my sworn brother.”

Xuande’s eyes widened in interest. “Really? He must be a very special person, then. I want to know everything about him, Zhao Yun – anyone who has become so close to your heart as that, I must know.”

Zilong smiled softly. “I will tell you everything and more, in time, my lord. Yukimura has been at my side for a long time, I want for you to know him.”

Liu Bei beckoned him closer with a small wave, so that they could speak no louder than a whisper and still be understood clearly by one another. He laid a hand in the crook of Zhao Yun’s arm. “Guan Yu tells me that you are the commander of Shu. Is all of this your doing, my friend?”

Yun lowered his eyes modestly. “I had help on all sides,” he demurred. “It is true, I have been in command of the Shu army since I was freed from my own imprisonment, but only Shu. The other commanders have brought their own armies, we joined together as one to defeat Orochi and free you.”

“So I can see.” Liu Bei smiled so that his eyes gleamed in the half-light, proud and affectionate. “You won’t take glory for yourself, but I can tell that you’ve done well. Incredibly well.”

Yun laid a hand over the one on his arm and pressed it tightly. All the long, hard months of waiting, hoping, succumbing to despair and then soldiering on, they were finally over for good and it was as though his heart couldn’t process it. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he lifted his head to meet Liu Bei’s gaze. “All I wanted was to find you, and free you. Every rumor I chased, every false trap laid by Orochi to try to destroy me, I pushed through it with that single goal in mind. Becoming commander of Shu…it just sort of happened, once we started to rescue people and gather our forces together. I never sought command, and I willingly relinquish it to you, my lord…”

Liu Bei lifted his other hand to Zhao Yun’s cheek, giving him a comforting caress. “Soon. I want to watch you see your duty through to the end. When we get back home, you can go back to being a regular old general.” His eyes narrowed with a sly smile. “Home is still Chengdu, is it?”

Yun tried to stifle his laugh and failed, it caught in his throat and sent a few tears spilling down his cheeks. “Y-yes, it…it wasn’t destroyed. We came back and rebuilt it, Luo Castle is fine and our people…!” He bit his lip. “Our people will be so happy to see you safe.”

Xuande used his thumb to brush those tears away, though seeing them made him want to cry as well. “Zilong, my dear friend…you have been through so much, haven’t you? I don’t even know the tiniest fraction of your story and yet I can tell. You’ve had a hard time of it. All for me?”

Yun nodded eagerly, swallowing his emotions. “All for you, my lord.”

“Ah…” It was too much, even Liu Bei couldn’t take it and crumbled, drawing Zhao Yun in and hugging him tightly, resting his chin on his friend’s head. They sat for a while sniffling back their tears, and then Liu Bei bent his head to whisper into Yun’s ear. “Let’s go into the other room, so we don’t disturb young Yukimura. Let me comb your hair and put it up for you, and maybe by then we can find someone to bring us food.”

“I…” Yun’s breath caught in his throat, but he swallowed and nodded. “I would like that very much.”

They removed to the main room of the tent without waking Yukimura and sat on the mat in the center, content with the solitude and silence so they could put themselves together without too many prying eyes around to witness a rare moment of vulnerability between two old friends. Zhao Yun pulled his surcoat on over his underclothes and then sat so Liu Bei could comb the tangles from his unbound hair and tie it back in the queue on his nape like he favored it. No sooner had they finished and the sentry from outside peeped in, interested to find them awake, and asked whether they were accepting visitors. “Lord Oda Nobunaga to see you, my lords,” he explained with a humble bob of his head.

Yun looked to his lord as Liu Bei nodded. “I will see him.”

The great, dark shape of Nobunaga eased into the tent with barely a flutter of the door flap, and he only checked for a moment upon seeing both commander and Lord of Shu present before lowering himself to his knees before them. He was not wearing his armor at the moment, but he did still have his feathered cape to cut an impressive figure, though he tempered his imposing air by bowing first with his head lower than his hosts’. “Forgive me if I’m intruding. I am glad to be able to make your acquaintance, Lord Liu Bei.”

Xuande bobbed his head briefly in acknowledgement. “Unfortunately I have only just woken up, so I have yet to hear any stories about this army and the people in it. Oda Nobunaga, is it?”

“Lord Oda is considered commander of the coalition of the different warlords of Wa,” Zhao Yun explained, “and has been of immense assistance to all the armies, including to me, personally.”

Nobunaga smiled coolly in modesty. “By the same token, Lord Zhao Yun has been an incredible commander. I am pleased that we were able to play even a small part in his long journey to free you, my lord.”

Yun lowered his eyes in embarrassment, though Liu Bei looked sidelong at him with a smile. “Then, I thank you for anything and everything you might have done to assist him and my people. Lord Zilong has my complete trust and faith, so anyone he considers an ally or a friend will be a friend to me.”

All of this was making Zhao Yun blush furiously, but he pushed past it. “What can we do for you, Lord Oda?”

“Actually,” Nobunaga replied, “I came to see if anything had been decided about moving forward. I have some idea of my own how I would like to proceed, but I thought to consult with my allies first.”

Yun shook his head. “It is as Lord Liu Bei says – we’ve barely come around, we haven’t yet begun to speak of our next step forward.”

“I would imagine that there are few compelling reasons to stay in this camp much longer,” Liu Bei added.

Oda nodded seriously. “I am not unsympathetic to the many injured, who may find it hard to move, but now that the battle is over this camp will become even more inhospitable. Orochi may be dead but some of his army survived, and they roam freely about with no one to drive them. More importantly, there is a problem of supplies.” His gaze shifted directly to Zhao Yun. “Our contingent can’t be the only one already running low. The longer we stay here where there is no means to resupply, the worse it will get. It is wiser to depart now and seek greener pastures before we run out of fresh water and unspoiled grain.”

Yun nodded, for he remembered the reports given on the day before the battle, taking stock of Shu’s supply train. They, as well as the other factions, had been able to condense some of their tents and wagons now that supplies were running low and so many crates of food and jars of water were empty. “That much is true, I can’t deny. I suppose now that the battle is completed, our four armies can depart separately. There is no need to wait around for each other, if it’s that bad.”

“What all needs to be taken care of, between commanders, before anyone can begin to move out?” Liu Bei asked. “Permission is not needed to strike camp. The injured must be seen to, and I heard someone say we were able to take prisoners among the Orochi army…”

“There is still the matter of prisoners, yes,” Nobunaga said. “For the time being we have the ranked officers shut away behind the ward of the jinmaku, away from prying eyes, while any soldiers under them who deserted at the end of the battle are being watched by both us and Wei. I have already had a quick word with Sima Shi regarding their retainer, Zhong Hui, who was captured, but we will have to work out how to handle Date Masamune and his men, and Maeda Keiji.”

“They are both from your time,” Zhao Yun noted, “are there ties among you which you can rely upon?”

Oda heaved a tired sigh, his face serious. “I’m sure Toshiie would like the chance to try to talk his nephew into rejoining us, and I plan to let him. But Keiji has always been his own man, regardless of any one lord’s claim to power over him. Date is a more difficult case. He owes his allegiance to no one and everyone – he is the lord of Oshu, but in the absence of his land and his people, he has nowhere to go.” His gaze settled on Yun for a moment. “I am given to understand he has had some…friendship, I suppose, with the Sanada. Is Yukimura interested in speaking with him?”

“I’m not sure,” Yun replied. “He is still asleep, his wound was serious. It may be a while before he’s strong enough to handle such a thing.”

“Eventually, then.” Oda glanced between them. “I expect the other commanders will also want to check in, just to see if anything else must be done. The prisoners are the only real point of order standing out among us, I can hold them in my custody but their fate belongs to the Resistance as a whole. It should probably be dealt with sooner rather than later.”

“Perhaps when we know the status of Wei and Wu, we can put our heads together and come up with a solution,” Yun offered. “It would not cause any of us suffering if we needed to wait one day in this place.”

Nobunaga bobbed his head once in acknowledgment. “One day should suffice.”

Liu Bei’s eyes darkened, contemplating some of his other former foes whom he knew had been in the Orochi army. “Is there any word on Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu?”

“Dong Zhuo? No, aside from the fact that he seems to have disappeared,” Nobunaga reported. “You might ask the generals of Wu, they tangled with him. Lu Bu was taken off the field in a state of grave injury by his wife, and they have also gone off on their own. Retainers of both were seen fighting on the Orochi side but could not be captured, and I haven’t heard report of any of them returning or being spotted since.”

Zhao Yun looked to his lord. “Are you concerned about their absence?”

Liu Bei’s gaze dropped briefly. “You said nothing of them being counted among the prisoners, so I could only assume they were either killed or had escaped. Now that I know it’s the latter, I would want to guard against either of them attacking this camp while everyone is exhausted and injured – or setting upon our rear once we all break up into separate armies.”

Nobunaga grunted a soft laugh of satisfaction. “Given how badly injured Lu Bu was when we sent him off, I doubt he will have the strength to even consider attacking us again. If Gan Xingba kept his weapon after forcefully disarming him, that likelihood is even less.”

Liu Bei stared wide-eyed at him. “What in the world have I missed…?”

“I’m sure there are a thousand stories you would like to hear.” Nobunaga smiled and bowed his shoulders respectfully again. “Lord Zhao Yun can tell you most of them, so perhaps I shouldn’t impose on you much further. If you hear anything or have any further suggestions, I will be in my area of the camp where any messenger can find me.”

“Several of your retainers were seriously injured in the battle,” Yun noted. “How are they?”

Oda’s eyes seemed to ice over for a moment, his gaze dropping slightly and focusing on nothing. “They will recover,” he assured. “Kuroda Kanbei and Akechi Mitsuhide are the worst off, but I have been assured that with time and rest, they should be fine.”

“My best regards to such brave and capable officers,” Liu Bei said kindly with a bow of his own. “Is it true, then, that no one was killed either by Orochi or in the battle to reach him? Xu Shu mentioned something to that effect when we were fighting our way out.”

“I have no current numbers on our infantry,” Nobunaga cautioned, “but in terms of ranked officers? No one was killed. It is quite miraculous, considering the odds stacked against us.”

“That is a relief.”

“Most of us expected worse,” Zhao Yun admitted. “I had accepted that possibility, but I am quite glad that it turned out not to be so.”

“As am I,” Liu Bei said with a fond look his way. “Thank you for bringing me this information, Lord Oda. If anything changes, we will make sure you are kept informed.”

Nobunaga rose and bowed before turning away, at which point Zhao Yun saw something that concerned him. “Lord Oda,” he said worriedly, “there is blood on your cloak. Were you injured as well?”

Nobunaga paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder. There was no mistaking the thick, brown stain along the length of his cloak for anything else. “The blood belongs to Akechi Mitsuhide,” he said heavily. “I consider it a small price to pay to bear it on my back for the time being, considering what he did for me in turn.”

Yun thought back and remembered the graceful samurai throwing himself in front of Nobunaga during the battle in the courtyard, and nodded his understanding. “I hope he is resting well, then. Please, give everyone in your section our blessings.”

Oda inclined his head in acknowledgement of their kind wishes and drifted out. Liu Bei glanced to notice the serious shade of Zhao Yun’s expression. “Who is this man he speaks of? What happened?”

Yun met his gaze with a helpless sort of half-smile. “I met Lord Akechi when I visited them, once. He is Lord Oda’s right hand, a talented and intelligent man. He was injured by Orochi and then pushed his lord out of the way to take a second hit in his place.”

Liu Bei reached over and closed a hand gently on Zilong’s wrist. “I see. If there is anything else I must know about what happened against Orochi, please, tell me now. I want to be prepared and not taken by surprise.”

Yun considered what he could remember, though some of it was a blur. “So many people were hurt in that fight, including Yukimura and myself. Lord Cao Pi took a serious injury, though he fought on in spite of it. Considering that…” His gaze drifted toward the door of the tent, even as Liu Shan returned at that very instant to check on them. “…I would not be surprised if Wei only sent messages, today. I trust that his retainers will ensure that he stays in bed and doesn’t try to get up and work.”

“I do hope so. What is it, my son?” Liu Bei said kindly.

Shan smiled brightly to see them fully up and about. “Lord Guan Yu has everything in hand and wishes that both of you rest and not concern yourself with regular duties. Yet, did I see that you had a visitor?”

Xuande raised a hand in a cautioning gesture. “You need not be so careful with me, I am well enough to see people and even handle some decisions. Lord Zhao Yun is still commander here until we break camp, but I am alert enough to assist him.” His eyes shone with a smile of his own. “I don’t suppose I could rely on you for another errand, Liu Shan?”

Shan perked up eagerly. “Of course, Father. What is it?”

The two commanders shared a wry little smile between them. “We could use a meal…”

His son clapped his hands happily. “Of course! I will see to it, I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

He rushed right out, and though Zhao Yun and Liu Bei were highly amused, they had only a moment’s respite before the sentry peeked in and requested permission for another visitor. There had been enough of a break between them that the two generals could not have even passed one another in the camp, so he was permitted. Zhao Yun smiled warmly to see Sun Ce, who palmed his fist first and then came to sit across from the pair, extending a hand as he did for Yun to clasp in welcome. “I didn’t think either of you would be up and around yet,” he confessed, “but I’m glad you are.” There were formalities to observe, though, so he placed his hands on the ground and bowed lower. “My father sends his greetings, and hopes that you are resting well, Lord Liu Bei.”

“Please give my regards to Lord Sun Jian,” Liu Bei said warmly. “He was the one light in my darkness, and I cherished his comfort long after they had taken him away.” His gaze dropped for a moment and he might have faintly blushed. “How is Lady Sun?”

Sun Ce straightened up and grinned. “I have a message from her, too. She says you’re supposed to rest and heal, and she’ll be looking forward to her chance to sit with you when you’re ready. Though, if you’re already taking visitors, maybe that chance will be sooner than later.”

Xuande laughed softly. “Please, tell her I long to see her and spend time with her as well. I would imagine right now your family has a lot to take care of, but if you can allow it…”

“I’ll tell her,” Ce assured. “Mind you, she got hurt in the battle as well, but not nearly as serious as some. Father is making her sit down and rest too, so the two of you should be a matching pair right about now.”

“Thank you. Then,” Liu Bei noted, “to what do we owe this visit, besides clandestine messages passed between my lady and me?”

“Mostly, I wanted to make things official.” Ce looked to Zilong. “Zhao Yun and I made a promise to one another, way back when he saved my life. I said I would help him search for his lord until he was found and safe, and it’s finally come to pass. I’m a man who pays my debts, and I think this one’s finally been paid in full.”

“Of course,” Yun agreed. “I am happy to release you from our promises, but not from our friendship. It would please me if we could still consider each other friends even at a distance.”

“Always,” Ce said with a wink. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. It’s been a long and hard road, and we’ve finally made it. You never gave up, and this is exactly why.” He nodded to indicate Liu Bei sitting with them. “Even when we stormed Edo Castle together, and some part of you guessed that Zhuge Liang had tricked you again, you didn’t back down. I’m proud to call you my comrade, Zhao Yun. Maybe here in this place, Wu and Shu can put aside their differences and we can build on this alliance.”

“I would hope so,” Yun said quietly, trying not to get flustered all over again by the attention. “Our ties have deepened thanks to our long resistance. I hear even Ma Dai and Guan Ping have gotten close to Ling Tong and Lu Xun.”

“Yeah, I heard that, too,” Ce acknowledged. “Oda’s army really brought people together, it’s kinda crazy.” He slapped a hand to his knee. “And speaking of crazy, when are we going to celebrate this victory? We have enough wine to at least get people dancing.”

“Of course you do,” Yun laughed. “I’m not sure…is this wasteland really a good place for a feast? Lord Oda mentioned supplies beginning to dwindle.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Ce made a bit of a face. “It wouldn’t be the most lavish feast, that’s for sure.”

“If I may make a proposal,” Liu Bei broke in. “You’re right, this location is unfavorable. We’re still too close to Koshi Castle for my comfort, and the view is terrible. Supplies are going to be running low for all of us. Some are currently too injured to participate. A true victory celebration over the end of Orochi should be a grand affair with no expense spared and everyone capable of attending, so…” He shrugged. “Why not remove to Chengdu and hold it there? I believe that it is the closest city, with room to house all four armies. And, as the final victim freed from Orochi’s clutches,” he added, “I feel somewhat responsible for showing my gratitude to everyone for thinking of me. I wouldn’t mind hosting.”

Sun Ce’s eyes lit up. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Chengdu, huh? Yeah, it’s the first real civilized territory we’ll pass through on our way back to our homes, all of us.”

Liu Bei looked to his comrade. “What is the status of supplies and our people there, Zhao Yun?”

“Rather excellent, actually,” Yun answered. “Chengdu has experienced a good summer and a bountiful harvest. We have supplies in abundance, including more wine so that our friends from Wu don’t have to provide all of it.”

That made Ce laugh heartily, and Liu Bei clapped his hands once. “I should like to propose it to Lord Oda and to Wei, then. Please, Lord Sun Ce, consider withdrawing as far as Chengdu before we party.”

“I can completely agree to that,” Ce said boldly. “It sounds like a great idea to me! I’m sure my father will be on board with it as well.”

Before he could continue, they heard the sentry’s voice just outside and paused to wonder who he was speaking to. Zhao Yun managed to push himself to his feet and cross to have a look for himself, and quickly waved off the sentry’s concerns to permit this additional visitor to join them. Ishida Mitsunari ducked inside behind him, looking around to see who was and wasn’t present before lowering himself into a deep bow. “Lord Liu Bei.”

“My lord, this is Ishida Mitsunari,” Yun introduced as he returned to his place. “He is Lord Cao Pi’s head strategist.”

“Ah,” Liu Bei said in interest. “Is this an official visit from Wei, then?”

“Actually…no,” Mitsunari replied as he settled himself down at opposite corners from Sun Ce and nodded to greet him. “Neither Lord Cao Pi nor Cao Cao know that I’m here. I came of my own volition to see…I guess, just to see how things were going.”

“Good timing,” Ce said amicably. “We were just talking about withdrawing to Chengdu and saving the important business until then.”

“Really.” Mitsunari looked from him to Yun to Liu Bei. “Seems like a pretty good idea, actually. If that’s an official decision, I can take it back with me and get my lord’s clearance.”

“How is he doing?” Zhao Yun wondered.

“He’s been asleep most of the day. The healers say he’ll be fine with rest.” Mitsunari’s gaze settled back onto Zhao Yun. “Yukimura. How is he…?”

“Asleep as well,” Zilong assured. “He must really need the rest, if all this talking hasn’t roused him yet.” He shot Ce a look, which was met with a stare of pure innocence even though he knew how loud he could be.

Liu Bei faced both his guests with gentle confidence, feeling his strength returning with every minute he sat near them, every smile shared between comrades. “If there is anything I can offer to you, Master Ishida, name it. I can already see that strange but strong alliances have formed in places I never would have expected, so I must rise to the occasion by offering my full cooperation and hospitality.”

Mitsunari studied him for a moment. “Even if I’m not acting as an official delegate from Wei, I’ve been at Lord Cao Pi’s side in all his dealings with these two…” He nodded vaguely to Yun and Ce in turn. “…so I know everything he knows and can probably guess at what he would say. But, if the decision is already being made to withdraw to Chengdu first, then I don’t know that there’s anything I need to ask. My interest here is…mostly personal.”

“I was pretty impressed, watching you fight yesterday,” Ce admitted. “Everyone was amazing, not a single person let the Resistance or their own comrades down.”

Mitsunari sniffed in order to hide the completely immodest feeling of pride at such compliments. “Even if I didn’t throw myself at Orochi in a reckless and foolish move?”

“Hey, don’t knock it,” Ce retorted, “it worked.”

Liu Bei looked worried. “Lord Sun Ce…”

Ce waved him down, trying to smile reassuringly. “I’ll tell you the whole story later. I’m sure you want to know how Orochi fell, after all – unless Zhao Yun has already told you.”

Yun shook his head. “We haven’t spoken much of any of the details of the battle – or of the armies here.”

“I haven’t even had a chance to speak with Zhuge Liang, yet,” Liu Bei admitted. “I do want to hear everyone’s tales eventually, but at the moment I am focused more on understanding the nature of this coalition and its leaders.” His gaze shifted back to Ishida. “For example, you speak of Lord Cao Pi, even though I would swear I saw Cao Cao in the throng inside the courtyard.”

Mitsunari sat with his hands resting openly on his knees, his posture at rest though composed and professional. “Lord Cao Pi is the commander of the Wei Resistance army, just as Lord Sun Ce is the actual commander of Wu…” He nodded again toward the burly prince. “…and Lord Zhao Yun is commander of Shu. Even with other warlords and rulers among us, they’ve been our leaders since the beginning because they were the ones who started the resistance movements and organized their people.”

“Cao Cao had been presumed dead,” Sun Ce added, “and my father, well, you know what happened to him. I defected from Orochi first, so it was up to me to lead Wu until we could rescue everyone else.”

“Yes, I remember your father telling me as much,” Liu Bei said thoughtfully. “He had heard about Lord Cao Cao through the men of Wei who had been guarding Orochi’s castles…” He turned a concerned look on Ishida. “Were they conscripted, then? Lord Sun Jian only knew of the torments of his children, and Orochi himself told me of my brothers’ fate.”

Mitsunari pursed his lips briefly before answering. “No, not in the same way. Lord Cao Pi formed an alliance after Orochi destroyed the Wei army at Yiling, the better to learn his weaknesses and work from within to bring him down.”

“He had us all fooled,” Ce murmured. “But when you two looked the other way at Xia Kou, I knew something was up.”

“Would you believe he actually wormed his way out of that one with Da Ji?” Mitsunari said with a snort. “It required a little help from me, but it worked.”

Liu Bei looked among them all. “So, if you were under alliance with Orochi…and Wu was conscripted…” He finished with Zhao Yun beside him. “And you were captured. How did it change so dramatically? How did we find ourselves here at the end of it all, allied and friendly?”

Ce laughed gently. “That’s a really, really long story.”

“It was because we worked together,” Zhao Yun said optimistically. “Lord Oda was the only one who never faced capture, but each person who was freed from their bonds added to the whole. We could not have done it without each other. I owe Master Zuo Ci for my own freedom, but in turn, I was able to help others along the way.”

“Master Zuo Ci is here…” Liu Bei took that as incredibly good news, breathing a happy little sigh. “I’m sure a mystic’s help came in handy.”

“Actually…” Yun scratched idly at his cheek in a sheepish gesture. “…he disappeared after I was free from Ueda Castle, and we did not see him again until very recently. Though, thinking of him, I wonder. He said he could sense the barrier of Orochi’s sorcery fall. Perhaps he can tell us more about it, and what lies beyond this world of Orochi’s making.”

“That’s something that’s on my mind as well,” Mitsunari said seriously. “Just because the world didn’t end on the spot the instant Orochi died, doesn’t mean it still won’t, whether in the next few days or sometime down the road.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Ce said with some concern. “Like a delayed reaction or something.”

“Like the world needs time to decay before it crumbles?” Yun wondered.

“Something like that.” Mitsunari met his gaze. “You’re in contact with this mystic?”

“He fought in the battle as part of Shu. He should still be around here, unless he has decided to mysteriously vanish again.”

“We should find him, then,” Liu Bei implored. “I would like to hear if he has any answers, but moreover, it will be difficult for us to move on with our lives if we don’t know what’s going to become of us.”

“We’re here from different places and even different timelines,” Sun Ce noted. “I’d gotten so used to it but if you think about it, it’s not natural. What’s going to become of the real world if we all live out our lives here?”

Mitsunari breathed a dry laugh. “I’ll admit, this one is even beyond me in terms of strategy. Maybe you _should_ talk to this Zuo Ci, Zhao Yun, and hopefully he can at least give us some hints.”

Liu Bei looked to his faithful retainer. “At least the world hasn’t ended yet. We seem to be safe for now, so we can at least propose the idea to return to Chengdu to the other lords. If anything gets in the way of that plan, we should know before we even start out.”

“I’ll bring it to my father and the rest of our officers,” Ce vowed.

“I will mention it to Lord Cao Pi,” Mitsunari likewise agreed. “His father might prefer an official message, though.”

“One will have to be sent to Lord Oda,” Liu Bei reasoned, “so I will also send one to your camp, Master Ishida. Make no mistake, I understand the value of a formal request all too well. Especially in Cao Cao’s case.”

Ce grinned widely. “Damn, back to the days of formal audiences and official messages. I was really enjoying just being able to walk up to my allies and talk face to face.”

“If all goes well,” Liu Bei suggested, “you should be able to do so until after the feast. After that…”

“After that we shall see what our future holds,” Zhao Yun said warmly with a smile for each of them.

  


Among the four factions of the Resistance army, Wu and Wa had the greatest number of severe injuries among their officers. Toyotomi was able to move about once stoutly bandaged, and Takeda refused to be kept down no matter how sore he was, but Mitsuhide, Kanbei, Sima Zhao, and Ranmaru were all abed and at least two of them were still unconscious. Oda had taken Ran back to his tent regardless of who he might have still been serving in order to see him tended and watched over, and any of his attendants could see that he did not leave his two faithful retainers’ sides all day, not even to rest himself. On the Wu side, Shangxiang could still walk and function even if her overprotective father and brothers wished she would just sit down and stay in one spot. Zhou Tai, Lu Meng, and Gan Ning were badly hurt and spent that whole day mostly sleeping, while Cheng Pu and Zhu Ran consented to at least taking it easy if they couldn’t be convinced to rest. By comparison, the only Shu officer still unconscious was Jiang Wei, and over in Wei, Zhang Liao and Guo Jia were the only ones in a similar state to their lord. Others were shaken up enough to be relieved of duty, and Zhang He tended to refrain from walking on account of the bullet wound in his leg, but for the most part their factions seemed not to have suffered worse tragedies. Many more were scratched, bruised, and completely exhausted, but they bounced back fairly quickly, washed their cuts, and took up a second watch so the diligent warriors who still hadn’t slept since before the battle could finally find a moment’s rest. Yet, there were still some like Ling Tong who refused to lie down, preferring to hold vigil over their friends instead. He sat with legs crossed between two bedrolls watching over both Lu Meng and Gan Ning in sullen silence, and no amount of cajoling from his father or Sun Quan would sway his decision. Meng had been awake for awhile and talked quietly with his young comrade, but now he was napping and Tong sat patiently with both of them, eyes roaming from Meng to Ning now and then. The pirate had tried to make his way down the drawbridge to the antechamber so he could witness the finale of the battle against Orochi, but collapsed from blood loss and had not woken since. Now, at long last, as the day stretched on, he finally blinked his eyes open, finding himself in a reversal of roles from when he and Ling Tong had fled the defeat at Hefei so very long ago. His headband had been removed to tend the cut on his scalp, but as he looked up, he noticed his precious feathers tucked into Ling Tong’s girdle. Tong heard him take a breath and shifted toward him, smirking when Xingba made a face at him. “Don’t give me that look,” he breathed.

“Of course you’re here, you big sap,” Ning complained, unable to hide how relieved and grateful he was that it was so. “Told’ya I wasn’t gonna die.”

As Ling Tong turned toward him, there was a soft ring of bells; he lifted a cord to show that Ning’s famous bell string was in his lap. “I’ve got your stuff. The healers were really touchy about not having too much extra dangling off you while they were trying to wrap you up.”

Gan Ning raised a hand and felt around his chest where he remembered the Sky Piercer sticking out of it. He was covered well in a swath of tight bandages which hid most of his tattoos from sight to keep the wound from reopening. “Did you at least keep my trophy?”

“What? Oh…Lu Bu’s halberd? No, sorry.” Tong’s hand fell on one of the bells and he cradled it gingerly in his palm to keep it from making noise. “I was kind of busy inside the castle rescuing Liu Bei. I think they just left it laying in that garrison.”

“Damn. I wanted that, it would’ve made a nice prize. Ah well.” Ning flopped that same hand over and rapped it against Tong’s knee. “You come through all right?”

“Just a few cuts from inside the castle,” Tong admitted. “Nothing worse. Lu Meng…” He twisted to gesture to the other man sleeping on his other side. “…broke half his ribs fighting Da Ji.”

Ning closed his eyes in a wince. “Dammit, old man, you’re not supposed to get yourself beat up like that…”

“Look who’s talking.” Apparently Meng wasn’t asleep after all. “Do you two mind?”

“Sorry,” Ling Tong murmured sheepishly, cringing a bit.

“I don’t mind at all,” Ning shot back, trying to be tough despite his ragged and tired voice.

“Of course you don’t.” But Lu Meng couldn’t begrudge them the chance to talk. He knew they had gone far too long without seeing each other, or their own comrades in Wu, and the couple of days they’d had in the camp to catch up couldn’t have possibly made up for all that lost time. Severe injuries tended to bring out the most urgent need to talk and share reassurance. He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes again. “Seeing as neither of us are at death’s door, Ling Tong, I don’t suppose you could do us a favor and track down something to eat?”

“That’d be great,” Ning grunted in agreement.

Gongji pushed past his exhaustion and got up, though he left the string of bells with its proper owner. “All right, I’ll be right back,” he promised, giving Gan Ning a smart look as he tucked the two feathers safely into his ponytail to keep them preserved until such a time as they could be returned to their rightful place. Ning grinned back and closed his eyes in contentment. He could accept that.

As Ling Tong wandered through the camp looking for someone who might already be working on cooking food for the injured, or the officers, or whoever needed it, he passed by a knot of warriors from all factions standing together near the center, talking amongst themselves. Sakon and Zhou Yu had run into Guan Ping and Maeda Toshiie, who had both apparently been moving to visit one another in their respective camps and met up near the edge of all three sections. They were already deep in discussion, swapping tales of battle for the benefit of those who hadn’t witnessed one another fighting. “It was strange,” Guan Ping was explaining when Ling Tong passed them by and kept going. “We were all still fighting, the Orochi troops regrouped and came at us again. I think they finally saw that we’d taken the passages to the castle and breached the keep, so they were trying to take it back from us.”

“And then all of a sudden,” Toshiie picked up for him, “they sort of froze in place, and half of ‘em dropped their weapons on the spot, all at the same time. It was like they’d heard a sound none of the rest of us could hear, and from the way they acted, it was exactly what they didn’t want to hear.”

“And then,” Ping continued, “they just turned and ran! Like, not a single one of them stayed behind, they just took to their heels and fled whether or not they still had their weapons.”

Zhou Yu frowned deeply. “Were they the serpent demons, or were any of them human?”

“No, all demons,” Toshiie said almost excitedly. “That’s right, I noticed that. I didn’t see a human on the field anywhere after we took Masamune’s rifle corps in.”

“They must have somehow sensed Orochi’s demise,” Sakon reasoned. “What else would stop them all in their tracks at the same time?”

“That’s the only thing I can think of,” Guan Ping agreed.

“You did well, either way,” Zhou Yu complimented them both. “I had my hands full on the other side. I hesitate to even think of what might have happened had Orochi gotten past our entire forward line.”

The other three sobered quickly, eyes growing dark. “Tragedy,” Toshiie said quietly. “But there’s no need to even let that idea cross your mind. We won, that’s what matters.”

Zhou Yu accepted his assessment with a nod and slight bow. “Thank you for the information,” he said. “I may take it to some of the other strategists. Not that it matters much now that we’re victorious and don’t have to deal with Orochi or his minions any longer, but it’s something to keep in mind.” He excused himself, then, leaving the other three to continue to chat amongst themselves.

Sakon tipped his chin up in a manly gesture toward Maeda. “What’s the word on your nephew?”

Sighing, Toshiie glanced over his shoulder at the stoic line of canvas jinmaku blocking the elite prisoners from view. “He won’t talk to me yet. I don’t blame him, it’s been a long and hard road for all of us. I’m going to give him time to heal up a bit and then tackle it again.”

“Damn…” Sakon shook his head slowly. “Stubborn as ever, I see.”

“In short.” Toshiie shrugged it off. “It’s mine to worry about, Sakon.”

“If you insist.” Sakon folded his arms over his chest and gave Ping an approving look. “Good to see all you guys none the worse for wear. Some weren’t so lucky. Good work out there, Guan Ping.”

Ping rubbed the back of his neck. “I just fought as I thought best. If I helped out, then it’s all good.”

“Are you kidding? I might not have seen the rest of your deeds, but you were indispensible against Da Ji,” Sakon encouraged. “Oda’s really gonna miss you now that you’re going back to Shu. And not just in terms of having a powerful fighter on the field on his side.”

Guan Ping looked from him to Toshiie, taking in their broad smiles, and grinned back. “Maybe in service,” he said, “but I’m not leaving my friendships behind. I hope to see both of you again and maybe even fight alongside you.”

“Or spar against us,” Maeda offered, giving him a punch to the arm. “I wouldn’t pass up that chance for the world!” All three of them laughed, a bright and delightful sound amid the gloom and doom.

Once he had gotten something to eat, Zhao Yun ducked out of the Shu command tent for a brief time, mainly to keep himself from camping out at Yukimura’s side until he awoke. He didn’t go far, he decided to just stand and stretch his legs outside the tent under the sentry’s watchful eye. Even sitting still for so long put a strain on his battered body, he was sore all over and his limbs kept cramping up from disuse. As he paced slowly to get the feeling back in his toes, he watched the casual comings and goings through the camp, glad to see that more of his officers were rested up enough to be out and about. Then, he heard the unpleasantly oily tones of Zhang Jiao of all people lilting through the air, and wondered what would have the Yellow Turban leader crossing from Oda’s camp into Shu. He looked to find Jiao trailing along after another mystical figure, who looked completely disinterested in engaging in any talk of priestly things they might have in common. Zuo Ci was there for a purpose, and when he looked up to spot Zhao Yun right out in the open, gladly turned his path aside and headed straight for him, heedless of Zhang Jiao behind him. “Just the young dragon I wished to meet,” he said as he came on. “How fare you, Lord Zhao Yun?”

“I am…on my feet,” Yun answered truthfully, giving the Taoist a wry little smile. “That is all I can really say for myself. Is there something I can do for you, Master?”

“I merely wished to see your well-being for myself,” Zuo Ci replied, clasping his hands behind his back. “And Lord Liu Bei, how is he?”

“He has already held audience with several people. I daresay he is recovering faster than I am,” Yun admitted.

“Good, good. I will see him at least once before I continue on my way, but perhaps I will give him time to rest, first.”

Zilong blinked in surprise. “Oh…I had not thought that you would be leaving us so soon, Master Zuo Ci.”

“You have had a lot on your mind,” the mystic reassured. “But I am not a man for armies, Lord Zhao Yun. I am a priest, and the world is my temple. Now that the war is over and we have the peace we dreamed about, I may resume my travels and studies at will. I won’t disappear without a farewell,” he added, “don’t worry.”

“Then, if I may impose upon your unique talents one more time, Master Zuo Ci…” Zhao Yun straightened as best he could and kowtowed stiffly, biting back the pain it caused him. “…you said you could sense the barrier of sorcery coming down. Can you now commune with Heaven’s powers, and find out what they intend to do with this land and our presence in it?”

Zuo Ci narrowed his eyes dubiously. “I can try,” he said faintly. “I cannot say whether they will even hear me, or if I will get any kind of response, but if anyone is listening, I will attempt to get their attention.”

“If you must pray to the heavens,” Zhang Jiao interrupted, “why not allow me? I and my brothers…”

“Thank you, I think I would prefer to handle this my way,” Zuo Ci interrupted right back.

Zhao Yun wisely said nothing about the effectiveness of certain priests. “Even if you hear nothing in response, at least you will have tried,” he reasoned. “Thank you, Master. Most of us are unsure what will become of us, since the land doesn’t appear to be falling apart at the seams as some theorized. Hopefully, there is a power out there listening and able to help.”

Zuo Ci nodded once, slowly and ponderously. “Now that you pose the query to me, I suppose I am also curious and have no answers of my own. I will do everything in my power to unearth the truth of this world and what makes it exist.”

“A world created by a demon, which lives after he is dead,” Zhang Jiao murmured as if trying to keep himself in the conversation. “Surely this is something Heaven never planned for.”

“Undoubtedly,” Zuo Ci agreed. “Whether Heaven wishes to discuss it with the likes of mortals, however…that remains to be seen.” He bowed to Zhao Yun to accept his plea and turned without further word to resume his roaming about the camp, still ignoring Zhang Jiao even though he doggedly followed. Apparently, living through Orochi’s reign of terror and coming out alive had made the Yellow Turban founder more pliable and accepting of an old-school Taoist. That, or he was just that bored.

Oda Nobunaga received the message from Shu with keen interest and sent word back that he agreed to the withdrawal plan without even consulting Takeda and Uesugi, though he apprised them of the suggestion later and found them both instantly agreeable all the same. The four factions still had to consult one another on how quickly they could get their armies packed up and moving, but as Oda had promised Zhao Yun and Liu Bei one day to allow them all to recover, he decided not to worry about it until tomorrow. That left him with the rest of the evening to sit with his injured retainers, first Mitsuhide for a time, and then Ranmaru, who awoke to find his dreams come true and his true lord seated beside his pallet keeping guard over him while he slept. He did ask to make sure Sun Ce was safe and no one from Wu had perished after he last remembered, but then his attention was entirely on Lord Oda. It wasn’t exactly the homecoming he had planned, but it was one he could accept. Not far from Oda’s command tent, Sima Shi came to check on his brother and found him already sitting up and dressed, well on his way to recovery under Yuanji’s excellent care and supervision. Fighting Keiji had taken a lot out of him but in the end his only serious injury was his left arm, and with that bandaged and bound to his side, he felt more than capable of getting up and around if he needed to. Shi was glad to find this, for he wanted Zhao’s assistance with something and if he was up for it, they could take care of it right then and there. 

The guards positioned all around the jinmaku ward drew one of the canvas flaps aside to permit the two brothers to enter, after inspecting them and noting that they were unarmed. They ducked through and and waited for one of the inside guards to escort them where they wanted to go. Zhong Hui was sitting apart from the other captive officers, having been stripped of his armor so the medics could tend his wounds and now silently stewing over his turn of fate with his hands bound in front of him so as not to strain him. It wasn’t exactly cold in the wastelands of lava but he still shivered with only a borrowed shirt to cover his bandages, and the tight woven leather leggings he wore under his armor offering no protection at all. He looked up at the sense of movement and the crunch of footsteps on the gravelly ground nearing him, and froze when he realized who had come to see him. They stood shoulder to shoulder, Zhao taller than Shi but both a sight to behold, backs straight and heads held high. Even with Zhao’s arm wrapped against his side he still looked imposing enough, though Shi glaring from behind his mask exuded more than enough imposing for both of them put together. Hui stared at them both and then dropped his head respectfully, lowering himself as far as he could while seated and bound. Sima Shi spoke first, his tone stern but not icy. “Zhong Hui. Lord Nobunaga has given me the authority to determine your fate as a retainer of the Sima family. Tell me…are you upset to know that the serpent is dead?”

His voice carried to where Date and his retainers were gathered, bedded down in far worse shape, but Date still had it in him to silently bristle from afar. Zhong Hui lifted his head enough that the brothers could see his eyes shining even through his disheveled hair. “Why should I be upset?” he answered in a low, seething tone. “Orochi has never meant anything to me.”

“Who, then, do you serve?” Sima Zhao asked cautiously.

Hui drew himself up slightly, raising his chin proudly. “I serve Lord Sima Yi.”

“Wrong.” Shi’s response was quick and cutting. “In the battle waged to defend Koshi Castle, you did not serve my father for he was not here. If you say Orochi is nothing to you, then I ask the same question: who do you serve?”

Hui’s eyes flicked up to his face, startled and a bit chagrinned, and then lowered again. “I serve…the lord of the Sima clan.”

Shi nodded to approve this more succinct answer. “As of this moment, I claim lordship of the Sima clan until such a time as my father can be located and rescued. Therefore, Zhong Hui, if you will continue to serve the Sima family, then you shall serve me and my brother after me. If this is not to your liking, I will turn you over to Lord Nobunaga as a prisoner of war to be dealt with as he best sees fit.”

Over the past day Zhong Hui had not been mistreated, not even when he struggled against his bonds. His injuries slowed him down and kept him from truly resisting, but he had hurled more than a few choice insults at those who had bound him and manhandled him back down to the main camp. Once his exhaustion had caught up with him he became more docile, and left alone with his thoughts, he had been privately afraid that he had made all the wrong choices and was now suffering the punishment. With his options laid out for him like that, he placed his bound hands on the ground and kowtowed fully to the brothers. “Lord Sima Shi…I will serve you gladly if you will have me,” he said quietly, his voice shaking slightly. “I wish it to be like it was before…but without the serpent breathing down our necks, this time.”

“It won’t be easy,” Sima Zhao warned. “We have no castle and no homeland. Our first order of business will be to find our father, wherever Guo Huai and Deng Ai have taken him, and make sure he’s safe. That means a lot of traveling, probably some aimless wandering, and relying on the generosity of the Resistance armies when we need a roof over our heads.”

“There is no way to say what we will find when we locate him, or how the situation of our family will change, then,” Shi continued, “but that is not for us to know. Ours is only to begin the search.”

Zhong Hui bobbed his head quickly. “I understand, my lords.”

His response as well as his display of humility met Shi’s approval. He gestured for one of the guards to come over and release him from his bonds. “Then from this point onward you will attend me, Zhong Hui, as lord of the Sima clan.”

The remaining prisoners looked on with some jealousy as Hui was cut free and assisted to stand. Zhao turned to the guards instead of him. “Have his armor and weapons sent to our tent.”

Hui rubbed at his wrists and then palmed fist over heart before the Sima brothers. “Thank you, Lord Sima Shi. I…I’m not sure what else I can say for myself.”

“That’s fine, because I’m not sure I need to hear any of it,” Shi said curtly. “I know that you respect my father, so all I can ask is that you show me the same respect. Zhao is also to be your commander, as my younger brother. You will be housed with us and the Lady Yuanji until a decision is made about breaking camp and departing.”

Zhong Hui bobbed his head repeatedly in understanding and obeisance, and then followed them as they returned to the canvas flap and were let out. It wasn’t until he was in the tent with them and Wang Yuanji found a spare tunic for him to throw over his underclothes that it all hit him, and he realized just how lucky he was. Someone who served Orochi right to the end deserved no mercy whether they showed open support of the serpent or were simply forced to fight, and yet he had been taken back by his lords, allowed to serve the Sima family as he always had and always wanted. He curled up on his uninjured side on a pallet near the door of the tent and watched brothers and sister-in-law take care of one another and found himself capable of being humbled for once. He wasn’t sure where their plans might take them from here on out, but he resolved to be much more careful about whose service would lead him to the glory he sought. Yet, he still lifted up a silent prayer that Lord Sima Yi was indeed safe out there somewhere, and longed for the day when they might meet again.


	93. Chapter 93

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cameo appearance by certain Mystics; the Resistance coalition withdraws to Chengdu and then it's party time!

Night fell deep and black over the camp yet again, though this time the tatters in the clouds let through glimpses of stars and eventually the moon, tiny hints of reassurance that it had been no dream, Orochi really was dead and the land and the sky were still fighting against his influence to try to return to normal. While the Resistance camp eased into a more normal routine of watch shifts and proper meal and sleep times, one among them busied himself waiting for a sign in response to his efforts to reach Heaven. He never behaved with a normal routine, and even tonight while the rest of the officers had a late dinner and joined together in their command tents for friendly talks before bedding down, Zuo Ci felt neither hunger nor tiredness and kept up his efforts away in his own corner of the camp in a private tent. He knew all the right rituals and recitations and pressed on until very late, in the darkest depths of the middle of the night, when something told him to be on a certain ridge overlooking the camp. He wasted no time opening a portal and slipping through it to reappear on the top of a cliff just above the reaches of the red glow from the lava of Hinokawa. There the night was less black, tinged blue from the moonlight filtering through the clouds, the ground flat and clear of jagged rubble. Zuo Ci stood for a moment waiting, his senses inside and out trained to notice any change in the landscape around him. They were just suddenly there with him – no flash of light, no magical teleportation or portal spell – two figures, impressive in height and stature, visible quite clearly despite the darkness as if made of their own type of light. He knew them for who they were instantly, and bowed deeply. “It has been far too long, my lord and lady.”

The tall, powerfully-built man was armed and armored for war, but stood with his hands empty and a faint smirk in his eyes. “I had half a mind to leave things as they were, you know,” he teased. “I didn’t expect to hear a call from this direction.”

“What is it you wish from us, Zuo Ci?” the graceful woman crowned with a floating halo asked, her tone slightly cold. “If it is about immortality, you already have all the answers. In fact, you have just crossed over yourself – have you not noticed?”

“Have I?” The Taoist lifted his hands to stare at his palms as if he might see some kind of shining light pooled in them, some kind of sign or indication that he was no longer mortal. “Then it is as the mystics say, and not bestowed by anyone in Heaven.”

The father of humanity Fu Xi let out a deep, lusty laugh. “It never has been. You find it all on your own. Lucky you!”

Zuo Ci shook his head. “In fact, that wasn’t even my secondary or tertiary concern. No, I called out on behalf of the people trapped here in this land.” He looked over his shoulder, down to the camp slumbering below them in the valley. “They have suffered long under Orochi’s rule, and even now they sleep uneasily, wondering if the world will be destroyed now that he is gone. It is difficult for such valiant and generous people to settle into a life of peace with this fear hanging over them.”

The mother of humanity Nuwa pursed her lips in disapproval. “Humans live under that same uncertainty every day of their mortal existence. Will the storm come, and the rivers rise? Will the earth quake and the mountains tumble into the valley? Will sickness steal through the village and lay low the powerful?”

“Come now,” Fu Xi chided her, “you know this is completely different. They aren’t worried about floods and earthquakes, they worry that the world itself will cease to exist. This is Orochi’s doing, not the natural world.” He turned sober eyes to the Taoist waiting on their answer. “And as such, there isn’t really anything we can do. The kind of magic he used to make this world is not something the two of us alone can unmake. Like it or not, they are trapped here, at least for the time being.”

“What would it take to separate their timelines and return them to where they belong?” Zuo Ci pressed.

“Dispensation from the Jade Emperor, first,” Nuwa warned. “Then, a combination of powers from several additional gods. But getting their attention and securing their cooperation will be more difficult than seeking the Jade Emperor’s permission.”

“Capricious bunch of louts,” Fu Xi complained. “That brat didn’t even want to come down with us.”

Zuo Ci arched an eyebrow. “You mean, Master Taigong Wang? He did not want to see to the state of these people?”

“He’s become bored with humanity,” Fu Xi said with a big sigh. “After suffering at Orochi’s hands, he’s retreated to lick his wounds and fish in the River of Stars. But we’ve been watching.” His affable nature faded and he grew strangely solemn for a moment. “We could not interfere but we could watch. These humans have done something incredible – they accomplished what the gods failed to do. All with their own strength and cunning, no mystical prowess. It astonishes me what they’ve done, and after all that time of being beaten down and trodden underfoot.”

“You give them far too much credit,” Nuwa sniffed. “Orochi merely grew weak, that is all. And now he is dead.”

“Which is something that also concerns me,” Zuo Ci murmured. “I did not think it possible for him to die from an abundance of spear-thrusts. Or, well, to die at all.”

Fu Xi’s eyes flashed wisely. “Immortal doesn’t mean invulnerable. But that is a mystery you have yet to plumb, Master. It’s one thing to become an immortal, it’s quite another to stay one.”

“This is, after all, a dimension of his own creation,” Nuwa reminded. “The rules of nature here are subverted by his own whim.”

Zuo Ci’s eyes widened. “Are you saying…that he chose to die?”

The two gods looked at one another and then back at him. “If Orochi made the rules with his own power…” Fu Xi said, trailing off suggestively.

That was far too much to ponder right at the moment. The Taoist shook his head to banish the temptation to ruminate on it and looked to them instead. “Then, if I wish to assuage the fears of these brave men…”

“The world appears to be stable,” Nuwa affirmed, sounding almost bored. “We may not be able to pry them from it, but in the meantime, they have nothing apocalyptic to fear. This world was given life by its creator but it exists apart from him. The why and how of that is something no doubt the Jade Emperor will want to look into, but later.”

Zuo Ci bowed gratefully. “I will tell them, so that they may return to their homes and rest.”

“We will not be interfering with them,” Fu Xi promised, turning a step as if to walk away. “They’ve seen enough. If I were you, I’d let them go about their human things and turn your focus on learning more about your new gift. It can be a hell of a thing if you can get the hang of it.”

Achieving immortality had been Zuo Ci’s goal for a long time, and there was no doubt that he was pleased to have finally done so, but being the only conduit between the heavens and the humans meant he couldn’t just shun them in favor of exploring his new powers. “And if trouble were to arise here in this dimension?”

Nuwa turned a shoulder like her partner, but paused to give him a cool look. “The wars of men are not our concern. If they wish to scuffle with one another, that is their choice and the consequences will be theirs to deal with.”

“That is not quite the trouble I envisioned.” Zuo Ci gave her a hard look back. “Da Ji was neither killed nor captured.”

Fu Xi hesitated and then turned back, his eyes glittering like flints in the darkness. “They let her go?”

“She escaped. Injured, but alive.”

“Damn.” The broad-shouldered warrior gave his partner a stern look. “That isn’t something we can just allow.”

Nuwa faced down his stare with a wary one of her own. “We shall have to engage Master Taigong Wang, whether he likes it or not.”

“I agree.” Fu Xi looked back to Zuo Ci one more time. “That matter is in our hands. We’ll look into it. Meanwhile, keep in mind what I said.”

“I shall.” The mystic bowed again. “Until we have reason to see one another again, my lord and lady…”

Fu Xi nodded, and Nuwa’s gaze softened for the briefest moment. Together the two of them turned fully away and walked across the open ground at the top of the cliff, until they suddenly weren’t there anymore, vanishing as silently and plainly as they had come. Zuo Ci stood there for a moment longer and then pulled out his jifu cards, fanning them through his fingers. If he was an immortal, now, he might as well test it out before going back down to the camp. After all, he didn’t need the sleep or the comfort of a tent. The stars would be his audience for a true test of the newfound limits of his sorcery.

  


Another morning came, and if there was anyone still holding their breath in anticipation of a sudden change to the natural order of sun and moon and stars, another day dawning right on time made it clear that the world would not be ending in the absence of the one who created it. Zuo Ci’s report on what he could learn by mystical means was as cryptic as ever, but it filled the leaders of the Resistance factions with confidence that they now needed to prepare to live and thrive rather than wage a bitter war. Liu Bei’s proposal had already been sent formally to all corners and came back to him with unequivocal agreement, so the matter was considered settled: the Resistance would pull back to Chengdu and save their final consultations, agreements, and departures for after the victory banquet. There wasn’t a single soldier who didn’t sigh with relief when informed that they were to begin preparations to strike camp and move out immediately, none of them were enjoying the lingering stay in the wasteland of lava and darkness now that the battle was over and they were eager to do their part to get their armies back to their homes. They worked all that day and through the night rather than rest so that they would be ready when the sun came up again to point them eastward, and though the clouds never fully broke, dawn was just visible enough through the rents in the canopy that they could plot a route and begin to move. 

The coalition from Hi-no-Moto went first, taking with them the bulk of the cavalry, but a few hours later Shu moved out behind them, joining with Tokugawa’s small force to begin the trek home in order to get there ahead of their planned guests. Wu and Wei followed within hours of them and each other, so that by the time another dreadful dark night fell, the plateau had emptied entirely of the Resistance and every trace of their encampment. At first they traveled regardless of the time of day and did not stop until pure exhaustion and the pains of the injured forced them to, but in a day or two they had enough sight of real daylight to return them to a regular schedule, around the time they began to see sparse trees and clumps of grass among the rocks again. Healthy, living land soon spread out before them, and it was easier for each army to spread out and find camping space, take it easy, and look after their own needs individually. The Shu army got out ahead and then turned immediately southward, striking straight for Chengdu as soon as they could tell exactly where they were in the wild, unsettled lands that served as a buffer between civilization and Orochi’s hellscape. The Nanman had decided to serve as scouts, since they were excellent at reading the land and the sky, and thanks to them it seemed like it took almost no time at all to come around the valley gorges to the bamboo forests and espy the walls of the stronghold at a distance. Jinhuan Sanjie personally rode ahead to the gates to inform the civilians living inside Chengdu and the tiny unit left to protect them that victory was theirs, so that when Liu Bei rode on his borrowed horse to behold his home city with his own eyes for the first time since the day Orochi bound him in chains, the roads were lined with cheering, weeping people of all stations there to welcome him and see for themselves that he had survived. In just the past few days he had regained enough strength to sit tall in the saddle, girt with his own sword, though without armor and finery. It suited him well, the man who had risen from obscurity in a humble village to become lord of his own kingdom, and he leaned down to touch every hand he could reach as it was thrust toward him. As much as he wanted to ride, Yukimura was still too sore to remain in a saddle for long, so he sat driving the cart that carried other injured soldiers and had given his Sanada cavalry mount to Liu Bei so that he would at least be able to ride with some dignity into his own city. The handful of soldiers left behind to guard the city and its people fell to their knees as one, lifting their heads to show eyes shining with joy when their lord reined in before them and ordered them to prepare for visitors the likes of which Chengdu had never seen before. They were all too happy to scramble to obey, and as each rank behind each officer passed through the gate and were given the release order to stand down, they fell in to assist with the monumental task of making room for the entire Resistance.

Outlying fortifications were made ready to house at least two of the visiting armies, Wei and Wu being the largest were given priority to choose one or the other. Oda Nobunaga and his coalition were to be welcomed into Chengdu proper, and the guest quarters inside Luo Castle itself would be offered to Oda, Takeda, Uesugi, the Sanadas, and Tokugawa. The latter had spent much of the journey riding alongside Liu Bei, eager to get to know this famed figure from history, and by the time they reached the city, a tentative friendship was growing between them. Those from other times and places who had remained with Shu through to the end still had room and board in Luo Castle and were happy to make it to comfortable beds again, knowing that they had at least a day before the other armies arrived and would need to be settled. Those who had returned to their countrymen during the course of the battle, meanwhile, were thrilled to find that their own quarters had not been given away even to valued guests, they could come home for real and not have to think about ever leaving. Some might eventually be moved to Fan or Bai Di in order to house a full and proper Shu presence at their own fortresses, but that would be determined in the days to come, so for now they could simply relax and behold the glory of a restored, healthy Chengdu, and roll out to welcome the visiting armies when they arrived.

Oda’s forces, Wu, and Wei all arrived over the course of two days, the first one afternoon and the other two the following day, almost on each other’s heels. Oda brought with him the prisoners captured at Koshi as promised, and while their men were guarded inside one of the garrisons outside the walls, Maeda, Date, Katakura, and their retainers were placed in the same dungeon which had recently played host to Da Ji. All were still recovering from their own injuries and lacked the strength to complain, but given Masamune’s downcast demeanor, it was likely they understood that they deserved it and really, Shu’s benevolent treatment of prisoners was almost too good for them. Once the final troops had marched in and the final commanders had been given proper quarters to rest and refresh themselves, word went around that that very night would be the night: it was time to celebrate. It was a good thing Sun Jian sent up the casks of wine they had brought all the way to Koshi and back, they were going to need it. 

The main hall of Luo was set up with tables to receive every officer, and though commanders and warlords, heads of clans and crucial leaders, were given priority seating at the top with Lord Liu Bei and his family, there was no indication that anyone else should sequester themselves at a certain table. Everyone was free to mingle, and all the best food and wine would be passed up and down each one so that everyone could have a taste and eat their fill of their favorites. Everyone filed into the main hall in small groups, most of them completely out of armor and wearing their finest clothing instead, unarmed and ready for a good time. Some were still bandaged beneath their robes and kimono but no one appeared to be letting lingering injuries slow them down. A pleasant murmur arose as they all beheld the hall of Luo decked out to receive them, with an army of attendants prepared to escort them to whichever table they chose and pour them the welcoming cup, which was meant to open the feast with a moment of ceremony. Naturally, it was expected that Liu Bei should speak to go with the first drink, and no amount of attempting to pass it off to Zhao Yun as commander of the army would work. Zilong was adamant that making decisions in the war camp constituted the final acts of his position, and once they passed through the gates of Chengdu he was no longer in charge. Besides, he was too shy and modest to make any more speeches. Liu Bei proudly rose amid the gathering and walked down between the tables, a cup in hand and a subdued smile on his lips. He had been able to bathe and shave, at long last, and dressed in the finest clothes which had been gathering dust in his wardrobe, with his plumed coronet finally pinned atop his hair where it should be. “My friends,” he said, as eyes turned to him and voices quieted on all sides, “and I call all of you friends even if some of us may have fought against one another in times past, even hurt one another, because right now, I can feel nothing but gratitude and generosity toward every single one of you. People who were once my enemies, now my comrades. People whom I had never met and should never know, but now my friends. I welcome you all to Chengdu and to my home, and I ask only one thing of you – that you should not hold back, and revel in our victory. You have defeated the very forces of Hell itself, and everyone now living in this land from the lowest peasant to the Lord of Shu himself, owes their freedom and safety to you. You have earned this – eat, drink, dance, tell stories, stay up all night! Diplomatic and practical matters can wait, right now this is your time and all the resources of the kingdom of Shu are yours to enjoy.”

He raised his cup, intending that to be the conclusion of his speech, but behind him Sun Jian rose from his seat with cup lofted high. “To the brave hearts of Shu, and to Lord Liu Bei!”

Xuande ducked his head and laughed shyly. Then Cao Pi, who was still too sore to stand up, raised his cup in the air. “To the tiger spirit of Sun Ce, and the determination of Lord Sun Jian.”

“To the deep mind of Lord Cao Pi,” Nobunaga purred, “and the rock-solid pride of the men of Wei.”

It looked like Zhao Yun would have to speak as well. “And to the fierce, relentless ambition of Lord Oda Nobunaga, who learned the spirit of alliance before the rest of us.”

Liu Bei turned toward all of them, sitting or standing at the head table and offering their cups, and raised his again to them. “And to my dearest friend Zhao Yun, whose heart of love is why most of us stand here today, alive and free. Drink to them, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for they are why we live!”

The hall echoed with shouts of agreement, and then after a moment’s pause where everyone, from warlords and kings down to ninjas, drained their cups, the hubbub of celebration broke out on all sides. Liu Bei strode back to his seat beside Zhao Yun, giving him a pat on the shoulder to reassure him that he hadn’t meant to embarrass him, really, and then grasped the hand of the woman seated on his other side. It had been difficult to decide who to place next to him, for his brothers, his son, and Zhuge Liang deserved the honor just as much, but he had been waiting so long for this chance. Sun Shangxiang beamed at him. “That was lovely. And not too long, either.”

“Thank your father for making it even better,” Xuande said with a chuckle. “Well, my lady, here we are at last.”

“We certainly are.” She glanced aside to shoot Ina a look, as she sat with her own fiancé at the head of one of the next tables, and shared a knowing smile with her. “Talk later. Food first. I’m tired of camp rations and all of this smells _amazing_.” She leaned to look past him. “How are you feeling, Lord Zhao Yun?”

Yun startled and glanced her way, breaking into a faint smile. “A bit overwhelmed, actually. It is a pleasure to see you again, my lady, and this time not on opposite sides.”

“I know, right? Don’t worry.” Shangxiang gave him the same glowing smile she had for her husband. “It was for the best at the time. As long as you don’t hold it against me, right?”

“Oh, I don’t!” Yun assured. “I couldn’t. I understand completely.”

Over the course of the days it took to travel home, Liu Bei had heard a lot of stories, most of them regarding Zhao Yun’s exploits and a considerable number detailing the complexity of the conflict and the reasons people knew one another, both as friends and as one-time enemies. He could sit now and hear people mention things and generally understood what they were referring to, but there was still more for him to learn. At least he was well aware of the conscription of the Sun family and half their retainers, so he wasn’t at all disturbed by mentions of it. “Tell me more about it later,” he begged her. “I want to know everything you went through, my lady, no matter what. Just…not right now, while we’re supposed to be celebrating.”

Shangxiang leaned against him with her head on his shoulder for a brief hug. “I will, I promise. But you’re right, this is supposed to be a party, so let’s leave the worst of it behind us.”

The castle attendants streamed out like an army to load the tables with food for all, and even though they knew Chengdu had been blessed by good times, the sight of the bounty was almost too much. Rice and millet with all kinds of vegetables, fowl and venison and pork, perfect, round bao with meat or red bean or lotus hidden inside their delicate white skins, bamboo and lotus shoots, bowls of sweet mikan and jujube fruits – it was a never-ending assault of delicious scents and tastes. Everything was arranged artfully to please the eye before the palate, and no sooner had a plate been emptied but a full one appeared in its place. No one went hungry and no cup went empty, as casks of wine were passed around, including favorite delicacies like grape wine and sake. It took a while for many to become stuffed enough to be able to push back their plates and fall to conversation instead, and not long after some of the officers got up and roamed around the hall to greet each other, see how their friends were faring, ask how they liked the feast and whether they’d gotten enough to drink yet. Once there seemed to be more people standing than sitting, Liu Bei put out the call for entertainment and had the attendants move the central tables aside so that there could be room for spectacular sights and performances if anyone was interested in providing. Sure enough, someone mentioned music and almost right away Cai Wenji consented to play her harp for the assembly, and after a song or two Zhenji joined her with the flute. Then Motochika appeared with his shamisen and the Nanman offered their drums, and in no time the songs changed from gentle to energetic. 

At the first, Oichi offered to dance, performing a delicate routine for them all to appreciate, and then Okuni took it up a notch with a traditional but enticing piece substituting a scarf for her parasol. The twang of the shamisen had Zhang He springing up, and though his dance started out graceful and smooth, the addition of Nanman drums changed it into a war dance in no time and he performed his best routine for them all while they clapped along. His injury seemed to be healing well, it didn’t slow him down in the slightest. That had the party in full swing and several started calling for Zhou Yu to come out and do a sword dance, since he was so famous for it, and with a demure little smirk he agreed, stepping out to the middle and giving them a show the likes of which many had never seen. He was an expert at the sword dance, moving with grace and speed to swing the blade in dangerous and thrilling sequences. The faster the drums beat, the faster he danced, yet never so much as brushed the blade against his silken clothing even though it looked more than once like he might hack off his own limb. The leaps and twists he had to perform in order to display the skill required to perfectly pull off the complex dance had most of the warriors cheering lustily and the Nanman pounding on the drums as if they were weapons themselves. When Zhou Yu slid into the final step of the dance – legs stretched out almost into the splits as he neared the floor, the sword balanced delicately across his back – the hall erupted with noise and no one could be convinced to sit still. The drummers and the Chosokabe with their instruments decided to just keep playing, if anyone wanted to swing each other around or get up on tables and party, and though some did break off into exuberant wiggling here and there, most simply just sat back with their drinks to breathlessly heap compliments on all the performers and look around to see who they most wanted to chat with. They had not all been in one place together like this at any point so far, so even if they had gotten to visit and talk while in the grand military camp, this was an entirely different and altogether more hospitable setting in which they could all mingle at will, move from one friend to the next or approach strangers for a first-time meeting. Some enthusiastically shared their most boastful and wild-sounding war stories wherever an audience could be found, while others drifted here and there to form said audience. Xiahou Yuan had several gathered around him, for he told of his challenges with huge gestures and amusingly embellished quotations from both himself and Dong Zhuo that made for an even better story than the truth. Others needed a break from the excitement and slipped off into quieter corners of the hall with their cups to hang around in pairs or in small clusters, smiling and chatting about things both past and future. What they all might do next was a popular topic for those who were tired of battle stories or were there to see it all happen and didn’t require a recap. Tachibana stood with Yueying, Ina, and Kunoichi, her cup still half-full as she indulged far more slowly than most. “So if there were no other prisoners in Orochi’s dungeons,” she said to confirm something Ina was able to relate, “that means one of two things. Either he was not brought to this world, or he is still out there somewhere, perhaps unaware that a resistance was mounted and Orochi is dead.”

“It seems strange to think that anyone might still be abroad in the land, without ever making contact with anyone from either side,” Yueying mused, “but I suppose it’s possible.”

“If he is here,” Kunoichi encouraged, “I’m sure you’ll find him, Lady Ginchiyo. Then you won’t have to be both Lord and Lady!”

“Yes, and I’m certain Lord Muneshige will be pleased to see you as well,” Ina said kindly.

Ginchiyo blushed faintly and sniffed arrogantly to try to cover it. “If he really is so dense as to be able to survive this long without encountering any of our forces, then I really have to wonder.”

“Either way, whether you wish to set out to search for him or not,” Yueying said, “you are welcome to remain here in Chengdu for the duration. You have been such an asset to our army, I wouldn’t be able to say farewell so soon.”

“The people of Shu have been kind to me,” Tachibana acknowledged, “and you in particular are a friend to my heart, Lady Yueying. Perhaps I will.”

As people came and went through the hall, Liu Bei found himself entertaining a constant stream of well-wishers, and he appeared more than happy to do so. He wanted to meet every single warrior who had been part of the Resistance and worked to take down Orochi, and sat comfortably in his chair at the head table to welcome anyone and everyone who wanted to drift past with a kind word or sit for a while and get to know him. When Shangxiang got up to make the rounds of her family and friends, Liu Shan came to sit near his father, though he merely watched the party go on around him with a placid smile while Liu Bei welcomed one friendly face after another. At the moment he was sitting with Takeda Shingen, who was rather pleased to be able to spend time with such an important figure from history who happened also to be the heart and soul behind the Shu Resistance. While they talked, Ina finally took a moment to officially introduce Shangxiang to her fiancé, Sanada Nobuyuki, and his brother Yukimura who had been such a fixture in and around Chengdu and and at Zhao Yun’s side that he couldn’t be dismissed. After the pleasantries had been exchanged both brothers moved on, leaving the two women to compare notes on each other’s loved ones. “He’s so _noble_ ,” Shangxiang gushed. “And his brother’s not half bad either. I’ve seen Yukimura fight several times, he’s ferocious in battle. Who would have expected him to be so gentle and humble in person?”

“Well, when you grow up around the warriors of Wu who are just as loud off the battlefield as they are on, I suppose it can come as a surprise,” Ina laughed. “But many samurai are quite refined and noble when not fighting. Some even pursue the arts, like writing or painting or tea ceremony.”

Shangxiang snorted. “I don’t think my brothers or their retainers would know what to do with a tea ceremony besides spike it with wine. No, I take that back – Zhou Yu would. Everybody else, though…”

Ina’s eyes glowed with joy. “It has been such a pleasure being among them. I will miss their exuberance and their late-night parties.”

The Wu princess sighed softly. “I suppose, it’s getting to be time for you to go back to Lord Tokugawa for real, isn’t it? But I don’t want to say goodbye, you’ve been my best friend through all these dark months…”

“We don’t have to say goodbye.” Ina clasped her hands in both of hers. “Even after I return to Edo, we can still see each other. I would like for you to see the castle in the summertime! Our lords have been allies so long, I don’t think we will go without ever seeing each other again.”

“I’d like that,” Shangxiang said happily. “I want to see Edo, we can visit and write and everything. I don’t even know yet if I’ll be staying here in Chengdu or if my father will want me to come back to Hefei for a while. Maybe I’ll be back and forth all the time.”

“Edo is somewhere in the middle of the two, so stopping to visit would work out well,” Ina hinted. She looked quickly over to the head table where Liu Bei and Shingen were still deep in thoughtful conversation and smiled impishly. “He didn’t go gray like your father, after all. Are you glad?”

Shangxiang followed her gaze, her smile fading only slightly. “If he had, I would have understood. Maybe a little silver would make him even more distinguished, I don’t know. But it’s so good to see him again – he’s already looking much better than he did when you carried him out.” Her hands tightened around Ina’s, and she leaned in closely. “Thank you for going in there and saving him. I don’t know which of us had the tougher fight, but it was all worth it.”

“It was the least I could do to free you to fight with your family,” Ina assured. “I had Nobuyuki and Magoichi, along with all the strong Han fighters. We did just fine.” She squeezed her friend’s hands right back again. “He was so brave. He had no strength to fight but he still stood proud with the rest of us. He let Nobuyuki use his sword! And he stood with me to guard our backs even if he couldn’t fight or do anything. I can see why you fell for him, Shangxiang. He is truly a legendary man, I can see it in him.”

Shangxiang wriggled a bit in glee and then leaned in to whisper a secret. “He asked me to stay with him in his chambers tonight. Even if it’s just for company, I said yes.”

Ina’s eyes widened in scandalous thrill. “Well! He _must_ be feeling better, after all.” They both looked toward Liu Bei sitting regally in his chair and laughed privately between themselves.

Toward the far side of the hall, those from various kingdoms who had all become fast friends while in service to Oda hung around together, dragging their own countrymen in whenever they passed so as to introduce one another and build new friendships among them. Lu Xun was all too happy to bring Zhu Ran over to meet the Ma cousins and Guan brothers when they were near, particularly when Guan Ping wandered over carrying Suo on his shoulder to spare him having to hobble around with his broken leg. The Sima brothers likewise clung to this group rather than mingle freely with the men of Wei who had had enough dealings with their father, though Shi did drift over to speak amicably with Cao Pi at one point. Zhao’s arm was still bound close to his side but it had healed enough by now that he could comfortably carry his cup in that hand, which freed his good arm to make all the gestures he wanted. He was extremely excited to find Xiahou Ba coming up alongside him and slung that arm around him, pulling him in close. “There you are! How’ve you been, Ba? How did the battle treat you?”

Ba looked much smaller than everyone out of armor, clad in a blue tunic with embroidery at the chest and a white girdle with gold belt. He took the good-natured embrace with a soft laugh. “About the same as you, Lord Sima Zhao. Lu Bu hit me hard enough that I don’t think the bruises will ever fade.”

“Damn, you went up against Lu Bu?” Zhao whistled, impressed, though he had done the same once. “I’m glad you’re still in one piece, then.” He ruffled Ba’s hair amicably, now that he youngster wasn’t wearing a helm and he could do so. “It’s good to see you again. Looks like everything worked out all right for both of us, huh?”

“I guess so,” Ba replied. “It took a while, though. My clan was at Yiling for a while, but then we were sort of forced into Wei…though, really, it was for the best. Serving Lord Cao Pi hasn’t been bad at all, whatever Lord Yuanrang would say.” His bright eyes darkened slightly as he lifted them to Sima Zhao’s face. “I hurt Zhong Hui pretty badly, though. I’m sorry. But I couldn’t hold back and he was in the way, leading Orochi’s forces…”

“Oh, so that’s how he got so trashed.” Zhao shook his head slightly. “There’s no need to apologize, Ba. War is war. We all knew going into it that whatever happened, it was to be expected.” He glanced around the hall, but Zhong Hui had not come down to the banquet with them. He was the only officer who stayed away, because he was only recently turned over from Orochi’s side and wasn’t sure he deserved to share in the victory celebration. “Just so you know, he’s pledged his loyalty to my brother, and to the Sima clan in general. He’s no longer a prisoner, he’s on our side now.”

“Has he? Good,” Ba said firmly, frowning a little. “That’s much better than still belonging to Orochi.”

Zhao’s arm slid away as he took a step to turn and face Xiahou Ba directly, though he still kept one hand on the young man’s shoulder. “When I’m healed up and we’re ready to move on, Shi and I are planning to look for our father. We have it on good word that Guo Huai and Deng Ai took him away from Orochi to let him recover somewhere safe, though we don’t know where they are.” His eyes glimmered with determination. “Would you like to come along?”

Ba’s eyes widened. “…me?”

“I would understand if your father didn’t want to let you out of his sight,” Zhao said with a small smile. “You’re a lucky man, having all of your family and your clan around you, and you’ve probably got it pretty good in Wei right now. But you’re also part of our family in a way, and right now it’s incomplete. I’m sure the four of us will make a decent search party…” His gaze drifted away to where his brother stood conversing with Kuroda Kanbei, and then back to Yuanji silently guarding his back to make sure he didn’t drink too much. “…but we might do even better with an extra bodyguard.”

Xiahou Ba looked up to him, a little embarrassed that a lord he would come to betray still had such confidence in him. But then, he always did like Zishang better than his overbearing father. “I don’t yet know what the Xiahou clan plans to do,” he admitted, “we haven’t really talked about it. But now that Cao Cao is not dead, I can’t imagine Lord Yuanrang wanting to be anywhere else but at his side. So, if they remain with Wei, I would know exactly where to find them and how to get back to them.” He smiled cutely. “No more wandering around the land looking for them.”

Zhao patted him on the shoulder. “Think about it, then. It’ll be a few days before we’re even ready to depart, I don’t need an answer until we’re actually saddling up to go. It would be nice to have you along, even if it’s going to be a tough time compared to sitting in a nice palace. We don’t even have a town to call home, right now, we’ll be living on the road while we try to pick up his trail.”

“That’s all right,” Ba assured. “I never was one for sitting around castles anyway. But you’re right. I’ll mention it to my father, see what he has to say.”

“You do that.” Zhao winked and tipped his nearly-empty cup in a gesture toward him. “Meanwhile, I’m gonna go see about getting this filled up.”

“Good idea,” Ba said with a smile. “As for me, I want to check on Master Jiang Wei. He was hurt pretty badly, I want to see how he’s doing now.”

They went their own ways, then, while the others still hung around together, giving Ma Dai the chance to catch up and swap stories with Lu Xun and Yuanji. His cousin was not among them at the moment, but rather across the hall with Azai Nagamasa and Naoe Kanetsugu, speaking passionately about honor and justice with the perfect like-minded audience. They were getting on particularly well, so much so that even Yukimura gave them a pass and went on to find someone else to chat with rather than get in between their firestorm of honor talk. Instead, Yukimura wandered over to Zhang Bao and Guan Xing, who were together as always and eager to swap war stories with him. They really wanted to hear a first-hand account of how Orochi finally went down, and were having a hard time getting it out of anyone else who had been there – even their own fathers didn’t think it time to share their tales. The request troubled Yukimura, but the earnest pleading and the mention of their fathers swayed him to at least explain who had landed the deathblow. After all, he himself was beyond proud of Zhao Yun for striking the first, though it was a team effort in the end and the young warriors deserved to know that, so that they might understand how far-reaching the bonds between kingdoms and warlords had grown. He told them not to thrill them, but to impress upon them the sober truth of that moment. They seemed to find it thrilling all the same.

On yet another side of the hall, the end of the dances hadn’t put an end to the entertainment at all. Rather, several officers were gathered around the end of one of the tables to challenge each other in arm-wrestling matches, something they could do to get the wild energy out of their systems without breaking anything. Those still too injured to risk straining muscles or broken bones in a match sat close enough to cheer and jeer and lay down pointless bets on who might win. Gan Ning sat up on the table so he could have a good view of all the wrestling, but he looked a bit grouchy on account of having to forego participation. His entire chest ached, and he was still swaddled in so many bandages that they functioned better than a shirt at covering him. He watched with a critical eye and hurled insults at the losers until someone perched on the table next to him and held out a full cup of wine. He expected Ling Tong, so when he turned, Ning blinked in surprise to realize that it was Zhang Liao. “The hell’s this, now?” he wondered gruffly.

“You seem to need something to cool your head,” Liao said smartly, “or at least your throat if nothing else.”

Ning eyed him, but remembered that beneath his layered tunics and the capelet gathered around his neck like a cowl, he was sporting just as many bandages as the pirate and had about the same range of movement to stretch his arms and chest. He decided to take the cup and tossed back a sip. “Nice to see your old master didn’t take a chunk out of you after all,” he murmured over the cup. “Wei needs Wenyuan.”

“And Wu needs Xingba,” Liao said to complete the couplet they both knew too well. “I saw what you did. It was exactly as reckless and ridiculous as I would expect from you.” He tapped Ning’s arm with his own cup before taking a drink. “And naturally, it worked better than anything I could have come up with.”

“Yeah, but it was a hefty price to pay.” Gan Ning finally mustered a smirk for him and raised the cup in silent thanks for the drink. “Here’s to not having to do anything like that again.”

Liao touched his cup to Ning’s. “I will certainly drink to that.”

Ning huffed a laugh, shaking his head at the mere sight of himself and his rival getting along, and then immediately turned back to the current wrestling match. “C’mon, Feng, don’t let that no-good Cao get the better of you! You’re stronger than that! Heave to it, man!” Both Ding Feng and Cao Ren shot him a quelling look, but it didn’t seem that the encouragement had any effect on their stalemate either way.

Not far from the wrestling station, Sun Jian and Hojo Ujiyasu were doing their best to make up for all their past promises of sharing drinks with one another, as well as make sure that there would be no full casks of wine to take back to Wu with them. “Well, sure, you’re welcome at Odawara anytime,” Hojo said, his gaze a little wobbly as he shifted it from his cup to Jian’s face. “Assuming I get it back, anyway.”

“We’ll settle that later,” Jian promised, waving a hand. “That’s quite a clan you’ve got there. You’re going to need a castle that size one way or another.”

Ujiyasu raised his cup to his lips. “Still missing a couple,” he confessed before tossing back the rest of his wine and holding the cup out to be refilled. “Favorite bodyguard of mine, I haven’t seen her and nobody seems to have even heard of her by name or anything. And the ninja imprisoned at Bai Di, he’s mine too and I gotta deal with him.”

“Is that the one Sakon was talking about?” Jian rubbed his face, trying to remember if there were any details to go with that message. “What happened, there?”

Ujiyasu gave a huge sigh as if wearied by the thought. “Fuuma is under contract to me directly, he never countermands an order I give him. But I wasn’t at Odawara when Orochi attacked it, so he had no problem turning against my sons and grandsons and defecting to Orochi’s side. I’m not surprised, really – it’s only his word to me that keeps him from running off and being an unholy terror whenever he wants to.”

“Ah, and so, only a word from you will keep him in line even now that Orochi’s gone,” Jian shrewdly deduced.

“You got it.” Hojo waved a hand idly in the air. “But that’s for another day. We’re taking care of all that business when, now? Tomorrow?”

“I hope not. I don’t think I’m going to be in any shape to be diplomatic tomorrow.”

“Me neither.” Hojo looked around and then leaned in conspiratorially. “Nobody’s said anything to plan for a meeting so I’m just going to say there won’t be one. And if I have to sleep in until noon to prove it, then so be it.”

Sun Jian grinned widely and made sure to fill his cup extra-full this time. “I like the way you think.”

As the night wore on and more wine casks were emptied, in some corners the noise and energy gave way to quiet, intimate conversations, or at least attempts at them. Guo Jia was doing his best to entertain a conversation with Kunoichi, but try as he might she just didn’t seem to catch on that he was flirting with her. He finally gave in and asked her outright about any man in her life, to which Kunoichi brightened like a happy puppy. “Of course I do! There’s Lord Sanada, it’s so great to see him alive and well. And Master Nobuyuki, he’s so kind and gentle, and Master Yukimura, who’s so brave and talented. They’re all great men.”

Guo Jia’s eyes widened briefly before he caught on that she didn’t mean the same as he did when he asked, a realization that made him drop his head into his hand and pinch the bridge of his nose. “Yes, I suppose they are, or so I’ve heard,” he replied absently. He looked across to where the tall figure in Sanada red was moving on from Bao and Xing’s company to trade greetings with Zhou Yu and be introduced to his wife. “So what you’re saying is,” he went on, trying to lead the ninja toward the information he really wanted, “you don’t actually have your eye on any one of them?”

Kunoichi looked straight at him, somewhat mystified. “Well of course I do, silly – I’m their bodyguard! I have to watch them at all times! Although Master Yukimura seems to have done all right without me for a while.”

Jia met her gaze with a narrow one of his own. He was starting to think she knew all along and was just messing with him. “Right, then. Well, I suppose I’ve taken up enough of your time, my lady. I shall simply have to fly off to another branch to roost for the night.”

Kunoichi giggled. “You’re funny, Master Guo Jia. Just like Magoichi!”

She twirled on one toe and pranced off to go and find someone more her speed to hang out with, leaving Guo Jia to sigh to himself at his lack of luck. As if summoned by the comparison, Magoichi himself came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder in a gesture of solidarity. “Just can’t win, can you?”

“You saw that, did you?” Fengxiao said wryly. “I should have known better from the start.”

“Nah, don’t blame yourself,” Magoichi assured. “Kunoichi’s a ninja, she’s only got one thing on her mind – serving her clan. It’s like trying to come between Yukimura and his spear, or Zhuge Liang and his strategy.”

Guo Jia smirked at the apt comparison. “What about you, any luck so far tonight?”

“Not one bit.” Saika rolled his head back in an exaggeration of his frustrations. “It’s just as well, it’s not like there’s any new faces in the crowd tonight. Just the same old, same old.” He set his hands on his hips. “It’s getting to where I’m almost ready to slip into the kitchen and chat up some serving girls.”

Jia looked briefly around at the beautiful – and married – women all around them and then raised a suspicious eyebrow at his comrade. “You would abandon this party for the company of the kitchen?”

“Are you saying you’re too good for serving girls?”

“I…” Jia opened his mouth to disagree and then shut it as a mischievous light came into his eyes. “Why no, Master Magoichi. Perhaps I’ve been going about this all wrong.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Granted, this has been an excellent feast and I really should be content with the entertainment I’ve been given so far. But I just can’t help but want that one last thing to make the celebration complete.”

“Well, if you do meet someone cute,” Magoichi snickered, “ask her if she’s got a sister for me, would you?”

Guo Jia grinned back, but made no promises that he would even consider his comrade’s lonely spell. He couldn’t be held to that kind of agreement if things got exciting. He looked past Magoichi and spotted someone he hadn’t met, yet, over with her brothers in one of the quieter corners, and darted off without a further word to try his hand one more time before genuinely looking into the castle’s servants. Left behind, Magoichi looked around the crowded hall. Over there, Zhenji sat close enough to drape herself against her husband, one arm laid alongside his so that they could entwine fingers while they gave each other doting looks and shared private conversations. On another side, No and Nobunaga were practically melded up against each other, carrying on some kind of flirtation between them with no room for anyone to even think of approaching for a platonic chat. Nagamasa was all smiles as Oichi came to interrupt his honor talk, Liu Bei and Shangxiang were giving each other sickeningly adorable looks in between interruptions from well-wishers, and even Yueying stood with her hand on Zhuge Liang’s arm so they could walk amongst their comrades and visit them together. Magoichi noticed the Qiao Sisters giggling amongst themselves and considered Sun Ce and Zhou Yu the luckiest bastards in the world. With so many expressions of love and devotion all around him, how could a poor lonely man like him deal with it? He let out the biggest sigh and turned away to go and figuratively bang his head into a wall – or possibly do it literally – when he came face to face with Zhurong. “What’s the matter, Magoichi?” she teased him. “Did you lose something?”

“Yeah, my mojo,” the rifleman complained. “Ladies are supposed to love me, and yet here I am, all alone. It’s not right, I tell ya.”

“Supposed to?” The Nanman queen gave him a starkly raised eyebrow to call bullshit on his declaration. “Yes, no wonder you’re alone. I’d say with that kind of attitude, it’s totally right.”

“What? Come on…” Magoichi grinned recklessly, but Zhurong was having none of it, so his grin faded by degrees until he was left gazing helplessly at her. “Was it something I said?”

Zhurong bore through him with her eyes until he buckled and let it linger an extra moment or two before finally heaving a sigh and letting him be. “Look, Magoichi, you seem like a nice guy, if a little misguided. Let me give you a hint.” She stepped right up against him, leaning up to put her face right into his. Such was his fear of her attacking him that he actually recoiled from her closeness, though he couldn’t fully get away. “Most women aren’t interested in an aggressive and desperate man. We can smell them coming, you know. Take it easy, just relax and be yourself and don’t think about it, and you just might find your luck turning around – and if it doesn’t, you’re still relaxed and having fun. That can’t be all bad, can it?”

Magoichi blinked at her, surprised by the advice, and then eased into a gentle smile. “What does a desperate man smell like, anyway?”

“Like sweaty feet.” Zhurong backed off and folded her arms over her chest. “Seriously. Do you want to know a secret, Magoichi?”

Saika rubbed his chin. “Well, you’re already sharing secrets with me, one more won’t hurt…”

The barbarian queen smiled as demurely as she knew how. “There was one time I actually did think to myself, ‘hm, he’s not that bad after all.’” Her gaze flicked up sharply to him, her wry smirk returning. “Jieting. The one time you were so focused on the battle, the strategy, and Date Masamune that you didn’t leave yourself time to get distracted.”

“Jieting…really?” Magoichi wasn’t sure how to take that and stood there blinking owlishly for a moment. He did remember being more concerned about getting through to his old friend than trying to look cool in front of the women in their raid army. Come to think of it, she had said something to him then…

Zhurong laughed under her breath and bumped shoulders with him. “Don’t let it go to your head. You have potential, that’s it.”

“So are you telling me,” Magoichi said, gaining confidence and grinning again, “that Meng Huo didn’t have to be aggressive to win you over?”

“I said _most_ women.” Zhurong gave him a sultry look and spun on her heel to make a spectacular exit. “You’re still only half the man of my beloved king.”

Magoichi stood back and breathed a quick huff as if overheated by that short exchange, fanning himself with a hand. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the advice, because he did and would have a good long think about it later, but in that moment he couldn’t help but be scorched by the Nanman queen’s fire and love every minute of it. Behind him, Guo Jia had done his best to ease up to Yinping and engage her in conversation, considering that he didn’t know at all who she was or how she came to be among the Shu army, but he had barely gotten a few casual questions in before he felt a shadow looming over him and looked up to find Guan Yu towering over his daughter with a murderous look in his eyes. Yinping turned and happily greeted him, “Hello, Father! Is this one of your favored comrades from Wei that you used to speak about?”

All color drained from Fengxiao’s face at realizing he’d been hitting on the God of War’s offspring. “My,” he said with every attempt at being ingratiating and diplomatic, “all of your children have their mother’s looks, don’t they? Lord Guan Yu.”

“Yes,” Guan Yu grunted, still staring him down. “They do, Master Fengxiao.”

Jia bowed deeply and used it as a means to slowly back away. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Yinping. I, ah, should see whether my lord needs anything right now.”

Yinping waved farewell to him and waited until he had disappeared into the crowd before turning and shooting her father a quelling look. “You scare everyone away, Father! He’s handsome, can’t I just play with him a _little?_ ”

“Anyone but Master Fengxiao,” Guan Yu said in exasperation. “I know what he’s like.”

“Oh, come on. You know I could have punched him out if I needed to.” Yinping gave her father a fabulous pout, one that completely flustered him and sent him off grumbling to go and make sure the rest of his rowdy children weren’t taking after their massively-drunk uncle.

As the feast went on and on into the evening with no sign of slowing down, some were making the rounds of all their fellow partygoers before anyone could decide to call it a night and slip away, making sure to at least say a kind word or offer a hand to clasp to those who had served beside them as comrades and friends even in just one battle somewhere. There would probably be plenty more opportunities for reminiscing and farewells around the city in the next few days, but a celebration like this had everyone in the ripe mood for it. Sun Ce in particular had a lot of people to greet and enthusiastically made his way through the throng, clasping forearms lustily with Ma Chao in a final expression of atonement and forgiveness, trading a few good-natured quips with Mitsuhide, attempting (and failing) to put Hanzo in a joyful headlock, and taking some time to offer one more word of encouragement for Sima Zhao. At last he came around to Zhao Yun and caught him up in a huge, back-slapping embrace that nearly crushed the breath out of Yun. “This is just in case I don’t get a chance to later,” Ce said warmly in his ear, not letting him go. “Whenever we finally say goodbye and head out, things might be all straight-laced and official, so I wanna get one good hug in.”

The explanation made Zhao Yun laugh softly and finally return the embrace, tightening his arms. “It has been quite an adventure with you, Lord Ce. I look forward to whatever is yet to come.”

Ce stood back but still held him at arm’s length. “Well, if my sister decides to spend a lot of time with her husband, I’m thinking we might actually see a lot of each other from now on.”

“Then I won’t consider this a farewell,” Yun smiled. Something over Ce’s shoulder caught his attention just then, and his expression changed to one of bemusement. “Ah. Your brother…he’s dancing.”

“What?” Ce turned around and sure enough, in the center area where the tables had been moved aside, Sun Quan apparently had decided he needed to show someone how a particular dance should properly be performed and was doing so with gusto, one arm pulled free of both his coat and tunic for a dramatic draping effect and one of Daqiao’s fans in each hand as he lunged and swirled about. At the sidelines, Daqiao had her hands over her face in embarrassment while Xiaoqiao beside her was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. Ce watched for a bit, knowing full well that it had everything to do with how much wine Quan had drunk, and then made a vaguely impressed face, nodding to himself. “He’s not half bad, actually.”

Other officers well into their cups were not helping much, they sat on tables clapping and laughing and egging Quan on, particularly Gan Ning and Zhang Fei. Yukimura drifted over to where his friends were talking, though his eyes were undoubtedly on the spectacle unfolding on the dance floor. “Ah…Lord Sun Ce?”

Ce waved a hand to shush him, also watching. “Let him finish!”

Despite how much wine had led to this show, Sun Quan performed his dance masterfully, ending with a flourish and a bow to great applause from the room. He couldn’t figure out how to close Daqiao’s fans after that, though, so she got up and took them back before he could fumble and break them. At that moment Zhou Yu intruded on the knot of comrades already watching, easing between Ce and Yun like a fiery shadow and shooting his sworn brother a look. “You had better get in there and stop him before he tries performing the Scarf Dance.”

Ce looked around, hoping to find someone better at corralling his brother’s drunken shenanigans, but not even Zhou Tai seemed to want a part of that, so with a sigh he trudged off to steer Quan toward a table. Yukimura just laughed at all of it. “What a great banquet this is. Everyone is in such high spirits!”

Even Liu Bei at the head table was laughing a bit, amazed that one of his one-time enemies was so funny at a party. Shangxiang stood beside his chair shaking her head, though this was not at all unusual for her brothers and she took it in stride. At that moment Nobunaga and No drifted up to the table, and the warlord eased into a vacated chair without even needing an invitation. “I believe this is the perfect moment to thank you for your generous hospitality, Lord Liu Bei,” he said silkily, one hand sliding up to his own shoulder so he could maintain contact with his wife, who had his fingers entwined with hers and refused to let go.

“You’re quite welcome,” Liu Bei said warmly, “everyone is. This is just what I had hoped to see when I offered to host. There is no more darkness here, only joy.”

Oda and No shared a knowing look but said nothing. After all, their view of darkness was quite different from pretty much everyone else’s. “It seems that in spite of your long captivity, you’re recovering well,” Lady No said diplomatically. “No premature silver hairs anywhere?”

Over Liu Bei’s shoulder, Shangxiang made a face at her, recalling their chats in the fortress of Hefei. Liu Bei didn’t notice, and responded cheerily. “None that I’ve noticed. Oh – you mean like Lord Sun Jian? He wears it well, I think.” He tipped his cup to salute them. “Thank you again, Lord Oda, for everything you’ve done for my people, both those inside your army and those under Lord Zilong. I’m learning more and more of what happened in the past few months, and it seems we owe much to your generosity.”

“I’m hardly keeping tally of debts owed on any side,” Oda said smoothly. “Everything I did was with the end goal of destroying Orochi in mind, there was no alliance I was unwilling to make and no cause too small to champion if it would lead to that end.”

Liu Bei nodded his understanding. “Now that he’s gone, we can each settle into our own lands for a time of peace. Will you be eager to leave here, and return to whatever homeland you have?”

Nobunaga’s smirk deepened, though it was more due to amusement that anyone genuinely believed they would have peace than anything else. “Hardly,” he answered. “This is an extremely rare opportunity for me and mine. When will we ever get the chance to pass a few quiet days in the famed city of Chengdu? I would like to explore it fully, for however long you wish to entertain me, Lord Liu Bei.”

“My hospitality will extend as long as everyone needs,” Xuande assured. “I have no intention of rushing anyone out of Chengdu. Then, we need not get down to business right away tomorrow – given how long this feast is lasting,” he added wryly, “I doubt anyone will be in any shape to discuss such matters tomorrow anyway.”

“You’re quite right,” Oda agreed. “Let’s put it off until the day after tomorrow. There is no pressing need to hurry any longer.”

“I think my father would be completely behind you on that,” Shangxiang said dryly.

Liu Bei smiled up at her and then looked off across the hall to where Sun Jian was engaged in conversation with Tokugawa, and then over at his own son sitting at the next table over, his chin resting on his fists and eyes practically sparkling as he listened to Huang Gai tell the tale of the sacking of Odawara in glorious detail. Given the way he was gesturing at Toyotomi Hideyori also in the audience, he had gotten to the part about phantoms, and Liu Shan sat completely rapt to hear everything about it. Behind this spectacle near the wall, Ma Chao was quietly talking with Sima Zhao, head to head as if trading secrets, and nearer to the main table, Xu Shu and Pang Tong had crossed paths and were laughing together about something. “It is remarkable,” Liu Bei murmured, “to see everyone together like this. I understand what’s been said about different timelines coming together in this dimension, but it’s still a wonder to see friends alive and well again, and children grown and able to fight on their own.”

Oda followed his gaze to see what he was commenting on and noticed Liu Shan alongside the young Toyotomi. “Yes, it takes some getting used to,” he noted. “Even my own son Nobutada is grown up. It doesn’t matter how long you spend around them, you’ll still find yourself suddenly thinking, ‘how is this possible?’ at the oddest times. It never truly goes away.” His dark eyes darted back toward Liu Bei. “Though, some of my own men are still missing, as are others. There may be some of yours out there, as well.”

Liu Bei considered that, his gaze lingering on Xu Shu. “Possibly, but Guan Yu assures me that our army is more complete than it ever was. Your men aren’t still conscripted or anything…?”

“No, not so much.” Nobunaga tapped a finger to his chin thoughtfully. “And after raiding Koshi Castle I can say they aren’t prisoners, either. It’s possible they weren’t brought to this dimension, but given all the other powerful warriors around us, I doubt that Orochi in his eagerness for a fight would have left the Devil Shibata behind.”

“I have missed his gruff and grating presence around Honnoji,” No said sarcastically.

“Well,” Liu Bei offered, “with no more Orochi to fear and no demon armies to defend ourselves against, perhaps the missing will feel it time to come out of hiding. Or, perhaps one of our allies has heard something and simply not had the time to share it.”

“Perhaps,” Oda conceded. “I will consider it a topic to bring up in due time. But for now, I will simply sit back and enjoy my host’s gracious offerings.” He held his empty cup off to one side just in time for one of the attendants to pass by and top it off, as the youngster was going around making sure every lord’s cup was filled. Liu Bei passed, since his was still more than full, and together the two of them raised a silent toast to one another.

Full cups were exactly what Kato Kiyomasa needed, for he had one thing left undone and unsaid and he wasn’t about to let anyone escape the party until he had made good on it. He wasn’t sure when those from Wei would be excusing themselves to head back to their quarters, so he hunted around with a cup in each hand until he could find the auburn-haired shadow he wanted. Still dressed in Wei indigo and black hakama, Ishida was drifting in and out among the crowd, checking up on Cao Pi now and again between visits with other comrades. He had just escaped a smothering by Nene and was brushing his coat down when he turned to find Kiyomasa right in his path, and blinked when the man held out one of the cups to him. “What’s this?”

“Wine, of course,” Kiyomasa answered. “What does it look like?”

“I mean…oh, never mind.” Mitsunari took the offering and glanced at the shimmer of firelight on the surface of the heady liquid. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Don’t mention it.” Kato eased alongside him, and both of them decided to lean on the nearby wall and look out across the hall at the lingering party. For a long time neither said a word to each other, they simply stood and drank without needing to prattle. For all their snits and conflicts, this was how things should have been between them – no reason to talk or apologize, simply existing in camaraderie. When there was nothing more than a sip left in his cup, Kiyomasa glanced at Mitsunari. “So. Now that we’re not dead…”

“Leave it,” Mitsunari said warmly. “There’s nothing that needs to be said.”

Kato studied him for a moment and then took him at his word. “If you insist.” It was a great party, after all, there was no need to ruin the atmosphere. The attendant passed by to refill their cups, giving them even more reason not to walk away. It looked like this feast would indeed last the whole night, they might as well enjoy it for as long as they possibly could.


	94. Chapter 94

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang need to talk; Zhao Yun and Yukimura finally make good on their long overdue promise to consummate their relationship. Actual sex scene in this chapter!

The gardens and bamboo groves in and around Chengdu played host to so many dignitaries of the Resistance who decided that the best cure for a hangover or a long night partying was a stroll in the quiet of the peaceful city under warm sunshine. Messages passed between the different quarters resulted in a general agreement that they would use this day to settle in and relax, and save any official audiences for the next day as Liu Bei and Oda had proposed. There was much for the four factions to go over, yet, but it seemed wiser to handle all the thinking when everyone was fully rested and had the capacity to stomach what could be a very long meeting. No one had any argument to putting it off for one more day, and instead of conducting business, they whiled away the day inside Chengdu’s walls enjoying the scenery and the hospitality of the kind civilians of Shu. For those from Wa, it was a chance to walk the streets of a well-known city from history, one as impressive as any of the imperial capitals they had already seen in the land abroad. For those from Wei or Wu, it was a strange feeling being welcomed into a city they had long attempted to sack and raze. Whether they had stayed up all night to watch the sunrise or had managed to find their beds at some point, few slept in too long. There was something compelling about such a peaceful city full of life, standing like proof that they had overcome the darkness and rebirth was not only possible, but inevitable. Liu Bei stood at the railing of a high parapet watching the mix of different time periods and loyalties crossing to and fro and wondered a great many things, like whether he would ever see a sight like this again, whether in this world or another. “Do you know,” he said quietly to Guan Yu hanging around just beside him, “that there were times I actually believed that Chengdu had been razed to the ground, and I would never stand here, in this spot, ever again…”

Guan Yu set a hand on his shoulder. “Zhao Yun told us everything of the battle. I regret that we were not here to assist, even if it would have meant Orochi would have defeated us sooner.” He groaned quietly under his breath. “I would have rather suffered alongside you, my brother…”

“We missed you dearly,” Liu Bei admitted, “but it isn’t your fault. From what I’ve been told, Orochi brought us all from different times and places so that we might all be scattered when he first moved against us.” He reached across to touch his brother’s hand. “What’s past is past. I want only to look ahead at what may come, good or bad.”

“There is an equal chance of either,” Yu said wryly. “But that all remains to be seen. I rather like standing here and enjoying the present quiet, just in case it turns out to be short-lived.”

“It is nice, isn’t it?” Xuande glanced to the side at a slight movement and smiled even more broadly to find Zhuge Liang coming up to him, hands clasped demurely around the handle of his fan. “Lord Kongming, join us. How does the day find you?”

“Quite well, my lord,” Liang replied quietly, keeping his eyes lowered. “I’m afraid I cannot stand alongside you and exchange pleasantries, though.”

“No?” Liu Bei turned toward him, face alight with curiosity. “Why not?”

“Because…” Liang lowered his shoulders in a deep bow all the way to the waist. “I have caused the people you love great distress. I haven’t yet had the opportunity to lay it before you and allow you to dictate my punishment. I do not wish to bother you on such a fine day, but if you have a moment…”

Behind his brother, Guan Yu sighed. “There’s no need to be so dramatic, Lord Kongming. Our brother has forgiven us already, do you think that wouldn’t extend to you as well?”

Zhuge Liang rose but kept his gaze dropped. “The love of family heals many wounds, but I am not family.”

“You are as good to me as family,” Liu Bei demurred. “But if it would ease your mind, please. Speak to me, tell me of your woes. I’ve heard some, but assume that I know nothing – I want to hear it from your own perspective, my friend.”

Liang glanced at Guan Yu, certain that the basic facts of his servitude had been related along the journey home by the brothers if not Zhao Yun himself. “It was necessary to set myself up as a loyal officer of Orochi in order to learn his secrets,” he said simply. “Allowing myself to be imprisoned alongside you would avail the Resistance nothing, and putting up a perfunctory struggle as a conscript would have put Da Ji and everyone under her on alert, constantly watching me out of suspicion that I, like Sun Ce, would eventually turn. It meant fighting against your people with all sincerity, planning tactics to take advantage of their known weaknesses and allow Orochi’s conquest to succeed. I was aware from the very first moment I raised my hand against them that it would hurt them, and there wasn’t a day that I didn’t wonder if that news would make it back to you and break your heart.”

Liu Bei did indeed know the facts, but hearing it from Zhuge Liang’s lips directly took the smile off his face completely. “Is that why you never came to see me in Orochi’s prisons?” he murmured. “To keep me from ever knowing any of this?”

Kongming sighed softly. “What would I have been able to say to you, my lord?”

“And yet,” Guan Yu grunted, “you were able to look me and Zhang Fei in the eye and lie to us. For months, we genuinely believed you had gone over and could not even fathom why, aside from the old tales that the Sleeping Dragon would only back a lord with a real chance to rule. When you returned from Hasedo and my son told me that you had raised a weapon against Zhao Yun, even I believed that there was no hope – if the ties of friendship could be so easily broken.”

Liang nodded slowly. “This is all true. Also the truth: everything I did, down to the smallest lie told, was to protect Lord Liu Bei. I would have hurt anyone to save him.”

Liu Bei’s eyes saddened. “Even though you know I wouldn’t wish for you to do such a thing? You do make it very hard, my friend.”

“Even now, standing before him and seeing what you’ve done does break his heart,” Guan Yu said sternly, “you still don’t regret any of it, do you? How can you ask for forgiveness when you have no regrets?”

“For a man in my position,” Liang responded, “to regret a course of action is to cast doubt on every decision ever made. I do not regret the choice I made, to seek our victory by that route, any more than I regret any strategy I have ever employed.” His eyes raised at last, fixing a careful gaze first on Liu Bei, then Guan Yu in turn. “But do not think that that means I feel nothing. There is room for sorrow, and a place for a man to know that he has wounded those who trusted him. Even if it was to protect and rescue my lord, I have caused pain. That, I would apologize for, and seek punishment.”

Liu Bei was silent for a while, turning this information over and over in his mind. Even if it had all been done for his sake, he wasn’t the one wronged, and even hearing Zhuge Liang’s confession did not make him feel any more hurt. At last, he stepped forward and laid a hand on the tactician’s shoulder, fixing him with an unwavering gaze. “My sentence is for you to conduct yourself in such a way as to allow your actions to prove your loyalty, rather than offer anyone empty words. If there is anyone in Shu who hasn’t yet come around to believe that you truly had my best interests in mind, then apply that sentence toward them. Though…” He chanced a smile. “…something tells me it is a punishment mostly served already.”

Kongming gave him a look in return that was mostly fondness mingled with exasperation. “I keep telling you that your heart will get you into trouble someday, my lord.”

“I’ll take the consequences of it on that day,” Liu Bei said happily. “This is my official ruling. I suggest you take it, for I don’t think any amount of time in prison will improve either you or the hearts of the people of Shu.”

“Understood.” Zhuge Liang bowed deeply in acceptance, and straightened up to stand beside his lord in a place he finally felt he deserved. Together the three of them gazed down at the courtyard, and watched as Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Takenaka Hanbei walked through with Guan Ping between them, showing them around. The group of them looked up and waved, and Liu Bei waved back. If it was going to be like that the rest of the day, the leadership of Shu had no complaints. Perhaps up there on their balcony, they would get to see even more unusual sights that they could remember forever, even if times turned darker in the months and years to come.

Since he had been living at Zhao Yun’s side, Yukimura had found so many places in and outside Luo Castle that appealed to him, favorite spots where he could always find a flower in bloom or run his fingertips along a carved dragon on the cornice of a vine-covered wall. He didn’t want to think about leaving this place, but with Orochi gone and their quest fulfilled, what reason did he have to tell his clan or Lord Takeda that he wouldn’t return to them? His relationship with Zhao Yun was private, so he had no real logical reason to stay. It was too much, he didn’t want to think about it, so as he wandered by himself through the courtyard he turned toward the castle gate and the little patch of bamboo that ran down the hillside into a dip which was deep in green shadow at this time of the afternoon. Even so close to the path down to the garrison where Wei was being housed it was blissfully quiet, the tall stalks of bamboo forming a natural palisade to shut out the rest of the world for a few moments and create a tiny shrine to serenity right there at the base of the castle. Yukimura walked slowly through the grove, raising his fingers to trail through the long leaves like spear-blades fluttering so faintly in the barest breath of wind that stirred through them. It was so like home and yet from a different time and place, the perfect metaphor for his feelings of comfort and ease among the people of Shu and his new sworn brother. Lifting his eyes to the rich blue sky dotted with tiny white clouds like willow catkins, he pushed his thoughts of the future aside and tried to enjoy the moment, for it was a beautiful one, the dappled shadows cool on his face and shoulders, the wind lightly scented of grass – wheat, he thought to himself, farmers nearby must have been harvesting wheat under the warm sun. While they were struggling for their lives against Orochi, life still went on unchanged here, there were crops to be brought in and they would wait for no demon. It struck him how resilient the people were, how they held to the guarantee that night would follow day and winter would follow summer and their routine of living could not be interrupted forever by war and evil. Of all the things they fought for, even their own survival, this perhaps was the most crucial, and the one he took the most for granted. Closing his eyes, Yukimura leaned against one of the bamboo stems and listened to the leaves stroking one another as another whisper of wind passed through the grove. Whatever else happened to them or around them, this was peace. This was what they nearly died for. He rested a hand against his chest where his bandaged wound was healing, and did not regret it for a second.

He heard a more consistent sound of movement in the leaves, and identified it as someone walking. Looking up, he saw that it was Zhao Yun, almost blending into the bamboo shadows in his green and white. Yukimura himself had gone back to his reds and silvers, now that his second set of armor had been damaged and the blue and green he wore beneath it was stained with his blood, but the contrast only made it easier to find him in the wood. They both offered one another a fond smile as they laid eyes on each other. “How did you find me?” Yukimura asked.

“It wasn’t hard,” Yun said. “I always know where you go.” He looked up the length of the tall bamboo stems stretching over them, lacing their leaves together in the canopy overhead. “It’s so quiet here.”

“It is,” Yukimura agreed. “I wanted to get away from my thoughts for a while, but now that I see you here…” He took the last steps to meet his sworn brother and took his hands. “…I think I like that better than being alone.”

Yun searched his face. “Are there still troubling thoughts to be had?”

“No, not really troubling. Just a lot of wondering what will come next. But that’s for tomorrow,” he reminded, since that was when the leaders agreed to meet and officially dissolve the alliance. “Does this mean you’re free from duty?”

“It wasn’t really duty,” Yun said modestly, “there aren’t even scouts to be sent out or anything.” He shook his head slowly, his voice gentling into a hush worthy of the quiet grove. “It feels strange, having been active for so long and now suddenly there is practically nothing to do. No reason to stay on alert, or even think about all the things I still have to do. There is nothing left to do,” he added with something of a wry look at his comrade. “Everything is done, now.”

Yukimura smiled to reassure him. “Then, you have been released to resume your original title. Tiger General, was it?”

“We never called ourselves that,” Yun laughed. “That was a name bestowed on us by others, later. I am a general, though…I suppose, equal rank as you would be in Takeda’s army.”

“Then, I have no reason at all to withhold this.” He leaned in swiftly to explain what “this” was, favoring Zilong with a gentle kiss.

Zhao Yun melted into him and drew him closer, sliding arms around his waist to keep him close and kiss him back. In the peaceful shadow under the bamboo, he brushed his lips against Yukimura’s ear and whispered, “You know…there is a promise I mean to keep.”

Yukimura’s whole body flushed warm, hearing that. “Now?” he whispered back, perhaps a little too eagerly.

“If you’re up for it.” Yun smiled impishly at his reaction, the thrill beneath the shyness. “I wouldn’t want to put any strain on your wound.”

Yukimura grinned in turn. “If you strain it, then we’re doing it wrong.”

Yun erupted with a laugh before he could contain it, though he stifled it after a moment into quiet giggles instead. “I would wait until tonight,” he noted, “but I think we’ve waited long enough. No one will miss us now, even if we take our time.”

Within minutes they were racing through a lesser-known back gate into Luo hand in hand, trying not to drag each other as they hurried to their quarters. They managed to slip inside without really being noticed and tumbled through the door into Zhao Yun’s room, already falling into each other’s arms and tugging at the ties on each other’s tunics. Once closed away in privacy, however, they slowed down, pausing to really kiss one another as deeply and thoroughly as they ever had before. Knowing in the back of his mind that he didn’t have to hold back this time, he could get exactly as carried away as he wanted to and then some, had Zhao Yun abandoning all sense of patience. His usual gentleness vanished with it, as he wrapped his arms fully around Yukimura’s waist and kissed him wildly until they were both gasping for breath. He couldn’t make himself slow down, no matter how much they both might have wanted to savor the experience of their first time together. Yukimura clawed at his surcoat and then threw an arm around his neck to pull him closer, and laughed softly against his lips before diving in again. Yun met his kiss with a soft yearning noise in the back of his throat, and the next time they parted he rested his forehead against Yukimura’s, bringing one hand up to curl around his neck and then back into his shaggy hair. Yukimura was already giddy, his senses overloaded with everything he loved about Zhao Yun. “I’m so glad I don’t have to try to take off all your armor,” he chuckled between them.

“So am I,” Zilong teased. “I’ll try to be gentle with your injury, but I’m already having a hard time holding myself back…”

“Don’t hold back,” his sworn brother begged. “I want this.” He worked the knot of Yun’s surcoat open and slid his hand inside, slipping between layers of silk and linen to find warm skin and caress it, laying his palm flat over his heart. “If we lie together we’ll share a bond like nothing else. I’ve wanted it for so long…”

“You shall have it.” Yun moved to help him, pulling his surcoat and tunic open and then trying to unfasten his belt with their bodies pressed so close together. He gave up after a moment’s fumbling and reached to loosen Yukimura’s kimono instead, sliding it off his shoulder and dipping his head to kiss the expanse of skin laid bare to him. That put his ponytail right where Yukimura wanted it so he could untie it and let Yun’s hair fall loose over his shoulders. They groped and laughed and tried one more time to get clothes off, and then Zhao Yun stepped back, taking his comrade by the hands and pulling him toward the bed. They had slept together in this very bed so many times, and other times laid together to kiss and hold one another, but this was a new kind of intimacy and both were eager to share it. At the bedside, Yun let go and dropped his hands to undo his belt and girdle and toss them aside, which loosened his tunics and made it possible for Yukimura to put his hands anywhere he liked. It wasn’t anything new, they had disrobed one another so many times, out of both necessity and affection, but the sense that they wouldn’t be stopping this time had them fumbling a little in their eagerness. Zhao Yun delicately brushed a hand over Yukimura’s bandages to make sure nothing was irritated as he slid his kimono off his shoulders. Belts and sashes piled on the floor, followed immediately by kimono and tunics. They melded up against one another again and bent their heads to chase each other’s lips, teasing and fighting over who would get to take the lead, even while hands groped lower and untied each other’s trousers. Yun had barely gotten his down over his hips when Yukimura pressed against him, imploring him with gentle force to have a seat on the bed right behind his knees. It didn’t take much convincing, and Yun had barely settled when his partner climbed straight onto his lap, his own pants merely halfway down, a sight which made Zhao Yun laugh cutely. “You really have no intention of taking it slow, do you?”

“I can’t hold myself back any more than you can,” Yukimura admitted shamelessly, prowling forward and situating himself close enough for their rapidly-growing erections to brush, threading both hands through Zilong’s loose hair and then bringing them up to cup his face and tilt it up so he could plunge in for more deep, eager kisses. Between them as he broke for breath, he added, “I’ve dreamed of this moment, when I could finally give myself to you…”

Zhao Yun smiled into the incessant string of kisses, tipping his head up as directed and nibbling enthusiastically at Yukimura’s lips. “You’ve done this before…?” he wondered when he had a moment to form words.

“Mm…” It was a yes of sorts, purred against his lips. “With Kanetsugu,” Yukimura clarified when he could tear himself away for a second.

Far from being jealous, Yun purred back with interest. They had spoken before of an on-and-off relationship between the two samurai, it didn’t surprise him at all. “Then,” he said playfully, “you can lead me through the important details. I bow to your wisdom, my friend…”

Yukimura smirked at the thought he could be considered an expert in things like this. He relaxed a bit, resting his arms over Yun’s shoulders and gazing fondly into his eyes. “I’ve always done it just like this,” he noted, eyes flicking ever-so-briefly down to where their bodies grazed against each other. “Though, turned the other way. It’s the only way I know.”

Zilong followed his quick glance, thrilled to see them both in such a state already, but as his eyes dragged up the length of Yukimura’s body, he couldn’t help but worry about the wrapped bandages over his chest. “But…if you’re on top, wouldn’t that hurt you…?” His hand came up to drag across Yukimura’s chest, gingerly avoiding the actual spot of his wound and sculpting over his hidden muscles.

Yukimura laughed at the insinuation that he was at all fragile. “Maybe I would be doing most of the work, but I swear, Zilong. I’ll be fine.”

As focused on fighting and serving his lord as he was, Zhao Yun was at least as educated as any of his fellow generals, including in matters of intimacy. While not exactly a religious man, he had heard enough about the wisdom to be gleaned from pillow books on the best ways to pleasure another. Thus, his own fantasies prior to this moment had involved a very different imagining of the position. He lowered his eyes demurely and tapped a finger against Yukimura’s collarbone, beginning to smile again. “And what if I wanted to try something a little different?”

Yukimura’s eyes widened slightly before a shy laugh erupted from him. “Perhaps you don’t need to follow my lead after all, if you have some ideas already.” He drew one fingertip down Yun’s nose to his lips, then all the way down the center of his body, jumping from chin to throat to chest and downward yet. “Do you have some oil, or something like that? To make it easier…”

“Ah…” That was one thing Yun hadn’t considered, but a quick hunt around the room with his eyes drew his gaze to the vanity where his hair brush and other implements sat. “I think I can find something,” he replied. Before he could move to do so, however, he needed to something about the samurai in his lap. Curling both arms around Yukimura’s waist, he delayed for a bit to indulge in more making out, kissing deeply and wetly and moaning softly as Yukimura responded to his prompting and dove in further, practically devouring him from his superior position. Hands clawed through his hair, this time hooking on his dragon headband and slipping it delicately from his brow and sweeping it backwards off his head. It was the sort of melding of mouths and bodies that could have gone on all day and all night if they let it, but then Yukimura’s hips began to roll almost of their own accord, seeking Zilong’s heat, and the motion snapped him back to the present and their intentions. Zhao Yun splayed both hands up along Yukimura’s back, taking an extra moment to feel the power in those muscles, and then surged up against him in order to lift him and turn him slightly to deposit him most graciously and dotingly on his back. Yukimura held on to him all the way down and dragged him along, so that they could just keep kissing like nothing else mattered, but Zilong was on a roll and had a plan. He tore his lips away from Yukimura’s with some effort and dragged them affectionately down his chin until he could disentangle himself and sit up. His trousers fell to the floor as he rose and he stepped elegantly out of them on his way across to the vanity, aware that his partner’s eyes were following him the whole way. Feeling so wanted lent an extra flush to Zhao Yun’s skin, a heat which rippled all the way down from his face to his chest and down his spine into his groin, and he might have cocked his hips enticingly as he poked through what the castle attendants had left for his grooming needs. There was a bottle of fragrant oil, good for baths or taming unruly hair, that looked like it would work. As he turned back, the modest half-smile with lowered eyes returned to his face, as the enormity of their coupling became suddenly much more present and real now that he was one step closer to making it happen. He tried to brush it off as just something they were doing to enjoy one another fully, no big deal, but it was still a pretty big deal in the back of his mind. Yun found that while his back was turned Yukimura had managed to fling his own pants onto the floor with their already-large pile of discarded clothing and was waiting for him, sitting back on his hands but otherwise stretched out on the bed and ready. Yun forced himself to stop thinking _finally_ and get on with it, and eased himself onto the bed in just the right spot as Yukimura drew his legs aside to permit him to come closer.

They really could have simply sat together, naked, and kissed until the world ended around them, so as much as he wanted to attack Yukimura’s lips again, Zhao Yun focused on what they were really doing in order to urge himself to continue, to grasp what he wanted and indulge the both of them in what they had denied themselves repeatedly. He thought of that time at the river with the natural volcanic spring, the most desperate they had both been in their time together, and was glad they hadn’t just gone for each other out of need in some uncomfortable place like a tent or a river. Waiting had been painful, but as he prowled over Yukimura and helped him to get comfortable among the feather-stuffed pillows and linen bedding, Yun knew it was worth it. He bent to worship the young samurai’s body with hands and lips alike, trailing over the planes of his collarbone and shoulders, drifting down past his injury to the one nipple not covered by bandages, and letting his long hair brush against his skin as he moved even lower and delicately mouthed kisses against his abdomen. Yukimura was breathing hard in no time, chest expanding against the bandages, and he briefly thought to himself that maybe Zilong was right and he shouldn’t be exerting himself so soon by trying to take all the hard work onto himself. He gasped and sighed hard as gentle hands caressed the inside of his thighs, the feathery touch drove him to an even greater heat and he nearly whimpered under his breath as if to beg that touch to move just a bit to the side and up to reward his patience. Yun seemed to know what he wanted anyway and smiled impishly before finally giving it to him, closing his hand on that fine erection standing like the proverbial jade tower and teasing the velvety skin with flutters of his fingertips. Yukimura genuinely groaned, a long and low sound of delight that sent shivers up Yun’s back; he looked up even as Yukimura looked down toward him and met his gaze. “If you keep that up,” he breathed, reaching an arm back to grip one of the pillows, “I won’t last long.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Yun said wisely, giving him a few strokes before withdrawing and kissing his nearby knee instead. “It’s said to be better to prolong it, and not waste essence.”

Yukimura really had no argument to prolonging anything, even though he was reaching the point where he couldn’t deal with any more teasing and wanted Zilong fully inside him. “You should prepare,” he suggested, nodding toward the jar of oil left on the bedside table. “We’ll both need it.”

Zhao Yun didn’t need to question the why and how, it made complete sense – he had heard enough to gather that this act was not unusual and enough people had practiced it to know what needed to be done. He had never tried it before, though, so there was some awkward and almost shy fumbling while he slicked his fingers and then gingerly groped his way inside. He was fascinated by the way Yukimura’s body swallowed his fingers, and was careful not to touch him elsewhere while doing this work lest he end it too soon. He lingered a bit over-long at it, but it was worth it to be able to watch Yukimura’s back arch and muscles twitch in response to his touch. Belatedly, Yun likewise palmed his own erection and oiled it well, just in case, and then set the jar aside in order to position himself. He glided his hands along Yukimura’s thighs and spread him gently, tipping his hips up slightly in order to line them both up, and settled comfortably on his knees. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then smiled warmly. “This position,” he said with some amusement, “is called the Flying Dragon.”

A bright laugh bubbled up out of Yukimura before he could catch it, his eyes twinkling brightly in response. “I see. How appropriate you should choose it, then.”

Zilong shyly kept his eyes on their bodies as he moved in, exactly as any good man had been educated – enter softly, move slowly – but the chatter helped to keep him grounded and not lose himself in the mechanics of it. “I’m sure there is a name for the position you offered, but I don’t know it,” he admitted. “That seems to be far more advanced than anything I’ve learned so far.”

He eased himself into the oiled opening with some delicacy, pausing when Yukimura sucked in a huge breath at the intrusion and bit his lip to try to steel himself to relax his muscles. “Is that so?” he panted. “I should…I should like to know what you’ve learned.”

“I am eager to show you.” Zhao Yun took his time sliding in, pressing forward as softly as he knew how and keeping his hands resting on Yukimura’s thighs to hold him wide to accept. He breathed deeply yet again in order to focus and then began to move with slow, shallow thrusts, until he could feel Yukimura’s body permit him fully and he could plunge in deep. It was a rhythm he could manage, several gentle thrusts followed by a couple of deeper ones, and in no time at all even his breathing had fallen into the same rhythm, matching that of his comrade until the two of them were in complete unison. Yukimura couldn’t hardly move himself, he dared not even twitch his hips lest he throw off such a wonderfully pleasant sequence, but he was treated to the glorious sight of Zilong poised over him with his whole body committed to the motion, moving fluidly from chest to hips and long hair swinging gently against his cheeks and his collarbones with every thrust. The sensation coupled with the view was undoubtedly prolonging Yukimura’s pleasure exactly as threatened, those deeper presses provoking him to moan and then give a light cry at the tease of something greater inside him that he wanted more of. He dragged the back of his hand over his forehead and only then realized he had never taken off his Sanada headband, and tugged at it to rectify that misstep. Zilong shook his head quickly. “Leave it,” he begged on a breath. “I want to remember the sight of your six coins every time I think of this day.”

Yukimura purred a deeper moan, feeling his face heat with a blush. Him saying such a thing was more erotic than actual dirty talk. “If you wish,” he responded, diverting that hand to comb backwards through his hair instead.

Zhao Yun grinned hazily. He could see the trailing ends of the band draped over Yukimura’s shoulder, red threads winding across his golden skin. Why he found it enticing he didn’t know, but he liked it, and repaid the indulgence with a few extra deeper thrusts. The tease flared into something much greater with those plunges, Yukimura’s mouth opened wide with sudden gasps. “Ah…there!” he pleaded, pressing his head back into the pillow. “More, Zilong! More like that…”

Yun nodded in time with his own thrusts. “Then let me show you another position,” he murmured, shifting his hands up Yukimura’s thighs until they rested behind his knees. He had gotten quite used to the Flying Dragon but in order to ramp things up, he moved into the Jumping Monkey, pushing Yukimura’s knees toward his chest without going too far and straining his wound. It tipped his hips even further up to receive, making it much easier for both of them. He tried to keep the same rhythm, but every time he drove in deeper it evoked such a cry of delight from Yukimura that he couldn’t resist giving him more, wanting to hear his voice raised in pleasure. He leaned in, shoulders bending to bring himself even closer over the top of his partner, and then sped up the pace, feeling himself beginning to lose control and being quite all right with that. 

Zilong’s new position combined with the pace had Yukimura heaving for breath, feeling it strain his chest but enduring it willingly for the sake of the incredible jolts of pleasure spiking through his body. He found that he could reach up and touch his partner at last, grazing a hand along his cheek and then dropping it to grip his shoulder and hang on. The feel of being bent under Zhao Yun’s control and still treated to enthusiastic, careful, diligent lovemaking was something he never expected out of such a position. His other hand stretched up to glance over Yun’s lips and then ended up fisted in his hair, tugging a little. Yun gave him one of the deeper thrusts in return, making him lift his voice in a loud cry. “Please!” he yelped, pulling a little harder on the handful of silky hair. “Zilong! Let me…I want to…please…”

Was it too soon? There really wasn’t anything in Zhao Yun’s experiences to tell him if it was all right to come yet. He was starting to get close, every thrust gripped his cock tightly and sent waves of sensation rippling through his whole body. He didn’t have enough wits left about him to stop and think, he wanted it just as much as Yukimura and decided to just go with it. Their need was greater than any suggested techniques could provide answer for. “Let’s get there together, Yukimura,” he implored, plunging in deep and then rolling his hips as fast as they would go so that both of them would feel it, every inch of him inside and every twitch and gasp outside. One hand slipped, but he caught himself with the crook of his elbow beneath Yukimura’s knee in order to keep him held down and spread wide, which allowed him to lean in even further. He raised his eyes to capture Yukimura’s gaze, and for a few eternal minutes they simply stared at each other while they panted and moaned, Yukimura kneading Yun’s shoulder with fingers tightening their grip to the point of pressing marks into his skin. Then, at long last, he felt the electric jolt that warned of what was building, his mouth falling open and eyes squeezing shut. Zilong knew that sign well and forced himself to hurry to meet it, rearing back and thrusting as hard as he could, pulling fiercely back and plunging in. His partner still had a hold of his hair, and though his hand slipped from shoulder to arm he still grabbed on and held tight, gasps escalating into cries that became strangled in his throat as he fought not to be the first to reach orgasm. Zilong turned the tables on him rather abruptly, letting go of one thigh and reaching between them to stroke his erection once more, but he barely got his fingertips around the head before Yukimura came on the spot, throwing his head back into the bedding and somehow managing to lift his hips up into the unending thrusts as he did. Watching him thrash, feeling him bang up against him, Zhao Yun could hang on no longer and needed only one more plunge before his body erupted, a single high-voiced cry announcing his climax. His hips jerked of their own accord, prolonging the waves crashing through them both until he finally wilted and lost his grip on Yukimura. His hands thudded into the bed on either side of his lover to keep himself from collapsing onto him, while Yukimura let go of him and then threw arms over his shoulders to try to drag him in anyway. Their eyes met again, and Zilong gazed at him as though seeing him for the first time before dropping his head to kiss him. It didn’t last long since both were completely out of breath, but it was enough. They needed say nothing, and held for a moment simply feeling each other’s breath on their heated, sweating faces before they finally moved to uncouple and stretch out to rest.

They didn’t even bother to find the blankets, the bed was disheveled enough and that took too much work. They laid naked together in their well-loved nest, Yukimura stretched out on his back with Zhao Yun curled up half against him and half beneath him, guarding his bandaged chest while curling an arm to serve as his pillow and nuzzling the top of his head. Any words to the effect that it was every bit as wonderful in reality as in his dreams sounded trite in his head, so he lavished attention on Yukimura silently instead, stroking fingertips against his neck and collarbone and draping a leg over his to keep them wrapped up together. Yukimura in turn curled an arm up and back to brush the backs of his knuckles along Yun’s flank, tipping his head up to interrupt the nuzzling in his hair and chase his mouth instead, trading lazy kisses for a bit. He reached to catch the hand caressing him and drew it to his lips to favor each finger and then the palm with more kisses, smiling beneath their touch as Yun dragged them over his cheek and jaw and even his nose. They couldn’t stop exploring even now, though they were growing quiet and drowsy in the aftermath – all they needed was to stay in contact, any little bit of it, and nothing else mattered, not the mess, not their clothes, not even the remote possibility that an attendant might come knocking and find the door locked. After a while, Yun tucked his head next to Yukimura’s and murmured against his ear. “Stay with me forever…”

Yukimura breathed a soft chuckle and tipped his head again to meet his eyes. “Forever?”

“Do you think your brother would let me keep you?” Zilong wrapped his arm over Yukimura’s shoulders and cuddled him close. “Probably not, I suppose.”

“It isn’t as much my brother as Lord Takeda…” This wasn’t the time he had wanted to bring it up, but perhaps it was safer after they had shared such a bond – if ever there was proof that their oaths were unbreakable, this was it. “You’re no longer commander, you won’t have retainers of your own.”

“I wouldn’t want you to stay as my retainer,” Yun insisted, gazing solemnly at him. “I know sworn brothers don’t have to serve together, but it would be a reason.”

“Have you mentioned our vow to anyone, yet?”

“Only to Lord Liu Bei.”

Yukimura smiled tenderly. “I am glad he knows. I can see, now, why you are so devoted to him.” He reached across to comb his fingers through Yun’s hair as it fell over his shoulder and over the both of them. “Sworn brothers or not, I don’t know if it’s right to try to stay in Shu. I haven’t spoken with Lord Takeda at all, I don’t know anything of his plans going forward. But one thing I do know.” He rolled onto his side so he could face Yun and rest his hands on his chest. “I don’t want this to end. Wherever we are, whatever happens to us, I will never stop loving you, Zilong.”

Zhao Yun searched his face and then clasped the hands on his chest to him, unwilling to let them go. “I want that as well. I love you, deeply and fiercely, Yukimura, and…I suppose, it doesn’t have to end even if we end up living apart. Brothers, and lovers, have been known to do just fine in those kinds of circumstances.”

“So…” Yukimura looked from their hands to his face again. “…if I were to need to return to Lord Takeda’s service, you would still have me for a lover?”

“I did say forever, didn’t I?” Yun’s eyes softened as he gazed deep into his brown eyes. “It is the way of men like you and I, who know only service to our lords and nothing else. They will need us in the coming days and years, if this is where we are all meant to live out our days. I will still be yours, and you mine, no matter where we are. Besides,” he added with an impish sparkle, “I know where Ueda is, I can see you anytime I like.”

Yukimura laughed. “But what if I’m not stationed at Ueda?”

“Then your brother will tell me where to find you,” Yun teased. “Really, though. If we do end up apart, we can still visit. I still haven’t seen Osaka, the place you told me about the day we first met. And you will always have a room here at Luo, too.”

“I…” Yukimura lowered his gaze for a moment, but the smile never left his face. “I had been so worried, about what choice to make. But now, you’ve given me hope. I don’t have to choose, I can have everything I long for all at once. Or, at least,” he noted, “I can give thought to whatever Lord Takeda says, tomorrow, no matter what it is.”

Zilong bent his head to rest his lips against Yukimura’s brow. “I suppose you couldn’t help thinking about it,” he murmured with his face pressed there. “Everyone seems to be. It will soon be a time for goodbyes, for a lot of people.”

“But goodbye is not forever,” the young samurai reasoned. “You’re right, we may all end up apart in body, but we have our thoughts of one another, our memories, and our feelings. And letters,” he added with a small laugh, “and visits to one another’s holdings. No matter how long we are all still here in this world, we’re together no matter how many miles separate us at any given time.”

“Now that sounds more like the optimistic Yukimura who has sustained my heart all these months.” Zhao Yun matched his laugh and nuzzled him warmly. “You are my good fortune, you are why all my dreams have actually come true.”

Yukimura twisted his hands in order to entwine his fingers with Yun’s. “With you sworn to me, I will have nothing to fear,” he breathed, echoing his lover’s remark from the very first day they met. Yun could find no more sweet words to share, so he kissed the same spot on Yukimura’s temple he had been content to nuzzle and then rolled onto his back, dragging his partner with him to be kissed fully and thoroughly. Whether they spent the rest of the afternoon simply reveling in one another with no more barriers between them, or decided to go for another round, there was nothing more to fear. It seemed their story really could have a happy ending.

  


Swift messengers had been sent out from Chengdu as soon as the Resistance began to arrive, in order to race across the countryside to the castles, towns, and fortresses being held by tiny contingents of each army in the unlikely but not impossible chance that some of Orochi’s army still roaming abroad could attack them while the bulk of the coalition was away dealing with its head. For most, it meant they could stand down their alerts and breathe a sigh of relief, but for the battalion stationed at Bai Di Castle, letting down their guard was not an option. They still had a prisoner on hand, and with the news of Orochi’s demise, they anticipated that sooner or later whoever came back to handle him would want him ready to transport. While their leaders were nursing hangovers and contemplating their futures at Luo, the lieutenant in charge of Bai Di’s defenses decided it might make his unruly charge more docile if he informed him of the demon overlord’s fate. Unfortunately, delivering the news would have the opposite effect.

Fuuma Kotaro had been languishing in a locked cell since his capture, given basic medical attention for his wounds while as Oda was still in residence, so by now he had healed up more than enough to regain his strength. Yet, he played a careful game with his captors, letting them think he was still far too pained and weakened to offer them any more than a token snarl now and then. The guards were diligent enough not to discuss present matters in his hearing, so it took until the Resistance was actually camped below Koshi and readying their attack before he even discovered that Oda Nobunaga and all of his officers had gone off. He had been suspicious when he kept seeing the same couple of men standing guard, it all made sense then. After that, the waiting was more about choosing his path than simply taking advantage of the undermanned guard. He gave the lieutenant a customary amount of sass regarding the shocking news that the great demon had been killed in battle, but once left alone again, Fuuma found himself stewing over it well into the night. How was it physically possible that a power as immense and dark as that could be rendered mortal enough to kill? Like so many others, Fuuma had assumed Orochi to be immortal and thus impossible to destroy – at best, he figured the Resistance might have been able to whittle down his army, siege the castle long enough to wipe out their supplies, and chase him off into the wilderness of lava that comprised the far west of the demon dimension where he might lurk and bide his time before he could regain enough strength to rebuild his army and start the war all over again. A constant give and take like that, never truly defeating him, was a type of chaos the ninja captain could be proud of. But no, if the demon lord was dead for real, that was a sure end to his darkness. Or was it?

Bereft of his clawed gauntlets, Kotaro scratched his fingers through the loose dirt on the floor of his cell as he thought. _Without Orochi to set themselves against_ , he reasoned to himself, _those lords will fall back on their old animosities. It doesn’t take a genius strategist to see that. Takeda and Uesugi will resume their rivalry, Nobunaga will do his best to conquer the rest of them, and the three kingdoms will be at each other’s throats_. He grinned to himself in the darkness. _What glorious chaos. I must be in a place where I can enjoy it to the fullest_. 

The guards on night watch were a mere hour away from changing shifts, at that dangerous point where their energy was flagging and eyes were heavy while they counted down the last little bit before they were relieved and could go off to bed. The crash against the cell door startled them awake, but they could do nothing aside from stand there gawking as two more crashes finally did the job and the door splintered down the middle. Fuuma burst through the damage foot-first, kicking his way free and then rounding on the guards, throwing punches until they went down, spears clattering onto the floor. He looked both ways up and down the corridor and then darted off in the direction he expected the armory to be, hunting for his confiscated weapons. With so few men on hand, it took a while for anyone to have heard the noise and come down to investigate, and by then one of the guards was coming around and reported that the prisoner had broken out. It was too little too late, for the deadly shadow was already moving through Bai Di’s passageways, first to find his gauntlets and then turning to the quickest way out. He was bigger and swifter than anyone in the castle, and had barged straight into one of the storehouses to fill a satchel with provisions before anyone even realized he was there let alone came to stop him. The main gate tempted him, but the rest of the contingent holding the castle began to stream toward it to block him, so he chose a more daring escape route. Up the steps to the parapet and across the battlements, Fuuma raced ahead of them all and cut down any sentries currently standing on the walls. Seeing him change direction, the lieutenant barked out orders to converge on the culprit where he was, even if he wasn’t so sure his men were strong enough to defeat the ninja who had only been captured after Oda himself had beaten him down enough that he couldn’t keep fighting. Fuuma was not concerned about them in the slightest, he simply wanted to get out and chose the quickest path once he had weapons and supplies for his journey. He came to a stop along the upper parapet facing westward when soldiers began to rush up the stairs closest to him, intending to cut him off before he could circle around to the rear gate which led to the maze. So they weren’t completely stupid, he noticed, they had guessed at his two most reasonable options. There was a third, and he was prepared to take it. He straightened up to his full height, glanced back at the soldiers pursuing from one end and then forward to the ones trying to block him, and grinned darkly. With one quick hop he was standing on the battlement, and then turned and flung himself off into the night.

The lieutenant came to a screeching halt in the spot previously occupied by the ninja captain, gaping in astonishment. “He jumped!” one of his men exclaimed as they gathered to peer over the wall. The castle on that side faced a deep valley filled with trees, the walls perched right on the edge of sheer cliffs that descended like a chasm below them. “Did he…did he kill himself on purpose?”

“Maybe hearing about Orochi drove him to despair,” another offered.

“No,” the lieutenant said warily. “That’s the head of the Fuuma clan, do you really expect a ninja of his fame wouldn’t know how to survive a fall?” He whirled around quickly. “Turn out every last man! Wake the rest up and get out there, start beating the trails north and south of the castle! If he didn’t break his legs, he’ll be looking for a path out of that cleft, waste no time!”

One or two of his men still leaned out over the edge of the parapet to see whether they could see any evidence of the ninja’s fate, whether a body on the rocks or a shadow leaping from tree to tree like some great mythical monkey. The rest scattered to obey the order, thrusting the gates open and daring the Stone Sentinel Maze in order to try to get to the path along the mountain ridge before Fuuma did. But he would not be found, not that night and not in the days to come. He was too smart for them, he landed safely by using tree branches and then the underbrush to break his momentum but the valley was deep and dark with plenty of places for a wayward individual to hide until daybreak. He found a spot with good views of the paths at the top of the ridges and settled in to rest, letting his enemies exhaust themselves trying to find him so that hours later, he could stroll right out to the road and slip away across the wilderness surrounding Bai Di. Orochi may have been dead, and with him the excitement of nightmares unending and torment for all those who considered themselves great, but Fuuma knew exactly how to turn the coming days to his advantage. He could cause so much havoc by himself, or he could watch the others set upon one another and create chaos on their own, either way he would be in a good position to goad it along and then watch the flames of conquest rage across the land all over again. So long as he got out of there before any Hojo could come along to try to contain him, he would be as free as the wind to fan those flames. For Fuuma Kotaro, the future would play out exactly as he wanted it, with or without Orochi. The thought brought a smirk to his lips as he stretched out along a tree limb for a good night’s rest.


	95. Chapter 95

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance meets for the last time; Mitsunari makes a choice; Date and Keiji are dealt with.

The war room in Luo Castle served as the conference location for possibly the last time in the war to resist and defeat Orochi, and this time, the leaders of all kingdoms, clans, and factions were invited to join as their own representatives. A few brought a strategist or additional backup, but for the most part everyone came on their own, including every individual warlord from Wa who had a clan to lead or a castle to man. The long table which had served Zhao Yun and his officers well played host to this unique collection, though some of the additional retainers present stood along the wall in guard positions in order to free the seats for the actual dignitaries. Once Liu Bei and Zhao Yun entered, things got right down to business. Liu Bei assured his guests that he was as up to date on the state of the Resistance and the world they now controlled as he could be, though Mitsunari graciously provided a map for the assembly’s benefit just in case. They had a lot to get through, and started with the formalities of ending the alliance as formed in the military camp, followed by a brief recap of the battle to touch on any unusual information that some discovered. Sanada Nobuyuki described the interior of Koshi as he remembered it, with Liu Bei’s input, and Zhou Yu wanted to talk about the strange demons they saw in various corners of the battlefield – the spider-like ones who struck fast but appeared to have no weapons and the giant boar-like beasts with heavy clubs. They were difficult to fight and caused a number of delays among the forces attempting to converge on the main gate and the keep, and it concerned more than one officer that such demons had only been sparsely seen abroad once Orochi had left Koshi, but seemed to be greater in number and power at the serpent’s lair. Whether any of them had been killed was unknown, and the assembly as a whole had to admit that they allowed large segments of Orochi’s army to simply flee the field, meaning their whereabouts were currently unknown. Between demons now lacking a lord to organize and lead them and the escape of Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo, general consensus was that things may not remain perfect and peaceful for long. Mitsuhide rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he listened to the discussion on the leftover minions and dregs of the enemy army, contemplating other as-yet unsolved mysteries of their existence in this realm. “I don’t disagree that they could become a problem,” he said when it was his turn, “in fact I expect that they absolutely will. But each of us on our own won more battles than we lost against the army under Da Ji, when Orochi himself was not present. It may not be so dire as to press the entirety of the Resistance back into service like it was before.”

“It makes you wonder, just what he hoped to accomplish,” Tokugawa mused. “His conquest at the beginning was terrible and utterly successful, but after that, he retreated and allowed Da Ji to run his army into the ground until he himself was the only thing left standing between us and…well, whatever it was he desired.”

“What _was_ his end goal?” Sun Ce wondered openly. “I mean, I was part of that army and even I don’t understand what Orochi really wanted.”

Few of those present had enough insight into the demon warlord himself to offer up any kind of answer. Even Ishida shook his head to suggest he didn’t want to speculate. It seemed Zhuge Liang was the only one who had gotten as close as any officer could get to Orochi, so he laid his fan on the table before him and folded his long, thin fingers together. “I have been pondering that myself, ever since his demise,” he said pensively. “It was clear even at the beginning that he chose to bring the strong into this world of his making – powerful warlords, kings, their most famous officers, and so forth. The peasants who found themselves here were mere collateral damage, they were simply caught up alongside the people Orochi genuinely wanted.”

The others quieted to listen to him, though Cao Cao harrumphed a bit. “We know what he wanted at the start. He did his best to crush our armies one by one, even contenting himself with assuming he had killed our best. What I want to know is, what came after? Tokugawa is right, he allowed his lackeys to squander his victory. Why?”

Kongming shook his head slowly. “Even I could not say that I knew his mind well enough to be able to guess. The mistakes made by Da Ji and the army, that was not part of his plan. When they failed him, his anger was terrible to behold. While I don’t believe he intended for us to join hands as part of a coalition, he still wanted to fight the best humanity had to offer. The few times I was in his presence, that was what he spoke of. He believed himself greater than any one of us without a doubt.”

“He was, at the beginning,” Ce said heavily. “Every man he walked up to, he defeated.”

“Individually, perhaps.” Zhuge Liang looked from him to his father, and then over to Cao Pi and Zhao Yun in turn. “But once we all stood together, he could no longer defeat us. Not just at the end, but every time you reached out your hands to one another it brought about Orochi’s failure. When Zhao Yun came to Sun Ce’s aid, when Cao Pi gathered in the men of Wu and even the Lady Diaochan, when Oda Nobunaga gathered in not just his own enemies but warriors from our kingdoms who set aside their rivalries and worked together. Times like those, I saw Orochi’s true weakness.”

“He had one?” Ujiyasu snorted.

“Indeed,” Kongming replied, not taking it as sarcasm. “He chose the strongest, the bravest, the most notorious and notable. He thought that their great names meant they were all great warriors on their own, and that is what he desired to fight against. What he didn’t quite grasp was that all of those warriors – all of you here, and all your officers – owe their notoriety to the efforts of everyone around them. Essentially,” he explained, “Orochi thought he was fighting individual people, when in fact the true strength of humanity lies in our collaborative efforts. Without strategists to deploy our men properly, without alliances to bolster our armies, without even the rank and file soldiers who clear the way and obey orders to accomplish goals, the strength of any one man wielding his weapon is nothing. I don’t think he realized that until the elite among us stood before him in one group, united and ready to do anything to ensure that someone among us might finally strike him down.”

“Even then,” Zhao Yun added, “we would not have gotten that far if we did not have something to fight for. Even Lu Bu needs a grain of a reason to fight before he will. We had more than that – we all had our own deeply-held reasons to stand up against Orochi, reasons for which we would have given our lives.”

Liang nodded sagely. “He genuinely did not realize that he was not crushing the spirits of the fighters he wished to dominate, but rather encouraging them to rise up against him.”

“He still came pretty close to crushing our spirits,” Sun Quan said sourly. “But in the end we withstood his torment. And we did have others reaching out to help us, like you say.”

“The people are your castle,” Takeda Shingen said solemnly, “your ramparts and your moat. We became as such to one another, and in the end our castle was stronger than Orochi and his actual castle.”

“His miscalculation came at the very beginning,” Cao Pi said smartly, closing a hand into a fist on the table’s surface. “His scheme was doomed to fail at that point. Yet, had we all not chosen a path of resistance, it might not have come to pass. Perhaps the Sleeping Dragon is correct, and Orochi’s true intention was in fact to prove himself stronger than humanity – what he believed humanity to be, not what it really is.”

“If this is meant to be some kind of oblique lecture to warn all of us not to stray from a path of unity,” Nobunaga smirked, “be assured that it does not fall on deaf ears. At least, I can say that much for myself.”

Kenshin eyed him from a few seats down. “That will remain to be seen.”

Oda gave him a breezy look, letting him grouse if he wanted to. Only he knew for certain what plans he was making deep in the back of his mind. “It is no lecture,” Zhuge Liang assured the assembly. “Merely a statement of what I’ve come to understand through my observations. What happens from this day forward is not a tale written in stone. Anything could happen.”

With Zuo Ci’s confirmation that they were basically stuck in that patchwork world where territories butted up against each other almost nonsensically, winter and summer could exist side by side, and the lava patches had become more or less permanent fixtures, they all agreed that even choosing peaceful coexistence meant changing how they viewed their own possessions and their neighbors. In order to protect themselves from any potential usurpers, they needed to come to an agreement on who could claim certain lands and with it, the responsibility to defend them against unpredictable threats. The problem was, provinces that should have belonged to certain kingdoms were jumbled around and strewn from one end of the map to the other, so that no one lord could claim a large swath of territory by right of history or family. Even their castle holdings were spread out, so they had to decide whether to give up their own home cities and fortresses in order to mark out a geographical boundary, or to put aside the notion of kingdoms and countries and instead focus on individual castles no matter where they lay across the land. No one appeared ready to give anything up; if anything, their cautious words and careful glances around the table suggested that in the days to come, they were as likely to revert to seeing each other as rivals and enemies as they were to prepare defenses against Dong Zhuo. Instead, it seemed that each lord wanted his own castle back, so the discussion turned to the matter of all the fortresses, cities, and other locations each army had claimed. “We might as well get that out of the way, so as to move forward with the rest of our plans,” Oda said smoothly. “Now that Orochi is gone, none of us can get away with simply taking whatever stronghold is closest and most available and holding it against him. I’m sure most of you would prefer to have your rightful lands back, as much as I would prefer to make Honnoji my home without any interference.”

“Wei already controls its own,” Cao Pi noted. “Xuchang, Jianye, He Fei, and Chencang belong to us, and we will be content with them. I am all too happy to turn control of Odawara over to whoever claims it.”

“That would be me,” Ujiyasu said. “I suppose it’s only right that the Hojo return to their ancestral castle. My thanks to whoever’s been taking good care of it.”

“Lady Nene and my boys were there for a while,” Toyotomi said with a beaming smile. “I was with them there when Orochi first attacked, we did our best to save it but it was no use. Now that they’ve found you, Lord Ujiyasu, I’m sure the place will be in much better hands.” He looked briefly to his lord and then around the table. “As for Osaka, if you’re leaving it to its rightful owners, well, I guess I’ll have to send Nene there while I stay with Lord Nobunaga.”

Oda nodded his acceptance of the arrangement, knowing that with Hideyoshi in his own army, Osaka would be a viable secondary location for anyone he chose to send there. “I do hold a couple of castles which should be turned over to their lords. Fan and Guandu…”

Yuan Shao grunted in annoyance. “So you have been enjoying the hospitality of my ancestors, have you? We will be happy to return to Guandu, indeed we are destined to. I will not be a vagabond so long as my family’s home is there for me to take up residence.”

“It is passing through winter at the moment,” Oda smirked, “so by all means, rush home, Lord Yuan Shao.”

“Fan Castle, on the other hand…” Liu Bei looked warily across to Sun Quan and Cao Pi. “It has long been in dispute, I’m not sure what we should do about that.”

“Well,” Shingen broke in as if to prevent them from staring each other down, “my Nemesis and I have been enjoying our stay there, and while I expect we will both go our separate ways now, the fact of the matter is, we have seen no sign of my own stronghold of Kofu, nor anything of his precious Echigo. It seems both the Tiger of Kai and the Dragon of Echigo lack their own lands in which to lay their heads for the moment. So, if you talk it over and decide you can’t make up your minds who should control Fan…” He looked to Kenshin beside him. “…I think a follower of the God of War would make a capable steward of the place for the time being.”

Uesugi eyed him for being so free with compliments. “What are you going to do, become a traveling monk and wander the land?”

“Eh,” Takeda sighed, “there may not be a castle there but Kawanakajima was always good to me.”

“I would have no problem with that plan,” Sun Jian put forth. “Wu has Hefei, and Chosokabe has already agreed to turn over Xin Di to us – it seems he’s also on a search for his homeland, and wants to get back to it.”

“Yes, Shikoku,” Mitsuhide murmured. “Which reminds me – there are still territories all around the land which haven’t been fully mapped yet, Shikoku may likely be one. We have hardly explored the sea coast south of Xin Di, and large parts of the land between our current holdings and Nanzhong.”

“This is true,” Cao Pi conceded. “We may also have information on the location of Luoyang, though I have yet to see it with my own eyes to confirm whether it comes from a time before or after Dong Zhuo’s ravages.”

“The old capital,” Liu Bei murmured. “If that’s true…”

“There could be much more out there,” Mitsunari finished for him. “We have the time now to scout and travel freely with no interference. It would be my advice for all of our forces to do so, and piece together a complete picture of what Orochi brought here along with us. It could be that a great number of provinces and cities still lie undiscovered, so in the end, we won’t all need to crowd into a limited number of castles and start eyeing each other’s.”

His warning was subtle but did not go missed among those at the table. Yet, expressions were guarded and no one spoke to confirm or deny that they were having any sort of thoughts about taking over. At least for the shrewd; Meng Huo needed no guile, and simply pounded a fist on the table. “I don’t care about the rest of you, do whatever you want to your lands so long as you stay out of Nanzhong. That belongs to my people, and my people _only_.”

“You are welcome to rule Nanzhong as you see fit,” Liu Bei assured him with a gentle wave in his direction to calm him down. “The Nanman already control it, no one will intrude.”

“Apart from that, Shu has controlled only one castle that isn’t ours,” Zhao Yun broke in. “Odani, which I am told belongs to the Azai. In turn, my lord would like control of Bai Di, even if it sits so far from Chengdu now.”

“You shall have Bai Di as you wish,” Oda agreed. “We still must deal with the prisoner being held there, but after Orochi’s demise, he may be more pliable.”

Ujiyasu laughed gruffly. “Don’t bet on it. But I will go and see to him, since he’s my problem. I won’t wish him on Lord Liu Bei and the kind folks of Shu.”

“Still, if we can be of assistance, Lord Hojo,” Liu Bei said patiently, “say the word. Then, with Xiliang confirmed to be in the hands of the Ma clan, Ueda in control of the Sanada, and Edo given in full to Lord Tokugawa, that should be everything on our end.”

Wei and Wu also seemed to have been taken care of, Sun Jian and his sons and the Caos nodded to one another in agreement. “That leaves me with only one castle in my possession which I do not want,” Oda said, sweeping a stern look around the table. “Xiapi.”

“Lu Bu’s stronghold,” Sun Jian remembered.

“He’s still out there somewhere,” Hideyoshi reminded them all. “With his lady and all his retainers. Do you really wanna just give him his castle back and let him build up more trouble?”

“Where is it located?” Liu Bei asked, since he had been given governance of the territory once upon a time.

“Far to the east and somewhat north,” Sun Ce replied. “It’s within striking distance of Wu, as well as several of Lord Oda’s holdings, and Odawara.”

“Hm, that far away.” Liu Bei tapped a finger against his chin. “Probably too far for Shu to bother with.”

“There is one tentative possibility,” Cao Pi said, turning his eyes to an officer standing behind the main group observing in silence. “Once we dissolve our coalition, the Sima clan will be on its own with nowhere to claim for their own.”

Sima Shi straightened up, hearing his name, and blinked curiously at the suggestion. “Lord Cao Pi…I can give you no guarantee that my father will be willing to join the Resistance even with Orochi dead…”

“I find that to be of no consequence at the moment,” Pi responded, vaguely smiling as if guarding a secret. “Without Orochi to resist we have no need of a Resistance, each of us will be handling our castles and provinces as we best see fit. If Xiapi is to fall into someone’s hands, I would actually much prefer it to be Sima Yi over Lu Bu. Your father may be an unknown factor, but I still find that a better option than the known threat that is Lu Bu.”

“A fair point,” Nobunaga complimented him. “I would have no trouble giving over command of Xiapi to the Sima brothers who have served me well and given their blood and sweat for the Resistance.”

Shi’s pale complexion turned rosy for a moment. He had never felt unappreciated among Oda’s army but open praise always felt great. “If you would make that choice, we would have a base from which to conduct our searches. It would benefit all sides greatly, I believe.”

“It does seem like that’s our best option,” Sun Quan mused. “Then, what of the other territories without their own city or fortress? Chi’bi, and the like.”

The various lords looked to one another for an answer. It was Zhuge Liang who finally spoke of one. “If I may advise…it is important that we not let these lands go ‘wild’ so to speak. If Dong Zhuo or Lu Bu were to scrape together their retainers and begin to mount a conquering force of their own, any region left unguarded could become their foothold. While I would not advocate any one kingdom becoming possessive toward what amounts to open wilderness with a garrison or two and maybe a road through it, we should all look to the lands closest to our main cities and undertake the responsibility of patrolling them to keep unwanted elements from digging in and strengthening their capabilities.”

“So, for example,” Mitsunari said to take up his recommendation and run with it, “Wei might take charge of sending routine patrols through the Wuzhang Plains to make sure Dong Zhuo isn’t raising an army there. Lord Tokugawa may want to send someone up the mountain pass to Hulao Gate from time to time. That sort of thing.”

“Fair enough,” Cao Cao agreed. “All of us have the manpower, surely such a venture would be no great strain on our resources.”

“Those lands which border on each other’s may even be jointly patrolled,” Sun Jian suggested with the barest flick of a glance toward Cao Cao. The last thing he wanted was to see the Wei lord subtly taking control of what should be open land, particularly with a distressingly small amount of such unclaimed territory between He Fei Castle and Xin Di. “That should reduce the stress on any one kingdom to maintain too many patrols.”

With that much agreed, they took a short recess to stretch their legs and call for refreshments. After the banquet the other night many didn’t even want to look at a cup of wine, but since tea had become something of a refined beverage for the elite of Hi-no-Moto, a call was put in for Chengdu’s best to be brought and served. The lords of the three kingdoms were still continually amused that a folksy drink meant for good health had become so important in a thousand years’ time, but since their lands were the home source of the leaf, they could accept being venerated in such a way. When the meeting reconvened with warm cups of thick green tea for all, Liu Bei wished to begin by asking after the intentions of each faction going forward – what did they want most out of a quiet existence here in this mixed world? Wei, Wu, and Shu all had designs on maintaining their kingdoms as best they could, given the great distances between castles, and after discussing the handover of said castles, Sun Jian, Liu Bei, and Cao Cao all more or less agreed that they simply wanted to govern their cities as they best saw fit. On the other hand, everyone from Wa had their own needs and personal interests to see to. Some wanted to search for missing retainers and members of their households, others wanted to try to locate as-yet undiscovered fortresses belonging to their homeland, and still others were openly content with a single castle and the promise that everyone else would leave them alone. Mitsuhide’s point about the search for Shikoku was not the only one regarding outstanding possessions – Shimazu Yoshihiro was not content with what he heard of Kyuushuu and wanted to investigate it further, because both his clan and Tachibana’s had contested land there and it was possible both could lay claim to it now. Zhang Jiao and his brothers had nowhere to call their own, as Yellow Turbans they were unwelcome anywhere belonging to one of the three kingdoms and their esoteric pursuits seemed too strange for anyone from Wa to want to deal with. Then there was Miyamoto Musashi, who swore he didn’t need a land to call his for he and his band of swordsmen preferred to live as nomads. Without any information on where Lu Bu or Dong Zhuo might be or what they might aim to do, there could only be speculation, no definite plans for who should patrol what and how anyone should deal with threats when they arise. When talk began to meander from one topic to another, Liu Bei wisely steered it back toward the most important issue yet unsolved. “Before we say our farewells and go our separate ways, we must deal with the prisoners brought back from Koshi.”

Several of the lords nodded. “You have suffered at Orochi’s hand more than anyone, Lord Liu Bei,” Cao Cao prompted. “We have already dealt his punishment to him. Do you feel as though the men we captured are worthy to bear the full weight of Orochi’s sins in his stead?”

Xuande shook his head slowly. “It is not my place to even speak of their fates. I have not met any of them, they have not wronged me. Only those who have dealt with them on the battlefield have any say in what to do with them.”

“And even then,” Takeda said heavily, “what right do we have to hold them responsible for anything Orochi did? They may have made a number of terrible mistakes, but they did not start this war.”

“But they have done more than enough to be complicit in its waging,” Uesugi argued against him. “Everyone here knows full well that Date Masamune and Maeda Keiji fought for Orochi of their own choosing and, given several opportunities to defect, refused. They were not Orochi’s puppets.”

“And yet, no one had the will to execute them on the field as is usually done with the enemy’s willing cohorts,” Sun Jian pointed out.

Cao Cao raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you so thirsty for blood, Tiger?”

“Hardly.” Jian met his gaze coolly. “I’m just pointing out a fact.”

Seeing a shadow pass over Ishida’s face and Toshiie wince, Zhao Yun spoke up. “Regardless of their personal motives, which only they know deep down in their hearts, they are no different from us. That is, they are men who were captured and dragged into this demon dimension alongside all of us. They and all their retainers and followers are our fellow humans, not demons or monsters with no remorse.”

“Date Masamune fought bravely at my behest, when Orochi first sacked Edo Castle,” Tokugawa said heavily. “Whatever he became with the shadow of Orochi on his heart, he was once our ally and friend – and I believe, in some sense, he may still be.”

“Same with Keiji,” Hideyoshi said with unusual solemnity. “He wasn’t like Fuuma, who turned on us in the middle of a battle. He fought to his limit against the snake himself and was beaten down. Zhao Yun is right, we don’t know what’s in their hearts – what happened to them after those first battles when they were on our side and fought with all their might.”

Oda set his empty tea cup on the table with a deliberate, firm gesture to bring all eyes to him. “It seems to me that without knowing how they presently feel about the death of their lord, any discussion of their punishment or other potential outcomes can only end in stalemate. It has been my advice from the start that those with the best chance of understanding them should be given time to talk to them. If nothing else, we cannot determine a man’s fate without information, which we currently lack.”

Cao Pi arched an eyebrow in interest. “I would also point out that the lord of the Sima clan has already taken Zhong Hui back under his mastery. Where an officer would willingly pledge loyalty to anyone but Orochi, there is room for mercy.”

“Mercy appeals to me,” Liu Bei murmured. “You all make excellent points. I may be the present host for their prison, but it is not my right to make that decision – that is, unless the rest of you cannot come to a consensus. I will serve as tie-breaker if it comes to that. But first, as Lord Oda suggested, effort must be made to speak to them.”

There was only a moment’s pause before Yukimura spoke up from where he supported both his brother and his present lord. “I know just the person.”

Mitsuhide glanced his way. “You, young Sanada?”

“No. Saika Magoichi.” He looked across the table to try to catch Mitsunari’s eye, and managed to get a small nod from him. “Lord Toshiie, I’m sure you also want to speak to Keiji, by all means. But for Date, I believe Magoichi is the best man for the job.”

No one had any argument with that offer, so dispensation was given for those with the desire and capability to meet with the prisoners before anything was done about them. It was a problem that needed to be solved before anyone could leave, and though everyone was comfortable and content with their hosts, the need and the will to move on to their new normal lives was already eating at them, some more than others. The assembly agreed that there would be no need to meet again so long as they were all still in Chengdu, not even for this outstanding issue – messages passed between the commanders of each army would suffice, and if nothing else, Liu Bei would see the other three leaders of their factions personally. He wondered after their thoughts on how soon any of them would be leaving, and no one could commit to an answer. A few days, some said, maybe a week, maybe less. It depended mostly on whether they felt that everything had been handled to their satisfaction, and whether they had wrung every last drop of entertainment out of Chengdu. That said, there didn’t seem to be anything else outstanding at the moment, but the last agreement made between all lords and leaders was that they ought to stay in communication, both while relaxing in the capital and once they moved on to their home cities and castles. If anything came up that had been previously forgotten or considered unimportant, they knew where to find each other. At long last, Cao Pi looked from one end of the table to the other to briefly note every single officer present. “Then, if I may. The Resistance Army is hereby considered disbanded. May we all go our separate ways to peaceful lives with no more fear of Orochi to disrupt them.”

“Agreed,” Nobunaga purred.

“So be it,” Sun Ce sighed.

“It has been an adventure,” Zhao Yun said optimistically. “My thanks to all of you for fighting the long and desperate fight that brought us to where we are today.”

Takeda Shingen laughed gruffly. “Let us hope that any future adventures are not nearly so adventurous.”

  


The Wei army was being housed in Mianzhu just beyond the southern gate of Luo, which had strong-walled buildings inside the perimeter walls and a fine, low-roofed house for the guest officers to reside in until they were ready to go. This guest house was where Cao Cao and Cao Pi, with their bodyguards and certain favorite retainers, retired to upon returning from the meeting inside Luo. Pi went to the desk he had been using and looked for some paper on which to jot a few notes about the discussion, and as he sank to a seat he realized one of his shadows was not behind him as usual. Someone or something must have caught his attention as they were leaving from the meeting, so he conceded the absence with a shrug and got down to business, while his father hovered near his shoulder as if hoping there might be anything for him to do, a scouting report to read or something. Before they could say a word to one another Mitsunari reappeared, striding in through the door with purpose and stopping on the other side of the desk facing them both. “My lord,” he said, crisply and formally, “Ishida Mitsunari requests to stay on in the position which he has occupied up to this date.”

Cao Pi lifted his head immediately, his eyes alight with interest, while Cao Cao peered at him more narrowly. “Is this an official request?” Zihuan asked.

“It is.”

There was only a moment’s pause, as if he didn’t want to answer too quickly or else be mistaken for being too eager. “Then, I accept. Resume your post, Master Ishida.”

Mitsunari bowed deeply and made to step around him to assist with the notes. Cao Cao still peered, watching him move with hawklike precision. “Have you nowhere else to lay your head, Master Ishida?”

Mitsunari glanced his way, any feelings on the matter restrained behind a blank, placid look. “The Toyotomi clan, which I have served, is remaining as vassals of Oda Nobunaga. There is no reason for me to join them.”

“Even though I have more than enough strategists in my service as it is?” Cao Cao turned a cool look on his son. “Between Guo Jia and Jia Xu alone I am not sure there will be need for additional advisers.”

“Ishida is my personal strategist,” Cao Pi said firmly, raising his head and giving his father a stern look. “You need not concern him in your own plans, father. Arrange your retainers as you see fit, and I will see to mine.”

The hint of tension between them did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room, but Cao Cao wisely nodded and took a step back from the desk. “Fair enough. You have earned their loyalty through your hard work, my son, so if you wish to surround yourself with them, I will leave it in your capable hands.”

Pi sniffed under his breath but said nothing more on the matter, putting a final touch on his notes and then rolling them up to store. “How soon do you wish to leave the hospitality of Chengdu? Though I suppose there is still a matter of where you wish to go once we do leave.” He shot his father a wary look. “Is it time to return to Luoyang?”

Cao Cao pretended to contemplate it. “Possibly, although I really like the look and feel of He Fei Castle. I have not settled on a permanent headquarters yet, but for the interim I believe I will pull back to He Fei and determine my next move from there.” His eyes narrowed again in a keen smirk. “Which may be to Luoyang, it’s as much a possibility as anything.”

“Yet, I have this feeling,” Cao Pi said airily, pushing himself up from his seat, “that if we were to lay claim to two imperial capitals at the same time, it would be seen by the other kingdoms as a provocation. We already have Xuchang, and that is where I plan to head. Perhaps Luoyang should stand as a symbol of our alliance and our once-great Han kingdom, available to all to visit as they wish.”

“Perhaps.” Cao Cao smiled, but his eyes were cold and betrayed his desire to claim the original capital for himself. “We will discuss it again in the future. We will arrange our units to cover both He Fei and Xuchang, and from there send staff to Jianye and Chencang. It shouldn’t take more than a day to handle that, so I believe we will be ready to move out in three days’ time at the earliest. Best make it four – in case some of our men need time to say their fond farewells.”

“Then that will be our plan.” Pi took a step and then set a hand on Mitsunari’s shoulder. “That long meeting took a lot out of me. Ishida, will you see me to my quarters?”

“Yes, my lord,” Mitsunari murmured, taking his elbow in order to safely escort him so that if he became faint or weak along the way, he would be there to catch him. They excused themselves from Cao Cao’s presence with bobs of their heads and made their way through the guest house to the room at the end which Pi had claimed for himself, though it was clear before they even reached the door that he was using his injury as an excuse and really wasn’t tired at all. In fact, as they crossed the threshold Zihuan’s hand slid down Mitsunari’s arm to grasp his wrist gently and tug him into the room after him, where it was safe for him to bring that hand up to his lips and brush them across the knuckles. Mitsunari huffed, trying to stifle a blush. “Liar.”

“I did not lie,” Cao Pi countered, feigning offense. “I said absolutely nothing about being in pain or anything. I just said it took a lot out of me, and it did.” His smirk came on at full force. “Mentally.”

“Uh huh.” Mitsunari stood still, though he inclined his head as if to receive as Pi stepped closer to him, smirking back at him. “What’s this about, then?”

“The real reason you wish to stay.”

Ishida dropped his eyes shyly. “What, the one I gave your father wasn’t enough?”

“It was a good, logical reason. Sound and rational. I understand your position.” Pi let go of his wrist and slid both arms around him instead, bending his head so they could whisper close. “But it isn’t always about logic.”

Mitsunari’s fingers curled into the cowl of Pi’s cloak. “Will you laugh at me if I said I believed that fate means for us to be together? Even if it’s just to advise you.”

“Not at all.” Zihuan breathed a soft sigh of contentment at the feel of Mitsunari’s warmth against him, and the familiar scent of tea leaves and ink that always surrounded him. “I confess, I was steeling myself for the moment you would come to me to tell me it was time you returned to Toyotomi’s side. I have been most unwilling to let you go.”

“It’s true, you know,” Mitsunari noted, lifting his head to meet Pi’s eyes. “I have no place with him so long as he’s Oda’s lackey. That said, even if I did…I don’t want to leave any more than you want to send me away.”

“Then stay, as my personal tactician indefinitely,” Pi offered, “and whatever else you wish to be.” He smiled slyly. “But if you so much as breathe the word ‘concubine’ in my hearing, I’ll throw you right out of my bedchamber.”

In the absence of the rest of any Wei lord’s harem, Mitsunari was content being the one indulgence beside his wife. He had been reassured multiple times over, ever since that day at Odawara when he first found the courage to demand a kiss, that such relationships were not uncommon – most of the Han emperors had at least one male concubine, to say nothing of life-long companions – so even though Cao Pi preferred to keep the matter private it still was something he was allowed to enjoy. Ishida understood his position at long last, even if he was still certain Zhenji would kill him if he overstepped his boundaries. “Sure her ladyship won’t mind?”

Cao Pi tipped his head in a slight shrug. “I may have to tell her, now. But really, I would very much like to see the two of you become friends. Or, well, at least get along with one another. If you will be my personal tactician, you’ll see as much of me as she does anyway.”

“Get along, huh?” Mitsunari made no promises one way or the other, but he found it extremely interesting to hear his lord’s true desire. He did like Zhenji, but wasn’t sure yet if she could return the favor. She was even more mysterious than her husband had been to him at first. “Well. Who knows how much time we’ll have to work on it? We could be here for years. Maybe even our whole lifetimes.”

Pi’s icy eyes clouded with an uncommon darkness, his brow furrowing pensively. “Our lifetimes?” he repeated. More than one warlord at the meeting earlier had mentioned something of the same, it seemed many believed they were going to be stuck in this alternate world permanently. “I’m not so sure it will be so. Years, I could believe, but not forever.”

Mitsunari met his look with one of concern. “What makes you say that?”

“You,” Zihuan replied, and then felt the need to clarify. “You knew your history even before we met, you are well-read and know more about our dynasties on the mainland than most. How could any of that history come true if we live out our lives here?” He seemed to only just then notice that he was still standing around and moved to have a seat, lowering himself onto a bench under the latticed window and drawing Mitsunari along with him, loathe to let go of him. “I admit, I am not exactly an expert in matters of time travel. It could well be that I’m looking at it all wrong. But it makes the most sense to consider that if we are all pulled here from different times…would we not have noticed? Would we not have wondered what became of Sun Jian and Yuan Shao if they disappeared rather than died? Would Sun Quan and Liu Bei have even risen to become their own emperors if they had actually been taken to another world while still in their prime? Moreover, wouldn’t history have noted the vanishing of the Han’s greatest generals one by one, whether or not they had left any heirs to continue on for them?”

Ishida followed his prompting and came to sit on the other end of the bench with him. “It’s possible that later historians wouldn’t have wanted to tell the world that their leaders had vanished,” he speculated, “but as to the rest…no, it doesn’t make sense. You and the others from your time…you saw them live out their lives and die and the world move on after them.”

“Lu Bu doesn’t remember being captured after my father and Liu Bei cornered him at Xiapi,” Cao Pi noted, “and summarily executed. Yet I, and my father, and even Zhang Liao clearly remember that day and his infamous beheading. It happened. But how could it have happened if Lu Bu were whisked to this dimension of Orochi’s and allowed to live a second lifetime?”

“There’s a reason I haven’t spent a lot of time dwelling on the paradoxes which make up our existence here,” Mitsunari grumbled. “It gives me a headache. I don’t understand time travel or demon magic either, but somehow both things are true. Somehow they did live and die, as did you, and a thousand years passed and historians wrote of your kingdoms. Those histories came over from the mainland just like tea and the Buddhist teachers, and we learned about you. And at the same time…we’re all here. Together.”

Pi still had a hold of one of his hands and dragged it into his lap, clinging to it as though it were the only stable rock in a roiling sea of philosophical thought. “I suppose the answer lies in a direction I dare not tread,” he murmured. “I have spent most of my life cleverly evading the gods, but in a place like this, they seem to be far more real than I had ever given them credit for.”

“So it seems,” Mitsunari acquiesced. “But even so, does it matter? Whether gods exist or not doesn’t change the practical matters we have to deal with.”

“I knew there was a reason I loved you.” Pi smiled softly and squeezed Mitsunari’s hand in his. “You’re right. We still have an army to command, castles to staff, preparations to make. Whether or not our existence is a living paradox doesn’t stop the sun from rising and setting, it seems.”

Ishida matched his smile, keeping his eyes low and focused on their knees hanging over the edge of the bench rather than meeting his gaze directly. “I’ll indulge your deeper thoughts another day, when we really have the time and energy to argue philosophy for hours. It’s a mystery, and one I wouldn’t mind eventually untangling.”

“I will hold you to that promise.” The thrill of matching wits with Ishida was one of the many side benefits to having him around. And now that Cao Pi was certain he wouldn’t have to send him away, he privately looked forward to a time when they would be able to argue and ponder and spin rhetoric all day and all night. As much as he knew that he couldn’t rest or relax his vigilance for long, Cao Pi was officially stepping down as Lord of Wei, passing it back to Cao Cao by right as soon as they gathered their forces and set out for Xuchang and He Fei. He could ease his burden of command, if not his hard work keeping an army of his own. There was no doubt in his mind that his father would be one of those stirring unrest in the future, the only question was how long Cao Cao would be content sitting at He Fei or Luoyang before he started making noise about bringing the other lords under his sway as a means toward a unified land of peace. Really, the success of the Resistance alliance could be used against them, for if they were able to all work together once, why wouldn’t they want to all be united together again? Personal desires for freedom be damned. But all of that still lay ahead in the future somewhere. Zihuan might not have been able to unravel the secret of how notable names from across time could be in this place together and yet be known to history in the real world, but he was certain that Mitsunari’s point was apt. Somehow it did happen, it was happening. He could set aside time to ponder the intricacies of time travel and alternate worlds later, when Cao Cao was the one undertaking all of the busy work to lead his kingdom and his army. Once reduced to a mere general, Cao Pi could have all the time in the world to theorize, to write and drink and listen to Zhenji’s flute, all the things which gave his life fullness. He glanced to his auburn-haired shadow beside him and leaned closer to murmur, “Maybe I will rest for a while. If you’ll stay with me.”

Mitsunari eyed him back with something of a smirk. “When did you become such a sap?”

“I’ve always been a sap,” Pi said wryly. “I just haven’t had a chance to really show it, what with betrayals to plan and wars to wage.”

“Yes, I suppose those do take a lot of work.” Mitsunari nudged him with his shoulder. “Maybe I could sit with you for a while, if you’re just going to lie around in here. When you’re not working, neither am I.”

“I do so enjoy it when you see things my way.” Because it was merely a guest house, even Cao Pi’s quarters had only a simple bed for one, nestled in an alcove along the wall with a light curtain separating it from the rest of the room. He got up from the bench and reached to unpin his cloak, letting it fall over the back of a chair as he made his way to his bed and slipped out of his shoes. Mitsunari accompanied him, settling himself near the head of the bed with a clear view of the door in case anyone came looking for either of them. In moments he had Pi’s head in his lap, and combed his fingers through the fringe framing his face even as Pi settled down as if to nap. They could hear every sound in the Wei camp filtering through the window, their soldiers moving about keeping things orderly and routine, the gruff voice of a well-known officer now and then – it all seemed genuinely peaceful, even if the routine itself was no different from when they were encamped for war below Koshi Castle. There was a gentle undertone to everything, and more laughter in those voices, even when they both heard Cao Ren just outside talking about practical matters like tending the pickets of their cavalry horses. After a bit, Mitsunari glanced down, ready to remark on the change in atmosphere, but Cao Pi had fallen asleep in his lap, lips parted slightly and long eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. Though part of him noted dryly that he was now trapped beneath his lord’s head, Mitsunari didn’t seem to have much of a problem with that. He rested shoulders and head back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, not to join Zihuan in slumber but to simply listen and revel in the serenity of it all. After all they had been through, he figured they deserved a little peace and quiet even if for just one afternoon.

  


Upon the conclusion of the meeting in Luo, everyone went off on their own errands or to their own business, some to continue enjoying the vacation in Chengdu and others to man their contingents much like Cao Cao and Cao Pi. Among the many things he had to do, Yukimura considered one paramount above all others, and prepared to hunt all over the castle grounds for the man he wanted to see, figuring he had gone off somewhere to meet women while he had some time to himself. However, the target of his search was actually lurking around the war room, not invited to the conference but still intensely curious about what was going on in there. That made Yukimura’s errand rather easy to set up, and there was no time like the present. There was no reason to keep them apart, and three sparse pallets fit in the cell, so Date, Katakura, and Maeda shared their captivity. Of them Katakura was in the best shape, physically, so he made some kind of effort to tend the other two in between visits from guards or medics, though mostly he simply paced and silently dealt with being rebuffed by his lord. He was on his feet when the cell door creaked open and turned, expecting to answer a guard’s query whether they needed food or a healer, but had to stop and stare when Saika Magoichi ducked his way into the cell, followed by Yukimura. Zhao Yun stood just beyond the doorway, but he remained outside on guard with Dragon Spear in hand while his friends went in to deal with this outstanding problem. Date sat up on his pallet with his back against the wall, completely bereft of helm and armor but dressed well, most of his injuries hidden beneath his shirt and trousers except for his arm bound to his side. If he glanced toward the door to see who had entered, it was subtle enough that he showed no reaction, not even the twitch of his brow. Magoichi waved a hand to suggest that Katakura back off and let him pass, and then went to sit on the end of Date’s berth. “Hey,” he said quietly to announce his presence, though Date still wouldn’t look straight at him. “I know you don’t wanna talk, so just listen. We gotta sort some things out, and I’m pretty sure you can guess what, but just the same…they’re letting me and Yukimura go first, before everybody starts talking about stringing you up or locking you away or anything.”

Date finally stirred, turning his head slightly to regard him through the long hair hanging over his face. “Why? What makes you think I want to listen to you?”

“I don’t know, maybe because we’re friends? At least we were, once.” Magoichi sighed softly and glanced briefly toward Yukimura before forging ahead. “You’re in a tough place, man. It’s not like all those guys who were blackmailed or forced into serving Orochi, you were with him of your own free will and stayed with him right to the end. Part of me is pretty damn impressed at that level of loyalty, even if I don’t understand why, but mostly I just don’t know what to do to save you from here on out.”

“And what if I don’t want to be saved? Did you ever even think of that, _Saika?_ ” Masamune’s voice was tight but hushed, almost strangled with barely-suppressed anger. “Execute me, I don’t care. I have nothing left anyway, why don’t you all take out your need for vengeance on someone who actually wanted to see Orochi succeed?”

“Will you stop it with the pity-party already, Masamune?” Magoichi was less ruffled by the cold, impersonal address than he was the demand for death, that was what had him responding sharply, though he managed to keep himself from springing up. “Come on! Do you really think that if all we wanted was justice against Orochi’s lackeys that I’d be in here trying to talk to you?”

Date gave him a sullen look, which slid past him and over to Yukimura where he stood, arms folded. “What do they want with me, then? Oda, Cao Pi…all the others.”

Yukimura blinked slowly. “Nothing, yet. Magoichi is right – we’ve come down here to talk, and see if we can’t reach an agreement first.”

“Orochi’s dead,” Magoichi said plainly, “but that doesn’t mean you have to follow him. The Lord of Oshu doesn’t have to bend his knee to anyone.”

Date bristled, sucking in a quick breath. “There is no Oshu,” he said bitterly. “I am lord of nothing right now. There is no place for me.”

“Isn’t there?” Magoichi turned his hand up on his knee, tentatively offering it at a distance. “You knew back at Jieting that we wanted you on our side. We still do. I mean, if you really want to be locked up instead, I’m sure Lord Liu Bei would be happy to keep you here, but we really don’t know how long we’re gonna be in this world. Prison for the rest of your life sounds boring as hell.”

“Then just kill me,” Masamune said tiredly, tipping his head back against the wall and closing his good eye. “I don’t know why you’re so against execution, Magoichi. It’s not like you haven’t seen your fair share. More than a few seppuku, too…”

“So, what. If we gave you back your sword you’d just fall on it? Put a pistol to your own head?” Magoichi’s brow furrowed. “Is it really so bad without Orochi? C’mon, Masamune, I wanna see your side of it. I don’t get it, but I want to. Otherwise you’re gonna be stuck in here for the long haul with no access to a weapon, for that exact reason.”

Date rolled his head to the side to give him a sour look, and then continued on to Keiji at the far side of the cell. He laid quiet with his eyes closed, but anyone could guess he wasn’t sleeping. When he finally had a response, Date’s voice had dropped even more in volume, sullen and lifeless. “You faced him, didn’t you? How did you manage to look him in the eye and not fall to your knees in fear?”

Saika raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Well…technically, no, I didn’t. I was part of the rescue team who went in after Lord Liu Bei, by the time I got out to see Orochi for myself he was already full of holes. But Yukimura…” He used that same hand to thumb over his shoulder at the young samurai standing at the doorway. “…took a few hits from him. And if you want to hear from the man who struck the first deathblow, he’s right out there in the hallway.”

Masamune stiffened slightly and looked straight at Yukimura, his eye widening slightly. Yukimura dropped his arms to his sides and then drifted one hand over his chest. “It wasn’t as serious as it looked. I’m healing well. But no, Masamune…I wasn’t afraid. There was no room for fear. I looked into his eyes and felt only the calm of certainty. Whether he felled me or not, it didn’t matter. I had to fight him, and let come what may.”

“How?” Date finally showed some life, sitting up a bit as if straining toward Sanada. “How could you not…? Didn’t you know he could have crushed you, and everyone with you?”

“There wasn’t a single one of us who entered that castle who didn’t know that,” Yukimura said plainly. “But we entered together, united, and that was how we faced him. If one fell, another would step in to take his place. Not one of us fought alone, not even Lord Nobunaga.”

Magoichi remembered them all saying something to that effect when the battle was over, but hearing it now contrasted to Date’s fatalistic worries, it started to make sense. He looked straight toward his friend, with new realization. “When he defeated you, Masamune…did you have anyone at hand?”

Date seemed loathe to recall the battle in the wintery darkness of Edo, his eye shifting away. “Kojuro was defeated outside the keep. Lord Tokugawa was still holding ground upstairs. But we didn’t have…we didn’t have a lot of reinforcements, not even Honda.” He shook off the implication and sat up again. “It doesn’t matter how many people were there! Orochi was…he was just that powerful! I could feel it radiating off him like the heat of the sun, he was invincible. I can’t even fathom how you managed to kill him, it just…it doesn’t make any sense! I don’t care if there were a hundred of you all attacking at the same time, you couldn’t have taken him down!”

“It’s what he wanted.” Keiji’s low grumble interrupted from across the room and made them all glance his way. “Lord Orochi wasn’t happy without a real challenge. It got away from him, though – he created an enemy he could have fun fighting, but I don’t think he realized it was gonna be strong enough to end him.” He wrestled himself up as much as he could, reclining on one elbow so he could look at all of them, and nodded once in Yukimura’s direction. “Doin’ all right, Yukimura?”

“Much improved,” the young samurai replied. “How are you, Keiji?”

“Been better, but I’ve also been worse.” Maeda shifted to Date, then. “Let it go, Masamune. He’s dead. He gave us a good run, but it’s over.”

“I know!” Masamune insisted with enough energy to hurt himself, wincing and sliding his good hand over his chest. “I’m not denying that he’s dead and we’re lost! But I don’t have any way to explain why I wanted him to go on and win, I can’t even make sense of it myself, except that…” He wilted and then dropped his head into that hand, covering his face. “…he could have ended it all. No more infighting, no more war between idiots who all thought they were the best. Orochi overthrew all of them, and could have kept them down, if not for Oda. He had to go and resist, and everything exploded from there.”

“You’re wrong,” Yukimura said bluntly. “He wasn’t the one who started it, there were others. Lord Zhao Yun for one, and he had his own reasons that had nothing to do with thinking himself better than others or wanting to rule the land. Those of us who rose up to resist Orochi’s conquest weren’t thinking of ourselves, we only wanted his cruelty to end.” His eyes saddened slightly. “Maybe you turned your back so you wouldn’t see it, but his reign wasn’t pleasant. His army tormented peasants, stole their food and their land, killed them for no reason other than being in the way. He forced noble and generous people to fight on his behalf under threat that their loved ones would be killed if they didn’t. Nothing that he created was good, it was all suffering and darkness. Even the land couldn’t take it – his castle, his territory? Wasteland, darkness, twisted and broken. The lands here which came from our time and the Han time are beautiful by comparison, just as they should be if we were all in our right times. He couldn’t create anything lovely, all he could do was steal it from where it belongs.”

Magoichi nodded his agreement. “I still don’t get what you saw in him, Masamune, but I’m willing to overlook it. He’s dead, but you’re not. You still have a chance to make it right. You and Keiji both.”

Keiji huffed and flopped back down. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Saika. I ain’t goin’ along with anybody, I’m my own man. This ain’t Ueda.”

Yukimura’s brow knotted, but some part of him expected that response. “Has Lord Toshiie been to see you, yet?”

“Yeah, couple times. Pretended to be asleep every time.” Keiji frowned at the ceiling. “I know what he wants and he doesn’t need to hear my answer. It’ll kill him.”

“Keiji…”

“Save your breath, Yukimura.” Maeda’s lips curled vaguely into a smirk directed nowhere in particular. “I got where the wind takes me, same as always. Just ‘cause I wasn’t on your side didn’t make me a different man, and even being torn to shreds by your army won’t stop me.”

Yukimura lowered his head, lamenting to himself that not even the amicability which had brought these men to his side to defend his family’s castle would be enough to sustain them in this demon world. He heaved a long sigh and then turned to Date instead. “You say you’re lord of nothing because Oshu isn’t here. Do you know that for a fact?”

Masamune lifted his head to peer at him. “Do you know something I don’t, Yukimura?”

“I’ve not heard that Oshu is somewhere in particular, no,” Sanada answered, “but there is a lot of uncharted territory in this world. It could still be out there. Your people could be waiting for you.”

Masamune’s expression hardened into a mix of anguish and disbelief. “Don’t say such foolish things,” he snapped. “It’s not like that and you know it.”

“No, I think Yukimura’s got a point,” Magoichi broke in. “But, hey, I get that searching for any trace of Oshu is gonna be hard. It’ll take effort and time, and maybe you’ll face disappointment, so it’s a lot easier to talk about just surrendering to whatever punishment the Resistance might want to deal you. Then you don’t gotta worry about taking responsibility or anything, right?”

Date eyed him good and hard. “I see right through you, Magoichi. You can try to shame me all you want, it won’t work.”

Magoichi sat forward, leaning toward him, with a suddenly intense expression. “But is anything I’m saying wrong? The truth of the matter is, we’re stuck in this place, Masamune. We all have to live here, together, all these ancient kingdoms from a thousand years ago right alongside the rest of us. Thanks to Orochi we’ve all gotten to know each other in different ways, so it’s not gonna be exactly like it was back home. Who knows? Maybe we can all live in peace together from now on. Or, maybe one of those other jerks is gonna make trouble, after they scampered off the battlefield to save their own necks. We’ll just deal with it as it comes. The future isn’t written in stone. Why not take a chance on it, see what comes?”

Masamune sat with shoulders hunched, guarded as if concerned his old friend would spring on him and punch him. “What are you going to do then, Magoichi? What of the Saika Renegades?”

“Actually…” Saika shrugged, sitting back. “I kinda like it here. There’s not a lot of single ladies to shower with my undying devotion, but Chengdu’s a fine city and these Shu fellows are pretty awesome.” He tipped his head to call back over his shoulder. “Is that all right with you, Lord Zhao Yun?”

Zilong edged into the door frame for a moment, blinking a bit since this was the first he was hearing of it. “I would be pleased to still have you as a comrade. You are welcome here – I’m sure Lord Liu Bei would be the first to agree.”

Magoichi smirked as if that proved some kind of point. “The Saika Renegades always go where they’re most needed, you know that. Right now, maybe Shu needs us the most. Or maybe I just don’t want to leave my new friends. Either way, there’s your answer.”

Yukimura gave his sworn brother a fond smile over his shoulder before stepping further into the cell. “Such is how it is among all of us. We’ve talked of establishing alliances and visiting friends at each other’s castles. This world is open for us to explore and enjoy, with no emperors around to pressure us into bowing to a single shogun or anything. Do you have any interest in being a part of that, Date Masamune?”

Masamune pouted sullenly up at him in return. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It really is that easy,” Magoichi insisted.

“If it were my choice,” Zhao Yun added, now that he had been drawn in to the conversation, “I would set you free, Lord Masamune, and allow you to choose your own path. But, as I have relinquished command to my lord, it is up to Lord Liu Bei to offer you anything. The Resistance met earlier today, and decided not to take any action until Magoichi had been able to speak with you. The minute we leave this cell, today, the best you can expect is whatever the four lords would decide, so if you have anything to say for yourself, this is your chance.”

Date looked from one to the next, a frown deepening on his face. He couldn’t believe they would be so soft-hearted as to just let him go, just like that, but then, if the benevolence of Shu were exactly as rumored, maybe they would. Oda wouldn’t be so generous to him, but maybe here and now Oda didn’t get more than one-quarter’s say after all. “And how do you know,” he challenged, “that I won’t go out there and take over one of your castles, and set myself up as Lord Orochi’s successor?”

“That is a risk we take,” Zhao Yun coolly admitted, “as much as we risk anyone – Lord Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo – doing the same. But we cannot live forever constantly worrying that one warlord or another is going to rise up as Orochi did, we must go on and build our kingdoms as we best see fit. Life inside this demon world will be easier for all of us if we do not constantly threaten each other, but all we can do is trust one another and wait and see.”

“Oh yeah,” Keiji interjected. “Lu Bu and that asshole are still out there. They didn’t get caught.”

“They fled,” Yukimura confirmed. “They already have the benefit of their retainers surrounding them, supporting them. If anything, I’m sure we will hear from one or the other before too long.”

The idea of Lu Bu, of all people, _fleeing_ the battlefield when Orochi was losing and letting him die, and then being able to just rebuild his coterie and establish a foothold somewhere in the world, filled Date with a fresh rage. For a moment he trembled angrily, and then pushed it all down with a hard sigh, dropping his head so that the others couldn’t see his expression. “I suppose you have a point,” he said raggedly. “If that imbecile gets to live and have his way, then allowing myself to be executed for Orochi’s crimes is a worthless gesture – a waste. Maybe I should go my own way, then. But know this.” His eye shot up to fix on Zhao Yun, rather than his friends. “I will not join you. Any of you. Not Oda, not Takeda, not Shu or Wei or anyone. If I go, I go on my own. With my men,” he added, belatedly remembering that Katakura was standing there listening to this entire discussion without any contribution of his own. “You have my son and Kojuro’s as well, right?”

“And a few of your other relations and lackeys,” Magoichi affirmed. “They’re housed outside Luo in a safe place. Don’t worry, we’ve been taking good care of them.”

Masamune drew himself up into the proudest stance he could manage while bedded down on a cot in a prison cell with a broken arm. “I accept Lord Zhao Yun’s proposal, then. Let us go our own way and we’ll leave here. All of us. You will not have to deal with the One-Eyed Dragon beyond the walls of Chengdu.”

“And me.” Keiji rolled over again. “I’ll go with him.”

Masamune shot him a stunned look. “Keiji?”

“What, like you don’t have room in your army for a wild man?” His eyes clouded, and though he looked to Yukimura, he couldn’t hold his gaze for long. “I don’t belong anywhere else. You know that, I know that. It’s better off that way. Besides, I think I still got a long way to go before I can swing my pike around again.”

Yukimura frowned deeply. “But Lord Toshiie…”

“Toshiie won’t be surprised at all,” Keiji interrupted him. “I’m betting he already saw this coming. I ain’t gonna serve Oda, not anymore. I don’t know what’s gonna happen to this world, but I’m making my own choice here.”

“Fine,” Masamune said quietly. “Keiji’s with me, then. If you’re going to revoke the offer, do it now before we make any plans.”

Magoichi looked back at where Zhao Yun stood, aware that he didn’t have the authority to carry any of it out on the spot but figuring he would go straight upstairs to Liu Bei as soon as this was over and make his proposal to his lord, who had the weight to see it brought to the other commanders for an agreement. “We’ll see what we can do,” the mercenary said noncommittally. “If you’re willing to take it, I’m sure the others can be talked into giving it.”

Date lifted a wary gaze to him and then Sanada in turn. “I bet you hate me for it, don’t you?”

Yukimura shook his head slowly. “I don’t have it in me, Masamune. I’m disappointed, but I would rather see you alive and well than anything.”

“As for me,” Magoichi said heavily, “if I see you raise a pistol against anyone I like, I’ll be the first to punch you in the face for it. But we haven’t been through hell and back together for me to turn my back on you now.”

“Idiots,” Date grumbled. “Sentimental idiots, all of you. Just leave me alone. Are we done here? You have my answer. Go, see if you can talk Oda into it.”

Magoichi knew that he would not be able to get any further into Masamune’s head, not now, so he pushed himself up from his seat and moved to the door, clapping a hand to Yukimura’s shoulder as he passed to encourage him to come along. Yukimura glanced worriedly toward Keiji, who had laid back down to rest, and silently drifted afterward. Zhao Yun brought up the rear to close and lock the cell door behind them, and then herded them toward the stairs before breaking the silence. “I will do all I can, my friends. Magoichi, if you would like to come with me…I think Lord Liu Bei would like to hear directly from you on the matter.”

Heaving a long sigh, the mercenary tossed his head in a vague nod. “Sure, why not. If you insist.”

“I don’t know if I said the right thing,” Yun worried, “but I don’t see any reason why they should remain imprisoned or otherwise forced to do what they don’t wish. That would make us no better than Orochi. All the same, I feel like you know them best, Magoichi, and can explain the matter to Lord Liu Bei.”

“You Shu guys…” Magoichi patted Yun on the shoulder, somewhat exasperated but also deeply touched by the way they went to bat for him and for Date simply because of his connections to them. If anyone could convince the likes of Cao Cao and Oda to go along with a plan to release their most dangerous prisoners, it would be Liu Bei and Zhao Yun. “C’mon, let’s go up and do it, while the fire’s still fresh in me. All we can do is take a gamble on it, right? Thanks,” he added. “You’ve been a real pal all along, Zhao Yun.”

Zilong smiled kindly. “Was it true? Do you wish to stay with Shu, now that you have your freedom to go anywhere you please?”

“Yeah, it’s true,” Magoichi insisted, using that hand on his shoulder to steer him up the steps. “The Saika Renegades are your guys, for better or worse. I mean, maybe I should ask Lord Liu Bei just to make it official, but…”

Both Yun and Yukimura beamed brightly. “So be it,” the Tiger General said. “Then, let us visit my lord. We’ve done our part, the rest is up to our allies.”


	96. Chapter 96

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A number of personal decisions and farewells are made.

The time to say goodbye was fast approaching on all sides, and though it was a necessary and long-awaited parting, many who had made good friends among the four Resistance factions dragged their feet and put off the reality of it as long as possible. The majority of those who had been parted during the long war had already returned to their rightful places before the great battle at Koshi, so they were good and settled and ready to go home anytime, once decisions were made by their commanders on exactly when to move out. There were still a few, though, who hadn’t yet made up their minds about where to go or whether to stay, and they felt the passage of time weigh suddenly heavy on their shoulders. The conference between leaders had hashed out all of the important details, all that actually remained was for each army to collect everyone, resupply for their journey, and then set a time to depart. That evening after the meeting passed without any of them actually making that decision, but by the next day some talk was going around about when Wei might head out, and then rumors of Oda’s faction breaking up completely so that some lords could leave at their leisure began to wind through the corridors of Luo. Perhaps some of the latter had to do with witnesses spotting Sanada Yukimura going to see Takeda Shingen, though no one besides Zhao Yun knew at all what the young samurai had planned.

Shingen, like Kenshin and Nobunaga, was staying inside Luo Castle in the guest quarters, and though he entertained the comings and goings of his own officers regularly at all hours, he was pleased to have his favorite retainer knocking at the door at long last. He welcomed Yukimura in and bade him sit and share this new type of tea he discovered among the humble peasants of Chengdu. “Or perhaps old type would be more accurate,” he chuckled as one of his men brought them the steeped tea and then made himself scarce. “I daresay our noble host has no idea of the great treasure hidden within his city or what it would mean to every last tea ceremony back home to be able to taste this exceedingly ancient and original style of tea.”

“He may have some inkling,” Yukimura said, amused, before bowing his head and taking his cup. “I told Zilong about tea ceremony once, and he was extremely mystified.”

“At the banquet, I mentioned to Lord Liu Bei that I might like to host one for him before I leave, so he could see what I was talking about,” Takeda chuckled as he raised his cup to his lips. “But today is not a day for ceremonies, only the company of good friends. Tell me, Yukimura, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence? Are you here to tell me you’d like to defect to the kingdom of Shu?”

Yukimura flushed slightly, keeping his eyes low and focused on the tea in his cup. “I would never defect, Lord Shingen…”

“I’m teasing,” Shingen dryly assured him. “And here I’d hoped some time with new friends would have improved your sense of humor, Yukimura. I suppose I had better leave it up to you to tell me what you want, then.”

Sanada nodded quickly. “I came to learn what your plans are, my lord. I know you mentioned something of Kawanakajima at the meeting, but you said nothing else about your actual decision for where to settle, and how soon.”

Takeda eyed him from behind the mask and then breathed a soft sigh. “That is my end goal,” he admitted, “but since your brother has taken control of Ueda and your father now feels himself free to join the Sanada clan there, I think I may simply go as far as Ueda for a bit. The cavalry is in pretty good shape all things considered, but I’d like to take stock of them once they’ve been fully separated from the Uesugi.” He gestured with his cup to the fine, sunny day and the whisper of bamboo leaves outside the window over his shoulder. “I find easy to shirk my command duties in a place like this, such things can wait until we all regroup together at Ueda.” The eyes behind the mask were keen and bright. “And what of you, Yukimura? What is your plan?”

Yukimura nursed his tea for a moment before answering. “I had not made one, yet. In fact, I crave your wisdom, Lord Shingen. If I were to lay out my heart before you, could you offer insight on the path best taken?”

“I’ll do my best,” Takeda said casually. “Tell me anything you wish, Yukimura.”

Setting his cup down on the tray between them, Yukimura sat with shoulders straight and rested his hands on his knees, fingers loosely curled. “You know that I have been serving as Lord Zhao Yun’s right hand all this time, and promised I would not leave him until his lord was safe. Now that our mutual goal has finally come to pass, I find that leaving is not so simple as it might have been before.” He bit his lip and added shyly, “we are now sworn brothers.”

“Ahhh…” Something about Takeda’s remark implied that he might have suspected such a thing had happened. “That does complicate things, doesn’t it?”

“We’ve talked,” Yukimura explained, “and we both agreed that if duty and circumstance separated us, we could live with it. We don’t need to be at each other’s side constantly any longer. But, I cannot simply say that I can leave and return to the Takeda, and to my father’s service, without taking him into account.”

Shingen studied him for a moment and then sat up, leaning closer to him. “Forget for the moment about me, your father, and your brother. What do _you_ want, Yukimura? What does your heart desire?”

Yukimura winced. “That’s the problem. I don’t know. I want everything! I want to fulfill my promises and maintain my duty, I want to be with my family, but I also…” He cut himself off, afraid to say it to anyone outside Zilong’s bedchamber, but if his lord could not be trusted with it, who could? “…I love him,” he admitted, his voice shaking a little. “I don’t know what to do, Lord Shingen…”

To his surprise, Takeda laughed warmly. “I had a feeling it would come to that,” he grinned, even though Yukimura looked supremely embarrassed to have his anguish teased. “Love is a hell of a thing, isn’t it? It feels as though it could single-handedly right all wrongs, move mountains and calm seas, so long as you have that love powering you. Actually, I’m glad for you, my young friend. You have been so focused and intense for so long, I always thought it might soothe your wild spirit if you could ever find someone to love. Not even Naoe has had this effect on you, I’m impressed.” He set his cup down as well and rose enough to maneuver himself over to sit adjacent to his young retainer rather than across from him, to share intimate discussion rather than hold audience with authority. After all, Yukimura had genuinely pleaded for his advice, he needed to give it properly. “You have sworn yourself a lot of oaths to uphold, here. Sworn brothers is one thing, but your heart wants more than mere brotherhood – I would imagine some part of you wishes to stay with him, no matter how much you tell yourself you’ll be fine if you’re apart. Truth be told, if were to lose you to another lord, I wouldn’t mind if it were Liu Bei. He’s an incredible man, I would be tickled if I could call him an ally from here on out. But at the same time, you already know that you don’t need to serve Zhao Yun’s lord in order to fulfill your oath to him.”

“You’re right,” Yukimura said quietly. “Lord Liu Bei is great, but my heart is with Zilong. And, as he’s no longer commander of Shu, I no longer serve him in that capacity. We are, right now, just…”

“Comrades,” Shingen said wisely. “Two which I could never tear apart by giving an order. I won’t demand that you return to your station, Yukimura – if you come back, it should be of your own free will.”

Yukimura’s hands on his knees clenched fully into fists. “Nobuyuki will be returning to Ueda, and Father with him. I don’t even need to ask them, I know Father will take up leadership of our clan as he should, now that he can. It would be nice to be with all of them again…I only had a little time at Xiliang to spend with him before it was back to work for the Resistance abroad.”

“It is a testament to the greatness of your heart that you can’t decide between the pull of so many loved ones,” Shingen said with a fatherly pat to his shoulder. “I believe I can advise you, though. I will say, neither to go nor stay.”

Yukimura’s head came up sharply. “What? But…how can I do that?”

“In this mixed-up world,” Takeda said boldly, “there can be no permanent answers. Who can say what will happen around the next corner? What if Orochi’s broken army comes back together again under a new commander? What if Lu Bu decides to take revenge on all of us for killing his hero? None of us can say that we absolutely will do this or won’t do that, we have to be flexible in order to stand prepared for any eventuality. Even I can only look ahead as far as it takes for my cavalry to travel safely to Kawanakajima, and after that, who knows? So it should be with you. If you’d like to take some time to spend with your family, you should do so. Give me a hand with the cavalry for a bit, sure. But if you feel like coming back to Shu after that and trying out Liu Bei’s command for a bit, why not?”

Sanada stared at him as if afraid to believe that he could have it all, but it was starting to sink in. There really was no reason to choose, he could go wherever he was needed – not a ronin, because he still had both his family and his ties to Lord Takeda, but still a traveler, giving of himself to all three loyalties at once. “Is such a thing possible?” he still needed to ask.

“Only time will tell,” Shingen said cryptically, smiling broadly. “The only thing you really can do is give it a try and see if it works.”

That kind of advice eased Yukimura’s mind considerably. The tension evaporated from his shoulders, and he felt free to take his cup again and really enjoy the fine, smoky tea Takeda had found. They talked a bit longer, not even making firm plans for the younger Sanada to depart from Chengdu with his family even though suggestions led in that direction, and then Shingen encouraged him to go and speak with his brother before deciding for certain what to do within the coming days. He exhorted his favorite retainer to plan only for the short term, to think of it as deciding whether to visit his family next week and not whether to permanently leave Chengdu and the service of the officers of Shu he had come to see as his second family. Nobuyuki was, at that moment, down at the stables with Ma Chao having a deep and fascinating discussion about cavalry, an entertaining and informative pursuit which could absolutely be interrupted by his younger brother. Ma Chao stepped back from the pair and bowed his head humbly. “I will leave you two, then,” he said politely, “I’m sure you don’t need me eavesdropping on family matters.”

“Actually, Lord Ma Chao,” Yukimura countered, “I wouldn’t mind if you stayed. You’ve been friends with Zhao Yun for quite some time, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have…” Chao gave him a curious tilt of his head. “It’s about Zilong, then?”

“In a way…” His oath to Zilong was not exactly a secret, they simply hadn’t been in a place to just tell anyone and everyone until now. Yukimura looked from Chao to his brother. “We chose to swear an oath of brotherhood, before the battle.”

He could sense Mengqi between them brighten up excitedly, but his eyes were entirely on Nobuyuki for his reaction. The elder Sanada simply smiled warmly in response. “Of course you did. I’m not surprised.” He tipped his head slightly in curiosity. “What, did you not know how to tell me? You know I have nothing but the utmost respect for Lord Zhao Yun, I would never be dismayed to know that you would have him for a brother.”

“It isn’t that,” Yukimura assured, “it simply…hasn’t come up until now, really. I know full well the meaning of such an oath,” he added with a look toward Ma Chao. “It isn’t as though he’s becoming a Sanada or anything.”

“Of course not,” Chao said boldly, grinning. “It means the two of you are connected, now, with a bond as strong as blood. For life! I knew the two of you were close, but that is wonderful news to hear.”

Nobuyuki gestured to invite both of them to walk with him, to leave the usual sounds and smells of the stables behind and talk in the sunshine instead. “So, then,” he went on, “what _does_ it mean to have a sworn brother, as the Han see it? Is there something unusual about it that I’m not aware of?”

Yukimura fell in beside him, with Ma Chao on Nobuyuki’s other side. “I don’t think so,” he replied, “though it can have additional nuances to some people. At the very least, it is as Lord Ma Chao says – we are bonded the same as I am to you, Brother. It’s important that you know because it means I have a new oath to consider, an additional loyalty besides my family and our ties to the Takeda. I went to see Lord Shingen…” he added to explain why it was on his mind. “He encouraged me to talk to you, about your plan going forward and what effect this might have on it.”

Nobuyuki’s eyes went quiet, hiding much of his thoughts behind the need to stand as the elder brother and commander of the Sanada army at the moment. “Will you be staying in Shu, then?”

“No. At least, not right now.” Yukimura clasped his hands behind him as they walked. “Brother, what would you say if I requested at some point in the future to leave you and Father behind and go to my sworn brother’s side instead?”

For a few slow steps no one had a response. Nobuyuki mulled it over carefully. “That isn’t a question I can answer here and now,” he finally said in a low murmur. “It depends on the circumstances. What the Sanada need, what Lord Shingen has ordered, what reason there is, if Lord Zhao Yun and his people need you more…” He reached to brush his hand over his brother’s shoulder to bring him to a stop, and let Ma Chao come around to witness their conversation if he so chose. “Besides, it wouldn’t be my choice. Even if I’m made day-to-day commander of our army, you know full well Father has final say in orders, and Lord Shingen even above him. But if you’re asking what I think you’re asking…” He began to smile softly. “…I could hardly deny you if you wanted to go to him, for any reason.”

Yukimura matched his smile. “That’s actually the answer I was hoping for – that you would at least consider it. Lord Shingen said, we shouldn’t place definite limits on ourselves in this land, we should be flexible and ready to assist one another at any moment.”

“That is exactly the kind of wisdom I would expect from Lord Shingen,” Nobuyuki nodded. “But then, I believe you are not quite alone in having to consider multiple loyalties…” His eyes drifted to Ma Chao between them.

Mengqi took his cue with a quiet sigh. “It is true. Before you found us, Lord Yukimura, we were talking about our families and how they require malleable loyalties. As I was telling your brother, I have chosen to remain in Shu with my cousin, as both of us pledged fealty to Lord Liu Bei after he defeated his hapless relatives and took control of his ancestors’ rightful province. But at that time, it was because…well.” He didn’t like to speak openly of it, but he enjoyed a modicum of trust from these two Sanada brothers and moreover, he knew exactly how close Yukimura and his precious friend Zilong really were. He could share his tragic tale. “My father saw Cao Cao conspiring to usurp the power of the emperor from his position as Prime Minister and attempted to have him assassinated. It failed, and Cao Cao moved to destroy the entirety of the Ma clan and take control of Xiliang as repayment.” His face went stony, and both Sanadas lowered their eyes as if to assure him that he didn’t need to speak the words if they were too hard. In fact, Chao felt unable to, and instead said, “Ma Dai and I were the only ones who survived. Yet, here in this place of Orochi’s creation, my father is alive and well and Xiliang is free. Filial duty means that by all rights, I should go back to my homeland and serve my father as though none of that had happened, right? But I cannot turn my back on Lord Liu Bei, and all my comrades in Shu, family or no. I’ve decided to uphold my oaths, but both my father and Lord Liu Bei have agreed that should Xiliang ever be in need, they have but to call and we will come to them, with the Ma cousins leading the charge.”

Yukimura lifted his head and met his gaze with an understanding look. “I am glad that you have a second chance with your father, Lord Ma Chao. I didn’t realize so many of us were in the same position, thank you for sharing that with me. We all have such understanding and generous people in our lives.”

“I may not be as closely acquainted with you brothers as Zilong is,” Chao went on, “but I have ridden and fought alongside Lord Takeda several times and I think he is just as understanding and generous. You will be welcomed here in Chengdu with open arms should you decide to come to us, Lord Yukimura.”

“Of course we understand,” Nobuyuki said with a much stronger, knowing smirk. “Even my own fiancé is going back to her lord rather than stay with me – but then, since we haven’t had the wedding yet, I don’t have quite as much cause to plead a case for her removing to Ueda with me.”

“Maybe it’s time to schedule the wedding, then,” Yukimura said with an impish grin of his own that made his brother blush shyly.

“If you do, make sure to invite all of your allies to celebrate with you,” Ma Chao said brightly. “A wedding here in this land would be a new beginning, a symbol of hope for the future.”

Nobuyuki chuckled modestly. “I asked Lady Ina if she would be interested, but she said she had much to consider before we went ahead with it. She and her father are returning to Edo with Lord Tokugawa, so I expect they want to settle in and make sure the castle is strong and well-defended so that it cannot be conquered again before she turns her attention to personal matters.”

“That sounds like Lady Ina,” Yukimura admitted. As samurai, many of them were committed to their lords first and would set aside even love for the sake of duty. Yet, as that thought flitted across his mind, he considered that he was already changing, opening up to the ability to balance love and duty and still be able to maintain both. “I think,” he said contemplatively, “maybe given time, she’ll see that she can still serve Lord Tokugawa and be with you at the same time. The two aren’t incompatible.”

Nobuyuki brightened considerably, though not because of the talk of Ina. “Yukimura, are you holding out on me?”

His younger brother blinked. “Er…what?”

“You and Lord Zhao Yun. When were you going to tell me?”

Ma Chao laughed loudly. “Has he not even told his own brother?”

Yukimura rounded on him. “You know…?”

“Zilong told me some time ago,” Mengqi said warmly, reaching to pat him on the shoulder in reassurance. “I expect he just wanted someone to know that he was in love, though I haven’t shared his secret with anyone.”

Yukimura’s face burned so red that he hid it in his hands, though even Nobuyuki laughed gently. “I figured as much, Brother. I’ve guessed for a long time even if you never said so openly, not since we talked at Saika Village. It’s grown since then, I’ve seen you two together and just knew.”

“It’s true,” Yukimura muttered through his hands. “Our sworn brotherhood is partly for that reason, but not wholly.”

“Yukimura…” His elder brother stepped closer and also set hands on his shoulders, encouraging him to look up and face him. “I honestly expected, knowing how you feel, that you would ask us if you could stay in Shu. I’m glad to hear you want to come back to Ueda with us and look after your other duties, but you don’t have to fear. There’s no way to say what might happen in the future, but I’m sure there’s room for you to be with both your sworn brother and your natural brother.”

Ma Chao chuckled under his breath, watching them. Whether cousins or brothers, the love of family always bolstered spirits and made the impossible possible, he would swear. “I expect all of us will be doing a considerable amount of traveling in the days to come. Hopefully it takes the form of visits rather than reinforcements in battle, but either way. The bonds between us are not at all broken.”

Both Sanada brothers gave him matching smiles. “Does that go for you and Kanetsugu as well?” Yukimura teased.

Mengqi started suddenly, a blush rising in his cheekbones. “Where did you hear…?”

“From Kanetsugu himself. He was modest about it,” the younger brother said. “But I expect that if Lord Shingen is already preparing to move out, so will Lord Kenshin.”

“Ah, yes, I believe I heard them discussing it,” Nobuyuki noted. “The Uesugi are pulling back to Fan Castle at the behest of the kingdom lords, probably around the same time as we’ll be removing to Ueda.”

“I suppose I had better take the time to see him before then,” Ma Chao said simply, trying to push down any worrisome thoughts. He didn’t have Zhao Yun’s confidence in his desires, he didn’t know what would come of it, but at the very least he should talk to Naoe. He waved it off in order to focus on the Sanadas instead. “The time is coming fast. Even if we do continue to visit and ride together, the farewells are going to be difficult.”

Yukimura nodded; he was already dreading the day of departure. “Thank goodness it’s not forever.”

  


The subtle shift from Cao Pi to Cao Cao as ruler of Wei was already happening, as the latter gladly organized their preparations to depart from behind the desk in the guest house and the former spent more time on his feet patrolling through the Mianzhu garrison to personally inspect the troops than he used to. It made him easier to spot, if anyone was looking for him, with his long indigo cloak drifting behind him and the fenghuang pendant dangling down his back flashing in the sunlight. Why Pang De chose to approach him rather than his father, he had to wonder, but assumed that the cavalryman had simply not heard of the official handover of power. Pi paused where he was to allow Pang De to catch up, turning and casually clasping his hands behind his back. De came straight to him and kowtowed with first over heart. “Do you have a moment, Lord Cao Pi?”

“Of course,” Zihuan replied with a nod. “Am I to take it that this is a follow-up to the conversation we had in the camp below Koshi Castle?”

“It is,” De affirmed. “Which is why I came to you, Lord Cao Pi. I don’t know the status of the Wei army at the moment but you were the one who said I would still have the friendship of Wei if I chose not to return to my post.”

“I did…” Cao Pi’s posture tensed with keen interest, his shoulders squaring to face De directly. “I also gave you the freedom to make that choice if it so happened that we did not all perish against Orochi. And so, here we are, I suppose.”

“Here we are, indeed.” De’s eyes shifted as if to look over his shoulder toward the main guest house. “What a day, when I’m afraid to approach him directly and would rather go through you. But you have been generous, my lord…”

Cao Pi held up a hand. “There is no need for flatteries, Pang De. If you have made a decision, I would like to hear it.”

De bobbed his head graciously. “I believe that for now, I should stay with Lord Ma Teng. His son is remaining in Shu, and his comrade Sanada Masayuki will be returning to lead his own clan, so he has little else in the way of strong retainers at hand. Xiliang has suffered greatly under Orochi’s conquest, it needs strength for protection and to rebuild.”

“Granted,” Pi said immediately without even having to think about it. “I understand the situation well, the Sanadas and Ma Teng spoke of their intentions at the meeting yesterday. I suppose, if Ma Chao is going to Lord Liu Bei’s side, Xiliang will indeed need its finest at hand.” He noticed De glancing back again and stepped closer, lowering his voice to share something with him. “This world is different from what we remember, Pang De,” he murmured. “Both my father and your lord are alive and well, and the conflicts which ravaged your homeland appear as if they’ve never happened. Situations, and loyalties themselves, are not so cut and dried any longer. You must follow the best course and not hold to outdated assumptions.”

De bowed his head briefly, eyes lowering. “So it has been said to me before. I’ve been a witness to the way our armies have all worked together with people from across time, I suppose I should not fall back so quickly to old habits.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Pi said dryly, “such old habits are hard for anyone to break. Including and especially my father.”

Pang De fought to contain a smirk. “Can I count on you to inform him, then? I would go to seek audience myself but…why repeat this whole song and dance?”

“Say no more.” Cao Pi held up a hand. “I will handle it. You will be missed, Pang De, but what I said was no lie – you still have a place in Wei should you ever want it. You served me well for a time, I will not forget it.”

Considering that during that time, Pang De had never been able to even guess at his lord’s mind, and the disconnect between orders and reality was part of what drove him to Shu in the first place, he was somewhat perplexed to be receiving commendation for his service. Nevertheless, De did not complain, and lowered his head into another bow, clasping his fist. With that taken care of, he could go back to where Ma Teng was being housed as a guest and assure him that when it was their time to move out, he would be going home. Cao Pi, meanwhile, mulled over the particulars of who would be going where with a mind toward his own future plans. While he was certain his father would attempt to seize power eventually, Zihuan had no intention of letting him simply have his way. Filial duty meant he would have to show a modicum of loyalty regardless, but his own dreams of peace meant he would have to oppose any would-be tyrants in his own way. Keeping good faith with allies was only the first step toward building a roadblock between Cao Cao and the mingled kingdoms. Knowing full well that Ma Chao would be at his gates screaming for blood if anyone went anywhere near Xiliang with intentions of making history repeat itself, Cao Pi was more interested in fostering trust between himself and the scattered lords all heading to their own territories in the next few days. The good relationships cultivated between Cao Pi and Zhao Yun, as well as Sun Ce, would make it easy for them to champion him to their respective lords if push came to shove, to say nothing of the way he had always fronted the Resistance agenda over his own. Having Ishida at his side also gave him an extra connection to the Oda army, even if that relationship was entirely personal and had come about naturally, not feigned for tactical usage. On all sides, Pi was sure that he had done it right and done it well, that the stage was set for lasting peace no matter who decided in the short term to rise up and threaten said peace. He looked away across the compound of Mianzhu toward the walls of Luo in the distance, visible where they rose above the height of the palisade, and wondered how his personal tactician was getting along with his own errand.

Mitsunari couldn’t even pretend that he knew where the guest officers were being housed, he had to ask around and since Yukimura was apparently off on business of his own, the strategist found himself having to get guidance from Yueying, whom he had once held captive and guarded personally at Hasedo. She politely did not bring it up even if he shuffled awkwardly after her and murmured quiet thanks when shown to where Oda’s officers could be found. The strong stone corridors of Luo with their stout, solid doors were so different from castles like Osaka and Edo, though it was nice to be able to knock firmly before being permitted in. Fortunately, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was happily lounging in his quarters, helm off and armor laid out on a table instead of encasing his body as it had nearly constantly for months. He sprang up from the couch when he saw who was drifting in to see him, and beamed when a shy but genuine smile graced Ishida’s lips. “I’m not interrupting anything, I take it?” he said as soon as he saw his former lord strolling toward him.

“Nah, nothing at all,” Hideyoshi assured. “Nene’s off to see somebody, I’m guessing Kunoichi, and Hideyori is saying a few farewells to the Guan kids who served in Oda’s army. I’m all by my lonesome here, for once.”

Mitsunari accepted his hospitality in silence, following him through the spacious suite to a bench near the window that looked considerably like one he had often occupied in Xuchang, whether while working or at play. “Farewells, huh?” he repeated. “Does that mean you’ll be heading out soon?”

Hideyoshi set his hands on his hips where he stood while Mitsunari eased to a seat. “Yeah, we’re moving out in two days. Lord Nobunaga wants to get settled in at Honnoji if he has to spend the winter there, you know how he is with the cold.”

“Of course.” Mitsunari took a deep breath and rested a hand against his obi, wishing he’d brought his fan just so he could have something to fidget with. “Then, I suppose I came to see you just in time.”

Toyotomi nodded amicably. He already had some idea what this visit was about, but he let his young retainer get to it at his own pace. “Guess so. If you’re gonna say anything, no time like the present.”

Nodding, Mitsunari dropped his eyes straight to the floor, hands twisting nervously around one another. It was so easy to ask for and receive what he wanted from Cao Pi, why was he anxious now? He decided not to dance around the issue and just say it. “I’ve decided to stay with Lord Cao Pi.”

Hideyoshi smiled vaguely. “I’m not surprised. You two really hit it off, huh?”

Mitsunari dropped his eyes humbly. “It’s like I said, at the Hinokawa camp. He’s good to me, he gives me enough work to do and enough peers to hang around with. And…” His lips pursed as he tried to think of how to word it. “…he approaches the way to peace the same as I do. I want to support that.”

“You don’t have to fuss, Mitsunari, I get it.” Toyotomi moved to sit on the other end of the bench and address him more like a father to a son rather than a lord and retainer. “There’s something about that guy that reminds me of you, you don’t have to tell me how well you work together – I can see it. And, well, now that you know the Toyotomi aren’t splitting off from Lord Nobunaga, I know you’d rather not serve him directly if you can help it, so why not? But, since we’re being straight with each other, can I ask you one thing?”

“Of course.”

“Any of this have anything to do with his father?”

Ishida held his gaze for a moment to impress upon him that the answer was true, and then shook his head. “I joined myself to Lord Cao Pi long before his father was ever revealed to be alive. I’ve bled for him, and I think…” He lowered his eyes again, searching the floor while he made sure what he was about to say wasn’t too melodramatic. It was the truth, though, and he felt like confessing it. “…I would actually die for him, if it came to that.”

“Wow.” Hideyoshi contemplated that, and then smiled broadly. “I like seeing you so fired up about somebody, even if that somebody isn’t me. Especially if that somebody isn’t me! Go on, then. Follow your heart, you’re good at that. I want to see what you can accomplish by his side, I really do.”

Mitsunari’s hands finally stilled in his lap, and he dropped his head in a semblance of a bow, keeping it low for as long as he could. “Thank you, Lord Hideyoshi. I’ve always felt like you understood, even when no one else did.”

“Of course I do,” Toyotomi said warmly. “All the same, I know you understand me as well. You’ve always been loyal to a fault, so I know that if you’ve found a calling to serve Lord Cao Pi, there’s a good reason for it.”

“All the same,” Ishida cautioned, “if you ever feel that you need me, just call for me. I will not forget our ties.”

Hideyoshi was all proud smiles for him. “I know I can count on you, Mitsunari.”

“Can you…” Ishida’s lips twisted in a frustrated manner. “Kato. I don’t know how to break it to him without having it erupt into another fight.”

“Don’t worry, I got it.” Hideyoshi raised a hand in a calming gesture. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you two, why you can’t have a simple conversation without it blowing up into something else, but I’ll handle it. He doesn’t need to know your reasons. As long as you’re there to see us off, if we start the march before Wei does,” he added. “A nice goodbye should do it, and I know Nene will want to see you before we go.”

Mitsunari pursed his lips for a moment and then sighed in acquiescence. “I’ll be there. I promise.”

“Good.” Toyotomi reached over and set a hand firmly on his shoulder, heavy and callused and stable like a true lord’s support should be. “Farewells don’t have to be forever, you know. Even if you feel like you need to stay with Lord Cao Pi till the end, whatever ‘the end’ is, you’ll always be welcome at my side anytime. Who knows? Maybe your lord and my lord will get together for deep strategic discussions and have to drag us along. The future is wide open for all of us, so it’s not like we’ll never lay eyes on each other again.”

“That’s true…” Mitsunari’s eyes narrowed in a cool smirk. “But there is one thing I can say for certain, at least right now. If you’re already keeping an eye on Cao Cao, well, let’s just say…that’s probably a good idea.”

Toyotomi got the hint immediately, and nodded with the same smirk in return. “So noted.”

While they spent some time together just talking, about the recent battle and the coming future from their personal perspectives rather than unbiased fact, Sun Jian was just coming up from Fu Castle below the walls of Luo, where Wu was happily whiling away their last hours of relaxation. His many officers were all over Chengdu looking after their friendships and comrades, but he had something important to take care of and felt it had best be done personally. Oda and Cao Cao were still dragging their feet on a response to Liu Bei’s official proposal to free Date and Maeda and exile them from Chengdu, but Sun Jian knew his answer and was ready to deliver it. But that wasn’t the only reason he wanted to stop in.

Liu Bei had been making himself available to anyone who might want to see him for any reason, hovering around the throne room or main hall for the most part. He had taken a few short strolls through the gardens and courtyards with some visitors, but the majority of people needing to see him were of an official nature and he was prepared to see them at or near his seat of power. He was still standing below the throne, chatting with Wang Ping, when a castle guard announced the arrival of Sun Jian, Lord of Wu. Both the Shu lord and his stout retainer broke off and turned to greet him with proper bows, to which Jian palmed his fist quickly in acknowledgement. “Welcome to my home once again, Lord Sun Jian,” Liu Bei said warmly. “Is this an official visit?”

“Official,” Jian affirmed, “but private all the same. No offense, Wang Ping,” he added to the other man with a quick smile. “But I’ve got a few family matters to bring up with my son-in-law.”

Liu Bei couldn’t help but flush a bit, his high cheekbones reddening, especially when Wang Ping laughed. “None taken, my lord. I understand completely. If you’ll excuse me…”

He bobbed his head to his lord and turned to make himself scarce, and presumably prowl around the outside of the throne room to make sure no one else went inside to bother the two lords as they conferenced. Liu Bei turned away from the throne and drifted toward chairs along the sides of the room, particularly one quiet back corner where they could talk unnoticed and unmolested. “I trust everything is going well?” he asked idly, trying to keep his tone light and not at all nervous.

“Extremely well,” Jian answered, gladly taking an offered seat. “So much so that I think I had better drag all of my men away from partying and get them focused on the road home in the next couple of days. If I don’t, they’ll never leave.” He tapped a finger on the arm of the chair as Liu Bei took a seat beside him. “First, though, you have my support in the matter of the prisoners. I don’t see any reason to imprison them or execute them, not when the ones who we all believe actually _will_ cause trouble are already free and abroad in the land. Even if the ones we’ve got end up joining the others and starting up a sequel to the Orochi army, I’m not concerned that they’ll be anywhere near as terrible as Orochi was.”

Xuande nodded in acceptance of his mandate. “Lord Oda and Lord Cao Cao have yet to respond. If they don’t by tomorrow, I will go to see them. But thank you, Lord Sun Jian.”

“If you’re putting it to a vote,” Jian reasoned, “all it takes is one of the two to agree with us and that’s that. I’d rather just have it over and done with, this war has lingered on long enough.”

“You’ll get no argument from me on that,” Liu Bei sighed. “At times, it still doesn’t feel real to me – but if I am only dreaming of being free, then let me dream. It’s a nice dream.”

Jian chuckled quietly. “No, it’s real, my friend. Believe me. It may seem like it shouldn’t be so easy to shrug off the long darkness and go back to a real, normal life, but it is, so be thankful for that.”

“Oh, I am,” Liu Bei insisted. “I will never not be thankful for all everyone did, and that they still managed to remember me in the midst of all the rest of the chaos and darkness. But…talking about such things only prolongs the memory, I should turn toward the future ahead of us.”

“Exactly,” Jian agreed, “which is my other reason for coming to see you. I figured we should talk, man to man, about our family and where to go from here. And don’t worry,” he said with a wry smirk, “it doesn’t involve breaking it up in any way. My only true regret as regards this marriage is that I wasn’t available to see the wedding itself.”

Xuande laughed softly, and to his surprise found his eyes watering with emotion. He hadn’t thought about it that way, but it seemed both sad and joyful – sad, that Sun Jian was right, but wonderful that he was getting a second chance to see for himself that the union of Liu and Sun turned out to be more than just political. “It was a fairly typical wedding,” he said modestly. “But Lady Sun was as radiant as a fiery phoenix. I do wish you could have seen her.”

“The one time anyone could get her into court dress? Of course I wish I could have seen it,” Jian laughed. “But no matter. Even if Ce and I weren’t there, Quan and Lu Meng and everyone else assures me it was very beautiful. The important thing is, it happened, and our families are joined because of it.” He squinted suspiciously. “Liu Shan isn’t…uh, hers, is he?”

Liu Bei shook his head solemnly. “As much as I hope someday that we do have children together, Liu Shan is my son by my first wife, who was killed fleeing Cao Cao.”

“I’m sorry.” Sun Jian dropped his gaze contritely for a moment. “I was just curious. It has no bearing on our lives going forward, here. What matters more to me is Shangxiang’s happiness, and by now it’s clear that she really does love you, so if I were to stand in the way of that, I’d be the worst father in the world.”

Liu Bei chanced a small smile. “What is the issue, then? Where she’ll stay?”

“Mainly,” Jian replied. “I told her I was torn, because I missed out on so much of my little girl’s life and here she is already grown and married to a fine lord of Shu from the imperial line…and yet, I can’t ask her to stay and dote on her father when she should by all rights be with her husband. We’ve talked about it, and she has asked me to propose to you that she be free to travel between Shu and Wu whenever she feels like it.”

“ _She_ proposed it?” Liu Bei’s eyes widened in surprise. “Then…how could I possibly say no? Though, it is a very good idea. I wouldn’t want to deny her the chance to spend time with her father and brothers, but I also hope to have many long and peaceful days with her by my side.”

Jian gave him a rather tiger-like smile, broad and welcoming but with a tiny hint of danger deep in his eyes. “The fact that you want the same things she wants means I can let her go to you with no worries at all. Granted, I would never have to fear for her safety among the brave hearts of Shu, I wouldn’t doubt that Zhao Yun would be first in line to protect her if anything happened to you – and then your brothers and then everyone else. But it sounds like you’re the right man for her, Xuande. I’m placing my trust in you.” He wagged one finger. “Don’t you dare let me down, all right?”

As nervous as Sun Jian made him, Liu Bei found it easy to smile. “I promise, Lady Shangxiang will never want for anything. I vow to you, my lord, her happiness is my utmost concern. If I were to be such a fool that I would break her heart for any reason, I would deserve her wrath and that of the father and brothers behind her.” He lowered his eyes briefly, thinking fondly of his headstrong wife and blushing because of it. “She’ll be treated like the royalty she is, while she stays here and while she travels. I will always make sure she has the best escort when she wants to return to her family.”

“Agreed.” Jian reached to clap him on the arm amicably. “She’ll be coming back to Hefei with us for a bit, first, but I’ll prepare an elite escort for her the minute she wants to return to Chengdu. I’m sure Ce will get restless without anything to fight, that’ll be a good task to keep him busy.” He sat for a moment studying the younger lord even as Liu Bei laughed softly at the mental image of Sun Ce being shooed off as an escort just to give him something to do. “I’ve always had great respect for you,” the Wu lord went on in a gentler tone, keeping his hand where it was, “but that has increased tenfold after seeing you in Orochi’s dungeon like that. You managed to keep him from breaking you, even though you were held twice as long as I was. I like to think I could have survived just as well as you, but…sometimes, I wonder.”

Liu Bei shook his head slowly. “It is no great feat, I don’t feel as though I did anything heroic. I simply lived for the day when more would rebel the way he said your sons had, I knew the darkness couldn’t last forever.” He looked away for a moment, eyes sweeping the quiet throne room and the dragon banners of Shu brightening the stone walls. “From what I’ve been told, it seems as though both of us, at that time, had no idea just how powerful the Resistance really was. They were doing well even if neither of us knew it.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Sun Jian’s eyes lit up with another smile. “Have you heard the one about how my reckless son put together a rescue mission involving ninjas and secret armies just in time to stop my execution?”

Liu Bei stared. “No, I don’t believe I’ve heard that tale.” He perked up and laid a hand over the one on his arm. “Tonight. Please, bring the whole family and come to have dinner with me and mine. If you’ll be leaving in the next few days, we should take the time for a genuine family dinner.”

There would probably never be another real chance for Sun Jian and Sun Ce to sit at table with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and everyone’s sons and daughters, whether in this world or the last. Jian nodded enthusiastically. “I accept. I’ll tell you the full story, then. It’s got enough intrigue and excitement for even Zhang Fei to stay interested.”

“I’ll have everything set up right away,” Liu Bei gushed. “I can think of nothing I want more than to enjoy this chance while we have it.”

At that very moment while they were making their arrangements, the Sun boys were taking care of matters in their camp inside the Fu garrison, mostly just patrolling around and verifying that everyone was on their way to being fully rested and healed and ready for a long cross-country journey. The Wu army had a long way to go to get back to Hefei, and then remove in part from the countryside fortress to the larger, stronger castle at Xin Di near the sea, so even if it was rumored that other factions were already planning their leave, Wu’s leadership was likely to have their army ready to go first. As such, some of the officers had goodbyes on their minds, since Tokugawa and Hojo and their collective forces would not be returning that far east with their benefactors. Sun Ce was making his stroll around the compound look like official business, but he was really just killing time and keeping himself from going up to Luo to see people. Most of his men would have believed he was busy about some kind of errand while his father was up at the castle but Zhou Yu saw right through him, and dragged him aside at his first opportunity. “You’re making me tired, watching you pace like that,” the strategist sighed. “Sit, and try to be patient. Lord Sun Jian should be back soon.”

“I’m not pacing,” Ce insisted, refusing to sit and instead going to lean against a windowsill in their shared quarters. “I’m just…I don’t know…”

“Pacing,” Yu affirmed wryly. “Are you worried, or simply bored?”

“Bored,” Ce answered immediately. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice here in Chengdu, but I don’t have it in me to just while away endless days of nothing.” He squinted at his sworn brother. “What in the world would I have to be worried about?”

Yu prowled up to him and leaned on the sill beside him. “Your father scaring the living daylights out of Lord Liu Bei, perhaps. But I suppose, they’ve known one another since times past, it probably won’t turn out like that.”

Ce grinned widely, rather like his father. “Nah, Father’s just looking out for Shangxiang. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Damn, it still hasn’t really sunk in – that Liu Bei, Lord of Shu, is my brother-in-law.”

“I expect things from here on out to be very interesting,” Zhou Yu murmured pleasantly. “Perhaps our alliances with Shu are not as over as we might have been led to believe.”

“Fine by me,” Ce shrugged. “Father’s in charge, now, as he should be. Quan and I will be along to help but that leaves me free to hang out with all of Shu’s guys without having to worry about being commander.”

Yu nodded idly and then turned where he stood to gaze out the window at the Wu forces going about their business in the late-day shadows around the garrison. It gave him the perfect opportunity to brush his shoulder against Ce’s. “Logistics can wait. I feel like we all deserve a bit of a holiday, whether here or in Hefei.”

“Wow, workaholic Zhou Yu wants a holiday?” Ce teased, nudging him. “Will wonders never cease?”

Yu eyed him briefly, a light smirk still playing across his lips. “We’ve come a long way since the day Da Ji turned me loose into your care. I think after everything we’ve been through, I’m entitled to want even a single moment in which to enjoy the peace and quiet.”

“I might be able to give you more than just one moment.” Sun Ce hooked a finger in his sworn brother’s sash and tugged him closer, sliding along the wall out of view of the window before snaking an arm around him instead. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he murmured, bending his head to rest cheek and jaw against Yu’s neck.

Zhou Yu breathed deeply and melted against him, curling fingers in the breast of his tunic. “To be fair,” he breathed back, “we’ve had a lot to occupy our attention lately.” He stood for a while simply enjoying the embrace and the warmth of Ce’s powerful body against his, but eventually pried himself up and stepped back, drawing Ce with him to where the chairs sat scattered around the middle of the room wherever they were when last used. Finally, he could get the Wu prince to have a seat, and eased up between his legs to stand before him and let Ce toy with their clasped hands. “I suppose,” he mused, “we haven’t yet personally celebrated our victory.”

“Quarters have been a little tight,” Ce noted; he and Yu, with their wives, were sharing one room while Jian had to share with Quan and Shangxiang, as Fu garrison’s buildings were not as large and richly-furnished as Mianzhu. He smiled up at the graceful strategist towering over him. “Maybe when we get back. Put a real final end on everything and _then_ celebrate.”

“Sounds good to me. Though, I can at least offer a taste right now.” Yu sidled up as close as he could and bent his head, cupping both hands around Ce’s face to tip it up so he could kiss him deeply. Sun Ce eagerly responded in kind, sliding to the edge of his seat and indulging him for as long as he wanted. His hands rested firmly on Yu’s hips, and though he wanted so badly to pull him closer, even into his lap, the chair would not permit it. They traded kisses for a long while, slow explorations mingled with passionate attacks, moving from one extreme to the other and back again with the effortlessness of a lot of practice and intimate knowledge of one another’s bodies. They were so taken with each other that neither heard the shutter whisper and a light footstep scrape on the sill, continuing to make out until Zhou Yu happened to break for breath and raise his eyes just slightly to find a shadowy figure framed in the open window. He startled so violently that he fell right out of Ce’s grip and landed on the floor with a small yelp, though surprise turned instantly to exasperation. “Hattori!”

Sun Ce whirled around half out of the chair the moment his partner tripped, but he too saw the ninja’s familiar form crouched on the frame of the window and heaved an embarrassed chuckle. “You know, you really could stand to learn to knock. On a _door_.”

Hattori Hanzo showed no sign of being at all bothered by catching the two of them in an intimate moment, he simply dropped down inside the room now that he had their attention. He waited until Zhou Yu had picked himself up from the floor and brushed down his tunic before speaking. “Forgive the interruption.”

“It’s all right,” Ce assured. “It’s been a while since you’ve come in through the window, though. What’s up, Hanzo?”

A slight movement beneath his ever-present face mask suggested a twitch of a smirk. “Old times’ sake.” He stepped closer as Ce got up from the chair and came to face him. “Lord Tokugawa…is preparing to leave, soon.”

“Soon,” Ce repeated. “I was hoping he’d at least wait until after we started off for Hefei, so we could be the ones saying goodbye.”

Hanzo bobbed his head. “Likely. He is taken with Chengdu and Lord Liu Bei, he may delay.”

“Yeah, I noticed him spending a lot of time with Lord Liu Bei.” Sun Ce glanced aside as Zhou Yu came up beside him and then smiled broadly at the ninja. “I take it this is your way of saying goodbye while you can, huh?”

Hanzo lowered his head slightly, and for once his eyes seemed to communicate genuine emotion – the grief of parting and the gratitude of service. “It has been…my greatest mission,” he said heavily. “Were I not already sworn to Lord Tokugawa, I would seek a lord like yourself.”

Both Wu officers’ eyes softened. “It has been a pleasure working with you as well, Hanzo,” Yu said amicably. “You’ve been as faithful to Lord Sun Ce as to your own lord, and risked your life for him. If we had lands and titles to give in commendation, you would be a very rich ninja.”

The eyes above the mask crinkled with humor. “It would be wasted.”

“Course it would,” Ce chuckled. “That’s just the kind of guy you are. But if words are enough, I can give you a few.” He shifted to palm his fist over his heart. “You saved my father and my brother. You put yourself on the line for me, so many times I lost count. You were as one of my own officers, faithful as Taishi Ci and determined as Zhou Tai. I’d happily call you one of my own any day, but since you already have a place where you belong, I’ll be content with calling you a friend.”

Hattori met his gesture with a deep bow in turn. “I would welcome that, Lord Sun Ce.”

“There is no way to know whether we will ever need to fight together again on the same battlefield,” Yu mused, “all we can do is hope that we shall see you again.”

“Wow, I think this is the first officer I’ve had to actually say goodbye to,” Ce said with mild concern. It was a strange feeling, breaking up their alliance and sending comrades away with no promises that they would ever do more than wave to one another from a distance. Sun Ce was closer to Hanzo than to Ina or even Tokugawa, they had been through a lot together and it was finally coming to a real end. He took a breath and pushed down the sadness of parting in order to force a faint smile. “Probably not the last, but…damn. You’ll be missed, Hanzo.”

“No need to be sentimental.” Hanzo crossed the few steps to him and clasped his wrist in both hands. “Where loyalty is given,” he murmured, “it cannot be taken away.”

Ce understood and nodded firmly. No matter what happened in the future, he could count on a ninja shadow just when he needed one. He held on to Hattori’s hands for a moment and then released him to truly depart. When their armies split to go their own ways, he couldn’t count on the opportunity to personally see off every single warrior he wanted to, so early goodbyes like this were welcome. There really wasn’t anything more that could be said, for as they held each other’s gazes, it was like looking back through a mirror to all the trying times, to clandestine messages in Bai Di and wounds suffered at Changshan, to retaking Hefei and the chaos of Mount Komaki. Hanzo nodded once more to conclude his farewell and vanished through the window just as abruptly and unusually as he had arrived.

Ce and Yu barely had time to look at one another with saddened eyes when the door opened to another intrusion, this one at least less embarrassing. Shangxiang had a slip of parchment in hand and perked up to find them both right where she needed them. “Aha, you _are_ here. Good! Father sent a message down from the castle, we’re all supposed to go up to have dinner with Lord Liu Bei and his family.”

“All of us?” Zhou Yu wondered.

“Yes, you too,” Shangxiang said smartly. “Round up the Sisters, I already found Quan. Come on! Father’s going to wait up there for us to join him.”

“Well, all right, then,” Ce said brightly, focusing on this new and happier development to distract him from thinking about who else he’d need to leave behind in the coming days. “All of us being able to sit down with Liu Bei and his brothers and the kids? This is going to be fun.”

“Yes,” Yu said dryly, falling in behind him as he barged out the door on a hunt for their wives, “fun.”

  


Thanks to his earlier chat with the Sanadas, Ma Chao couldn’t stop thinking about how much Yukimura’s situation mirrored his own, though it wasn’t him leaving that caused any internal distress. He had already made his choice to remain in Shu where he belonged, and his cousin with him, and Ma Teng had agreed to permit it since it would be no great strain for him to send requests and summons to Chengdu if Xiliang were ever in need – and the Nanman were even closer by, though Meng Huo seemed generally inclined to go back to his policy of non-involvement with the great world beyond the borders of Nanzhong. They were still allies of Shu, and given all that had happened with Orochi, it probably wouldn’t be as difficult to seek his aid in dire straits as it had been before. No, the relative safety and maintenance of Xiliang wasn’t at all on Ma Chao’s mind. He waited until after sunset and dinner before going around to where the Uesugi officers were being housed, glad to find Naoe presently unoccupied and agreeable to taking a walk with him. It wasn’t the first they had strolled around Luo together, but the last time had been a personal tour of the castle. Tonight, Kanetsugu could tell that his comrade had something on his mind, he was as intense as ever no matter how hard he tried to relax and be friendly. They walked along a high parapet along the outer walls to watch the moon rise much as they had the first night they had gotten together as something other than friends, and the quiet of the night sky helped to cool Ma Chao’s nerves and allow him to broach the topic he desperately needed to discuss. “It will be just a few days, won’t it?” he wondered of Naoe. “From what I know of your lord’s manner, he can’t be at all content sitting around in a peaceful city like this for much longer.”

Kanetsugu laughed gently. “You have it exactly right, my friend. Lord Kenshin is making his preparations, I expect it will only be a couple more days before the Uesugi depart.” He sighed, grasping what this was all about. “And I with him, then.”

“It has been a pleasure to spend my time with you, Kanetsugu,” Chao said warmly, pausing on his walk and turning slightly toward his companion. “Both on the field and off. I am not sure what more to say, or what to expect from this day forward.”

“I would like for us to stay in touch,” Kanetsugu murmured, stepping closer to him. “Will you write me, Mengqi? After all, your messengers here are quite familiar with Fan Castle. Letters will find me easily.”

“Of course,” Chao said instantly, straightening up. “At the very least, I can do that. But, then…”

Naoe understood his hedging, smiling vaguely. “Our personal connection need not change, if you’re worried about that. You know that have been involved with Sanada Yukimura, in the past…”

“Yes, you told me so…”

“He and I serve rival lords,” Kanetsugu pointed out. “Yet we have always respected one another as fellow samurai. Our relationship is quite casual, yet I still cherish it. So whatever happens between us, Mengqi, if we are able to persist through a relentless letter-writing campaign or if it quiets to something akin to what I have enjoyed with Yukimura, either way, I will be glad.” He slid a hand down Ma Chao’s arm to draw out his hand and clasp it to himself. “For it means I will still be connected to you in some way.”

Chao blushed furiously at his words, but didn’t look away this time. He held Kanetsugu’s gaze, almost staring right through him to his soul even with his face burning hot. “You truly are a disciple of the God of Love,” he teased, “for you to be so skilled with words.” Naoe smiled cutely at the sight of him flushed and stammering, a silent thanks for the compliment. Ma Chao nodded briskly. “I think I would like that, very much. To let what will happen, happen, as we have all along.”

“Precisely,” Kanetsugu encouraged. “It has worked for us so far, I see no reason to change our methodology.”

“Are you jealous?” Mengqi wondered out of the blue. “Of Yukimura, I mean. Or does your devotion to the cause of love know nothing of jealousy?”

Naoe’s eyes shifted to the stars for a moment as he thought. “I should like to be so open-hearted, but I suppose some part of me is a little envious.” His smile intensified to a positively irresistible level. “Mostly that he has fallen so deeply for Lord Zhao Yun, and I could never be that for him. But really, I wish them both the best. It’s good for him,” he noted. “Yukimura needs that kind of stability in his life.”

“And he is good for Zilong,” Chao said fondly. “They compliment each other well. I hope that you and I may be able to do the same, in some way. Though,” he added with a laugh, “if my cousin is to be believed, we already do.”

“You will have to give Ma Dai my sincerest appreciation for championing our cause,” Kanetsugu chuckled in turn. He looked down to their clasped hands. “Then, if we are agreed…perhaps we should spend tonight enjoying each other’s company, in the off chance that we aren’t able to see each other for a while.”

“Yes…” Ma Chao breathed, finding himself rather suddenly infatuated with his honorable friend and wanting nothing more than an evening full of physical contact. He lunged in to kiss Kanetsugu swiftly, and then murmured against his lips, “as beautiful as the moon is, I would rather…if you would come to my quarters with me.”

It was Kanetsugu’s turn to blush, but he nodded eagerly. “Please.”

Mengqi happily caught him up for another deep kiss, but then tugged him away, escorting him down off the battlements to head for some privacy. Whether or not Ma Dai was around, he would very shortly not be allowed into the room for the rest of the night. They had an important memory to make between them.


	97. Chapter 97

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One by one, all the separate armies leave Chengdu with heartfelt farewells. Or not so heartfelt, in some cases.

While the victorious armies were enjoying their time in Chengdu, things were not going so smoothly for the former elite of the Orochi army. Upon being spirited away from the battlefield by the only two retainers still able to stand, Dong Zhuo had fallen unconscious and been rendered a useless and rather heavy lump to be dragged away from the burning lands. Dong Min took command of what was left of their people and sent Guo Si back onto the dangerous roads around Koshi to hunt for the rest of Dong Zhuo’s retainers wherever they might be, and though it took waiting until after the battle was over and the Resistance had departed for their camp, Guo Si was eventually successful. He managed to find most of their men and guide them back to where their lord was being tended, given enough care to prevent him from dying on them before they could arrange some sort of transport and get him out of there. It took them twice as long to struggle their way out of the lava fields, and this many days later had only gotten as far as Kyuushuu, which was slightly inhospitable as well due to rockslides and other natural impediments. Zhuo was awake at last, and though he had no love for Orochi, he took the news of the demon’s demise with some consternation. That meant that his real enemies – Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and the Sun clan – were in a position to make life extremely difficult for him, with full control of the land and most of the territories and castles. Not knowing whether anyone would come sniffing around the small temple at Kyuushuu for any reason, Dong Zhuo ordered his men to make a more comfortable litter with which to carry him and prepare to move out soon. He needed to disappear into the wilderness much like Cao Cao had, it seemed to be the only way to fully recover from grave wounds without having to worry about enemies finding him. His retainers had no choice, they knew of no other way and figured that even in this state, Dong Zhuo had a better chance than they at finding a good hiding place and keeping them safe.

Diaochan, on the other hand, cared absolutely nothing for those who might remain loyal to her husband even after being beaten down at Koshi. She single-handedly undertook the responsibility of taking him away from the western lands, lashing him to the saddle of his fleet horse and riding behind him in order to escape quickly and completely. She stole through the Resistance camp when no one was looking to recover what few personal items she still had to her name, packed and ready to go in her tent among the Wei faction, and then they were gone, thundering away to the east in search of any abandoned territory with even the smallest garrison in which to hole up. Knowing from the scattering of demons at the gate that Orochi had perished, Lu Bu was senseless for a while and at his wife’s mercy, but eventually he came around and sulked in the saddle instead, letting Diaochan do all the work. He was severely wounded, anyway, it took all his energy to stay sitting upright for long periods while they rode across rocky and uncertain terrain. They got out far ahead of any potential pursuit before finally finding somewhere to rest, ending up at unoccupied Tedorigawa where they could hole up in Fukaoka Castle on the south bank of the river. All was quiet there now, the floods had subsided long ago and something akin to autumn had stolen into this territory. For several days Lu Bu laid in bed, recovering his strength and energy and letting his wounds finally knit properly, caring nothing for whether or not anyone found them there. Diaochan looked after him every waking moment, bandaging him and making sure he ate and slept properly. One day, around the time the Resistance leaders were preparing to finally head home, Diaochan came out from the fortress to pick medicinal herbs in broad daylight and found a small cluster of soldiers heading toward them. She had never bothered to set a lookout, since it was only just the two of them, but she froze with some concern that they had been discovered by their enemies and might be in trouble. Without his Sky Piercer, Lu Bu had only his own strength to rely on and that was severely lacking right now. Yet, as they came into sight at the far end of the bridge, she recognized their armor and then their faces. The man leading them in their trek was unmistakable, even though he currently walked with a limp and half his robes were torn to make bandages for himself and others. Diaochan frowned a little to see him again. “Chen Gong. What a surprise,” she said coolly as soon as they were in range.

Chen Gong hesitated for a moment and then quickened his step. “My lady! I knew it, see – I told you,” he snarled at the rest following him. “I knew I had picked up their trail. It’s so good to see you alive!”

Diaochan eyed him suspiciously. “You followed our trail? How did you know it was us?”

The oily tactician came up to her and bowed deeply. “Well, you see,” he stammered, “I had been at the front gate of the castle as ordered but…the Resistance defeated me. I was still lying injured when our lord was defeated and I heard their leaders pronounce judgment, so I knew you had left. But I wasn’t able to slip away until later, when the battle resumed and there was enough chaos that I could escape unnoticed. Ah! And there’s this…”

He gestured to one of the men leading their only horse, a pack horse meant to carry provisions. The soldier hurriedly untied something lashed to the pack and heaved it into view, straining to carry it the way their lord did. Diaochan’s eyes widened and she was ready to forgive them for being craven cowards. “His halberd!”

The soldier staggered up and crouched with the Sky Piercer resting against his shoulder. “We heard Lord Lu Bu had been disarmed,” he panted. “When the Resistance moved on into the castle, we came to take his weapon in order to get it back to him. But you had already gone, my lady…”

“He will be overjoyed to have it back,” she said, finally relaxing and turning back toward the fortress. “Come, present yourselves to him. He’s still severely injured but he is much improved.”

Inside the fortress, Lu Bu was awake and in his usual sour mood, sitting up in bed with his back supported by every bolster and pillow in the place. This Wa-style castle left a lot to be desired and had very little in the way of luxuries, but what they could find they used to make a decent sickbed for him. He heard the commotion and glanced toward the door, wondering why it sounded like more than just Diaochan, and arched an eyebrow in interest when Chen Gong came kowtowing through the door. It was such an unexpected sight that he had to stop and stare for a long moment before saying anything. “What are you doing here?” he finally demanded.

“My lord,” Chen Gong said humbly, “I’m so glad you’re alive. We’ve been looking everywhere for you, and at last we’ve found you!”

“Have you.” Lu Bu turned his face away, staring hard at the opposite wall instead. “What makes you think I wanted to see you?”

Figuring he’d sulk, Diaochan waved for the soldier carrying the halberd to come forward and present it. The poor man had no strength left and nearly dropped it, but in the end he managed to place it gingerly on the floor before backing out. It certainly got Lu Bu’s attention, and he even attempted to sit up further, but his injuries twinged and he held where he was, fighting against the pain. “My lord,” Chen Gong attempted again, “do you really think we would simply abandon you? You are the greatest warrior ever seen, we would follow you to the ends of the earth – and in fact, we did! We followed you to Orochi’s end and now we follow you onward, to wherever you would go next.”

Lu Bu harrumphed and sat back against his pillow pile. “I have no need for your flattery or your loyalty. Orochi is dead, and with him any dreams of reaching my pinnacle. What is there left for me?”

Chen Gong gaped a bit, not expecting such a response. Diaochan crossed to her husband and knelt beside his bed. “There is a part of you that wants to live,” she said wisely. “The part that hasn’t stopped me from tending you, the part which just now showed a spark of energy at seeing your halberd reappear like a long-lost friend.” She curled her hand around his much larger one, tucking her fingers into his loose grip. “What does that part of you want?”

Lu Bu looked from her hand to her face, silently contemplating an answer. What _did_ he want? Even with Orochi dead, there was a yearning inside him left unquenched, possibly stirred up to greater heights by the great demon and now left unfulfilled. While he stewed, Chen Gong found his courage and rested a fist on the floor where he knelt to pay homage. “It’s true, Orochi is dead,” he said more seriously, “but you are not, my lord. Moreover, neither is anyone from the Resistance. We glimpsed their camp before we escaped, there were no signs of mourning put out anywhere. Cao Cao, Oda Nobunaga – they’re all still alive. That means they can go back to their holdings and try to build their own empires. Would you stand by and let them?”

At last, Lu Bu seized on a potential opportunity. To think that Orochi could not kill _any_ of the Resistance leaders – did that make them actually stronger than him? In that case, to prove himself the strongest, he would have to defeat all of them. Whatever the reason Orochi failed, _he_ was alive to correct that mistake. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his large hand squeezing Diaochan’s delicate one. “Is it just you?” he asked gruffly. “Or have you located any of the rest of my retainers?”

Chen Gong frowned. “I was unable to find most of them, though I have some information that none were killed. I heard that Song Xian had been defeated in the north but no one witnessed him fleeing. Li Su has gone back after Dong Zhuo,” he added with a growl.

“Forget him,” Lu Bu snarled, twisting to face his adviser. “I would rather have Hao Meng, Gao Shun, and Song Xian than him. If you would pledge to me,” he said sternly, “then find them. We cannot rebuild an army with just a tactician. I need my generals.”

Chen Gong smirked darkly. Yes, that was more like Lu Bu. “It shall be done, my lord,” he vowed. “When you are capable of traveling again, let us rise up and find a much more suitable castle for you as well. This demon land will tremble at the might of Lu Bu once again!”

“Yes…” Lu Bu nodded slowly. “It should. It will. Leave me my Sky Piercer and go – clean yourselves up. You have a lot of work to do.”

The strategist kowtowed backwards out of the doorway, leaving his lord alone with his lady. Diaochan sat beside him with a smile, glad to see him looking more himself after so long wallowing in darkness. “You already have me, my lord,” she said softly.

“I do…” Lu Bu lifted his other hand to caress her face, following the graceful curve of her cheek and jaw to her lips. “My dear Diaochan, you had every right to leave me to die, and yet here you are, still holding my hand. I don’t deserve you.”

She smirked beneath his touch. “Of course you don’t. But you have me all the same.”

“You never gave up on me,” he noted. “I see that, now. If you could believe in me, even when I threw you aside, how could I not believe in myself? I must regain my strength, and return to the man you need me to be.”

“You already are,” Diaochan murmured, “yet I admit, I would like to see you rise up again. I know how happy you are when you feel your best, and how much joy victory brings you. I will stand by you, and soon we will be victorious again.”

As powerful and dangerous as he was, Lu Bu was also a sensitive heart deep down. It was as though a blindfold had been ripped off his eyes, he could see now that she had always been there, in spirit if not in person, and had done so much to make sure he lived and recovered. He stretched out his arms and gathered her in, tucking her against his bandaged chest and enfolding her in his embrace. “Forgive me,” he whispered, “for my blindness. I would be happy to the end of my days if you never left me, ever again.”

Some part of her wanted to remind him not to give her reason to leave him, but Diaochan bit it back and simply laid against his chest, smiling to herself. She knew the real Lu Bu had been inside him all along, it was good to see again. “You have me until the end of our days, my love,” she breathed against his neck.

  


Though he had threatened to go and see the various leaders individually if necessary, Liu Bei was pleased to finally hear from both Cao Cao and Oda the morning after his dinner with the Sun family. Their messages were short and formal, and both in the end agreed to go along with Shu and Wu in their decision to set Date Masamune and Maeda Keiji free. There were conditions, of course; Date’s vow to leave and not associate with any of the Resistance was accepted, but on top of that, if any of them found him conspiring with any of Orochi’s associates, retaliation would be swift and purposeful. As he had no current plans to rub shoulders with Lu Bu or Dong Zhuo if he could help it, Date consented to the restrictions – anything to get it over with and get out of there. Both he and Keiji were healed enough to ride, though by the time everything was sorted out it was too late in the day to get a good start and get clear of the region surrounding Chengdu. The following morning shortly after dawn their ordeal was finally over, even if there were only a handful of witnesses to the end of their story and the start of the next chapter. Magoichi, Yukimura, Kanetsugu, and Zhao Yun figured no one else would want to see this particular party off, but as they came down to the main gate of Luo Castle, they were joined by Toshiie. Though dreadfully serious, he didn’t seem to be at all angry that his efforts to recruit his nephew back to the anti-Orochi side had ended in failure. If anything he appeared resigned to this outcome, and came down from the guest quarters in just kimono and hakama with no armor for a somber appearance. Magoichi gave him a silent nod in greeting, but no one spoke, waiting out this moment in contemplative silence. Guards brought the last three prisoners up from the dungeons and escorted them straight out to the courtyard, there would be no formal audience with the castle lord or any further dismissal beyond that which had already been given to them. At the same time as they appeared, squinting in the morning sunlight, Sun Shangxiang strode through the open gate leading a small coterie of Date rifle soldiers surrounded by Wu’s stoutest. Immediately behind her were Date’s son and cousin and Katakura’s son, finally allowed to see their relatives again. Yukimura had seen to the procuring of spare horses for the lead officers, including Keiji’s own wild Matsukaze, who had been corralled once the bulk of the battle had finished and bore him all the way from Koshi. As the representative general for Shu, Zhao Yun stepped forward to cut the ropes loosely binding the prisoners’ wrists and then signaled for his guards to give them back their weapons. Shangxiang brought her charges up and faced Zilong with head held high, avoiding Masamune’s look of surprise at her presence. “We’ve brought their primary officers as you requested, Lord Zhao Yun,” she said formally. “The rest are massed at the gate of Fu garrison to wait for them to join up.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Yun said with a proper bob of his head.

“This is it, then,” Yukimura murmured, turning slightly toward Date. “Farewell, Lord Masamune. If we never encounter one another again in this world, then I wish you peace.”

Date harrumphed importantly in response while checking his Dragonhunters to make sure they were in good working order, and then stowed the pistols in his belt. “A promise is a promise,” was all he said to acknowledge the wish, striding past them to inspect Hidemune for himself and reassure them both that father and son were all right. His arm was still bound up to let it heal but he had limited use of his hand, which Hidemune grasped eagerly to greet him after being kept apart for so long. Likewise, Katakura Shigenaga moved to verify that his father was all right, though Kojuro’s face was an unreadable mask in the present climate, eyes hidden behind the reflected sunlight in his glasses.

Keiji hefted his pike over his shoulder and gave the assembled group one sweeping glance to take them all in – Toshiie, Magoichi, and Naoe mostly, though his gaze also went to Shangxiang. For a moment it looked like he was just going to turn and go to his horse, but he strode down the line of them, blatantly ignoring them until he got to the Lady Sun at the end beside Zhao Yun. “So you’re the only tiger cub come to say goodbye, huh?” he taunted, his voice still rough and ragged from having been bedridden until the day before. “Heh. I guess that’s fair. I don’t suppose the guy whose head I threatened to take really has anything to say.”

Shangxiang’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not here for you, Maeda. If my brothers had any message for you, they didn’t give it to me.”

“Right. Figures.” Keiji tossed one last look toward his uncle and Kanetsugu and then barged through the middle of the throng to get to Matsukaze and mount up. He slung the pike over the back of his saddle and gathered the reins, ready to go at any moment.

Masamune noticed his movement and matched it, first murmuring orders to Hidemune for the rest of their men to fall into a march behind the horses and then swinging into the saddle. Katakura followed him, so that the three of them sat ready to ride and lead their men onward to a new life. Masamune looked up at a flash of green and white and realized that Liu Bei was standing on a balcony above them, watching without intruding, and then dropped his gaze so he wouldn’t have to catch the eye of any of those there to see him off. “Move out,” he ordered, turning his horse.

Magoichi growled softly under his breath, but knew better than to try to ask for some kind of final word from his friend. Yukimura looked like he wanted to speak up, but the mercenary reached to restrain him with just a hand on his arm. He and Toshiie both faced this moment with grim silence, staring at the backs of their favorite people riding away from them. All of them along with the castle sentries stood their ground until the little unit had ridden through the gate and down the hill toward Fu Castle, where the rest of the rifle corps would fall in behind them and march away through the bamboo forests to the wilderness beyond. Only then did Kanetsugu speak up. “It seems that the shadow of Orochi still lays on his heart,” he murmured, though it wasn’t clear whether he meant Date or Keiji – or both. “Just when I was beginning to think that the demise of the demon would put everything right.”

“It’s a noble thought,” Toshiie said solemnly, “but unfortunately, this is how reality plays out.”

“Will you be all right?” Yukimura asked him.

The elder Maeda took in their understanding gazes and sighed. “Yeah, fine. It’s not as though this is somehow unusual for Keiji. We haven’t seen the last of them, I’m sure, no matter what Date promised.”

“Perhaps when they do resurface, sometime in the future,” Kanetsugu offered, “it will be to set things right. I cannot believe two such men with their own ambitions would bow down to the snake forever, especially now that he’s gone.”

“You don’t know Masamune,” Magoichi said dourly.

Shangxiang stepped over and clapped him boldly on the arm. “The battle isn’t over until everyone is returned, even them. You’ll get your chance.”

“Nice of you to say so.” Magoichi managed a shadow of his usual rakish grin for her. “Don’t worry about me, my lady. I’ve been wounded deeper before and survived.”

Shangxiang gave him a wry look back, figuring he was alluding to her own attack on him. “Yeah, you seem like a fighter, Master Saika.”

Zhao Yun looked up to where his lord was still patiently observing and then around the group. “None of the other lords wanted to come, I see.”

“Lord Oda told me to come in his stead,” Toshiie reported. “He was interested but figured it would only make things even more stiff and awkward. The others, I’m not surprised. Date fought against all of them at some point or another, they wouldn’t wish him well.”

“I still do,” Yukimura said, turning to look through the gate to the empty road. “Wherever they end up, I hope they can rebuild and find their own kind of peace. I can’t find it in me to actually hate them.”

“That is a testament to your generous heart,” Zhao Yun said kindly, coming up alongside him to pat him on the shoulder.

“Well.” Shangxiang turned to the group and clasped her hands behind her back. “Now that that’s taken care of, I’ve got to get back. We’re going to be heading out today, too, and I’ve got a lot of work to do to get ready.”

“Today? Already?” Zhao Yun said in surprise, his gaze shooting up to Liu Bei again. “So soon!”

“Don’t worry,” she assured him, following his gaze and smiling warmly for her husband to see. “We’ll come up and say farewell properly. Ce wants to see everyone off in style, after all.”

The others nodded in agreement, though as soon as they broke up to go their separate ways, word went through Luo and down to Mianzhu that Wu would be departing within the day. Anyone and everyone who wanted to be a part of those final farewells had mere hours to set aside whatever they were doing and come out to the courtyard for one last meeting.

Miles went by before anyone from Date’s party said a word, their journey passed all the way through the bamboo wood at the foot of the hills surrounding Chengdu and out onto a nondescript plain beyond before someone in the rifle unit muttered queries to another about how far they could get before nightfall and in which direction should they head. Katakura heard them and gave his horse a light tap to bring it up alongside Date’s. “That is a very good question,” he noted, keeping his voice low. “Where are we to head?”

“Anywhere,” Masamune said tiredly, the strain of trying to hold his composure finally showing on his face and in his voice. His shoulders slumped and his head drooped as though his helm weighed a ton. “I don’t know. I assume that all the castles the Resistance took are still in their hands, so we can’t go to any of those places. Maybe they’ve left some smaller garrison unmanned, that’s the best we can hope for.”

Kojuro nodded and faced forward, eyes on the road. “And if Sanada is right, and Oshu exists out there yet to be found?”

“One thing at a time, Kojuro,” Date grumbled. “I need a solid roof over my head and the assurance of an actual dinner every day before I start thinking of Oshu, or anything else.”

Katakura sighed and fell back, deciding to leave him to his inner darkness. One thing was certain, Date Masamune was at his lowest point and it would take time for him to recover his ambition. They had a lot of ground to cover in a search for safe harbor, the matter of day-to-day survival took precedence over plans for the future. Eventually, the Date-Katakura rifle corps would find its way to Saika Village, long since forsaken by the Takeda-Uesugi alliance and left to the ravages of nature. No one seemed to want it, though it was tucked back in the hills in a fine, hidden valley. It would be the perfect place for Date to lay his head for a while, and work on rebuilding his shattered ego along with his army. Perhaps Oda Nobunaga was right and letting him go to do so would come back to bite the Resistance hard, but for now, Masamune was hardly a threat, nothing more than a vagabond. Still, the troops marching behind him could see the golden dragon on the back of his cloak, pristine and undamaged, and took it as a sign of hope. The One-Eyed Dragon had been through hell before, he would come through again. They were sure of it.

The courtyard in front of the main gate of Luo Castle became the place to be for scenes of final farewells, where those still preparing to depart joined with the residents of Chengdu staying permanently to get a last word in with any friends and rivals setting out. Sun Shangxiang’s warning had gone around so that a great number of people gathered in the courtyard to see the Wu army off, and in turn, nearly every Wu officer came up to the castle to receive those well-wishes, including all of those who had already rejoined their countrymen before the battle of Koshi Castle. Ling Tong and Lu Xun were glad to be able to pay respect to Nobunaga one more time, thanking him for taking them in, and Xiaoqiao happily bid farewell to those who had taken good care of her, especially Okuni, who was sticking with Oda and Toyotomi for a while. Huang Gai reiterated his gratitude to Cao Pi, and Gan Ning did his best to run around and say goodbye to everyone – not just Cao Pi and Zhang Liao but Zhao Yun, Yukimura, Nagamasa and Oichi, Takeda, even Xingcai, every person who gave him as little as a drink of water after a hard battle. In turn, everyone from the various armies who had gotten to enjoy their friendship bid them a safe journey and secured promises to write and visit when they could, as friends and not enemies. Sun Jian received a personal and heartfelt blessing from Liu Bei as well as respect from every other warlord, and Sun Ce was content to trade a few more hand-clasps and embraces with the commanders who had supported him along the way, Zhao Yun and Cao Pi in particular but also Tokugawa, since he was heading directly back to Edo with Ina, Hattori, and the Honda clan within the next day. For that reason, Shangxiang and Ina stepped aside to take a while for their last goodbyes and promises to send word when the Lady Sun would be passing back through on her way to Chengdu; only because she knew it would be fairly soon did Shangxiang not linger quite as long with Liu Bei, though the entire courtyard cheered them when they bestowed a rather public kiss on one another. Of the rest of Wu’s close allies, Shima Sakon and the Chosokabe would actually be traveling all the way back to Hefei with them, but the rest stayed behind to depart at other times for their own castles. Like the Tokugawa, the Hojo would be making their way directly to Odawara when a guide could be spared to take them there, so Ujiyasu and Sun Jian bid each other farewell with their own promises to have drinks with one another (again) under their respective castles’ blooming spring trees in time. The one true painful parting among them was Ranmaru’s, for he had decided at last to return to Oda Nobunaga’s service, but not without finally saying what needed to be said to the lord he had followed for so long. He had been in Oda’s care since the end of the battle, and hadn’t once returned to the Wu camp at Fu, so this was Ran’s first chance since the fateful battle itself to even see Sun Ce. The Little Conqueror faced him squarely, hands on hips and a proud smile on his face. “You don’t gotta say anything,” he assured before Ran could even open his mouth. “I know you need to stick with your real lord.”

Ranmaru shook his head. “No, there is still much to be said, Lord Sun Ce. You have always encouraged me to go my own way, to do what I feel is right, and right now what I feel is that I need to share with you what it has meant to me to serve you all this time.” His hands at his sides loosely balled into fists as if trying to hold himself back from bowing or kneeling. Heartfelt words would be better delivered man to man, standing exactly as they were before one another. “You never forced anyone, you asked us to go with you into every dark corner and every uncertain path of our own will. I don’t know if I knew then, the day you took me in, that such trust and honor meant that you would rebel and I wouldn’t have to worry about serving Orochi forever. All I could do was follow you and repay your trust with trust in kind. You have never led me astray, my lord, and the reason I can stand here now with the freedom to return to Lord Nobunaga is because of you.”

Ce genuinely flushed, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. “Aw, c’mon…”

“It’s true,” Ran insisted. “While I’m sure Lord Ma Chao might have come back for me and not left me on my own, I did what you said – I did what I thought was right. I still believe it was right. I’ve seen the world through different eyes, and got to see first-hand the strength of your heart. You shouldered such a burden and worked so hard to protect your family. I am glad to have been a part of it, to see what it means to sacrifice and labor for love.”

Ce’s eyes gentled, and he reached to put a heavy hand on the boy’s slim shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you were a part of our family for a little while, too. You were willing to give your life for me, and I’ll honor that will until the end of my days. You’re a friend of Wu, now, so even if you’re going back to Lord Oda, you’ll always be welcome around us.”

Ranmaru finally felt it a good time to bow, bending deeply from the waist. “Thank you for my life, Lord Sun Ce, and everything that came afterward. I can only hope that my service went to some small length toward repaying my debt.”

“Repaid in full and then some.” Sun Ce glanced past him to Nobunaga as he slowly stepped closer, not to intrude but to observe, a cool and knowing smile faintly gracing his lips. “And on top of all that you’re a powerful fighter. I can see why Lord Oda gives you a man’s share of responsibility – you’re capable of it.” He tipped his head toward the warlord. “As long as he takes good care of you, I’ve got nothing to worry about. Go on – this time, for good.”

Ranmaru straightened with a small bob of his head to acknowledge the final order, and then broke and stepped forward to throw his slender arms around the burly warrior. He knew how much Ce liked hugs, it was about time he got one. Ce laughed and clapped him on the back as enthusiastically as he would any of the bigger men, which nearly rattled Ran’s teeth in his head, and then turned him with a hand on his shoulder to give him a push back to the other side where he belonged. Oda stood aside until they were finished and then took one more step closer. “Thank you, again, for looking after my retainer,” he said politely. “I’m sure being put through his paces alongside the famed Zhou Tai and Taishi Ci will have taught him a few things.”

Sun Ce glanced to the side as Ran went to likewise say a farewell to Zhou Tai, who said absolutely nothing in response but clearly appreciated it given the slow, patient, deliberate way he palmed his fist and held it for the longest moment, head bowed. “Oh, probably a few,” he admitted. “He and Zhou Tai really got along, it was good to see. I’ve got no doubts, though, that with you is the best place for him.” He reached to rap Oda on the arm, which went much more softly since the warlord was out of armor for once. “Consider it a trade for all you did for me and the rest of Wu.”

Nobunaga inclined his head in a slow nod of acceptance, and then stepped back to conclude this round of fond farewells. Everyone else had been seen to, so it was time. Shangxiang passed through clasping a few more hands of those in Shu she knew well enough to promise them that she would be back soon, and then all the Sun family went to their horses and vaulted into the saddle. Seeing them head and shoulders above the throng called all the rest of their officers from every corner of the courtyard where they were still catching the last of their comrades from other armies, and at the very end Gan Ning finally got into the saddle with a mighty jingle of bells. That served as the sign that they were ready to go, so Sun Jian turned his horse to begin the trek. “We will see one another again, my friends,” he promised the entirety of their audience, nodding firmly. “Soldiers of Wu! We ride!”

With his sons and daughter behind him, then their bodyguards, and then all the others falling into formation behind them, the might of Wu rode through the gate of Luo and down to where their infantry waited in neat ranks ready to march. The dust of their passage rose up into the air and took a long time to fade away on the lightest breath of wind. Zhao Yun looked to the side and managed to catch a warm glance from Cao Pi, and then shifted his eyes to Liu Bei, who stood watching as if unable to tear his eyes away until the last speck of dust finally settled back onto the road. “Soon, my lord,” Yun assured, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“I know,” Liu Bei said softly, still unable to look away.

With all the hubbub surrounding the departure of the ex-captives and then the Wu army, Oda’s own plans to get moving had to be delayed by a day. It wasn’t that they weren’t ready, but given their numbers, it was hard on the castle sentries to have to maintain security for such large armies every time they went out, so he decided to give them a rest and let them worry about him the next day. In the meantime, other lords had also decided to make that the day of their departure, so one by one they grouped their officers, came down to the courtyard of Luo, and bid their hosts and former allies one last farewell. It got so busy that most of the generals of Shu just milled about the courtyard all day waiting for whomever might show up to say goodbye next. Yuan Shao desperately wanted to get back into his own castle at long last, so he chose to get moving bright and early, rounding up his sons and making a grand entrance in order to elicit proper respect from Liu Bei and grudging dismissal from Cao Cao and then sweeping his way out before the sun had even cleared the tops of the bamboo groves. Zhang Jiao and his brothers had more than overstayed their welcome and used Yuan Shao’s bluster as an excuse to slip away right afterward. They planned to set out on a search for a land they could call their own, where perhaps they could build a quiet conclave dedicated to the Way of Heaven, which was why everyone still lingering behind was all too happy to send them off and not have to deal with them any longer. The coalition under Oda broke up and would trickle away in the days to follow, but Nobunaga had firm plans and intentions and led the egress himself with what officers and contingents needed to return with him to Honnoji. They were much more considerate about choosing their time, given how many wanted to see them off and what other duties they might have to handle before they could gather; in the end they departed around midday with considerable fanfare. The Ma cousins, the Guan children, and others who had been part of Oda’s army at some point led the cavalcade of well-wishers, though naturally Liu Bei and Zhao Yun played their part as commanders to formally send off Oda Nobunaga and his command retinue. Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Ishida came up from Mianzhu as an official Wei delegation, though Mitsunari held to his promise to let Nene hug him once and show a friendly face to Toyotomi and his retainers, who were all going off with their lord even if Nene, Kato, and Fukushima were continuing on past it to Osaka eventually. Nobunaga looked rather pleased with the turnout and the kind words from Liu Bei, and though his own contingent was much smaller than it had been under the alliance, it was just right for maintaining a proper presence at Honnoji. He ignored any wary looks from Cao Cao, lifted a hand in a wave to Zhao Yun, and turned his horse to lead his people homeward.

The Uesugi also departed that day, after Oda but not too late so they could get some distance between themselves and Chengdu before encamping for the night. Kenshin had agreed to temporarily hold Fan Castle until the other kingdoms could decide how to handle it, and if no decision could be made he would be content with it for as long as necessary, especially with its central location allowing him to keep tabs on all the other lords. Since Takeda wasn’t going to leave until the Sanada did, in order to travel alongside them to Ueda, he was still around to bid his nemesis farewell and trade a few more jabs with him to make sure their rivalry had not suffered from an excess of cooperation and good feelings. Kanetsugu bade a sweet and happy see-you-later to Yukimura with plenty of vows to write and visit, and a much more discreet farewell to Ma Chao, though they had gotten their private time together days earlier and were prepared for this moment. The following morning it was time for Azai Nagamasa and Oichi to depart for Odani, with an escort provided by Shu to help transition it back to their control, though Nagamasa still expressed his desires to search for his allies the Asakura if they could be found anywhere in the mysterious corners of the land. They departed before Wei could, profusely thanking Cao Pi for everything he did even if he did have to beat sense into them to get them to join. Most of their friends and family had already left, so once they severed their ties with Wei for good, there was only Takeda and the Sanadas to see them off. It served as a preface to the official departure of Wei, the last large-scale army to take their leave with much pomp and ceremony. Most of their officers had been with Wei all along and still belonged there, but there were important things to be said and friendships to honor before they could leave. Cao Cao sat astride his horse with an imperious air for anyone who approached, saying the bare minimum to Liu Bei to assure him that all was well between their kingdoms and wishing him well in turn. In contrast, Cao Pi made a show of paying respect to the Shu lord and to Zhao Yun especially, who had won his admiration through his determination and leadership. Mitsunari had already said most of his farewells earlier, so all he had to do was accept Yukimura’s blessing and confirm that he was serious about remaining with Cao Pi. Pang De was clearly staying back in order to go with Ma Teng to Xiliang in the coming days, and Pang Tong also admitted he was staying for a bit, since he had closer ties to some in Shu, but those who knew him guessed that “a bit” meant that eventually he would take to the road again. He had nothing but glowing praise for Cao Pi, and made sure to give it in Cao Cao’s hearing. The one real surprise was Xu Shu, who stepped forward still clad in blue to confess to Liu Bei at the very last minute that he was going to stay in Wei. Xuande received this news with a bit of distress, for he had missed this wayward strategist and had been so very glad to see him in the rescue party. “But, why?” he wondered. “You know that things here aren’t the way they were back in our rightful time, it could be as it never was before.”

Xu Shu smiled sadly. “My service to Lord Cao Cao is…well. I made my choices, foolish though they were, and even if this is a land of new opportunities, I feel as though I don’t deserve the kindness of your kingdom, my lord. I will do my best to humbly accept your forgiveness and friendship, at least.”

Liu Bei looked disappointed, but nodded slowly. “I understand. Please visit, at least. You are welcome at my court anytime.”

“I will volunteer for any and every mission to travel to Chengdu and consult with you, Lord Liu Bei,” Xu Shu vowed. “Lord Cao Pi is retaining certain other strategists, maybe there’s a place for me there.”

They both looked to where Mitsunari was mounting up at Cao Pi’s side, and Liu Bei breathed a soft sigh. “I see. Then…if you must, my friend. Safe journey, and be well.” They clasped hands and held for a moment before Xu Shu drew back and went to where someone was holding a horse for him.

The time had finally come, and Cao Pi gave the assembled might of Shu a vague, knowing smile as he turned his horse. Cao Cao drew himself up proudly and gazed down at Liu Bei. “Very well, then. We shall hear from one another if and when it becomes necessary, I’m sure. All forces! Move out!”

The impressive sight of so many powerful warriors riding like a blue shadow out through the gates of Luo, Xu Huang and Cao Ren and Zhang Liao at the fore as bodyguards and the rest ranged out behind them, was the talk of Chengdu the rest of the night. Most were simply glad that everyone was able to head home in peace, but Liu Bei’s eyes were troubled as he watched them go. He hadn’t spoken of his concerns to anyone yet, but like Cao Pi himself, and so many others, he was certain Cao Cao would not be content with the status quo, with peace and harmony among so many disparate warlords. All they could do was bide their time and wait to see what he would do, but in the meantime, Liu Bei remained privately suspicious.

Sima Zhao was finally able to travel without any further fears for his injuries, so the next morning the Sima contingent set out on a long journey of their own across the land to Xiapi to take control of the fortress. From there they would be able to backtrack through Chi’bi in search of any trace of Sima Yi and the men who had spirited him away. Sima Shi was officially seen as the head of the family for the time being, though with him were his brother, Wang Yuanji, Zhong Hui, and Xiahou Ba, who had secured permission from his father only the day before to split off from his clan, who would be remaining with Wei indefinitely, and assist his comrades from Jin in their search. The plans Sima Zhao had spoken of to Zhao Yun were in their final stage, so the parting was amicable and everyone wished them the best of luck. It was still uncertain what Sima Yi would do if and when he reunited with his sons, but at least the rest of the clan and their retainers were on good terms with their former allies – so much so that Zhao clasped hands with Zilong and Yukimura to thank them one more time for giving him a chance, and embraced Ma Chao as a friend. All that sentiment left Shi sitting in the saddle with an exasperated expression, though he refrained from teasing his brother in front of everybody. Jiang Wei, Guan Suo, Liu Shan, and the rest of Shu’s younger generation were particularly interested to see them go and waved goodbye until they were out of sight past the gates. Liu Bei saw the strangely wistful expression in his son’s eyes and wondered, for he had not considered yet how all these grown children from his future would come to know each other.

All that was left, then, were the allies of Shu who had their own separate ways to go. Musashi expressed his deep gratitude for saving the lives of his men but they were all ready to go back to roaming as a unit, as they had all along. There was adventure to be had in this wild land, and he had seen so many powerful warriors on the field at Koshi that he wanted to visit all of them and test himself against them. They packed up swiftly and left shortly after the Simas. The Nanman needed to return to Nanzhong, they had been away far too long and Meng Huo was eager to make sure his lesser generals had done well protecting his people, but he needed to say a proper farewell to Lord Liu Bei as one king to another. He and his wife, with their retainers and small army, affirmed their allegiance to Shu in the presence of so many witnesses and departed as friends, promising to hunt any snakes that dared to raise their heads anywhere near Nanzhong. Of those from Wa who had been part of the Shu army since the beginning, only the Saika Renegades and Tachibana Ginchiyo would be remaining within Chengdu. Shimazu Yoshihiro and his sons wanted to backtrack up to Kyuushuu to see if anything of their homeland could be turned into a decent fortress in which to live, unaware that someone had already attempted it. They would be very surprised in the coming days to find evidence that someone had passed through, even though Dong Zhuo and his retainers had escaped them yet again. Since the territory of Kyuushuu was actually fairly close by, they decided to head out the same day as the Nanman and the Simas, vowing as they went that they would be in close contact if they were needed and would pass on any news of their homeland to Tachibana. She was primarily interested if there was any sign of her husband, Muneshige, in that area, but deigned to accept whatever news Shimazu could send. Another night passed and another dawn came, wherein the Hojo and Ma Teng prepared to set out for their distant homes. Xiliang was quite far, and Teng declared that he had dawdled enough – he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his son and nephew before needing to finally part from them, but the time was right. He and Pang De set out first, though Hojo Ujiyasu was practically right behind him. Odawara was pretty far in another direction, and one lonely guide from Wei had remained behind a few days to lead them across the jumbled and uncertain landscape to their home. Ujiyasu himself wasn’t close to many in Shu, but his relatives who owed their lives to Zhao Yun and Yueying’s rescue eagerly reaffirmed their gratitude and consented to keep close ties with Ma Teng as well. And then there was Zuo Ci; he had promised to genuinely bid farewell to Liu Bei and Zhao Yun before simply vanishing as he was wont to do, after all, and he kept his promises. He, at least, didn’t have reason to care what time of day it was when he left, for immortality afforded him all sorts of perks like not needing to sleep when the sun went down. He gave Zhao Yun enough warning so that after all the other officers had retired to their quarters for dinner and a final night with the last remaining guests, only he, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang came down to see the mystic off from a side gate rather than the main gate of Luo Castle. Zuo Ci bowed deeply to them all. “I had but one mission while being trapped inside the barrier Orochi put around this world,” he confessed, “and that was to see Lord Liu Bei safe. If, for no other reason,” he added wryly, “than Kongming being an extremely talented actor.”

Zhuge Liang gave him a cool smile. “If I managed to fool even you, Master, then it was worth the sacrifice. You saw to it that our Lord Zhao Yun was set upon the right path, and for that I thank you.”

“No thanks are needed,” Zuo Ci assured with a flap of his hand. “There was something about this young dragon’s heart that lured me. He teetered upon the edge of courage and despair, and was dangerously close to losing everything. I figured all I needed was to give him a little push and he would soar with wings outspread.”

Zhao Yun bowed his head graciously. “For which I will be in your debt, Master, even if you don’t wish to collect.”

“Ah, Zhao Yun…” Zuo Ci stepped up to him and placed both withered hands on the brave warrior’s shoulders with a strength more apt to someone a quarter of his age. “If you wish to repay me, then continue to fly. Your heart is your strength and your shield, it leads you on the right path and gives you every weapon you need to fight against the darkness.”

“Master,” Liu Bei said with a touch of worry, “will there be further darkness?”

“This world is now a world of living humans and not demons,” Zuo Ci replied. “Therefore, there will always be darkness. But as to whether or not it will ever be as desperate as it was for us this past year, I cannot say. I haven’t even made any attempt to scry into the future, and I’m not sure I want to.” His eyes narrowed in a squinty sort of smile. “I would rather sit back and watch you all cause it to unfold naturally, as it should.”

“Then so we shall,” Liu Bei said boldly, lifting his chin and squaring his shoulders confidently. “With even one quarter of us committed to peace, I’m sure we can forge our way ahead without too much trouble.”

“I will be watching,” Zuo Ci said, though they weren’t sure if it was a promise or a warning.

Seeing as the close was drawing near, Zhao Yun stepped up. “If you ever have need of a place to stay even for a single night, please, you are welcome here, Master.”

“And if your journey takes you far afield, I’m sure you’ll have no end of company should you want it,” Liang said with a touch of amusement. “The Fledgling Phoenix will likely take to wandering himself, I don’t expect him to linger long here. Many others are out there as well, both friendly and not.”

Zuo Ci nodded. “I will remember. And if I hear any word of those your friends are still looking for, potentially hiding in the wilderness, I will pass that along.” He bowed once more, and then said, “May peace be with you, my friends,” before turning and walking away down the road between buildings. He seemed to vanish into the darkness like a shadow with no flashy fanfare, they all blinked and he simply was no longer among them.

The Sanada were literally the last to leave Chengdu, with the Takeda now joined to them in order to travel together to Ueda. They lingered longer than most for purely personal reasons, including Shingen’s insistence that he show Liu Bei what a tea ceremony from his time was like. It was merely delaying the inevitable, though, so at last Takeda and Sanada Masayuki agreed that they should get going. The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful that morning, though there was a crispness to the air to suggest that winter was right around the corner – at least, such a winter as warm Chengdu ever saw. The Takeda and Sanada cavalry waited in formation outside the gate in the open plain while their lords finally concluded their sojourn and said what needed to be said to their friends. Zhao Yun and Yukimura had their own lengthy and private goodbye the night before, with only a few tears and much touching, so now that the time for parting had come upon them, their eyes were dry. They still stood for a long time with hands on each other’s shoulders, leaning close and reminding each other of everything promised and done in hushed whispers that only they could hear. Everyone around them gave them their space and focused on other matters. “Friendship knows nothing of kingdom boundaries,” Liu Bei said with a patient clasp of his palm over his heart. “And the connections between us will not fade even with time and too much peace and quiet.”

“Too right,” Shingen agreed with a low bow. “I hope you’ll find the time to travel and see our castles for yourself, Lord Liu Bei.”

“I would like that,” Liu Bei said. His voice was cheerful but his eyes were solemn as he shifted his gaze from Takeda to Sanada Nobuyuki. “I am in deep debt to the Sanada, after all. Lord Nobuyuki saved my life, and Lord Yukimura has been a champion to my people for a very long time.” His eyes slid to the side to where the sworn brothers were standing, leaning against each other in private conversation, and he smiled warmly. “The stories I’ve heard of their exploits still can’t manage to communicate what that sight does.”

Nobuyuki glanced back at them and chuckled quietly. “It has been an incredible journey, Lord Liu Bei. My part in it is small compared to my brother’s. Yet, it has been an honor serving your people – and being allowed to wield your sword, for that matter.”

Liu Bei laughed as well. “You handled the Gold Dragon well, I was impressed.”

Yukimura finally tore himself away from Zhao Yun and wandered over to join them, though his sworn brother kept an arm around his shoulders as if not wanting to lose contact until he absolutely had to. “Lord Liu Bei,” he murmured reverently, “from the day I stood outside these very gates and raised my spear against your faithful defenders until the day I watched Orochi perish before my eyes, I have only wanted one thing – to see Lord Zilong’s quest through to the end. The way he spoke about you made me want nothing more than to help him, because anyone he loved so dearly had to be worth saving.” He smiled powerfully, his eyes drifting closed. “And now I know that I was right.” 

Liu Bei stepped straight up to him and stretched out both arms to take his hands and clasp them tightly. “I didn’t even need to know that you were sworn brothers to know that you were his light and life. Everything I’ve heard since then of your courage and strength, to say nothing of the sacrifices made for my people and my dear friend Zilong, has only impressed me all the more. If you so choose to return to Shu, you will be received with honor and given a place among my generals equal to your great service.”

Even as Yukimura bowed to accept the offer, behind them, all of the officers who hadn’t heard of Zhao Yun’s choice reacted amongst each other. Zhang Fei clapped a hand to his forehead and murmured, “Sworn brothers, are you kidding me?”

Guan Yu beamed proudly. “Such a worthy bond.”

The way Ma Chao smiled knowingly made several look toward him, a bit envious that he was in on it, while Ma Dai tipped his hat back in surprise. “Now that’s what I call a new beginning.”

“I can’t be surprised,” Jiang Wei admitted with a chuckle.

“I could ask for nothing better for this young Sanada,” Takeda was saying, heedless of the murmuring going on in the back row, “I would have no problem sending him to your service, Lord Liu Bei. He’s been through as much hell as the rest of us, and I’ve run out of ways to give him commendations.”

“In the meantime, I will enjoy a partnership between Chengdu and Ueda,” Masayuki said. “There seems to be an inescapable bond between Shu and the Sanada, I welcome it.”

“Everyone is so generous,” Yukimura said shyly. “I feel like my heart is going to burst.”

“And mine,” Liu Bei said, moving in again and this time embracing the young samurai. “Any sworn brother of Zilong’s is a dear friend of mine,” he murmured in his ear.

Another round of hugs and hand-clasps went around before they could finally pull themselves apart and make this leaving happen. Zhao Yun stood by and contented himself with one last lingering grasp of Yukimura’s hand, only letting go of him when he actually needed that hand to grab the reins of his horse. Their eyes remained locked on each other even when Takeda shouted out orders and had the horses turned about to depart, and Yukimura clearly needed to bite his lip to keep his eyes from swimming. He finally tore his gaze away because he had to, though of all the Sanada and Takeda waving as they rode off, he was the one who kept looking back over his shoulder until long after they had passed through the gate. Several of the younger Shu officers ran to the gate to keep waving, as did Zhao Yun, leaning on the wall and refusing to look away or leave until the last horse disappeared between the slender green stems of the bamboo grove. At that moment he turned away swiftly and passed through the throng so fast that hardly anyone even saw him go. Ma Chao did, and looked after him in worry, but knew that Yun would probably want to be alone right now. Liu Bei drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning to his people. “And so ends our long fight against Orochi at last,” he intoned, “and begins a new world of peace. Chengdu may be whole and Luo strong, but we have other castles out there to look after and a lot of work to do to restore what Orochi destroyed. The people must be made to feel safe again, and we are here to protect them from any threats which may rise in the vacuum left behind by the serpent’s demise.”

“Hail, Lord Liu Bei of Shu!” Guan Yu shouted to make it official.

The others took up the cheer, from Tiger Generals on down to the lowest lieutenant, and even Magoichi and Ginchiyo as they stood with their new comrades. Liu Bei accepted with a smile and then waved them all off to go about their business – after all, there was still most of the day ahead of them and many had work to do in and around the castle. He waited until they had all scattered before easing a hand onto Liu Shan’s shoulder and guiding him inside. They, too, had duties they needed to attend to.

As they ducked into whatever entrance was nearest, Zhang Bao slung an arm around Guan Xing’s shoulders. “Man, am I glad I don’t have to ever say goodbye to you,” he sighed. “These last few days have been painful.”

“Lord Zhao Yun just now, especially,” Xing said softly, understanding fully. “I knew they were close but I didn’t realize they had sworn brotherhood, like our fathers.”

“I guess I can see why they kept it to themselves,” Bao mused, “if having to split up to serve their lords was going to be so hard. They didn’t need all of us commenting on it and making it worse.” He used his arm to drag Xing to a stop in a corridor between wings of the castle where no one else was around and faced him seriously. “It was hard enough not knowing what had happened to you, hoping you weren’t dead…”

Xing could not deny that he, too, was thinking back to that day of darkness, when he had done his best to stand against the army swarming the south gate until the monstrous demon himself loomed over him. Zhang Bao had been inside, defending the inner gate of Luo. Both had been injured and Bao captured along with Liu Bei and Zhao Yun, so it wasn’t like they couldn’t understand being apart from someone who meant so much to them. Guan Xing clasped Bao’s hands and leaned in close. “Never again, my friend. We will not lose sight of each other again.”

Bao grinned as recklessly as his famous father and leaned to meet him with a quick kiss. “And that’s a promise.”


	98. Chapter 98

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sima Yi finds out about Orochi; there are a few hiccups in the peace but otherwise everything comes to a peaceful conclusion, and there are some fluffy moments. The End.

Guo Huai’s long robes flapped behind him as he rode at full speed up the hill toward their current hideout, a displaced temple at the foot of the hills they knew to once exist as part of Si Province, which had not been occupied by either side during the war given its remote location. Once Sima Yi had recovered enough to travel they had relocated there from the abandoned farm in order to keep tabs on the wider world, though it seemed it still wasn’t safe for them to really show their faces in a much larger city or near a Resistance-occupied castle. There was a village fairly near the hills, none other than the same one the Xiahou clan had protected for a time, where fresh supplies could be had when hunting and gathering went poorly for the refugees hiding in the wilderness. Deng Ai and Guo Huai took turns quietly dropping in and trading for fresh grain and rice, and usually asked the easygoing villagers for any news from abroad when they did. The village had not been in any danger since the Xiahous left, mostly because the tide of the war had turned and Orochi’s forces were put on the defensive, and the first time Deng Ai casually asked after any rumors they’d heard, it seemed that the villagers already felt it safe to travel to neighboring territories. It didn’t take long for the news of Orochi’s demise to spread across the land and reach even these distant villages, so today when Huai dropped in and chatted up the local brewer, he heard something far more interesting and exciting than whether or not the latest batch of millet wine was ready. He raced back to the temple as fast as he could, screeching to a halt outside the building with a cloud of dust billowing dramatically around his horse’s heels as he leaped down from the saddle. Deng Ai heard him coming and stepped outside, frowning in concern at his haste. “What’s the matter?” he asked as Huai landed and immediately started coughing from all the dust. “Is there trouble?”

“The opposite,” Guo Huai replied as soon as he could draw breath. “You won’t believe it – come! Lord Sima Yi!” he called out as he brushed past Ai and hurried into the temple. “My lord, there is tremendous news!”

Sima Yi was no longer bedridden, but he still spent most of his time resting, sitting somewhere and reading through the handful of books that hadn’t been damaged when the temple was dropped into Si where it certainly didn’t belong. He heard the yelling and looked up, eyes narrowing. “There’s no need to yell, I’m right here,” he groused.

“My lord…!” Huai dropped to one knee before his chair, mostly to give himself a moment to catch his breath. “The village…they said…they said they’ve heard…Orochi is dead!”

The scroll fell out of Yi’s hands and clattered onto the floor, rolling away from him. Deng Ai recoiled behind him. “What? Are you sure?”

“Completely!” Huai insisted, resting a fist on the floor to prop himself up. “The villagers just heard it from another town on the other side of the ridge within the past couple of days. Messengers wearing both Wu and Wei colors have passed by declaring it everywhere they can find people.”

Sima Yi stared hard at him, his expression uncertain. His fingers curled into a fist on his knee. “How?” he breathed.

Guo Huai shook his head. “No one knows the details, but it sounds as though the Resistance massed an enormous army and moved on Koshi Castle in the west. And now, Orochi is dead.”

“Thank heaven,” Ai murmured, sagging against the wall.

“Impossible,” Yi exclaimed, more disturbed than angry. “He’s a demon, how could they kill him? How did they manage it? I don’t understand…”

“Do you see what this means, my lord?” Huai pushed himself to his feet and dusted off his robes. “The war is over. The Resistance already sent messengers out, they’ll soon be returning from the battle. Everything we were hiding from is no longer an issue.” He held out one hand pleadingly. “We don’t have to be vagabonds any longer, we can return to civilization!”

Sima Yi eyed him as he rose, slumping back in his chair and rubbing his face thoughtfully. This news was indeed monumental, but there was much to consider. How many of the Resistance had fallen at Orochi’s hand? Had any of the commanders survived? How quickly would they move back to their castles, and could they still lay claim to all of them? What of…his sons? He tried to steer his mind away from considering the fates of Shi and Zhao and back toward matters of strategy, how he could work this situation to his advantage and manage to regain his life and status, but something nagged him, refusing to let him ignore them. All he could do was let himself hope they hadn’t been brutally killed and then refocus on his own fate. Truth be told, he really was sick of hiding like a criminal in a ruined temple surrounded by half-cooled lava fields. It was only mildly better than the farm, but there wasn’t much in the way of comfortable bedding and of the five books it contained, three were written by scholars he vehemently disagreed with. Even just being able to change clothes and have a cup of wine was worth risking being taken for a traitor by someone or another. “You say that like we had a choice to become vagabonds,” he grumbled, setting both hands firmly on the arms of his chair. “In the end, though, I suppose you’re right, Guo Huai. This is our chance to come out from hiding. I wish to learn more of this development, and it can’t be done by simply waiting around for some backwoods villagers to hear a rumor from the next town over.”

Huai kowtowed happily, and Deng Ai straightened up. “It is a bit late in the day to start a journey, unless you wish to only go as far as the village.”

“If their hovels hold any promise of having a better quality bed than what we’ve managed here…” Yi cocked a derisive look up at him. “…then that will do. Otherwise, prepare us to move out in the morning. You’ve both done reconnaissance – what is the nearest castle or fortress said to be occupied by the Resistance?”

Both his retainers came to stand in front of him and officially receive orders. “We’re not far from Tong Gate,” Huai answered, “though I haven’t heard recently whether anyone was in residence there at all, friendly or not.”

“Xiapi is somewhat to the east of us,” Ai added, “and to the south are many of the larger castles, though most are further away. He Fei Castle is the closest of them. I believe there is also a fortress in Ji Province on the other side of Si.”

Yi considered the options. “If we wish to have any hope of learning first-hand what happened, we cannot withdraw further into the wild, fortresses or not. South or east, then. Xiapi or He Fei. Either way, someone will know enough and can tell us.”

Deng Ai bowed. “I will begin packing.”

Guo Huai breathed a happy sigh. “And then, once we’re out in the open, we can search for any sign of your sons. If I know them at all, I know they’ve been worried about you ever since the fall of Chi’bi, my lord.”

Yi glared at him. “Why should I? They abandoned me in my hour of need. If anything, _they_ should be searching for _me_ , if they had any shred of filial piety left.” He pushed himself out of the chair with minimal struggle and stood steady on his feet for a moment before shoving Huai out of the way and trudging past. “I’m not concerned about that right now. Focus on our own survival. And pick up that book, it was boring anyway.”

Huai watched him go and then began to smirk to himself. If nothing else, that kind of tirade against Zhao and Shi was a massive improvement from the days when Yi forbade them to even mention that he had sons. It was a sign that he was thinking of them, perhaps they would even discover in the coming days that deep down he really wanted to see them again. His final step in the plan made with Sima Zhao was to bring Sima Yi out when it was safe and reunite them, and it appeared to be finally time. Even just moving out from seclusion and coming out into the open to interact with civilized society as a whole was enough, they would learn what they needed to know and find a new place to call home out there, somewhere. He bent to gather up the scroll that had tumbled away across the floor and rolled it up to replace it on the shelf where they had found it. Maybe someday in the future someone else would need to come and settle Si, or at least occupy it and spy on the mountain passes leading toward Tong Gate. They could have the dusty old books, it seemed. Sima Yi had no intention of taking anything along except that which they still carried all the way from Chi’bi, and their provisions. The village downslope would do for tonight, and then it was on to bigger things. Someday there would be a reunion – Guo Huai just knew it in his heart of hearts. Whether in a short time or longer one, either way, he knew Ziyuan and Zisheng would be back, and they could all be together again as it was meant to be. He could think of the brothers and cling to hope all he wanted, it would make up for Sima Yi’s determination not to.

  


Only time would tell just how the casual alliances between the various kingdoms and warlords would hold up, whether any of them would make aggressive moves on each other or if they truly could coexist in peace. In the short term, it was enough that they could all reach their destinations safely without spying any sign of trouble as far as the eye could see in any direction. All of the leaders and generals knew that they might have to deal with some lingering Orochi-related issues – Da Ji had disappeared, all of the strange and powerful demon captains they had seen inside Koshi had fled without being killed, and hordes of the gray-skinned demon underlings had run off into the wilderness after their lord was dead. They were all still out there somewhere, and no one dared to assume that even a portion of them would die or get permanently lost. Whether they would reunite into an army of vengeance or they would simply roam around the land in small knots, hungry for evil and cruelty and acting like brigands, they were as definite a potential problem as the existence of Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. For the time being, though, any and all demons were wise not to raise their heads and make themselves targets. It allowed everyone to reach their castles and fortresses with ease, settle in and stand down, and set up normal routines in place of wartime sentry and patrol schedules. Where peasants had been able to gather in the shadow of great castles and begin to restore cities and farm fields, it seemed as though a great sigh of relief went up from the land that they could continue doing so, unafraid of anything. Like Chengdu, the civilians at Ueda, Xiliang, Hefei, Odani, and Chencang were elated to first receive the messengers informing them that the nightmare was over, Orochi was dead, and their lords would soon return, and then to see those lords for themselves riding back in and taking up permanent residence. The Nanman launched into a week-long celebration upon the return of their king and queen and all the warriors who had gone with them to support Shu. Even those locations where constant fighting had made it hard to provide for a civilian presence began to see peasants flocking to their walls to give it a new try, including Osaka, Odawara, Jianye, Fan, and He Fei. Spring finally came for real to Edo around the time Tokugawa and his army returned, and he looked forward to finally being able to build his home into the glorious citadel it should be. Everyone and everything appeared to finally be back to normal – well, almost everything.

Hojo Ujiyasu was hoping for a pleasant greeting at the gates of Bai Di as he arrived with the guide from Wei and a small unit sent by Shu to relieve the contingent which had been holding it on Oda’s behalf all this time. The unfortunate news that Fuuma Kotaro had broken out and escaped was not at all what anyone wanted to hear, but Hojo took it in stride. He assured the anxious lieutenant in charge that it wasn’t going to cost him his head or even his rank, and confessed that he would have been surprised if such a small guard force had been able to successfully hold the chaotic ninja until someone arrived to relieve them. He and the others had dawdled at Chengdu and wasted time which could have been spent traveling homeward, so Ujiyasu undertook a share of the responsibility and sent the Oda soldiers back to their lord at Honnoji with a letter praising their good service just in case. From there he moved on to the much more pleasant atmosphere of Odawara, where those keeping it for Wei had already completely rebuilt the fire-damaged keep and had it in pristine condition for its rightful lord. Having been held captive for so long, the sight of home was deliciously bittersweet – he knew what it had been through, how many times it had changed hands, but he was seeing it now looking as though nothing terrible had ever befallen it and Ujiyasu knew just how lucky he was to be able to ride right in and enjoy his clan’s castle even though he had no hand in its restoration or care. He would have to send a nice gift to Cao Pi after this.

The frozen ground around the winter-clad Guandu was no hospitable place for an army to camp, but Yuan Shao found that he had no choice when he arrived. He had no great army with him, only himself, his sons, and about a hundred soldiers loyal to them, but a unit that size traveling in formation attracted the attention of someone standing guard at one of the outlying garrisons. The tiny crew of mixed soldiers from different lords which had been left behind by Huang Zhong were all housed in that garrison at the moment, and flooded out to explain everything to the arriving lord. They had done their best, really, but only within the last couple of days did an army made up of Orochi stragglers, demons which had never quite made it all the way back to Koshi – or maybe had run faster than the Resistance messengers, either way – shown up on their doorstep with superior firepower and wrested control from them. It was impossible to tell exactly what their intention had been, possibly even something as simple as desiring a warm place to hide in the wintery territory, but it meant that control of Guandu had already left their hands before Yuan Shao could even lay claim to it. He took this news hard, though he sequestered himself with his sons in the garrison and sat down to decide what to do about it. He didn’t have the manpower to retake the castle. Oh well, it was cold and harsh here anyway, perhaps if they moved on to a warmer land they could find somewhere unoccupied to settle for the time being. No amount of begging for him to ask aid from their allies in order to oust the Orochi troops would counteract his immense ego, though. Yuan Shao refused to go crying back to them for help so soon, he would rather solve the problem himself even if the solution was to abandon Guandu and find somewhere else to lay their heads. Somewhere warm, and without any fighting for control. At least the soldiers who had been stuck dealing with this could scatter and go to their own lords, now, if they weren’t going to be needed to retake a castle. Those two missteps seemed to be the only ones, though; as various lords and their armies elsewhere came home for good, everything really did look like better days ahead.

The opulent parlor overlooking the grand walled-in courtyard of Xuchang had been empty and silent for far too long, it was about time that someone returned to enjoy it. Cao Pi was not inclined to calculate how many weeks he had been gone between the journey, the battle, and the long-delayed return trip from Chengdu, all that mattered was that he was back in his palace where everything was familiar and now, at long last, at peace. A limited number of officers remained in his personal staff, most had gone along to He Fei Castle with Cao Cao to serve him fully and gladly. Zihuan still had Zhang Liao as his bodyguard, Zhang He as his army commander, and Ishida in his place at his side, but he was more than happy to send the Xiahou clan with his father and retain only the closest and most dedicated of his generals. They had only been back a couple of hours and the sun was already sinking toward the battlements, its golden light fading to orange with the lateness of the day as it streamed in through the parlor windows. Cao Pi basked in the quiet, letting the rich light fall full on his face, until he heard a soft step somewhere behind him – someone had edged into the room with him. Expecting his wife, he suavely murmured, “Have you come to whisper sweet things in my ear, my love? This is a good time for them.”

“Uh,” Mitsunari said, “….not exactly?”

Pi whirled sharply around, eyes wide and mouth slamming tightly shut to keep himself from saying anything else embarrassing. Mitsunari coughed politely into his fist to try to hide the fact that he was blushing furiously; hearing those words had sent a shiver of thrill down his back even if he knew they weren’t meant for him. He crossed to where his lord stood and just flicked a knowing glance his way, which turned into a huge smirk when he realized Cao Pi was also blushing. “Don’t give me that look,” Pi grumbled. “I thought…”

“I know,” Mitsunari interrupted, waving a hand idly. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Sounded nice, though,” he added in an undertone.

Huffing a long sigh, Pi turned back toward the windows, one hand clenching into a fist at his side. “Is there something you need?”

“No, just…wandering around the palace,” Mitsunari admitted, sidling up next to him and sharing his view out the windows. “It’s quiet. I don’t think it was even this quiet when we were holding it with a skeleton crew.”

“As it should be,” Zihuan responded. “Even if all we have of Xuchang is the palace itself, it is the imperial capital, more suited to day-to-day living than an encampment of war. I’d rather hear the sound of music and poetry than the clash of weapons within these walls.”

“For that,” Mitsunari teased, “we’ll need some non-soldiers actually living here. Not that you and her ladyship aren’t perfectly capable of playing and orating,” he added slyly, turning to lean up against the post between windows and face Cao Pi, “but the two of you alone can’t drown out the weapons-clash.”

Pi conceded with a tip of his head in a shrug. “Perhaps, but unless anyone is actively relocated from one of our other holdings, I’m not sure how eager any will be to settle at Xuchang.”

“What, the lure of the imperial capital isn’t enough, you think?” Mitsunari said flippantly.

Pi rested a hand on the windowsill and looked out across the sequence of walls protecting the palace in the innermost ward. “Capital,” he sniffed. “It really is nothing but a palace, now, the city itself did not come along to this world. At least, not to this same location. You see…” He gestured vaguely into the distance. “…beyond the far wall of the outer courtyard, there should be a whole city. Stone-paved streets with rows of comfortable houses, marketplaces for trade, wonders beyond measure. There should be more of it behind us, as well, rather than an abrupt line of mountains.”

“So you’ve mentioned,” Ishida said dryly. “But there’s no sense in complaining that it isn’t as it should be, since no one is going to get it any better in any of the other castles. There should be huge cities around Osaka and Edo, too, you know.”

“I’m aware,” Zihuan shot back with the same cool deadpan. “It isn’t a complaint, mainly a lament that you aren’t able to see the full glory of Xuchang as I know it. And, perhaps, on a more practical matter…if peasants and merchants did show up looking for the capital, I’m not sure where we would house them. Inside the wall, the lava formations have ruined a great number of otherwise serviceable buildings. Outside the wall is untamed land. Farmers might have a decent go of it,” he added thoughtfully, “but anyone else, not so much.”

Mitsunari looked over his shoulder at the shadows starting to grow deeper within the inner ward wall as the sun sank below the battlements. “I suppose we should be glad it hasn’t been an issue before now, but…”

“We will deal with things as they come,” Pi assured, shifting a step to allow him to reach and close his hand on Mitsunari’s arm, in order to drag him closer. “I have some contingency plans in the back of my mind just in case, but there’s no sense dragging them all out now. We just got back, I should like to take it easy for once.”

Ishida resisted only briefly before easing toward him, following the gentle, cajoling tug and turning to look out the window, giving Cao Pi his back to rest against. That seemed to be exactly what the young lord wanted, he melded up against his shorter strategist and let his head droop until he could settle his chin on Mitsunari’s shoulder. “The idle hours in Chengdu were just a taste of what’s ahead in the short term,” Mitsunari murmured. “Even putting out orders for sentries to keep watch seemed sort of pointless and routine.”

“We can’t do without sentries,” Pi muttered with lips against his neck. “But I understand your meaning. Give it time. And if you become bored of Xuchang in the meantime, perhaps we’ll swap contingents and rule from Jianye for a while, just for a change of scenery.”

Mitsunari laughed softly at the idea. “I have yet to find anything about your home city – palace, whatever – to really complain about. Except maybe the lava in the outer courtyard.”

“It really has ruined some perfectly good plum trees,” Pi groused. “And the twisted relics of stone it leaves behind make poor statues, unless one is into contemplating the futility of mortal life and the torments of eternity.”

“Sounds like a depressing way to spend an afternoon.”

“Well…” Cao Pi’s arms curled around him and pulled him tightly back against himself, the better to murmur genuine sweet nothings in his ear as accidentally threatened. “…given our circumstance, I would find myself dwelling on such things if I did not have so many good things to distract me instead.”

Mitsunari smiled slyly to himself. “Is that all it is? A distraction?”

“Perhaps a poor choice of words.” Zihuan was quiet for a long moment while he simply stood and held his lover against him, contemplating how best to express himself. His willingness to be so openly affectionate already spoke volumes, even if it was something he only dared to indulge when they were truly alone. At last, he picked his head back up and let his lips graze Mitsunari’s earlobe before they parted to speak softly. “When I look across the table and find your eyes on me, always keen, like they’re following every single breath I take, it warms me all the way through. You have never _needed_ my attention, the way so many retainers do – you have the freedom to want it for your own reasons. That, I think, is what drew me to you, Mitsunari. The fact that you have no need of my reputation, status, or family name, but work for me out of choice. I know full well that if I mistreated you in any way, you would blithely go back to Toyotomi without regret. Everyone else in Wei is subservient to me for some reason or another, but you carry yourself as if it is _my_ privilege to be allowed to have you. I find that more enticing than blind respect and empty flattery.”

Mitsunari closed his eyes, reveling in such a confession. It was true to a point, though he didn’t intend to act so superior around someone he ought to show deference towards. Oh well, too late now. “Not without regret,” was the only thing he could say in return.

Pi breathed a soft sigh of understanding against his earlobe and then gave him room to move rather than continue smothering him in an overbearing embrace. “Then, all the more reason not to cause you to want to leave my side.”

Ishida turned to face him, placing one hand flat on the richly-embroidered blue surcoat at his chest. Beneath it, only a few bandages still protected Pi where his wounds were almost but not quite fully healed. “I don’t even want anything from you,” he said, almost surprised to realize it himself. “Just to be where I am. I’ve been here for a long time, I don’t know if I can even remember what it’s like to be anywhere else.”

Pi held that hand against his chest. “I will repay that wish with everything I have.”

Mitsunari lowered his head, breathing a barely-there laugh. “You’ve got a good thing, you know better than to waste it.”

“Exactly. Only in much more poetic language.” Zihuan arched an eyebrow as if to dare him to argue. “It’s in my nature, after all.”

A real laugh erupted out of Mitsunari. He gently pushed Cao Pi back and then followed, leaning up to steal a kiss from him before anyone could catch them. “Be as poetic as you want. As long as things stay just as they are, that’s all I need.”

Pi trailed one long, graceful finger down his cheek and under his jaw as they kissed and then released him to go about his business. “Granted.” His life was in perfect balance, after all. He would be a fool to mess with any of it in any way. Others could rise up, cause rebellion, make things exciting or unpleasant again, but as long as he held to his path, Cao Pi was certain he would come out of it unscathed with all of his favorite people at his side. That was more than he could ask for in a demon world.

  


The disappearance of the sorcery barrier might have been a serious detriment to the demons still existing in Orochi’s realm, because it finally let the mystical powers of Heaven have access to the land and anyone in it, but by the same token, it allowed those with the ability to travel between dimensions to escape. Most of the run-of-the-mill serpent demons lacked that power, so they merely scattered about the land trying to figure out what to do with themselves to stay out of sight, lest the victorious Resistance continue hunting them to extinction, but Da Ji certainly could transport herself anywhere she wanted. After all, she had used her own power to elude Heaven’s pursuit and come down to Orochi’s world in the first place, reversing that path was easy. But Heaven wasn’t the only place she could slip away to.

There were many dimensions in the Mystical Realms, many layers to Hell and many corners of the expansive Heavens where spiritual beings could dwell, whether by choice or by exile. These dimensions existed outside the flow of the linear sense of time which gripped the living world, so that beings who achieved godhood or some semblance of immortality could mingle freely without caring who actually lived when in the human world. A fox demon from the Shang Dynasty could easily locate immortals from the Kamakura era and vice versa, should she so choose. Da Ji was no fan of this particular dimension, but she knew he would be here, even if she had never really rubbed shoulders with him before. Rumors passed quickly when powerful supernatural beings were known to exist somewhere. She flickered into view outside a Wa-style temple, corrupted and dark with nothing but ash and sand where gardens should have been and cold blue flames of sorcery glowing balefully in the lamps stationed in the windows. She strode up the steps and through into the main shoin, expecting to find her target there, and sure enough there appeared to be a hulking shape sitting lotus-style before the shrine in near-darkness. A low, guttural chanting reached her ears as she approached, but he showed no sign of noticing that he was no longer alone in his sanctuary. Da Ji prowled up as close as she dared and stopped to listen, trying to identify the spell or sutra, whatever it was. After a few minutes it ceased abruptly, and instead the great, broad-shouldered figure spoke directly to her. “For what reason do you interrupt my meditation, _kitsune_?”

Da Ji took a deep breath and let it out slowly. So he not only knew she was there, he knew what type of demon she was. “You _are_ Taira Kiyomori, aren’t you?”

“You already know the answer to that if you were able to find me.” He shifted in place without unfolding his legs, turning in his seat to face her instead of the temple shrine. Immensely tall and broad, he wore only hakama and the barest trappings of ancient samurai armor with enormous Buddhist prayer beads strung around his neck. The glaring glow of a demonic orb in the center of his chest and the horns jutting up through his skin atop his head verified that he was no mere human, even though he had more of a human-like countenance than many of the gods and immortals. He studied his visitor for a moment, eyes narrowing. “Answer my question. What do you want?”

Da Ji lowered herself slowly to one knee to address him with as much respect as she cared to show him. Whether or not she considered herself still more powerful and important, she had to play her cards right if she wanted to get anywhere with him. “I’ve heard tales that you have a particular kind of sorcery that I find myself very much in need of right now,” she answered. “They say you can resurrect the dead.”

Taira raised a clawed hand and stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully. “And what would a devilish woman like you need with that? Who died, some human lover stuck on the Wheel of Fate, outside your reach?”

She bared her fangs at him and his insinuation. “Don’t be ridiculous! There’s only one reason to seek the ability to resurrect the dead, and that’s if the one who died was an immortal.”

The hulking shoulders straightened up in surprise and interest. “Someone killed an immortal? Who – how?”

Da Ji bit her lip to keep any emotion from welling up and showing. “Yamata no Orochi.”

Taira Kiyomori shot to his feet with all the grace of a mountain exploding, his huge hands clenching into fists. “Someone managed to _kill_ Orochi? You lie! The great serpent cannot be killed…”

“He was,” Da Ji insisted passionately, her eyes beginning to water despite her best attempts to keep composure. “By humans! Humans did this, Taira, humans destroyed his magnificent evil! If anyone in all the Mystic Realm can restore him to life, it’s you – I know you can! Don’t tell me you can’t!”

Kiyomori stared her down, the orb in the center of his chest pulsing red with furious energy. “I can,” he said after a moment of silent seething, “but it will not be easy. Resurrecting spiritual creatures in general takes much time, energy, preparation. Resurrecting someone as powerful as Orochi…it could take months of diligent, uninterrupted preparation. Possibly up to a year.”

Da Ji took another stabilizing breath and squashed down her anguish in order to discuss this rationally. “That’s fine,” she grumbled. “Those fools have nowhere to go, they can just sit there and build their little kingdoms and pretend to be little paper warlords in paper castles for as long as it takes to resurrect him. They’ll never see it coming. And then one day he’ll rise up just as powerful as he was before, and he’ll destroy them all!”

Kiyomori stepped down from the dais in front of the shrine to face her squarely. “ _Who_ did this? What mortals dare stand against the Demon King Orochi?”

“I’ll explain everything,” Da Ji assured, rising to meet him. Hopefully, hearing that Orochi had been so bold as to imprison mortals in a separate dimension only to succumb to them wouldn’t change Taira’s mind on the resurrection, but he seemed as intent on correcting this mistake as Da Ji was. “Tell me what you need, and it will be done. I want to get started right away, there’s no reason to dawdle.”

“First, his body…”

“Still in that dimension. I stole it from them and stored it away.”

Kiyomori’s eyes narrowed again. “I will need to perform the sorcery in the dimension wherein he was killed. Preferably at the spot where it happened, or at least within close proximity.”

“I’ll take you there,” Da Ji said eagerly. “If I have to rebuild an army to keep the mortals off you while you prepare, so be it. I’ll do anything.”

“That may be necessary,” Kiyomori mused. “But if he had an army, how did it fail him? You must not be so weak as to fail again, or my efforts will be in vain.”

Da Ji gritted her teeth. “We lost a number of them in the final battle as well, the humans massed an army large enough to overwhelm them.”

“Then you must have an army even larger and more powerful, if you wish to prevent the mortals from interfering with my sorcery,” Kiyomori declared. “I may be able to do something about those killed. In fact, yes…it seems they would make a good practice step toward the final spell. If I can successfully resurrect them in that dimension, it will make it that much easier to raise Orochi from death and restore him to his body.”

“Wonderful!” Da Ji began to grin for the first time in days – weeks, even. “Let me handle the army, I’ve got plenty of experience there. Maybe as long as I’m here I can search out a few more celebrity guests.” She tapped her chin smartly. “I’m sure there are other immortals who would love the opportunity to avenge Lord Orochi, or maybe just cause chaos.”

Kiyomori flicked a wrist, and a chain of even larger beads materialized out of thin air and settled into an extra-large baldric over his shoulders. “If you do so,” he warned, “I suggest avoiding the gods outright. Susano’o did not even notice Orochi was free, it would do well not to draw his attention to anyone attempting to fight to save him. But there are some with no loyalties who would make excellent comrades. The Monkey King, the Shaman Queen…”

Da Ji considered what she knew of some of the immortals and their doings. The Monkey King did seem like the perfect lieutenant, if she could free him from his handler. “That’ll be my next task, then. First…” She twirled a finger in the air as she turned around and sashayed toward the temple door. “…allow me to escort you to Orochi’s realm. It’s quite a nice little place, if you don’t mind the pests overrunning everything like locusts. You don’t need to worry about defeating them yourself, the whole point here is that we’re going to bring Lord Orochi back and allow him to deal with them as he sees fit. He’s going to want revenge for what they did, and I plan to let him. We’ll pave the road to his complete victory with the corpses of so many humans, who all thought they were _so_ powerful…”

Taira Kiyomori had his beads, that was all he needed in order to depart for a new dimension. He strode after her, intrigued to find out more about this realm and these humans. He had been one, once. It was a necessary phase of life, but now he had more – more power, more strength, more freedom. The challenge of resurrecting a demon the likes of Orochi the Serpent King would entertain him greatly. He set his mind then and there that no matter how long it took, he would do everything in his power to achieve success. Being able to say that he was able to do it would thrill him more than centuries of studying black sorcery and performing regular feats of darkness could. What a boasting point! He cared nothing for this fox demon but he would follow her anywhere for the promise of becoming the most powerful immortal sorcerer in all the Mystical Realm.

  


By the time Sun Jian’s forces reached Hefei all of the other armies had already gotten to their destinations, mostly because Wu took its time on a leisurely march homeward and stopped now and again to lay over at allied castles or comfortable fortresses along the way. That way they weren’t likely to run out of supplies at any point, though it also kept their men and horses from being too worn out so that when they finally reached their home fortress, everyone was still in excellent shape and not a single lingering injury could be seen among either officers or infantry. The peasants residing in the village and the fields came out to welcome them back, and all work ceased immediately for a welcome celebration as robust as any held in Wu. The days afterward were filled with a curious quiet, as those who had been at war for nearly a year finally took in what it meant to be at peace and almost weren’t sure what to do with themselves. Prior to being sacked by the Orochi army, they had been attempting to figure out how best to handle the leadership of Wu, but now with time and experience behind them as well as all knowledge of their other rightful territories not too far away, Sun Jian knew what needed to be done. He accepted lordship of the kingdom of Wu which he had never seen in his lifetime, but delegated command of Hefei and Xin Di to Ce and Quan, leaving it to them to decide which one wanted which. They could split up their officers between the two of them however they liked, though Jian reserved Huang Gai to himself as a personal bodyguard and decided that he wouldn’t mind overseeing everything from a fine seat in the seaside castle at Xin Di. There was no real rush to do the splitting and the moving, since they had just gotten back from a very long journey and wanted to rest, but the tiny force left to hold the castle while everyone went away westward had to be chafing for a change. The Chosokabe were not going back, even their ships were already anchored upriver in case they decided to ply the waterways instead of the roads. A few days after everyone had settled in and decisions had been made, Motochika declared his intention to set out on his never-ending search for Shikoku, as well as any allies or other territories yet undiscovered in the land. Hearing that they would be leaving the next day, Shima Sakon made his way to the upper floors of the fortress to find Sun Ce and break some news of his own. There was very little activity around the war room anymore, so he checked the parlor instead and found the Wu prince hanging out there, pestering Zhou Yu while the latter was trying to read. “Come on, tiger cub,” Sakon teased as he came in and beheld this scene, “cut him some slack. He’s been too busy to get any reading done lately.”

“No thanks to you I’m sure,” Ce laughed, straightening up from where he leaned on the wall with arms folded. “What’s up? Interested in sparring with me for a bit? I’ve got a lot of energy to burn right now and that sounds like the best use of it.”

“A spar? Eh, maybe,” Sakon conceded. “But before you get all excited, I’ve got something I need to tell you.”

Zhou Yu looked up from his book. “Uh oh. That sounds particularly dire.”

“Nah, nothing like that.” Sakon took a breath and looked Sun Ce straight in the eyes. “Don’t get all depressed on me, now, but…I gotta leave Wu.”

“What?” Ce’s expression instantly fell, eyes wide and distressed. “But Sakon! Why? You know you’ve got a place here, you’ve been with me so long that I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

“Even Lord Sun Jian said so,” Zhou Yu put in, rising and putting his book aside. “You’re free to stay in Wu as long as you like, indefinitely if it suits you.”

Sakon shook his head with a wry smile. “And don’t think I don’t appreciate it, but it’s time I hit the road again. It’s not that I don’t want to hang out with you, really, but I’m a man who doesn’t like to settle down. Your father is all set to rule with two princes at his sides, you guys aren’t going anywhere for a while. Me? I go where I’m needed.”

“What makes you think we don’t need you?” Ce pouted.

Sakon gestured with a flick of his wrist to Zhou Yu beside him. “You’ve got plenty of great strategists already. By the way, it was an honor and a pleasure working alongside them – especially you, Zhou Yu.”

Yu smiled softly. “Likewise, Master Sakon. You know that you have the friendship of Wu, so if you ever have any need even just for a place to lay your head for a night and have a good drink, do not hesitate to stop in.”

Ce was still loathe to let him go. “Where will you go?”

“Wandering.” Sakon thumped him in the chest with his knuckles. “Don’t you remember what a ronin is? Someone without a master is a wanderer at heart. I want to see what’s out there, explore the rest of the world now that it’s not overrun with snakes. Keep my eye on things. You know, all kinds of stuff.”

“…fine,” Ce sighed regretfully. “I guess I can’t really keep you tied down if you’re meant to roam. But Zhou Yu is right, you’re welcome to visit anytime. Come see me, tell me what you find out there in your travels.”

“You’re a good man, Sun Ce.” Sakon set a heavy hand on his shoulder. “I have had the greatest time in your service, it’s an experience I won’t ever forget as long as I live. And that includes the time we fought at Changban, that was pretty awesome. Behave yourself, now, listen to your father and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Ce nodded proudly and then lunged to squeeze him in a bear hug. “Don’t be a stranger, man.”

Sakon pounded him heartily on the back. “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me, I promise. Now, if you’re still up for sparring, feel free to attempt to beat the tar out of me.”

“You’re on,” Sun Ce said strongly, frowning determinedly. “If I have to let you go, I’m gonna give you a few bruises to remember me by.”

Since the Chosokabe were striking out, deciding to head across country instead of on the water, Shima had already decided to travel with them for a time until he chose to split off and set out on his own. It didn’t take long to saddle up horses for them and turn over the offered supplies, and then all of Wu turned out to see them off. Motochika expressed his gratitude for them letting him squat in their castle for a time, and bowed deeply with a promise to play for them again if they ever met on another battlefield or in another camp. Sun Ce had gotten the embrace he wanted out of this valued comrade already, so he restrained himself and settled for just a rap on the arm to send Sakon to his horse to mount up, which was met with a wince as he accidentally brushed one of the bruises from their sparring match the day before. The road leading out of Hefei territory toward the wild lands where once Gan Ning and Ling Tong had fled from the destroying Orochi army was now lined with peasants and warriors alike, waving to send their guests off on new adventures of their own. The horses ambled away and disappeared through a guardpost gate, and then, the generals of Wu were left to focus on their own people, their own needs. Sun Jian clapped a hand to a shoulder of each of his sons and turned to drive them away, back to the fortress to get everything settled up. They had families to take care of, civilians to lead, and a quiet dinner to enjoy.

The sun sank low in the sky over the river which ran north and west of Hefei, ducking behind the highest battlements of the stout fortress but still glowing rich and gold on the water and the fields and forests all around. One of the piers jutted out into the river to allow for easy loading of boats, whether for the fishermen who enjoyed an easy job or the farmers ready to load supplies to trade with others in distant castles, and that pier usually saw the sun all the way until it set behind the trees on the far side of the river bend. Dinner was over, and now two officers sat at the very end of the pier to bask in that late-day sun, feet dangling over the side but not quite into the water. Even with the sun reflecting off the rippling water, they could see through the shadows immediately beneath the dock and watched fish lazily hovering in the river’s current, waiting for the evening flies to start alighting on the surface so they could begin hunting. It would have been a perfect time for fishing, but neither of the young men were interested, all they wanted to do was sit with one another after so long apart. “Have they decided who’s going to man which castle, yet?” Ling Tong wondered as he swung his feet slowly above the surface of the water.

“Nah, they’re still doing that whole ‘you go,’ ‘no you’ thing,” Gan Ning grunted. “Leave it to our lords to be more about giving each other command rather than taking it from one another.”

Tong laughed lightly. “I’m really not surprised at all.” He glanced to the pirate beside him. “If you had your choice, which one would you go with?”

“Dunno.” Ning shrugged and leaned over to watch a particularly large trout drift up from the shadow of the pier and then dart ahead into the sun-dappled stretch of the river. “I mean, Sun Quan is the whole reason I’m here in Wu, I owe him a lot. But on the other hand, I never did get to serve under Sun Ce proper-like so it might be fun. I could go either way.” He looked back at Tong and nudged him with his shoulder. “If I had to make a choice, I just wanna be in Xin Di so I can spend some time on the ocean. I bet I can whip those Chosokabe boats into real shape, we’ll have a Wu navy on the sea before you know it!”

“What are you going to do with a navy on the sea?” Gongji said with an exasperated look at him. “All of the places you might need boats for fighting are inland on the rivers.”

“You never know,” Xingba said somewhat defensively. “Could be useful someday. Like everybody keeps sayin’, we don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future. Maybe someone else is gonna build a navy too and then we’d have one ready. Hell, maybe Chosokabe’s right and there’s other pirates out there. No more snakes means nothing standing in the way of bandits and such getting back out there to do what they do best.”

Ling Tong sighed to himself. “I have a feeling you’re going to be itching for some bandit attacks to put down before too long. Or pirates or whatever. Expecting you to sit still is like expecting Lord Sun Quan to lay off the wine.”

Gan Ning laughed brashly, throwing his head back. “Damn right!”

His laugh was infectious, soon Ling Tong was chuckling as well, and the two idly shoved each other as a tease. Their laughter ebbed away and for a moment all was quiet, and then Tong stretched and repositioned himself in order to rest his head in Ning’s lap. Gan Ning shifted to permit it, though he sat back on his hands and let his comrade get comfortable with long legs sprawled out along the length of the pier. Only when he stopped squirming around did Ning lift a hand to thread idly through his hair. Ling Tong breathed a soft hum of contentment, closing his eyes. “What do you think?” he asked in a low murmur. “Is this peace and quiet gonna last long?”

Ning huffed, both a laugh and a snort of derision. “Not a chance,” he replied casually. “It never does, you know that. Being here in a demon-made world won’t change that.”

“But what if they all made some kind of peace agreement in that long meeting they had?” Tong reasoned. “Neither of us were there, we don’t know…”

“Even if they did,” Ning sniffed, “I got one thing to say to that: Lu Bu.”

“Oh, damn, I forgot about that.” Ling Tong’s eyes drifted up to the tattooed chest hovering right above him, and the raw, dark line of a fresh scar visible between the claws of the dragon snaking across Gan Ning’s skin. “If you get to fight him again, don’t do anything else stupid, all right?”

Ning flashed him a daring grin, though it faded quickly. “Nah, I don’t feel like taking a spear in the chest again from anybody, him included. It’ll make a good story but the recovery time ain’t worth it, I don’t like being laid up that long.”

Tong rolled his eyes. “Of course you’re more worried about being out of fights for too long. No thoughts at all for what it might do to the people who care about what happens to you…”

He was mildly joking, but there was a serious edge underneath it that did not go missed. Xingba ruffled his hair more firmly to acknowledge it. “I figured that went without saying. Thought you didn’t like me saying sappy stuff out loud.”

“You could stand to do it once in a while,” Tong pouted.

“Oh yeah?” Ning leaned over him to capture his gaze, frowning a bit. Tong looked up on cue, a bit confused by why he was being given that look. “I already promised you I won’t die and leave you behind. Anything short of that, you know I’ll recover. I’ll get through it and be back on the field with you in no time. Besides.” The frown morphed back into a knowing smile. “You’ll sit beside me even if it’s nothin’ serious at all. Is that such a bad thing?”

Tong did his best to feign offense, but he couldn’t manage it for long and merely smiled back. “How about you don’t make me worry once in a while?”

“Impossible. You’d worry even if I had just a headache.”

“Shut up, I would not!”

“Gongji…”

“You don’t have to tell such lies.” Ling Tong reached up and back to tap the back of his hand against that scar, making Ning wince a little – it was still quite sore even if the wound was visibly less ugly than it had been. “It doesn’t matter which castle we’re in or which commander we’re under, as long as you and I go together, Xingba. After this whole stupid war, I don’t want to be apart from you again.”

Gan Ning brushed his hand over Tong’s brow and then bent down to kiss him there, though because of the awkward position he missed and landed on the bridge of his nose instead. “I know I got no say in it, but maybe if we beg Lu Meng enough he’ll make sure it happens.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a hard sell.” Tong smiled cutely at the little smooch. “He’ll probably try to get us stationed together just so he doesn’t have to deal with both of us.”

Ning grinned. “I bet he ends up stationed with us, because fate hates him that much.”

Long Tong snorted and laughed. “I have a feeling you’re right about that.”

Their conversation waned again and left them sitting there quietly indulging in one another for quite some time, while the sun sank below the trees and the gold gleam on the surface of the water faded away to dark shadow. Fish began to rise to snap at insects buzzing too low to escape, while the piping of water birds quieted as the whole world seemed to hold its breath and wait for sunset. After a while, Gan Ning shifted position, edging his leg out from under Ling Tong’s head and removing his pillow entirely. Tong’s half-closed, dreamy expression snapped open in startlement, but before he could complain he found the pirate stretching out along the pier in the opposite direction as him so he could comfortably lean over his comrade and favor him with an unexpectedly deep, upside-down kiss. Gongji moaned softly as he found himself in perfect position to nibble at Xingba’s lower lip and have it done right back to him in turn, and lifted a hand to his face to draw his partner in further and keep him there. Ning rested on his elbows and eagerly made out with him for untold minutes in this position, until the splash of a fish jumping startled them both and made them break apart as if expecting a person to have caught them in the act. Ning’s roguish grin turned hazy. “What do you say, wanna take this party somewhere else?”

Tong smirked back, stroking fingertips down the face above him. “Might as well. Sun’s going down, it’s gonna get dark out here pretty soon.”

“What, don’t wanna stumble back to our quarters in the dark?” Ning laughed under his breath and then pushed himself up in one swift move, bells jangling noisily and sending ducks scattering out of the nearby reeds. “Let’s go. Your room or mine?”

“Yours,” Ling Tong answered, sitting up and then reaching to take the hand offered down to him to bring him to his feet. “My father might be around ours, and this is one thing I don’t want to explain to him.”

“…awkward,” the pirate snorted. “All right, good enough. Let’s go, Gongji.”


End file.
